"I’ll go check out the Longjiang Villa area first," An Ran said.

"Alright. Be careful, and don’t do anything rash," Baili Qing cautioned. Xu Feng nodded silently.

An Ran’s figure flickered, then vanished from the room in an instant.

—

「Jingzhou Base.」

In a luxurious villa in the inner city, a woman stood by a window and made a call.

"Third Miss, what is it?"

A middle-aged man’s voice sounded from the other end of the wristwatch.

"Immediately dispatch the nearest Seventh-level Martial Artist to the Jiang City Safety Zone. A member of the Alien Race has appeared. They must arrive within fifteen minutes."

"...Yes!"

The call ended. The woman stood at the window, gazing at the distant night cityscape.

After a moment of contemplation, she dialed another number.

—

The night was like still water.

The cold moonlight illuminated the barren wilderness.

In the wilderness outside Jiang City, Chen Yu stood atop a cliff with his hands clasped behind him. A cool night wind drifted past, like an invisible symphony.

"WHUMM—!"

Not far away, a red light flared, and a two-meter-tall lizardman materialized.

As if sensing something, Chen Yu turned around.

Beneath the moonlight, the lizardman’s red eyes stared at him.

"Human, you’re quite bold," the lizardman said, speaking in fluent Human Alliance standard.

Chen Yu regarded the lizardman, his expression calm. "You’re the bold one. Stepping onto humanity’s Ancestor Star... aren’t you afraid you won’t make it out alive?"

"You’re just ants from a lesser civilization. Before the might of the Demon Lizard Civilization, you humans should do nothing but kneel and submit,"

the lizardman said coolly.

’Demon Lizard Civilization...’

Chen Yu committed the name to memory.

The lizardman looked at Chen Yu with a dismissive gaze. "This world will one day be conquered by my people. Human, I can see you have decent potential. I’ll give you a chance. Kneel before the great Demon Lizard True God. I will allow you to become my slave, and in the future, I will elevate you to be the leader of the human race."

"Demon Lizard True God..."

Beneath the moonlight, a smile touched Chen Yu’s lips, but his eyes held a sliver of icy killing intent.

"I can give you a chance, too. Kneel and be my dog, and I’ll make you the leader of the Demon Lizards someday."

"You’re courting death!"

A vicious glint flashed in the lizardman’s eyes. The next second, he vanished.

In the blink of an eye, he reappeared behind Chen Yu.

"You ant from a lesser civilization! Allow me to show you the power of a superior one!"

The chilling voice echoed as the lizardman thrust out a hand, his palm morphing into razor-sharp claws.

"WHOOSH—!"

But in that same instant, Chen Yu’s figure vanished, and the claw sliced through nothing but air.

The lizardman froze.

"Superior civilization? Is that supposed to be impressive?" The disembodied voice drifted over as the air suddenly tore with a sharp whistle.

The air compressed and a fierce gale howled as a glowing fist smashed down violently toward the lizardman’s head.

"BAM!!"

With a thunderous crash, the lizardman raised a claw at the last possible second to block the ferocious punch. A shockwave of Qi erupted, rippling through the air and snapping the surrounding trees in half.

Dust plumed into the air!

Chen Yu was forced back three steps, while the lizardman retreated only two.

The difference in their strength was clear after a single punch.

’In terms of raw power, Chen Yu was a fraction weaker!’

’This Level 7 lizardman was even stronger than he’d anticipated.’

"SWISH!"

"SWISH!"

Simultaneously, the man and the lizard shot forward. The air cracked as a powerful shockwave exploded outward from their meeting point.

"BAM! BAM! BAM!!!"

The only sound was a rapid-fire series of impacts as their fists collided. The man and the lizard moved at an incredible, peak-level speed.

In the blink of an eye, they exchanged over a hundred blows.

"BOOM—!"

With a final, muffled boom, the man and lizard were both thrown backward.

The night wind whispered over the moonlit clifftop. It was now a scene of utter devastation. All the vegetation and rock had been pulverized, leaving a bald, barren patch of earth.

"WHOOSH—!"

Chen Yu raised a hand, and a terrifyingly cold aura erupted from him. He thrust his palms forward, unleashing a visible Frost Storm that swept outward.

The bone-chilling energy surged, freezing the very air and coating everything in a layer of frost.

In an instant, the entire clifftop was completely encased in ice.

The lizardman was frozen solid on the spot, transformed into an ice sculpture.

The Frost Storm continued to rage, and the ice encasing the lizardman grew ever thicker, resembling ancient, thousand-year-old glacial ice.

Every water molecule in the air was frozen solid. Nothing could be felt but the extreme cold; all warmth had vanished.

"HUMMM—!"

But just then, a sliver of scorching red light began to glow from within the ice sculpture. The ice around it instantly began to melt.

An instant later, the entire ice sculpture disintegrated.

The lizardman reappeared, his entire body now radiating a scorching heat.

"Pathetic human, is that the extent of your abilities? Frankly, I’m a little disappointed,"

he said in a flat tone, a savage grin spreading across his face.

Chen Yu’s expression darkened.

He lifted a hand, and within his domain of frost, a hundred-meter-tall iceberg instantly materialized and hurtled toward the lizardman. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The lizardman’s expression remained unchanged as he watched the iceberg approach. His skin instantly shifted from red to a steely, metallic color. He raised a hand, his sharp claws striking the iceberg.

"BOOM—!"

With a deafening explosion, the iceberg shattered. The lizardman stood his ground, completely unharmed.

"Pathetic human, do you have any other tricks?" the lizardman asked, looking at Chen Yu with a taunting smile.

’Just how many abilities does this guy have?!’

’Chen Yu was shocked. High heat, a body of steel... his freezing abilities were having little effect.’

’He could encase it in ice, but to kill it with ice? This was nowhere near enough.’

"Is that all you’ve got? Heh. In that case, let me show you the terror of the Demon Lizard True God!"

A savage grin spread across the lizardman’s face. The next instant, his skin began to transform as layer upon layer of fine scales appeared, and his aura surged, climbing ever higher.