Shackles of Humanity

The fighter jet was moving at incredible speed. The sounds of cannon fire and roaring jet engines ahead assaulted his eardrums, mixed with a faint, low-frequency Sound Wave.

Under the bright moonlight and the flames of exploding shells, the Insect Mother’s figure came into view. It resembled a bloated airship, drifting slowly forward. Its enormous body was still pale and tender, but the swarm of insects guarding it had thinned out. Only three giant insects remained, circling it and emitting piercing screeches as layers of sound waves spread outward.

A dozen or so fighter jets circled it from a distance, firing rockets. They didn’t dare get close. While the giant insects had incredible instantaneous speed when leaping from the ground, their flight speed was average and couldn’t compare to the jets.

However, as soon as the jets got near, they were assaulted by an invisible Sound Wave. Most of the pilots were ordinary people and couldn’t withstand the impact of the infrasound. Even while shooting from afar, several jets were flying erratically, their pilots clearly still affected by the sound waves.

It was unclear what formed the pale red Insect Pupa covering the Insect Mother’s body. It looked like just a thin, semi-transparent layer, but its Defense was astonishing. Rockets only created ripples across its surface upon impact, showing no signs of shattering.

Luo Kai took control of the rear-mounted cannon and aimed at the Insect Mother. RAT-A-TAT-TAT! A blinding muzzle flash erupted. The thumb-sized bullets struck the pale red Insect Pupa, creating ripples like a Water Drop falling into the ocean—barely making a splash.

"Brother Luo, what do we do?"

"Get closer," Luo Kai said coldly. He then punched through the cockpit’s canopy, stood up, and slowly drew the Severing Blade from his back.

The oncoming wind stung his face. Yan Fei asked in astonishment, "Brother Luo, what are you doing?"

"I’m going to see if I can break the Insect Mother’s shield."

"But how will you get back?"

Luo Kai glanced at him. "Aren’t you a great pilot? Just catch me."

"Huh?!" Yan Fei was dumbfounded.

Since Luo Kai spoke with such confidence, he was clearly sure of himself. After consuming the Cyan Dragon Brain Marrow, his physical condition had grown explosively. It felt as if he had limitless Energy to draw upon from within his body. This increase in strength gave him immense confidence. Besides, with his current physical fortitude, he wouldn’t die even if he fell from a great height.

A look of reverence filled Yan Fei’s face, and he had no choice but to comply. As they gradually approached the Insect Mother, one of the giant insects screeched and charged toward them.

Luo Kai took a deep breath and leaped from the fighter jet. He threw a spherical object that transformed into a thin black thread, wrapping tightly around the approaching giant insect’s hind leg. With a powerful tug, he launched himself through the air toward it.

In that moment, his mind was clearer than ever before. Everything around him seemed to slow down, frame by frame. His eyes saw nothing but the giant insect. The Severing Blade in his hand became a silver thunderbolt, striking with unstoppable momentum. A rain of blood fell from the sky as the giant insect was split in two, its mangled corpse falling to the ground.

Stepping on one half of the corpse, Luo Kai threw the metal sphere again. It wrapped around another giant insect’s hind leg. The light from his blade flashed like a bolt of silver silk. It looked as if another giant insect was about to be slain.

Just then, the white, maggot-like Insect Mother let out a sharp CHIRP. Right as the blade’s light was about to strike, the air rippled. It seemed a powerful force was twisting the void, and his slash inexplicably appeared to the giant insect’s right side, missing its mark completely.

Luo Kai’s expression turned grave. ’Just now, it felt like a powerful Spiritual Will interfered with my spatial awareness.’ He couldn’t tell if he was being disrupted or if it was an illusion. He pulled on the black thread, propelling himself upward, and slashed again. Just like before, as the Sword Aura was about to hit, his mind was plunged into a brief moment of Chaos. When he came to his senses, the attack had been diverted elsewhere.

The Insect Mother seemed to possess a powerful Ability that could teleport things around it. ’Has it mastered the most ethereal of the six types of Energy—Spatial Ability?’

The situation grew dangerous. Luo Kai felt himself sometimes on the Insect Mother’s left, and other times on its right. His sense of space was in disarray, and even his consciousness became hazy. A powerful Spiritual Power was interfering with his mind.

