Chapter 89: The Crystal Cannon

“My clone!” Lin Qiu wailed inwardly. That clone ability was his ticket to skipping duties—it allowed him not to be glued to Xu Bing’s side at all times. Now that the clone was gone, he really would have to protect this woman around the clock. Lost in these tangled thoughts, his body slammed harshly into the earth.

Boom!

The ground trembled. A wave of dust shot into the sky, shrouding Lin Qiu’s figure within it, his fate uncertain.

Footsteps echoed beyond the haze, slow and measured, calm and unhurried. The dust began to settle; the demon was about to descend, ready to tear innocent lambs apart. Even the moon seemed unwilling to witness the carnage, retreating behind a thin shroud of cloud, leaving behind only a dim, hazy glow.

The light of the night waned, the world growing gloomier, vision shrinking, the air thick with foreboding.

Before the dissipating dust, Tianji stood with his arms folded across his chest, a faint, proud smile on his lips. His eyes, black and without whites, betrayed no emotion—yet paired with his smile, if it could be called that, the effect was chilling.

Tianji was in no rush to check if his adversary lived or died. Alive? He’d finish him off. Dead? He’d devour him on the spot. He was not picky about his food, so long as it suited his taste. He was like a patient hunter, waiting for his prey to teeter at the edge of death, only to tear it apart bit by bit.

A breeze scattered the dust. Standing downwind, Tianji frowned in annoyance and waved his hand to fan the grit away.

“What’s this?” he wondered, seeing a fist-sized golden glow flickering within the haze, curiosity lighting his eyes.

The dust caught in his throat, dry and uncomfortable, and he couldn’t help but spit. In the next instant, his hair stood on end, his entire body tense as though a savage beast had set its sights on him.

“What’s happening?!” He spoke, voice quavering as the oppressive weight of death crashed upon him, instinct screaming to flee.

Tianji tried to do just that, but something was amiss. Suddenly, that golden light erupted, shooting a deadly ray straight at him.

He moved at once, retreating at high speed. The air whistled past his ears with the friction of his flight, and amidst it came a wild, triumphant laugh: “Serves you right for destroying my clone—I’ll use you to make up for it!”

“What’s going on? Why am I still flying?” Tianji’s eyes swirled with bewilderment. Why was the world spinning before his eyes?

He glanced down. “Why can’t I control my head? Where’s my neck?” His confusion deepened—for he found himself unable to move his head.

From Lin Qiu’s vantage, a perfectly good head spun rapidly through the air, crashing into distant ruins. In his right hand, he clutched a strange pipe, its make unknown, perhaps of some mysterious metal. At the mouth of the pipe, a faint red glow faded, wisps of smoke curling skyward.

Lin Qiu raised the pipe and blew gently, dispersing the last of the smoke.

“What a marvelous crystal cannon!” he declared. As soon as the words left his lips, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed in a faint.

The pipe—his so-called “crystal cannon”—began to shrink and fade, eventually vanishing altogether.

Thud.

From the ruins of a house, the severed head crashed to earth, rolling amidst the dust, leaving Tianji’s face begrimed and filthy. Coughing from the dirt, he found himself unable to control his body, unable even to sense its existence. Even his head would not obey his will.

Slowly, the colors in his vision leached away. At some uncertain moment, darkness descended, and he lost consciousness.

Yes, he merely fainted—not died.

Not far off, Lin Qiu lay sprawled on the ground, utterly drained after channeling all his power into the crystal cannon for a single, fatal strike. Had Tianji not been so arrogant, dismissing his opponent as nothing more than an ant, he would not have fallen prey to Lin Qiu’s desperate gambit, losing his body and being reduced to a lone head.

Tianji’s body had been completely vaporized, only his head remaining.

Meanwhile, as every ounce of strength was siphoned from Lin Qiu, a mechanical, electronic voice echoed in his mind.

“System check: Host unconscious! Initiating emergency defense protocols!”

As the system’s voice rang out, fine silken threads began to cocoon Lin Qiu, wrapping his body in a protective chrysalis. The threads seeped into the void, seeming to connect to the very fabric of space. In the next moment, ripples shimmered across the cocoon, and it vanished into thin air.

“Ding. System check: Danger at Thunder Manor resolved. Reward: Enhanced skill.”

“Ding. System check: Host critically weakened and unconscious. Initiating mandatory enhancement.”

“Ding. Skill enhancement issued. Mandatory strengthening commencing.”

“Ding. Physical fortification: one percent… thirty percent… ninety percent…”

“Ding. Physical fortification complete!”

The system’s notifications chimed incessantly as Lin Qiu regained consciousness from his faint.

At the same instant, the silken threads unwound and disappeared. He found himself still lying on the ground, the moon—shy and veiled behind the clouds—above his head.

A sudden breeze brought a chill, and Lin Qiu sneezed.

“Achoo!” He rubbed his nose, sitting up.

“Huh?” As he tried to stand, he sensed something amiss.

His body not only lacked any trace of weakness, but was suffused with an indescribable power, a pleasant sensation. It was as though he had taken a powerful tonic, his spirit and energy vastly improved. Examining himself closely, he was astounded to find that his depleted vitality had been fully restored; even his meridians, bones, muscles, and skin had grown tougher.

Comparing himself to his former state, he realized his physical abilities had doubled.

A doubling of strength meant his explosive power had also doubled!

“What on earth?” His pupils contracted, caught off guard.

“In response to the host’s query: while you were unconscious and in grave peril, the system initiated mandatory enhancement to restore your strength and fortify your body as a precaution,” the system explained.

Delighted, Lin Qiu grinned. This system was truly something—thoughtful, too.

But then he paused, his lips twitching, for the system had announced two separate enhancements in a row.