As for why he chose to create the human race?
Humans possessed the double-helix DNA characteristics suited to this planet—allowing them to harvest its Life Essence—yet their genetic material was derived from the triple-helix DNA of the Mana Prime.
Consequently, if he were to devour the Life Essence of all humanity, he could complete his evolution and fully transform into a higher-dimensional lifeform with triple-helix DNA.
Moreover, he would become a triple-helix lifeform that had consumed the Life Essence of an entire planet.
Even upon returning to the Mana civilization, he would stand among the most powerful beings in existence.
It was akin to a nation discovering a mountain of gold... Expeditions were dispatched to mine the gold, which—once brought back—would be distributed across the nation.
It might go toward public welfare or military armaments, or simply be carved up layer by layer by the country's elite.
However, if one of the envoys managed to hoard the entire haul for themselves, they would almost certainly become the richest person in the land upon their return.
The plan had been on the verge of success.
He had unleashed a catastrophe, using the Mana Flower to spawn countless Phage Beasts that devoured human "Life Source" to fuel their own evolution.
He was so close—he needed only to absorb the Life Source of the last remaining humans at the Lighthouse and Dragon Bone Village.
With just a few more years of gestation, his evolution would be complete.
He had even possessed a human body to ensure nothing went wrong during this final stage.
Yet, out of nowhere, a human had appeared—one capable of obliterating a Monarch-class Phage Beast with a single punch, possessing strength rivaling an Avatar-class Phage Beast.
But how was that possible? No matter how much a human with a double-helix DNA structure unlocked their potential, they shouldn't be able to reach such a level of power.
Bai Yuekui already represented the absolute limit of what a double-helix human could achieve.
He couldn't help but wonder if the boy before him was actually a higher-dimensional being from another realm.
"Why talk so much? Let's fight!"
Goku didn't quite understand the gibberish the other side was spouting; he simply sensed that his opponent was formidable—a worthy adversary deserving of his full strength.
So, he instantly darted forward to engage.
"Die!"
"No matter who you are, if you dare to ruin my plans, you must die!"
Crimson energy erupted from the Lord of Light and Shadow as he charged fearlessly toward Goku... She moved to meet them.
Her true form had not yet completed its evolution, but she had devoured more than 99% of the planet's life-source energy.
Even this single avatar had already reached the level of a "Peak Avatar-class" Phage Beast—comparable to the one that had ambushed the Mana Prime in the past.
If the avatar hadn't been tethered to the Fuyi (the source of the scarlet mist), the humans outside would have been wiped out by her long ago.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The Lord of Light and Shadow and Goku were trading blows at full power amidst the scarlet mist, creating a rapid-fire barrage of collision sounds.
For the moment, they were evenly matched.
"Is this the power of an Avatar-class Phage Beast?"
Having stepped outside the protection of the Abyss Walker , Bai Yuekui was heavily suppressed by the scarlet mist; she couldn't step in to help even if she wanted to.
She could barely even track their movements.
"Goku, take out that ball of flesh first—that's the key!"
Though she couldn't offer physical assistance, her mind remained sharp.
She realized there was no point in fighting the Lord of Light and Shadow right now; the priority was destroying that fleshy mass—which was absorbing life-source energy and birthing some unknown monstrosity.
As she shouted the reminder to Goku, she pulled a high-explosive bomb from her pocket and hurled it fiercely at the fleshy mass.
Unfortunately, even though the custom-made bomb packed a punch rivaling a missile, its explosion failed to so much as scratch the surface of the mass.
It was clear that the defensive capabilities of the embryonic mass were terrifyingly high.
"You've got skill, but it's time to end this." Upon hearing Bai Yuekui's warning, Goku realized that now was not the time for a duel.
The safety of the entire Lighthouse and the villagers of Dragon Bone Village was at stake; resolving the threat of the Mana ecology was the priority.
"Breath of Ki: Fourth Form!"
