The woman's face turned extremely ugly as she let out a sharp shout, drawing her bow again. Before she could act, a shadow flickered before her, and Su Li appeared with a chilling aura, his semi-transparent Ice Serpent Sword slashing down.
The woman had no time to nock and shoot; instinctively, she raised her bow to block the sword.
The Ice Serpent Sword came down with a force exceeding twenty thousand jin, striking heavily. The woman let out a muffled groan of pain as the terrifying power sent the bow flying from her hands. Her palms split open from the impact, blood splattering.
Su Li extended his right arm, the muscles swelling to a near-horrifying degree, as if clad in a massive, heavy armor. Most terrifying of all were the bulging blood vessels on the muscle surface, densely packed and crisscrossing his right arm, vaguely forming the shape of a fearsome serpentine demon coiled around it.
The appearance of the Demon Arm marked the advancement of his "Demon Muscle" into an even more terrifying third form, consuming stamina at eight times the rate while further boosting his strength and speed.
When Su Li swung his Demon Arm horizontally, everything around seemed to fall silent.
The woman had no idea what happened. Even Gong Xiao and Jiang Shuiyu, watching from the side, couldn't see Su Li's arm move—it was as if his right arm had vanished.
By the time they saw his arm again, the swollen, massive fist had already slammed solidly into the woman's cheek.
Her face instantly caved in, twisting irregularly to match the shape of Su Li's fist.
With a "pop," it exploded completely, sending white bone fragments and teeth flying in all directions.
Su Li stopped in place, staring at the headless female corpse before him. Only then did messages flood into his mind.
"Name: Holy Archer. Level: Level 1. Race: Forgotten Human. Holy Archers are promoted from Forgotten Archers. They possess not only superb archery skills and agile movement but also arrows with immense penetrating power, capable of easily piercing ordinary shields. They are the most fearsome enemies on the battlefield."
The data captured by the "Peeking Rune" finally echoed in his mind, followed by another message.
"Level 9 Source User: Source 33/150."
This female Holy Archer, like the Spirit Swordsman before her, granted him six Source points.
"Spirit Swordsman, Holy Archer... interesting." Su Li let out a long breath as his muscles began to retract.
The power of the Demon Arm, manifested in the third form of "Demon Muscle," surprised even him.
If the first and second forms of the Demon Face primarily enhanced the defense of his chest and back, the third form's Demon Arm was a boost to destructive power.
After killing the Spirit Swordsman and Holy Archer, aside from the Source points, three energy orbs rose and merged into Su Li's chest.
These were the Source equipment owned by the slain foes.
Three messages appeared in his mind.
"Name: Azure Flame Sword. Sword Skill: Azure Flame Scorching Sky."
"Name: Green Shadow Bow. Bow Skill: Green Shadow Divine Arrow."
"Name: Dark Ash Knee Guards. Attribute: Nullifies 1000 jin of force attack, enhances stamina for five minutes."
Su Li's eyes flickered with surprise. He couldn't use the Azure Flame Sword or Green Shadow Bow, but the Dark Ash Knee Guards were usable. He immediately began fusing them into his body.
With successful fusion, a new power surged within him. The Dark Ash Knee Guards quickly materialized on his body, connecting to the Purple Pattern Belt above and merging with the Thunder War Boots below, perfectly covering and protecting everything from his waist down.
Compared to ordinary clothing, this Source equipment had many advantages: it wouldn't get wet, wouldn't become damp, could adjust size with his body, was light and weightless, and contained powerful Source energy. These knee guards could help him nullify an additional 1000 jin of force attacks and enhance his stamina, extending his peak strength burst time by five minutes in normal state.
This meant his current peak strength burst time had reached an astonishing 22 minutes.
Even in the first form of "Demon Muscle," he could last 11 minutes.
In the second form, he could hold out for over five minutes.
Of course, the third form consumed too much stamina, and he could still only manage just over two minutes, not yet breaking the three-minute mark.
As for his defense, with the Dark Ash Knee Guards equipped, it had increased to 3800 jin.
This meant that in normal state, entering muscle defense mode, he could directly nullify 3800 jin of force attacks. In the doubled state of "Demon Muscle," this defense became even more terrifying. In short, his physical attack and defense had reached an almost superhuman level.
"Let's go. Get out of here quickly."
