Ning Zu opened his eyes, only to find himself in an empty space. There was no ground beneath him, no sky above.
The world felt surreal, like a moment suspended outside of time. He was in his original form: a tall, white, haired man with piercing crimson eyes.
The only thing that existed in this void was a pink diamond hovering in front of him, radiating a gentle, pleasant light.
Inside the diamond, fragments of Ning Zu's past dreams flickered like fleeting memories.
He instantly realized the nature of his situation, he was unconscious.
His connection to his dreams had been severed after refining the rank 6 Gu, but that was a small sacrifice compared to what he gained.
He had sacrificed more for less once, after all.
What truly concerned him was not his current state of unconsciousness. No, it was the fact that someone, would kill him if he didn't act quickly.
He tried to move away from the light emanating from the Gu, but as soon as he attempted to step out of the glow, his soul foundation began to fall apart once again.
In desperation, he quickly returned to the center of the empty space where the Gu remained.
With his sharp mind, Ning Zu quickly deduced what was happening: the Gu's light was somehow protecting him.
But there was no time to contemplate this further. He needed to wake up.
Ning Zu closed his eyes and focused, summoning every ounce of willpower he had to force himself back to reality.
The moment he opened his eyes again, he found himself in the real world. His body was lying on the cold, hard ground. His limbs aching.
Before he could make sense of his surroundings, an attack came. A powerful punch came down from above, aimed directly at his head.
Ning Zu rolled to the side just in time, narrowly avoiding the massive shockwave caused by the elder's strike. The ground beneath him cracked and broke apart from the force.
Without a second to think, the elder repositioned himself, grabbing a jagged stone from the earth and hurling it at Ning Zu.
The stone sliced through the air like a rocket. Ning Zu dodged, but before he could regain his footing, the elder was in front of him.
"This is for the elders!" the elder shouted with a booming voice, and with a tremendous force, he delivered a punch like a sledgehammer.
Ning Zu raised his arms to block, but the blow was too powerful. His arm snapped with a sickening crack, the pain sharp and immediate.
"This one is for the mortals you butchered!" the elder screamed, delivering a gut-wrenching punch to Ning Zu's stomach. The force was so great that it felt like the blow might carve a hole right through his body.
Blood spilled from Ning Zu's mouth as he gasped for air, barely able to keep his feet under him.
The elder didn't give him any chance to breathe, taking a step back, he jumped into the air, and twisted his body as he shouted, "This one's for the Gu Masters weaker than you that you killed with a cold heart!"
The elder's foot came crashing down, his kick aimed at Ning Zu's neck. The impact was violent, snapping his neck with a sickening crack.
The force of the blow sent Ning Zu flying through the air, demolishing several houses as he tore through them like a meteor.
When he finally hit the ground, he kept rolling, desperately trying to stop himself with his hands and legs.
He needed to get away.
With his mind focused and his body aching, Ning Zu dashed into a nearby house, collapsing inside and hiding in the rubble. He looked up, breathing heavily, trying to assess the situation.
The elder scoffed from outside. "You only show your power to those weaker than you, don't you?"
Ning Zu could barely hear him. His head was still spinning from the blows he had taken, but his mind raced for a solution.
The elder's footsteps approached, and the ground trembled beneath his heavy steps.
His hand raised, and he prepared to demolish the entire house to finish Ning Zu off.
But then, something strange happened. The wood of the house began to melt. Before the elder could even comprehend what was happening, a powerful red blast erupted from the direction of the house.
The energy crashed into the elder, ripping through his upper body. The impact was so violent that it obliterated everything above his waist.
The blast didn't stop there. It continued, streaking through the air until it hit a nearby mountain, causing a massive explosion that shook the ground itself.
Ning Zu stumbled out from the now-collapsing house, his injuries slowly healing.
He knew exactly what had happened. The yellow eye, the one that had been watching him so intently throughout the fight, was the reason for his aperture getting sealed.
The moment he had hidden inside the house, he had regained access to his Gu and his aperture, allowing him to unleash that devastating blast.
Looking down at the wreckage of the elder's lower body, Ning Zu realized that the elder had no idea just how much power the Gu had given him.
He sighed, a sense of regret washing over him. He had hoped to obtain the recipe for the Gu, or at least use the elder's blood with the Blood Skull Gu on Chu Er. But now, the elder's blood was too impure to use.
Once his wounds had healed, Ning Zu summoned the rank 4 Gu, Burning Wings Gu.
Fire erupted from his back as wings of flame formed, crackling with raw energy. He flapped them, and with a flick of his gaze, he declared, "I will take care of the Bai Clan now."
