Volume One: The Awakening of the Dragon Soul Chapter 28: A Gentleman with Overwhelming Combat Power?

"Help!—"
Wait! Why am I acting so cowardly? I’m not even outmatched here!

Mo Xing swung the “Little Ice Sword” in his hand, releasing a “Pillar of Frost.” In an instant, the crashing column of ice froze the leading insect solid. He leapt to the ground and unleashed “Frost Blade”—a sharp spike of ice pierced through the bug’s body, drawing forth a splash of blue blood. Then, with deft swordwork, he cut down several blood-red insects attempting to ambush him from behind.

Right now, Mo Xing’s nerves were taut as wire. He stared hard at the nearby, restless bugs, knowing a single misstep would mean being bitten. Those strange serums had terrible side effects—he had no desire to be infected!

There was only one option left: use the purple serum and let the bugs destroy each other. The supply cabinet was still some distance away, but with “Coldwater: Spiral Tempest,” he might just be able to make it.

A droning whir suddenly filled the air.

“Huh?” Mo Xing frowned and glanced sideways—only to find a half-dead, blood-red insect crawling along the blade of his sword. Its gaping maw seemed to twist into a mocking grin.

“Damn it!”

Mo Xing hurled the “little broken sword” aside and bolted. He really couldn’t handle these disgusting mutant bugs! He should’ve run when they’d been tearing each other apart, instead of testing out those potions! Why play with fire? Why try “poison against poison”?

He was going to get himself killed!

Why hadn’t he learned any wide-area, high-output clearing skills?
Because those were advanced skills! He wasn’t ready for them yet! Mo Xing answered his own question.

How wretched he felt—like a stray dog fleeing for its life!

No!

Mo Xing spun around. Even if he died, he would face it like a warrior from “Resident Evil,” fighting to his last breath!

With the swarm closing in, Mo Xing gathered water elements for a desperate last stand.

Suddenly, the laboratory shuddered.

Mo Xing turned to see the wall beside him begin to melt. Unlike ordinary buildings, the walls of the Divine Arms Tower were forged from metal—yet they were dissolving in an instant!

A stream of crimson heat swept past; the water element in Mo Xing’s hands evaporated to steam, and the airborne bugs ignited, shrieking in pain as they rained to the floor.

A gaping doorway burned into the wall. Through it stepped a man.

The man’s face was striking and full of vigor, with natural short hair and a black overcoat. His steady gaze radiated a unique charisma.

“Excuse me, where is Mianhua?”

He looked at Mo Xing, his voice unexpectedly gentle—almost courtly, like a gentleman. Mo Xing could hardly believe this man had just obliterated a wall.

“Over there…” Mo Xing pointed to the eleven o’clock direction—the very path he’d just come running from.

“Thank you.” The man nodded, glanced at his watch. “Time is short. Keep up with me.”

As he spoke, a gust of hot wind surged forth—a powerful current buffeted Mo Xing, forcing his eyes shut.

When he finally dared to open them again, the mysterious gentleman had vanished.

Mo Xing hesitated, then hurried after him.

Elsewhere—

Li Qingchi had just reattached the red tube to Mianhua’s body.

“Finally, the serum can be injected.” He smiled, then turned to the lab control panel.

Everything had been proceeding smoothly. He’d stepped out to prepare the final procedure, only to return and find that first-year Mo Xing had barged in and pulled out Mianhua’s IV.

That kid must be suffering now. Trying to play the hero with no real skills—what a fool. He’d considered sparing him for the sake of a mutual acquaintance, but the boy had chosen the hard way. He had only himself to blame.

Still, compared to certain figures within the sect, he was hardly ruthless. As for the sect itself—it was always called a cult by those so-called righteous types. He’d once thought so himself, until that war changed his worldview.

Li Qingchi was about to activate the switch when a blast of heat swept through the lab. Crimson energy surged, spiking the temperature by over a dozen degrees. A figure glowing with red light rushed toward him.