Su Li spotted groups of Forgotten Humans in the distance riding wooden rafts toward them. He immediately led Gong Xiao and Jiang Shuiyu away.
Gong Xiao was injured, but there was no time to hunt Source Beasts to recover. Fortunately, her natural recovery was far beyond normal, and the bleeding from her wound had already stopped.
The silver-gray shark the Spirit Swordsman and Holy Archer had ridden was gone, having fled somewhere unknown. Gong Xiao called for the Crocodile-Toothed Turtle, and the three mounted its back, heading off into the distance.
They continued south until the rafts of Forgotten Humans were completely out of sight, then circled back toward the "Golden Eagle Alliance."
By the time they returned to Golden Eagle Building 1B, it was nearly dark. Ding Longyun, Ling Yi, Gu Mingfeng, Xu Haishui, and others were anxiously waiting. When they saw them appear, they let out long sighs of relief.
"Su Li, how did it go?" Ding Longyun called out from a distance.
Ling Yi's gaze was fixed on Gong Xiao. Seeing her injured shoulder, he stiffened, his lips moving as if to speak, but he closed his mouth.
He lacked the courage.
"Call Wu Feng. Everyone gather at my place for a meeting." Su Li gave only one instruction before heading upstairs.
...
...
...
When Su Li emerged after showering and changing into fresh clothes, the spacious living room was filled with people on sofas and chairs.
Ding Longyun, Gong Xiao, Jiang Shuiyu, Wu Feng, Xu Haishui, Gu Mingfeng, Ling Yi, Xu Xuehui—all were present. Qi Mengyu and Zhou Li were busy handing out disposable cups and pouring water for everyone.
Gong Xiao had also changed clothes. She had casually killed an ordinary Source Beast, and the wound on her shoulder had healed. Now, only Luo Jun remained severely injured. His condition was so critical that he had fallen unconscious, unable to even kill a Source Beast. They would have to wait until he recovered enough to find one for him.
Su Li glanced at Zhou Li, recalling Ding Longyun mentioning that she and Xu Haishui might be in a relationship. He hadn't asked for details, but seeing Xu Haishui occasionally cast gentle looks at her, it seemed likely they were indeed a couple.
"Brother Su, I heard them talk about the Forgotten Humans, but they weren't clear on the details. I've even brought everyone from Shimao Center here. What's going on?" Wu Feng couldn't hold back any longer, pressing for answers as soon as Su Li appeared.
Su Li nodded at him, then sat down. "Earlier, Gong Xiao, Shuiyu, and I went north, about seven kilometers from here, and discovered a 'Forgotten City.'"
He then detailed everything about the "Forgotten City."
When the group heard that the Forgotten Humans there numbered at least over five hundred, possibly even a thousand, their faces all changed.
"These so-called Forgotten Humans evolved from the undead."
Su Li went on to explain the origins of the Forgotten Humans.
"Drowned humans, due to Source, become Corpse Beasts. These Corpse Beasts can evolve into higher forms, then into Undead. The Undead's evolution branches: some become more monster-like, called High Undead—like those that attacked us during the rainy night."
"Others regain the intelligence they had as humans, including names and language, but lose their memories, like amnesia. These are called Forgotten Ones, or Forgotten Humans. They see themselves as New Humans and view us as Old Humans, the greatest obstacle to their dominance over this world."
Su Li paused, took a deep breath, and sipped water from his cup, scanning the faces before him. "These Forgotten Humans are powerful. At the same level, they're almost as strong as us. The biggest problem is that, for some reason, they evolve much faster than we do."
He was only Level 9 today, but the Spirit Swordsman and Holy Archer he had just faced were both above Level 10, at least two levels higher than him. And he couldn't be sure they were the highest-level beings in that "Forgotten City." Meanwhile, he was the fastest-evolving member of the entire "Golden Eagle Alliance." Comparing the two, the gap in strength was stark.
Gong Xiao and Ling Yi deeply understood Su Li's point. In the earlier one-on-one fights with the Forgotten Humans, they had barely held their own, fully aware of their opponents' prowess.
Ding Longyun muttered, "So many Forgotten Humans, so close to us... Doesn't that mean they could attack us at any time?"
Su Li nodded. "That's why I called everyone here today."
The atmosphere grew heavy. Knowing that a "Forgotten City" with nearly a thousand inhabitants was just seven kilometers away, and that these Forgotten Humans saw humans as mortal enemies, left everyone uneasy.