62: Chapter 62 The Demon

The thing smiled, revealing pointed teeth.

Li Zhengyang suppressed his vital energy and blood within the spear's shaft, seeking the perfect moment for a one-hit kill.

The creature opposite him didn't move.

Crouching in the hollow, it merely tilted its head and sized him up.

The two sides remained at a standstill for about three seconds.

Then, the creature spoke.

"Human?"

Its voice was raspy.

Li Zhengyang lowered the tip of his spear by an inch.

"What are you?"

The creature stood up.

It stood half a head taller than a normal human, and the row of bone spurs along its spine became even more prominent as it straightened up.

There was obvious keratinized growth at its limb joints, and its nails were long and black.

"It's been so long... since I last saw... a living human."

Li Zhengyang's perception was locked firmly onto it.

Its aura fluctuated wildly; the aura of a peak Grade Six magical beast was the dominant note, but that underlying thread of a human martial artist's vital energy and blood was indeed present.

Weak, but real.

What on earth was this thing?

"I'll ask one last time," Li Zhengyang said, his grip on the spear remaining tight. "Are you human or beast?"

The creature tilted its head, as if pondering the question.

Then, it smiled.

The smile was highly eerie.

"Both."

The moment it finished speaking those two words, it moved.

Without any warning.

In an instant, it transitioned from dead stillness to a full-speed sprint, the force of its legs pushing off shattering a patch of the rock beneath its feet.

Its speed was more than a level faster than those Dark Rock Beasts.

Its peak Grade Six aura erupted with full force, paired with a nimble footwork that blended with that thread of human vital energy and blood.

Its attack was an offensive move that carried anticipation.

Li Zhengyang's pupils contracted slightly.

He raised his spear.

The creature was already in front of him, its black claws tearing through the air as they lunged toward his chest.

The angle was tricky; this was no mindless brute.

Li Zhengyang's reaction was even faster.

Pulling the butt of the spear back, he lowered the tip—Twist Technique.

The leaf-shaped blade of the dragon tooth spear spun to meet the black claw.

Clang!

The crisp sound of metal clashing against bone rang out, and sparks flew.

The hardness of the creature's nails was even higher than the shell of a Dark Rock Beast.

With a flick of his wrist, Li Zhengyang slid the shaft of the spear along the force of the claw, using the momentum to sidestep two paces.

The opponent missed and landed on all fours.

But in the next second, it straightened its back again, crossing its arms in a defensive posture.

Li Zhengyang stared at it.

The physique of a magical beast, the intelligence of a human.

This thing possessed the advantages of both sides.

"Interesting."

Li Zhengyang stopped testing it.

Raising the tip of his spear, he poured his vital energy and blood into it.

The vital energy and blood of a Martial Emperor surged into the dragon tooth spear, causing the shaft to tremble as the leaf-shaped blade gleamed with golden light.

The creature sensed the change in pressure.

Its slitted pupils dilated suddenly, the bone spurs on its back bristled simultaneously, and a low growl escaped its mouth.

It chose to retreat and gain distance.

Smart.

But Li Zhengyang would not give it the chance.

Startling Cloud Step.

With one step, he was already directly above the creature.

It looked up, only to meet a spear head-on.

Collapse Technique.

This spear strike came from above, piercing straight through the arms it had raised in defense.

The tip of the spear impaled its left forearm and passed through its right forearm.

The creature let out a sharp shriek of pain.

It struggled to back away, but was pinned to the spot by the spear.

Black blood welled up from the wound, mixing with dark red human blood.

The two colors intertwined.

Li Zhengyang did not pull out the spear.

He stared at the creature's face.

Its features contorted in agony, and a half-human, half-beast roar escaped its mouth.

Scale-like patterns expanded across its cheeks and then receded, repeating several times.

"You... cannot kill me..."

It squeezed the words out from between its teeth, its voice halting.

"I won't die... We of the Blood Demon Clan will not die."

Its wounds were healing.

"Blood Demon Clan?"

Li Zhengyang looked down at where the spear tip had impaled it; the flesh was regenerating at a speed visible to the naked eye.

He knew he couldn't let this drag on.

Li Zhengyang released his right hand, holding the spear's shaft with only his left.

He clenched his right hand into a fist.

