Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Pa!

Hardly had she finished her sentence when she was blown away by Black Jack's tentacles again and fell into the mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Countless wounds were left on her by the sharp bones of the devils.

Princess Summer was soaked in blood. There was no telling whether it was hers or the devil's.

"Well said. But what's the point?"

Licking the blood splatter from Princess Summer's body, Black Jack smiled and said, "I like human beings. I like you little creatures whose emotions and wills are bursting out all the time. Such brilliance is the only thing that can fill the stomachs of the so-called 'gods and devils' in the universe of a higher dimension. Then, we will swallow all the 'gods and devils'.

"You are like flies that have been locked in glass bottles. You look at the splendid world outside and buzz and bump into each other until your head is bleeding, and you even turn into a pile of bloody artwork on the glass wall. Maybe, you are like moths darting into fire. This is the ultimate command that has been carved deep inside your genes and cannot be changed.

"Then, since you are not willing to jump into the warm embrace that I weaved for you and have to face the cruel and terrifying reality, you can pick up your weapon and continue fighting as you wish. Then, struggle and scream. Die in the deep desperation!"

Black Jack burst into laughter. Countless tentacles rose up from his back and danced crazily like thousands of serpents.

Princess Summer gritted her teeth and tried to stand up again and again, only to fall to the ground again and again. The broken bones and broken blades scratched more wounds, and more blood flowed out.

The devils nearby were all moved by Princess Summer's determination. They all clenched their weapons and gritted their teeth to resist Black Jack's fear.

Hela the dragoness, Natasha the captain of the mercenary group, Keer the cat girl, Vela the elf, and all the other girls who had been controlled by Black Jack watched everything calmly with their grey-brown eyes.

They were emotionless. Their bodies seemed to be sealed by Black Jack. They did not move at all.

However, deep inside the grey eyes that looked like ice, ripples were surging in the weakest way possible.

"Sisters, wake up!"

Princess Summer finally stood up, but every second that she did was a torture worse than death.

She knew that she could not defeat Black Jack by herself.

She only hoped that her efforts could wake up Hera, Natasha, Vera, and Keer so that they could cut off Black Jack's energy supply. If they fought side by side again, there might be a slim chance of victory.

"Wake up, sisters. Wake up and face the real Black Jack together with me. We can… create miracles in our true destiny!"

Princess Summer shouted in her heart.

But Black Jack seemed to have read her mind. He said casually, "Right now, are you expecting a miracle? Do you know what a 'miracle' is exactly?

"Miracles are things that will never happen.

…

"The escape capsule has been prepared. It will be ignited in ten seconds.

"This place is too dangerous. It won't be too late to determine the coordinates of the space jump after we run into the boundless sea of stars.

"Countdown begins. Ten, nine, eight, seven…"

Inside the escape capsule, Jade's calm and cold voice echoed.

Han Te seemed to have been punched right in the middle of his face. He crouched on the seat of liquid alloys in a daze and watched the battle between Princess Summer and Black Jack.

Princess Summer's blood seemed to be flowing on his pupils.

He was in a trance and shivering beyond his control, as if every cut on Princess Summer's body had been inflicted upon him, too.

"Stop."

When he saw Princess Summer stand up shakily from the pool of blood, dragging her wounded body, the fortress of rationality deep inside his brain was finally shattered. He said in a low voice, "Stop the countdown."

"What?"

Jade sounded surprised, but the countdown continued.

"I f*cking told you to stop!"

Han Te suddenly jumped up from his seat, his eyes full of fury toward himself and Black Jack. He bellowed, "Even if you launch us right now, I will never tell you the coordinates of the Pangu Universe. I swear that I would rather die of thirst, hunger, and old age in the boundless sea of stars. Just wait to be a pile of wasted copper and iron that has run out of energy!"

Jade stopped the countdown.

Drops of liquid metal condensed into Captain Kelly again in front of Han Te.

"What do you want exactly?" asked Jade calmly.

"I—I don't know."

Han Te was hesitating. "I just feel that, watching Sister Summer and so many other girls being savaged by Black Jack, I don't have any guts to leave."

"You are not particularly gutless. You are merely making the most reasonable choice for an ordinary person under such circumstances.

"Therefore, they are just ordinary people with no guts and nothing special," replied Jade.

"…"

"Do you also think that I'm not manly enough and even worse than Black Jack, the scumbag?"

"From a physiological point of view, you are now 100% male.

"There is no doubt about that," replied Jade.

"What about other angles?" Han Te asked.

Jade was silent.

"In other words, this organ is the only proof that I'm still a man."

Han Te grinned and shook his head slowly. He said miserably, "No. Or rather, I was never a real man. At the very least, I was not a man like Master Yao, my master, Lei Chenghu, Boss Bai, or even the young emperor Li Jialing or the boxing champion.

"I—I grew up in a bloody paradise. Although Master brought me a tiny bit of light, the darkness around me was too strong. So strong that we had to do everything we could just to survive. We had no time to think about pride, dignity, mission, significance, or whether or not we were men.

"Although a series of coincidences allowed me to meet Master Yao and the most distinguished men and women in the Pangu Universe, and I followed them through all the magnificent and soul-stirring struggles, I—I was actually very clear deep down in my heart that they were the protagonists of the war, and I was just an insignificant figure who was responsible for the background of the protagonists.

"There has never been an opportunity that required me to make a final decision, reverse the situation, burn my life to my heart's content, and unleash all my masculinity. Under normal circumstances, I only need to follow behind Old Yao, Boss Bai, or Lord Fist King and help them clean up the battlefield.

"That's why, hehe, that's why I can fool myself time and time again. I can fool myself into thinking that Master Yao, Boss Bai, the Fist King, and I are men of the same level as the young emperor, Li Jialing, and that we are experts who are brave enough to face our bloody fate. Our combat ability can vary, but the hearts of the strong are the same.

"In fact, deep down in my heart, I know—

"We are different. They are the real men, the heroes who shake the sea of stars. Even Li Jialing, the young emperor that I hate most, once stood proudly on a starship and led the charge against an enemy ten times stronger than himself.

"No… In fact, I don't really hate Li Jialing at all. I'm just trying to flatter myself with the excuse of 'competing with Li Jialing'. For that, I even lied to myself and forced myself to compete with Li Jialing for the glass.

"After I cut open the deepest level of my heart, am I really in love with Liu Li? I don't think so. I've always considered Liu Li as my sister, but my competitiveness was aroused by Li Jialing.

"There are other girls. The girls that I've been with. Have I really loved any of them, even for one second? I don't think so. I just want to prove that I've grown up and turned from a boy into a real man.

"In fact, hehe, the more I wanted to prove to the world that I was a real man, the more I became a real joke—Li Jialing probably never thought highly of me and never considered me as a real competitor.

"That's true. It's not his fault. Even I look down upon myself in such a way. I feel that I am a coward, a scumbag, a waste, and a joke. Except for one more organ, I don't have a single toe on my body. I am not a real man…"

At this point, tears were already streaming down Han's face.

At this moment, he happened to hear Black Jack's words outside.

"Miracles are things that will never happen.

His words made Han Te's pupils constrict into two supernovas that were about to explode.

Han Te clutched his crotch and was silent for a long time like a shivering statue.

"Jadeite…"

He finally spoke in a voice that was even more coarse than crying. "Can—can you return the Witch Gene to me?"

Jade asked, "What do you want?"

"I want strength."

Han Te clutched his crotch so hard that the veins on the back of his hand were bulging. The excruciating pain made him stop shivering and hesitating. The brilliance in his eyes exploded as he declared resolutely, one word after another, "I want to be—a real man!"