Chapter 95: Instant Light!

At one a.m., the street was eerily quiet, almost silent.

Under the distant glow of the urban zone, Lin Qing stood outside a creative restaurant named Like, silently waiting for the thirteen inspectors who had just entered to conduct their search.

Since the primary goal was to check for hidden tunnels, conducting the search at midnight was more appropriate.

Even with GPR combined with MSM detection data to construct an underground model, it could not precisely detect subterranean spaces only two or three meters in size—or smaller—and with anti-detection measures in place, it became even harder.

Thus, having inspectors carry equipment and search manually proved more effective.

“Just two more locations to check, then we can head back.”

Lin Qing mused to himself, “These places—have Zhao Jia come by during the day and scan them with her mental power. She can now penetrate a hundred meters underground; she might uncover something…”

Suddenly—

Lin Qing sharply turned his head.

At the corner ahead, a faint humanoid afterimage suddenly appeared, hurtling toward him at a terrifying speed.

But stranger still—this incredible speed produced not a single whisper of wind.

“This is…”

In that instant, merely by a single glance, Lin Qing immediately confirmed: “Zizai Body! The true Zizai Body martial art!”

Although he had not yet claimed the original Zizai Body martial art, he had studied its cultivation method and knew well—

This was the true Zizai Body’s essence: unbound, unrestrained, utterly free. Even at such terrifying speed, it was unaffected by air resistance, not even producing a sonic boom. Fortunately, over the past two months, he had cultivated the Divine Eye series on his own and grown highly sensitive to light changes—his peripheral vision had caught the intruder’s approach.

“Strange, why hasn’t my Order Level dropped? No hostility toward me?”

At the same moment, this thought flashed through Lin Qing’s mind.

Yet he still turned without hesitation and dashed into a nearby alley.

This place was still too bright; combat would be recorded by satellites. The nearby alleys offered cover, dimmer light, and narrower space—perfect for his current abilities.

Inside a dark alley.

The blurred, near-half-Mach phantom, silent as a shadow, paused briefly at the alley’s mouth, then slipped inside.

Meanwhile, behind the pale white smile mask, the eyes revealed a flicker of confusion—why had the target willingly run into this? But for one who truly mastered Zizai Body, such winding, convoluted alleys were precisely where advantages multiplied.

He naturally could not refuse to follow.

The instant he entered the alley, he saw the figure five meters away in the gloom—and then—

Light! In an instant, a pale cyan glow erupted like the sky itself, illuminating half the alley.

In that moment, he saw Lin Qing transform into a stream of pale cyan light, moving at a speed ten to a hundred times faster than his own—far beyond the limits of his neural reaction—and in an instant, left behind a faint cyan arc before appearing directly before him.

As the light faded, he saw the opponent’s palm-blade pressed flat against his mask.

His mind had barely time to register: How could he be this fast? At the same instant, Lin Qing’s pupils flared with pale cyan light, and his entire body surged with explosive power.

“Shhh!”

In that instant, the edge of the palm-blade seemed to manifest an invisible blade, slicing through the solid alloy of the pale white smile mask as effortlessly as cutting vegetables.

Then, the invisible edge severed the man’s facial skin, flesh, skull, brain—cutting clean through in an instant.

As the mask shattered and fell, the mysterious man’s skin and flesh withered instantly, like a flower blooming for a fleeting moment before withering in the blink of an eye—before even hitting the ground, he crumbled into dust, scattering like windblown sand.

“This is…”

Lin Qing stared at the drifting sand in the wind, frowning slightly. “Not a living person? Some kind of genetic ability?”

He had not seen his Order Level drop, but perhaps the target had intended to capture him alive, treating him as a treasure—hence no hostility.

Thus, his strike had been full power.

Yet clearly, the victim was not alive.

Perhaps something like a puppet?

“So I’m not the only one with incredible genetic abilities…” Lin Qing murmured.

Over the past two months, aside from the original Zizai Body martial art, which he had not yet claimed, he had already claimed all four third-tier genetic abilities of the Heavenly Track Monarch.

Ability ‘Enhancement’ allowed explosive growth in all physical attributes—effectively doubling them.

