Chapter 139: Metamorphosis (Additional Chapter for Dang Yiyang - Part 1)

"Just you wait! You just wait!"

"Once I get out of here, I swear I’ll wipe out your entire family! I’ll kill your parents! Kill your wife! Kill your daughter! I’ll slaughter every last one of your ancestors!"

He snatched up the regenerative combat blade from the ground, his expression twisted into a savage, grotesque mask as he hacked wildly at the corpses of Zhang Chao and Zhao Han, sending gore flying and dismembered limbs scattering across the floor.

"You wanted to kill me?" Qu Yi shrieked with unbridled mania. "Who else? I’m asking you, who else is left?"

The amount of extraordinary energy released by the death of two E1-level transcendent warriors was immense. By all logic, an F-level trainee transcendent should have been unable to absorb it all alone. Yet, Qu Yi’s constitution seemed oddly unique; he managed to swallow every drop of that massive surge of energy into his own body.

Unlike Bai Yujie, who could effortlessly absorb and convert vast amounts of energy with 100% efficiency through the synergy of "Super-Evolution" and "Super-Aggregation," Qu Yi’s muscle density was clearly insufficient to withstand such extreme pressure. The influx of energy caused his muscles to swell, each one bulging like an over-inflated balloon, forcing his veins to distend and twist beneath his skin like thick, ugly earthworms.

The energy overload drove Qu Yi into a state of frenzied agitation, with his skin beginning to show signs of leakage. Wisps of energy particles hissed from his pores, forming a glowing shroud around him; in the flickering light, his twisted expression looked demonic.

Having never experienced such power before, Qu Yi’s bravado seemed to inflate along with his body. Ignoring the mist of energy still leaking from his pores like a punctured tire, he glared with bloodshot, crimson eyes at the heavily mutated rat, which had also absorbed a small amount of energy and regained a sliver of vitality. Driven by insatiable greed, he intended to finish off and consume this behemoth as well.

The rat, already mortally wounded and battered by the stray arcs of light during the battle between the two E-level warriors, had been clinging to life by sheer, stubborn tenacity after killing the attacker who had tried to steal its energy. Even in its dying state, it sensed the malicious, greedy intent radiating from beside it and struggled to let out a faint, squeaking protest.

The overflow of energy gave Qu Yi a surge of misplaced confidence. The massive influx forced him past the F-level threshold, propelling him into the ranks of E-level transcendent warriors. The raw power intoxicated him. He stalked toward the creature he had once feared to approach, his regenerative blade beginning to emit a faint, fluorescent glow. This energy-output technique, dubbed "Transcendent Combat Arts" by the members of the Seventh Squad, was something he now grasped with the ease of instinct.

Facing the nearly immobile mutated rat, Qu Yi’s distorted face twisted into a cruel smile. He began to swing his blade with sadistic pleasure, hacking mindlessly at the bloody, mangled wounds of the squealing creature.

However, energy absorbed in such a makeshift manner, while usable, did not truly belong to the transcendent. Only after long periods of absorption and refinement could it become a part of one's own internal reserves. Thus, even though Qu Yi had been forced into an E-level state by the overload, his control was incredibly unstable. His energy output flickered, causing the arcs of light striking the rat's hide to pulse inconsistently. Even without its protective energy shield, the damage Qu Yi could inflict with the blade alone remained limited.

After being hacked a hundred times by the frenzied Qu Yi, the heavily mutated rat finally reached its limit. If you’re going to kill me, just get it over with! What is this, some kind of slow-motion torture? If it weren't for the fact that animal protection laws don't cover rats—let alone mutated ones—I’d sue you for animal cruelty, believe me!

Annoyed by the massage-like quality of Qu Yi’s blade work, the rat let out one final, desperate roar. Using its remaining strength, it leveraged its mangled half-body and lunged. It didn't jump high or far, but it was just enough to tackle Qu Yi—who was currently basking in his own sense of invincibility—and pin him to the ground.

Ignoring Qu Yi’s panicked, screaming stabs, the rat let out a low, thunderous growl from its throat. With its one remaining forepaw, it pulled Qu Yi into a crushing embrace, pinning him down with its massive, heavy frame, and began to bite frantically.

Had it not been for Qu Yi’s high-pitched shrieks, the scene, while bloody, might have seemed typical. But with Qu Yi’s panicked, tearful cries of "No! No!", the spectacle looked for all the world like a helpless maiden being brutally assaulted.

As Qu Yi’s screams faded into weakness, the rat’s movements slowed until, with a final mournful wail, it exploded into a dense, mist-like cloud of energy particles. With no other biological entities carrying pheromones nearby, the mist didn't dissipate; instead, it writhed like a living thing, filling the circular tunnel.

In the unique field environment of the overt dimension overlap point, the particle mist did not fade back into space. Instead, the force field constrained it into a glowing cocoon the size of a man, pulsing with a faint tremor. The parts of the rat’s massive carcass covered by the cocoon gradually withered and collapsed, staining the glow with a faint, blood-red hue. Once the body was completely absorbed and reduced to ash, the cocoon turned a deep, visceral crimson.

The blood-red cocoon pulsed like a demonic womb, emitting rhythmic beats and an aura of pure malice. After a long while, voices echoed through the tunnel. Stimulated by the sound waves reflecting off the rock walls, the blood-cocoon burst open, fading into nothingness to reveal Qu Yi lying on the ground, his fate unknown.

A group of transcendent warriors rushed into the tunnel. Upon seeing the corpses of Qu Yi’s squad strewn across the floor, the leader let out a roar of rage, only to suddenly notice Qu Yi—his armor shredded, but his body remarkably unscathed, lying in a deep, unconscious stupor.