Chapter 948 - Master, I Am Tough!
948 Master, I Am Tough!
Translator:StarveCleric | Editor: Millman97 However, the Saint realm 2-dan Otherworldly Demon wasn’t bewildered for too long. The zhenqi exerted by the other party was incredibly condensed and powerful, reminiscent of a towering mountain. Without a doubt, the other party had to be a King at the very least.
Even if he didn’t know who the other party was, one thing was for certain—the other party’s standing was far above his.
Seeing the other party stuttering in uncertainty, unsure of what was going on, Zhang Xuan frowned in displeasure and bellowed furiously, “You don’t even know me? Men, drag this moron down and execute him!”
“This…”
This time, it wasn’t just the Saint realm 2-dan Otherworldly Demon who was stunned. The Otherworldly Demons in the area were completely dumbstruck as well.
To speak of beheading our leader like that, who the hell do you think you are?
Which asylum did you run out from?
“Could it be…”
The Saint realm 2-dan Otherworldly Demons was extremely frustrated, and he had no idea what he was supposed to do. However, at that very moment, a thought flickered across his head and a certain name surfaced in his mind, and his face warped in astonishment. “Could you be… the Goldenleaf King?”
Rumor had it that the Goldenleaf King was a combative and vicious person, often assaulting others over the slightest verbal disagreement.
He had never seen the Goldenleaf King before, having only heard of the other party’s name. However, considering the pure energy the person before him was emanating, as well as his arrogant disposition, threatening to kill him despite having only met moments ago, he couldn’t help but wonder if the other party was indeed him.
“Humph, seeing how fast you reacted, I will let you off this time!” Harrumphing coldly, Zhang Xuan tilted his head up haughtily.
“The leader of the 214th Squadron of Greenleaf King, Tong Yue, pays respect to Your Highness!”
Upon seeing that he had identified the other party correctly, the Saint realm 2-dan Otherworldly Demon, Tong Yue, heaved a sigh of relief before hurriedly kneeling onto the ground to greet the other party. After which, he couldn’t help but ask doubtfully, “Our King has said that he will be coming over soon, and he asked us to make preparations. That is why we captured these master teachers in order to prepare the tributes to gather the required energy to break the seal for his arrival. But… how did you come over without any tribute?”
It would be a lie if he said that he wasn’t perplexed by the abrupt arrival of the esteemed figure before him.
The areas of jurisdiction of their direct superior, Greenleaf King, and Goldenleaf King were extremely far from one another, so the both of them didn’t have much contact with one another.
Furthermore, the Greenleaf King had paid a heavy price using a special ritual in order to send them over one by one. It was only recently that the Greenleaf King had issued an order for them to hunt down master teachers and have them serve as tributes so as to allow him to bypass the seal and come over. They weren’t even done preparing for their own King to come over, but the Goldenleaf King was already here?
What was going on?
“What? Are you actually asking me to report my activities to you?” Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up as his eyes narrowed menacingly. Emanating a wintry killing intent, Zhang Xuan berated condescendingly, “You disrespectful lowlife, are you asking to be killed right here, right now? Do you think that I dare not touch you just because you are the Greenleaf King’s subordinate?”
“I…” Tong Yue’s body stiffened as cold sweat began trickling from his forehead.
The other party possessed the bloodline of a King whereas he was just an ordinary soldier. Even if the other party were to kill him, he had no doubt that the Greenleaf King wouldn’t speak up for him.
This was the difference in their identity and standing!
“I dare not!” Tong Yue swiftly kneeled to the ground fearfully, not daring to even breathe loudly.
He had long heard that rules were mere words in the eyes of the Goldenleaf King, and there was nothing that the other party dared not do. He had always thought that it was just an exaggeration, but seeing it with his own eyes… the other party was indeed a madman.
“That had better be the truth!” Zhang Xuan harrumphed coldly before turning his eyes away from Tong Yue. He took a step forward before pointing at Lu Feng and the others and asking, “What’s with them?”
“We were intending to capture this bunch and have them serve as tributes to break the seal for our King’s arrival,” Tong Yue hurriedly explained.
