116: Chapter 116 The Ruins of the Embryo, Hunting

Northwest of the Secret Realm, at the edge of an open fern grove.

Su Ning squatted on the ground, using a dagger to disassemble the corpse of an Armor Beast.

Lin Xiaowan handed over a cloth bag from the side, while Zhao Kai was responsible for keeping watch.

Two blue crystals were scattered next to the Armor Beast's corpse.

"Two blue ones, 40 points. Adding those to what we had before, it's almost a hundred."

Su Ning put away her dagger, stood up, and wiped the blood off her hands.

Lin Xiaowan put the blue crystals away, then hesitated for a moment.

"Sister Su, you rejected Zhou Yuan's attempt to recruit you. Will he cause trouble for us?"

Su Ning sheathed the dagger back at her waist and clapped her hands.

"Although my Su Family is slightly inferior to the Zhou Family, I am not someone Zhou Yuan can order around at will."

She paused.

"The one he wants to deal with is Lin Fan; it has nothing to do with us. As long as we don't get involved, he won't dare move against me."

Zhao Kai pushed up his glasses and was about to speak when he suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from behind him.

He turned his head and saw three gray shadows walking out of the fern grove.

Walking at the front was a person in a gray robe, their hood pulled down very low, only revealing the lower half of a pale face.

Two people in the same attire followed behind, their steps uniform and synchronized, as if they were cast from the same mold.

Su Ning subconsciously gripped her right arm, ready for Armorization at any moment.

"Who are you?"

The leading gray-robed man raised his head, revealing a bloodless face beneath the hood.

His eyes were light gray, his pupils like vertical slits, and there were fine stitch marks around his eye sockets.

The most bizarre thing was his hands...

The tips of all ten fingers were covered in dark gray keratin, like the claws of some reptile, with nails that were long and sharp.

The eyes and exposed hands of the two people behind him were exactly the same.

It was as if they had been produced in the same factory.

"Young Miss, a pleasure to meet you."

The gray-robed man's voice was raspy, as if his throat were filled with sandpaper.

"We have been observing you for a long time. Good Aptitude, quick reflexes, and great combat awareness. You are very suitable to be taken back."

Su Ning's brow furrowed.

"Taken back? To where?"

The gray-robed man smiled, a smile that looked exceptionally eerie on his deathly pale face.

"Naturally, to a place where you can truly realize your value. The path of a Beast Armor Master will not take you far. Your armor apertures are limited, your Aptitude is limited; no matter how hard you work, your ceiling is right there. But we are different. We can let you Breakthrough your limits and obtain power that surpasses the mortal coil."

Lin Xiaowan took a step back and whispered.

"Sister Su, these people aren't right..."

Zhao Kai's hand had already begun Armorization, his right arm covering in a layer of dark brown rock armor.

Iron Wall Bear, Low-grade Earth Spirit, an Earth-type defensive Armor Spirit specializing in tanking frontal damage.

The gray-robed man looked at them and shook his head, his gaze filled with a fanaticism that bordered on pity.

"You don't understand. Armor Spirits are external objects independent of humans; no matter how close you are, there is ultimately a barrier. True strength must come from the evolution of the life Origin. Armor Spirits are merely catalysts, nutrients used to stimulate the transformation of the human body."

He raised his right hand covered in keratin, fingers spread wide, the claw tips glinting coldly under the pale light.

"By directly transplanting the flesh, organs, and abilities of Armor Spirits into one's own body, the mortal coil can be transformed into a Void Embryo. This is true evolution."

Su Ning's expression changed.

"You are members of the Xutai Society?"

The gray-robed man smiled.

"So you know of us. That makes things easier. Beautiful Young Miss, will you come with us obediently, or must we take action?"

Su Ning grit her teeth as three glows lit up on her body simultaneously.

Right arm Thunder-maned Wolf Armorization; silver-white lightning spread from her right arm to her shoulder.

Left leg Snow Shadow Leopard Armorization; silver-white fur armor covered from her thigh to her ankle.

Head Ice Crystal Butterfly Armorization; a translucent, ice-blue crystalline circlet condensed on her forehead.

Lin Xiaowan transformed at the same time.

Back Frost Feather Crane Armorization; a pair of translucent ice-blue wings extended from her shoulder blades.

With a flap of the wings, the surrounding temperature plummeted.

Right arm Thunder Pattern Butterfly Armorization; her arm was covered in blue-and-white scales, specializing in long-range Lightning Strikes.

Left leg Wind Spirit Deer Armorization; covered in blue-gray light armor with fine wind patterns at the ankle.

Zhao Kai also completed Armorization on three parts.

Right arm Iron Wall Bear Armorization; dark brown rock armor covered from his shoulder to his wrist.

His arm became as thick as a stone pillar.

Torso Black Shell Turtle Armorization; his chest and abdomen were covered in a layer of heavy turtle shell.

Right leg Giant Strength Rhino Armorization; his right leg was covered in thick, grayish-brown hide armor, every step leaving a deep footprint in the ground.

The three of them stood in a triangular formation, their lights intertwining and their Aura imposing.

