Chapter 079: Proliferation, Overflow, Penetration

After undergoing basic training in the testing room, Li Tianque had already mastered the fundamental techniques of his morbid abilities.

Now, the powers he wielded were "Proliferation" and "Overflow." Clusters of black cancer cells squeezed from his pores, covering his fingernails. As they accumulated, they formed a tangible shell, turning his nails black, hard, and razor-sharp. This armor, forged from cancer cells, rivaled the hardness of a human femur, greatly enhancing the defense of any area it covered.

However, the process consumed vast amounts of calcium. If the armor was damaged during battle, the user would experience temporary calcium deficiency—loose teeth, cramped hands and feet.

Li Tianque examined his hardened black armor with satisfaction. He plunged his blackened claws into the ground, which cracked beneath his grip, and his five fingers sank deep.

"Stop pretending to be some supernatural entity!"

Both of Li Tianque’s hands were embedded in the earth, gripping the soil with force. At that moment, his stretched shadow pulled his body parallel to the ground. The shadow kept extending, growing ever thinner.

Beside it, there appeared an even darker patch—a deeper shadow. Li Tianque’s eyes brightened. He was now certain that this eerie shadow was no ghost seeking a substitute, but a living creature—most likely the true form of the nuclear worm!

Though the black shadow’s shape was peculiar, its volume remained fixed. As it stretched further, its appearance changed, yet no matter how it transformed, its mass stayed constant, making it look ever longer.

Li Tianque also realized that the deeper shadow beside it was likely his normal shadow.

With this insight, Li Tianque had a plan.

"Hehehehe... Don’t think you can escape... Come with me..."

A terrifying laughter echoed across the wilderness, chilling to the bone.

The shadow kept extending, its end seemingly at the river’s bend ahead. Its ultimate destination was, without a doubt, the water of the river!

The strength of the shadow was immense. Li Tianque was dragged across the ground, carving ten deep trenches as his body was pulled toward the river.

A snapping sound—one of Li Tianque’s black fingers broke off, shattering into fragments. Soon, cracks appeared on his other fingers as well, indicating they too would soon break.

Knowing he could not hold out much longer, Li Tianque twisted violently and let go.

All ten black fingers snapped off. Li Tianque leapt to his feet, his fingers turning black again.

With a thunderous crash, he struck at the ever-extending shadow on the ground.

Yet again, his attack proved ineffective. But Li Tianque noticed something unusual: the shadow was not completely invulnerable. As he struck, the shadow perfectly anticipated his attack, forming five circular holes exactly where his fingers landed. When he withdrew his hand, the holes rapidly restored themselves.

This happened so fast, but Li Tianque caught it.

He had not expected the creature's reactions to be swifter than his own—so precise and quick in predicting his attacks!

Li Tianque launched several more attacks, all in vain. The shadow seemed like a mass of flowing oil; ordinary assaults could not harm it.

Dragged ever closer to the turbulent river by the shadow, Li Tianque was nearly at the water’s edge.

"Hehehehehe... You can’t escape... You’re trapped now..."

The terrifying laughter rang out once more.

They were upstream, at a high altitude, where the terrain was steep and the current fierce. The river was littered with hidden rocks, its course broken by dramatic drops and towering waterfalls. Anyone falling into such waters would have no hope of survival.

Li Tianque was dragged rapidly, ever closer to the river.

The violent stream roared like a raging dragon, booming with a terrifying sound. The water rhythmically battered the banks, sending up showers of sparkling droplets—like a gluttonous beast drooling.

The shadow pulled Li Tianque relentlessly, its laughter growing crazed:

"Hehehe... Struggling is useless..."

Li Tianque held his breath and slowly closed his eyes.

"It’s you who should be struggling!"

With a fierce shout, Li Tianque’s body shuddered violently.

Goosebumps rose in dense waves across his skin, as though countless ants writhed beneath the surface. His skin darkened, first to gray, then deepening to black.

A strange gurgling sound accompanied the spread of a black, soft tissue from Li Tianque’s hands. This was the cancer cells within him, proliferating rapidly. Their hue was brighter than the shadow’s, their texture gelatinous, and they exuded a pungent scent of blood and decay.

Li Tianque gathered the soft tissue in his hands and slammed it onto the shadow.

"Penetrate!"

This was the third ability he had mastered, allowing him to propagate cancer cells into other living beings.

The cancer cells multiplied and split, transferring through his hands into the shadow.

Two masses of darkness clashed, fiercely contending.

The shadow’s eerie laughter abruptly ceased, replaced by a bone-chilling scream.

"Aaah..."

After the shriek, the shadow on the ground was quickly covered by the black tissue.

Within these tissues, the cancer cells acted like ravenous army ants, devouring every living thing in their path.

The shadow was corroded, confirming Li Tianque’s suspicions—it was indeed a living creature!

Once the cancer cells transferred onto the shadow, they tore it to pieces, shredding it.

Seizing the opportunity, Li Tianque escaped, swiftly distancing himself from the riverbank and running toward the desert.

A series of high-pitched screeches erupted as the cancer cells invaded the shadow. The shadow rolled up from the ground, curling and gathering until it formed a ball.

Li Tianque was now certain: this shadow was the nuclear worm.

Normally, when such a creature was invaded by cancer cells, its normal cells would begin to proliferate uncontrollably and die within a short time.

But this nuclear worm was still struggling.

If its life form was merely unusual, that would be understandable. Yet it could even produce human voices—this was truly astonishing!