Chapter 89: The King Who Mocked Death! The Flaming Wheel Wave Measure!
“Oh? Is that so? Aren’t you a little too confident?”
As the smoke gradually dispersed, a woman’s voice drifted out.
Chi Zhan’s pupils contracted violently. Trembling, he forced out a few words. “No... no, impossible. This can’t be possible!!”
“How could you be completely unharmed? Impossible! That was a high-tier Profound Rank technique!” Chi Zhan shook his head wildly, his speech already falling apart, sounding almost delirious.
“It seems you’re no longer so confident,” Ma Li said with disdain. “A high-tier Profound Rank technique? To me, it is nothing worth mentioning.”
“Let me show you what real skill is!”
“Reincarnation Seal!”
Ma Li sprang into the air and struck downward with a single seal.
“The humiliation you brought upon us before—I will reclaim every bit of it today. Your Chi King Mercenary Corps is not even worthy to serve as my stepping-stone!”
The moment her words fell, a terrifying killing intent burst forth.
“No... no!”
“High-tier Profound Rank: Wind-Thunder Sweep!”
Chi Zhan roared, intending to meet it head-on. He seized the great saber in his hands and swung it upward.
“A futile struggle.”
Ma Li’s expression did not change in the slightest.
Bang!
“Ahhh!!”
“Seal!”
Bang!
The third commander of the Chi Zhan Mercenary Corps was dead.
And not one of the men who had come with him survived.
“Hey, that’s hardly fair, Ma Li. You didn’t leave even one for me,” Ma Lie said as he walked over, full of grievance.
“No need to rush. Not all of the third commander’s subordinates came. I’ve already sent their location into your mind. What you do next is up to you.”
Qian Mo spoke by voice transmission over a thousand miles, then went on calmly savoring his milk.
“As expected of the Hall Master—truly the Hall Master!”
“Ma Li, I’m going somewhere. I’ll be back soon.”
Before Ma Li could react, he vanished from the spot.
“Hey...”
Ma Li turned around, her face full of confusion.
...
Chi Zhan Residence.
“Keep your eyes open, all of you! When Commander Zhan gets back, I’ll put in a good word for you.”
The captain of the squad spoke to the four men below him.
“I’m afraid... you won’t have that chance.”
A man with a pair of wings behind his back appeared in the sky as he spoke.
That man was Ma Lie.
“Who are you?! How dare you trespass into Chi Zhan Residence?”
“Brothers, fight!”
the captain shouted.
“You’re certain you want to fight me?” Ma Lie released the aura of a nine-star Battle Emperor without holding anything back.
“So... so strong!”
“Cap-captain, are you sure... we still have to fight?”
One of the subordinates dropped to his knees, trembling all over as he spoke.
“Fight? Fight my ass...”
“M-my lord, may I ask how we have offended you?”
the captain asked.
“Look carefully. Do you recognize me?” Ma Lie pointed at his own face and asked them.
The few men stared up at him.
“Y-you’re Ma... Ma Lie?!”
they cried out, shuddering.
“Oh? Not bad. Congratulations, you got it right. As a reward, I’ll send you... to reunite with your Commander Chi Zhan. Very soon, your entire Chi King Mercenary Corps will be buried along with him!”
The moment his words fell—
“Reincarnation Seal!”
With a wave of his hand, a seal crashed down.
“Ah! No!”
Bang!
The entire Chi Zhan Mercenary Corps was annihilated.
“Ah, how boring. Forget it, I’d better head back first.”
With that, Ma Lie flew back to Ma Village.
...
“Now that you have dealt with the third commander of the Chi Zhan Mercenary Corps, your next task is to wipe out the remaining second and first divisions. After that, I have something else for you to do.”
Qian Mo spoke to the two of them.
“These are the locations of the second and first divisions.”
With a light touch of his hand, an image and address appeared in their memories.
“Yes, Hall Master.”
...
In the desolate wilderness, not a single human figure could be seen. Only the sound of the breeze stirring the trees could be heard, and the heavy chill of the wind made one shiver to the bone.
The Chi King Mercenary Corps.
And yet, beside a cliff in such a barren place, a band of people had made their home. White remains lay scattered everywhere around them—some belonged to magical beasts, some to... humans. Every person among them gave off a dense, bloody aura. For such a reek of blood to cling so thickly to them, one could only imagine how many lives they had slaughtered to forge it.
“Has there been any recent news from Chi Zhan’s side?”
A lofty voice rang out. The oppressive atmosphere of the place suited perfectly the bearing that radiated from him. His gaze was sharp, keen as the eyes of an eagle. Nothing escaped the eyes of an eagle, and this man was just as piercing, staring down at those below as he questioned them.
This man was the head of the Chi King Mercenary Corps—Chi King.
