That yellow sand was Imhotep transformed. After Zheng Zha scrambled out of the ruins, the sand instantly enveloped him as well. It was only then that Zheng Zha heard Jonathan’s noisy voice.

Jonathan was not one to stand on ceremony. Seeing Zheng Zha trapped within the sand enclosure, he immediately began wailing and tried to cling to Zheng Zha’s legs. However, before he could make a move, Zheng Zha had already lifted him bodily by the collar and demanded loudly, “Stop crying for a moment. What are those five monsters outside? How did you provoke monsters that possess True Essence Power?” Held by the collar and seeing Zheng Zha’s face covered in dust and looking utterly defeated—he had clearly just been smashed into the residence by a monster—Jonathan managed an awkward laugh. “I saw images of these monsters on that Buddha statue. I believe they are called Yellow Turban Warriors. The inscription said that the first person to input True Essence Power into them could command them, corresponding to the five attributes: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. The one that attacked you first was the Fire-attributed Yellow Turban Warrior, followed by the Metal attribute…” Ansu Na suddenly interrupted Jonathan, speaking urgently, “Zheng Zha, hurry and help Imhotep! These yellow-robed monsters are too powerful. Even Imhotep gets hurt if struck by them! Furthermore, the more people these yellow-robed monsters kill, the stronger they become. They were formidable even in the wilderness last time; now that they’ve killed so many people in the city, I fear Imhotep won’t be able to hold them off…” Zheng Zha hadn't possessed the strength before, but now he could fully sense that Imhotep was essentially another form of life entity, his body constructed primarily of energy.

And the soul was his very consciousness. Zheng Zha could completely feel that the sand surrounding them was saturated with Imhotep’s energy.

If attacked by non-physical means, such as legendary magical weapons, he could be harmed. Zheng Zha’s Tiger Soul Blade was his nemesis; a single slash would leave Imhotep half-dead, if not killed outright. In fact, Imhotep bore a great resemblance to a ghost, only vastly more powerful.

Imhotep was already a designated member of the Central Continent Team. Even setting aside their shared adventure in America, Zheng Zha absolutely would not abandon him. Nevertheless, some matters needed to be clarified first.

He asked Jonathan urgently, “Do they have any weaknesses? Or must they simply be dispersed?” Jonathan paused blankly. “You have to attack their yellow robes. Once those yellow robes are shredded, the souls will scatter on their own. At that point, the Yellow Turban Warrior truly vanishes... Wait, they reappear soon after, and they become stronger each time. Sigh, burning their remaining yellow robes doesn’t even work...” Zheng Zha didn’t care to listen further.

Knowing the weakness of the Yellow Turban Warriors was enough. It seemed these constructs were some kind of cultivation implement, using the yellow cloth to bind the souls. They relied on the energy provided by the souls. However, he had no idea how the soul energy was converted into True Essence Power. It must be another new Rune combination technique. If Chu Xuan obtained this Rune combination method, wouldn't he have an endless supply of True Essence Power? Moreover, given how terrifying the Yellow Turban Warriors were, if the Central Continent Team acquired the manufacturing method for them, wouldn't the team’s strength see a massive boost? The moment this thought struck him, Zheng Zha couldn't help but burst out from the sand, just in time to see the sand absorb a burst of flame attack.

Imhotep let out a cold snort in mid-air, appearing to have sustained minor injuries. In the distance, the five Yellow Turban Warriors floated, flickering in and out of sight—one attributed to Fire, one to Ice, one to Wind, one to Earth, and one to Metal. Though their appearances were similar, the auras and elements surrounding them were distinct. The Fire and Ice Warriors continuously shot flames and frost from afar, the Wind Warrior circled the sand at extreme speeds, while the Earth and Metal Warriors attempted to close in on the sand mass. As Zheng Zha leaped out, the Earth and Metal monsters charged him.

Zheng Zha showed no mercy. Since he was uncertain of the Yellow Turban Warriors’ true strength—firstly, they possessed True Essence Power, and secondly, this was a method of cultivation—having suffered greatly at Luo Yinglong’s hands before, he immediately unleashed eighty percent of his strength. Infusing the Tiger Soul Blade with a massive surge of True Essence Power, he swept it out in a dazzling, misty arc. When the Tiger Soul Blade descended, not only were the two pieces of yellow cloth instantly pulverized, but the bound souls were utterly annihilated. The sheer destructive power of the Tiger Soul Blade was astonishing, even leaving Zheng Zha somewhat stunned.

