Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 597 - 560 True Spirit Power

Chapter 597: 560 True Spirit Power

"Is it really just that?" I retorted, "Or is it because... you’re afraid you’ll be truly killed?"

Huang Quan’s expression showed no visible change, yet I seemed to grasp his stormy inner thoughts at that moment.

Perhaps he wasn’t lying; he indeed only fought guaranteed victories. But now, the factors prompting his escape clearly weren’t just the unfavorable situation. It was also because of the Power of Divine Seal Fragments, which had transformed in nature.

He must realize that the power I now wield can break his Undying Body and genuinely kill him.

The surrounding scenes changed rapidly, soon obscuring the Catastrophe Demon and Great Demon Xuanwu. I pursued Huang Quan relentlessly, moving from one area to another, with no sense of how far we had run.

And the distance between us was getting shorter and shorter.

For two evenly matched human gods, with one fleeing with all their might and the other eager to kill, it was almost an impossible mission. But our situation was abnormal.

This was the Post-mortem World of chaotic time and space. As a human god who had been steeped here for an unknown amount of time, Huang Quan had a quite considerable understanding of chaotic time-space. Meanwhile, with past help from Little Bowl, I had also adapted greatly to chaotic time-space. On top of that, I was blessed by Little Bowl, creating a considerable gap between us.

Now we were like two soldiers who fell into a lake. Although both were proficient in the water, Huang Quan was merely ordinary at swimming, while I was a swimming champion, capable of winning in sports events. With no other interference, Huang Quan dreaming of escaping from my grasp was utterly foolish.

In no time, I caught up not far behind Huang Quan, and a fireball as large as a house burst from my hand, roaring toward him.

Perhaps this lethal strike was too predictable, so Huang Quan was already prepared. He spun sharply in the air, dodging the fireball’s path.

But I wasn’t attacking thoughtlessly. Huang Quan might have forgotten one thing—that the flames I summon and control can also be considered part of myself. So my act of firing the fireball was akin to launching myself forward.

Within the fireball, I reconstituted my Third Form light body and then, as if hatching, shot out from it. Huang Quan looked back in shock, recoiling hastily, but it was too late for him to escape.

A high-energy vortex of yellow-black mana appeared on his palm. Unable to evade, he could only risk everything to contend directly with me. Though this was unlike his usual style, when facing death, failing to muster such determination would be disgraceful for a human god.

However, as it turned out, I underestimated Huang Quan’s will to survive.

Or perhaps, unconsciously, I was measuring him by my own standards. If I put myself in Huang Quan’s place, at this critical juncture, I would have gambled with my life no matter what. But Huang Quan wasn’t me, and he had no intention of betting his life against mine. He immediately did something beyond my expectations.

He slapped the yellow-black high-energy vortex onto his own face.

Amidst an incredibly violent explosion, Huang Quan’s head burst apart, along with his very soul vanishing like a candle flame in a gale. I was blown away by the blast wave, finding it hard to believe what I had witnessed.

Huang Quan committed suicide!

I quickly realized.

Huang Quan had an Undying Body, so even in suicide, he wouldn’t truly die. However, if he died by my hand, he might genuinely perish. Thus, he preferred suicide over being killed by me.

If it had been Ming Zhuo committing suicide here, it would have been meaningless. Because after Ming Zhuo’s death, he would resurrect in place, and I would merely need to stand by his "corpse" to deliver the final blow. However, after Huang Quan’s suicide, he would be reborn at some unknown location, making this the ultimate escape tactic.

In a sense, this may have been a mimicry of my prior self-destruction. Indeed, the tables have turned. Is this a case of "using another’s method, in turn using it against them"?

I exited the Third Form, landed on the ground, and waved my hand. A fierce wind swept over, and the enormous mushroom cloud enveloping the area vanished in an instant. Huang Quan’s remains disappeared completely, leaving only a barren wasteland.

Seconds later, two figures appeared beside me—Lady No. 7 and Little Bowl, utterly exhausted from teleporting to my side.

"You actually forced Huang Quan to suicide..."

Lady No. 7 seemed to have observed my battle situation in some way, looking at the scene in shock and turning her gaze to me amidst heavy breathing.

"You came out too early; the battle isn’t over yet," I said.

No. 7’s eyes changed, and asked, "Has Huang Quan not left yet?"

"No, what Brother Zhuang Cheng mentioned should be the Catastrophe Demon..." Little Bowl turned to look into the distance.

The Catastrophe Demon seems to still be entangled by the Great Demon Xuanwu, temporarily not pursuing, but it should soon come after us.

