Chapter 100: Doubts

Countless bolts of lightning radiated from Du Bin’s body, instantly shattering the metal that had been encasing him. Tao Wenjie, whose metallic form usually acted as an insulator, found things changing when faced with this mutated electricity. Although she had been fine after the previous hammer blow, it had caused her some damage, though she had paid it no mind.

Now, the power Du Bin unleashed was far greater than before. She found it hard to believe that someone who had exhausted his supernatural energy could still command such immense strength, and to her horror, her metal began to melt. "How can this be?"

She discovered that the damaged areas could not be repaired quickly. Watching as her metal was eroded bit by bit and evaporated into gas, she split herself in two to detach the compromised parts and prevent the rest of her form from being consumed. Du Bin, clearly aware of her intention, destroyed the metal that had been trapping him and gathered his strength into his hands. The giant hammer reappeared.

"Don't think you can escape!" Du Bin threw it with everything he had in the direction of her retreat.

The giant hammer roared forward, spinning at high velocity. Fang Yilin looked back to see the weapon closing in. She transformed her arm into a 120cm smoothbore cannon and fired a continuous barrage at the hammer.

As the shells struck the hammer, they were instantly annihilated. Many of the projectiles veered off course, slamming into a distant ruined building and causing terrifying explosions; fortunately, Du Bin and the hammer were on a different trajectory, or he would not have been spared.

"Impossible!" Fang Yilin screamed in terrified disbelief, her cannon continuing to fire.

The giant hammer smashed directly into her head, emitting a burst of golden light. Fang Yilin let out a cry of agony, her entire face twisting as her appearance flickered back and forth between Fang Yilin and Tao Wenjie.

Following the golden light, a massive explosion erupted. As the smoke billowed, Du Bin collapsed, completely drained and unconscious; even if he could not kill her, he had no strength left to fight back.

Just then, Hu Guozheng arrived, drawn by the commotion. Upon reaching the crater and seeing Du Bin lying on the ground, he jumped down to check on him. Only after confirming that he was merely unconscious did he let out a long sigh of relief.

"Why has Old Du's lightning changed color?" He wondered, but he had no time to investigate.

When the smoke cleared, Tao Wenjie had vanished, along with her fragmented metal. Seeing several virus-infected humans prowling outside the crater, Hu Guozheng immediately hoisted Du Bin onto his back and ran toward safety.

Fortunately, he had learned a new technique: Stone Bullets. He used rock fragments as projectiles to shoot his enemies, and these infected humans served as perfect live targets for his practice. However, he dared not use it too frequently, as he could not afford to deplete his own energy over a prolonged period.

Carrying Du Bin, Hu Guozheng evaded the pursuit of the infected and finally, after turning several main roads, spotted Aunt Lan and Ye Qian resting under the broken remains of an overpass.

Upon seeing that it was Hu Guozheng, Aunt Lan relaxed her guard. She examined Du Bin's body and noticed the change in his lightning, her brows knitting tightly together.

"Fatty, what's wrong?" Ye Qian asked, noticing her strange expression.

Ye Lan did not answer immediately. After checking for a while, she said, "I’ve stabilized his injuries, but his energy is very strange. I detected that his lightning has turned gold. Normally, it is very difficult for an esper to change their elemental affinity, unless they are a genius like Wu Qiwei, who can master any series."

"You mean his lightning has mutated?"

Ye Lan nodded, her expression grave. "Perhaps I am overthinking it, but standard lightning is blue-white, and since lightning originates from a magnetic field, perhaps it has combined with light to produce this change."

"Doesn't that make him like that girl, Le'er?" Ye Qian recalled that Le'er was a light-user.

"Not quite. Although they both involve light, it is different." Ye Lan was unsure. After all, Du Bin’s abilities had been cultivated under her direct supervision. Due to the Death Tournament, she had used a special method to force his rapid growth, hanging him on high-voltage power lines for months to endure the wind and rain.

Hu Guozheng remained silent. He wanted to interject, but since he didn't understand the technical discussion, he chose to keep quiet.

"It seems that after this matter is over, I will have to train him thoroughly and investigate this situation."

Upon hearing this, Hu Guozheng’s eyes lit up. "Aunt Lan, what about me? What about me?"

Ye Lan glanced at him and smiled slightly. "Do you think you’ll be left out of this?"

Hu Guozheng scratched his head and chuckled foolishly. He had high expectations for increasing his power. "Of course! I’m much better than Old Du, ha ha ha..."

The two sisters exchanged a knowing smile. For now, the immediate threat had been neutralized, but they were worried about the situation at the distant Mo Xing Tower, where an even more brutal battle was taking place.

At the base of Mo Xing Tower, Ye Tang utilized the Eight-Sword Formation to hold her own against Yasuo. She wielded her flame power with more ease than ever before, and countless sparks swirled around her for protection. To break through her barrier, Yasuo had to dodge the attacks of the eight swords simultaneously.

Ye Tang felt a secret joy as she observed her own power. Previously, the two types of energy had clashed, causing her strength to diminish, but as time passed, it seemed the bloodline power and the esper power were beginning to merge.

Facing her, Yasuo began to look troubled. After all, he was the first warrior under Pan. He wondered to himself, *It seems the young lady's power is starting to adapt. If this continues and she fully masters both, I will lose.*

He understood his position well. Regardless of the past or present, he would not harm Ye Tang, for she was Pan’s daughter. His true role was that of a sparring partner; the real battlefield was atop Mo Xing Tower.

"What's wrong? Aren't you supposed to be very strong?" Ye Tang found it strange that he wasn't attacking with his full strength. Perhaps he was worried about hurting her. "Are you looking down on me?"

"Do you think so?"

Yasuo had just dodged the attack of three swords when he reappeared and threw a punch with extreme speed. Ye Tang waved one hand, and the surrounding flames instantly formed a wall of fire in front of her.

With a heavy thud, the punch shattered a hole in the fire wall. Before he could press his advantage, the sword formation flew toward him. Yasuo immediately halted to retreat, but the eight swords had already sealed his path. He had no choice but to face the formation head-on.

As he dodged several blades, other parts of his body were slashed, accompanied by a burning effect. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He knew well that the effect of those swords was specifically designed to restrain vampires, capable of sealing his regenerative abilities for a time.

In truth, Ye Tang herself faced great danger as the wielder of the Red Blade, having witnessed its true power once before.

Yasuo clutched the wound at his waist as blood poured out; his regenerative ability was indeed ineffective. Since it had come to this, he would hold nothing back. "It really hurts. I haven't been this excited in a long time."

He ignored his injuries, abandoned his defenses, and charged forward without hesitation. Facing the aggressive Yasuo, Ye Tang hesitated for a moment; to preserve her energy for the battle with Pan, she dared not trade blow for blow.

In that moment of hesitation, Yasuo reached her and threw a heavy punch. Ye Tang immediately manipulated the eight swords to protect her, but after the fire wall shattered, his fist did not stop and slammed directly toward her.

The eight swords thrust into his body at the same time, but as they pierced him, his fist struck Ye Tang. She was sent flying back dozens of meters by the impact. After performing a backflip to regain her balance, she felt a surge of panic. Fortunately, she had covered her body with her hands just in time; otherwise, even if she hadn't been critically wounded, such a heavy blow would have left her in agony for a long time. Her regenerative ability quickly healed her minor injuries.