Chapter Forty-Four: The Eight-Headed Serpent, The Return of the Ashen Sky

Instinctive reactions, though swift, could never match Qi's speed. He moved with effortless grace, as if strolling leisurely, passing through the crowd to appear behind Shadow Rat, his right hand reaching out for the man's neck. Shadow Rat gritted his teeth and shouted, his figure splitting into three, each dashing away. Qi's lips curled into a slight smile; he paid no attention to the fleeing shadows, his hand remaining steady as though effortlessly lifting something. Amidst fierce struggles, a scrawny figure appeared, its nape firmly seized by Qi's grip. With a tightening of his grasp, the struggling body quickly settled into submission.

"This kind of clone is far inferior to Naruto's thousand real shadow clones," Qi remarked coolly. Seeing his opponent silent, he shrugged, indifferent, and exhaled a chill breath. Shadow Rat felt a sudden coldness, his body instantly encased in a massive block of ice.

"Release him!" Gan Tian Zhenxiong, arriving late below, had just witnessed his loyal servant frozen in ice.

Gan Tian Zhenxiong ascended the ten-thousand-meter heights atop a green skateboard-like flying device. Aerial combat was not his forte, but the battle was unavoidable. If he failed the task of this world, several teammates would be erased for lacking enough points. The opponent had to die, even if it went against his principles—for companions mattered most.

As Qi had said after school, tonight was anything but peaceful; danger lurked outside. In the silent, dim sky, the tension thickened, their energies clashing and tearing open the clouds above, letting a silvery glow illuminate their small realm.

Qi stowed the giant ice block in his storage pouch, an action that finally triggered Gan Tian Zhenxiong's attack. His longsword sliced through the air, its polished blade and edge gleaming under the moonlight—a treasured sword that cut iron like mud. Meeting it head-on was an even more dazzling, transparent, diamond blade, shaped more like an elongated dagger. Qi, used to throwing knives, clearly favored short weapons. Though throwing knives had fallen out of his repertoire, their form remained dear to him.

"Clang, clang, clang." In a brief exchange, the two clashed with forceful blows, three times in succession. Ultimately, Qi, the stronger, forced his opponent back a dozen meters. He did not pursue, merely stood quietly in place. He was not at his peak, unsuited for prolonged battle; a draining stalemate would be pointless.

Brilliant sword light flashed again, accelerating fivefold in body and time. In an instant, Qi appeared before Gan Tian Zhenxiong. Though his strength was quintupled, his speed reached tenfold. Gan Tian Zhenxiong, a warrior forged in life-and-death fights, relied on instinct to bring his sword across his body, blocking the sudden strike. As his body retreated, he sensed Qi's resolve for a swift victory and held nothing back: "Secret technique, Swallow's Return!" The same formidable blade was unleashed again. Invisible sword energy and intent silently and swiftly targeted Qi's vital points.

"Too slow," Qi remarked, easily dodging the strike, then swung at Gan Tian Zhenxiong's chest. Faster, heavier, fiercer than before, a simple, unadorned attack that left Gan Tian Zhenxiong with no hope of evasion.

At the moment of crisis, black light burst from Gan Tian Zhenxiong's chest, a piercing screech sounding within the darkness. From the black light that blocked Qi's blow, a massive snake head emerged. Cold, blood-red eyes surveyed its surroundings, fixing on the radiant, youthful demon standing nearby.

Qi noticed the white scar on Gan Tian Zhenxiong's forehead, his pupils contracting. That must have been the deathblow he'd struck with fivefold power, yet it hadn't pierced the scales—this was Gan Tian Zhenxiong's trump card.

Why did snakes always cross his path? First the green-white serpent, then Sasuke's violet snake, and now another. Each more formidable than the last.

The snake's head, initially no larger than a fist, stretched skyward, swelling to the size of Qi's cabin—far larger than the three previous snakes combined. Its body, one could imagine, would be titanic.

Sensing the danger, Qi had no desire to face the fully revealed giant serpent in the sky. His main skill surged to its peak, power exploding to sevenfold, diamond blade condensed and compressed seven times. His left eye was veiled in silver, and under the cold gaze of the blood-red serpent, he unleashed his most powerful blow yet.

"Hiss—" The snake, perceiving hostility, emitted a strange roar and lunged mouth agape. Qi was first assaulted by the nauseating stench and hurricane-force resistance, then by the enormous, gleaming fangs, each half his height.

As the jaws closed, Qi's speed surged again, not to escape but to drive deeper into the serpent's maw. His ultimate strike, bolstered by spinning teeth, pierced the roof of the mouth, stabbing straight into the brain.

