The three fireballs struck the precise spot where Gu Yechen stood a moment before, exploding like three heavy aerial bombs simultaneously. The searing blaze swept through the dense forest in a radius of over two hundred meters from the impact point, shredding ancient, towering trees into splinters. The wood fragments ignited instantly from the heat capable of melting gold and refining iron, sending countless sparks and fire clusters shooting nearly a thousand meters afar. (Full text novel reading available at Shiliu Literature Website)

Gu Yechen felt as though a sledgehammer had slammed into the back of his heart. The silver orb protecting him disintegrated instantly, swallowed by the conflagration. His body was hurled upward by the shockwave to a height of fifty meters, carried forward over two hundred meters before crashing down. His vision clearing slightly, Gu Yechen ignored the agony in his legs—which felt nearly burst—and continued his desperate flight forward.

Amidst the chaos, Gu Yechen glanced back at the forest behind him. An area spanning nearly a li was gone, replaced by a layer of slick, pitch-black, semi-molten earth. A crater, over a hundred meters in diameter and forty meters deep, stood out glaringly in the woods. The temperature near the crater remained intensely high, and a faint reddish glow could be seen emanating from within the depression.

“Damn it!” Gu Yechen gasped, having once been attacked by similar means. When fleeing the Gu family mansion, ability users who controlled fireballs had also joined the pursuit, but the gap between that individual and the one acting now, Aredia, was like the difference between an ant and a dinosaur!

While looking back, six black-red fireballs suddenly materialized in the low sky a kilometer away. Accompanied by an irritated shout, the six fireballs simultaneously shot toward Gu Yechen.

Gu Yechen shrieked in terror, scrambling and rolling as he dove into the dense woods, discarding all the grenades and explosives on his person in the process. If that pack of explosives had detonated while still strapped to him, it would have been the end of him. Moreover, the heavy backpack was a significant burden when fleeing for his life—it was always better to travel light.

Siren’s elite team had finally tracked him down. Gu Yechen’s mouth filled with bitterness. It was painfully obvious: Gu Yechen, who hadn't even managed to properly awaken his Jie (Realm), stood no chance against Siren.

The six fireballs engulfed the forest over a kilometer wide, firelight and shockwaves tearing vast swathes of trees to shreds.

With fire flashing everywhere, Gu Yechen roared as he burst out from the core point of one fireball explosion. Wisps of icy air enveloped him, yet his body trembled uncontrollably. Though the Gang Qi (Aura/Vital Energy) within him remained robust and full, his bones, muscles, and internal organs were violently shaken into disarray. A sweet, metallic taste clung to the back of his throat; he barely managed to keep a mouthful of blood from erupting. The protective Gang Qi had negated the direct physical damage from the blast, but the resulting vibrations cost Gu Yechen dearly.

Twelve more fireballs descended in quick succession. Two nearly struck the back of his heart, blasting Gu Yechen over three hundred meters away, instantly depleting thirty percent of his internal Gang Qi. He finally spat out a mouthful of blood.

Before Gu Yechen’s body could hit the ground, the rocket pods beneath the wings of three helicopters simultaneously spat tongues of fire, raining down dozens of large-caliber rockets that seemed to possess eyes, enveloping Gu Yechen.

The continuous explosions blasted Gu Yechen’s body away again. Spitting blood, he slammed headfirst into a tree trunk nearly a meter thick. The protective Gang Qi shattered the tree trunk, and Gu Yechen tumbled wretchedly to the ground. Using all fours, he scrambled wildly for a moment. Taking advantage of the split second when the three helicopters were forced to take evasive action due to a simultaneous volley of dozens of lightning strikes, Gu Yechen shot forward hundreds of meters with blinding speed and squeezed himself into a tree hollow.

A scorching venom raged inside him, leaving his bones feeling brittle and numb. The concussion to his internal organs made stars flash before his eyes.

“Damn it!” Gu Yechen spat out another mouthful of blood in frustration. He vaguely sensed that escaping this time might prove quite difficult.

