Chapter 597 48: Soul Burner

And now.

The Monster was right before my eyes.

The long blade, heated to a golden-red, came at me in a horizontal slash—a shooting star streaking across the night sky, carrying enough speed and force to shred Exoskeleton Armor. Even with the power I'd gained by igniting the Souls of tens of thousands of the dying, tracking its velocity was all but impossible.

Su Zhou. A powerful Monster.

In Zhengguo, across the globe, perhaps even in this entire world, he was the strongest Monster of all—the one who surpassed us other Monsters.

He possessed a power that was fundamentally unnatural, a strength that surpassed even me, who had heard the 'Dusk Tianqi'.

'Against him, the only weapons I could rely on were my own pain and Determination.'

I raised my arms, both encased in the Exoskeleton Armor as crimson light patterns spread across its surface. The machine's power was far inferior to that of my own body, but my strength could, in turn, reinforce the machine. Faced with a crimson blade I couldn't possibly dodge, I had no intention of evading. I stepped forward to meet it head-on.

CRACK—The crisp sound of shattering steel rang out. Just as I'd anticipated, even the third-generation Spiritual Armor Exoskeleton, which could withstand a direct hit from a tank cannon, couldn't block a serious slash from Su Zhou. Like a knife through tofu, the golden Divine Blade sliced through the outermost plating, severing synthetic muscles, Spiritual Power circuits, and transmission rods. The blade only stopped when it bit into my arm, parted my flesh, and struck bone.

The young Monster's expression turned strange. He seemed surprised by two things: first, that I had dared to meet him head-on, and second, that his blade hadn't severed my arm.

But he quickly resorted to the attack I had foreseen—a violent electrical current, comparable to a Thunder Strike, surged from the thousand-degree blade, attempting to destroy my armor and my body from within.

An agony that would make an ordinary person wish for death coursed through me, but for me, it was as natural as breathing. Within a thousandth of a second of his power Burst, I seized the opportunity and clenched the fist of my undamaged arm.

The custom rocket propulsion system ignited. A violent thrust, mixed with a fiery exhaust like the sun itself, erupted from behind my elbow, resembling a solar corona.

In the next instant, too quick to be measured, the rocket's thrust erupted—a force that could accelerate this arm to over ten times the speed of sound and tear an ordinary Transcendent to shreds. At the same time, I gathered my own power. A tsunami of crimson Spiritual Power brought an Enhancement to my fist, turning it into an indestructible hammer. This power, which defied the logic of the mortal world, exploded in concert with the rocket, unleashing a concussive force of several thousand tons.

It was a straight punch that would send him flying even if he revealed his True Body—a combination of flesh, machinery, rocket propulsion, and a Spiritual Power Burst. The mere act of swinging this mighty blow sent all the metal slag and dust within several thousand meters flying. It was a punch powerful enough to demolish a skyscraper, and the turbulence from a near miss alone could cause an entire squadron of fighter jets to crash.

And this mighty blow shattered the air, creating a vacuum as it solidly connected with the young Monster.

BOOM! The air exploded, punched into a vacuum. The atmosphere itself seemed to roar in protest. In the distance, the aftershock whipped the sea of trees into a frenzy, sending violent waves across the forest canopy. And Su Zhou, blade and all, was sent flying backward, hurtling more than ten thousand meters into the sky.

He was knocked straight into Supersonic speed, with layer after layer of sonic boom clouds appearing behind him.

Then, from tens of thousands of meters away, he rocketed back toward me, moving even faster than he had been when he was knocked away.

That terrifying killing intent, that terrifying excitement, and a light—impossibly bright, devoid of any hint of pain, even hotter and more 'joyful' than before I had struck him—all rushed toward me.

'This was the one thing I couldn't understand. Hadn't he just suffered a setback? Even if it was insignificant to him, shouldn't he feel even a flicker of disappointment?'

'Such a vibrant light... just how much pain must one devour to burn so brightly?'

Finding it impossible to understand, I couldn't stop myself from asking.

"What price of pain did you pay for such power?"

He didn't answer me. Instead, he swung his blade in a backhand slash, coming at me with 'joy'.

Incomprehensible, impossible to communicate with, difficult to kill… To me, that was Su Zhou.

"Truly a Monster."

I couldn't help but say in admiration.

"What price of pain did you pay for such power?"

Su Zhou hadn't expected his Thunder Technique to be completely useless against Silent. Taking that heavy blow only confirmed it: this guy was on a completely different level from the worthless Spirit Summoning Association Leaders he'd dealt with before.

'This guy actually has what it takes to hurt me!'

"Interesting!"

Filled with excitement, layers of mock rockets formed from Gale Seeds appeared behind Su Zhou. The air churned violently as an incredible reverse thrust instantly halted his momentum. Then, he shot back toward his opponent, faster than ever, and slashed down with his blade!

Of course, in the midst of this, Su Zhou heard Bornev ask his bewildered question.

"What price of pain did you pay for such power?"

—No power comes without a price. The more powerful a being, the more pain they have shouldered, or the more pain they have inflicted upon others.