Mutation

Without the slightest hesitation, Bai Xiaodu savagely crushed his head!

Intricate metal shards splattered everywhere, and Awuna's voice abruptly quieted down.

His red electronic eye flickered, the dark intervals growing visibly longer.

As that foot came down, the faint silver ripples in the surroundings shuddered.

They began to gather, drawing closer at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Bai Xiaodu reached out and, with a gentle wave, drew the nearest silver ripples toward himself.

A strange sensation washed over his entire body.

A look of astonishment and doubt crossed Bai Xiaodu's face, for he felt himself slowly... growing taller?!

He checked his bones, but there were no signs of physical stretching or growth.

Bai Xiaodu understood in an instant.

This was not physical growth, but growth on a spiritual level!

To be a transcendent meant to rise above mortals.

Once one officially stepped into this realm, they could truly resist the power originating from their Pathway.

Similarly, they could also channel and use the Pathway's origin power for themselves.

Bai Xiaodu stared blankly as the ripples continuously surged toward him, wrapping him in a silvery-white vortex.

Little by little, they were devoured and absorbed.

At this rate, it would take about half an hour for him to completely absorb all the ripples.

Was it over? Just like that?

So, where did Grandma go?

After escaping from Director-General Shen's courtyard back then, he had immediately contacted Xin Hai'an to have everyone in the orphanage relocated.

Only Grandma was missing.

It was as if she had vanished into thin air; none of the children knew her whereabouts.

Where was he supposed to look for her?

It couldn't possibly be Shen...

He shook his head, suppressing the terrifying thought.

It seemed he could only ask Xin Hai'an to leverage her connections and use some transcendent powers to search for her.

Bai Xiaodu frowned, casting another glance at the ruined metal shards beneath his feet.

Was this guy really his opponent for the ascension ceremony?

He was pitifully weak.

For someone of this level to dare ask if he was worthy of being a Rank 0.9 Warlock Apprentice—such a bot was simply laughable.

But he was surprisingly resilient; even with nothing left but a face attached to a broken chip, he could still flicker a couple of times.

Bai Xiaodu raised his foot and stomped down heavily once more.

“Hmm?”

Bai Xiaodu's expression suddenly changed.

An invisible force was firmly blocking him!

“True Dragon Manifestation!”

Without a second thought, Bai Xiaodu bellowed.

The crimson light around his body expanded wildly, and the illusory golden dragon horns on his head almost solidified!

He used his foot to pin down this resisting force while his other hand quickly reached for the remnant sword he had thrown earlier.

An unexpected variable meant trouble, and trouble meant disaster!

No matter the situation, strike first!

Gathering all his strength, his arm traced a beautiful arc as the remnant sword tore through the air, whistling back to him.

It clashed against the invisible barrier, producing the sharp, metallic ring of clashing weapons!

The impact left his arm numb and aching, almost making him drop the remnant sword. Bai Xiaodu's heart sank.

Seeing this, Awuna let out a miserable laugh.

“Even if you kill me... so what?”

“My master has been watching from the shadows the entire time, haha! He just told me to accept his enhancement so I can fight you once more.”

Bai Xiaodu delivered another stomp, eliciting a muffled groan from Awuna.

Even with the invisible force absorbing most of the impact, as the direct target, he still felt the aftershocks.

Enduring the crackling electric currents from his chip, Awuna continued.

“My master became a transcendent long ago. He told me that this time, he will transmit all of his lifetime combat memories and techniques to me! Enjoy your arrogance while it lasts, because I will have my revenge very soon!”

Hearing this, a peculiar expression appeared on Bai Xiaodu's face.

He retracted his foot and promptly began to back away.

The vortex of silver ripples restricted his movements, making his retreat somewhat slow.

Awuna laughed triumphantly.

“Are you afraid? To think someone as unreasonable as you, who wanted to crush me to dust just because of a single wrong word, would actually feel fear! If you beg for mercy now, maybe I'll give you a quick death...”

The taunting voice cut off abruptly. Bai Xiaodu immediately accelerated his retreat.

Suddenly, Awuna shrieked, his voice filled with agony.

His red electronic eye began to flash rapidly like an alarm!

“No! No!!!”

Awuna's face twisted frantically.

Bai Xiaodu narrowed his wine-red eyes, watching that crazed face as it repeatedly morphed into the features of another person.

Initially, he had been slightly concerned when he heard that the so-called master was going to intervene directly.

But the moment he heard about the transmission of memories, Bai Xiaodu instantly realized what was happening.

Meanwhile, Awuna's face was filled with disbelief, accompanied by a complete, despairing breakdown.

“Master! Master! You can't do this! You promised to help me realize my dream!”

His expression shifted, and Awuna spoke with a cold sneer.

“My good disciple, isn't your master helping you realize your dream right now? Stop resisting, and I will make you a transcendent this instant!”

Awuna's expression shifted again, his eyes filled with madness and pain.

“I loved you so much! I saw you as my everything, like a father who descended from the divine kingdom to save me! I swore countless times in secret that once I became a transcendent and got my revenge, I would do everything in my power to repay you! But now, you want to kill me!”

Awuna's face distorted completely, as if it were being forcibly devoured by another face.

“Swear? Repay? You lowly lower-city mongrel.”

“A piece of trash whose entire body doesn't contain a single piece of decent material, yet you think you're worthy of calling me master? To tell you the truth, I was also the one who ordered that sudden tax increase. Otherwise, how would you have cultivated so hard?”

“I only used you because your talent was slightly better, making you suitable material for my blood-refining! And you dare resist? You're asking for death!”

Under Bai Xiaodu's gaze, Awuna's screams grew fainter and fainter, as if slowly plunging into the depths of a bottomless abyss.

He was cast into eternal damnation, with not a single breath of life remaining.

In his place emerged a brand-new, unfamiliar mechanical face.

Once the face fully formed, the shattered parts scattered across the room began to float into the air.

They bonded, pieced together, and reassembled.

In an instant, a body—though slightly damaged, but still passably normal—reappeared.

Flickering open its deep blue electronic eyes, "Awuna" cast a meaningful glance at Bai Xiaodu, who had retreated dozens of meters away.

He secretly felt it was a pity.

He could have detonated a portion of Awuna's body to injure the boy, thereby avoiding direct intervention and steering clear of the karma of the ceremony itself.

However, Bai Xiaodu had retreated far too quickly.

Although this distance was well within his reach, a self-detonation would obviously fail to hit him.

The silver ripples in the air that had not yet been fully absorbed were still highly intimidating.

This was the origin of the 【Spellcasting】 Pathway.

The Mage Emperor's ascension ceremony was "Winner Takes All."

Killing the fox before him would certainly be a breeze.

But if he were to force his way through this barrier and attack Bai Xiaodu, who had already completed the ritual and was currently in the process of ascending, and if he were judged to be the winner of this ceremony, the remaining 【Spellcasting】 origin would flood into him all at once, then things would get highly problematic.

Looking up at the wary Bai Xiaodu, he took the initiative to speak, a smile playing on his face.

“Hello there, young friend of the silver fox-kin.”

“Since this is our first meeting, I wonder if I might borrow something from you so we can form a good relationship?”

Bai Xiaodu raised an eyebrow.

Having listened to the entire conversation between him and Awuna, Bai Xiaodu understood exactly what kind of creature he was dealing with.

He spoke with clear sarcasm.

“Your Excellency... surely you don't mean to borrow this fine head of mine?”