Human Clan Defender

Metamorphosis!

An extreme metamorphosis!

Shen Changqing's eyes were tightly closed. As a golden light radiated from his body, the blood vessels beneath his skin became clearly visible.

Those blood vessels pulsated up and down like horned dragons, emitting strong vibrations.

BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM!

His Qi and Blood Force roared, as if Fierce Beasts were howling.

That mighty Qi and Blood Force seemed like it could burst through the confines of his Flesh at any moment.

However, as the golden light shone from his Flesh, no matter how the Qi and Blood Force surged, it could not break its confinement. All the rampaging Qi and Blood Force eventually returned to its original path.

His heart beat violently, the sound of its throbbing like a large drum being struck forcefully. It was uncertain how long had passed. While his heart beat intensely, a drop of golden blood flowed from it.

At that moment, the roaring sound intensified. A rich, crimson light overflowed from Shen Changqing's body, filling the entire room.

After the first drop of golden blood appeared, more golden blood soon followed.

One drop.

Two drops.

Three drops.

...

More and more golden blood appeared, the original blood slowly being replaced.

Meanwhile, the aura emanating from Shen Changqing became increasingly terrifying.

Time gently slipped away. When all the blood in his body had transformed into gold, he abruptly opened his eyes. A dazzling golden light shot out from them, instantly sweeping through everything in the room.

Gradually, the golden light receded, and the crimson light vanished. All the extraordinary phenomena completely dissipated into nothingness.

Immediately thereafter, Shen Changqing looked at his panel.

Name: Shen Changqing

Force: Great Qin's Demon Suppression Division

Identity: Earth Rank Demon Hunter

True Intent: Hundred Battles True Intent (20%)

Martial Arts: Great Sun Golden Body (25th layer, upgradable), Great Sun Scripture (17th layer, upgradable), Chiyang Divine Palm (2nd layer), Seven Stars Stepping on Air Step (1st layer)

Slaughter Value: 63

Just as he had expected, during the metamorphosis from the 24th to the 25th layer, the Slaughter Value cost had doubled, from thirty to sixty points.

After spending two hundred and seventy points of Slaughter Value, the Great Sun Golden Body martial art officially entered the Perfection stage.

Outer Techniques perfected.

This signified that his Realm had successfully entered the Great Sun Furnace stage.

Great Sun Furnace!

Shen Changqing felt the power within his body. Golden blood flowed like molten lava, and his body felt like a giant furnace, holding an awe-inspiring potential.

At this moment, he truly understood where the name 'Great Sun Furnace' came from.

Compared to the Great Sun Furnace, the first Physical System, the Tiger Leopard Thunderous Roar, couldn't compare at all.

Shen Changqing felt that after his Qi and Blood Force had metamorphosed to gold, the power contained within was many times stronger than before.

He extended his right index finger. Concentrating on it, with a thought, a small cut silently appeared on his finger, and a drop of golden blood, radiating immense power, began to fall.

As the blood drop fell, the bluestone tiles on the floor shattered instantly.

A slightly deep hole appeared there.

An intense, pure, and yang aura emanated from it, not easily dispersing.

This strike is no weaker than a Pulse Condensation Warrior!

Shen Changqing had a faint smile on his face.

Before breaking through to the Great Sun Furnace, the power of a single drop of his blood was roughly equivalent to the Body Tempering Realm.

But now, with his blood completely transformed, just a single drop was comparable to a Martial Artist in the Pulse Condensation Realm.

Although it was only comparable to the early or mid-stage of Pulse Condensation, it was still extremely terrifying.

After all, a person's body can hold a vast amount of blood.

With a single drop of blood comparable to a Pulse Condensation Warrior, the power now contained in Shen Changqing's body was immense.

And moreover—

I have just barely stepped into the Great Sun Furnace Realm and have not yet reached its peak. If I truly reach the peak of this level, my strength will be even greater. By then, even if I can't suppress an Innate with a single drop of blood, suppressing a late-stage Pulse Condensation expert will probably not be an issue.

In that case, the gap between those also in the Great Sun Furnace Realm could be quite significant!

Shen Changqing's gaze flickered.

Without reaching this Realm, one can never truly understand its power and the disparities within it.

Before breaking through, I always thought that among those in the Great Sun Furnace Realm, the differences shouldn't be too great.

But now, I know. Even within the Great Sun Furnace, the disparity is not small at all.

Let's make a simple analogy.

An early-stage Pulse Condensation practitioner and a late-stage Pulse Condensation practitioner have a significant gap in strength, but it can still be bridged through certain means.

But if you compare ten thousand early-stage Pulse Condensation practitioners to ten thousand late-stage Pulse Condensation practitioners, that gap becomes irreparable.

Not to mention, the Grandmaster Flesh contains far more than a mere ten thousand drops of blood.

It was not until he truly advanced to the second stage of the Physical System that he understood how potent this Realm truly was.

Other Grandmasters, when compared to the second stage of the Physical System, simply couldn't hold a candle.

And this was just the beginning of stepping into the second stage of the Physical System, not yet its true zenith.

