Chapter 59: Turning the Tide

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Turning the Tide

’Am I going to die?’

With no way to fight back, nor even the ability to try, Chen Qi faced death for the first time.

The moment the Blood Transformation Saber entered his body, every cell within Chen Qi seemed to cheer with elation.

But in the next instant, the Blood Transformation Saber’s Life Magnet Field shifted, and annihilation arrived.

What would it look like for a foreign Life Magnet Field to erupt in the center of another?

Perhaps it was the life-or-death crisis, or perhaps it was the Return of the Light, but for the first time, Chen Qi’s Consciousness saw his own Life Magnet Field.

It was a blue field, centered on his heart, constantly radiating outwards in ripples.

It seemed to be resisted by the natural field, or perhaps bound by his body’s Consciousness, for the entire field was constrained to a two-meter radius around Chen Qi.

The center of the blue field was pierced by a red blade. The two clashed relentlessly, stirring up a terrifying life-magnetic storm.

Wherever the magnetic storm passed, all cellular will was annihilated.

Without the restraint of cellular will, the Energy within the cells went completely berserk and began to "self-combust."

’Hot, scorching hot!’

’It’s like a mass of molten rock just flooded my heart!’

A searing pain in his chest dragged Chen Qi’s Consciousness back to reality. He then saw a ball of crimson flame, centered on his heart, spreading and burning outwards.

"Hahaha! How does it feel to watch yourself walk step by step toward death?"

"It’s useless! Stop struggling!"

"The blood-flame feeds on your flesh. It will burn away your heart, then all your organs and your entire chest, until nothing is left but a skeleton."

Kolos watched this incredibly cruel scene with excitement. To his eyes, the burning blood-flame possessed a strange sort of beauty.

Everything was unfolding exactly as he had predicted. Chen Qi’s heart turned to ash, followed by his spleen, lungs, kidneys...

In just a single second, everything below Chen Qi’s neck was burned away.

Bizarrely, however, the spread of the blood-flame was held firmly in check below the neck, completely unable to advance toward his head.

"How is that possible?"

"What did you do?"

Kolos instantly realized something was wrong, and he acted with the decisiveness of a veteran combat player.

It didn’t matter how his opponent had suppressed the flame; the most important thing now was to land the finishing blow.

However, the moment he stepped within a 30-meter radius, he abruptly found he had lost control of his body.

A strange power had invaded his body, not only taking over its every function but even interfering with his own abilities.

Kolos was frozen in place like a statue. He watched in disbelief as the blood-flame at Chen Qi’s neck slowly died out, while he could do absolutely nothing.

"Kolos, thanks for the lesson."

"It’s just a shame that I lived!"

Chen Qi was in a truly pathetic state; the only part of his body he could move was his head.

Fortunately, thanks to his powerful muscle control, he could still manage to make his vocal cords vibrate enough to speak.

"Oh, and I almost forgot. Just to be safe, I’ve even restricted your ability to move your own eyeballs."

"So just listen up!"

Having escaped death and turned the tables, Chen Qi wasn’t about to give Kolos any openings.

Since Kolos’s gaze was locked firmly on Chen Qi, he had the "honor" of witnessing a miraculous show: the dead coming back to life, flesh growing on bare bone.

Countless tendrils of flesh suddenly sprouted from the stump of Chen Qi’s neck, then began to proliferate wildly.

In just thirty seconds, a thick layer of flesh and blood had covered Chen Qi’s torso, which had been burned down to the bone.

This layer of flesh resembled a woven blanket, but it at least gave Chen Qi a humanoid shape once more.

The fleshy fibers continued to spread and weave. Ten seconds later, Chen Qi’s limbs were fully formed.

At this point, Chen Qi had transformed into a Blood Man woven from fibers of flesh.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!

Incredibly, Kolos could once again hear Chen Qi’s heartbeat.

By the time he snapped out of his shock, Chen Qi was already "good as new," standing before him, alive and whole once more.

"Pretty incredible, isn’t it?"

"I think it’s pretty amazing myself!"

CRUNCH, CRUNCH. Chen Qi chewed up the Soldier’s Rations Pills as if they were candy.

The process had consumed an enormous amount of energy, and he needed to replenish it.

He only looked complete on the outside. Inside, many of his non-essential parts had yet to grow back fully.

But that wasn’t important. What was important was getting revenge—taking care of Kolos.