The agony made the serpent thrash, blood-red eyes rolling, its cries echoing. After a few seconds of struggle, the snake's head quivered, a dazzling spiral of light bursting from the crown, carrying a bloody aura. Qi halted in midair, his radiant face pale but smiling grimly—he had risked it all, and the opponent's trump card was finally...

Since the serpent appeared, Gan Tian Zhenxiong had been wracked by pain, his body trembling and rigid. At last, he roared in agony, "Evacuate the people below, I can't hold it back much longer. Unless it devours ten thousand humans, it won't return!"

Qi paused, uncertain of his meaning.

But just then, another snake head emerged from the black light, blood-red eyes, cabin-sized, its cold gaze flickering to the side at the dim, lifeless head. No roar—just a chilling stare fixed on Qi.

Qi stared incredulously at this second head. If he used the same attack, he might destroy it, but would exhaust himself and fall unconscious. Even without Gan Tian Zhenxiong's intervention, he would crash to his death from ten thousand meters. He wondered if, after death, he could absorb energy and revive—being a divine creation, perhaps such thoughts weren't entirely out of place.

In the midst of danger, Qi laughed at himself to relieve the tension. Perhaps he could try to flee; he was confident in his speed, even without acceleration. Surely, with such a massive body, the serpent couldn't be fast—could it? Or perhaps he should fight a guerrilla war?

Qi's wild thoughts were soon cut short, or frozen. For a third snake head appeared, repeating the previous transformation, its cold gaze fixed on him.

No need to think—escape. The serpent would devour ten thousand humans and then depart, as Gan Tian Zhenxiong had said. Though Qi sympathized with those hiding below, he would not risk his life for theirs. Even if he went all out, he might not defeat the serpent, and it would still descend to kill. Better to retreat, strategize, train, and return to challenge the boss later.

Then came the fourth head, the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth. Eight cabin-sized snake heads clustered together, casting a black shadow over Akihabara below. One head suddenly spat a jet of black mist from the hole torn in its crown.

Qi's face grew grimmer as the lifeless head began to stir, its blood-red eyes blazing once more, the head rising to glare coldly and ferociously at Qi.

How could he fight this? Before the serpent's body fully emerged, Qi prepared to flee, hoping not to incur too much enmity and be relentlessly pursued.

Yet, as if sensing his intent, or simply experienced in battle, another snake head shot a beam of blood-red light from its eyes, enveloping the surrounding ten-thousand-meter radius in a crimson barrier—like the previous transparent sphere, but blood-colored and immense.

Qi took a deep breath. Under the scrutiny of eight cold, blood-red serpent eyes, he unleashed everything: fire, ice, lightning, brute force, diamond drills, even the silver spinning sky—all were useless. The blood-red barrier was stronger and sturdier than the transparent sphere before. With all his methods failing, Qi inhaled deeply, steadied himself, and tried to find a new sensation in the oppressive presence of eight serpent heads. As the bodies slowly slithered into view, their overwhelming aura pressed on his nerves, until his right eye grew deep and black as a void.

"Gray Sky."

In desperate straits, Qi used his ultimate, uncontrollable move. Beneath Gray Sky, the blood-red barrier was pierced with a tiny, grain-sized hole—but it was enough for Qi to escape. His spirit was depleted, and Gray Sky had drained even his life force for that moment. He beat his three pairs of wings and fled at an only slightly reduced speed.

This scene seemed to surprise the giant serpent; as its full body emerged, Gan Tian Zhenxiong lay limp upon it. The serpent glanced indifferently, then chased after Qi's fleeing form.

Given Qi's current state, his flight was naturally slower than the furious, vengeful serpent—even if its speed was somewhat limited by its size.

Looking back at the serpent's full form, Qi felt a moment of understanding and regret. Eight heads and eight tails, lantern-like eyes—this was Yamata-no-Orochi of Japanese legend. He knew not which world it hailed from, but its strength was vastly superior; if his guess was correct, Yamata-no-Orochi's power was at the late Foundation Establishment or even Core Formation level.

In terms of combat power, it would be around a thousand. Even with tenfold outburst, Qi would be utterly crushed. Did these mad gods really expect him to pull off a miracle and defeat such an opponent?

He had no time to question their madness, only to keep fleeing, fleeing. The Yamata-no-Orochi drew ever closer, its monstrous aura pressing Qi until he felt his last strength slipping away. "May I at least struggle before I die?" With nothing left to spend, Qi halted and posed his question.

(Monday had only one member click, but Tuesday surged to eighteen—is it because of the new update? Next chapter… but I won’t spoil it.)