Chapter 120: The Agonizing Black Core Crystal

Qingyan returned to her room, closed the door, leaned against it, lowered her head, and sighed silently.

"Can no one define the world..."

—

By evening, the sky was suddenly covered in thick, dark clouds, obscuring the red horizon. Before long, a torrential downpour began.

Xi Yan stood by the window, gazing out at the sky, and was reminded of the day he and Xi Lin were separated—it had been a downpour just like this.

The Main City! They had taken Xi Lin away to capture the Censor; if not for them, he would never have been parted from his sister.

Xi Yan’s fists were tightly clenched, his heart filled with seething resentment. Because the room was spacious and luxurious, he simply sat quietly by the window.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

"Come in."

Lin Shuang pushed the door open and walked in, noticing that Xi Yan did not turn around; his gaze remained fixed outside the window.

Lin Shuang placed the core crystals she had brought onto the table, then sat on the sofa, saying to Xi Yan, "What are you looking at? It’s pouring outside, nothing worth watching."

"There's nothing to see, I was just thinking of some things from the past. Why are you here?" Xi Yan stepped down from the windowsill and sat on the sofa opposite Lin Shuang.

Before he had even sat down, he spotted the two black core crystals in front of Lin Shuang.

Xi Yan blinked, pointing at the black crystals, and asked, "These are..."

Lin Shuang looked at the crystals, pushed them toward Xi Yan, and replied, "Klara gave them to you to level up. What level are you now, anyway?"

"12..."

"Hmm, then try absorbing these two black core crystals. Generally speaking, absorbing these two should be enough to reach level 70." There was no hint of envy in Lin Shuang’s tone.

Level 70—that was absolutely impossible.

Xi Yan only hoped that it wouldn't just be a 7-level increase. Black core crystals were priceless and rare; after all, they were second only to the best translucent white core crystals.

He truly hadn't expected Klara to be so generous.

"Absorb them now. I'll guard you so no one else comes in," Lin Shuang added.

Xi Yan nodded, took the black core crystals in his hands, and began to absorb them.

Unlike the sensation of absorbing other core crystals, as he absorbed these, Xi Yan felt a warm current flowing through him, seemingly nourishing his limbs.

He felt his bones changing, appearing to grow harder.

His skin seemed to improve as well; during the absorption process, a great deal of black sweat began to pour from his body.

[Character: Human Superpowered Being, Xi Yan]
[Level: lv12]
[Level: lv13...]
[Level: lv14...]
[...]

Xi Yan opened his control panel and discovered that his level was rising constantly, like a rocket, without a moment’s pause.

When the level reached lv35, Xi Yan felt a sudden, sharp pain throughout his entire body, so intense that he tumbled from the sofa onto the floor.

Seeing Xi Yan’s state, Lin Shuang immediately rushed to his side to help him up, but because Xi Yan was delirious, he swung his arm and knocked her aside.

Lin Shuang hit the wall and lost consciousness.

Xi Yan remained trapped in agony, unable to pull himself out.

Yet he did not notice that the character level on his control panel was still climbing.

[lv45...]
[lv55...]

His level was no longer jumping by single digits, but by tens.

The pain in his body gradually began to fade. Xi Yan slowly regained his senses, crawled up from the floor, and leaned against the sofa.

Xi Yan was drenched in sweat, but his sweat was black.

He saw Lin Shuang unconscious in the corner and tried to stand up, but due to his total exhaustion, he collapsed as he attempted to rise.

"What is happening..." Xi Yan gritted his teeth as pain surged through his body once more.

This pain was even more excruciating than before. Previously, it had been purely physical, but this time, he felt as though his body was fine—it was his spirit that was in agony.

[Ding-dong...]
[Congratulations to Xi Yan for unlocking Mental Power]
[Mental Power: lv1]
[Mental Power: lv2...]
[...]

Xi Yan’s vision blurred, but he still saw his Mental Power rising until it stopped at level 9.

"It hurts... why is it like this..." Xi Yan clutched his head, feeling as though his skull were about to explode.

He had never experienced this while absorbing core crystals before. Why now? Had the crystals been tampered with?

Despite the headache, Xi Yan struggled to analyze the situation. He felt as if he were about to die, writhing on the floor in pain.

Seeing the wall before him, Xi Yan wanted to smash his head against it, but the last remnants of his sanity prevented him from doing so.

"Ugh..." At that moment, Lin Shuang stirred and began to wake up.

She crawled up from the corner, shook her head, and rubbed her temples, confused and unaware of what had happened.

"Ahhh!!" Xi Yan could no longer hold it in; he clutched his head and let out a tortured cry.

Hearing the roar, Lin Shuang remembered what had occurred. She stood up immediately and found Xi Yan rolling on the ground.

Lin Shuang quickly unlocked a card, and a transparent shield enclosed Xi Yan.

Xi Yan’s head struck the shield, but he was not injured, as the barrier was soft and cushioned him.

Still dizzy, Lin Shuang stepped outside the shield after protecting him and sat on the floor.

"Xi Yan... are you alright..." Lin Shuang’s face was deathly pale.

"It hurts... kill me... kill me!" Xi Yan cried out, his voice torn with anguish.

Even without experiencing it firsthand, Lin Shuang could sense the unbearable agony Xi Yan was in.

This puzzled her. Absorbing core crystals had no side effects and no dangers; that was why they were such hot commodities in the Survival Grounds, usually priceless and unavailable.

Why, then, had Xi Yan reacted this way to the black crystals? Others had absorbed them before and gained many levels without any lasting side effects.

"Lin... Shuang..." Xi Yan gritted his teeth, struggling to force her name through them. "Help me... use your ice... ice arrows... help me... it's so hot..."

Because of the pain, Xi Yan could not form a complete sentence.

However, from his fragmented words, Lin Shuang understood his meaning.

Xi Yan must be experiencing a sensation of extreme heat and needed ice. But this left Lin Shuang distressed.

Her ice arrows did not have a cooling effect; they were weapons. If she used them on him, he would die...

Just as Lin Shuang was at her wits' end, Qingyan’s voice sounded from the doorway.

Qingyan stood at the entrance, peering into the room, only to see the suffering Xi Yan and the pale-faced Lin Shuang.

Without hesitation, Qingyan walked inside.