Soon, Shenyuan Yi found a hall. This place was originally used by the welfare center to hold events. The hall's usual location was elsewhere, but in this strange environment, it appeared here instead.
After rushing into the hall, Shenyuan Yi quickly scanned his surroundings and secured an escape route, preparing himself for the enemy's arrival. Soon, those eerie sounds drew closer.
The main door creaked open, and a large swarm of strange creatures poured in. Looking closely, they were the same small goblin-like creatures he had encountered before—only this time, there were many more.
These various little monsters emitted incomprehensible, eerie cries as they swarmed toward Shenyuan Yi, climbing rapidly. Their tangled masses made his scalp tingle.
Although he could strengthen his body with his psychic power, his stamina was limited. After all, Shenyuan Yi was still a child's body, so dealing with these creatures was extremely challenging.
"Let's try to eliminate them first. There's no way out of here anyway. If I start running low on energy, I'll have to find a place to hide," he thought.
After dispatching more than a dozen, Shenyuan Yi made a strategic retreat. The more he fought, the more these creatures appeared—how was this even manageable? As everything around him froze, Shenyuan Yi slipped out of the hall amidst the statue-like goblins.
When those creatures recovered and moved again, Shenyuan Yi was already gone. After a moment of confusion, the bizarre little creatures resumed their aimless wandering.
"Hm? What's that noise?"
Carefully advancing, Shenyuan Yi thought he heard something, but when he listened more closely, it fell silent again. Then, a harsh crashing sound caught his attention—it sounded like a building collapsing.
"And… it seems pretty close. Should I check it out?"
Normally, Shenyuan Yi wouldn't take such a risk, but right now, he had no idea how to escape this place. He decided to seize every possible opportunity to explore, confident in his ability to retreat swiftly if needed.
Cautiously, Shenyuan Yi approached the source of the noise. What he saw next nearly made him curse out loud: a massive monster was moving in his field of vision.
It was a terrifying baby-like demon, magnified to monstrous proportions. Its eyes were empty black voids, its mouth sewn shut with blood-dark stitches, yet it emitted low, mournful cries. Nearly three stories tall, the creature was crawling toward a small building.
"Is someone in there?"
From afar, Shenyuan Yi saw a figure inside the building desperately trying to escape. After some thought, he decided to move closer and investigate. This huge demon was likely the source of everything here. If he could kill it, maybe he could escape.
The massive demon soon reached the building, tearing it apart with a few swipes of its hands. When it pulled its hands back, it held a figure— a young woman, screaming in terror as she was carried toward the demon's gaping, torn-open mouth.
"That's…"
Shenyuan Yi recognized her immediately. She was Xiaochun Xingzi, a staff member at the welfare center. Known for her kindness and genuine compassion, she treated all the children equally and was deeply loved and respected.
"**, let her go!"
Still some distance away, Shenyuan Yi bent down and picked up a large chunk of rubble from the collapsed building. He hurled it at the enormous demon. The stone flew through the air with a whistle, hitting the creature but causing no damage. Helplessly, Shenyuan Yi watched Xiaochun Xingzi get swallowed by the monster's massive maw.
Rage surged through Shenyuan Yi's heart. At this moment, he desperately wished he had enough power to kill the demon. But the size difference was overwhelming. Even in his fastest state, what damage could his fists and feet do?
As these negative emotions burst forth, Shenyuan Yi suddenly felt his psychic energy swell uncontrollably. For a moment, he couldn't sense its limits.
Then a thought rose in his mind: his fists caused little damage, but he hit the monsters by imbuing his attacks with psychic energy. What if he directly attacked the demon with that energy?
Shenyuan Yi had tried projecting his psychic power before, but it had limited effect on the outside world. Most of the time, he just used it to strengthen his body. This might be one of the few ways to effectively harm this enormous demon—he had to try.
