I Collect Skill Fragments in the Demon World

Chapter 900 - 529: Liquid Metal

The martial artist is a peculiar kind; once igniting Qi Blood, even an eighth-tier Yin Spirit must retreat three houses. It’s simply a heaven-defying transformation. Yet, when facing certain Bloodline Powers, the martial artist is like a helpless child, unable to withstand a single blow.

Zhang Chen’s Blood Control Technique has reached the seventh tier, which is by no means something the Qi Blood Martial Artist before him can withstand.

"Why help the villain do evil?" Zhang Chen sighed softly, looking at the martial artist whose Qi Blood surged backwards. The long knife in his hand carved through the air with a cold gleam, accompanied by a spray of blood, as a human head fell before Zhang Chen, blood spraying out as if it cost nothing.

"Kill!" Three armored soldiers holding long spears lunged at Zhang Chen, but they saw Zhang Chen’s long knife block them directly, parrying the spears away. Then, he slashed at the soldier wearing armor across from him, firelight bursting forth, leaving a white mark on the armor, but unable to damage it in the slightest.

"Kill!" The spears returned again, stabbing at Zhang Chen. Zhang Chen coldly smiled at this, and in the next moment, a mass of vapor surged forward, drilling into the nose and mouth of the opposing guard, transforming into ice within him, piercing through his internals. The guard fell immediately, crimson blood flowing from his facial features.

"Indeed, it’s still Divine Power that’s invincible, Martial Dao is simply pathetic." Zhang Chen muttered, continually controlling the water flow. In the void, the water flow gathered, transformed into vapors, drilled into the guards’ noses and mouths, and manifested as ice in their abdominal cavities, piercing their internals.

Zhang Chen led the way in front, while the mob behind took the opportunity to charge and kill, leaving armored warriors dead in their path, causing Tiger Soul Pass’s armored soldiers to tremble in fear.

"What kind of demon are you, causing chaos here?" Suddenly, a dry-thin man wearing armor and carrying his hands appeared in Zhang Chen’s path amidst the chaotic army.

Chen Ping, fighting and protecting behind the carriage, saw the dry-thin person and his pupils constricted involuntarily, urgently saying to Zhang Chen, "Zhang, this person is the Guard General, Jin Dou!"

Chen Ping truly followed through with his previous promise, charging forward with a steel knife, blocking before Zhang Chen, eyes full of determination, "Zhang, I’ll hold him off, you go first."

Zhang Chen lightly smiled then, handing the reins to Chen Ping, "Mr. Chen, protect the carriage well, leave this person to me."

After speaking, without giving Chen Ping a chance to react, he stepped forward to meet the guard general facing him, responding to the other’s words:

"It’s not about causing chaos, I just want to cross this Heroic Pass. You’ve blocked my way, meaning you want my life. Towards those who want my life, I’ve never shown mercy."

Zhang Chen’s steps halted; at this moment, countless soldiers surrounded him, cutting him apart from the carriage. Seeing Zhang Chen voluntarily facing Jin Dou, Chen Ping, though anxious, felt helpless, leading the Blood God Child to continue attacking to seize the golden opportunity Zhang Chen had created.

Now Zhang Chen also recognized the person before him is the grand general who shouted from the city wall, and whom Zhang Chen had sensed as a Bloodline Practitioner.

"The Northern Land is in chaos now, Demon Race invading from the south, you possess such abilities, how can you escape as a deserter? If all elites of the Human Race flee upon facing disaster, the Human Race will eventually fall to the Demon Race’s claws; where will you escape to then?" The guard general, serious-faced, sternly rebuked Zhang Chen, his voice full of Vast Righteous Qi.

Hearing this, Zhang Chen was momentarily stunned; he expected all kinds of the other’s reproaches, but never thought they’d say such things.

The most crucial part is, Zhang Chen can feel that the other’s words are indeed heartfelt and sincere, given the other’s mighty Spiritual Power, which escapes his perception.