“Tributes? For the Greenleaf King’s arrival?” Zhang Xuan frowned.
He wasn’t too sure how it worked, but he was still able to get a rough idea as to what was going on from the other party’s words.
It seemed like he had arrived at a timely moment. Considering how fearsome the ordinary soldiers were, if an Otherworldly Demon King were to breach the seal and come over, wouldn’t Hongyuan City be reduced to hell in an instant?
Noticing the displeasure on the Goldenleaf King’s face, Tong Yue’s lips twitched as he quickly realized what was going on. Thus, he anxiously said, “We were intending to usher in our king, but since Your Highness is here, there is no longer any need for that. I will have these fellows killed this very instant.”
It took more than strength to become a Squadron Leader. Tong Yue wasn’t a foolish person, and he was very sharp at reading the mood as well.
While he had not heard about any grudge between the Greenleaf King and the Goldenleaf King, considering that the Goldenleaf King was already here, bringing the Greenleaf King here could be viewed as an attempt to undermine his authority, and that was no different from seeking death.
Thus, he turned around to the Otherworldly Demons behind him and waved his hand. “Men, kill all of those fellows here!”
“Yes, leader!” Upon hearing the order, the Otherworldly Demons began marching toward the encircled Lu Feng and the others with overwhelming killing intent.
“Comrades, it seems like we might be meeting our end here.”
“From the moment I walked in here, I have never thought about leaving alive. So what if I meet my end here? Take one down, and I will have recouped my loss; take two down, and I will have profited!”
“Haha, come! Let me give you a taste of your grandfather’s strength!”
“Even if I die, I will make sure to pull a couple of them down with me…”
Seeing that the Otherworldly Demons were going to kill them, the master teachers trapped in the center roared in laughter, seemingly devoid of any fear for their impending doom.
Just as Zhang Xuan had guessed, these 6-star pinnacle master teachers were either those whose cultivation had stagnated at a certain point or those whose lifespan had reached its limit.
From the moment they stepped into the Subterranean Gallery, they had already prepared themselves mentally to meet their end.
Having served as a master teacher for a lifetime, dying in the midst of battling the Otherworldly Demon could be considered a fine conclusion to the end of their journey.
As such, they didn’t feel fear when they heard that the other party was going to kill them. On the contrary, their fighting will flared instead.
What is there to rejoice about birth, what is there to fear about death?1
Another Otherworldly Demon killed meant another step toward mankind’s peace. Even if death was their end, they had no regrets.
“You wretched things, the only reason you are still alive is because you were going to serve as tributes for our honored King. Now that our King is here, your existence serves no purpose anymore!” Tong Yue harrumphed coldly as he raised his hand.
Huala!
Many Otherworldly Demons raised their hands simultaneously as a devastating energy gathered among them.
The energy gathered was so immense and destructive that if it were to be released, the already severely injured master teachers would die without fail.
With a deep frown, Zhang Xuan bellowed loudly, “Hold it for a moment!”
Hearing his bellow, the Otherworldly Demons, who were prepared to launch an attack, swiftly halted their movements. Tong Yue also turned a doubtful gaze to Zhang Xuan.
The Goldenleaf King was known to be callous and vicious, never hesitating to claim the life of another. This was precisely why Tong Yue was so fearful of him. So, why would the other party suddenly ask him to stop?
“Spare them, I still have questions for them,” Zhang Xuan commanded coldly.
From his experience disguising as Yang shi, he had learned the art of feigning as an expert. On top of that, through Vicious’ powerful and devastating aura, he had already created a powerful first impression, which granted him more room to maneuver.
“Yes!” Hearing that the Goldenleaf King had some questions for the master teachers, Tong Yue immediately waved his hands to gesture for the Otherworldly Demons to step down.
Even so, the Otherworldly Demons didn’t let their guard down. They continued to maintain their encirclement around the master teachers, ready to strike should any of them attempt to flee.
“May I know what Your Highness intends to ask? I will immediately have my men interrogate them.” Tong Yue turned to Zhang Xuan and clasped his fist respectfully. A moment later, fearing that the latter would misunderstand, he quickly added, “These master teachers are obstinate fools. Without using some special means, it won’t be possible to obtain accurate intelligence from them!”