Maximizing the effects of the Transparent World, Goku caused his presence to vanish instantly from the Lord of Light and Shadow's perception.
By the time she sensed something was amiss, Goku had already appeared behind her, his right hand imbued with tiger-shaped Ki energy.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A barrage of punches rained down on a single spot, with the Ki energy exploding simultaneously.
The avatar of the Lord of Light and Shadow was instantly reduced to a heap of mangled flesh scattered across the ground.
Meanwhile, Goku assumed the starting stance of the Turtle School's energy blast technique, intending to obliterate that mass of flesh in one go.
But before he could fire his blast, a beam of crimson energy shot up from the ground, slamming violently into him.
Goku unleashed a burst of Ki to disperse the crimson energy, then looked down, a look of astonishment crossing his face.
The Lord of Light and Shadow—whose body he had just shattered—was actually reforming from the bloody remains on the ground.
That crimson energy had been fired by the Lord of Light and Shadow herself.
"Hahaha! As long as I am within this Crimson Vortex, I am immortal. No matter how many times you kill me, I can resurrect."
"How can you possibly contend with me?"
The Master of Light and Shadow beckoned, and the Abyss Walker instantly flew to his side, encasing him within its frame.
With a sudden flash of movement, he appeared beside Goku and sent him flying with a single punch.
Clad in the Abyss Walker, the Master of Light and Shadow saw his speed and strength multiply several times over—surpassing even Goku, who was currently utilizing his Breathing Technique.
"Die!"
Having sent Goku flying, the Master of Light and Shadow's confidence surged; he manifested a sharp black blade with his right hand and pressed the attack, rushing toward the airborne Goku.
"Giant!"
Seeing this, Goku didn't hesitate to activate his Giant Magic. Instantly transforming into a sixty-meter-tall giant, his power skyrocketed sixfold.
BOOM!
Clapping his hands together, Goku crushed the Abyss Walker-clad Master of Light and Shadow—obliterating him just as he had previously destroyed the Monarch-class Phage Beast.
"How is this possible?"
Emerging once more from the gore, the Master of Light and Shadow stared at Goku in shock.
He had witnessed Goku transform into a giant before and knew that the boy's power would increase in this state.
However, his own avatar possessed the strength of a peak-level Phage Beast—and that was before factoring in the Abyss Walker.
He was far beyond the level of a mere Monarch-class Phage Beast... ...beyond comparison.
How could he possibly be swatted to death with a single blow again?
What he didn't know was that, although Goku had used Giant Magic back then, he hadn't employed his breathing technique.
But now, Goku was not only using that breathing technique, but his base strength had also doubled.
In other words, the giant-form Goku of today possessed four times the combat power of the giant-form version seen back in the city.
"Kamehameha!"
Knowing the Lord of Light and Shadow couldn't be killed, Goku was no fool; seizing the brief window while his foe was regenerating, he unleashed a full-power Kamehameha directly at the mass of flesh.
"Damn it, I have no choice but to complete my evolution early!"
Upon regenerating and seeing the attack, the Lord of Light and Shadow gritted his teeth and instantly abandoned his avatar, withdrawing his spiritual energy back into his true form within the flesh mass.
Although he wouldn't achieve a perfect evolution meaning his strength might suffer a significant deficit— facing a formidable foe like Goku left him with no other choice.
Yet, even without a perfect evolution, his power would still be five times greater than that of the "Abyss-Walker" avatar he had just been using.
To put that "fivefold increase" into perspective: even without a sneak attack, he could have taken out the original Mana entity with just a single slap.
And once he returned to the Mana civilization, the Honored Emperor.
Your Majesty, even He would be compelled by such strength to pardon his offenses.
She could even become a Grand General of the Empire, tasked with continuing to expand the Empire's territories.
If she achieved a perfect evolution, her power would increase seven- or eightfold—she would even dare to attempt to topple the ruler of the Mana Civilization.
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