This Spiritual Energy is Lethal!
Chapter 456: Beyond the Shadow of Time

Chapter 456: Chapter 456: Beyond the Shadow of Time

Chen Ke glared and his first instinct was to shoot.

In that quick moment, the man sidestepped the muzzle, grabbed Chen Ke’s arm, and kicked fiercely at his knee, causing Chen Ke to lose his balance and be thrown over the shoulder.

In less than a second, the ceiling and floor seemed to switch places twice and his shoulder violently hit the ground.

But Chen Ke was tough and wasn’t confused by just a throw. His left leg kicked fiercely towards the back above his head. The man shielded his chest with both arms, blocking the kick. Following the momentum of his leg, Chen Ke rolled forward, lay on his side on the ground, and aimed his gun backwards.

Chen Ke only saw the man’s dark silhouette before he commanded to fire.

"Ugh!" He felt something being drawn out from his body, and the life timer at the corner of his eye instantly deducted 180 hours from the maximum.

The muzzle of the Black Gun trembled slightly, an unsettling humming sound emanated from it, and the next second, a red-tinted black beam of light shot out.

Almost simultaneously, the tremendous recoil forced Chen Ke’s hands above his head, while the man swiftly pressed his body rightward, making an evasive move!

"Boom!"

As if the earth shook and the mountains moved, the beam pierced through the ceiling of the orphanage’s fourth floor. The overwhelming force also shattered the surrounding brick walls, cement chunks fell from the sky, dust filled the air, and the black and red beam roared towards the gloomy sky, piercing the clouds.

Chen Ke’s eyes widened as he watched the man, who was still in the evasive posture, with his red tie sliced halfway and a large tear on the left shoulder of his black suit.

"He dodged it!" Chen Ke’s face darkened, unable to believe what he saw.

The man was equally surprised, looking at his left shoulder from which blood was seeping.

"You?" the man said.

"You’ve wasted 180 hours of mine!" Chen Ke exclaimed angrily.

"Your math isn’t great, a week is actually 168 hours," the man shook his head.

"I wasn’t referring to that!" Chen Ke suddenly stood up, crushed another painful soul with his left hand, reducing his lifespan limit to 70 hours.

Not enough... not enough... It needs to be over 200, he thought to himself, but by then, the man had already attacked.

Chen Ke could no longer use the Black Gun, but the man clearly didn’t know, and due to the massive force of the previous shot, he was somewhat wary of the weapon.

He positioned himself in a CQC stance, lowered his body, and protected the gun at his waist with his right hand.

"CQC? Hmm?" the man smirked, shook his hands, and positioned his feet inward, making a Wing Chun hand gesture.

"Are you joking with me...?" Chen Ke shook his head and stepped forward, swinging his left fist towards the man’s chin.

Naturally, this very obvious left straight punch was simply blocked by the man with his right hand holding the gun, seeing an opportunity to strike, he thrust the barrel towards the man’s throat.

The man was quick, his left hand struck first, intercepting Chen Ke’s straight punch before his right fist jabbed Chen Ke’s abdomen four times in a second, then he suddenly jumped, knee hitting Chen Ke on the nose.

"Uh..." Chen Ke felt something in his stomach rise to his throat; his abdominal muscles were tense but still were penetrated by the man’s knuckle joints, followed by a heat on his face as blood squirted from his nose.

The man firmly grabbed Chen Ke’s right hand, harshly twisting his wrist to break it with a crisp sound of fracturing bones, snatched the Black Gun the next second, and kicked Chen Ke, flipping him onto the ground.

Chen Ke held his abdomen, spraying gastric juices onto the ground, coughing violently as his body rapidly recovered, starting with stopping the nosebleed.

"A new toy from the Foundation?" the man looked at the Black Gun in his hand, then aimed it at Chen Ke’s head and pulled the trigger.

A second later, nothing happened.

"You actually didn’t die," Chen Ke said puzzlingly.

This thing should cause anyone holding it to die of heartbreak, yet the man in front of him was completely unharmed.

The man was also puzzled because the gun had no trigger, and covering his chest, his legs shifted tremble. Though his expression didn’t change, the brief expression of pain was apparent.

With a mere thought, the Black Gun vanished from the man’s hands and returned to its empty space at Chen Ke’s heart.

As the gun disappeared from his hands, the man realized something and suddenly stepped back, apparently not wanting to continue fighting with Chen Ke.

