Kaio-ken

"I accept Nima!"

Ghost Talent angrily raised the X-Gun in his hand, aimed it at the Multi-Faced Star People, and pulled the trigger.

No living human would easily accept death just because of a few words from someone else.

At the most fundamental level of their information, humans were written with survival and continuation.

Bzz!

The high-energy particle beam sank into the flesh that may or may not have been the Multi-Faced Star People’s original body, then exploded with a bang several seconds later.

Blood and flesh stained the pure white House of Truth red, but the Multi-Faced Star People showed no reaction.

They felt neither pain nor anger, nor did Ghost Talent’s actions evoke any displeasure in them.

They watched Ghost Talent with the calmness of someone observing a specimen.

"The moment you were chosen by that great existence two months and three days ago, your future was already destined to be death."

"There was a 54% chance that you would die in the world of your first mission deployment."

"There was a 17% chance that you would die in this deployment, on the night of the full moon, at the hands of a woman named Bonnie. With speed and strength that completely surpassed your reactions, she would tear you apart in an instant."

"There was a 9% chance that you would die in the real world after your return. Having survived the team battle mission, you would grow careless, disregard Omega and Lancer’s warnings, use your power in the real world, invite murder upon yourself, and die in a car bombing."

The Multi-Faced Star People unhurriedly laid out every possibility and timeline for Ghost Talent. Ghost Talent discovered that even his best ending was merely surviving two more missions in this mission.

He had already witnessed the Multi-Faced Star People’s ability to see through the past and future, even the future after a soul’s reincarnation.

He sank into even deeper despair.

His death was fated. From the moment he became a reincarnator, he had been destined not to live long.

At this point, Ghost Talent’s anger began to fade, leaving only inescapable despair and sorrow.

The Multi-Faced Star People then delivered their final words.

"We merely collapsed all your possibilities into their present form."

"You need not be angry, nor need you grieve. For short-lived species, survival was never the norm. Returning to eternal deathly silence is your true rest."

Ghost Talent lowered his head and did not argue further. Whether he had been persuaded or had completely given up thinking was unknown.

You used Ability Scroll: Kaio-ken (S+)

Determining training requirements...

Determination in progress...

Bai Cangshu sat cross-legged in the air. In the enormous manor below, more than a dozen Chefs were scratching their heads as they dealt with giant beast meat and monster corpses seized by the military.

In truth, Bai Cangshu’s requirements were simple. They only needed to cook them simply—boil, fry, roast, or whatever method they wished—as long as the ingredients were processed to the point where they could be recognized as food.

With a Chef’s special ability, even a pile of shit could be turned into very delicious shit.

But Sugahide Hito did not know that. He ordered these top Japanese cuisine chefs to create the finest dishes of their lives, turning these things that normal humans could never possibly feel the urge to eat into delicious cuisine.

Yoshida Rei, the Shinto chief priest dressed in white ceremonial robes, and Shirakawa Ijin, who was responsible for managing the shrines directly under the Emperor, both nodded. These two old men were the leading figures of Japanese Shintoism, and for once, they had abandoned their struggle for power and come to the prime minister’s temporary residence.

They claimed that they had come to protect Shintoism’s great benefactor since ancient times, the messenger of the gods—Mercenary Tao.

Sugahide Hito had become increasingly convinced by this claim. Just yesterday, families such as the Kujō and Koizumi families had simultaneously sent people over, requesting an audience with Mercenary Tao, their expressions filled with fear.

And at this very moment, Mercenary Tao was displaying a divine miracle, sitting directly in midair as though comprehending the Dao.

Determination passed

You successfully mastered Ability: Kaio-ken (S+)

Kaio-ken Lv1: Completely burns all the Ki within the body, pushing the body into total overload and doubling strength, speed, attack power, and defense. (2x)

Bai Cangshu’s heart pounded uncontrollably. Even he had not expected to master an ability like Kaio-ken so quickly.

