this infinite world

"God mode... Chu Hao, are you finally going to enter this state?"

Ling Xin watched Chu Hao put on his glasses, but his face didn't show any surprise. Because, just as he had said a long, long time ago, among the perfect experimental subjects who survived the fire, Chu Hao was the one with the greatest potential... and this statement was by no means unfounded.

Although this state, which Chu Hao named "God Mode," can be used normally by all O6 members of the rebel organization led by Ling Xin, only Chu Hao can use it for the longest time. In terms of both duration and ability enhancement, he far surpasses everyone else.

If others only experience a two- to three-fold increase after entering God Mode, then Chu Hao's God Mode provides an astonishing five- to ten-fold, or even a hundred-fold, boost… Of course, this difference doesn't stem from Chu Hao being less intelligent than the other O6 members in his normal state, but rather from his extraordinary potential ceiling, which creates such a vastly different increase rate. Like an uncut gem, the more it is polished, the more dazzling its brilliance shines.

Despite the astonishing power boost that "God Mode" could bring, Chu Hao always kept his distance from it. The reason was simple: every time he entered God Mode, he would permanently lose a portion of his memories, and the price he paid last time was forgetting his sister.

Shelley, the sister who sacrificed her life for him...

Therefore, when Ling Xin saw Chu Hao enter "God Mode," he also realized what this action meant: his own younger brother...

We really have to fight this hard!
"Very well, Chu Hao, that's it. Show me your full strength... let's see what trump cards you have that can change my mind!"

As the final opening remark before their duel, this sentence couldn't be more fitting. Before the words had even finished, Ling Xin's figure, amplified tenfold, had already become a blurry afterimage. The explosive force, far exceeding the speed of sound, caused the air to shriek mournfully, crushing a distance of over a thousand meters in an instant… The two-meter-long Zanpakuto drew a deadly arc, precisely slashing towards Chu Hao's right knee joint!

Ling Xin's attack was incredibly fierce, with impeccable speed and an extremely tricky angle. The force of his blade was enough to cleave an entire mountain in two. The perfect slash trajectory carved an invisible crack in the air, as if even space itself was about to be cleaved apart by this strike... But surprisingly, Chu Hao simply jumped back and dodged Ling Xin's seemingly inevitable attack.

"……Um?"

Even Ling Xin was taken aback by this sight.

Although Ling Xin didn't choose to directly attack Chu Hao's vitals just now, he was already going all out. In his view, Chu Hao, as an arcane mage who mainly casts spells, was the least compatible with him.

After all, even the most powerful spells require time to cast and prepare, while a warrior's blade can decide victory or defeat in an instant. With the added boost of Bankai, the speed and reaction time of the two are completely different, so Ling Xin's attack just now was more than enough to disable Chu Hao's mobility and decide the outcome of this duel…

Of course, Ling Xin had considered Chu Hao's possible countermeasures; he had already mentally rehearsed countless possibilities. Chu Hao might use defensive spells to withstand the attack, or he might unleash offensive spells to turn defense into offense, or he might even use spatial jumps to dodge... and for each possible solution, he had simulated the next move in his mind.

But... why is it like this?
A back jump is just like that, a basic movement that even a child can do, mostly seen when playing.

Chu Hao neither chanted incantations nor formed hand seals. He simply used the most primal physical movements to make a terrifyingly precise evasion at the very moment the blade was upon him. And it was precisely this casual, almost laughable, movement that allowed the sword energy generated by the spiritual pressure to graz his body by the slightest margin, as naturally as a falling leaf avoiding flowing water!
Of course, while he was thinking, Ling Xin's actions were anything but slow. The instant his slash missed, his muscle memory reacted, his wrist instantly flipping back to his hand, the Zanpakuto drawing a chilling silver arc in the air, relentlessly pursuing Chu Hao's retreating trajectory!
If you can dodge the first blow, can you dodge the second?
This strike was even more powerful than before; the space itself seemed to distort where the blade passed, the power amplified tenfold seemingly causing even reality to tremble. Yet, Chu Hao's movements remained remarkably composed. His body suddenly bent in mid-air, miraculously dodging Ling Xin's strike in a "bridge" position!

