Chapter 33: Flesh Manipulation

After confirming his death, Lin Lei raised an eyebrow.

"This person's abilities are somewhat close to those of a 'Child of Flesh and Blood,' yet he retains his own free will, making him even harder to deal with than a Child of Flesh and Blood..."

His eyes flickered.

Looking back, the man was merely an enhanced version of the "Child of Flesh and Blood," vastly inferior to Lin Lei in terms of raw power. Although his abilities were bizarre, he was not truly immortal and was heavily countered by the "Ghost Fire."

"Actually, I still have the 'Seal' ability unused, which should also be able to counter this kind of power..."

Lin Lei possessed too many abilities, and during combat, it was impossible to keep track of every single one. Thinking back now, there were definitely much more convenient ways to resolve the situation.

Compared to his strength, however, the rate at which his strength had progressed was far more worthy of attention.

"Given this man's power and abilities, he could be considered quite formidable even among Tier Four entities. I'm afraid the Investigation Bureau has very few Tier Fours who could be his match... If I hadn't been here today, not a single one of the Investigation Bureau's investigators who came to participate in the promotion exam would have survived!"

The number of Tier Three powerhouses in the Biyang Investigation Bureau was severely limited, and every single one of them was extremely precious. If all these Tier Three individuals present today were to perish here, it would be an immense loss for the Biyang City Investigation Bureau.

Not to mention that among them was Wen Xiang, who, although not a Tier Three yet, was an even rarer Grade A Source Energy Awakened.

"What on earth happened within the Blood Cherry Society? Did they collectively perform some kind of bizarre ritual, using the power of an 'Evil God' to complete their advancement?"

Lin Lei furrowed his brow deeply.

If a mere Tier Three could achieve such a massive improvement in a short period of time, what about the leader of the Blood Cherry Society? Could they have undergone some kind of advancement as well?

Shaking his head, he decided not to waste any time and immediately activated "Plunder" on the "Red Corpse" before him.

Following the activation of "Plunder," a flash of sharpness and pleasant surprise crossed his eyes.

"The ability of the 'Red Corpse'—so that's how it is..."

He raised his hand.

On his palm, the skin automatically split open like a blooming flower, and as flesh and blood wriggled, not a single drop of blood escaped.

This ability was named [Flesh and Blood Manipulation].

In short, he could freely manipulate the form of his own flesh and blood.

The reason the "Red Corpse" was undying was precisely because of this ability.

For the "Red Corpse," even if his body was cut apart, he only needed to activate his ability to manipulate the flesh and reconnect it.

It was merely a matter of consuming a tiny bit of source energy.

This was not "healing," but it could achieve the exact same effect.

Of course, this ability of [Flesh and Blood Manipulation] had its limits. The finer the control, the more difficult it became; it was entirely impossible for him to achieve the level of physical dispersal seen in [Mist Transformation]...

Lin Lei's eyes flickered, and with a single thought, the blood qi radiating from his body gradually condensed into a physical entity before him, transforming into a sharp, blood-colored longsword.

This was a weapon forged from blood, formed by altering the properties of his own blood.

Although the blood weapons wielded by the "Red Corpse" seemed to shatter at the mere touch of Lin Lei's bone sword, in reality, they were far tougher than ordinary steel!

Moreover, even if a blood weapon was shattered, it could be rapidly restored.

However, compared to the bone sword, there was inevitably still a significant gap.

For Lin Lei, who possessed the "Blood Curse" ability, this blood blade was far more formidable than when used by the "Red Corpse" himself.

"The abilities of those bastards in the Blood Cherry Society are indeed all related to 'blood.' If I eliminate more source energy users from the Blood Cherry Society, the combination of these abilities of mine will achieve effects far surpassing any single ability..."

Lin Lei licked his lips.

The [Flesh and Blood Manipulation] ability brought Lin Lei much more than just a physique that was harder to kill.

It also removed the greatest obstacle to his [Bone Sword] ability.

In the past, whenever he activated his bone sword, he had to use it to directly pierce through his skin to launch an attack.

This inevitably caused self-inflicted damage.

It was only because he relied on his formidable physique and strong regenerative powers that he was able to endure such injuries.

Now, with flesh and blood manipulation, he could freely activate his bone sword completely without suffering any wounds.

If he wished, he could even activate the "Ultimate·Blooming" ability at will, paying only a minimal cost.

Not just this technique, but with the existence of [Flesh and Blood Manipulation], he would be able to further explore and unlock even more functional effects of the Bone Sword.

"Right now, the biggest limitations on my [Bone Sword] ability are the total volume of my own bones and the recovery speed of the bone sword..."

The bone sword recovered too slowly and required a massive consumption of source energy.

Even relying on special abilities like "Plunder" that could restore injuries in seconds, it was still very difficult for Lin Lei to use them to restore the bone sword.

Even though limitations remained, countless whimsical and brilliant ideas were already bursting forth in his mind.

However, he quickly shook his head, turned around directly, and headed off into the distance.

The reason he had lured the "Red Corpse" away was precisely because he did not want to display too many of his abilities in front of the other investigators.

At this moment, the "Red Corpse" was dead, but the other investigators were not yet completely safe.

Although the source energy users of the Blood Cherry Society had not intended to fight to the bitter end earlier, the longer the delay, the more variables would arise.

Of course, while Lin Lei's battle with the "Red Corpse" felt like it took a long time, in reality, from the moment Lin Lei rushed deep into the woods to the moment the "Red Corpse" was killed, not even a minute had passed.

Within such a short span of time, if those investigators from the Bureau still couldn't hold their ground, then Lin Lei would have nothing more to say.

In the blink of an eye, Lin Lei rushed out of the forest.

Just as he had expected, the battle between the investigators and the Tier Three source energy users of the Blood Cherry Society was still intensely deadlocked, with no clear victor yet.

Lin Lei's body moved like a phantom, charging straight into the center of the battlefield in the blink of an eye.

Two physical-type investigators stood at the very front, each of them glowing with a layer of fluorescent light.

As Tier Three investigators, they naturally had source artifacts to rely on, either applied for from the Investigation Bureau or exchanged using their own hard-earned investigation points.

Behind the two of them, several injured investigators who still retained consciousness were each activating various abilities to support the two physical-type fighters.

Seeing Lin Lei appear, the faces of several investigators revealed pleasant surprise, while the expressions of the Blood Cherry Society members turned ugly.

Turning into a streak of illusory light, Lin Lei headed straight for the nearest Tier Three source energy user of the Blood Cherry Society!

That Tier Three source energy user was currently tangled in combat with the young investigator. Seeing Lin Lei suddenly arrive, he panicked slightly and hurriedly raised his weapon to parry.

Unfortunately, even without Lin Lei activating any enhancements, it was not something an ordinary Tier Three could block.

The blade tore through the air.

*Swoosh.*

With a single slash, Lin Lei cut the man down to the ground, splitting his body neatly in two.

Although he did not possess the formidable regenerative capabilities of the "Red Corpse," he died on the spot.

And after death, his corpse began to twitch and wriggle, initiating the transformation into a Child of Flesh and Blood.

"Burn it to ashes!" Lin Lei ruthlessly slashed the body several times, hacking the corpse into pieces of mangled flesh, before shouting to the young investigator nearby and raising his blade to charge at the next target.

The astonishment had not yet faded from the young man's face, but he immediately rushed forward, pulled out a flamethrower, and began spraying fire all over the scattered flesh and blood.