Chapter 54: The Limits of a Level Two Thought Evolver

At this moment, Feng Qun’s expression was grim. He wasn’t certain what Qin Hao’s true strength meant, but he knew it was far beyond anything he could threaten. The bravado he’d displayed earlier had evaporated; the humiliation struck as swiftly as a tornado.

Qin Hao, meanwhile, was absorbing the energy from the Star Energy Crystals. Each mental tendril reached out, engulfing a crystal, growing stronger and more formidable with each one, pushing his cognitive abilities to new heights. His mind throbbed with pain, but he endured it. The consumption of Star Energy was immense.

Ten thousand...
Twenty thousand...
Fifty thousand...
One hundred thousand...

A hundred thousand Star Energy Crystals vanished, and Qin Hao was shrouded in radiant starlight. Nearby evolvers breathed in the glow, feeling invigorated. The brilliance concealed Qin Hao’s transformation—the distorted features, the lengthening hair, all signs of his mind undergoing a tremendous upheaval.

He expanded the domain of his mind, pushing his mental faculties to their limits. Finally, he heard the voice he’d been waiting for.

[Your mental power has reached the maximum limit for a Level 2 Evolver.]

“Ah!”
Qin Hao shaped his mental power into a blade and cut his own hair. The surrounding light withdrew, revealing him within the starlit radiance. For a moment, the witnesses felt compelled to fall to their knees and worship.

Qin Hao stood encircled by his mental tendrils, his form and features blurred, yet a thought pierced their souls:
Too powerful.
This man was simply too powerful.

Retracting his mental tendrils, Qin Hao watched as three hours of cultivation slipped by. The sun hung high overhead, oppressive summer heat stifling the air, hunger setting in and sapping the fighters’ motivation.

“It’s coming,”
Qin Hao lifted his gaze to the sky.
Feng Qun, who had kept a close eye on Qin Hao, was equally intrigued when he saw Qin Hao looking upward.

Just then, he noticed the sun missing a segment.
“An eclipse?” Feng Qun muttered, but his eyes widened in alarm.
The darkness grew, eclipsing the sun and casting a shadow. This was no eclipse—it was a massive spatial black hole.

“How is this possible? How can a black hole appear now? Isn’t it supposed to emerge at noon each day?”
Feng Qun began to panic.

In the night, monsters deployed by the Claw Civilization became highly active. Over days, they’d learned the creatures’ habits—keeping lights off after dark and avoiding the black holes that spawned new monsters. Each evening, they retreated to the highest floor of the city government building, and Zhuo Fan would activate the title of Fanged Demon Butcher to repel the Fanged Demons. With fewer Fanged Demons, the Snake Demons dwindled, and sometimes not a single one appeared all night—it was safe.

But now, in broad daylight, a spatial black hole had materialized.

At that moment, Zhuo Fan, who should have been asleep, ran out in a panic.

“Something’s wrong, something’s wrong! I just received a main quest—the alien civilization is invading, right here in Yangchuan City. All Level 1 Evolvers!”

Zhuo Fan was beside himself, seeking out Feng Qun first, then remembering as he’d drifted to sleep, another had arrived—Qin Hao.

“Mr. Qin Hao, what should we do? What is happening?”

Feng Qun’s heart pounded in his throat.
“What are Level 1 Evolvers? How strong are they?”

Zhuo Fan was desperate, even regretful he hadn’t improved his own abilities, thinking the Peace Alliance could slow the alien invasion, allow gradual progress. Now, he realized such beliefs were naive.

“When humans undergo Star Energy Body Forging, mastering star energy and training, they reach a certain threshold. Then, they can buy medicine to break the Level 1 gene lock and truly become evolvers. Comparing a Level 1 Evolver’s strength to ours...”
Zhuo Fan struggled to find a word.

“It’s like heaven and earth.”

“How strong do you have to be to use the Level 1 gene lock medicine? Can I use it now?” Feng Qun asked hurriedly.

But Zhuo Fan’s gaze shifted from panic to cold determination.

“Chief Feng, the greater good matters—I cannot die. If anyone is to use the Level 1 gene lock medicine, I must be first. You’d best start gathering Star Energy Crystals—a thousand will suffice.”

Qin Hao heard Zhuo Fan and gave a derisive snort.
Zhuo Fan, only now thinking of this.

In the Hero System shop, Star Energy Body Forging cost ten thousand hero points—the hardest item to purchase, since hero points could only be gained by slaying monsters or being worshipped. Originally, ten thousand hero points equaled about one Star Energy Crystal, but when Qin Hao was in the Magic City, he demanded ten crystals outright.

Strength and agility potions—used to instantly boost combat power—were expensive, each costing a thousand Star Energy Crystals.

Yet the gene-breaking medicine cost only one hundred crystals.

This led many heroes, upon unlocking a new gene lock, to buy the medicine without hesitation.

Now, the gene-breaking medicine, valued at one hundred crystals, was being demanded at ten times the price, and Feng Qun believed it.
It was a seller’s market.

Qin Hao said, “You’d best collect those ten thousand Star Energy Crystals later. For now, run—run as far as you can. Otherwise, when the battle begins, you may very well...” Qin Hao paused, then continued, “...die with nothing left of your bodies.”

With those words, Qin Hao suddenly activated his titles.

Fanged Demon Butcher.
Snake Demon Butcher.

Two blood-red curses appeared upon him.

The curses sent the nearby Fanged Demons, who had been attacking humans, into terrified screams, while the Snake Demons fled, tails between their legs.

Zhuo Fan also possessed the Fanged Demon Butcher title, but with so few Snake Demons, he had only slain three hundred. He had no idea how Qin Hao had managed to kill ten thousand.

At that moment, from the spatial black hole above, a swarm of creatures emerged.

Their carapaces gleamed silver, resembling giant mantises with two sharp scythe-like arms.

One after another, countless Claw Insects descended and landed smoothly, then communicated via mental tendrils.

“So this is Blue Star?”
“Over there are their intelligent species.”
“They look delicious—let’s go.”

After exchanging thoughts, the Claw Insects targeted the humans. One surged forward, moving like a whirlwind.

“Splatter!”

Two human heads were severed, blood spraying three feet away.

The bodies fell with a splash, as if a stone had shattered the calm surface of a lake, sending ripples through the crowd.

“Run!”
Feng Qun roared.