Chapter 673 435: Do Your Best to Kill Me

"Impossible! People like us have a special way to sense that man's presence. He's right where he was, perfectly fine. He's not dead at all."

The fatty retorted excitedly, as if he'd just heard the most ridiculous joke.

His certainty didn't come from knowing anything about Hu Qi.

In fact, he didn't even know the man's name.

The only reason he was so sure Hu Qi wasn't dead was because his main mission was to kill him.

If the man had really died, the Reincarnation Bookstore would have undoubtedly sent a notification, and he would have been teleported away immediately.

This also explained why he'd previously insisted he could only reveal his origins after Hu Qi was dead.

He never had any intention of revealing his true identity.

The moment Hu Qi died, he could use the power of the Reincarnation Bookstore to leave this world instantly.

But now, there was no notification that his mission was complete.

Furthermore, thanks to the rules of the Reincarnation Bookstore, he could clearly sense Hu Qi's location.

The man was still there.

This was proof enough that Hu Qi was still alive.

Hearing the fatty's words, the others froze.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Are you trying to tell us that man could have survived an explosion like that?"

The old man with the goatee demanded, his gaze icy and his tone hostile.

"Wait! What is that…?"

Before the fatty could even respond, the old crone beside them suddenly cried out in astonishment, as if she had seen something impossible.

Everyone followed her gaze. The moment they saw what she was looking at, their expressions changed dramatically.

It was a live feed from a camera a great distance away.

Judging by the angle, it was from a drone.

The picture was somewhat unstable due to the violent air currents generated by the nuclear blast.

There, at the epicenter of the nuclear explosion, a dark figure appeared.

It was holding a Black Banner—it was the monster.

And it appeared to be completely unharmed.

The reason the figure was so clear wasn't because of the camera's high resolution.

It was simply because the figure's body had grown to the size of a tall building, making it impossible to miss.

As it was being broadcast live across the internet, hundreds of millions of viewers witnessed the terrifying scene with their own eyes.

The flood of comments that had been madly scrolling across the screen suddenly froze for an instant. The entire stream fell into an eerie silence.

Everyone was shocked into silence by the image on their screens.

But in the next second, the chat exploded like a tsunami, flooding the entire screen at a frenetic pace:

"This can't be... He's still alive?!"

"What in the world is that thing?! How did he get so huge?!"

"A nuke couldn't even kill him... He's a complete and utter monster! We're done for!"

"This is no longer something humanity can fight against!"

Panic spread through the heart of every viewer. The live chat was filled with desperate cries and panicked questions.

Some recorded their screens with trembling hands, others frantically shared the feed. Within seconds...

#ManAtGroundZero#

#MonsterWhoTankedANuke#

#IsThereAnyHopeForHumanity#

...

...tags like these shot to the top of trending lists worldwide.

...

「Shenmu City. Ground Zero.」

Thick clouds of smoke and dust billowed out, obscuring the sky.

Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind swept through, clearing the dust and smoke to reveal the scene within.

Twisted steel skeletons and the fractured remains of skyscrapers, looking like carcasses gnawed on by a giant beast, jutted out from the rubble at odd angles.

Glass curtain walls had long since been pulverized into millions of glittering shards that blanketed the cracked streets.

In the distance, a few unextinguished fires still licked at the charred skeletons of buildings, black smoke coiling into the air.

The air was thick with the pungent stench of burning, mixed with the acrid smell of molten metal.

As the wind blew, ashes drifted down like black snow, covering the land.

The school building that once stood here was now gone without a trace.

In its place was a deep, elliptical crater.

It looked as if a meteorite had struck the ground.

The ground was scorched black. In some places, it had even liquified into something resembling molten lava, constantly roiling and bubbling.

The ground itself had vitrified into a dark red, crystalline state.

And there, the dark figure's true form was revealed.

It was Hu Qi.

He still held the Black Banner, but now, his body had grown to the size of a small mountain.

His face had also changed. His muscles were knotted and bulging, his hair was crimson, and he now had fangs.

He was using Heaven and Earth, one of the two Talents contained within his Demon Elephant Body.

Just then, as if sensing he was being watched, Hu Qi suddenly whipped his head around, his gaze locking onto the camera.

His face seemed to be magnified by an Invisible Power, instantly filling the screen.

At the sight, countless people felt their hearts skip a beat.

"I gave you your chance. Since you couldn't kill me, now it's my turn!"

Hu Qi's voice came through the live feed with perfect clarity, ringing in everyone's ears.

In the next second, the last remaining live feed was abruptly cut, the screen turning to black.

In that instant, a wave of terror washed over countless people.

SWISH.

To the side, the Black Banner stirred.

A dense Power of Emotion, like a tidal wave, continuously surged into the Black Banner.

The tears in its fabric were slowly mending, the process visible to the naked eye.

Clearly, Hu Qi's actions had pushed the fear in the hearts of everyone in this world to its absolute peak.

'Taking a beating isn't my style. Now, it's time to collect some interest!'

A cold smile touched Hu Qi's lips as his crimson eyes turned to one side.

That was precisely where the High-Level Yin Beasts were located.

He slowly raised his right hand.

...

「Meanwhile.」