Within the Demon-Subduing Division, I wonder if there are any true pinnacle Grandmasters—those capable of confronting Demon Evils. Does 'capable of confronting Demon Evils' refer to someone like me, who has just entered the second stage, or to those at the peak of the second stage?

Shen Changqing's expression grew grave.

If just breaking into the second stage was enough to contend with Demon Evils, then that would be manageable.

But if it took a Grandmaster at the peak of the second stage to contend with a Demon Evil, then Demon Evils are truly formidable.

The greatest advantage of Demon Evils lies in their Demon Blood and Demon Essence. True Qi at its current stage cannot compare. I wonder if my blood now can withstand Demon Blood. If not, how large is the disparity?

His mind was flooded with myriad thoughts.

From the moment one steps into the Physical System, a Martial Artist's Qi and Blood Force begins a transformation, which only truly completes upon entering the second stage.

Therefore, a Grandmaster at this stage can suppress a Pulse Condensation Warrior with merely a single drop of blood.

This is the strength of the Qi and Blood Force after transformation.

However, Shen Changqing was uncertain whether Demon Blood might be even more powerful than the Qi and Blood Force of the Great Sun Furnace Realm.

If so, then the power of Demon Evils is even more terrifying than I had imagined.

Then, Shen Changqing looked at his panel, where some Slaughter Value remained.

Sixty-three points of Slaughter Value. The Great Sun Golden Body could advance by one level, but this amount could raise the Great Sun Scripture by a full four levels.

With my current Qi and Blood Force, balancing the consumption of the Great Sun Scripture shouldn't be a problem, Shen Changqing assessed, feeling the surging Qi and Blood Force within him.

After the transformation, his Qi and Blood Force was several times stronger than before.

This was a very potent transformation.

Instantly, Shen Changqing set his mind in motion and began a new round of enhancement.

Fifteen points of Slaughter Value were consumed, and the Great Sun Scripture broke through to the eighteenth layer.

A powerful Suction Power rose from his Dantian, sweeping away Qi and Blood Force, which then converted into True Qi and poured into the Dantian.

This didn't last long. The Suction Power dissipated, and the True Qi in his Dantian became even more abundant.

The eighteenth layer of the Great Sun Scripture consumed roughly twenty percent of my Qi and Blood Force, Shen Changqing noted with a satisfied nod, as the consumption was within his predicted range.

Subsequently, he began another round of enhancement.

Nineteenth layer!

Twentieth layer!

...

Eventually, the Great Sun Scripture was elevated directly to the twenty-first layer. The True Qi in his Dantian became incredibly abundant, but his Flesh's Qi and Blood Force was somewhat depleted.

He took out Elixirs and swallowed them eagerly, almost without regard to the cost.

Only after consuming all the Elixirs meant to replenish Qi and Blood Force did he manage to barely compensate for some of the depletion.

Looking at the empty Elixir bottles on the ground, a wry smile crossed his face.

My Qi and Blood Force is indeed powerful, but its consumption and the requirements for recovery are also far greater than before. If I want to use Elixirs for replenishment in the future, the amount of Silver required will definitely not be small. That's a significant expenditure, he reflected.

Previously, even if Shen Changqing had tens of thousands of Silver Taels on him, it would have been impossible to sustain this level of consumption.

But now, he didn't have such worries.

A single fused Martial Arts technique could sell for tens or even hundreds of thousands of Silver Taels.

Converted into Elixirs, this amount of Silver would be enough to sustain his consumption for a very long time.

Feeling the abundant True Qi within his Dantian, Shen Changqing made a rough estimate of his own strength.

The further one progresses in the Great Sun Scripture, the greater the amplification. The True Qi increase from these four new layers is roughly comparable to the total increase from the first seventeen layers. While not an exorbitant doubling, it's at least a sixty to seventy percent improvement.

If it weren't for the breakthrough in my Physical System, my Dantian wouldn't have been capable of holding so much True Qi.

Twenty-fifth layer of the Great Sun Golden Body. Twenty-first layer of the Great Sun Scripture.

After this one session of closed-door cultivation, his overall strength had increased by more than just a simple doubling.

If an ordinary Fiend Level Strange Monster were in front of me now, Shen Changqing felt, I could probably kill it in just a few blows.

Of course, that only applies to an ordinary Fiend Level Strange Monster.

If faced with a powerful Fiend Level Strange Monster, although I wouldn't be afraid, whether I could suppress it easily is still debatable.

Withdrawing his mind from the panel, Shen Changqing suddenly had a thought and walked straight out of the room.

Darkness now enveloped the land. Although it was almost Dawn, no light shone through.

An overwhelming Yin Evil Aura was sweeping across the land outside the Capital City.

Confronting that Yin Evil Aura, a wave of Righteous Aura struggled to hold, like a candle flickering in the wind, seemingly on the brink of being extinguished at any moment.

This Yin Evil Aura is so strong!

With a light tap of his toes, Shen Changqing had already reached the rooftop.

The buildings of the Demon-Subduing Division were quite tall. Standing on the rooftop and looking ahead, combined with the astonishing eyesight of a Grandmaster, he could see battles raging in various parts of the city.

However, the scene outside the city remained obscured.

Even from those vibrations alone, I can imagine the kind of battle unfolding beyond the city walls.