The gray-robed man took a look and smiled.

"Armor Spirit Realm, not bad. But..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the two gray-robed men behind him moved.

Their movements were identical, as fast as if they were being pulled by the same string.

One pounced toward Lin Xiaowan, and the other toward Zhao Kai.

The leading gray-robed man walked toward Su Ning, his pace unhurried.

The lightning on Su Ning's right arm Thunder-maned Wolf claws exploded as she lunged a lightning claw toward the gray-robed man's chest.

At the same time, she pushed off with her legs, turning into a silver-white afterimage, moving so fast that even the gray-robed man didn't react in time.

The lightning claw struck the gray-robed man's chest squarely; the lightning flared, burning a large hole in the gray robe and revealing the blue-gray skin underneath.

However, the sharp claws only left a few shallow white marks on it, without even drawing blood.

"Good speed, good power," the gray-robed man said, looking down at the white marks on his chest and smiling, "but it's not enough."

His right hand suddenly shot out, fingers spread, grabbing for Su Ning's neck.

Su Ning exerted force again, instantly retreating, but the gray-robed man was faster; his fingertips grazed her chin, leaving a shallow bloody scratch.

Su Ning felt a wave of numbness spread from the wound, and the lightning on her right arm began to flicker.

The Ice Crystal Butterfly circlet on her forehead lit up, and an ice-blue light enveloped her body, suppressing the numbness for a moment.

On the other side, Lin Xiaowan spread her wings, firing ice blades from the Frost Feather Crane and electric arcs from the Thunder Pattern Butterfly alternately, weaving a blue-and-white net in mid-air that descended toward the gray-robed man.

The gray-robed man neither dodged nor avoided them, letting the ice blades and electric arcs hit his body.

The ice blades left a few scratches on his gray robe, and the electric arcs sparked on his skin, but his pace did not stop.

He walked beneath Lin Xiaowan, jumped with gathered strength, grabbed one of her wings, and tore it forcefully.

A piece of the Frost Feather Crane's wing was ripped off, ice-blue feathers scattering all over the ground.

Lin Xiaowan screamed, the electric arcs on her right arm exploding frantically, but the gray-robed man remained unmoved.

Zhao Kai swung his stone fists at the gray-robed man, each punch carrying a dull sound of rushing wind.

The gray-robed man raised his hand to block the first punch; the fist hit his arm, producing the muffled thud of metal colliding.

The gray-robed man took a step back but quickly stabilized himself.

The Black Shell Turtle armor on Zhao Kai's torso glowed with an earthy yellow light, raising his defense to the limit.

His right leg stomped the ground violently, opening a crack in the earth as a shockwave surged toward the gray-robed man.

The gray-robed man was staggered by the shockwave, but he immediately stood firm and struck Zhao Kai's chest turtle shell with his left claw.

Three deep claw marks were left on the turtle shell, and cracks began to spread.

"Sister Su! I can't hold on!"

Zhao Kai shouted.

Su Ning grit her teeth, the lightning on her right arm surging—Lightning Strike!

A ball of silver-white lightning blasted from her palm, striking the leading gray-robed man directly.

At the same time, she turned into a silver-white afterimage to circle behind him, the Ice Crystal Butterfly circlet on her forehead lighting up—Ice Crystal Lockdown!

Several ice-blue icicles shot from her forehead, blocking the gray-robed man's path of retreat.

The gray-robed man raised his right arm to block the lightning ball; it exploded, the blinding light charring his right arm, skin and flesh peeling back to reveal the dark red muscle tissue underneath.

The icicles hit his back, leaving several holes in his gray robe, but they only pierced a shallow layer into his skin before being caught by his muscles.

The gray-robed man looked down at his charred right arm; there was no expression of pain on his face, instead, he began to laugh wildly and frantically.

Su Ning's pupils contracted.

This man was insane.

The gray-robed man raised his charred right arm, and the mangled flesh began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"I told you, true strength comes from the evolution of the life Origin."

The leading gray-robed man walked toward Su Ning.

Su Ning retreated; the lightning on her right arm had died out, the silver-white fur on her legs began to fade, and the ice-blue circlet on her forehead dimmed.

Lin Xiaowan sat paralyzed on the ground, only one of the Frost Feather Crane's wings remaining; the electric arcs on her right arm had completely vanished, and the Wind Spirit Deer armor on her left leg was mostly shattered.

Zhao Kai knelt on the ground, the armor on his right arm shattered, the turtle shell on his torso covered in cracks, and the armor on his right leg falling off.

The three gray-robed men stood together, with identical pale faces, identical gray vertical pupils, and identical keratin claws.

They looked like products manufactured from the same assembly line, uniform and nauseating.

The leading gray-robed man walked up to Su Ning, squatted down, and used his newly healed claw to pinch her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

"Beautiful Young Miss, your journey ends here. But your new journey is about to begin."

Su Ning grit her teeth and spat in his face. The gray-robed man didn't wipe it off; he just smiled.

He took a tube of cold liquid from his sleeve and injected it into Su Ning's neck.

Su Ning's vision went black, and she lost consciousness.