Li Qingchi drew his blue-violet bow—“Condensed Wind”—and conjured several arrows of wind energy. With practiced skill, he loosed two volleys.

“Piercing Arrow!”

It was one of the archer’s signature attacks—bold, sweeping, and deadly, able to punch through steel with ease. Hardly a problem to strike a charging foe.

But the man didn’t evade; he simply raised a hand and brushed the arrows aside, splitting them in two.

“Well, well, President Zhang, back already?” Li Qingchi finally recognized the newcomer.

“It’s been a while, Qingchi,” President Zhang replied with impeccable courtesy. “You’ve meddled with someone you shouldn’t have.”

“Experiments need strong lab rats.” Li Qingchi grinned. “Care to take his place, President Zhang?”

He gathered wind elements at his bow and fired straight at Zhang.

But a longsword wreathed in blue fire materialized before President Zhang, cleaving the arrows in an instant.

“That… That’s the Divine King’s Holy Sword!”

Li Qingchi was startled. The sword in Zhang’s hand was one of the legendary Divine King’s very own sacred weapons! Its flames changed with the wielder’s power, each variant possessing unique effects. Only two such relics were known to exist—who would’ve thought one was in President Zhang’s hands!

“A lion goes full strength, even to catch a hare.”

President Zhang grasped the hovering Holy Sword, summoned fire elements, and conjured a blaze of blue flame—instantly chilling the air.

“Frostfire Blue Blaze: Rising Dragon Strike!”

His sword energy soared upward, merging with the cold blue fire. From the ground erupted several dragon-shaped streams of flame, surging straight at his opponent.

Li Qingchi leapt back, trying to create distance and ready a counterattack. But he was struck mid-air by the Rising Dragon, lifted helplessly skyward!

“This… This is impossible!”

Li Qingchi was dumbfounded. In his memory, the Rising Dragon was a linear attack—how had these dragons curved in flight?

President Zhang leapt into the air, brandishing the Holy Sword in a decisive strike.

“Wind Element: Overpower!” Li Qingchi unleashed his latent wind energy, hoping to blast his foe away. But Zhang denied him the chance, driving him down hard to the floor.

“This… This can’t be!” Gasping for breath, Li Qingchi stared in disbelief. “We’re both Stage Three Azure—at most, you have a rare gift, but our strength shouldn’t be this far apart!”

“Mm.”

President Zhang gave only a nonchalant grunt, saying nothing more.

“No… I want power! I want to become stronger! I’ll defeat everyone—even you!”

Li Qingchi wore a twisted smile, pulling a yellow capsule from his pocket and unscrewing the lid in one swift motion.

“Let it go.” President Zhang frowned, gesturing for him to stop. “Those drugs may amplify your strength, but the side effects are severe—you know this.”

“So what!” Li Qingchi laughed, stepped back, and swallowed all the capsules in one gulp.

“For ultimate power, nothing is too great a price!”

Yellow-black mist began to seep from his body. His teeth and nails sharpened into blades, his browbones jutted out, and his face became monstrous—a beast pouncing for the kill.

“Arrogant fool—”

President Zhang shook his head and swung the Holy Sword. The blue flames turned crimson, and his body flashed past Li Qingchi like a gust of wind.

“Mercy is unnecessary.”

With that, Li Qingchi collapsed, convulsing on the ground—his waist split open, blood mixed with yellow serum foaming from his mouth.

“No… Impossible! I took the RIN serum—one of the Seven Prohibited Drugs! I can’t lose!”

His hand trembled uncontrollably. He couldn’t accept that, even after ingesting the dreaded RIN, he’d been so effortlessly defeated.

President Zhang ignored him, stored the Holy Sword in his ring, and turned to Mianhua, methodically removing the IV tubes.

“What… What just happened?!”

At that moment, Mo Xing ran in, shocked to see Li Qingchi so thoroughly crushed by the gentleman from before. In the mere two minutes he’d been gone, the fight was already decided!

This gentleman…
Who in the world is he?!

Was his own role in this chapter truly that insignificant?