Celestial Human Diagram

Behind his mask, the Iron Demon’s crimson eyes fixed on Chen Chuan. He gripped the two broken spear shafts, one in each hand, then appeared to perform some kind of internal-external breathing exercise.

In just a moment, fine wisps of red mist began to seep from his skin, and the smell of blood—or perhaps rust—clinging to him grew even stronger.

His aura swelled, and the pressure radiating from his Domain became even more intense than before.

Opposite him, Chen Chuan’s skin grew scorching hot as wisps of white steam rose from his body, swirling around him without dissipating.

At first, this white steam was merely heat and moisture, but now it was more. It was the mutated essence that steamed forth when his Mutated Organization was pushed to its limit.

However, this phenomenon wouldn’t occur without sufficient coverage from the Mutated Organization, a strong foundation, and a unique Breathing Technique.

The two men stood facing each other, one shrouded in white mist, the other in red, both vapors rising toward the sky.

After a brief standoff, their figures blurred and shot toward each other, followed immediately by the sharp clang of colliding weapons.

As their figures flashed and weaved, the white steam and red mist crashed into one another. Yet no matter how fierce the battle grew, the vapors refused to mix. They remained distinctly separate, churning for a moment before the swirling air scattered them, only for them to slam together again an instant later.

This time, however, the power Chen Chuan unleashed through his Furnace Breathing Method was clearly superior. The increase in his strength put him a distinct notch above his opponent. And while their speeds were still close, he was now, in fact, a fraction faster than the Iron Demon.

For two opponents who had been evenly matched, even such a slight improvement was enough to tip the scales.

The Iron Demon was clearly struggling to adapt. He was accustomed to overwhelming others with his strength or speed, yet now his opponent had turned the tables, suppressing him on both fronts.

His opponent’s superior strength, combined with the fear of having his spear shafts severed again, forced him to rely on technique to deflect every attack.

But even with his considerable skill, the impact from the Power had to be absorbed by his Mutated Organization. At the same time, he had to maintain intense focus. As a result, his Divine Constant and Essence Blood were being rapidly and continuously consumed.

After more than ten minutes of back-and-forth fighting, Chen Chuan could clearly sense that the Iron Demon was no longer as formidable as he had been at the start.

Although his opponent had used a technique similar to a Breathing Technique to boost his condition, the prolonged battle forced him to constantly repair his wounds and dredge up more power. The toll was immense. He seemed to have already passed his peak and was now in decline.

He, on the other hand, had his Second Self to absorb part of the damage, so his Essence Blood and Divine Constant were barely depleted. He was still maintaining the state granted by the Furnace Breathing Method.

With one fading as the other held strong, the result was obvious. While they had started on equal footing in offense and defense, the Iron Demon was gradually forced to attack less and defend more, and his counterattacks grew increasingly infrequent.

It wasn’t just a matter of his condition; his weapons also had a major impact. The two broken spear shafts might resemble dual weapons, but this was not a style he was familiar with, and many of his techniques failed to unleash their proper power.

A few more minutes passed. After the Iron Demon parried another of Chen Chuan’s strikes, he seemed unable to muster enough strength this time and failed to completely block the Sword Stance. The blade smoothly cut into his shoulder.

He let out a muffled grunt as the Mutated Organization on his shoulder rapidly condensed to block the blade’s edge. He then knocked the blade away with one Broken Spear and thrust at Chen Chuan with the other.

However, the blade moved with incredible speed. It turned and swept, batting aside the thrusting spear, then immediately followed up with a horizontal slash. The movements were linked with swift, fierce power, relying entirely on speed and strength to pressure his opponent.

The Iron Demon’s pupils contracted and he hastily retreated, but he felt a cold line trace across his torso. The gash on his shoulder had not yet fully healed, and now another deep, long wound had been carved across his chest and stomach.

But Chen Chuan didn’t let him go, continuing to press forward. The Iron Demon stumbled backward, blocking and parrying, but his body was constantly accumulating new wounds. Although the injuries were continuously repairing themselves, anyone could see that if this kept up, he had no chance of turning the tables.

He also seemed to realize something was wrong. His gaze sharpened, and a formidable power suddenly burst from his body, knocking the blade away with a CLANG, CLANG.

Before his opponent could charge, Chen Chuan chose to retreat. He was already familiar with this power burst; every time the man was about to unleash it, his Biological Domain would inevitably surge.

He held his blade, his eyes fixed on the Iron Demon. ’Whatever he is—man or something else—he’s a Fighter, and he has a Fighter’s basic instincts. He must know from our battle so far that he can’t threaten me unless he changes his approach. So if he has any tricks left up his sleeve, he’s about to use them now.’

’So, I’ll wait.’

After forcing him back, a dull thud sounded from within the Iron Demon’s chest. Its torso swelled violently and then contracted. Immediately after, a horrifying scene unfolded: from beneath its skin, slender fleshy buds and tentacular limbs sprouted, writhing as they spread outward.

