Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“Petty trick!”

A crimson shield of light was condensed before Zhao Lie’s right arm and took the blow of the electric bullets. Dozens of powerful blasts spread out in a row, making Zhao Lie grunt and shake violently.

The renowned ‘Blood Eagle’ did not expect Han Te to have grown so quickly to such a level. Even he almost failed to resist the bombardment of the young man despite the enhancement of his crystal suit. He was slightly dazed.

However, he did not give Han Te a second chance. Before Han Te condensed the second wave of electric arcs, the crimson ghostly claw appeared again and slapped Han Te to the ground brutally, holding him down and making it impossible for him to move.

Shua!

Zhao Chong, having finally gathered himself, raised his chainsword high and grinned hideously. “Die now, Han Te!”

Before he slashed his chainsword, however, he was kicked away by Ma Ku, the brutal bandit from the Red Fire Gang.

“This pig is not half bad.” Every hole on Ma Ku’s face seemed to be glittering like an eye and licking Han Te’s body greedily. “He can be sold at a good price at the Fist King’s. Don’t waste him.”

“Hey, Gu Zhengyang.” Fei Zhong, the giant meatball, stepped forward and held Gu Zhengyang back with his dominating aura. He then put one of his iron feet on Han Te’s back and squeezed the captive’s spine slowly. A hole suddenly split apart on the fat on his face, as he grimaced and said, “Is this your disciple? You’ve taught him well!”

“Hiss!”

Han Te’s spine was utterly cracking noises. His every finger was cramping beyond his control, but he simply gritted his teeth to stop him from screaming.

“Senior brother!” Liu Li almost burst into tears and glared at Ma Ku and Fei Zhong with her fuming eyes.

“And there’s this little girl. Is she your daughter?” Sensing the fury in Liu Li’s eyes, Fei Zhong smiled even more delightedly. He licked the gaps in the fat on his face with a tongue that was full of sharp thorns. “Her voice is as beautiful as her face. What’s her name? Liu Li, isn’t it? Tsk, tsk, tsk. That’s a good name…

“Killing is an art as well as entertainment. I am not as indiscriminate as Ma Ku, and I like to kill those who are pretty and scream well. Whenever I meet such people, I won’t feel satisfied until I have killed them over seven days and seven nights.”

“Fei Zhong, don’t you dare!” Gu Zhengyang’s eyes seemed to be crystal bombs that were burning furiously and could explode at any time.

Fei Zhong and Ma Ku looked at each other and grinned hideously.

“In fact, neither I nor Ma Ku are bloodthirsty, otherwise the boss wouldn’t have asked us to come to negotiate with you.” The fat on Fei Zhong’s face was shivering, as if he was trying to flirt. “Right now, you have only two options. You can volunteer to cooperate with us and give the place of the village leader to Zhao Lie. Then, you will maintain the order in the village together with Zhao Lie, select a thousand vigorous warriors, and make sure that they join our operation willingly and happily. This will be good for both parties. For us, we will be spared a lot of unnecessary work. For you, you will avoid a catastrophe, and you may earn tremendous trophies in the future!

“Otherwise, we will have to go on a killing spree and execute the uncles, elders in the village, and yourself. Then, I will have to trouble myself by killing your daughter and your disciple for a couple of days. I believe that they will certainly come up with a solution to convince all the other villagers before the last day comes.

“Gu Zhengyang, you have always been a smart guy. You have kept the safety of the Village of Peace for twenty years right next to Double Dragons Valley not entirely because of your worthless Sky Breaking Hammer. So, what will you choose right now?”

All the bandits of the Red Fire Gang grinned hideously as if nobody were around. The villagers that had been armed to teeth on their opposite seemed like fish in a barrel to them.

“Leader?”

“Leader!”

Sensing the killing intent that was vaguely spreading out of the tough bandits and understanding the gap between the enemy and themselves, all the villagers could not help shuddering hard.

“Master, don’t—don’t care about me. I’m happy to die!” Han Te shrieked under Fei Zhong’s feet.

“Dad, we—we are scared of nothing!” Liu Li also shouted under the smiles of Ma Ku and Fei Zhong.

“Two little fools,” Fei Zhong said, still smiling. “There are a million things that are scarier than death in the Land of Sins. After you witness them, you will naturally understand what fear is.”

“Enough, Fei Zhong!” Struggle, dilemma, and hesitation beamed out of his face. Several different colors seemed to be confronting on his face like chaotic armies until it became gray and withered in the end. “You can do… whatever you want!”

“Good choice.” Fei Zhong had foreseen that Gu Zhengyang would bend. After all, the guy was merely a minor leader in a Desolate World. He gestured lazily, hinting for Zhao Lie to take over the commander of the Village of Peace.