But as he turned to take flight, a sudden instinct pulled at him. Something was wrong. His heart skipped a beat as he turned, only to see the elder—miraculously back on his feet, his body regenerating at a terrifying speed.
Even the elder's head had healed, the yellow eye on his forehead now open again, staring at Ning Zu with deadly intent. The intense gaze locked onto him, and once again, Ning Zu's aperture was sealed.
The elder's voice thundered, "You are nothing compared to me, Zi Rui."
With a violent clash, the two faced off again. Ning Zu threw a punch, but the elder blocked it effortlessly. The elder retaliated with his own strike, and though Ning Zu blocked it, he felt something snap in his hand, the bones fracturing from the force.
The elder pushed forward, forcing Ning Zu back. With his Burning Wings Gu, Ning Zu fought to keep his footing, flapping them, but the wind was howling around them as entire buildings were torn apart by the force of their clash.
The elder's strength was overwhelming, and Ning Zu was barely holding his ground.
But then, things got worse.
The elder's back began to move, as if it were breathing. A low, monstrous sound emanated from it as something began to emerge. Ning Zu's eyes widened in disbelief.
The elder's spine was twisting, reshaping into something grotesque. It extended out from his back, still connected to his body like a tail.
Ning Zu could hardly process what he was seeing. The spine morphed into a vicious, spiked tail, and before he could react, it lashed out like a whip, striking Ning Zu's face with the force of a thunderclap.
Ning Zu was sent soaring into the air once again, his face disfigured from the blow. He barely managed to steady himself using his wings, soaring upward like a spear, trying to put as much distance between him and the mutated elder as possible.
But the elder followed, leaping with terrifying strength, and almost catching Ning Zu's leg. Ning Zu barely managed to dodge, but now, high in the air, he was running out of options.
Below him, the elder stood, cracking the ground beneath him with each step. His yellow eye locked onto Ning Zu once more, and Ning Zu knew—he couldn't use his Gu. Not while the eye was watching.
Then, just as Ning Zu was beginning to despair, the elder's back began to shift again.
The bones of his spine cracked open, and Ning Zu saw something even more horrific—a new set of wings was growing from the elder's back.
Ning Zu's heart sank. The elder's body was mutating faster than he could have ever imagined.
The Gu the elder used was a rank 5, so with him being a rank 4, his body was mutating into something far worse than he'd anticipated, as it couldn't endure the power of the Gu.
Ning Zu had no choice now. He needed a plan, and he needed it fast.
As the elder's wings continued to shape, Ning Zu looked around, his eyes scanning for a solution. And then, with a sudden, manic laugh, he whispered to himself, "It's a gamble… but it's worth it."
With a quick breath, Ning Zu set his plan into motion.
In that moment, the elder's wings were finally ready. They began to flap, lifting him into the air as he flew toward Ning Zu.
Without hesitation, Ning Zu also took to the sky, descending quickly to a location of his choosing. But the elder was intent on blocking his path.
With a fierce yell, Ning Zu called out, asking the elder if he understood how a bullet worked. The elder, naturally, didn't comprehend the meaning behind the words.
But Ning Zu was no stranger to the term, having killed many otherworldly demons. He knew exactly what he was doing.
In an instant, Ning Zu began spinning in mid-air, using his wings to propel him with incredible speed. He shot forward like a bullet, heading straight for the elder.
The elder tried to react, flying forward in an attempt to catch him, but Ning Zu, with the full power of his fire wings, spined again at an even greater speed.
The elder's hands didn't even touch Ning Zu as he lunged forward, tearing through the elder's chest with unrelenting force.
A massive hole gaped through the elder's torso, and with nowhere to anchor themselves, his mutated wings tore free and fell, lifelessly tumbling alongside him.
The elder turned his head, trying to curse Ning Zu, but without lungs to force out words, he could only manage feeble, gurgling sounds.
He turned his gaze to Ning Zu, who, despite standing victorious, was in a far worse state.
All of Ning Zu's limbs were twisted and broken, bent backward in ways no body should endure. Half of his face was shredded, the torn skin and muscle exposing raw, glistening bone, while the remaining half was smeared with dark blood. His guts spilled from a gaping wound in his abdomen, hanging exposed, and most of his shattered bones pierced through his flesh.
Ning Zu was plummeting toward the earth, his broken form bracing for impact.
Seeing this, the elder mustered every last fragment of his energy, locking his gaze on Ning Zu. The eye on the elder's forehead widened, his unyielding focus preventing Ning Zu from channeling any Gu to heal himself. Even as he himself spiraled toward the ground, the elder's resolve didn't falter.
