Chapter 109: Monster

"Hah, hah, hah..." Lu Zhe raised his head, breathing heavily. Suddenly, a bright red, paste-like liquid spewed from his mouth, immediately spreading across his face like a facial mask.

"Wh-what is happening?" the man muttered in confusion as he watched the red liquid emerge from Lu Zhe.

After completely covering Lu Zhe’s face, the crimson paste began to bubble, as if it were boiling water.

After bubbling for a moment, the liquid settled into a smooth, featureless surface. Then, right at the center of Lu Zhe’s crown, the red substance began to bulge. It extended upward, hardening into the shape of a sharp, singular horn.

As Lu Zhe’s head dropped, everyone present gasped in shock.

Lu Zhe was now wearing a mask. It was entirely red, accented with black patterns and stripes along the corners of his eyes and cheeks. The mask resembled the face of a lion, featuring a blade-like horn protruding from its forehead and a row of neat, razor-sharp teeth at the bottom. The mask looked not only menacing but also awe-inspiring, radiating an aura that instilled fear in all who looked upon it.

The onlookers were stunned once more.

"No way, a transformation?" The man who had been fighting Lu Zhe swallowed hard, his voice filled with helplessness.

"Ha... ha... ha... AHH!!!" Lu Zhe exhaled a few breaths before tilting his head back and widening his mouth. A deafening, resonant roar erupted from his throat.

This roar was incomparable to the one before. As the sound wave rippled outward, it created a visible ring of sonic pressure that expanded in every direction. In an instant, gravel flew and the entire cavern began to shake violently. Stones plummeted from the ceiling, making it feel as though the cave were about to collapse. Even the slow-moving magma below was stirred into violent, fountain-like eruptions by the sheer intensity of the sound.

"The sonic power has increased? Is it because of that mask?" The man covered his ears, whispering to himself as he watched Lu Zhe, who remained frozen in his upward-facing roar.

He could feel his own internal spiritual energy beginning to churn in chaos under the impact of the roar. He had to struggle to stabilize it, fearing the consequences if he failed.

"To cause such turmoil in my spiritual energy with mere sound alone... what kind of monster is he?" Once he had steadied his energy, the man watched Lu Zhe, who had now lowered his head, his expression darkening with deep apprehension.

***

"Whoosh."

While the man was still considering how to respond, Lu Zhe suddenly bolted toward him with incredible speed, crossing the distance in a heartbeat.

"He’s become faster?!" The man was momentarily stunned, startled by Lu Zhe's lightning-fast approach.

Despite his shock, he braced for combat. As Lu Zhe lunged at him, the man struck first, throwing a punch toward his opponent.

Lu Zhe ducked to avoid the blow and, with blinding speed, extended his right hand into a claw, swiping toward the man’s face.

"What?!" The man gasped, but it was too late to block. He could only watch helplessly as the crimson claw and its razor-sharp nails grew larger in his field of vision.

*Smack.*

Lu Zhe grabbed the man’s face, let out another roar, and with a flick of his wrist, hurled him toward the magma.

"What incredible strength! Just a simple toss, yet the resulting air pressure is so great that I can’t even steady myself!" This was the only thought in the man’s mind as he flew toward the molten rock at breakneck speed. The sheer wind pressure generated by his trajectory was strong enough to lift large boulders off the ground.

Glancing back at the encroaching magma, the man gritted his teeth. Suddenly, a pair of earthy-yellow wings, ten feet long and three feet wide, manifested from his back—his spiritual wings. With a violent surge of effort, he flared his wings and managed to halt his momentum in an instant.

Hovering in mid-air, the man clutched his chest, and a mouthful of blood erupted from his lips.

Wiping the blood away, he looked at Lu Zhe, who was dozens of yards away. *Such immense power,* he thought to himself. *If I hadn't used my spiritual wings to force a stop, I would have fallen straight into the magma. Even so, the strain of stopping so abruptly has left me with internal injuries. He’s a monster.*

Lu Zhe, far across the cavern, simply exhaled, making no further move.

***

Watching the motionless Lu Zhe, the man curled his lip in a cold sneer. "Hmph, no matter how great your strength, in your current state, you surely cannot manifest spiritual wings to fly."

Before the words had even left his lips, Lu Zhe, who had been looking up at him, lowered his head again and hunched his shoulders, seemingly doing nothing.

Just as the others began to wonder if Lu Zhe had given up, his back began to tremble. The movement was most violent around his shoulder blades, as if something were struggling to break free.

The trembling intensified until, suddenly, a pair of enormous wings erupted from Lu Zhe's shoulder blades. They were about ten feet long and three feet wide—similar in size to standard spiritual wings—but these were not made of spiritual energy. There were no fluctuations of power around them; these were real, physical wings.

"What?!!!" The collective gasp of the crowd was louder than ever before. This was, without a doubt, the greatest shock Lu Zhe had delivered yet. For a human to grow actual wings was beyond comprehension; it was likely the only such case in the entire Shenxia Continent.

"You’ve got to be kidding me. This is even possible?!" The man in the air was rendered speechless. He had no words left. The boy had provided too many shocks; the man now began to doubt whether this creature was even human.

"Hah, hah, hah." Lu Zhe flapped his wide wings, the resulting wind pressure whipping the dust on the ground into a frenzy. Then, he slowly ascended into the air.

Watching Lu Zhe rise, the man couldn't help but mutter:

"A terrifying monster."