"Kolos, you must be wondering how an Order Keeper like me could have two seemingly different abilities, right?"

"Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you the answer!"

Chen Qi stretched his new body. It felt good to be alive.

The reason he had survived was that, compared to his own massive Life Magnet Field, the Blood Transformation Saber was ultimately too weak, its power too limited.

If it hadn’t managed to penetrate the core of his Life Magnet Field, it would never have caused so much damage. It would have simply been repelled, creating a few ripples at most.

The Blood Transformation Saber had failed to destroy Chen Qi’s Life Magnet Field instantly.

This gave Chen Qi time to react.

He used his LV2 Metal Control ability to directly Devour the Nuclear Iron.

This was equivalent to Chen Qi pulling the Blood Transformation Saber out of his Life Magnet Field. The life-magnetic storm it had triggered naturally subsided as well.

But even so, he had been burned down to nothing but his head. And that was only because he had been constantly using Flesh Proliferation at his neck in a desperate attempt to delay the end.

No wonder Kolos was so confident he could kill any LV2 player.

It wasn’t just arrogant boasting on his part.

Even someone like Chen Qi would have had his brain burned to a crisp if he had panicked for a second or reacted just a fraction of a moment slower.

...

Perhaps because Chen Qi’s mockery was so effective, Kolos’s already wide eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of his head.

Chen Qi wasn’t surprised. Kolos wasn’t the type to just wait peacefully for death.

The man was already manipulating his two abilities, trying to expel Chen Qi’s Puppet Threads.

The battle had already begun inside Kolos’s body.

However, this was exactly what Chen Qi had been hoping for. He wanted the abilities Kolos possessed just as badly!

...

"You... were... hiding... this... all... along!"

Kolos’s "struggle" finally bore fruit. Although it took him thirty seconds to force out a single sentence, at least his mouth could move now.

"Kolos, I know you’re finding this hard to accept."

"I’ll admit, luck played a part in your failure. But my success? That was all due to my own hard work."

"You have no idea what I’ve put into this!"

Kolos’s loss was, in a way, unjust. Against any other opponent, he would have won.

But by the same token, if Chen Qi hadn’t been quietly working to develop his Body Control skill and achieve his Undying Body, he would have been a dead man for sure.

The moment Kolos failed to kill Chen Qi, he had sealed his own fate.

The Blood Transformation Saber was not easy to create. Kolos had only refined a tiny amount of Nuclear Iron, but doing so had annihilated half the blood in his body, causing his Life Magnet Field to plummet.

The moment Kolos was at his most powerful was also the moment he was at his most vulnerable.

On the brink of death, Chen Qi had spotted this opening perfectly, allowing him to stage a stunning comeback.

...

"Shameless!"

"I..."

Kolos’s fingers twitched, and he regained a sliver of control over his body.

However, his time was running out. A smile suddenly bloomed on Chen Qi’s face, which had been filled with killing intent.

"Haha, time to finally end this!"

A bead of blood emerged from Chen Qi’s fingertip, writhing and transforming as if with a mind of its own.

Kolos stared at the scene, his expression a mask of despair and disbelief.

Although the ability was still weak, it was undeniably Blood Manipulation.

"I don’t want to become a Traitor, but I also really like those two abilities of yours."

"So, I had no choice. I just had to teach myself."

"You didn’t really think I gave you all that time to struggle just so we could chat, did you?"

With a wave of Chen Qi’s hand, countless cold glints flashed across Kolos’s body, reducing him completely to Blood Mud.

The chitchat had just been a way to blow off steam after his near-death experience; his real focus had been on the clash of abilities with Kolos the entire time.

After taking control of Kolos’s body, Chen Qi had obtained a massive amount of physical data, which he continuously tested and verified during his clash with the man’s Blood Control.

Ultimately, he succeeded in expanding his Body Control ability once more, gaining mastery over the power of blood.

As for the Life Magnet Field ability, after he finished Devouring the Nuclear Iron, Chen Qi’s Biological Radar bracelet had evolved, allowing him to perform direct Observation of Life Magnet Fields.

That was why Chen Qi didn’t even glance at the two Cards that dropped after Kolos’s demise.

He had no intention of becoming a Traitor and dying a miserable death like Jomoya Chris.

When it came to the Card of Certain Death, Chen Qi was extremely cautious!