Apocalypse Gachapon Chapter 2000: Able to delay

The elderly dean shut the tome, rose from his seat, and with a quick shift, reached the window in his chamber.

His quarters occupied the loftiest position within the Library Palace, boasting enormous windows on every side that let him savor Starshine City's splendid vistas from any angle.

"Luo Chi."

With a gentle murmur of those two words, a Librarian silently materialized behind the old dean.

"Send someone to check who dares to act within Starshine City. Should their aim be the individual we selected, then deploy some corpses to caution those who impose rules on others yet flout them personally."

Luo Chi lowered his head in a respectful bow before vanishing.

Gazing far off, the old dean's eyes brimmed with depth; nobody could fathom his thoughts.

………………………………

In his transformed state, Ye Zhongming hadn't lost his rationality or awareness—in truth, this form granted him a sharper oversight of the full battlefield.

That was precisely what occurred moments earlier.

Post-transformation, Ye Zhongming got instantly subdued. Though his power surged to vast heights, helplessness still gripped him.

Yet regardless, surrender wasn't an option. He spotted the assassin dropping near him and witnessed the golden-masked warrior's desperate, all-in strike.

He realized action was essential; inaction would doom them both.

Thus, Ye Zhongming targeted his greatest asset as the focal assault.

Mental power!

Across the universe's countless races, Ye Zhongming ranked top-tier in mental power. Few, save certain special races and elite masters, outmatched him here.

Besides, over these ten days in the Library Palace, he'd advanced considerably.

No alternative existed; ignoring his edge and failing to hone it wasn't Ye Zhongming's way. What's more, most of the three thousand Librarians hailed from the six branches of the Mind Star Race, dubbed the Three-Legged Race, whose prowess centered on mental power. Exchanges and studies with them yielded rapid gains for Ye Zhongming in mere days.

His mental power shortfall wasn't quantity but smarter application and diverse techniques.

Such knowledge, opaque at first, defies a lifetime's pondering. Yet with proper pointers revealing essentials, advancement surges—particularly for one like Ye Zhongming with a robust base.

Having absorbed the Librarians' authentic lessons, much remained undigested, needing time to forge into battle prowess. Still, per the Library Palace's old dean's words, his mental power had hit a minor success.

Were humans a mental power breed, he'd claim major mastery, cresting cosmic heights therein.

His species capped Ye Zhongming's potential here.

Even so, this minor success outshone most cosmic races. Among Librarians, only scant few edged him slightly.

This Cloud Peak King, bolstered across the board post-transformation, unleashed his assault via this domain.

The assassins came prepared, with ample countermeasures. But they faced a Ye Zhongming whose mental power had evolved dramatically.

From wild, post-transformation mental power to now precise command.

He split the mental power—draining seventy percent of his reserves—into two shares. One-fifth struck the golden-masked warrior's foe, syncing with the Earth Spirit's Life-Severing Grasp to briefly bind that assassin boasting over thirty thousand Furelai.

This opening let the golden-masked warrior slay a far superior enemy.

The bulk, exceeding four-fifths, Ye Zhongming hurled at his own adversary.

Against the other, mere synergy with the warrior's blow sufficed—a fleeting restraint. Absent mishap worries, even less than one-fifth would've done.

His personal foe differed. Body locked, to thwart further counters against his altered form, mental assault alone could shatter the opponent!

Luckily, Ye Zhongming wasn’t the old Ye Zhongming anymore. Whereas his prior mental power strike resembled a blast wave radiating outward, this one resembled a sharp energy thrust piercing ahead. The concentrated striking power had skyrocketed beyond measure.

The assassin offered almost zero defense before his head got utterly jumbled by the abrupt mental assault, collapsing into a dead body.

True enough, they had swallowed potions earlier to resist mental power strikes, but hadn’t Ye Zhongming consumed one too? His was a premium product from the Changxu Water Race no less. Add in the enemy’s negligence, assuming they could block it, and he finished him off in one blow.

Yet now, what about handling this newly arrived figure? The bindings around his frame didn’t fade with the assassin’s death; they weakened faintly before snapping back to full intensity.

Two had fallen before, yet it was obvious this final arrival held greater strength, acting as the head of the Phantom Killer Clan.

"I learned about you. You have two methods of transformation, and some very special abilities, like summoning huge mountain shadows and being able to turn mountain peaks into giant apes. We analyzed that there should be a prerequisite, which is the existence of surrounding mountain peaks. Unfortunately, there are none here."

Qiemen, this fellow, spoke as he lifted his hands and gestured nonstop. Matching his motions, the red light net enveloping Ye Zhongming’s body started constricting.

Beyond that, its nodes crackled while spewing electric sparks externally, energy steadily accumulating nearby.

Incredible as it seemed, they were siphoning energy straight from Ye Zhongming’s body and discharging it into the environment!

Ye Zhongming’s black mist giant in transformed state shrank visibly at a rapid pace.

"When others are unprepared, or when their strength is suppressed to the same level as you, I must say, that version of you is really difficult to deal with. But once you are under normal circumstances, you are actually pitifully weak."

The vicious voice echoed forth, seemingly intent on crushing Ye Zhongming not just in body but in spirit as well. Whatever words he uttered, his hands never paused, commanding the net that Ye Zhongming’s desperate writhing barely influenced.

"Hmm? You actually chose to burst your potential to maintain your current transformed state? Do you really think you can break free from my net? Or do you think that even if you break free, you can resist me?"

The man chuckled derisively, viewing this celebrated top novice as utterly idiotic.

Aside from simplifying the battle’s conclusion, what good did his actions serve?

Several minutes passed before Ye Zhongming couldn’t sustain it longer, collapsing back to his base form from the transformation. Due to the enormous drain moments ago, he could hardly remain upright.

However, right then, Ye Zhongming flashed a radiant smile.

"It wasn't very useful, but it could buy time."