Chapter Forty-Three: The Trump Card and the Price of Arrogance

Page 1 of 3

In the sky, fifteen small dots gradually emerged from the east, south, and west, five from each direction. Masao Gantada rested his right hand on the katana at his left hip, his eyes somehow already closed, his mind as calm as still water. Through the psychic link, he could clearly sense all fifteen fighter jets.

A powerful aura began to gather, sweeping away the dust around him. He bent his knees ever so slightly, and in the next instant, he appeared high in the sky. As the fighter jets closed in from every direction, surrounding him, he murmured softly, “Secret Art—Swallow Reversal.”

The long blade flashed from its sheath, swung, and resheathed. That was all Qi could see. But for the fifteen pilots inside their cockpits, that muscular man vanished from the ground in a blink and materialized midair. Before shock could even register, their fighter jets erupted into fifteen bursts of fireworks, leaving those who witnessed this scene on the ground utterly awestruck.

Qi exhaled slowly, recalling the stroke he had just witnessed in his mind. It was formidable—but not his full strength; he could be even stronger. After finishing the tea in his cup, a faint smile played at Qi’s lips, a trace of surprise flickering in his eyes. “Just as that lunatic said, they really are all professionals.”

In the dim heights ten kilometers above the earth, Qi casually tossed his empty teacup backward. Without a sound, the cup, after flying about three meters, split cleanly in two and, losing its momentum, plummeted toward the ground.

“To have made it here at all is worthy of praise. If it were Black Cat, she’d probably say as much, wouldn’t she?” The diamond platform beneath his feet spun one hundred and eighty degrees to face a certain spot among the clouds.

“No wonder you’re the final boss of this world. You’re only the second person ever to spot me before I launched an attack.” The voice drifted from the clouds, the figure still unseen.

“I’m curious—how did you realize I was up here, at such an altitude?” Though Qi’s words suggested curiosity, neither his expression nor his tone betrayed the slightest interest. Seeing that the other party had no intention to answer, he shrugged and continued, “Are you planning to face me alone, or have you already alerted your allies?”

“Let me first test your strength, to see if you’re worthy to face my lord.”

“In that case, I’ll just eliminate you before your reinforcements arrive.” Qi beat his wings, folding away the diamond platform. A transparent sphere floated leisurely toward him. Qi’s eyes flickered, and the Qidian moved to intercept the orb. At the moment of contact, the transparent sphere suddenly swelled at lightning speed, in the blink of an eye expanding into a vast, ten-meter-diameter globe.

Qi was now sealed inside the sphere. He merely watched silently as a radiant crystalline layer covered his body. He wanted to test his opponent’s attack methods, already having some idea in his mind; to know oneself and one’s enemy is the key to victory in a hundred battles. Such was his confidence in his own strength.

But no attack came—what arrived instead was a projectile as thick as an arm. Qi frowned with displeasure, thickening the diamond armor for greater defense. The Qidian met the projectile head-on, retreating in an attempt to break free of the sphere.

However, this was no ordinary attack. It was one of the trump cards specially prepared for bosses—one that ninjas would use as their opening strike, often yielding unexpectedly massive results. Qi, too, fell right into the trap. His knee struck heavily against the inside surface of the transparent orb, causing only a faint ripple before stillness returned. The projectile was detonated by the cautious ninja just before making contact with the Qidian, and a blinding white light instantly filled every corner of the sphere.

Page 2 of 3

The people on the ground suddenly felt as if dawn had broken; a second sun appeared in the sky above, only to gradually dim and go out after a few seconds, falling silent. High above, nothing much had changed. From within the transparent sphere, not even the faintest shockwave escaped, only dazzling light. This meant that Qi had absorbed the full force of the explosion within the sealed space, and the blast’s power was all the greater for it.

The ninja hiding in the clouds—Shadow Rat—was very pleased with his attack. That projectile was no ordinary missile, but a miniature nuclear warhead. In the sealed space, the radiation and heat generated by the explosion were compressed, making the blast several times more lethal. In the past, anyone caught in it—boss or not—unless they were exceptionally powerful or had some special attribute, would be severely wounded at best. Most elite fighters would be vaporized completely.

Consider that the core temperature of a nuclear explosion can reach tens of millions of degrees. Even though this was only a miniature warhead, it could still reach a million degrees Celsius. Any unprepared boss or expert would be vaporized in an instant.

Such a killing blow came at a heavy cost—half the profits gained from an entire world might have to be forfeited. Both the nuke and the transparent sphere that confined it were trump cards.

From explosion to gradual dissipation took a full five seconds, but Shadow Rat frowned. Normally it lasted at least fifteen seconds; only this time did something go awry. The Main God would never provide defective goods—there could be only one explanation: some trick by the enemy trapped inside.

So, not so easy to deal with after all?

