Chapter 190: Armor Fusion!
"Before midnight, I'm going into closed-door cultivation for a bit. You two go do your own thing."
Xiang Xiaoyuan blinked her big eyes at Chen Huaiâan, who had two tissues stuffed up his nose.
"Governor, you've lost quite a lot of blood... Are you really okay?"
She glanced at the backseat of the car. Blood was everywhereâon the seat, on the floorâeasily over a thousand milliliters.
Then, she took another look at Chen Huaiâanâs pants.
Hmm...
Menstrual bleeding could be ruled out.
It wasnât that she had a weird imaginationâit was just that some sinister entities had completely absurd abilities. They had encountered one before that could make men pregnant with ghost infants, so a male-period-inducing entity wasnât entirely out of the question.
"I'm fine. The air is dry, nosebleeds are normal."
Chen Huaiâan got out of the car and went inside.
Zhao Ying and Xiang Xiaoyuan exchanged glances, then silently looked up at the drizzling sky.
...
Chen Huaiâan spent an hour fully refining the energy he had absorbed from the sinister entity.
"The first volume of the Heavenly Demon TechniqueâBlood Cocoon Refinementâis complete."
He clenched his fist, his skin now covered in blood-red scales. As he flexed his fingers, the tightly adhering scales twisted slightly, almost like living things.
Looking in the mirror, he saw his entire right arm swollen and armored with scales, his veins bulging like writhing purple dragons under the lamplight.
"This look is
way
too demonic..."
Chen Huaiâan frowned.
And this was just his
arm.
If this spread across his whole body, wouldnât he look like a full-blown demon?!
Sure, he hadnât met a Demon Slayer stronger than himself yet...
But the world was vastâthere were always stronger people, just as there were mountains beyond mountains and lightning beyond lightning!
What if some particularly powerful guy saw him and thought he was a demonic cultivator or a sinister entity?
He needed a
heroic
and
righteous
battle cry to counterbalance his
evil
appearance.
One second of high-intensity brainpower later, he had an answer.
"Xiang Xiaoyuan, Zhao Ying, come in for a moment."
The two women entered, confused.
Without hesitation, Chen Huaiâan activated his full power.
In an instant, blood-red scales enveloped his entire body, and his frame swelled to nearly twice its original size. He no longer looked remotely humanâhe resembled a bipedal monster.
Xiang Xiaoyuan turned pale as a sheet, teeth chattering.
Zhao Ying instinctively took a step back, gripping the Tang blade at her waist with a grim expression.
She had
felt
that something was off about Chen Huaiâan ever since he came back from the ruins.
And the amount of blood he had lost in the car...
Even a Demon Slayer shouldnât be perfectly fine after losing that much.
Now...
Was he finally revealing his true nature?!
Zhao Ying clenched her jaw.
Damn it.
Trouble always came at the worst times.
Just as the two women entered full battle modeâ
Chen Huaiâanâs mouth split into a sinister grin, revealing sharp fangs.
Then, with a voice as deep as a thousand truck engines revving at once, he bellowedâ
"BLOOD DEMON ARMORâFUUUUUSION!!!"
Xiang Xiaoyuan: "???"
Zhao Ying: "..."
...
Outside the room, Zhao Ying and Xiang Xiaoyuan both let out a deep sigh of relief.
"For a second, I really thought the Governor had been possessed by some sinister entity..."
Xiang Xiaoyuan patted her chest, still shaken.
"Who
wouldnât
think that?" Zhao Ying muttered.
She took out her stun baton and zapped herself, hoping the mild pain would help her nerves settle.
"If heâd waited
one more second
before shouting that ridiculous phrase, I
swear
I wouldâve swung my blade at him... Not that it wouldâve done much."
"The Governorâs new ability seems incredibly powerful. It must be from his companion spirit. The real question isâwhatâs the cost?"
Xiang Xiaoyuan glanced into the room.
Chen Huaiâan was in there, hunched over his phone, occasionally letting out a
weird
little chuckle.
She bit her lip.
The glass divider was fogged up, but from the outside, she could vaguely see what was happening inside.