Ability ‘Invisible Blade’ formed a super-sonic energy blade on the body’s surface, slicing through ordinary alloys as easily as cutting vegetables.

And the third-tier core genetic ability he had claimed half a month ago—‘Instant Light’—was even more terrifying.

At the moment of activation, enveloped in mysterious energy, his entire body transformed into a beam of light, achieving a speed a hundred times—or more—his normal velocity, while time itself seemed to slow to one-hundredth.

Yet during this instant of light-form, he could barely affect physical matter—he possessed no offensive power, like sunlight falling on a person, leaving no impact.

Even so, the ability remained terrifying.

The key lay in… absolute initiative.

In Instant Light state, before the enemy could react, he could already place his blade at their throat.

Though it consumed enormous energy—one activation drained half his mysterious energy—and lasted only an instant, perhaps less than 0.001 seconds…

None of this obscured its overwhelming power.

Over the past half-month, he had confirmed this through repeated experiments.

“This move is perfect for ambushes…”

After this real combat, Lin Qing became even clearer on how to wield this genetic ability.

Absolute initiative meant instant kills.

“Good thing he’s not at the instinctual level of Zizai Body—if he were, he wouldn’t even need to move; his defense would activate instantly, and my current strength couldn’t break through…”

Lin Qing silently summarized this fleeting battle.

He also understood: his own strength was still insufficient.

If he had mastered the complete Zizai Body, he could have killed the opponent even without Instant Light.

“But it really was him…”

Lin Qing frowned slightly. “No wonder he had an alibi.”

In the instant the mask shattered, he had clearly seen the man’s true face.

He had assumed the man had hired another cultivator who had reached the instinctual level of Zizai Body as a decoy to create the alibi.

Now it seemed—it was this unimaginable genetic ability?

“But with such an ability, he should have been able to erase all traces.”

Lin Qing frowned. “He could have made himself completely innocent—yet he still performed those suspicious actions…”

…

The night stretched endlessly.

Yuan Anping lounged lazily on the steps outside Wanxiang City Gate, smoking as he waited for the thirteen inspectors to emerge from their search of the mall.

“They’re taking forever…” He sucked on his cigarette, gazing through the swirling smoke at the starry sky obscured by the urban glow, feeling a quiet melancholy: “If tonight gets a bit louder, it might still work…”

Suddenly—

Yuan Anping’s eyes flickered: “Dead? Lian Zexu isn’t fast—he shouldn’t have been killed so easily.”

He was puzzled. “At this time, my tail should’ve been going to find Lin Qing—just enough to buy time until Lian Zexu arrived. Why did he vanish so suddenly? All that training wasted…”

At that moment, his communicator suddenly rang—it was Chief Commander Lian Zexu.

“Chief Commander?”

“Huh? I’m fine.”

“What? I’m on my way now.”

…

“You were ambushed by that mysterious figure?”

Yuan Anping stared at Lin Qing in shock. “You’re okay?”

“Fine,” Lin Qing glanced at Yuan Anping. “Just barely avoided death.”

“Impossible,” Yuan Anping said, incredulous. “Aren’t you strong?”

“What’s impossible?” Lin Qing looked at him. “Inspector Hu is far stronger than me—he was laid out on the ground. Me nearly getting killed isn’t surprising, is it?”

“...Glad you’re okay.” Yuan Anping changed the subject. “Where’s the guy?”

“I barely held him off for a few moves. When he realized the Chief Commander was arriving, he fled,” Lin Qing said, looking like he’d just escaped death. “That was too close.”

Since no one saw him kill the man, let Yuan Anping guess whatever he wanted.

Yuan Anping had nothing to say.

“When I arrived, the man had already escaped,” Chief Commander Lian Zexu nodded slightly, casting a meaningful glance at Lin Qing. “Inspector Lin is deeply hidden.”

He had personally witnessed Inspector Hu Xianan, a formidable fighter, being struck down in an instant—limbs broken, needing at least half a month to recover.

Yet this Inspector Lin, who claimed to be a newcomer, had fought the mysterious figure for mere seconds and emerged unscathed? The gap was enormous.

Nearby, the twenty-nine reassembled inspectors couldn’t help but stare.

