I Cultivated Too Long and Got Isekai'd Into a Game-Chapter 202: Assimilation

Henrietta’s laughter shook the stage.

The entire time, her assault never ended.

Each blow she launched and landed was wild, merciless, filled with a madness that cared nothing for finesse or form. Her opponent—the Blazing Wrath Fiend woman, the source of the other half of her soul—could no longer even mount a defense.

Every strike broke her guard, every impact carved another dent into her body and spirit alike.

"GRAAAH!"

Henrietta’s fist smashed into the fiend’s stomach, folding her in half. Flames flared out in a violent wave, scorching the platform black. The woman spat blood, her limbs twitching as she stared straight into her assailant’s eyes.

"Y-You..." she croaked, her voice trembling with weakness and pain, "...monster..."

But Henrietta didn’t answer.

Her eyes were glowing a deep, maddened crimson, her grin sharp and feral. She stepped forward—then drove her knee into the fiend’s jaw with a crunching impact that cracked teeth and bone alike. Her opponent’s head dug into stone, embedded deep.

The fiend crumpled, not moving an inch. Not even a twitch.

Henrietta did not stop.

She mounted her enemy, an action that literally added no value to the current situation—simply done to assert dominance.

Fist after fist rained down like a storm, hammering into the woman’s chest, face, and limbs until the once-proud warrior was nothing but a bloody, broken heap lying flat on the molten stone.

The crowd went silent.

No one cheered, no one jeered. Not a single peep, just the sound of their breathing, slow and heavy.

They could only stare at the sight of a girl, barely holding herself upright, drenched in sweat and blood. Blood that didn’t belong to her. A girl who struck down her opponent with such overwhelming ferocity and mercilessness.

And then—

CRACK!

Henrietta’s final stomp caved in the fiend’s sternum.

The woman’s scream cut short as her body seized—before abruptly glowing with an eerie, luminescent blue. Her flesh melted into mist, scattering like drifting smoke in the wind.

"W-What is this...?" Jehanne whispered, staring at the mystical scene with wide eyes.

Zetian’s expression darkened, pressing her fan deeper over her mouth.

"Assimilation," she murmured grimly. "The fusion of two souls, starting."

The glowing smoke gathered, circling Henrietta like a swarm of fireflies before sinking into her pores.

"Kh—aaaagh!"

She gasped as her body convulsed, every vein bulging with light, her aura surging wildly.

She clutched her head as the soul of her opponent was forcefully drawn into her own. The Blazing Wrath Fiend’s essence, her memories, her cultivation—everything that made her what she was—was stripped bare and devoured by Henrietta’s half-spirit bloodline.

Her screams echoed through the trial ground—painful and heart-wrenching. Arms wrapped around her as if holding back everything. She was displaying so much pain and discomfort that Uriel felt like covering her ears, tears streaming down her eyes.

And then, silence.

Henrietta’s body became as still as a rock.

Her arms fell to the sides, limp and powerless... But the moment her eyes opened again, her aura exploded outward.

VUOOM!

The entire stage quaked as the energy of a Gold-level cultivator swelled inside her—but it did not stop there. The surge continued to climb, her Qi pulsing like a storm breaking its shackles.

Gold Level 2...

Gold Level 3...

Gold Level 4...

Gold Level 5!

In an instant, Henrietta leapt four whole sub-realms, her strength skyrocketing to a level none had anticipated.

"She advanced... that quickly?!"

Alexis’s composed mask cracked, his lips parting in astonishment.

After all, although assimilation brought in positive effects, it should make her twice as powerful at most. That’s about a one- to two-level limit. But Henrietta’s case was different. She jumped five levels at once!

Even Zetian, ever calm and calculating, narrowed her eyes. "So this is the nature of her bloodline... what a frightening little girl."

Uriel’s face, on the other hand, was pale. She wiped the tears from her eyes as her heart pounded against her chest.

’It worked... but, Ritta!’

Because while Henrietta’s cultivation soared... her frenzy did not subside.

Her red-glowing eyes flickered, slowly scanning the stage—not with relief, nor triumph, but hunger. A feral expression crossed her face as her gaze fell upon the nearest figures.

Her family.

"Henrietta..." Jehanne whispered, her throat dry.

As a commander of an army, Jehanne could quickly break barriers and call someone her friend—despite them not being acquainted longer than a couple of days. Henrietta had already been treated by her as an ally. As such, it was painful to see her act like a mindless, rabid animal.

But Henrietta did not answer her call.

Instead, her body moved—blazing forward with speed that even seasoned warriors could barely follow.

"Too fast—!"

Jehanne manifested her spear once more, rushing forward in a reflexive attempt at defense—

CLANG!

"UGH!"

The impact sent her crashing backward, her elegant posture shattering as she skidded across the floor, coughing blood. Her spear almost flew from her hand.

Of course, it wasn’t that Henrietta suddenly became more powerful than her. Rather, it was Jehanne who held back her defense.

Blocking the attack completely might instead hurt Henrietta; as such, she had no choice but to receive most of the force from the attack, leaving severe internal injuries in return.

"Control yourself, stupid woman!"

Zetian’s eyes flashed as she raised her palm, summoning a shimmering array of black-purple light to halt Henrietta’s advance.

But her words fell on deaf ears.

Henrietta roared, striking through the barrier with brute force. However, the barrier was stronger than what she could handle. Her hands, scratching futilely at it, turned bloody and disfigured in just moments... but Zetian didn’t pull her defense.

...She didn’t, at least.

"What are you doing?!"

Instead, it was the injured Jehanne who rushed forward, smashing Zetian’s defensive barrier at once. "You’ll hurt her at that rate!" she reprimanded.

The talisman circle cracked, then shattered like glass, flames spilling out in every direction. The heat seared across the space as if a flamethrower had just exploded.

Uriel’s nails dug into her palms.

She couldn’t bear to watch, but she couldn’t move either.

Xu Tao’s words echoed in her head: "She’s not fighting as herself anymore... Soon, she won’t even know who she’s fighting."

And now, that prophecy was unfolding before their eyes.

Henrietta’s wild strikes lashed out at anyone close, her movements no longer resembling martial technique but the rampage of a beast. Every blow carried enough force to split stone, every kick spread flames that scorched the ground black.

Henrietta’s laughter rang again—raw, guttural, and utterly unhinged.

And then, with a flash of azure fire, she lunged once more at her own family. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

From his seat, Xu Tao finally stirred. His gaze calm yet tinged with disappointment as he rose to his feet.

"Foolish disciple..." he muttered.