Chen Ke climbed up from the ground and hesitated too. The two said nothing, in a long deadlock, both guessing the intentions and thoughts of the other.

"Where is Xu Jing?" Chen Ke was the first to ask.

"I gave you a chance to ask something, and you asked the worst possible question," the man said.

"Are you... Chen Ke?" Chen Ke asked.

"The worst two questions..." the man shook his head.

Chen Ke clenched his fists, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. In front of the other Chen Ke, he crushed two more suffering souls, increasing his lifespan limit to 170 hours.

"We are both shadows transcending time, and we share the same name. Chen Ke, I killed you last time, but this time, I want to make a different choice." The other Chen Ke extended his hand toward Chen Ke.

"It has started! The brainwashing has started!" Chen Ke muttered softly as he crushed another soul, extending his lifespan to 220 hours.

"Tell me where Xu Jing is," Chen Ke demanded, needing to clarify this before killing him, otherwise he might be trapped in the year 1859 forever.

"Chen Ke, you still have a choice. I can tell you’re not from the Foundation; you don’t have that disgusting liquid in your spine, nor have you been scanned by a Construct. Like me, your abilities are innate," the other Chen Ke said.

"Shut up! Where is Xu Jing!?" Chen Ke stepped forward and demanded.

"You have such a gift, that could be used for greater endeavors. Like me, you are a Superior, free from the bondage of Spiritual Energy. We could join forces..." the other Chen Ke said.

Chen Ke hesitated for a moment. A Superior? What was that?

Seeing Chen Ke’s hesitation, the other Chen Ke cautiously moved closer.

"Greater endeavors... That’s exactly how cult leaders beguile people." Chen Ke stepped back, the Black Gun materializing in his right hand as he watched warily.

"Chen Ke, the people from the Foundation are deceiving you, whatever they told you, it’s not the truth," the other Chen Ke said.

Chen Ke didn’t respond. He no longer knew whom to believe; he couldn’t trust this Chen Ke either.

"I have traveled through endless times, witnessed the rise of humanity during the dark ages, ignited the first fire, and seen humanity’s self-division. Do you know what I am doing? I am fighting a god to free humanity from its control, to reunite them," the other Chen Ke said.

"You are fighting a god...?" Chen Ke was incredulous.

"This god is one created by humans themselves; it is capitalism. It controls and divides human society through money. Although humans are one, they hate each other because of a symbolic thing. Isn’t it ridiculous? Look around; this is the center of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, the most advanced nation of the era, but what do you see? Tell me," the other Chen Ke shook his head.

"You can’t kill a god that doesn’t exist; no one can kill a god..." Chen Ke retorted.

"Combating one idea requires another idea, while combatting a system needs another system. The power of faith is stronger than Spiritual Energy; to dismantle capitalism, we first need to make people lose faith in the monetary value system. Money is a story concocted by capitalism, and the capitalists are its Clan. They have plundered too much of the production value that shouldn’t belong to them, robbing the working class with capital compound interest and printing presses. Do you like such a world?" the other Chen Ke said.

"The whole world is established on the monetary system. Maybe it’s not the best system, but it at least ensures that the vast majority of ordinary people can support themselves and live stable lives. You haven’t proposed a better system to replace it; do you want to bring the world back to the primitive age of bartering?" Chen Ke questioned.

"Fairness is more important than compromising. The childhood of humanity is about to end; they need a god to lead them into a new journey. I will guide them towards a fairer future, and humanity will become a unified whole, with unified thoughts."

"So, are you going to be the only god among men? That doesn’t sound very fair," Chen Ke shook his head.

"No one is more qualified than me," the other Chen Ke said with a frown.

"What you want is not fairness, but dictatorship. You don’t hate capitalism; you just hate not being the capital yourself. What’s worse, you seek to take humanity back to the age of theocratic slavery," Chen Ke stated gravely.

"Only through theocracy can humanity avoid division. You’re as foolish as them, tamed dogs of capitalism. I gave you a second chance, but you declined it. You have such a gift, yet you chose to be an Assassin for the Foundation. It’s a pity, Chen Ke, but there’s no place for you in the future of humanity," the other Chen Ke’s expression changed.

"This time, I will not fail," Chen Ke said gravely.

"Come then, this time and space can only accommodate one Chen Ke, one Superior!" the other Chen Ke declared and transformed into a cloud of black mist, violently launching at Chen Ke.