Chapter 17 The Day of Awakening_2

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The battle began to stretch on, becoming prolonged and intense.

Ten minutes, dozens of minutes, an hour—

Cen Dongsheng gradually started to feel the strain.

The power of the Tiger Demon had significantly transformed his body, but ultimately, he was still flesh and blood, not a machine... No, even a machine would easily be damaged under such fierce vibrations.

He began to feel exhausted. The onslaught was more intense than expected, the curses more troublesome than imagined, and the ghosts themselves were like unkillable cockroaches.

Cen Dongsheng was on his twenty-third attempt of tearing apart the limbs and body of the burnt corpse evil spirit, yet each time, it resurrected from the fire.

He was initially wary of Kong Yulin in secret, but possibly due to the intensity of the battle and her fear of getting involved, she hadn't intervened; and on Cen Dongsheng's side, he gradually had no time to worry about anything else.

A week still felt too short, whether it was the accumulation of True Qi or...

Cen Dongsheng thought.

If only his superpower could awaken to the First Level Superpower, he wouldn't be in such a dire situation.

He could feel that both he and the burnt corpse evil spirit were weakening, having reached their limit.

His fists grew heavier, his steps felt weighed down like they were filled with lead; the flames on the burnt corpse were no longer as fierce as before. The once overwhelming flames that seemed as though they could set the entire Xiaokang Building ablaze had now shrunk to a small circle less than ten meters in range.

When Cen Dongsheng twisted the opponent's neck for the twenty-fourth time, the burnt corpse could no longer resurrect from the fire unscathed. Its half-arm couldn't regenerate; it was missing half a leg, unable to run, only able to stagger.

He found some solace in knowing that as the battle dragged on, the intense pain from the burning of his flesh gradually became less excruciating.

Just as Cen Dongsheng realized this, in a moment of distraction, he looked down at his hand...

To be precise, there was no hand left. The flesh had been burnt away, leaving only charred bones.

Cen Dongsheng was internally shocked.

No wonder it didn't hurt; even the nerves had been completely burned away, leaving only the bone, naturally absolving him from pain.

In a daze, he touched his face with his skeletal hand; the rough touch made him realize that half of his face had also been burned away.

Cen Dongsheng looked down further, noticing a large hole burnt through his abdomen, his internal organs charred and scattered, leaving nothing but emptiness.

Fully immersed in the battle, he hadn't noticed the miserable state he was in.

Come to think of it, the "power of the Tiger Demon" seemed almost miraculous, maintaining his fighting ability even in such a state—

No, that's not the point he should be considering right now. The real question is if this continues...

Could he really die?

Even if he didn't die in battle, with his body's current wretched state, once his True Qi was exhausted, would he really survive afterward...?

"Bang!"

Cen Dongsheng punched the burnt corpse's head once more, shattering half of its skull.

But this time, an unavoidable confusion emerged within him.

*

In fact, what the young man showed as "fighting instinct" was merely the accumulation from day-to-day training and real combat. He never truly thought it through, always struggling to survive.

So when Cen Dongsheng had the chance to really think, he couldn't help but wonder:

—Had he just been reborn for less than two months, only to face death once again?

He intended to protect An Zhizhen, but he never anticipated that he might have to sacrifice his life.

According to his original plan, the initial period of living in this city wasn't supposed to be too dangerous. Coupled with his "foresight," he thought he could avoid those forbidden zones; on the other hand, once An Zhizhen awakened her ability, he could quite leisurely become a "Minister of Dragon," leading a privileged life.

Although he had expanded his ambition after obtaining parts of a Special Grade Curse Prohibition, his personal plan hadn't changed much.

But the unexpected "ghost house transformation" of Xiaokang Building, the outsider Curse Forbidden Master, the unknown Forbidden Items... all these unforeseen events disrupted his preparations, coming too abruptly.

Was this second chance, hard won and never to be had again, about to end here...?!

Gradually, his heart began to grow restless, indescribable emotions surging within him.

In truth, Cen Dongsheng, before his rebirth, had been merely a mediocre man.

Why would someone with no prior success in life assume that in this lifetime, armed with some foresight, he'd surely succeed?

Bearing a Class A curse, he believed that even without awakening his superpower, he could confront a Class B Core Ghost based on his foundational strength. This was a judgment based on his personal experience.

Could it be incorrect?

Of course, it could. As stated before, he wasn't a successful man, nor had he ever encountered high-grade curses, so misjudgment was very possible.

But right now, if he ran away, there was still time—

Was there still time...?

Was he really going to abandon An Zhizhen... abandon Sister Zhi Zhen?

Even if he fled, with his current body...

... Calm down, calm down.

He watched the charred remains fall from his hands, saw the large burnt hole in his abdomen;

He observed the dimming firelight all around him, the evil spirit's regeneration capability edging towards its end.

Both sides were nearing their limits. Even without considering what happens next, he had to gamble in this battle, betting on which side would collapse first, determining the loser.

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