And so long as they are my cells, they will reorganize due to the connection of the life source; this has nothing to do with how many I absorb.

Of course, given enough time, the more I absorb, the more perfect my evolution becomes—it’s the same principle…” Zheng Zha nodded, “In other words, when one of you evolves and grows stronger, all of you grow stronger and evolve? Understood.

Then let’s begin…” The brown-haired youth paused, asking, “Begin what?” “Of course, we begin the fight!” Zheng Zha’s eyes instantly glazed over; he had entered the second stage of unlocking the Genetic Lock.

The muscles on his body began to swell, and he spoke, “The power I used in the plaza earlier is called ‘Explosion.’ I know that the more you are struck, the stronger you become, and the more you evolve, right? Then you must first evolve to the same degree as my ‘Explosion’ now!” As soon as the words fell, Zheng Zha let out a loud roar, and a bloody crimson line descended straight down from his forehead.

A violent current of air surged upward from his Dantian, and the two violently converged at his heart.

An explosive power burst forth from Zheng Zha’s body, and the brown-haired youth facing him, being the closest, was struck square in the face a second later with one punch.

His entire head was pulverized by that single strike! Instantly, the surrounding brown-haired youths surged forward.

It had to be admitted that their speed and strength had improved vastly since they were first seen in the plaza.

They could almost match the level of Zheng Zha in his ‘Explosion’ state; this sudden surge of power was terrifying.

It must be remembered that Zheng Zha’s power was only temporarily limited, but the brown-haired youth could not only replicate many individuals, but this power had no limits whatsoever.

From this aspect alone, the strength of this monster was already terrifyingly formidable.

Even so, under Zheng Zha’s ‘Explosion’ state, these individual brown-haired youths were still ruthlessly smashed to pieces because Zheng Zha wasn't just about the ‘Explosion’ skill.

The combat state after unlocking the Genetic Lock was also a significant aspect of his power, and clearly, these brown-haired individuals did not possess the state achieved after unlocking the Genetic Lock; their fighting relied mostly on physical factors alone, placing their combat level entirely on a different plane than Zheng Zha’s.

However, these brown-haired youths continued to evolve ceaselessly.

To catch up to Zheng Zha’s movement speed, their speed also began to accelerate constantly.

To withstand Zheng Zha’s powerful blows, their bodies grew tougher.

To wound and shatter Zheng Zha’s fists, their strength increased immensely.

In any case, their flesh was immortal; no matter how many times they were shattered, they could completely and rapidly repair themselves in just a moment.

When Zheng Zha finally broke out of his ‘Explosion’ state, panting, these brown-haired youths had completely adapted to the speed and power of the ‘Explosion’ state.

Zheng Zha himself was sent flying dozens of meters by a punch to the chest, slamming directly into a wall, where he became embedded just above the surface.

One of the brown-haired youths excitedly shook his arm.

He slammed a punch into the ground, immediately creating a massive, pierced hole.

As he used his fingers to dig upward from the hole, he actually tore off a large slab of cement flooring—about four or five square meters of concrete was forcefully stripped away.

The brown-haired youth roared, looking at Zheng Zha and sneering, “Well? See that? This is the terrifying power of a high-level life form! Didn’t you see? Are you already exhausted?” “But I still possess such immense strength and such swift speed! I never imagined I could evolve to this extent before.

This strength and body are magnificent, hahahaha… I am the master of all things in this world; from now on, I am the apex creature of this world! I am a god…” Zheng Zha remained embedded in the wall, moving slightly.

He was indeed exhausted, but he had deliberately conserved a significant amount of internal energy and heart energy.

The punch to his chest was cushioned by his internal energy, so he sustained no fatal injuries.

In reality, the true trial had only just begun...

Zheng Zha circulated his internal energy to mobilize his body, then leaped down from the wall.

The movement speed of the numerous figures in the distance almost made his vision blur; maintaining the movement speed of the ‘Explosion’ state truly had that effect.