It hadn’t been long since he had arrived at the Subterranean Gallery, but he had already come into contact with many master teachers. Those fellows had an unyielding faith in their mission, making it nigh impossible to get any useful information out of them through a normal interrogation.
How could a person who didn’t even fear death succumb to an average interrogation?
Placing his hands behind his back, Zhang Xuan replied haughtily as he gazed into the distance, as if contemplating about the greater matters of the world. “There is no need for that. This matter involves confidential secrets that the likes of you aren’t qualified to know. You just have to find me a quiet place for me to interrogate them privately!”
In that moment, he exuded an unfathomable aura.
“Yes!” Hearing that the other party wanted to interrogate the master teachers personally, Tong Yue hesitated for a moment before clasping his fist. “Your Highness, our temporary camp is not too far from here. Why don’t we head there to interrogate these wretched master teachers? This way, we will be able to prevent them from escaping as well!”
“Un.” Zhang Xuan nodded.
He could tell that Tong Yue still harbored some reservations toward him, which was only natural given that he had appeared out of nowhere. At this point, it would be too unnatural if he tried to take them away willfully.
He would have to bide his time and wait for an ideal opportunity to strike.
Furthermore, his purpose there was to investigate the situation with the Otherworldly Demons and rid the threats that were lurking in the darkness. This was a good chance for him to scout the situation.
“This way, please!” Nodding, Tong Yue hurriedly stepped forward and led the way.
Without saying a word, Zhang Xuan stepped into the air and began following behind Tong Yue closely while asking Vicious discreetly, “The Goldenleaf King that he spoke of, have you heard of him before?”
“How can I possibly know these juniors? Most likely, Tong Yue has never met that Goldenleaf King before and simply thought that you are him due to your pure and powerful zhenqi.”
At which, Vicious paused to ponder for a moment before continuing his explanation. “There is a very strict hierarchy among the Otherworldly Demons. The purer an Otherworldly Demon’s Zhenqi of Slaughter is, the higher their standing will be. My finger has just barely recovered and is still far from exerting the immense force it wielded back when I was at my peak. Nevertheless, the zhenqi it exerts is still far beyond the reach of mortals like them!”
“Un.” Zhang Xuan nodded quietly.
This was also what he thought as well.
Vicious had been one of the strongest emperors of the Otherworldly Demon back when he was at his peak. Even if his finger was far weaker than it was back then, the purity of the energy it exerted was still far beyond the likes of those fellows.
Furthermore, his disguise was also nigh perfect, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the other party would think of him as the Goldenleaf King or something.
“With your current prowess, are you able to deal with those fellows?” Zhang Xuan asked.
It wouldn’t be safe to leave such a large group of Otherworldly Demons lurking in the Subterranean Gallery. If Vicious could destroy these fellows easily, he wouldn’t have to go through too much trouble getting rid of them later on.
“The most powerful attack I have at the moment is my killing intent. It is extremely effective against those of differing races, but against fellow Otherworldly Demons, I fear that its effectiveness will be negligible,” Vicious said awkwardly.
He had always boasted about how powerful he was, but in real times of need, he turned out to be useless.
Having taken aback his finger, his fighting prowess had been enhanced considerably, allowing him to engage in physical fights. However, it would still be extremely difficult for him to stand his ground against so many opponents simultaneously.
Furthermore, his strongest attack was his killing intent. It was indeed formidable against master teachers and saint beasts; those who were afflicted by it would find their bodies stiffening on the spot, rendering them powerless.
However, against his fellow Otherworldly Demons, who cultivated the Zhenqi of Slaughter as well, his killing intent was nearly ineffective.
“I see.”
Seeing Vicious denying the matter so quickly, Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly as he muttered beneath his breath, “I was just thinking how formidable you are, but to think that you are nothing more than a solder spear2, useless in times to need…”
Hearing those words, Vicious staggered and nearly burst into tears.
Master, I am not a solder spear. I am tough, very, very tough…