Blood began to trickle from every eye on the elder's body, but he refused to look away. He kept his gaze on Ning Zu, determined to deny him even a moment's reprieve.
Just as impact seemed inevitable, a cloud materialized beneath Ning Zu, gently enveloping his broken body. It absorbed the force of his fall, cushioning him from the deadly crash, while the elder himself continued his own descent, helplessly falling.
Sadly for the elder, in the instant the elder was pierced , Ning Zu had seized the opportunity. He had already injected essence into a Gu, his lips curving into a fractured grin, defying fate itself.
He used the Cloud Impact Gu, a one-time-use Gu, that activated automatically when Ning Zu was close to hitting the ground.
As it darkened, it healed his injuries. The more it darkened, the more damage it had repaired.
Ning Zu shot out of the cloud like a bolt of lightning, his body moving with a speed that could only be attributed to his movement Gu, enhanced by his rank 4 Hate Gu.
His target: a Silver Tiger, a mutated beast born from a female white tiger who consumed Silver Vine during pregnancy.
These creatures were formidable, on par with a rank 4 Gu Master.
The beast noticed him and prepared for battle. But Ning Zu struck first. His knee collided with the Silver Tiger's face, knocking it to the ground on its back.
Without missing a beat, Ning Zu climbed atop the beast, but the tiger fought back, trying to throw him off with a powerful swipe of its paw.
However, the Silver Tiger had no idea what Ning Zu had in store. Deep within his aperture, Ning Zu used the Glutinous Beast King Gu he had once refined, combined with his Hatred Gu and several other Gu.
Mortal Killer Move: Devour The Beast.
Ning Zu bit down hard on the beast's hand, a wide, sinister grin splitting his blood-streaked face.
The grip of his teeth halted the tiger's desperate struggle, and with a sickening rip, he tore the limb free from its body. Without a moment's hesitation, he devoured the severed tiger's paw as if it were nothing more than a hefty snack.
The Silver Tiger, still fighting for its life, let out a roar and tried to retaliate, but before it could make a move, Ning Zu tore off its other paw, brutally tearing and devouring it as well. Blood sprayed across the scene, painting Ning Zu's face and body in streaks of crimson.
Placing his hand on the tiger's bleeding wounds, Ning Zu began to heal it.
The wounds closed only for him to tear into the tiger again, a grotesque cycle of feeding and healing that fueled his growing power. With each bite, his strength and endurance intensified, and his muscles bulged, pulsating with newfound power.
It was a sight to make anyone question which of the two creatures was the real beast.
The Silver Tiger thrashed and roared, desperately trying to escape its fate. But despite its struggles, it found no escape from Ning Zu's relentless consumption.
Ning Zu's body was bathed in the tiger's blood, his muscles swelling and rippling with vigor.
This twisted feast continued for a grueling minute until an energy surge emerged from the forest's edge: the elder, now fully engaged, burst onto the scene.
His third eye glared at Ning Zu, pulsing with fierce energy, and in that instant, Ning Zu's aperture was sealed shut once again.
Ning Zu's expression darkened. Turning around, he raised his foot and stomped down on the Silver Tiger's head, crushing its skull with a bone-shattering impact and ending its life.
The elder couldn't believe what he was seeing.
His hands trembled as he asked Ning Zu "Are you.. Are you even human?"
Ning Zu, grinning crazily, simply looked up at the sky and roared in response. "I'm more human than you could ever be," he said, his voice filled with madness.
The elder's left eye twitched as a piercing pain shot through his head, an experience that no zombie should ever feel.
His left eye began to fill with ink, his pupil splitting and multiplying until it became three, turning yellow in the process.
"Foolish mortal" called Ning Zu, with a mocking tone, as he approached. In retaliation, the elder extended his tail, using it as a weapon.
Ning Zu dodged the attack and closed the distance, ready to deliver a punch. The elder raised his hand to meet him, but when their fists collided, the sound that followed was one of breaking bone.
The bones of the elder to be exact.
The elder stared in disbelief, asking how Ning Zu had done it.
Ning Zu's response was swift—a vicious uppercut that struck the elder square in the chin, sending his eyes rolling back into his head. "You've tossed me around enough today, I shall return the favor!" Ning Zu said with a smirk.
Gathering his strength, Ning Zu unleashed a final punch that sent the elder flying through the forest, crashing into the clan's pavilion.