As the nearest brown-haired youth approached him, Zheng Zha genuinely smiled and said, “You must find it strange, too, right? Why can I, with this ordinary human body, possess such immense strength and such rapid speed? Aren't you curious about this aspect?” Hearing this, the brown-haired youth hesitated and stopped.

He asked curiously, “This question is indeed very strange.

Although you are not an ordinary person—the scales on my body and the wings on my back were extracted from your life source—why can you, a low-level life form, possess strength that surpasses me, a high-level life form? Do you have some secret trick? Tell me that trick.

If it holds value, I could allow you to become a slave who retains consciousness and a normal human body; it doesn't matter much to me as long as you serve as my guard.” Zheng Zha laughed, “Regrettably, I am rather sensitive to the word ‘slave,’ hahahaha… Because this isn’t just the power of genes; it’s the result of energy collision.

It’s difficult to reach this level relying solely on physical evolution.

In fact, without energy replenishment, maintaining such a state purely on the cells’ inherent energy...

would certainly be fatal! And you enjoy evolving, don't you? Then keep evolving continuously! Moreover, I have discovered your greatest flaw...

and your most fatal one: your evolution is entirely instinctive at the cellular level; you cannot control or reverse this evolution.

In other words, once you become accustomed to this next state, how long can your cells’ energy sustain it? I’m very curious—ten seconds? Twenty?” “Hahahaha… Behold ‘Ruin’! Disgusting monster…” Zheng Zha roared loudly, and his entire being violently entered the ‘Ruin’ state.

All the energy within his body collided fiercely, and everything around seemed to slow down to a crawl.

Only the movements of a few brown-haired youths didn’t slow down much, but it was enough! “Fist Gun!” Zheng Zha delivered a heavy punch to the chest of one brown-haired youth, then spun around and unleashed a ‘Tempest Kick’ (Lan Jiao), slicing two youths in half at the waist.

He then continuously hammered the body of the youth directly in front of him, completely ignoring the other brown-haired youths rushing from behind.

Within seconds, he unleashed nearly hundreds of punches, perhaps more, each punch at the absolute limit of the ‘Ruin’ state’s power—almost enough to shatter that single youth with one blow.

But he kept striking the continuously regenerating torn flesh.

The speed of the surrounding brown-haired youths was also accelerating rapidly.

After about five seconds, their speed was already over a third of his ‘Ruin’ state’s speed, and the rate of their progress was still increasing.

“Moon Walk!” (Tsuki-ashi) Zheng Zha grabbed the mass of mangled flesh and violently charged upward into the air, constantly hammering it with his fists as he ascended.

The brown-haired youths on the ground began flapping their wings, and their speed increased until it was nearly half of the ‘Ruin’ state’s speed.

The monster hadn't lied earlier; being struck really did cause everyone to improve...

Zheng Zha thought with a sigh.

At this moment, the blood vessels on his body began to rupture.

Helplessly, he could only slam the mass of flesh downward into the ground.

With a shattering sound, the mass was driven several meters deep into the earth, and Zheng Zha finally recovered from the ‘Ruin’ state.

Having returned to his normal state, he could no longer perceive the movements of the other brown-haired youths.

After a burst of wind from a punch, a semi-transparent defensive layer materialized before him—the Dragon Crystal blocking ranged attacks.

But as stones on the ground continuously fractured and shattered, Zheng Zha realized that brown-haired youths were already charging toward him.

If even one got close, one punch in his current condition would shatter him.

So, he simply closed his eyes, awaiting the final sentence...

A few seconds later, the expected searing pain never arrived.

Zheng Zha slowly opened his eyes.

A decaying, melting skeletal frame was kneeling a few meters away from him.

This skeleton frame seemed to possess residual life, its jaw constantly opening as if trying to speak.

But as the flesh continued to melt away, the skeletal frame finally collapsed entirely onto the ground...

utterly dead before Zheng Zha...

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