Previously, although he could wield the Tiger Soul Blade, when he first acquired it, it lacked the White Tiger spirit and could only transform internal force into a blade radiance. It was only after infusing half of the White Tiger spirit that the blade returned to its true form: the demonic artifact, the Tiger Soul Blade. As long as True Essence Power was channeled to manipulate it, its power far exceeded Zheng Zha’s imagination. Even at his current level, he had only tapped into about one-eleventh of the Tiger Soul Blade’s potential, and this was only achievable after overcoming his inner demons and reaching the level of true microscopic control. However, since the Tiger Soul Blade proved so effective against the Yellow Turban Warriors, Zheng Zha was overjoyed. He was about to charge forward and finish off the remaining three, but then he paused, realizing something was amiss. His primary goal wasn't to destroy these constructs; rather, he hoped to acquire the robes that formed them. While he couldn't be certain they held the secret to manufacturing the Yellow Turban Warriors, an extra hope was always welcome.

“In that case… I’ll test my current strength!” Zheng Zha chuckled, then proceeded to sheath the Tiger Soul Blade and stand perfectly still with his eyes closed. Imhotep, Jonathan, and Ansu Na all cried out simultaneously as the Wind-attributed Yellow Turban Warrior zipped toward him. However, the Wind Warrior was incredibly fast; before the sand could engulf him, an arm as thick as three to five massive tree trunks smashed down toward Zheng Zha. Then, with a crisp thud, Zheng Zha caught the enormous arm with one hand. The immense force traveled down, causing the ground beneath him to instantly fissure.

“This is the state before unlocking the third level of the Gene Lock… and this is the initial state of unlocking the fourth level of the Gene Lock…” Zheng Zha snapped his eyes open. Gripping the thick arm in one hand, he pushed off the ground forcefully. Using the rebound, he flipped upward, executing a full spin in mid-air, and the arm he held rotated completely with him. But unknown to him, the Warrior’s limb lacked human joint structure; the interior was composed entirely of soul matter. Thus, after a full rotation, the Yellow Turban Warrior remained completely unharmed.

Zheng Zha continued rotating and flipping without pause, executing more than ten rotations in a few seconds, twisting the Warrior’s arm over ten times. Just as the Yellow Turban Warrior raised its other fist to strike Zheng Zha, the twisted arm snapped clean off at the shoulder. Remarkably, both the yellow cloth and the soul comprising the severed arm remained perfectly intact, showing no signs of damage.

“Good! Using internal force woven into threads truly can sever the monster’s body! Now I just need to wrap the severed piece with internal force!” Zheng Zha blocked the Warrior’s thousand-pound fist with one hand. Just listening to the muffled thump-thump of the fist hitting his palm sounded like a rhinoceros colliding with an iron plate, yet Zheng Zha stood rooted to the spot. With one hand supporting the severed soul-and-cloth arm, before the Wind Warrior could retract its fist for another attack, he let go of the broken limb and gripped the Warrior’s giant fist with both hands.

“…The initial stage of the fourth level allows for microscopic control. The intermediate stage, then, is the level attained when microscopic control reaches its limit—like the generation of Yang from extreme Yin. Once the microscopic level reaches its zenith, one enters the state of ‘Great Skill Appears Clumsy’!” Zheng Zha changed one hand into an open palm, placing it flat against the massive limb. Then, he slammed his other fist savagely onto his palm. As this punch landed, a gap slowly began to open between the Yellow Turban Warrior’s arm and torso. By the time the entire limb was severed from the body, its surface was already encased in a layer of internal force. A seemingly ordinary punch, it was indeed the ultimate expression of Great Skill Appearing Clumsy.

“And this… this is the strongest state I can currently achieve. Though I don’t know how others describe it, I call it… the Latent Dragon Transformation!”

“And so… that is the basic situation. Although we stated from the beginning that we needed to establish a presence—at least making our potential allies understand that we are not weaklings to be trifled with—events have escalated beyond my initial design.”

Chu Xuan frowned, rubbing his temples. The file he had been meticulously translating was forced closed because the commotion Zheng Zha created was far more severe than when they annihilated hundreds of Green Gang members previously.

This was because, during the battle against the Yellow Turban Warriors, Zheng Zha had unlocked the intermediate stage of the fourth level of the Gene Lock to fight them. Although the battle concluded within ten seconds, the sheer power unleashed caused massive destruction to the surrounding street. Moreover, since unlocking the intermediate stage of the fourth level of the Gene Lock does not allow for an easy return to normal human appearance, for several minutes afterward, Zheng Zha could only manifest as a figure over two meters tall, possessing black dragon wings sprouting from his back and a pair of small horns on his head. This appearance transformed the rumors circulating in Shanghai into actual unrest. Consequently, to prevent harm to innocent civilians, the Central Continent Team was forced to leave Shanghai along with Jonathan and the other two. Currently, they were camping at a high elevation in the outskirts of the city.

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