I Can Control Resources

Gao Neng couldn’t feel any warmth.

He had lost all physical sensation, but he could still perceive that when Gao Xiaomeng hugged him, her entire body seemed to be completely relaxed.

It was a trust that came from deep within her heart.

When he was little, he had felt the same way in Xu Zilan’s arms—completely relaxed, without a hint of guardedness.

Perhaps this was what they called a sense of security.

Gao Neng subconsciously placed a hand on Gao Xiaomeng’s waist, then pulled her tighter into his embrace. Although he couldn’t feel anything, at least it made him feel a little better.

Just then, Gao Xiaomeng lifted her head again.

"Brother, I lied to you!" Gao Xiaomeng’s voice rang in Gao Neng’s mind.

"Huh?" Gao Neng was taken aback.

"Actually, I was just going easy on you. With my true strength as the Xiaomeng Queen, you’re no match for me at all!" Gao Xiaomeng continued.

"Heh, I almost believed you." Would Gao Neng believe her?

’Like hell I’d believe that!’

’The stakes were so high, and she’d let me win?’

’Who is she trying to fool?’

’Besides, my last attack left a gash on her shoulder. How could she possibly have been letting me win in that situation?’

"Don’t you believe me? Then I’ll prove it to you now. Actually... I reached the high tiers two months ago. My true strength has always been Tier Seven Early Stage!"

"Tier Seven Early Stage?!"

"Mhm, and that was just a moment ago. Right now, I’m... Tier Seven Mid Stage!"

"Tier Seven Mid Stage? You’re lyi—"

WENG!

Before Gao Neng could finish speaking, he felt a powerful wave of energy surge wildly from Gao Xiaomeng’s body.

This was undeniably Tier Seven strength.

Most importantly, as the energy wave surged out, the sounds he heard and his sense of touch were restored in an instant.

"Gao Neng, I suppressed my strength earlier to fight you fairly at Tier Six. But don’t worry. From now on, you’re my one and only brother. I’ll never lie to you again!" Gao Xiaomeng’s voice rang out clearly.

Meanwhile, Gao Neng felt the dark ink begin to tremble.

It was a feeling of rage.

It was as if its prey had suddenly escaped its grasp, driving it into a frenzy. It even had the urge to obliterate its prey on the spot.

At that moment, immense pressure crushed Gao Neng’s body, causing excruciating pain.

His skin began to split open.

The cracks ran from his skin to his muscle, and traces of fresh blood began to well up.

"How dare you!" Just then, Gao Xiaomeng let out a sharp cry. Then, her once ink-black eyes suddenly turned a silvery-white.

It wasn’t just her eyes. Her skin also turned entirely silvery-white.

Droplets of silver liquid seeped out from her body, gradually forming a liquid silver layer over her skin.

Gao Neng’s eyes went wide.

Because he recognized the silver liquid.

It was the very same liquid life form he had seen emerge from a magnetic pile back in the Forgotten Land. And he remembered that Gao Xiaomeng had eaten it.

Now, that liquid life form had appeared before him once more.

The implication was self-evident.

But that wasn’t what mattered most. What mattered most was that when Gao Xiaomeng’s body was covered in the silver liquid, the black ink actually began to visibly shudder.

’It was fear!’

’What’s going on?’

’A Strongest-level life form was actually afraid of Gao Xiaomeng?’

Gao Neng was dumbfounded.

But the black ink’s fear vanished almost instantly, replaced by a frenzied rage. It began to attack Gao Xiaomeng.

The ink abandoned Gao Neng.

Its entire mass surged toward Gao Xiaomeng and began to devour the layer of silver liquid covering her.

"AHHH!!!" Gao Xiaomeng let out a pained scream.

’Damn, a Strongest-level is a Strongest-level, after all!’ Gao Neng instantly understood. ’Gao Xiaomeng’s ’species’ might truly be superior to the ink’s.’

’But Gao Xiaomeng’s raw power is just too weak.’

’Even if she has some kind of innate authority, the ink would never submit in the face of such a huge power gap. In fact, it would only incite its will to kill.’

’It was just like with the Dark Ghost Vine.’

’After the Dark Ghost Vine devoured her, it evolved immediately.’

’This mass of ink must have the same idea now. It wants to devour Gao Xiaomeng and evolve into something new.’

’If this thing is allowed to finish evolving...’

’The consequences would be terrifying!’

Gao Neng clenched his fists. At a time like this, he couldn’t care about anything else. He could only take advantage of the moment the ink was focused on devouring Gao Xiaomeng and attack with all his might.

"Thunder God Domain!"

"Triple Slash!"

"Laser Saber!"

"Thermal Release!"

"Laser Wave!"

"..."

Gao Neng unleashed a frenzied assault on the ink.

He used every ability he could think of. By the end, he even started trying to drink the ink in desperation.

