Chapter 1391: Transparent Beasts

Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales

Xia Fan began sprinting off with Cheyenne in tow, putting distance between them and the three strange men.

“What are you doing?! Let me go! I can walk by myself!” Cheyenne was in a terrible posture being wedged under Xia Fan’s arm, yelling at Xia Fan in great annoyance.

But her complaints quickly stopped. She had noticed that huge numbers of strange beasts were flooding out from the jungle!

The beasts did not have any muscles or skin, nor blood vessels or nerves. All they had were skeletons!

It was a horrifying scene. The bone monstrosities let out a series of roars as they came charging after Xia Fan while he ran away, and they also chased the three suspects.

No, the monstrosities were not just bones. They actually had muscles, it was just that for some unknown reason, their flesh was transparent!

Cheyenne was shocked to realize that these bone monstrosities had visible eyeballs, hanging suspended in their eye sockets. The eyeballs were still rotating and moving, showing that their flesh was indeed transparent.

Xia Fan sprinted away as he rolled his tongue to unleash the skill fisherman grandpa had taught him, the high frequency sound waves that could control beasts.

Unfortunately, Xia Fan failed. The ‘bone monstrosities’ were unaffected by Xia Fan’s high frequency sound waves. It was not hard to tell by how bloodshot their floating eyes were that these wild beasts might already be in a state of madness; Xia Fan’s Beast Control skill could not control enraged beasts!

The sound waves were usually more effective when used on small beasts, or herbivores that were naturally docile, as well as animals with higher intelligence. If they were ferocious beasts, there were certain criteria that needed to be met.

For example, a female wolf was easier to control than a male wolf, and an average wild wolf was easier to control than the leader of a wolfpack. The same went for a well-fed wolf when compared to a hungry wolf.

These frightening bone monstrosities did not comply with any criteria for his beast control technique, no matter how he looked at it, and so he failed, despite how amazing his Beast Control Technique was.

…

Several dozen minutes later…

Having reached a small stream far away from the jungle, Xia Fan set Cheyenne down and took out the scalpel that doctor grandpa had given him and swiftly dissected one of the bone monstrosities. The monster was one that Xia Fan had taken down as he was escaping, and he had dragged it along with them.

None of the bone monstrosities appeared to be nearby, but Cheyenne was still pale from fright. In contrast, the younger Xia Fan was still as calm and composed as ever, his hands steady as a slight smile hung on his face.

“I understand now. For some unknown reason, the skin, muscles, and organs of these beasts have all turned transparent. Look, I don’t appear to be holding anything in my hand at all, but really, this is that monstrosity’s heart. It is just that our eyes aren’t able to see the outline of the heart!,” Xia Fan explained as he weighed the transparent heart in hand. His hands were coated in blood right now, but unfortunately the blood of these beasts was also transparent.

“Why are they like that?” Cheyenne asked, confused.

Xia Fan answered earnestly, “I suppose it must be to stop their metabolism.”

“What has their state got to do with metabolism?”

“Everything, of course!” Xia Fan replied quickly. “According to biology, metabolism is what causes living creatures to age, and is the real cause of death. If anyone manages to stop their metabolism, or if they could develop their metabolism only toward its positives, they would essentially gain immortality and never die, whether they were human or beast.

“The reason why these creatures have blood and muscles that turn transparent is based on the idea of cutting out their metabolism, and in doing so, allowing these creatures to live forever.

“There once was a passage describing this in the Cosmic Chronicles Volume 17. According to the relics that we excavated of our ancestors, after Ashen Dragon and Hidden Moon became known as the strongest factions, they once sought a method to attain immortality. This could very well be one of the reasons why Ashen Dragon and Hidden Moon suddenly disappeared from the universe.”

Since even the animals that Ashen Dragon and Hidden Moon had controlled could achieve a disrupted metabolism through transparent flesh, my guess is that the strongest warriors of the universe might have been able to live forever by becoming transparent people.”

Cheyenne still did not understand, so she pressed, “Then why do the animal’s bones and eyes not become transparent?”

Xia Fan shook his head, “I don’t really know myself. But according to the principles of optics, the moment their eyes turned transparent, then there would be no way for them to gather light, making it impossible to see anything. As for the bones, it might be because the calcium content is too high, and they may hold trace amounts of metal elements.

“No matter the case, right now isn’t the time for us to discuss this. We must first ensure we survive and get out, so I’ll go save those three suspects.”

Cheyenne was startled, and grabbed hold of Xia Fan’s arm, “They are very dangerous! They are wanted criminals of the Union!”

“I know, but if they die, we’ll also be trapped here!” Xia Fan replied calmly.

Instantly, many inexplicable thoughts ran through Cheyenne’s mind. If there was no way for them to get out, would that not mean that the two of them, being single people, would end up trapped in this underground world and give birth to a bunch of children?

“How are you going to save those three?” Cheyenne shook her head vigorously to clear her mind of those stray thoughts.

“Very simple. I’ll just kill them all!” Xia Fan said with a bright smile.

*Zing*

Pumping strength into legs, Xia Fan shot forth from Cheyenne’s side, and instantly reached his top speed of over 150 m/s.

No one had any idea when, but a long and slender sword 2.2 meters in length was already in Xia Fan’s hand. The sword’s name was Skypiercer, and was the parting gift blacksmith grandfather had given Xia Fan. Though it looked slender, it was extremely sturdy, but because it was just a thin blade, it had an amazing degreeness of suppleness.

Speed was the sharpest weapon!

Xia Fan dashed back into the jungle like a bolt of lightning, with Skypiercer dragging behind him. Like a beam of light, Xia Fan swiftly twisted and turned his way through the complex jungle.

