Chapter 696 - 531: Overturn: The Strongest Is "Revived" on the Spot

A fierce aura.

Combined with the blood on his face...

...it made him look quite terrifying.

However, the power of this palm strike was not to be underestimated.

It descended with the force of a thousand thunderbolts.

Gao Xiaomeng, in turn, met the Strongest’s strike with a palm of her own.

It was, one might say, a large hand against a small one.

The large hand striking the small.

But when they made contact, a problem arose.

Gao Xiaomeng’s palm, like a mass of liquid, splattered apart on impact.

But the scattered liquid immediately coalesced again. And in the strangest of ways, it instantly enveloped the large hand the moment it reformed.

"!!!" The severely injured Strongest stared at the silver liquid covering his hand, one eye wide with utter disbelief.

He discovered that wherever the silver liquid touched, his body felt as if it had been possessed, completely losing his control over it.

His large hand couldn’t exert any force...

...it could only be pushed forward by the small one.

The severely injured Strongest finally began to panic.

"What in the world are you?!"

"A cat." A smile played on Gao Xiaomeng’s lips.

Her eyes, glinting with blue light, remained fixed on him... watching as terror slowly filled the severely injured Strongest’s eyes.

"What kind of cat?"

"A happy stray cat destined to become Her Majesty the Queen!" Gao Xiaomeng’s smile widened.

"..." The severely injured Strongest was speechless.

’This is just too humiliating.’

’I’m a Strongest, after all. Can’t I get a little respect?’

’What does she mean, a happy stray cat?’

The severely injured Strongest wanted to say more, but the silver liquid had already spread from his arm to his shoulder, and half of his arm had gone completely numb.

This scene was also witnessed by the other Strongest nearby.

"What is that stuff?"

"100% elemental?"

"Liquefaction?"

Even they, the Strongest, couldn’t quite comprehend the ability Gao Xiaomeng had just displayed.

Although the silver liquid looked ordinary, even an idiot could see that the severely injured Strongest was being completely suppressed by Gao Xiaomeng.

A cat who wasn’t a Strongest...

...had reduced a Strongest to this state after a single touch?

’What is happening to this world?’

’Weren’t the Strongest supposed to be far beyond the ninth rank?’

Just moments ago, Gao Neng had blocked a strike from the Beast Race Sword Saint. Before the shock from that had even faded, Gao Xiaomeng displayed an even more exaggerated ability.

...

「Command Center.」

The gazes of Qin Jianfei, Wu Qingjing, and the others were also fixed on Gao Xiaomeng.

They had been wholeheartedly focused on comprehending the battle between the Strongest, but Gao Xiaomeng’s power was exerting an immense pressure on them as well.

’The Cat King?’

’No, this is a Cat King whose level of genius is comparable to Gao Neng’s!’

"Gao Neng, what exactly is this cat of yours?" Wu Qingjing looked at Gao Neng. He had always supported Gao Neng’s decisions and was aware of the relationship between him and Gao Xiaomeng.

But knowing was one thing...

...Gao Xiaomeng’s terrifying nature was also an undeniable fact.

It’s like interacting with someone at your own level. You feel at ease because your strengths are comparable, allowing for greater trust.

But if that person suddenly displayed a bizarre ability that you knew nothing about...

...then even if you had a good relationship...

...you would still be on your guard.

That was the case now with Gao Xiaomeng.

’Defeating a Strongest, and even more easily than Gao Neng did?’

"The Magnetic Pile," Gao Neng said.

"What?" Wu Qingjing and Qin Jianfei looked surprised.

"Gao Xiaomeng has some connection to the Magnetic Pile, but... I’m not sure of the specifics either." Gao Neng could naturally see the worry Wu Qingjing and Qin Jianfei had about Gao Xiaomeng.

But in a way, he himself didn’t know what Gao Xiaomeng truly was.

’A cat?’

’Definitely not!’