But none of it seemed to have much of an effect.

It had some effect.

At least the ink let out an enraged howl when attacked. But killing it seemed fundamentally impossible.

Meanwhile, Gao Xiaomeng was struggling for her life.

The black ink had already completely enveloped both of her legs, and the silver liquid there had vanished entirely.

"AHHH!!! Ignorant fool, you forced my hand!" Gao Xiaomeng seemed truly panicked, because the blackness was curling up towards her waist.

The ink hissed in response.

"Get down here for your Queen!" Gao Xiaomeng suddenly pointed a finger at the sky.

Gao Neng subconsciously looked up.

It seemed...

...there was nothing there?

...

Just when Gao Neng thought nothing was happening, the Dragon List Geniuses and adventuring teams above the Demon Abyss were already dumbfounded.

What were they seeing?

A floating Magnetic Mountain was suddenly plummeting.

And it was falling straight into the Demon Abyss.

"Something huge is happening!"

"The Magnetic Mountain is falling!"

"..."

The Dragon List Geniuses and adventuring teams were aghast.

Sword Elder was also startled.

In front of him, a Golden Tree Heart was cowering and trembling in a corner. His hand was just an inch away from grabbing it.

But at that very moment, a Magnetic Mountain came crashing down into the Demon Abyss.

Moreover, ore was breaking off from it at a terrifying rate. The inverted Magnetic Mountain was starting to look like an inverted cone.

"What’s happening?!" Sword Elder stared, dumbfounded.

But the Magnetic Mountain was already upon them.

It was about to crash right on top of him, Yutian, and the others.

"Run!" Yutian and the others knew how hard the Magnetic Mountain was. If that thing really smashed on their heads, they wouldn’t die, but injuries were unavoidable.

"Break!" Of course, Sword Elder wouldn’t run. He was one of the Strongest, and the dignity of a Strongest wouldn’t allow him to flee in front of others.

So, he drew his sword without hesitation.

A single sword strike.

A dazzling golden light erupted.

The massive Magnetic Mountain was instantly split in two by the single slash.

Yutian and the others stared, stunned for a moment, before erupting into cheers. "Sword Elder is magnificent!" "So powerful!" "His Sword Qi is unmatched!"

As for their praise...

Sword Elder merely tilted his head up slightly, waved a hand at Yutian and the others, and casually wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.

’Such is a Strongest.’

’This is how imperious they ought to be!’

After wiping the blood from his mouth, Sword Elder’s gaze sharpened once more. He stared intently at the two halves of the Magnetic Mountain, which were still plummeting downwards.

"Something’s happened!" ’I don’t know what, but Li Tiannan and Gao Neng should still be down there.’

’Was this Li Tiannan’s doing?’

’Does he have that kind of power?’

’But if not him, then who?’

As he was wondering, he spotted a faint golden gleam on the two halves of the Magnetic Mountain.

"!!!" Sword Elder whipped his head around to look at the corner. As he’d suspected, the Golden Tree Heart was gone. If he wasn’t mistaken, that golden gleam was the Golden Tree Heart.

He didn’t hesitate for another moment.

Sword Elder dove down after it.

"Damn it, the Golden Tree Heart escaped!"

"Quick, get the Golden Tree Heart back!"

"After it!"

Yutian and the others immediately followed suit.

...

After countless hardships, Li Tiannan finally neared the twenty-thousand-meter mark. He was less than a thousand meters away now, and he could even hear sounds coming from up ahead.

’Gao Neng isn’t dead!’ Li Tiannan was certain. There were definitely sounds coming from ahead, and he could even see the faint flashing of lightning.

’It has to be Gao Neng!’

Li Tiannan was both shocked and overjoyed.

’He was overjoyed that Gao Neng was really at the twenty-thousand-meter mark, and still alive! He was also shocked that Gao Neng was really at the twenty-thousand-meter mark, and still alive!’

’Is he just incredibly lucky... or just too stubborn to die?!’

SWISH!

Li Tiannan shot downwards.

Soon, he saw Gao Neng, along with an unfamiliar girl with short, silver hair.

Gao Neng was frantically hacking at a mass of something that looked like ink, fighting like a madman. His saber was covered in a layer of light.

’It looked a bit like... a laser?!’

The lower half of the unfamiliar silver-haired girl was enveloped by the ink, and she seemed to be in pain. Her upper body, meanwhile, was coated in a silvery-white liquid.

’What a powerful aura! That mass of ink... it’s at the Strongest level! And the short-haired girl... is she human? No, besides Gao Neng, there aren’t any other humans here.’ Li Tiannan froze. Just as he was about to speak, he felt a rushing wind at his back.

He whipped his head around.

He was dumbfounded.

What was he seeing?

A Magnetic Mountain, cleaved in two, was falling right toward his head.

’Can you believe it?’