Eldritch Horror Theatre

Staring at the pretty face before him—with its bright eyes, white teeth, cherry lips, and delicate nose—Fu Qian suppressed the urge to slap it flat.

"How was it?"

A moment later, the violent urge in his heart faded.

Having trained bitterly for two days, Wen Li looked over with a nervous expression.

"You've made great progress."

Fu Qian offered a serious evaluation.

Over their two days of leisure, Wen Li had fully embraced her capitalist heritage, putting everyone to use by asking Fu Qian to help hone her Kaleidoscope.

After two days, her control had improved significantly. Even his own mind had been somewhat affected by the chaotic impact just now.

"But the next time you face an opponent of a much higher tier, you should dial back on the anger."

Seeming to realize the danger, Wen Li stuck out her tongue in lingering fear.

"Regardless, this move should already be highly effective against opponents of the same tier."

Fu Qian waved his hand at her.

"Head back for now."

"Okay."

Even though she was being shooed away on her own turf, Wen Li showed no displeasure, her tone light and brisk as she stood up.

"Also, no matter what you hear later, don't come out."

...

Wen Li instantly stiffened. She subconsciously scanned her surroundings but found nothing unusual.

Without pressing the issue, she gave Fu Qian a final glance and quietly withdrew.

Watching her leave, Fu Qian simply sat motionless in his chair.

Barely ten seconds after she left, another knock rang out at the door.

"Come in."

Fu Qian called out.

The door opened. A figure stood silently in the doorway, not saying a word.

It was a muscular middle-aged man of indeterminate age, his dark face entirely expressionless.

Just standing there, he exuded an indescribable aura of slaughter, like the very incarnation of power and destruction.

'Is this the power of a Divine Emissary? It feels like it falls just a bit short.'

Since the man remained silent, Fu Qian was in no rush to speak either, instead eyeing him up and down with great interest.

Earlier, right in the middle of his conversation with Wen Li, a sudden and extremely dangerous premonition had washed over him. That was why he had sent her away.

This person was obviously not Ariel, but even if he wasn't a Divine Emissary, he was certainly close.

Bright eyes, white teeth, red lips, and a delicate nose. Staring at the pretty face in front of him, Fu Qian fought back the urge to slap it flat.

"How was that?"

A moment later, the violent impulses in his heart faded.

Having trained bitterly for the past two days, Wen Li looked at him nervously.

"You've made a lot of progress."

Fu Qian offered his solemn appraisal.

It was true. Over the past two days of downtime, Wen Li had fully embraced her talents as a capitalist heir, squeezing every ounce of value out of her personnel by having Fu Qian help her hone her Kaleidoscope.

Her control over the ability had improved drastically over the past two days. Even Fu Qian found his own mind slightly swayed by that chaotic mental strike just now.

"However, next time you face an opponent whose level vastly exceeds yours, try to mix in a little less anger."

"...Got it."

Seeming to realize the danger she'd put herself in, Wen Li stuck her tongue out in lingering fear.

"Regardless, if you use this move against someone at your own level, it should be highly effective."

Fu Qian waved her off.

"Head back for now."

"Okay."

Despite being shooed away on her own turf, Wen Li took no offense. She stood up, her tone brisk and cheerful.

"Also, no matter what you hear in a bit, do not come out."

...

Wen Li instantly stiffened. She subconsciously glanced around the room, though she spotted nothing out of the ordinary.

She didn't ask any questions. With one last look at Fu Qian, she quietly slipped out of the room.

Fu Qian simply watched her go, sitting quietly in his chair without making a single move.

Barely ten seconds after her departure, another knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

Fu Qian called out.

The door opened at his command. A figure stood silently in the doorway, not saying a word.

It was a heavily built middle-aged man. His exact age was impossible to tell, and his dark, tanned face was completely expressionless.

Just by standing there, he exuded an indescribable, murderous aura, looking like the very incarnation of power and destruction.

'Is this the power of a Divine Emissary? It feels like it falls just a bit short.'

Since the man remained silent, Fu Qian felt no rush to speak either. He simply looked his visitor up and down with keen interest.

Right in the middle of his conversation with Wen Li, an intense sense of extreme danger had abruptly washed over him, which was why he had sent her away.

This man obviously wasn't Ariel, but even if he wasn't a Divine Emissary, he couldn't be far off.

Purely in terms of physique, the man wasn't exaggeratedly huge, but the sheer physical power contained within that body was absolutely terrifying.

Looking at those long, heavily muscled arms, Fu Qian had no doubt the man could punch straight through his torso with a single strike.

'What a walking lethal weapon! Compared to him, that guy who punched the wall earlier wouldn't even amount to a jellybean.'

Fu Qian nodded to himself, marveling at the sight.

'Killing this kind of guy would actually be a bit of a hassle.'

"Fang Xun?"

The man in the doorway finally spoke, his voice deep and resonant.

"I can be."

Fu Qian let out a breath. He wasn't lying.