Every time he flashed past a bone monstrosity, he would apply an oblique cut with Skypiercer. The slight brush with his sword would cut off the monsters’ necks.

Xia Fan had no weapons during his coming-of-age ceremony, yet he could already accomplish the astounding feat of slaying ten thousand beasts back then. Now that he was at an even higher level, he was much faster and stronger. He was therefore all the more powerful when facing the bone monstrosities.

One by one, the bone monstrosities fell in rapid succession. It was like Xia Fan was harvesting wheat and reaping their souls.

Speed allowed Xia Fan to be invincible. Though these monsters were vicious, no amount of ferocity mattered when they could not even keep up with Xia Fan’s tempo.

By the time any of the monsters pounced over, Xia Fan’s shadow was no longer even there. All it took was a moment of negligence and Xia Fan would come slashing in from some inexplicable angle, giving them a single cut across the neck.

Speed was the most unreasonable special ability. Forget a group of bone monstrosities; even powerful warriors two ranks above Xia Fan would be rendered helpless against him!

It was fine that he was fast, but Xia Fan had also inherited a good tradition of the Skywing Clan: rarely ever taking a straight path, and constantly attacking from slanted angles so it was impossible for his enemies to predict just where he was coming from next. Such an innovative use of positioning on top of his speed practically made Xia Fan the nightmare of the bone monstrosities.

Facing an enemy that was not particularly intelligent, Xia Fan was not assassinating them, but ruthlessly crushing them!

Leveraging his fast speed, nimble physique, and sharp weapon, Xia Fan was like a crashing wave from the raging sea, slaying layers upon layers of the beasts!

…

It was not long before Xia Fan managed to advance on the three suspects.

He saw the three of them had their backs pressed together, and were defending against over a hundred bone monstrosities that had surrounded them.

Xia Fan’s arrival greatly eased the quandary they found themselves in, but Xia Fan did not directly lend them a hand, merely watching them from afar.

The tall, lanky man wielded the Strength special ability. He was very strong, and any of the bone monstrosities that were on the receiving end of one of his blows would immediately let out a mournful cry, their internal organs collapsing from his attack, falling to the ground, and dying.

The pale-skinned fat elder’s special ability seemed to be some form of all-around sensory perception, letting him preemptively learn the exact position the bone monstrosities were pouncing from. His warnings allowed the lanky warrior to prepare himself in advance, and focus all his attention on attacking.

Xia Fan could not understand the power of the warrior with the golden beard. He did not make a move at all, merely clutching the bamboo basket carried on his back. There was a tightly-woven lid on the basket, so Xia Fan could not tell what was being stored inside, but he could sense that it probably contained something fairly valuable.

Out of the three, one was in charge of fighting while the other two were acting as support, so it was really no wonder that the three of them had been surrounded and were in such a terrible situation.

—

The last bone monstrosity was finally killed by a single punch from the lanky man, and the jungle returned to quiet.

Xia Fan came walking out from the jungle smiling, his arms crossed. “I feel that you three might have a hard time leaving this place.”

The golden-bearded warrior instantly went red. He was disgruntled and wanted to say something in anger, but the fat elder stopped him. As such, all he could do was angrily stomp his foot and keep his mouth shut.

Xia Fan kicked away a dead body on the ground and observed, “These animals are not just bones and eyes. Their skin, hair, muscles, internal organs and even blood are all transparent, which is very strange.”

The fat elder snorted coldly. “Perhaps you are not aware of this, but we are close to the biggest secret in this universe: why the Ashen Dragon and Hidden Move disappeared so abruptly!

“According to the legends, they obtained some sort of technique that could allow a human to become immortal, but there was a price they had to pay for it. You’ve seen these beasts now, but they are nothing more than semi-finished products. Perhaps the Ashen Dragon and Hidden Moon did not disappear at all, but used some amazing technique that caused them all to become invisible! It would be not like these monsters, but a complete invisibility where even their eyes and bones would not be seen.

“As investigators of the Union’s Special Bureau, have you ever wondered why there are so many cases that the bureau could not solve all year round?”

Xia Fan was a little taken aback. This fat elder had made a very bold guess: if the Ashen Dragon and Hidden Moon had not disappeared, but instead became a group of invisible people, then they would practically be gods in the Ashen Moon Universe!

They had already been the most powerful warriors in the universe, so if they had obtained a technique that allowed them to become invisible, there was no way anyone would be their match!

Perhaps they were currently hiding somewhere in the dark, controlling everything in the universe, and the people living here had no clue at all!

The fat elder smiled, “I can tell that your interest has already been piqued by my words. If you want to learn the truth, we’ll first have to get out of here and arrive at the final location of this trial ground!

“Aside from working together, you have no other options. Only we know the way out of here!”

Xia Fan thought deeply for a moment, but soon nodded with a smile, “Okay, let’s put this matter aside for now and focus on getting out of this accursed place first! Tell me, where are we going next?”

The fat elder looked around. “I have no idea, but the first floor of the trial grounds has already been cleared out, and a passage that heads down to the second floor beneath us should open. We need to find that passageway and continue on down.”

Xia Fan asked further, “How many floors are there to this trial ground?”

The fat elder pondered for a moment, “That I have no idea of, either. All I know is that there are three different tiers to the trial grounds: Primary, Intermediate and Advanced.

“The primary tier consists of three floors in total, while the Intermediate spans six floors, and the Advanced has nine.

“I hope that we are not in an Advanced trial ground, because if that is the case, then that is reserved for peak rank special ability warriors. Even if you are a rare Speed ability user, you’ll also die here!”