Chapter 00087: Crushing
# Crushing
Chapter 87
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 87: Crushing
Ding Huan didn’t bring Old Six with him, only accompanying Nian Jinqing to the Dongxun Gene Center building.
"President Nian," the security at the entrance and the receptionist greeted Nian Jinqing with utmost respect as he arrived at the Dongxun Gene Center building.
As for Ding Huan, who came with him, no one bothered to check his background.
"Is Chairman Shi here?" Nian Jinqing asked.
The receptionist quickly replied, "There’s an issue at the human corridor defense line, so the chairman has been invited to the frontlines. However, Principal Anton Ao is here, along with Officer Xiao Qiang. Please wait a moment, I’ll inform them."
"No need, I’ve already arranged a meeting with the principal. We’ll head up ourselves," Nian Jinqing said.
He understood that Ding Huan didn’t want the Gene Alliance to know about his presence, which was why Ding Huan hadn’t gone to the Beast King Group headquarters but instead set a trap for him.
Nian Jinqing was a big shot, and since he had arranged meetings like this before, the receptionist didn’t insist and let him head straight to the elevator.
...
The Gene Alliance’s headquarters in Puhai was the Dongxun Gene Center building.
However, the real leaders of the Gene Alliance mostly worked on the top floor of the building, where the conference rooms were also located.
It was on this top floor that Ding Huan had once wiped out everyone in the conference room.
Nian Jinqing was a frequent visitor and knew where Anton Ao’s office was.
"Teacher Ding, Anton Ao is one thing, but I’ve heard that Officer Xiao Qiang’s cultivation is extremely strong, almost on par with the chairman," Nian Jinqing cautiously informed Ding Huan in the elevator.
Ding Huan nodded.
Some of these people had been cultivating for over twenty years, so it was normal for their cultivation to be higher than his.
But what use was high cultivation?
On the Changyi Continent, Ding Huan had seen plenty of ninth-level gene cultivators.
However, there was a huge difference between ninth-level gene cultivators.
Many had high cultivation but were actually weak in combat.
The truly powerful ninth-level gene cultivators were those with spiritual roots, and most of them could build a foundation.
In his previous life, Ding Huan had been a fourth-level gene cultivator.
To be honest, his combat strength back then was entirely reliant on sheer willpower.
Now, he was also a fourth-level gene cultivator, but it was on a completely different level.
Not only did he know some spells, but more importantly, he now had a gene spiritual root.
The difference between a cultivator with a spiritual root and one without was like night and day.
Seeing that Ding Huan didn’t say much, Nian Jinqing stopped talking.
He had seen Ding Huan’s strength firsthand.
That invisible blade energy was something even Chairman Shi Changqian would have a hard time dodging.
When they arrived outside Anton Ao’s office, Nian Jinqing habitually went to knock on the door, but Ding Huan simply kicked it open.
Inside the office sat three people—two men and a woman—apparently discussing something.
The door being kicked open startled them, and all three stood up abruptly.
Ding Huan saw clearly that the fastest to react was a thin, pale-skinned man, likely of Chinese descent.
This was probably Xiao Qiang, the one Nian Jinqing had mentioned.
Nian Jinqing wasn’t wrong.
Ding Huan could tell at a glance that this thin, pale man’s cultivation was at least beyond the fourth level, possibly even beyond the fifth level of gene cultivation.
The man’s true essence aura was extremely vigorous.
Unfortunately, it was of no use because his true essence was scattered and unfocused.
Just like Ding Huan in his previous life, unable to fully utilize his true essence, his offensive capabilities were limited.
Because of this, Ding Huan wasn’t worried.
A cultivator with a spiritual root or gene spiritual root, after decades of cultivation, wouldn’t be unable to conceal their true essence aura at the fifth or sixth level.
This guy’s aura was leaking out everywhere, which meant he had reached his limit.
"Nian Jinqing, what are you doing?" the woman was the first to angrily shout.
Anton Ao and Xiao Qiang didn’t say anything, nor did they look at Nian Jinqing.
Their eyes were fixed on Ding Huan.
"You’re Ding Huan, right?" Anton Ao had seen Ding Huan once before, and with Ding Huan’s reputation, he recognized him immediately.
As for Nian Jinqing, neither Anton Ao nor Xiao Qiang paid him any attention.
Nian Jinqing was covered in blood, his aura unstable, clearly severely injured.
A severely injured Nian Jinqing coming to the Gene Alliance headquarters with Ding Huan—no explanation was needed.
They knew exactly what was going on.
Ding Huan had forced Nian Jinqing to come.
The woman also realized this and felt embarrassed for not seeing it sooner.
"Principal Anton Ao, long time no see," Ding Huan said with a smile as he walked in, seemingly completely unfazed by Xiao Qiang’s presence.
In truth, Ding Huan was slightly wary of Xiao Qiang, as he was the strongest of the three.
Not fearing him didn’t mean ignoring him.