"With such abilities, if you stay at Tiger Soul Pass and stop the Demon Race from advancing south, to earn a glimmer of hope for the common folks, I can report to the Prince and offer you a future; honor and wealth would not be lacking. But if you insist on this, today I, the general, will not be polite!" The grand general’s eyes fixated on Zhang Chen, voice full of righteousness.

"Unexpectedly, the Northern Land still has such loyal figures like you, it is rare indeed!" Zhang Chen sighed softly, "I’ll spare your life, as it is leaving a glimmer of hope for the Northern Land’s Human Race."

After saying this, Zhang Chen led the carriage forward, yet the surround general’s body shimmered with Golden Light, the next moment transforming into a metal man, an entirely metalified humanoid creature, his arms turned into long blades, extending several meters across the void, slashing towards Zhang Chen.

"Goodness! His bloodline is the Golden Body, quite a nuisance indeed." Zhang Chen thought in surprise; if asked what’s the most bothersome bloodline Divine Technique in the world, it must be this Steel Body.

The pair of hands turned into blades shimmered with sharpness; Zhang Chen raised his long knife to parry, only to see the knife split like tofu, directly into two pieces. The arm turned into blades pierced Zhang Chen’s throat at lightning speed, passed through his head, then suddenly withdrew, looking at Zhang Chen with regret, "It’s a pity; a Human Race cultivator like you, I don’t want to slaughter. If only your abilities could be used in protecting the Human Race’s great cause, wouldn’t that be perfect?"

"Zhang!" From the other side, Chen Ping nearly cried out, eyes turning red, neglecting the carriage, raising the steel knife to charge forward desperately, seeking to support Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen perceived Chen Ping’s shout, thinking secretly, "Chen Ping is a good brother indeed; when there’s trouble, he’s genuinely involved!"

At this point, Chen Ping had already sunk into a sea of people, though igniting Qi Blood and mastering Dragon Pearl Superpower, facing countless armored foes felt like a struggling snail.

"I must finish this quickly; otherwise, the family might not hold on." Zhang Chen sensed the wave of armored warriors towards his family’s carriage; though three Blood God Children guard by, isn’t it said that prolonged defense leads to failure? Even Blood God Children can fail to guard perfectly.

"You’re distracted in battle with me, proving you deserve death indeed!"

"Haha, your trick is truly impressive!" Zhang Chen smiled softly, the wound on his throat sprouting flesh, healing with every breath.

He discerned the other’s realm as merely a fifth-tier Bloodline Practitioner. But for Bloodline Practitioners, tier generally indicates the number of Divine-related skills mastered. Normally, one bloodline Divine Technique awakens per tier; the other, being fifth-tier, likely awakened five bloodline Divine Techniques.

In Zhang Chen’s perception, the blood within this fellow was completely vanished, transformed entirely into metallic form, rendering Zhang Chen’s Blood Control Technique ineffective against them.

Indeed, one must master various skills!

"How can this be!" The opposing general, whose entire body transformed into a metallic form, stared hard at Zhang Chen, his eyes showing an expression of disbelief.

Zhang Chen smiled gently. The next moment, his hand swept across his mouth, and the Ba Snake Space spat out the alchemy furnace he had obtained in the past. Then, the lid of the furnace flew up, transforming into the size of a pot lid, and was held by Zhang Chen.

At this moment, the alchemy furnace lid revealed its original size, weighing a full ten thousand pounds, just enough for Zhang Chen’s Mountain-moving Technique to wield.

To deal with Jin Dou, this iron lump, Zhang Chen thought that using absolute weight to smash him flat was best. As for the Buzhou Seal? It would be a bit of overkill.

Just as Zhang Chen’s magical power flowed and he swung the lid, the alchemy furnace lid directly hurled toward the opposing general.

"My steel body is Vajra Unbreakable, how could you possibly move me?" The general showed no fear, his hands transforming into large hammers to meet the alchemy furnace lid head-on, completely ignoring the lid.

According to the lid’s volume, how heavy could an alchemy furnace lid be? Three to five hundred pounds? Or maybe seven to eight hundred pounds? At most a thousand pounds.