The three helicopters flew rapidly overhead, circling slowly in the air. Siren stood on the wing mount, looking down at the dense woods below, and shouted loudly.

“Mr. Gu Yechen, I harbor no personal ill will toward you! I request that you voluntarily surrender and return with me. I swear on my honor that I will not harm a single hair on your head.”

Gu Yechen angrily brushed his scalp. The short stubble he had recently grown had been completely scorched away. And this was called not harming a single hair? Being repeatedly struck by a terrifyingly powerful fire ability user, being pummeled by dozens of large-caliber rockets—and this was labeled not harming a single hair?

He spat lightly, thoughtfully calculating an escape plan with mounting tension.

“A miscalculation. The Jie user’s abilities are too mysterious; it was something I failed to account for,” Gu Yechen admitted his oversight. He mused further, “Siren has such a frighteningly strong ability user by his side. A single person like that could be used as a mobile heavy artillery unit. Hmm, when will I have someone like that backing me?”

Siren shouted again, “You and Mr. Gu Juechen are biological brothers. Fratricide, or as your Eastern people call it, a great misfortune. Why can’t you sit down and discuss things? Mr. Gu Yechen, if you trust me, I guarantee your personal safety.”

Siren smiled cunningly, meticulously scanning the area below. He knew Gu Yechen was in the forest, but the harsh weather had rendered the helicopters' scanning equipment useless, or he would have located him already.

With a gentle wave of his hand, more than thirty white-clad members of the Dawn Squad jumped from the helicopters. They skillfully weaved through the undergrowth, steadily closing in on the tree hollow where Gu Yechen was hidden.

Siren shouted once more, “Mr. Gu Yechen, you are an exceptionally capable man. You disrupted our deal with the Holssom family, causing us immense trouble. You forced back the harassment squad led by Borbolt, the eldest son of the Holssom family, and even extorted a shipment of armaments from him, drawing the attention of the Holssom family toward you. Your talent is remarkable; I admire people with your strength.”

After a pause, Siren boomed, “If you agree to follow me, I guarantee your safety. I will reserve a fine position for you within the Sacred Unicorn Mercenary Group.”

Aredia sneered contemptuously at Siren, slowly extending her hand. Twelve fireballs began to coalesce with a dull thud in front of her fingers.

“Mr. Gu Yechen, if you do not come out voluntarily now, then I must take further measures,” Siren narrowed his eyes.

Two white-clad men narrowly passed the tree hollow where Gu Yechen was concealed. Gu Yechen drew in all his vital essence into his Dao Embryo, barely avoiding their search.

Sighing inwardly, Gu Yechen slowly poked his head out of the hollow.

A bolt of lightning ripped across the sky. Gu Yechen suddenly roared, “Siren, I curse your ancestors!”

The Hanyuan True Canon operated at full capacity, releasing the entire energy of his Hanyuan Dao Embryo. His heart rate instantly surged to the maximum limit his body could tolerate.

The three helicopters immediately locked onto him with their searchlights, three bright beams enveloping Gu Yechen. Everyone clearly saw that he had transformed into a humanoid monstrosity—his height had increased by at least three cun. Every vein beneath his skin had swelled to five or six times the thickness of a normal person’s. His eyeballs nearly bulged from their sockets, and his skin was slowly splitting open into bloody gashes with terrifying tearing sounds.

A strange, cold, malevolent purple luminescence flickered in Gu Yechen’s eyes, gradually turning them into a pure, amethystine purple.

His icy, malevolent eyes locked gazes with Siren from afar. Siren felt an ice-cold chill rise from the bottom of his heart; his body swayed, and he nearly fell off the helicopter.

“This!” Siren exclaimed, losing his composure.

Aredia instinctively thrust her right palm forward; twelve fireballs condensed in the air with a muffled sound.

The thirty-odd white-clad members of the Dawn Squad charged toward Gu Yechen, panting with excitement. Siren had promised them immense rewards if they captured Gu Yechen alive.

