Chapter 9: Life-or-Death Struggle

The strength he had gained from merging with two Spiritual Sources finally erupted at this moment.

The transformed monster was flung off by Su Li, its hands still tightly clamped around his neck, though the grip was slightly weaker. Su Li seized the opportunity, grasped its hands, and with a mighty pull, finally tore them away from his throat.

Finally free from the chokehold, Su Li gasped for air and collected himself. He pushed off the ground with his right foot and immediately lunged forward, reversing their positions to pin the monster down. He raised the hammer in his right hand and brought it down hard, aiming directly at the monster’s head and face.

With a “thwack,” blood and a mass of white fluid splattered. The monster’s body immediately went rigid, and its forehead was deeply caved in.

Su Li’s single hammer blow delivered at least 300 jin (approx. 330 pounds) of force. In just a few more strikes, he smashed the monster’s head, completely obliterating half its face.

Only when the transformed monster lay rigidly on the ground, no longer moving, did Su Li, breathing heavily, stop his attack.

Watching the white fuzz on the monster’s skin retract back into its body, a ball of white fuzz quickly emerged and shot toward Su Li’s forehead.

With the experience of the previous two times, Su Li was no longer fearful or apprehensive. Instead, he felt a slight anticipation, knowing that with every white fuzzy ball he absorbed, his strength would increase.

The white fuzz ball hit his forehead and then permeated his body, transforming into a stream of heat that rushed through his entire system, making him feel as if he were soaking in a hot spring. The sensation was especially pronounced in his neck, which had just been injured from being choked by the monster. A large amount of heat gathered there, seemingly performing an immediate healing function. After about two or three seconds, the heat suddenly vanished, and Su Li felt a new surge of power developing within him.

His strength increased once again, and the discomfort from his difficulty breathing disappeared, returning him to his previous normal state.

Su Li understood that the injuries his neck had just sustained were healed.

A new message appeared in his mind:

“Spiritual Source: 3/5.”

Breathing heavily, Su Li held the cleaver and iron hammer and was about to slowly stand up when the sound of shattering glass suddenly erupted from the living room balcony.

Su Li understood what was happening and immediately turned and charged out.

With the experience of the past few encounters, Su Li was much more composed now. He rushed into the living room, looked up at the balcony directly in front of him, and couldn’t help but gasp.

The balcony window glass had been completely smashed, and two transformed monsters were climbing in through the window at that very moment.

Su Li had absolutely not anticipated that two transformed monsters would appear this time.

Using the faint starlight from outside, Su Li could barely make out that the two creatures had been, in life, a woman in her fifties and a man in his thirties. Now, their faces were swollen and pale from being soaked in water, and their exposed skin was covered in white fuzz. Their speed and movement were not slow. From the moment Su Li heard the noise and rushed to the living room—a process taking only one or two seconds—both transformed creatures had already climbed half their bodies through the window opening.

Su Li knew this was bad. Having two transformed monsters appear at once would be extremely troublesome, and he wasn’t confident in fighting both simultaneously.

He rushed forward at full speed, wanting to take advantage of the fact that the two monsters hadn’t fully climbed in and were restricted in their movements, allowing him to strike first.

Having merged with three Spiritual Sources, Su Li’s strength had not only increased by over 100 jin (approx. 110 pounds), but his speed was also much faster. Charging forward with all his might, he instantly reached the balcony and violently brought the iron hammer down onto the head of the woman in her fifties.

Though he was fast, the monster was quick to dodge. It abruptly jerked its head back, and the hammer struck its shoulder hard instead.

The woman’s shoulder instantly caved in, and her upward movement stalled for a moment. However, the monster felt no pain. It opened its mouth and stretched out a hand to grab Su Li.

The cleaver in Su Li’s other hand immediately followed, hacking right into the woman’s slightly upturned face.

The face was swollen and glistening from prolonged soaking in water. The cleaver sank deep into it. Su Li saw one of her eyeballs bulge out due to the force and compression of the cut, nearly popping out of the socket.

The moment he struck the woman’s face, the man in his thirties climbed through the other window. He was extremely fast, grabbing the window frames with both hands, using a sudden burst of force to squeeze his body through the opening, and lunging toward Su Li.

This entire sequence of movements showed none of the stiffness or sluggishness of the earlier transformed monsters. He was nimble, in no way inferior to Su Li’s current speed.

Su Li couldn’t dodge in time and was struck by the man in his thirties. He felt a surge of tremendous force, lost his balance, and grunted as he fell sideways. At almost the exact same moment, a deafening “splash” erupted from the water outside the balcony, sending massive amounts of spray flying.

Since Su Li was close, his peripheral vision caught a huge, dark shape suddenly bursting up through the spraying water.

The woman in her fifties, whose lower half was still exposed outside the balcony window, was suddenly dragged into the water with a whooshing sound.

Amidst the splashing water, Su Li didn’t have time to look closely, but the woman’s body vanished into the water in an instant.

All of this happened too suddenly. Not only was Su Li’s heart pounding violently in shock, but the other monster—the man in his thirties—who had just knocked him back, also froze, seemingly stunned by what he had just witnessed.

Su Li would never miss such an opportunity. As he was retreating, he kicked off the wall behind him. Using this momentum, he lunged forward, bringing the cleaver in his hand down toward the man’s face.

The man in his thirties was not stiff like the earlier monsters. He reacted just as the cleaver was about to hit his face, subtly leaning his upper body back. The blade of Su Li’s cleaver sliced right past his face, but he didn’t manage to completely avoid the attack. The cleaver still cut into his chest and sliced downwards into his abdomen.

The monster’s chest was nearly sliced open, yet it didn’t register pain or impede its counterattack. Its right arm swept horizontally and its palm slammed heavily into Su Li’s left cheek.

The blow carried immense force. Su Li felt like he had been hit by an iron hammer. His head instantly roared, half his face went numb, blood gushed from his nose, and tears were forced from his left eye, blurring his vision.

The transformed monster in front of him was terrifying, even more so than the one he had just faced in the bedroom.

(End of Chapter)