Just moments ago, Inspector Hu—who had boasted in the meeting he could take on two—now lay like a dead dog on the ground, while Inspector Lin, who had admitted defeat, stood here perfectly fine.

“Just lucky.”

Lin Qing shook his head. “Still, if even Inspector Hu was defeated, we can’t continue the search.”

“Report to headquarters,” Lian Zexu said gravely. “The Original Research Institute’s focus on Lin’an City is clearly abnormal. Last time’s search wasn’t thorough enough. This time… even if we turn Lin’an City upside down, headquarters won’t give up until they find something.”

Yuan Anping listened quietly nearby, relaxing slightly.

…

Inspector Hu was sent to the hospital, but only suffered fractured limbs—no serious damage. After reattachment, his inspector-level physique would recover in half a month.

But his psychological wounds—no one knew when they’d heal.

As Lin Qing finally left the ward, he noticed Inspector Hu, who had remained unconscious and unresponsive, briefly cracked open his eyelids and glanced at him—his gaze was deeply complex.

He returned home at three a.m.

"Order."

Lin Qing sat on the sofa and summoned the Entropy Reverser interface in his mind.

【Pre-advanced Project: Bloodline Evolution Ability — Celestial Orb Sovereign “Instant Light” (37.2% Completed)】

【Pre-advanced Project: Morning Sun Method (97.6% Completed)】

"Almost there."

Lin Qing nodded silently.

Instant Light had been pre-advanced half a month ago.

Yet “Instant Light,” as the core gene ability of the third tier of the Celestial Orb Sovereign bloodline, was also the most difficult to unlock, requiring forty-three flawless gene optimizations before it could manifest.

"In two more days, I’ll have repaid the debt for the original Morning Sun Method."

Lin Qing slightly narrowed his eyes, "Then I can pre-advance the original Zizai Body Combat Art."

He had originally planned to pre-advance the Zizai Body Combat Art first, but the original version was indeed extremely difficult—even mastering the basics was hard.

The simplified, broken-down version of the Zizai Body Combat Art merely imitated six of its primary traits, splitting them into six separate combat arts, each simulating a different quality of the mysterious energy.

The true Zizai Body Combat Art treats the countless force points and energy nodes of the human body as countless stars in the universe, regards mysterious energy as the interactions between stars, and uses this to propel the flesh toward boundless freedom.

After all, the original combat art was designed for gene-awakened cultivators.

Generally speaking, only those with gene-awakened bodies—capable of freely adjusting and optimizing their genes—could cultivate the true combat art.

Even though the six broken-down combat arts, once mastered to instinctive level, gradually adjust the genes to better suit Zizai Body, it still took him over a month to finally enter the threshold.

On May 19, he entered the threshold of the Zizai Body Combat Art.

Unfortunately, he had pre-advanced “Instant Light” on May 15, so he had to put it on hold ever since.

…

The next morning.

Zhao Jiayi routinely rode with Lin Qing to the branch office.

But in the car, Lin Qing noticed Zhao Jiayi suddenly flinched, then shrank back like a startled cat, silent as a stone.

Lin Qing suspected the girl might have sensed something with her mental force, but the car had surveillance—he couldn’t discuss mental force matters here.

At the branch office, once inside the private rest room, he asked her: "What’s wrong?"

"Just now, as we passed White Oak Street, I sensed a large group of people with very strong life fields," Zhao Jiayi said, slightly excited. "Their life fields are all at least on par with yours, and many are even more terrifying."

Lin Qing paused slightly.

On par with him? That meant at least those who had mastered the original Morning Sun Method. "Who are they? From headquarters?" Lin Qing asked.

"No."

Zhao Jiayi shook her head. "None of them wore Patrol Chief uniforms. More importantly, within that group’s gathering area, I found a hidden elevator shaft descending eighty meters underground!"

"Elevator shaft?" Lin Qing asked. "What’s below?"

"I was moving too fast—I only saw a door at the bottom of the shaft."

Zhao Jiayi whispered, "The door bore the insignias of the Original Research Institute and the Illuminati. It looked like the entrance to a research facility."

She thought for a moment. "Oh, and there was writing on the door."

"Writing?" Lin Qing looked at her.

(End of Chapter)