The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 1055: Overtime

He looked cool from up close.

From afar, though, War Tiger was but a small dot against the night sky, raising a little gray-green stick and slashing at the spider’s head.

While the spider seemed clumsy, it moved with surprising speed. It lifted one leg to shield its head.

Sharp blade aura boomed. The Dragonslaying Giantsword cut into the tree-trunk-sized spider leg. The crimson hair and thick brown carcass split, revealing dark green muscle tissues. Viscous green blood gushed out, pouring down like rain.

Click, click—

The monstrous spider let out a series of pained cries. It seemed that physical attacks worked.

No one noticed that the spider’s happy face, cut by War Tiger, had become more lively. In that instant, all higher lifeforms in Shangqing District felt joy rising in their hearts—it was faint yet glaringly obvious.

Then Nine Frost, watching the fight, keenly sensed some of his energy stolen.

The ones fighting had been circulating their energy, making it difficult for them to notice.

“Spatial Dissection!”

Heavenly Dog used a powerful horizontal cut.

Two seconds later, an invisible blade cut across the night sky. Space itself distorted and became displaced before quickly recovering.

The spider’s two legs in the center splattered green blood from the splitting gash. It clicked and screamed in pain, the faces of fear and shock became more lifelike, too.

Again!

Nine Frost felt a slight fear, then surprise. Once more, he noticed a small amount of energy draining from his body.

He jerked up and looked at the spider. Indeed, its three legs were mending at a visible speed.

[Nine Frost: War Tiger, Heavenly Dog! Come back!]

...

Green Lotus Lake.

Qilin started when he caught the flash of a blade in the corner of his eye.

Qing Ling, avoiding the attack thanks to Gao Yang's push, rolled and sprang back toward Qilin. She launched a fierce slash in the same motion. Clang. Qilin quickly raised his right hand, transforming it partly into metal to block the blade aura.

Qing Ling had gotten into Qilin’s space. With a twist of her body, she made a radiant cut.

This time, Qilin turned wholly metal and blocked the slash, splintering the blade aura. The resulting sharp currents whipped at Qilin’s metalized body, clinking brightly.

Qing Ling’s eyes flashed purple. She drew upon her Lightning, about to make doubly effective attacks at Qilin’s metal body, but she realized with a start that her Lightning was gone.

Qilin had immediately deactivated Iron Skin and stolen Lightning after blocking her attack—he had guessed what Qing Ling was going to do next.

Without Iron Skin protecting him, Qing Ling’s Tang Dao cut deep enough into his arm to reach the bone, splattering blood everywhere. But Qilin didn’t care. He immediately used Lightning.

Ample currents crackled from Qilin’s arm and blood into the Black Gold Tang Dao, shooting into Qing Ling’s body.

“Ugh!”

If not for the Golden Armor protecting her and Limitless Evolution granting her great resistance at level 4, Qing Ling would’ve been killed by her own Talent.

Thankfully, the stolen Lightning only lasted three seconds. The Golden Armor on Qing Ling was already covered in cracks, a tap from shattering.

Qilin quickly released the stolen Talent and tapped into his energy to use Pestilence's poisonous wind to kill Qing Ling, but he realized to his shock that Pestilence was gone. No, his connection with Gregor, the living puppet, was severed.

It seemed that Gregor had been discovered, and the brand on his forehead destroyed—they found him too quickly. Was there anyone else with access to Sensory?

That caught Qilin off guard. If he had foreseen that, he would’ve stolen Pestilence with Lord of Puppets instead.

It was too late for him to steal it now. He had already wasted a second.

In that second, Lightning returned to Qing Ling, allowing her to overcome the brief paralysis and regain control over her body.

“Lightning!”

Qing Ling’s eyes glowed with purple light. Taking advantage of the great amount of lightning elements in her body, she retaliated in twofold!

Ten bolts of lightning as thick as a thigh shot at Qilin. He didn’t use Iron Skin; that would only double the damage he suffered. He lurched backward to avoid the attacks, but it was too late to get out of the lightning’s range.

Suddenly, he vanished.

He didn’t disappear, but shrank down to nail size—he had stolen Nainai’s Scale.

The lightning bolts missed the target.

Qing Ling didn’t have the time to wonder how Qilin seemed able to use every Talent in the world. She rushed over with her blade, now even faster. It was thanks to Limitless Evolution—she had permanently absorbed a small part of Qilin’s fundamental energy.

The lightning in Qing Ling’s body required recharging. She couldn’t use powerful lighting attacks in the short term.

She used level 6 God of Blades with level 4 Limitless Evolution to make a flurry of slashes, surging toward Qilin. Qilin was forced to use Iron Skin and swung his arms—one of them severed—to block her fierce attacks.

It didn't take long for Qilin to stagger and lose his footing. Not even a metal body could remain unscathed facing the blade aura of level 6 God of Blades. Besides, Gregor had been found. Wang Weiyan's discovery would surely follow. Once he lost Iron Skin, he would have even fewer options. Qilin parried the incoming attacks and dodged simultaneously, searching for an opening to counter.

However, Qing Ling’s blades were incredibly quick and lethal, doggedly keeping him from making any move. Even if she couldn’t kill him, she would do her best to drag things on until Qilin ran out of time with Equivalent Exchange.

Qilin knew what she was up to, of course.

Clang! He finally spotted a chance to grab Qing Ling’s blade.

Deactivate Iron Skin!

Qilin’s fingers were all sliced off, and blades swung toward his throat.

Time-Space Spirit stolen. Spirit Domain!

With the half a second Qilin bought himself, he used Spirit Domain for one second. Time was tripled for him, while Qing Ling’s blade became two-thirds slower.

Qilin rushed over, pressing the stumps of his severed fingers together and slammed his palm into Qing Ling’s heart.

From Qing Ling’s perspective, she was just about to decapitate Qilin when he suddenly disappeared from under her blade—No, he didn’t disappear! He was quickened!

She could only catch his afterimage. Then her right hand, wielding the blade, suddenly pulled back. Her elbow tucked into her chest at improbable speed.

The moment Spirit Domain ended, Qilin’s palm collided with Qing Ling’s elbow, the powerful force reaching her left chest.

Qing Ling’s elbow popped out of the joint. Her weapon fell from her grip. The lingering force spread and made a mess of all her internal organs as she flew off her feet.

Thud. Qilin stole War Tiger’s Killing Expert and chased after Qing Ling like a phantom.

Qing Ling sensed an explosive killing intent crashing toward her. Enduring the pain, she splayed her left hand to recover the weapons around her.

It didn’t work!

Qilin had deactivated Killing Expert the moment he lunged at Qing Ling—he could only steal it for a second to begin with.

Then he stole Metal and summoned the Xiu Dao to his right hand, holding it with severed fingers. Qilin had predicted every one of Qing Ling’s moves.

The Xiu Dao pierced through Qing Ling’s heart.

Blood gushed out.