’But if not a cat, then what? A liquid life-form that emerged from the Magnetic Pile? If I actually said that, Wu Qingjing and Qin Jianfei would really start to "worry."’

"Are you certain... that this Cat King is truly the medium between you and the Magnetic Pile?" Wu Qingjing asked the question that had been on his mind.

"More or less," Gao Neng said, his eyes narrowing.

On the screen.

Gao Xiaomeng’s body shimmered with silver light as large streams of silver liquid poured from her, covering the severely injured Strongest.

By now...

...the liquid had already crept up to the severely injured Strongest’s chest.

"BOOM!"

"BOOM!"

The sound of explosions erupted.

The Strongest, with his one remaining arm, attacked relentlessly, blasting Gao Xiaomeng’s body.

The scene looked like the epicenter of a bombing.

But no matter how hard the Strongest attacked, Gao Xiaomeng remained completely unscathed. In fact, the silver liquid only flowed out faster.

"MEOW!!!"

With a single cry from the cat...

...the severely injured Strongest’s body stopped its assault.

Then, a scene unfolded that made even Gao Neng’s jaw drop.

Above the head of the severely injured Strongest, a translucent "Earth Rat" suddenly appeared. This Earth Rat had a very long tail.

The tail was divided into nine segments.

But that wasn’t the main point...

The main point was that the instant the Earth Rat appeared, Gao Xiaomeng opened her mouth wide.

"MEOW!!!"

She swallowed the Earth Rat whole.

It didn’t even try to escape.

It was as if it had been hit with an Immobilization Spell.

"..." Gao Neng was speechless.

’What just happened?’

If he went all out, Gao Neng was confident he could kill a severely injured Strongest himself.

But the question now was, why didn’t the Strongest’s soul flee?

’That’s the soul of a Strongest...’

’They’re incredibly fast at escaping!’

"How is that possible?"

"The soul of a Strongest... was just swallowed by the Cat King without even moving?"

"..."

Inside the command center, the other military officers were also stunned.

They thought they had a decent understanding of Gao Xiaomeng, as she had taken action on the Northern District Battlefield before.

But back then, Gao Xiaomeng had been nowhere near this terrifying.

This was no cat...

...this was a monster!

"Gao Neng, this..." Wu Qingjing looked at Gao Neng again.

"Teacher, do you trust me?" Gao Neng turned around, his gaze serious.

"If I didn’t trust you, how could I have put you in command of this war?" Although Wu Qingjing didn’t quite understand why Gao Neng suddenly asked this, he still replied.

"Thank you, Teacher." Gao Neng nodded, then added earnestly, "I trust Gao Xiaomeng, just as you trust me!"

"..." Wu Qingjing was silent.

"..." As was Qin Jianfei.

The two exchanged a look and finally nodded.

"Alright, Gao Neng. As long as it leads to victory, we won’t stop you, no matter what methods or what people you use!" Wu Qingjing said.

"Thank you, Teacher. Thank you, Commander Qin. In this war... the Human Race will be victorious!" Gao Neng said no more and turned back to the screen.

With its soul devoured, the severely injured Strongest had completely lost consciousness. Its body was steadily being enveloped by the silver liquid.

Until the silver liquid covered its entire body.

"Did she swallow it?" Wu Qingjing couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement again.

"No... she didn’t swallow it. It... it’s been resurrected?!!" Qin Jianfei was about to say something when the muscles on his face suddenly began to tremble violently.

That’s right!

Resurrected!

As everyone stared, dumbfounded...

...the soulless, severely injured Strongest opened its eyes once more.

The silver liquid on its body gradually receded.

The once severely injured Strongest no longer had any traces of blood. The half of its face that had been sliced off by a sword was now completely restored.

A severely injured, or rather, a dead Strongest...

...had, at this moment, been "resurrected."

(I’ve been studying at the Lu Xun Literature Academy recently. Yesterday was the first day. I spent all day on a train, then had dinner with some author friends, so... ahem, I’ll do my best to keep the updates consistent in the future!)