The force was so great that the pavilion was completely destroyed. Ning Zu's laughter echoed through the village as he ran after the elder, who had been sent crashing into a mountain.
The elder, now struggling to rise, let out a scream. "I won't let you kill anyone again!"
His broken hand began to shake, expanding and deforming as the skin seemed to melt away. He leapt at Ning Zu, using his grotesque hand as a hammer to strike him.
But with a sharp swing, Ning Zu sent the elder flying once more.
The elder, battered and desperate, tried to fight back, but he could not.
His tail was torn off by Ning Zu, but the elder didn't give up. Tentacles began sprouting from his body, but they were quickly crushed or torn apart before they could do any damage.
The elder started losing his human form, his body becoming more monstrous with each passing second. His multiple eyes opened all over his body, each of them focusing intensely on Ning Zu.
Then, something began to emerge from the elder's form—something that seemed like it was trying to escape. Ning Zu took a gamble and, with all his might, delivered a crushing blow to the creature. The tentacles froze, as if their soul had been taken away.
Ning Zu paused, catching his breath. He wasn't sure if he had killed the creature, but he knew he had won.
Then, something moved in the wreckage: A hand and a face shot out, still grotesquely connected to the mutated creature's body.
It was the elder!
Ning Zu laughed, a low, amused sound that echoed in the chaos around them. "I finally understand," he said, his crimson eyes gleaming with realization.
"You didn't turn into a zombie. It was a parasite that invaded your body, transforming you into this abomination." A smile twisted on his bloodstained lips. "Fascinating… I'd love to know more."
He eyed one of the many yellow eyes that still stared at him with unrelenting intensity, sealing his aperture, and sighed. "But alas, I have no means now." Turning back to the elder, who was regaining consciousness, Ning Zu remarked with a dark chuckle, "This fight was quite fun. But now, it's over."
Before he could act, a shout pierced the air from atop a nearby hill. "Ning Zu, you bastard!" The voice was filled with pure fury.
Ning Zu turned toward the source, his chuckle transforming into a mocking laugh. "I didn't expect the academy elder's dog to still be alive," he taunted.
Yan Fang stood on the hill, his body trembling but his spirit undeterred. "You will pay for this!" he roared.
Ning Zu hearing that, could hardly contain his amusement. "And what can a rank 2 like you do to me?" His voice was dripping with contempt.
Yan Fang's eyes blazed with determination. "I will hit you with my killer move, Earth's Rage!" He proclaimed it with such defiance that Ning Zu broke into hysterical laughter.
"That incomplete move?" Ning Zu sneered. "Even the neighboring clans know how laughable it is. What could it possibly do to me?"
Yan Fang's grin was unsettling, a mixture of despair and triumph. "Normally, nothing," he admitted, "but now…" He opened his closed hand, revealing two Gu worms that pulsed with power.
One was the extraordinarily rare rank 3 Earth Qi Gu, and the other, the well-known rank 3 Gruel Mud Gu, essential for constructing sturdy structures.
Ning Zu's smirk faltered. "Where did you…?" he began, but Yan Fang interrupted him, his voice edged with bitter fate.
"I found them just now while climbing this hill," Yan Fang said. "It seems the heavens themselves want you dead."
Ning Zu's mind reeled. "How… how could this happen?" He clenched his fists, feeling the gnawing weight of cursed destiny. 'Heaven's will!' he screamed in his mind.
Yan Fang wasted no time, channeling his energy through the Gu, completing his infamous move.
The hill beneath him splintered and cracked as he directed his open hand at Ning Zu. The ground shivered, and the power of Earth Qi gathered, forming into a massive Qi blast, vibrant and fierce.
Ning Zu tried to escape, but the elder's severed tail wrapped around him, binding him. The mutated tentacles shot forward, holding him in place.
The elder, his lips bitten so hard they bled, used the last dregs of his power to restrain Ning Zu.
"Damn the ranks!" Yan Fang roared, his eyes wild with desperation. "Damn the difference in power, and damn everything else! I won't let you destroy my clan, my world!" His voice echoed as he unleashed the attack.
"Complete Mortal Killer Move—Earth's Rage!" The words rang through the air, and the colossal blast of Earth Qi hurtled toward Ning Zu, illuminating the sky in a burst of pure yellow light.
The explosion thundered, shaking the village to its foundations, obliterating the few structures that had managed to survive the earlier chaos.
From afar, the Bai Clan leader watched in utter disbelief, his heart pounding as the shockwave rippled across the landscape.
But deep within the shadows of another place, the Gu Yu Clan ancestors waited, their eyes narrowing.
He knew the time to act was coming.