With a ‘Puchi’ sound, one hundred and eight fine streams of blood shot out from Gu Yechen’s one hundred and eight major Xue (Acupoints). His skin began to shatter inch by inch, blood pouring out from within his body. A strange, ominous aura, yet one carrying a profound sense of detached freedom, rolled forth from Gu Yechen’s body. His physical functions were enhanced tenfold, and black hair three chi long sprouted from his completely bald head at a visible rate.

“Attack!” Siren decisively gave the order. Gu Yechen was clearly using some wicked, desperate evil art—a technique that exacts a price on life potential but grants astonishing power, potentially increasing a Fighter’s destructive capability by several dozen times instantly. Siren did not want any unexpected complications; Gu Yechen must not be allowed to complete the channeling of his technique.

A sinister, eerie chuckle leaked from Gu Yechen’s mouth. His body flickered like a ghost, and the Gu Yechen who had been standing outside the tree hollow suddenly appeared before a white-clad man nearly a hundred meters away.

Without any flashy tricks, Gu Yechen simply drove his palm into the white-clad man’s chest. It was lightning-fast, unparalleled in ferocity—this was the only sensation Gu Yechen’s strike conveyed.

The white-clad man’s chest ripped open into a transparent hole. The man, possessing the strength of the High Stage Saturn level, looked at Gu Yechen in horror before his body violently exploded. Fine chunks of flesh sprayed outward, and a lotus flower of blood, dozens of meters in diameter, bloomed in his place.

Gu Yechen’s speed increased nearly tenfold. Rampant energy surged within him; every move, every strike was astonishingly fast, like a wraith.

Seven white-clad men shot into the sky to intercept Gu Yechen. Gu Yechen simply threw a punch at each of them separately. Amidst sharp whistling sounds of displaced air, visible white arcs of fist energy shot straight toward the seven men’s chests. Seven jets of blood soared into the sky, and the seven men were pulverized in mid-air.

Gu Yechen threw the seven punches with lightning speed, then shot straight into the dense forest ahead. The purple in his eyes deepened, and he charged into the woods like an unthinking corpse.

Twelve fireballs followed with rumbling thunder, chasing Gu Yechen’s body, but his running speed was still a few cheng faster than the fireballs’ flight speed. In the dark woods, only a flash of Gu Yechen’s bloodied, mangled form was seen before he vanished. The twelve fireballs, carrying Aredia’s towering rage, struck the ground heavily, reducing an area five hundred meters in diameter of the forest to nothingness in a fiery eruption.

Running wildly, running—uncontrollable, terrifying energy roared back and forth within him, destroying Gu Yechen’s body to its limits.

In truth, Gu Yechen had fallen unconscious the moment he blasted the first white-clad man. His subsequent actions were entirely driven by the instinct of the Jie within his Zifu (Spiritual Sea). He ran madly through the forest, occasionally adjusting his escape vector—up mountains, down valleys, leaping over thorns, crossing rivers. Gu Yechen relied purely on instinct to flee over seven hundred kilometers in a single night.

Ahead, at the end of a small stream, a faint cool breeze blew from a narrow mountain fissure wedged between two steep cliffs. Gu Yechen, having lost all consciousness, plunged into the crack.

After sprinting through the winding fissure, which stretched for perhaps fifteen li, Gu Yechen arrived in a valley of breathtaking beauty.

Just as he emerged from the fissure, Gu Yechen collapsed heavily onto the ground.

His nearly ruptured heart beat weakly. His meridians and acupoints were a complete mess. The Dao Embryo slowly seeped out a life force of extreme vitality, repairing Gu Yechen’s body. His swollen form slowly shrank and recovered.

Leaves drifted down from the forest canopy high above the valley, gradually covering Gu Yechen.

Beneath the thick layer of fallen leaves, a deep, muffled snore suddenly echoed.

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The first one is here, comrades. Recommend those recommendation tickets...

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