The Zanpakuto erupted with blinding light, its sword energy shooting straight upwards and slamming into the rock wall. The subtle power contained within it then burst forth. Instantly, the hundreds-of-meters-high mountain wall collapsed as if being devoured by an invisible behemoth, countless fragments breaking into even finer particles as they fell!

"boom!"

Before the sonic boom arrived, Ling Xin had already unleashed hundreds or even thousands of more strikes!

Driven by ten times the spiritual pressure, Ling Xin's body transformed into countless afterimages, the blade light weaving into an impenetrable net of death. But Chu Hao merely tilted his head slightly, and the blade grazed his earlobe; he slightly turned his body, and the slash drew a perfect parallel line on his clothes; he took half a step back, and dozens of blade lights wove a dazzling but futile silver net in front of his chest!
His every movement was streamlined to the extreme, like dancing a precise waltz on a knife's edge, each time dodging Ling Xin's attacks with the simplest movements and the slightest margins of error.

"……how did you do it?"

Ling Xin grew increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed. Although his breathing remained steady after thousands of supersonic slashes, his wrist, which held the sword, trembled almost imperceptibly for the first time.

This wasn't a matter of physical strength, but a shock that was overturning one's understanding. Anyone who had launched countless attacks but still failed to harm a single hair on the enemy would feel a similar sense of shock as Ling Xin... Chu Hao seemed to have opened his third eye, and every time the blade was about to strike, he could dodge it by the slightest margin, at most only managing to tug at the corner of his clothes.

All the powerful attacks missed their mark, and all the offensive maneuvers were perfectly dodged. What chilled Ling Xin the most was that, as the battle continued, Chu Hao's dodging movements were becoming increasingly concise. From initially requiring large-scale dodges, he could now miss fatal strikes with just a slight adjustment of his fingertips, as if he were constantly "evolving" in this battle!

—Defense prediction? Attack prediction? Combat prediction? Or perhaps…

"No, this is not a spell of precognition."

In an instant, several D&D spells that could accomplish this flashed through Ling Xin's mind like lightning. But before he could fully determine which one the other party had used, or whether multiple spells had been used simultaneously, Chu Hao's icy voice in God Mode suddenly rang out, like lightning piercing the night, still clearly audible amidst the clash of swords: "—It's my 'Overload Mode'."

The next moment, Chu Hao's right hand suddenly traced an arcane path. As his fingers spread out, arcane energy responded to his command, weaving a semi-transparent right hand in the void—

Mage's Hand! Not the devastating "Sunfire Burst," nor the "Biggby's Protective Palm" commonly used by mages in melee combat. Chu Hao's choice at this moment was none other than the most basic level 0 spell, "Mage's Hand," which even mage apprentices could use!

But the moment that simple, semi-transparent energy hand collided with the Zanpakuto, the space itself crackled with a sound like shattering glass. What should have been a rudimentary spell easily torn apart by the blade now unleashed a terrifying force comparable to a collapsing mountain!
Ling Xin felt an unprecedented tremor from the blade, and he was struck as if by lightning. He was forced back several steps by the immense force contained in the mage's hand, and his body slid backward uncontrollably, causing his attack to slow down.

"This is... microscopic perception?"

Feeling the immense force that had just emanated from the blade, Ling Xin looked at Chu Hao in disbelief and asked, "You just used the Subtle Technique?"

The ability to concentrate scattered power into a single point, thereby unleashing ten times or more power with the same technique, has always been a standard skill for fourth-tier powerhouses... But Ling Xin was absolutely certain that Chu Hao's gene lock had only been unlocked to the third tier before!

How can this be? !
Although the use of the power of "subtle awareness" can be taught and learned by others, and eventually mastered, Ling Xin clearly lacked the corresponding knowledge. In his understanding, subtle awareness was a transformation of the essence of life, an instinct that naturally awakened when crossing the fourth stage.

In the series of tests back in the real world, since Chu Hao didn't hide anything from Li Ganglei, he naturally couldn't hide anything from Ling Xin either. As the leader of the rebel organization, Ling Xin would receive notifications every time Chu Hao and Li Ganglei used the "Trinity Computer" to analyze the spell model, and naturally had a corresponding understanding of the strength of his younger brother who had unexpectedly entered the God Space.