Anton Ao was likely a fourth-level gene cultivator and an earth-level martial artist, which meant nothing to Ding Huan.
Even if Xiao Qiang was weak, he was probably a sixth-level gene cultivator.
"Ding Huan?" The woman looked at Ding Huan in surprise.
Ding Huan was simply too famous.
Before Ding Huan’s father disappeared, he had visited her Qin family.
Xiao Qiang suddenly raised his hand, sending over a dozen white lights shooting toward Ding Huan.
As he attacked, Xiao Qiang was confident that even if Ding Huan was a sixth-level gene cultivator, he wouldn’t be able to dodge his sudden Spatial Lock Ice Blades.
This wasn’t just about having abundant true essence; it required true essence combined with mental force.
Xiao Qiang was certain that no more than three people in the world understood mental force.
Moreover, the concept of mental force was something he had created himself—force following thought.
In Xiao Qiang’s eyes, the higher one’s cultivation, the less important the abundance of true essence became in battle.
What mattered was the precision of one’s attacks.
This was a form of micro-control over true essence.
Launching over a dozen hand blades at once wasn’t difficult.
The hard part was ensuring each blade had its own unique force and angle, rather than being uniform.
His dozen killing blades might look the same, but in reality, not only did their force and angles differ, but their sequence also varied.
Some blades appeared to aim for the chest, but if blocked, they would instantly change direction to strike the heart or other vital areas.
This was what Xiao Qiang called "mental force"—using thought to control force.
Of course, to block his dozen Spatial Lock Ice Blades, the prerequisite was that Ding Huan could withstand the pressure of his sixth-level gene cultivator’s true essence.
Otherwise, forget blocking the blades; just staying upright would be a challenge.
Ding Huan’s spiritual sense had been focused on Xiao Qiang the entire time.
The moment Xiao Qiang attacked, Ding Huan knew.
Even so, when Xiao Qiang’s dozen Spatial Lock Ice Blades appeared, Ding Huan still felt the surrounding space being locked down by the blade energy.
No matter which direction he moved, he would be blocked by three blades and then surrounded by the rest.
This oppressive aura was far stronger than the giant ape he had killed at the foot of Qianluo Mountain.
Indeed, it was strong.
Ding Huan was certain that if he didn’t have spiritual sense, he would have had to choose the weakest point to escape.
Even though Xiao Qiang was a sixth-level gene cultivator, his true essence aura wasn’t stronger than Ding Huan’s—in fact, it was slightly weaker.
Even without spiritual sense, Ding Huan would have only been slightly more disheveled.
This further reinforced Ding Huan’s understanding of the immense utility of spiritual sense for a cultivator.
Because his spiritual sense had captured the force and locking positions of Xiao Qiang’s Spatial Lock Ice Blades, Ding Huan leaped into the air from his spot.
Seeing Ding Huan dare to jump into the air to dodge his Spatial Lock Ice Blades, Xiao Qiang’s eyes showed disdain.
If his blades could be dodged so easily, he wouldn’t have bothered showing off.
However, the next moment, Xiao Qiang was stunned.
Ding Huan’s hair almost brushed the ceiling, and two of the flying blades were stepped on by Ding Huan’s feet.
The rest of the blades seemed to have eyes, narrowly missing Ding Huan as they flew past.
Before Xiao Qiang could speak, Ding Huan sent a wind blade slashing toward his neck.
A sense of extreme danger surged through Xiao Qiang, and he quickly tilted his head, dodging to the side.
"Huh!" Ding Huan was surprised that Xiao Qiang had such strong intuition to dodge his wind blade.
But before Ding Huan even landed, his body shifted sideways several meters, and he kicked out.
Xiao Qiang had just steadied himself when a large footprint slammed into his face.
"Crack!" The sound of his nose breaking was clear, and under the immense force, Xiao Qiang was sent flying, crashing into the wall and sliding down.
Despite the pain in his nose, Xiao Qiang stared in shock at the bed.
The wind blade he had dodged had split the bed in half.
If he hadn’t dodged, that wind blade would have torn him in two.
Xiao Qiang, ignoring his injuries, felt uneasy.
This level of strength...
It was definitely not weaker than the chairman.
Perhaps his true essence wasn’t as strong as the chairman’s, but that effortless control was on par with an innate expert.
Anton Ao, who had initially wanted to block Ding Huan’s path, turned pale and quietly retracted the foot he had been about to step forward with.
He knew exactly how strong Xiao Qiang was.
Even though he practiced both martial arts and gene cultivation, his strength was nowhere near Xiao Qiang’s.
Xiao Qiang, standing in the corner, didn’t continue to attack.
He knew he might not be Ding Huan’s match.
Ding Huan was likely beyond a seventh-level gene cultivator, and that invisible blade energy was impossible to defend against.
Although he didn’t attack again, Xiao Qiang kept his eyes on Ding Huan.
He still had a trump card.
If Ding Huan attacked, he would fight with everything he had.
(That’s all for today’s update.
Goodnight, friends!)
(End of Chapter)