"Done! It's okay if you're fragile; I've loaded you up with steel plates that provide shock absorption, collision resistance, and impact resistance. With this, you'll be much tougher."
Wang Linchi looked at the large iron sphere before him. Inside, a huge mass composed of bone and flesh squirmed within a steel-covered container. Every now and then, strange tentacles covered in various tumors would extend.
"Next is development. As a culture vessel, it will take some time for the micro-ecosystem I've implanted in you to fully function."
The current Flesh and blood relic was still quite fragile and possessed no abilities yet. It's just a culture vessel, so what abilities could it possibly have?
It was supposed to rely on the micro-ecosystem cultivated within it to counteract such issues.
"Then, we go under..."
Wang Linchi was about to put away the Flesh and blood relic when a loud BOOM resounded.
The roof of his underground laboratory had been blown off.
"Damn it! Do you people have any decency? Who barges into a house by blowing off its roof?" Wang Linchi cursed in frustration.
"Where's the nobleman? Hand him over!" Kong Huai demanded, his expression furious. "And you still have the nerve to complain?"
"What nobleman? There's no one like that here," Wang Linchi flatly denied, then directly threatened, "You're screwed! I'm a vindictive person. If I don't beat the shit out of you today, it'll only be because you managed to shit cleanly!"
As he spoke, Wang Linchi brought out the Flesh and blood relic.
Upon seeing this, Kong Huai and the other Martial Gods didn't hesitate to act.
They never imagined that the iron-clad, fleshy sphere in Wang Linchi's hands *was* the nobleman they sought. After all, such a thing truly challenged their fundamental understanding of the world.
In the fields of biology and genetics, the Great Zhao Country hadn't delved deep. Due to the prevalence of Martial Arts (the general path), many scientific disciplines were overshadowed by subjects like specific Martial Arts (techniques), Cultivation Techniques, and studies related to blood-qi.
Besides, they were Martial Artists, not researchers. How could they entertain such bizarre ideas?
"It's poisonous! Retreat quickly!" Without even getting close to Wang Linchi, Kong Huai scrambled backward, rolling and crawling away.
From the Flesh and blood relic as the epicenter, a large amount of azure light emanated from Wang Linchi's body. The azure light expanded incredibly rapidly, and everything it covered—be it reinforced concrete or plastic products—rotted instantly.
"Is that... bacteria?"
With the eyesight of Martial Gods, they could discern that the azure light wasn't mere brilliance but a special formation composed of countless bacteria and viruses.
"So it was you." Kong Huai's eyes hardened. Wang Linchi was responsible for the deaths of the two Martial Gods, Qin Tian and Li Bing.
This indirectly confirmed that Wang Linchi was also behind the Palace of Heaven incident.
"This Poison Skill is truly extraordinary," someone remarked, though it didn't stop them from retreating.
Poison Skills were a niche school, and no Martial God had ever achieved true mastery through them.
"Everyone, let's strike together to break his Martial Arts! Otherwise, if he manages to establish his advantage, I'm afraid we'll be completely restricted!" Kong Huai shouted.
Wang Linchi was still channeling his skill. If they didn't strike now, they couldn't just stand by and watch him complete it before attacking them, could they?
No one questioned what method to use against such potent poison; they simply resorted to ranged attacks. As Martial Gods, each had mastered various martial disciplines to some degree and possessed at least a few favored Weapons.
Some drew flying knives from their waists; others simply picked up stones. Even those not proficient in ranged combat could just aim and use Mighty force to hit their target.
A hodgepodge of projectiles flew straight at Wang Linchi.
Within the azure-colored domain, vast quantities of bacteria began to aggregate, eventually forming bizarre, humanoid entities. These aggregates easily blocked the ranged attacks and then pounced on the Martial Gods.
The Martial Gods were not unfamiliar with these humanoid oddities. When they had previously dealt with Qin Tian and Li Bing, who had turned into poisonous corpses after death, similar strange things had crawled out of their bodies.
However, when inside those two corpses, the entities hadn't been humanoid but rather a large, fluid-like mass.
"Fire!" Kong Huai yelled.
To exterminate these oddities, high temperatures were necessary.
Fire-system Martial Arts, fueled by the Martial Gods' immense blood-qi, instantly conjured a towering inferno.