In Ling Xin's view, Chu Hao's strength was at most at the third-tier gene lock. This third tier was forcibly enhanced by the main god after being acknowledged by the guide. To master the abilities of the third-tier gene lock and attempt to break through to the fourth tier, he would need to experience four or five worlds. Even with the bonus of God Mode, he shouldn't be able to cross this insurmountable gap, unless…

"...You burned the divinity you had previously acquired?"

After much deliberation, Ling Xin could only come to this conclusion. He knew that Chu Hao had gained a trace of divinity, and he also knew that the divinity left behind by gods who had fallen—equivalent to fourth-tier powerhouses—was indeed excellent casting material for an arcane mage like Chu Hao. Not only could he analyze spell models using divinity, but he could also burn it as a consumable in times of crisis to gain unimaginable power…

"Not divinity."

To Ling Xin's surprise, Chu Hao actually shook his head. He didn't give Ling Xin a chance to continue speaking. He directly traversed space, taking a step across a thousand meters, and clenched his right hand, which was glowing with blue light, into a fist and threw a punch!
Surprisingly, Chu Hao's punch was wildly off-target. Not only did it not hit Ling Xin, but it seemed to be aimed at a completely unrelated place, a full three meters away from Ling Xin.

What is he doing?
The moment the thought crossed Ling Xin's mind, he felt a sudden ripple beneath his right foot. Before he could fully react, the semi-transparent mage's hand burst forth from the ground once more, attempting to grasp him in its palm!
An inch longer, an inch stronger; an inch shorter, an inch more dangerous. The two-meter-long Zanpakuto gave Ling Xin a huge attack range, but it also made it impossible for him to immediately defend himself when attacked. Facing the mage's hand rising from the ground, Ling Xin stomped his toes on the ground and his body soared into the sky like a white crane.

But just as Ling Xin took to the air, countless starlight suddenly lit up the edge of his vision. Hundreds of arcane missiles tore through the sky, blocking all of Ling Xin's evasive angles, and hurtled towards him!
Faced with the torrential barrage of arcane projectiles, Ling Xin could only wield his Zanpakuto like a silver storm, deflecting each and every one of the arcane missiles, unleashing a continuous stream of energy sparks. Just as he was preparing to counterattack, a long-forgotten sharp pain suddenly surged deep within his brain…

Danger!

In a fraction of a second, Ling Xin instinctively jerked his head to the side. A brilliant blue arcane arrow pierced through the shadow of his Zanpakuto, grazing the edge of his mask—clearly a premeditated attack by Chu Hao. But before Ling Xin could even rejoice at having dodged Chu Hao's deadly strike, a thought suddenly arose in his mind—

—Was the location where I dodged...the same spot where Chu Hao threw the punch?

"boom!"

Right in the bull's eye.

Before the arcane arrow's trajectory had even faded, Chu Hao's fist had already struck. This punch was devoid of any fancy moves, yet incredibly precise, like a devastating blow from fate itself, sending his brother flying backward!

Perhaps in Ling Xin's eyes, every step he took in the blink of an eye was the optimal solution at the moment; but to outsiders, it seemed as if Ling Xin had inexplicably delivered his head into Chu Hao's fist at the last moment!
"Is this your power? It's really strong..."

Rising from the smoke and dust, clutching his silver mask, which was about a fifth of the way broken, Ling Xin's tone seemed calm, but anyone could hear the anger within it. At the same time, the spiritual pressure surrounding his body became increasingly violent.

"Under overload conditions, based on powerful high-speed computing capabilities, it can achieve brief 'future vision'."

Chu Hao shook his head. In an instant, countless dazzling torrents of data flashed across his seemingly ordinary non-prescription glasses. Various runes, some understandable and some incomprehensible, lit up and dimmed on his skin like flashlights, almost making him a blue light figure.

But amidst this blue arcane radiance, Chu Hao seemed completely unaffected. He simply raised his head, chest out, and looked directly at Ling Xin before him, simultaneously grasping a ball of arcane energy that had split from the light in both hands, like a god who controlled arcane arts, and calmly stated in a straightforward tone—

"This is my strongest form right now, and it's my trump card to defeat you."

As the last word fell, a barely perceptible cyan light quietly bloomed deep within Chu Hao's pupils. (End of Chapter)