The Governor had claimed he was in
closed-door cultivation.
But that
laugh
had nothing to do with cultivation.
That was the laugh of a man who had been... starved... and had
finally
found the right website.
Zhao Ying was about to reassure Xiang Xiaoyuanâ
When suddenlyâ
Two jets of blood sprayed from Chen Huaiâanâs nose.
The blood splattered onto the ceiling.
Meanwhile, inside, he was sitting cross-legged, seemingly deep in meditation.
"...So
this
is the price of power."
Drip, drip.
Blood trickled down from the ceiling.
Even though the view was hazy, the sheer
danger
of it was palpable.
One must always pay the price for what they gain.
Zhao Ying finally understood.
The Governor, who normally seemed carefree and unserious, had always been fighting against demons and sinister entities in his
own
way.
He was trading his
lifespan
for
strength.
Those blood sprays from his nose were the proof.
Zzzt!
Chen Huaiâan picked up his phone, glanced at itâ
And immediately, another two blood jets erupted.
This time, there was no doubt.
Looking at his phone = drawing power from his companion spirit.
The nosebleeds = the price he had to pay.
Xiang Xiaoyuan couldnât hold back her emotions any longer.
Wiping away tears, she sniffled, "The Governor is
too
dedicated, too selfless... And to think I
doubted
him before! He must be the one suffering the most over Bearded Guyâs death!"
Zhao Ying lowered her head in silence, then let out a long sigh.
"The Governor... We should treat him better from now on. Even if he doesnât have long left, heâs still
our
provincial Governor. Even if headquarters wonât acknowledge him,
I
will!"
Originally, their support for Chen Huaiâan had been more out of necessity than choice.
But nowâ
Both Zhao Ying and Xiang Xiaoyuan had
fully
accepted him as their Governor.
Meanwhile, inside the room, Chen Huaiâan was
completely
unaware of the deep emotional bond he had unintentionally formed with them.
He was too busy nosebleeding all over the place while watching a
martial arts demonstration video
featuring Li Qingran.
"Holy sh*t... This is
too
damn good!"
He had
known
Li Qingran had a great figure.
But this time, he had seen it in full detail, and his suspicions were
confirmed.
If he had to describe it in the most scientifically precise way possibleâ
The curvature ratio of her waist to hips had shattered the limits of the Cartesian coordinate system. The Riemann manifold, when visually observed, was causing a gravitational lensing effect!
He had
wanted
to find a beautiful mathematical equation to encapsulate her divine proportions.
But in the end, he realizedâ
No mathematical formula could ever do justice to Qingran Baby.
...
Jinde Ancient TownâBone Porcelain Ruins.
Lin Chen and Huang Gubei had been waiting for some time.
As the clock hands aligned perfectly at midnightâ
A pair of blinding headlights cut through the darkness, making them squint.
From the light, a tall figure emerged.
His stride was arrogant, exuding a
main character aura.
Even his two subordinates behind him were walking with exaggerated swagger.
As he drew closer, Lin Chen finally saw him clearly.
It was Chen Huaiâan... with two tissues stuffed in his nostrils.
"Youâre here. But your nose..."
"Women, donât ask."
Chen Huaiâan raised a single finger, his eyes deep and brooding. A cold smirk curled at his lips.
"This is the price of gaining immense power. Just a little lifespan, just becoming a monster that all fear.
As the saying goesâI walk not into the Great Thunderâ
cough
âI walk into Hell so that others donât have to.
After tonight...
Hell will be
empty.
Only I, Chen. Huai. An, will remain."
Lin Chen stared at him like he was a complete dumbass.
But before she could speakâ
Chen Huaiâan formed a hand seal.
He visualized Li Qingranâs technique in his mindâ
He saw the white mathematical formulas...
The perfect geometric curves...
His eyes narrowed, and the tissues in his nose instantly turned red.
"Hidden in darkness? So what...
Tonight, I will leave you nowhere to run!
Dragon-Seeking Guidance!!!"
A golden light shot into the skyâ
Transforming into a dragon, diving straight into the Bone Porcelain Ruins.
...
...