Chapter 88: Awakening from the Chaos

The monster swung its hands relentlessly, pulverizing the broken stones and blue slate one by one. In the haze formed by the dust and debris, its vision was impaired. Like a phantom, Thunder Dragon appeared, reaching out to grab the monster’s only remaining intact eyeball.

“What a perfect opportunity!” Lin Qiu’s eyes gleamed as his body became a streak of light, charging forth. He unleashed his martial arts, blood boiling, and the halberd in his hands radiated dazzling silver light as he thrust toward the monster’s throat.

“Pop!” A shattering sound echoed as Thunder Dragon forcibly gouged out the monster’s other eye. With foul blood spraying, the monster, shrieking horribly, slammed Thunder Dragon into the ground with another punch. The earth trembled, leaving only the monster in the dust, repeatedly pounding its own chest.

The shrill screams, accompanied by shockwaves, sent Lin Qiu tumbling away. His full-force attack couldn’t even get close to the monster’s body.

“What a pity,” Lin Qiu murmured, shaking his head. He swung his halberd, enhanced by martial arts, splitting the shockwave in two and letting it rush past his sides.

“Boom!” Not far behind him, a building was sliced in half by the shockwave. The house tilted, collapsed, and fell. At the corner, a mouse just emerging from its hole had no time to escape—it felt darkness descend above, accompanied by a rush of wind. Looking up, its very soul nearly fled its body. Its fur bristled as it emitted a piercing mental cry: “I’m done for!”

“Boom!” The collapsing house buried the hapless creature, and a faint crimson trickled out from the dusty ruins.

Under the moonlight, Lin Qiu was tossed by the shockwave like a solitary boat on a stormy sea, rapidly retreating. The monster pounded its chest and howled at the sky. The sound waves surged higher and higher, devastating the surrounding buildings and reducing them to rubble.

In the moonlight, blood streamed from the monster’s empty eyes.

“I refuse to believe that without your eyes, you’re still my match.” Lin Qiu wore a cruel smile and was about to charge forward, but in the next moment he drew a sharp breath.

He saw the blood in the monster’s eye sockets stop flowing, pooling together to form two crimson puddles. Threads of blood light gathered there, and finally, the blood coagulated into two blood-colored crystals.

A fierce gaze fell upon Lin Qiu, sending chills down his spine. He realized the gaze originated from the monster.

“Damn it, this thing is too sinister!” Lin Qiu felt a cold dread. The crystals in the monster’s eye sockets seemed to have become a pair of eyes.

The monster ceased its wailing, gaining an eerie intelligence as its crystal eyes locked onto Lin Qiu.

“You bastard!” Lin Qiu cried out, quickly retreating. A fist descended from above, smashing the spot where he had just stood.

“Boom!” With a single punch, the ground shook violently, forming a massive crater.

The monster calmly withdrew its hand, not in a hurry to chase Lin Qiu. Instead, it surveyed its surroundings and then burst into wild laughter. Its mouth, torn to the ears, opened in an exaggerated manner. As it laughed, its two prominent fangs quivered rapidly, making it appear almost comical.

What truly unsettled Lin Qiu was the monster’s transformation. Before his eyes, it rapidly shrank. The horns vanished, the fangs receded, its nose returned to normal. From three meters tall, it diminished to about one meter seventy.

When it finally turned into a handsome young man, the blood-colored crystals in its eyes faded into a pair of black pupils.

“Kid, I have to thank you! Otherwise, I would have continued living as a mindless corpse, lost in endless confusion.”

“It was you who destroyed my eyes and shocked my nerves, awakening my soul from chaos.”

He spoke methodically. With a tug of his right hand, a set of clothes flew out from a collapsed house and, under Lin Qiu’s gaze, he calmly dressed himself.

Lin Qiu’s heart grew heavy as he watched the youth before him, dressed casually, his long hair dancing wildly under the moonlight. An increasing bitterness weighed upon him.

When the monster was driven by instinct, it had already left Lin Qiu’s group battered and defeated. Now, with its mind restored, its use of power was no longer mere instinct, but possessed strategy and skill.

“Very impressive. I sense a remarkable force of blood and energy in you,” the youth said. “Overall, it surpasses even the lineage of the Lei family. I truly want to taste your blood and see what flavor it holds.”

His throat bobbed, eyes growing brighter.

“System, I’m really doomed this time!” Lin Qiu thought bitterly. As a third-tier minor beast facing a sixth-tier master, it was like a three-year-old sitting on a mountain of gold, already targeted by bandits.

The system’s voice sounded: “This guy has regained his sanity. He can now use his power to its fullest—two hundred percent. He’s someone who understands the mysteries of nature and can wield extraordinary techniques. Although not as skilled as your martial arts, your cultivation is far inferior.”

Lin Qiu’s face darkened as he drew out his words, “This Lei Family Manor quest isn’t about leveling up—it’s suicide, like smashing eggs against a stone.”

“Tasks are random. The system didn’t know he’d be a sixth-tier master. To compensate for the difference in realm, so you don’t die horribly, the system will generously supply a crystal cannon.”

“A crystal cannon?”

Lin Qiu was startled. “What’s that?”

“It’s a high-tech item. Just channel your power into the crystal cannon—your energy will be compressed and purified. With your strength, you can fire a single crystal shell, enough to take down a sixth-tier master.”

“Really?”

Lin Qiu’s heart leapt with joy, but an angry voice rang in his ear.

“You brat, while I’m talking to you, you’re daydreaming—go to hell!”

He felt his body jolt, as if struck by a high-speed train, and was sent flying backward.

In mid-air, his armor began to shatter piece by piece.

“Pfft!” He spat out a mouthful of foul blood, his gaze faded to ashes, and his clone was utterly destroyed by the monster’s punch...