All the humanoid abnormalities were charred black in the fire. Even the azure-colored domain began to shrink upon contact with the high temperatures.
"'High temperature is indeed their bane.' Wang Linchi observed this without surprise. Perfection is elusive, after all."
It was only logical that his opponents would find a solution.
"Just surrender," Kong Huai urged, witnessing the azure-colored domain being suppressed by the fire-system Martial Arts.
For Kong Huai, Wang Linchi was unimportant; the nobleman was all that mattered.
"I've only just warmed up, and you want me to surrender? That hardly seems right, does it?" Wang Linchi chuckled.
He had barely exerted any effort. Whether it was the azure-colored domain or the humanoid monstrosities, they were merely the instinctive defenses of his micro-ecological body. His true power was focused on the Flesh and blood relic; he hadn't even tapped into his blood-qi yet.
His abilities were indeed peculiar, but ultimately, the Martial Artist system was his foundation. The battle wouldn't truly begin until he mobilized his blood-qi.
"Alright then, I'm getting serious. You all better hold on tight!" Wang Linchi declared as variegated blood-qi emerged from his body. This substantial qi gradually permeated the azure-colored domain, and even the Flesh and blood relic became tinged with a bizarre appearance. Numerous tentacles stretched out from it, their tips blooming with eyes like flower buds.
Seeing this scene, everyone's hair stood on end.
Their bodies, from skin to bone, seemed to squirm from the inside out, making them feel as if every part of them was being drawn towards the giant Flesh and blood relic.
"What... what kind of Martial Arts is this? Why... why does it make us want to merge with it?" Kong Huai forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his body and asked involuntarily.
"This is All Beings Equal," Wang Linchi said with a laugh, forming a peculiar hand seal. Instantly, the steel armor encasing the Flesh and blood relic began to detach, floating protectively around it.
Everyone could now clearly see what lay at the center of the Flesh and blood relic.
It was a blurry human face, indistinct for now, yet emanating an aura of compassion.
The absurd contradiction of it all made their expressions shift drastically.
"Damn it, what the hell is this thing?" Kong Huai found himself completely immobile, able only to watch as the radiance from the Flesh and blood relic gradually enveloped them.
"Withdraw quickly..." a Martial God said through gritted teeth.
They had a premonition: if covered by that light, they would completely disintegrate into a cellular state, eventually merging into that compassionate yet blurry human face, becoming a part of it.
This wasn't their own conscious thought; it was the yearning of their very cells.
Instantly, everyone unleashed their Divine Skills—those who could ignite their blood did so, and those who could ignite their life force followed suit. One by one, they forcefully broke free from the eerie control of the Flesh and blood relic and swiftly withdrew, faces etched with lingering fear.
They were even too scared to utter any defiant words.
After they had left, Wang Linchi hurriedly shut down the Flesh and blood relic's functions, a pained look on his face.
If the other side had held on for another hour, Wang Linchi would have been the first to run. But they couldn't have endured it. In at most three more minutes, those ten or so Martial Gods would have been refined into his Flesh and blood relic.
It will have to recover for a couple more days, Wang Linchi noted after a quick inspection, finding the Flesh and blood relic had suffered minor damage.
It had, after all, only recently come into being and hadn't been tempered many times; naturally, it was still somewhat fragile.
As for fighting them myself... I can crush a single Martial God. Three would require some effort. With five, it'd be an even match. But ten Martial Gods? I wouldn't stand a chance. Two fists can't fend off four hands, let alone twenty from them. The thing is, I *am* using a plug-in! It's only when I'm against ten of them that I can't win. How could that not be considered a plug-in?
Once my Flesh and blood relic fully matures, I'll be able to take on all the Human Martial Gods and Alien Kings by myself. External force is meant to be borrowed, especially since it's often time-limited—and particularly when this current plug-in isn't quite enough on its own.
I still underestimated the Martial Gods. It seems the Alien Kings are no pushovers either.
Twelve Alien Kings can hold off thirty-six Martial Gods. The Martial Gods aren't weak, so the caliber of the Alien Kings must be high too.
Thankfully, not all of them came. Otherwise, I might not have been able to bluff my way through, Wang Linchi admitted to himself, recalling the flicker of panic he'd felt when he first saw those ten or so Martial Gods.
Fortunately, they valued their lives. If it had come to a direct clash... well, I would've just had to continue using my plug-in to crush them.