Circulating the Indestructible Golden Body, a crimson-gold light surged over his fist.

He smashed his fist against the butt of the spear.

Driven by the punch, the spear drove forward half a meter.

The spear tip burst through the creature's back, bringing a section of its spine with it.

The creature's shrieks came to an abrupt halt.

Its upper body still struggled as it stared deathly at Li Zhengyang.

"You... humans will sooner or later..."

Li Zhengyang pulled out the spear.

The moment it was pulled out, the spine began to regenerate.

The speed was extremely fast.

Li Zhengyang glanced at it, drawing his spear back.

Then, he thrust again.

This time, he aimed for the head.

The Collapse Technique, fully infused with vital energy and blood, drove the spear tip right through the middle of its forehead, piercing the brain and exiting from the back of its skull.

Its body twitched once.

The regeneration stopped.

It was dead.

Li Zhengyang pulled out the spear and shook off the blood.

He squatted down, looking at the corpse.

Half-human, half-beast.

Possessing intelligence and capable of speech.

This was a hundred times more dangerous than a magical beast.

Li Zhengyang reached out to flip the corpse over.

He rummaged through the chest cavity with the tip of his spear and found a different kind of monster core.

It was grayish-white, a size smaller than a normal beast core, with bloodshot patterns on its surface.

Li Zhengyang stored the core into his watch's storage space and stood up.

He glanced at the time on his watch.

Five forty.

Time to head back.

Shouldering his spear, he walked south at a leisurely pace.

His mind was still on that creature from just now.

The vital energy and blood of a human martial artist, the physique of a magical beast.

Two things that should never have coexisted had been forcibly fused together.

What on earth was this?

He had no answer and needed to find someone to ask.

But one thing was certain.

The situation outside the wall was more complicated than what Lei Qianjue had told him.

Outside the gate.

Zhao Yi stood at the assembly point with the five members of the Seventh Squad, spotting a dark figure sweeping in from the north in the distance.

"He's back," the Buzz-cut Strongman said, letting out a sigh of relief.

The Ponytail Woman said nothing, but her shoulders visibly relaxed.

Li Zhengyang landed in front of them, the dark red blood on his spear not yet fully dry.

Zhao Yi looked at the spear, then at his expression.

"How was the harvest?"

"Not bad."

"Did you run into any trouble?"

After a brief thought, Li Zhengyang brought up his watch and projected the image of the grayish-white core for Zhao Yi to see.

"I ran into a strange thing. Half-human, half-beast, intelligent, capable of speech, with peak Grade Six combat power and extremely strong regenerative abilities."

Zhao Yi's expression changed.

It turned solemn.

The Buzz-cut Strongman leaned in to glance at the core and gasped.

"Fuck, a Demonin?"

"What did you say?" Li Zhengyang turned to look at him.

The strongman glanced at Zhao Yi.

Zhao Yi remained silent for two seconds before speaking.

"You killed it?"

"I did."

Zhao Yi exhaled slowly. Then, his expression grew even more serious.

"We'll talk back inside. This needs to be reported."

He turned and walked toward the gate, but stopped after a couple of steps, looking back at Li Zhengyang.

"You killed it alone?"

"Yes."

Zhao Yi opened his mouth but swallowed his next words.

The gate opened, and everyone filed inside.

Once inside the wall, Zhao Yi quickened his pace, and his speaking speed picked up as well.

"Demonins are one of the most troublesome targets outside the wall. They are intelligent magical beasts, and no one knows where they come from."

Zhao Yi's team headed straight for the Command Center. When they pushed the door open and entered, several officers on duty looked up.

Zhao Yi walked to the central console and aligned his watch with the data receiver.

"A Demonin individual was discovered in Sector C7 and has been killed by Number 1001. The core sample has been recovered."

The officer behind the console changed expression, his fingers tapping rapidly on the keyboard.

"Confirmed? Sector C7? Wasn't that area just cleared last month?"

"Confirmed," Zhao Yi's voice was tight. "And it was a solitary individual; no traces of a pack were found, but we cannot rule out the possibility of more."

The officer looked up at Li Zhengyang, then at Zhao Yi.

Report this to the Pojun Division Headquarters. Immediately initiate the secondary reconnaissance protocol for Sector C7.

...