"Boom~"

As the alchemy furnace lid smashed down, the general’s hands turned into hammers and met the lid, and he immediately realized he was wrong — quite ridiculously wrong.

He felt a powerful force surge through him, and the next moment his arms twisted and deformed directly, while the alchemy furnace lid, with an overwhelming force, irresistibly crushed into his chest.

The lid, weighing ten thousand pounds, combined with its velocity, created an impact of tens of thousands of pounds, instantly blasting him away, smashing him into a heap of scrap metal and breaking countless armored warriors along the way, forming a bloody empty passage.

"What a pity..." Zhang Chen swallowed the alchemy furnace lid back into the Ba Snake Space and sighed softly; their positions were different, and he could do nothing but strike harshly.

Just as Zhang Chen was about to turn and leave, he suddenly saw the scrap metal on the ground liquefy, twisting and then reshaping into the general’s form.

"Liquid metal? Terminator?" Zhang Chen’s footsteps halted once more.

"Such a heavy force, you have good skills!" The grand general’s eyes revealed a trace of seriousness: "But I have an Undying Body. As long as I’m in steel form, no force can kill me."

"This technique is indeed defying the heavens; I believe even if a Yang God True Man takes action, he wouldn’t be able to do anything to you." Zhang Chen said without changing his expression.

"So if you submit now, the conditions I offered earlier still stand." The grand general’s voice was full of seriousness.

Zhang Chen shook his head. The next moment a figure appeared among the crowd behind the grand general, unnoticed by anyone. The figure silently flickered with golden light, giving the grand general no time to react as a Body-Stabilizing Rune was already attached to his back.

It was an armored soldier who had long been possessed by the Blood God Child. The grand general would never have expected to be betrayed at this critical moment by his own.

"The effect is good. A seventh-level Body-Stabilizing Rune is just about right for dealing with you. You, this iron lump, fear nothing, not blades, clubs, or thunderbolts, except the sealing body-stabilizing method." Zhang Chen slowly approached the grand general.

"Protect the general!" At this moment, some guards noticed something was wrong and hurried forward, protecting the grand general Jin Dou in front of them. Unfortunately, Zhang Chen didn’t even seem to notice the grand general, passing by directly, leading the carriage away.

Wherever Zhang Chen went, countless soldiers were as frightened as startled birds, quickly making way and not daring to block him. Their own grand general had been immobilized by Zhang Chen, let alone small fry like themselves?

Zhang Chen chose not to strike lethally, even if the opponent was Golden Body Unbreakable, but Zhang Chen didn’t want to kill him either; there might be a way, like using the alchemy furnace to incinerate him, combined with the Sun Embers, it wouldn’t be impossible.

Or possibly sealing him, aging ten years in a day, claiming his life before the day ended.

But Zhang Chen chose to spare him because, to Zhang Chen, this person held a sense of justice, at least in fighting demons, could still contribute to the Human Race. Leaving him alive, slaying more demon beasts in the future, would indeed be meritorious.

Comparing this person’s bloodline to Li Donglai secretly, Zhang Chen thought both had their strengths and weaknesses. Li Donglai could absorb high-level metals for unlimited power improvements, while this person excelled at transforming his golden body into liquid, could freely change form, and remain indestructible — this ability was the trickiest, as tenacious as an unkillable cockroach.

Of course, Zhang Chen also has the God-Beating Whip; if deployed, it could forcibly expel his soul from his body, breaking his bloodline, but there’s no need for it. Zhang Chen didn’t want the man’s life.

"Live well and guard this Heroic Pass!" As Zhang Chen passed the grand general, the ground beneath him collapsed, burying him directly.

"Quick, dig out the soil, get the general out!"

"Oh no, the general is dead! The general is dead!"

"Everyone run—the general is dead!"

At this time, the army defending the city was in utter chaos.

Zhang Chen didn’t care about the disarrayed army. Instead, his gaze turned to the distant Chen Ping, embroiled in combat. Chen Ping’s clothes were stained with blood, covered with holes left by spears, and he had been severely injured.