Volume One: Transformation Chapter Twenty-One: The Descent of the Fire God
With the wind at his command, Liu Cong led two off-road vehicles through the vast horde of mutant creatures. Harnessing the force of the gale, he carved a path straight to the safe zone, arriving just before the white serpent launched its attack on the city.
Ignoring the countless zombies trailing behind, Liu Cong leapt gracefully from the car and sent both vehicles soaring onto the city wall with a sweep of wind. The passengers, their legs weakened by terror, gazed at the curious soldiers around them and felt an overwhelming urge to cry—they were finally home.
Under the eyes of everyone in the safe zone, Liu Cong ascended into the air, a sword of black and white appearing out of nowhere in his hand. With a thunderous roar, he charged straight at the white serpent.
The enormous serpent raised itself warily, the human before it no larger than an ant, yet filling it with a profound sense of danger. Unlike ordinary snakes, this white serpent lashed its long, sharp tail at the approaching Liu Cong, the scales bristling, their edges glinting with lethal light.
Liu Cong dared not meet the blow head-on. He dodged ten meters to the side, narrowly avoiding the whip-like tail, which crashed violently into the ground, slaying countless mutant creatures in its wake.
Sword in hand, Liu Cong pressed the attack. The black-and-white divine blade burst into fierce flames and struck the serpent’s tail before it could retract, shattering scales and leaving a wound behind. The serpent recoiled and spat a jet of venom at Liu Cong. The strange substance within the poison reacted with the air, producing billowing white smoke as it corroded even the atmosphere.
Liu Cong retreated, letting the venom fall to the ground, where it killed swathes of T1 creatures. The white serpent was formidable on both offense and defense; even the divine sword could only scratch it, leaving a long but shallow wound that was barely felt by the massive beast.
This was Liu Cong’s first encounter with a T3-level mutant creature. He exhaled deeply—it was hard to kill, but not impossible to face. Even this brief exchange filled him with newfound confidence.
Thunder exploded overhead—a bolt of lightning struck the serpent’s head without warning. Even the giant serpent was wracked with pain from the intense voltage, its body briefly paralyzed as it collapsed to the earth.
A golden opportunity.
Liu Cong, reflecting that height could be a disadvantage, mercilessly hacked at the serpent’s head. The pain snapped the white serpent back to awareness, but it feigned unconsciousness. Its enormous tail lashed viciously at Liu Cong’s back, catching him off guard and hurling him into the sea of corpses. Swarms of zombies surged over him, piling into a mountain, the ones at the top even burrowing downward, desperate for a taste of flesh.
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From the moment Liu Cong soared into the air, wielding his black-and-white divine sword, every resident of Safe Zone 16 recognized the legendary Sword Immortal come to save them. As Liu Cong displayed his prowess, the city erupted into cheers. What they didn’t know was that the government, in order to inspire survivors worldwide, had been both openly and covertly spreading news of the Chinese Sword Immortal. This battle was broadcast globally via several satellites; countless people watched, eagerly awaiting Liu Cong’s triumphant return.
All eyes watched as the Sword Immortal was swept into the corpse sea, overwhelmed by countless zombies—could even the miraculous Sword Immortal not defeat these monsters? Everyone watching the broadcast was silent, hardly daring to breathe.
At that moment, a burst of fire shot up from beneath the mountain of corpses. Scorching black flames, driven by the wind, formed a raging tornado. All mutant creatures clinging to Liu Cong were swept into the sky and incinerated. His body was wreathed in flames, as if the God of Fire had descended.
The crowd erupted into joyous shouts—the Sword Immortal was alive! They embraced, celebrated, and many wept tears of relief.
What others didn’t know was that at this instant, Liu Cong’s internal energy had reached unprecedented speeds, tripling without any conscious cultivation. The serpent’s violent tail strike not only severely injured his body, but also unleashed his latent potential. The divine sword at his heart, weary of his slow progress, seized the moment to rapidly repair and reshape his flesh. It was as if his meridians were cleared, energy flowing to places it had never reached before.
Enduring the pain, Liu Cong seized the opportunity, forcefully channeling the dual energies. The shadow of the black-and-white sword appeared again in his hand; thanks to his increased energy, the blade was more solid than ever.
He had to end this quickly.
Liu Cong leaped, flames blazing around him, a massive black fireball crashing down upon the white serpent. The serpent, repeating its earlier tactic, opened its jaws and spat a venomous arrow. The increased quantity of poison met the burning black fire, evaporating instantly with a sizzling hiss.
Before the eyes of all, the fireball slammed into the serpent’s head. To Liu Cong’s astonishment, where his sword had previously only scratched the surface, now it pierced through the creature’s skull, the blade burning with black fire and filling the air with the aroma of roasting meat.
The serpent was hurled into the air by the impact, then crashed to the ground, motionless.
Liu Cong waited a while, only pulling his sword free when the serpent’s head was starting to turn reddish from the heat. He relaxed, slumping to the ground, and took stock of his body. Every inch ached, and after the pain came an itching that gnawed at his nerves.
On the city walls, soldiers squeezed their triggers, bullets felling one mutant creature after another. The gunfire was continuous and fierce.
After resting, Liu Cong stood and prepared to return to the wall for a brief respite. Though the corpse tide posed little threat to him, the stench was unbearable. As he turned, the supposedly dead serpent suddenly reared up and snapped at him. In an instant, Liu Cong was enveloped by its jaws, so close he could see black venom dripping from its twin fangs.
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A gale surged forth, and Liu Cong drove the wind to squeeze himself out of the serpent’s closing jaws—the beast was not truly dead! With its final, desperate effort, the serpent’s head crashed to the ground and finally expired. Liu Cong, wreathed in fire, broke out in a cold sweat from the fright; had he been swallowed, the serpent’s muscles would have squeezed him to death.
He had been careless! He hadn’t expected the mutated serpent to retain its instincts, executing a last strike from muscle memory. Liu Cong’s face darkened, cursing his own negligence.
This harrowing moment was witnessed by everyone watching the broadcast. They broke out in cold sweats, only relaxing when Liu Cong escaped safely.
“Commander, has Liu Cong’s strength increased again? Earlier he said he couldn’t beat it, but I think if he hadn’t been caught off guard, he wouldn’t have revealed his true power!” In the conference room, a middle-aged officer watching the broadcast with the Deputy Commander voiced his dissatisfaction.
“Jianjun, you can’t say that. It’s not your place to make decisions when you’re not in command. Everyone has abilities, but not everyone has the courage to face unknown dangers. I think Liu Cong is quite remarkable. It was worth the risk to test him. We’ll proceed as agreed—spread the news that China has a Sword Immortal to every safe zone. In these times, people need a psychological anchor; praying to gods no longer works. We must let them know the Sword Immortal is their safeguard!” the Deputy Commander replied slowly.
As a general, Li Jianjun understood these principles well. He was simply frustrated that Liu Cong hid his strength; he could have ended the battle quickly, but dragged it out. If Liu Cong had been killed by the serpent, the national loss would have been enormous—not only losing a superpower carrier, but endangering Safe Zone 16 itself. W