Kaio-ken required Martial Arts Mastery of at least Lv7, over 50 Constitution, and over 50 Ki Energy. Nearly every condition was a terrifying value unattainable by low- and mid-tier reincarnators.

But Bai Cangshu had continuously improved his martial arts abilities and invested vast resources into them. With the boost from Mercenary Tao’s Pink Robe, he had long since met those requirements.

As for 50 Ki Energy, the Energy: ? trait of the Myriad Tribulations Yin Spirit Yellow Springs Physique gave him a bug-like evaluation threshold when his energy attributes were assessed.

Bai Cangshu knew that his true Ki intensity was likely nowhere near 50. Even counting the attributes gained each time Dodon Ray leveled up, it was still far from enough.

The harder requirement was 50 Constitution. Only after reaching Strong-tier could reincarnators actively allocate attributes. Thus, even a reincarnator specialized in Constitution would need to gain 30 free attribute points after reaching Strong-tier and put every one of them into Constitution to meet the requirement.

Even for reincarnators of the Great Sin System, obtaining so many Constitution attributes by opening Scarlet Drop Cards would require a terrifying number of kills.

But the gift from the Multi-Faced Star People instantly fulfilled his wish.

Therefore, Bai Cangshu was certain that the bargaining chips offered by the Multi-Faced Star People were these attribute points. Not only did they know his goal, they could directly create an individual that met the requirements.

He exhaled a turbid breath and cast aside his thoughts. No matter what purpose the Multi-Faced Star People had, his thirst for power would never stop.

Golden Ki abruptly condensed, then instantly grew scorching hot inside Bai Cangshu’s body, burning like flames. In an instant, Bai Cangshu felt every cell in his body erupt with dreadful searing pain.

But Bai Cangshu had undergone Bloodline Refinement many times, and every time, he had endured the agony of his blood completely evaporating.

At this moment, Bai Cangshu felt that his resistance to such pain was unimaginably strong.

He involuntarily opened his mouth and let out a low roar.

As the Ki continuously reacted with his cells and surged ever higher, swelling within his body, it was Bai Cangshu’s natural physical response.

He felt as though his body were about to explode. As his cellular activity increased violently, it was as if every cell were suffering the pain of being torn apart, while his nerves were shredded as well.

That explosive Ki surged madly through every cell, meridian, and blood vessel in his body.

His ever-active Breathing Style and Hamon both failed in an instant, becoming impossible to maintain.

Pfft!

The excessively powerful Ki pierced Bai Cangshu’s current dragon-beast-like skin. When his capillaries ruptured, his blood was instantly vaporized by the intense Ki and heat.

The golden Ki was now reflected as blood red.

"Ah… ha!"

The muscles across Bai Cangshu’s body swelled. Unlike the time when his incomplete talent had activated and expanded his body past three meters in height, his muscles were now compacted to the point of near steel.

His cells constantly ruptured and regenerated, yet the strengthening of his flesh was perfectly contained within his current size.

Creak, creak…

His muscles pressed against one another, compressing explosive power within his cells and muscle tissue.

You used Kaio-ken Lv1. You have been enhanced.

Bai Cangshu spread his hands and released all the accumulated pain within his muscles, along with that overflowing Ki, in an instant.

"Ha!"

Boom!

Intense Ki burst from Bai Cangshu’s mouth, transforming into a Ki Blast that shot into the sky before exploding thousands of meters overhead.

Shockwaves spread outward in rings, forming ripple-like cloud layers that completely covered the sky above the residence.

Below, the residence guards covered their ears and looked up at the sky with panicked expressions.

Still not satisfied, Bai Cangshu clenched his right fist. In that instant, with his unarmed strength of over 100 boosted by the effect, he felt unimaginably powerful.

He threw a punch barely half an inch forward. As a sonic boom cloud burst apart, the air ahead of him, like viscous liquid, was punched into a depression.

The next moment, accompanied by a buzz—

A several-hundred-meter-long white dragon-shaped cloud of smoke crashed down from the sky.

Rumble!

The residence shook violently.