Chen Chuan’s gaze tightened. He could recognize them; they had to be extensions of the Mutated Organization within his opponent’s body.

After these tentacular limbs extended, some of them wrapped around the surface of its torso and limbs. Others coalesced into several extremely tough-looking appendages, which grew out from one of its arms and trailed along the ground, forming a whip.

Another portion spread to one of the broken spearheads, seeming to wrap around and envelop it, and from within this mass, wisps of red mist also began to emerge.

Seeing this, Chen Chuan involuntarily recalled the entity that had once possessed Meng Huang. There were certain similarities between the two, but the feeling was different. That entity had been more spiritual in nature, while the one before him was more material.

But now, the Biological Domain it projected was no longer the stable, placid field from before.

It could still be called a stable barrier, perhaps, but now countless fissures had appeared on its surface. What seeped through those fissures was a sense of frenzy and ferocity, as if something was desperate to burst out from behind its restraints.

These two completely different auras appearing in the same Domain produced a strong sense of contradiction.

And...

The spot between Chen Chuan’s eyebrows twitched. In that instant, he thought he saw something writhing on the Iron Demon’s back, clinging to its body, but it was extremely blurry and faint.

At that moment, the Snow Monarch Blade in his hand began to tremble slightly. He glanced at it, seeing the blood line on the blade’s spine was so crimson it looked ready to drip. Faint, thin wisps of glowing mist were also drifting from the blade.

He looked forward again at the almost completely Mutated body. This time, he held nothing back. With a single thought, his Second Self instantly merged with him.

Although he still couldn’t reach his previous state of doubled power, it still boosted his strength by a small margin.

He swung the Long Blade in his hand, the motion naturally stirring a swirl of white mist. Then, he began to walk forward slowly.

The Iron Demon, in turn, brandished its Broken Spear and Whip Hand and started walking toward him.

Once they were close, the Iron Demon struck first. It lashed out with its Whip Hand. Chen Chuan glanced at the blur of the whip and took a step to the side as he advanced. The whip-limb hit the ground with a loud CRACK, blasting the soil apart. Then, with another flick, it continued to sweep toward him.

Chen Chuan pushed off his foot and dodged to the side. Unwilling to let him escape its attack range, the Iron Demon stomped its feet and pursued. The speed it displayed now seemed even slightly faster than Chen Chuan’s.

But just at that moment, Chen Chuan spun around, abruptly changing direction. The Iron Demon, which had been staring intently at him, tried to change direction as well. But for some unknown reason, it couldn’t quite adjust in time, its body lagging a beat behind.

A glint flashed in Chen Chuan’s eyes. He spun again, suddenly darting forward. He knocked aside the Broken Spear in its hand with one slash, then surged forward and slammed a fist into its torso, a muffled boom echoing from the point of impact.

The Iron Demon’s back involuntarily arched from the impact.

Having landed the blow, Chen Chuan did not continue his attack, but instead leaped back, quickly retreating.

In that very instant, the Whip Hand sliced through the air just beneath his feet. He could feel a skin-rending gale from the motion. The dust, sand, and gravel on the ground were pulverized, and the entire area in front of him was filled with a madly dancing cloud of sand from the strike. He could even hear a sonic boom; one could only imagine its power.

But no matter how great its power, a missed attack was useless. The moment his feet touched the ground, Chen Chuan lowered his center of gravity, paused for a fraction of a second, and then leaped forward. He crashed through the cloud of sand, his Long Blade instantly meeting the creature’s spear.

A formidable Power immediately transferred from the spear shaft, but he found that while the strength behind it was greater than before, the Power itself was not as solid. In fact, it felt somewhat scattered.

As a result, the Mutated Organization in his body dissipated it in an instant, with no need for his Second Self to take the burden. Simultaneously, he pushed outward with his blade, releasing a heavy surge of Power. The strike actually forced the Iron Demon to stumble back several steps.

He leaned in and attacked again with a horizontal slash. The blow cut into its ribs but was immediately blocked by dense muscle, preventing it from going too deep. Still, the force of the blow continued to push the Iron Demon backward.

After retreating for seven or eight steps, the Iron Demon planted its back foot, halting its retreat. Just as it was about to parry the blade and counterattack, Chen Chuan pulled back. When it came forward, he quickly shifted to its side and, following the momentum, brought his blade around to slice a gash in its skirt armor, from which blood instantly gushed.

The Iron Demon immediately turned to follow, but Chen Chuan thrust his Long Blade forward, pressing it against its shoulder. The thrust perfectly followed the path of its own force, causing its center of gravity to shift. The subsequent attack it had been preparing had almost no power behind it, and it was forced to pause and readjust once more.

And in that moment, the flash of the blade struck again. In an instant, it had slashed its chest and shoulder. The sinewy limbs wrapped around that area were severed, and the bone beneath cracked with a SNAP.

...

...