Initially, I thought the Catastrophe Demon could only serve as a temporary buffer to obstruct Great Demon Xuanwu; who could have imagined that the restraint relationship between them would be reversed?

And compared to the Great Demon Xuanwu, the Catastrophe Demon seems more interested in me.

Every Great Demon has its own hunting preferences, just like Little Bowl mentioned before, the Catastrophe Demon likes to prioritize attacking strong individuals and those capable of skillfully escaping from its clutches. In other words, it’s probably akin to me, liking challenges and adventures. It has little interest in battles that are certain victories or certain failures.

Even if facing a demon of its own level like the Great Demon Xuanwu, the Catastrophe Demon likely remains uninterested. And Huang Quan, who remains transparent in the eyes of the demons, probably never entered the Catastrophe Demon’s vision from the start. Since the moment it discovered me on that battlefield, the Catastrophe Demon’s consciousness locked onto me.

It might have even forgotten that it initially came to the scene to hunt down Little Bowl.

Even now, I can still feel a deep, scorching murderous intent clinging to me like a shadow. Perhaps what Little Bowl felt in the past was this kind of experience. No matter where one escapes, the other will surely follow.

"I need to recover my strength first, and soon after we’ll leave with Little Bowl."

No. 7 spoke while following the gaze of me and Little Bowl towards the distance, then asked in a complex tone, "By the way... do you have some sort of connection with the Catastrophe Demon? How can you summon it during a battle?"

Little Bowl briefly explained, and No. 7 was suddenly enlightened. I took the opportunity to ask, "Do you have a feud with the Catastrophe Demon?"

"A feud... I suppose you could say we have a feud." No. 7 gave me a glance.

Little Bowl silently looked at No. 7, then turned her gaze back to the scene and wondered, "Why would Huang Quan suddenly commit suicide just now? Even if he couldn’t defeat Brother Zhuang Cheng, there was no need to do such a thing... Could it be related to the changes brought by Brother Zhuang Cheng’s Power of Divine Seal Fragments?"

"It’s not ’maybe,’ it is related to Zhuang Cheng’s Power of Divine Seal Fragments." No. 7 seemed to understand the details of this new power, "I didn’t expect such a result... perhaps it’s ’blessing in disguise’."

"Lady No. 7, do you know what Brother Zhuang Cheng’s new power is? Could you tell us?" Little Bowl asked solemnly.

"No need to ask so politely. Even if you didn’t ask, I would have told you. After all, we are in collaboration on the battlefield now, and this new power is directly related to whether we can truly kill that old undying Huang Quan." No. 7 looked at me, "Zhuang Cheng, if nothing unexpected happens, the new power you showcased after Little Bowl’s blessing should be True Spirit Power."

"—True Spirit Power?" I was surprised.

As the name suggests, True Spirit Power means "the power of the True Spirit."

Combining the records of Luo Mountain’s archives and the Great True Spirit hypothesis, the source of all life souls in the world is the Great True Spirit. In other words, True Spirit Power can be seen as "the most original spiritual force." Therefore, theoretically, as long as one can fully comprehend and master True Spirit Power freely, one can recreate the power of all souls in the world.

Whether it’s my and Xuanming’s flames, or the death mana of Ming Zhuo and Huang Quan, or the powers of any other divine demon, or even any phenomena in the universe... anything humans can think of, or cannot think of, can easily be realized; it can be called a true omnipotent power.

However, theoretical is theoretical, and in reality, those who can fully comprehend True Spirit Power are almost equivalent to "those who prove themselves to be True Spirits." Such people do not exist in this world. Even if they exist, they would cease to exist.

True Spirit Power has a characteristic: it can cause "real results."

What are "real results"? Luo Mountain’s archives provide few records, and I can’t say I’m particularly clear. Here, I can only give some simple examples to try and describe its nature from the side. For instance, wounds inflicted with True Spirit Power on others become "real damage" that cannot be healed by any means; likewise, if someone is killed by True Spirit Power, it’s a "real death," and no means can bring them back.

— Is this the reason why this power can counteract Huang Quan’s unknown undying body?

It seems plausible. If the world we live in is a dream of the Great True Spirit, then apart from the Great True Spirit itself, all existence is an illusion. Whether it’s mana to heal wounds, or the undying body, ultimately, they are illusions. Encountering "real power" only leads to denial.

Little Bowl seemed unaware of what True Spirit Power meant, so I explained it to her. She nodded with understanding, then looked at No. 7 and asked rigorously, "Lady No. 7, how can you identify that Brother Zhuang Cheng’s new power is the so-called True Spirit Power? Is there any basis for this?"

No. 7 paused slightly, then answered, "Very simple... because the power of the divine seal is True Spirit Power."