Gritting his teeth, Shenyuan Yi fixed his gaze on the demon, which was now focused on him. He summoned his will to mobilize the psychic energy within him. Although the giant demon moved slowly, it closed the distance rapidly within seconds. Anxious, Shenyuan Yi suddenly felt the psychic energy stirring inside.
With all his might, he channeled it into his right hand. Then he stretched out his right arm, palm facing the charging demon, and grabbed his right wrist with his left hand to steady it.
"Die!"
With a childish yell, a flash of blue light streaked out. The giant demon staggered, and over half its body shattered, the wounds smooth and rounded. The upper half of a nearby building also vanished, as if some column-like force pierced through both the demon's body and the structure behind it.
From the broken demon body, Xiaochun Xingzi fell out. On the surface, she had no major injuries but was unconscious, her fate unknown.
Feeling utterly drained, Shenyuan Yi almost lost his footing. He steadied his dizzy head. The massive demon lay on the ground, and though seemingly near death, it still tried to crawl back up, but all efforts were in vain.
As he felt his psychic energy rapidly and strangely replenish, Shenyuan Yi gained strength and stood firm. Watching the crippled demon unable to move, he stepped forward.
Shenyuan Yi felt a strange mix of emotions. His heartfelt rage surged fiercely—unnaturally strong—but deep inside, he also maintained a calm, detached perspective.
It was a peculiar sensation, a contradictory yet oddly harmonious feeling—like the awkwardness of drawing circles with one hand and squares with the other suddenly becoming effortless, as natural as eating or drinking.
Shenyuan Yi was roughly in that state: aware something was off inside, yet these emotions were genuinely his own.
Fortunately, a part of his mind remained clear, preventing these turbulent feelings from overwhelming his reason.
The fallen giant demon continued writhing as it tried to crawl toward him. Shenyuan Yi watched, emotions swelling inside.
"Kill it!"
A voice echoed in his mind, repeating relentlessly. He could not suppress it. He stepped closer, gathering psychic energy into his clenched right fist, which seemed to burn with dense blue flames.
The demon's body was already disintegrating, but driven by fury, Shenyuan Yi wanted to land a crushing final blow, pouring all his wrath into that punch—to kill it!
He raised his small fist. To ordinary eyes, it might seem cute or amusing, but to those with talent, the blue flames engulfing his hand were deeply menacing.
As he swung his fist, time seemed to slow again. He clearly saw the blue flames twisting and darkening to black.
A strange sensation flooded his heart. At that moment, Shenyuan Yi could perfectly feel every bit of psychic energy flowing into his right hand, pulsating in rhythm with the muscles and force.
Breathing. Yes, like breathing itself. At this moment, the psychic energy and Shenyuan Yi reached unprecedented synchronization. They became his breath, his pulse, his blood flow—no need for conscious control, the energy moved with him perfectly.
As Shenyuan Yi's fist struck the demon's head, the blackened flames effortlessly tore through everything. A tremendous roar filled the air.
He watched clearly as the demon's body dissolved inch by inch, consumed by the black flames' wave. The roar was the earth beneath the demon cracking and crushing.
As the demon's remains vanished, Shenyuan Yi's emotions gradually calmed. After dispersing his psychic energy, an intense weakness washed over him. He collapsed to the ground, his right hand aching painfully, making him grit his teeth.
"Clack clack…"
Sharp footsteps echoed. Shenyuan Yi turned cautiously and saw a graceful figure emerge from the shadows—a woman with long white hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a black uniform that couldn't conceal her elegant figure.
Relieved to see a person rather than another blood-leaking demon, Shenyuan Yi relaxed—though the woman looked vaguely familiar. Before he could think further, she approached with a puzzled, shocked expression.
Her voice was magnetic, matching her beauty and figure. She looked at the weary but alert boy sitting on the ground and said, "You can call me Mingming. Little one, why are you here? Have you seen anyone else?"
(End of Chapter)
If you'd like, I can help with further chapters or support me at https://www.patreon.com/YugiroTL