Qi was truly frightened this time. If the Qidian hadn’t just devoured the newly exploded nuclear core at the heart of the blast, that million-degree heat would have vaporized both the diamond and himself in three seconds. Who knew if he could even recover from such a thing? Even if he did manage to miraculously regenerate, the drain on his spiritual energy would leave him unable to fight further.

He was grateful he had summoned the Qidian, which in five seconds managed to consume the nuclear core, so the radiation and heat never reached levels he couldn’t bear. Though he’d spent a good deal of spiritual energy, he still had considerable fighting capability left.

This lesson taught him two things: First, never underestimate any enemy. Consecutive victories and recent improvements had made him overconfident, believing he could withstand anything thrown at him—only to be slapped hard by reality, waking him up.

Second, when facing technological attacks in the future, he could simply have the Qidian take the brunt. Against mindless technological weaponry, the Qidian could swallow nearly anything. No wonder it was called a “divine artifact.” He wondered if it could devour space, time, the heavens, and the universe itself. He’d have to try it out sometime.

As the light faded, darkness reclaimed the sky. The gnawed crescent moon and the shining stars provided only the faintest illumination to the tense, ten-kilometer-high battlefield. Thanks to the clouds, even that light was so weak it barely outlined anything.

Within the transparent sphere, a human silhouette appeared in Shadow Rat’s line of sight. Though mentally prepared, he couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath, his gaze grave but not anxious. The sphere’s binding lasted twenty seconds—enough to contain the nuclear blast’s million-degree heat and radiation. Even if it was a one-use item, its value was self-evident.

Now, with ten seconds left, whether he chose to retreat or launch another attack, he had plenty of time. Besides, the nuclear blast had already drawn his lord’s attention; together, they could finish off the boss right here. That was Shadow Rat’s plan as he hid among the clouds.

Page 3 of 3

But karma always comes due. Qi had been caught off guard once, but he would return the favor. Glancing at the Qidian, which now displayed an increase of 250 plus another 250 energy points, he rolled his eyes. Putting it away, he found the temperature inside the sphere was still above a thousand degrees. He began to control his body, ramping up to five times his usual output, then opened his mouth and breathed out toward the transparent sphere just in front of him.

This was no ordinary breath—it was immortal breath, scientific breath, cold breath. He manipulated the molecular motion in that breath, reducing it to the utmost limit of his fivefold state, then expelled it. The temperature of that cold breath reached minus 111 degrees Celsius. Earlier, at two times his base state, Qi sensed the molecules dropped to zero degrees; at three times, minus thirty-seven; at four times, minus seventy-four. By that logic, at seven times his state, it would reach minus 185—approaching the temperature of liquid nitrogen.

If one day he could reach ten times, could he achieve the legendary absolute zero? Current science holds the lowest temperature in the universe at a little below minus two hundred seventy-three. He wondered if, at ten times, he could reach minus two hundred ninety-six. But such things were far off; for now, this scientific cold breath was a new idea of his—one he’d have to test further. But for now, his theory had proved correct.

After being scorched by heat of over a million degrees, the sphere was struck full-force by a blast of minus one hundred eleven degrees, and immediately cracked and shattered. Though he’d been trapped for barely more than ten seconds, Qi had experienced a brush with death and, in addition to lightning and fire, gained mastery of a new attribute: ice.

The sound of the shattering sphere startled Shadow Rat among the clouds. His expression, already grave, now darkened further. His lord was hurrying up from below; if he could just stall Qi a little longer, victory would be theirs.

“You truly are professional. This is my second time saying so. You’ve taught me a great deal, and so I’ll kill you directly—without letting you suffer.” Unlike Shadow Rat, Qi could see everything around him even in such dim light—including the scrawny, shifty little “mouse” hiding smugly in the clouds.

“You’re welcome to try. I’m no pushover,” Shadow Rat sneered, irritated by the other’s arrogance and contempt.

“Are you waiting for that man rushing up from below? Then I’ll finish this in three seconds. This isn’t arrogance—it’s the prelude to going all out.”

“Ninja Art: Thousand Needles.” Thousands upon thousands of senbon needles shot from the clouds, turning them into a beehive. Qi didn’t even bother to dodge. The needles struck the thin diamond armor encasing him, producing a soft metallic clatter, but at most gave him the faintest push before dropping harmlessly to earth.

“Though I’ve picked up quite a few ranged attacks lately, five years of hand-to-hand combat is still the style I’m most accustomed to and most enjoy.” As his words reached Shadow Rat’s ears, the latter suddenly felt a chill on his back, his hair standing on end. Instinctively, he flung the senbon behind him and lunged forward.

(Today I just realized that all the experts only get their “p” chapters after a hundred or so—I thought my chances were slim, but it turns out that’s good news. After fifty chapters, I’ll start saving up chapters to ask for recommendation votes. Not sure if it’ll work, but zero votes looks bad. Voting for myself is just too sad, so I’ll keep working hard!)

Page 3 of 3