The giant insect he had ensnared screeched in anger, even trying to bite the black thread on its hind leg with its mandibles. But the black thread was made from the body of an otherworldly lifeform and was incredibly tough; the giant insect couldn’t do anything to it. Its compound eyes turned blood-red with rage. It actually bit down on its own hind leg. SNAP! The leg was severed, and Luo Kai immediately plummeted like a kite with a broken string.

Yan Fei’s piloting skills were truly no joke. At the critical moment, he dove down and actually managed to catch Luo Kai. The fighter jet staggered from Luo Kai’s impact and flew on unsteadily.

Luo Kai shook his head, grabbed a piece of the wing, and stood up again. As he looked up at the Insect Mother, his eyes turned completely blood-red. He pushed his Qi and Blood Circulation to its peak and continued to force it higher, soon breaking past the limit.

The immense Energy from burning his qi and blood felt like it would make him explode. His muscles bulged rapidly, and his body began to expand. In an instant, he had nearly doubled in size, becoming a four-meter-tall giant. A fierce battle lust ignited the Evil Energy in his chest. He took his Severing Blade and slashed it across his palm. A line of black blood spurted out, and the Severing Blade, now stained with black blood, erupted in a blazing Black Flame.

For a moment, Yan Fei completely forgot to fly the plane. He stared dumbly at the giant on the fuselage behind him. The giant’s ink-black eyes held no emotion, as aloof as a Divine Being looking down upon the mortal world. The Curved Long Saber, burning with Black Flame, radiated a bone-chilling cold that filled his heart with an indescribable sense of desolation, as if the end of all things was at hand.

「 ... 」

Luo Kai leaped up. The jump was over ten meters high and as fast as Thunder, with the very air seeming to part for him. He once again threw the metal sphere in his hand. Under his will, the sphere thinned into a long black thread, wrapping tightly around a giant insect. With a powerful pull, the tyrannical Power he unleashed tore the giant insect to shreds.

Using the momentum, Luo Kai shot straight toward the Insect Mother. He raised the Black Flame-wreathed Severing Blade and slashed down through the Void. This strike not only contained all the Power his body could muster but was also infused with his Spiritual Power. His formidable Spiritual Power infinitely amplified the might of the blade’s light, creating a long, massive Sword Aura in the Void.

Spiritual Power is an omnipotent force. It ignores all physical laws. When one’s will is firm enough, it can even overcome the barriers of Space.

With a roar like furious Thunder, the pale red Insect Pupa in front of the Insect Mother was sliced open by the Sword Aura. The burning Sword Aura, wreathed in black fire, struck its abdomen. The all-corroding Black Flame immediately spread across its body. The Insect Mother let out a series of shrill, miserable screeches. No longer able to float, it plummeted downward.

The last remaining giant insect extended its hind legs to try and catch the Insect Mother, but it too was ignited by the black Evil Flame burning on its mother’s body. In moments, it was corroded into ash.

That one slash had almost completely drained Luo Kai’s Power. His expanded body rapidly shrank, and his vision went black as he swayed and fell.

Yan Fei was the very picture of diligence. He hadn’t forgotten Luo Kai’s instructions for a second. With the plane damaged by Luo Kai’s landing, he had to abandon it. Drawing his Cicada-Wing Sabers, he rapidly flapped them through the air, flying toward Luo Kai. His Sword Skill came from the Body Technique Sacred Land, Shangjing University, and was quite unique. By using his two Cicada-Wing Sabers, he could briefly levitate.

By the time the Insect Mother hit the ground, its entire body was already engulfed in Black Flame, and it was quickly corroded into nothingness.

The Insect Mother’s strength came from its ability to distort the Void and the reproductive power of its kind. Once it lost the protection of its swarm and the Insect Pupa, it was truly no different from a big maggot, with no ability to resist.

Two figures hit the ground at the same time, carving out a large crater. Yan Fei had willingly acted as a cushion, absorbing most of the force. With his physical constitution, he wouldn’t be too seriously injured—it was just some superficial pain.

Luo Kai wearily got to his feet and patted his shoulder. "Good job."

Yan Fei struggled to his feet and said, flattered, "Brother Luo, you’re the one who did a good job!"

Luo Kai smiled and looked up at the sky. A pale red membrane was slowly drifting down—it was the Insect Mother’s Insect Pupa. He caught it out of curiosity. It felt like holding a ball of air, completely weightless and unaffected by force. ’This must be an incredible treasure.’ He balled it up and casually stuffed it into his pocket.