However, Gu Zhengyang stepped forward again and stood before Zhao Lie.

“Huh?” Fei Zhong raised an eyebrow, which was perhaps the only distinguishable natural feature on his face, somewhat in dissatisfaction.

“I’m not done yet.” Taking a deep breath, Gu Zhengyang stared at Zhao Lie, Fei Zhong, and Ma Ku and declared, one word after another, “You can do whatever you want… over my dead body!”

“Master!”

“Dad!”

“Leader!”

Han Te, Liu Li, and the many villagers all jumped to their feet. They all sensed that Gu Zhengyang’s fire of life was burning furiously like a candle.

Shock and confusion beamed out of Fei Zhong’s eyes. He cleaned his ears with his short, fat fingers and said, “Excuse me?”

Ma Ku swallowed hard, and his eyes glittered with interest. “Excellent. You are bold enough. I haven’t killed anybody yet today. You are certainly worth killing!”

Zhao Lie stared at Gu Zhengyang for a while. The bafflement in his eyes gradually turned into embarrassment. He somehow lost the courage to look Gu Zhengyang in the eyes but simply sighed. “Leader, why do you have to ask to be killed? You can’t change anything or save anyone by playing the hero!”

“Yes. I never realized how ridiculous I was until today.” Gu Zhengyang smiled bitterly. “You are right, Zhao Lie. I should have listened to you a long time ago instead of persisting in some meaningless stuff in decades of struggle, which could not change anything or save anybody at all!”

Zhao Lie narrowed his eyes. “In that case, why are you still standing in my way? You don’t have to die. Why?”

“Perhaps…” Gu Zhengyang smiled miserably. He opened his arms and protected everyone behind him, but his eyes drifted to a beautiful future somewhere far away. “I am also a hopeless idiot who is stupid enough to wish that the Gold Barley can grow all over the Land of Sins!”

“I don’t understand any of your nonsense.” Ma Ku shoved Zhao Lie away and grinned at Gu Zhengyang, his sharp teeth glittering coldly. “Sky Breaking Hammer? Die now!”

Right when six flames of light flowed out of Ma Ku’s arms, forming three unstoppable light blades on each of his fists and locking onto the Gu Zhengyang’s carotid artery, deafening explosions erupted outside.

The crystal bombs that were buried deep at the bottom of the lake raised overwhelming undercurrents, which blasted the iron-shelled boats and shook them hard. Everybody on-board could barely keep themselves steady.

Then, a series of explosions that were even fiercer echoed further away.

The aftermath of the explosion made all the lights in the command cabin flicker and blink.

Before Gu Zhengyang and the villagers realized what was going on, Ma Ku and Fei Zhong, as two great bandits, both smelled the scent of danger from the subtle changes in the air.

Looking at each other, Ma Ku hinted at Fei Zhong, and Fei Zhong left the command cabin with a couple of bandits to check the situation on the deck.

Nobody returned.

Not only did none of them come back, even their communication channels were cut off. They seemed to have fallen into a black hole that was beyond all perception.

The few sentry posts that had been deployed on the deck previously had also vanished into thin air. There was nothing but background noise in the communication shell. All of them had gone missing.

Ma Ku, the unparalleled bandit who had made everybody sweat hard, was finally soaked in cold sweat himself.

“Old fart!” Ma Ku raised his voice, and he looked even more hideous than before. But the more hideous he became, the less he was able to conceal the fright deep inside his eyes. “What tricks are you playing outside?”

Gu Zhengyang and the many villagers looked at each other in bewilderment, not having the faintest clue what happened outside in their ignorance.

Han Te and Liu Li, however, looked at each other in secret. They vaguely realized that the anomaly outside might have something to do with ‘Grandpa Yao’.

Observing the room, Ma Ku realized that the villagers really did not know what was going on. Also, under the intimidation of the Red Fire Gang, they barely had any determination to resist. Snorting hard, he asked Zhao Lie to disarm them before he left with a reminder. “Stay here and watch them. If anybody acts disobediently, kill everyone in the command cabin immediately!”

He went back to the deck with a few trusted subordinates.

Then, like Fei Zhong, nobody returned.

Zhao Lie and the remaining tough bandits were caught in the most awkward situation.

The bandits and the villagers stared at each other. As time went by, all the explosions outside seemed to disappear. The weird silence gradually reversed the confidence of the two parties.

“Dad…”

Zhao Chong swallowed hard nonstop.

Zhao Lie’s eyes shuddered time and time again. Then he suddenly said, “Leader, tie everybody else up and bring Han Te and Liu Li to check the deck with me!”

“Huh?”

Another captain of the bandits seemed dissatisfied about his arrangement, but Zhao Lie simply snapped. “There’s no other way out of here. If anything happens outside, nobody is going to get away!”