"Come in."

The middle-aged man let out a heavy snort. Discarding all politeness, he strode straight into the room.

However, he didn't look for a place to sit. Instead, he marched right up to Fu Qian and looked down at him, scrutinizing him with an abyssal gaze.

"You actually have some skill."

A few seconds later, he spoke again.

'I just finished evaluating someone else, and now I'm the one being evaluated?'

"Thanks for the compliment."

Fu Qian replied lazily.

"It's a pity your temperament is so poor. You act recklessly and completely disregard the rules. People like you tend to be highly dangerous, uncontrollable variables."

"If you keep showering me with praise, I'm going to blush."

Fu Qian kept a perfectly nonchalant look on his face.

He had heard lines like that countless times over the years. Just as the man's praise hadn't stirred a single ripple in his heart, his accusations were equally ineffective.

Hmph!

Seeing that Fu Qian was completely unfazed, the middle-aged man let out another heavy snort.

A moment later, Fu Qian felt the lighting in the room dim slightly.

Deep, glowing trenches of golden-red began to snake across the middle-aged man's dark face and body.

These fiery ravines connected to form profound, cryptic patterns, making it look as though his entire body was radiating a brilliant, golden-blooded light.

That wasn't all. Amidst a sickening squelch of shifting flesh, the man's steel-forged muscles began to stretch and writhe in a grotesque display.

One extra arm after another sprouted from his form. Caught in the surge of invisible power, his clothing was instantly reduced to ash.

"You know nothing about true power."

The transformed man spoke, his voice ringing out like clashing metal.

"Did you really think I wouldn't kill you?"

'Is this the legendary Mythical Form?'

Completely ignoring the death threat, Fu Qian stared in sheer excitement at the thoroughly inhuman body looming before him.

Strictly speaking, in terms of sheer appearance, this man's form was far less monstrous than the tentacles or armored monstrosities Fu Qian himself had previously used. But at a fundamental level, they were entirely different.

To Fu Qian's senses, the man was currently displaying a highly concentrated state of Sublimation—a physical manifestation that approached the very essence of power itself.

Though Fu Qian had unleashed Mythical Form-tier attacks multiple times through his skills, this was his first time coming face-to-face with one.

The golden-red patterns etched across the man's body seemed to project invisible, crashing tides that battered away at the mind.

'If I were still beneath the Demigod Realm, I'd probably be losing san points by now.'

Staring at the man, who looked for all the world like a descending war god, Fu Qian casually shook his head.

"True or not, it doesn't really matter. The real question is: how do you want to die? Given your level of strength, the menu of options I can provide will be a little more limited."

"You think I'm joking with you?"

Staring at Fu Qian with eyes that flared with golden-red light, the man's voice turned absolutely glacial.

The next instant, he threw a punch.

As if tearing right through time and space, the instant the punch was thrown, it was already right in front of Fu Qian's face.

Yet at that exact same moment, a brilliant Crystal Spear manifested right in front of the middle-aged man.

'This is...'

The man desperately wanted to ignore the construct, but his combat instincts screamed that the terrifying destructive power contained within this blood-red crystal couldn't be shrugged off, not even by a Mythical Form.

Acting on pure instinct, several of his extra arms snapped forward to grab the Crystal Spear, even as his main fist continued its lethal trajectory.

To his utter surprise, his opponent didn't take the opportunity to dodge at all. Instead, Fu Qian met the strike head-on with a blackened, heavy punch of his own.

Boom!

In the next second, a mist of blood burst from Fu Qian's body, while the glowing patterns across the middle-aged man's skin violently flickered and warped.

"Are you still not going to come out?"

Using the massive recoil from the clash to launch himself backward, Fu Qian called out toward the open door.

"Alright, you two, please stop!"

Before his words had even finished echoing, a familiar voice rang out from the hallway. Looking utterly exasperated, Yuan Shan walked into the room.

As soon as she entered, the middle-aged man finally ceased his attacks.

"Your backup?"

Fu Qian looked at Yuan Shan.

"Yeah... he happened to be nearby. Once he heard about the situation, he insisted on coming over. I couldn't stop him."

Yuan Shan said quietly.

"Fair enough."

Fu Qian glanced over. The man had already taken a seat off to the side; the glowing golden-red patterns across his body had completely vanished, and his extra arms had melted back into his flesh.

'Once you reach this level, can you freely toggle your Mythical Form on and off?'

Fu Qian noted silently.

"I really am sorry, but what I said earlier was the truth. He has a rather explosive temper. If I had tried to forcibly stop him, it might have completely backfired."

Seeing Fu Qian go quiet, Yuan Shan mistakenly thought he was angry and offered an earnest explanation.

She genuinely felt a bit embarrassed about the whole ordeal, especially since Fu Qian had been extremely cooperative with her on so many fronts recently.

"It's fine."

Fu Qian didn't take it to heart at all.

"What I said earlier was the truth, too."

(End of Chapter)

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