Hearing the question about Chi Zhan, the men below exchanged glances. One of them stepped out and said respectfully, “Commander, we have already sent someone to the third commander’s place to inquire. News should return very soon.”
The atmosphere in the great hall was so gloomy it was terrifying. No one knew what might happen in the next instant. No one dared speak. To them, Chi King was like a god—disobey him once, and you would be killed on the spot and replaced by another.
After hearing his subordinate’s reply, Chi King lightly tapped the armrest of his chair, seeming lost in thought. The people below did not dare make a sound to disturb him.
“Go and train.”
After a moment, Chi King opened his sharp eyes and spoke slowly.
“Yes, sir. We take our leave!”
the others replied in unison.
The reason Chi King was able to become the head of the mercenary corps was not merely because his cultivation was the highest here. His composure and meticulousness were far beyond what the second and third commanders could compare to, and his nature was decisive.
Just as everyone was withdrawing, a man on horseback came racing toward them, shouting in alarm, “Disaster! Disaster!”
He leapt from his horse and rushed into the hall in a panic, his face full of terror. “Commander, disaster!”
“Hm? What matter is so urgent? Speak!”
Chi King asked in a grave tone, though inwardly he thought, Could it be that what I feared has happened? Surely nothing has happened to my brother Zhan?
“C-commander...” The man was panting too hard to speak. Once he steadied himself, he stammered, “The third... the third commander... Chi Zhan Residence... it’s... it’s gone!!”
When Chi King heard this, his heart gave a violent jolt.
As expected, the result he had anticipated had come to pass. Something had truly happened. His brows drew tightly together, and with killing intent in his voice, he asked darkly, “Chi Zhan Residence is gone? Tell me everything you saw and everything you know, from beginning to end, without leaving out a single detail!”
As Chi King spoke, the temperature around them seemed to drop, and his murderous aura pressed down on the subordinate.
The man shuddered at once, cold sweat breaking out across his forehead and back. His voice quivering, he said, “Y-yes... yes... when this lowly one received the captain’s order to go and visit the third commander—”
“If you don’t want to die, get to the point!!” Chi King had no patience for hearing the whole process. He wanted the result.
“Yes, yes... This lowly one saw that Chi Zhan Residence had been shattered beyond recognition. On the ground there was... there seemed to be a huge handprint. And... I also found many corpses, but I could not find Commander Chi Zhan’s.”
Terrified, the subordinate blurted out everything he had seen.
“You did not find Commander Chi Zhan’s corpse?” Chi King’s tightly furrowed brows relaxed just a little.
“N-no. It is also possible that Commander Chi Zhan escaped,” the subordinate said.
“Escaped? No. If he had escaped, my brother Zhan would certainly have returned. If not, then either he was killed, or captured, or he is being hunted down and is fleeing for his life.”
Chi King rapidly arrived at three possibilities in his mind. None of them was good. If he was fleeing for his life, that proved his pursuers were very powerful. Second, the enemy was not only strong but numerous. Third, he was severely wounded.
As these conclusions formed in his mind, the slight easing in his expression vanished, and his brows knitted once more.
“A handprint?”
Suddenly he seized upon a crucial point. Rising to his feet, he repeated the word under his breath again and again, his mind racing.
The three brothers were bound by blood, and after living and dying together for so many years, there was still true brotherhood in their hearts.
Bang!
Bang!
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
An explosion rang out. The cliff trembled, and outside the main residence of the Chi King Mercenary Corps, many lifeless bodies came crashing down.
“Chi King, get your ass out here, young master is calling for you!”
An arrogant voice shouted from outside.
The stillness within the residence was shattered. A fierce whirlwind tore through the entire Chi King Residence, reducing it to ruin.
Chi King, who had been deep in thought, suddenly raised his head.
“Who dares come to my Chi King Residence and not even announce himself?”
Chi King summoned his weapon, transformed his battle aura into wings, and flew into the sky. The moment he saw the man before him, his eyes narrowed sharply. From this man, he could sense danger.
What he saw was a man clad in a black robe, a straw hat on his head, and in his right hand an enormous black ruler. White patterns ran across the ruler. Small holes were arranged along it in order, while the rest of its surface rose and dipped like the rough contours of an irregular mountain.
Yes—it was Ma Lie who had come.
And the black ruler in his hand was none other than the Burning Wheel Wave Ruler.
The Burning Wheel Wave Ruler was Ma Lie’s life-bound weapon. Its length could expand or shrink, and it weighed a full hundred kilograms. One swing could sever a mountain, shatter a stretch of earth. What result it produced depended on the strength of the one wielding it. In its mightiest state, it could even split open a crack in space itself, growing stronger together with Ma Lie’s own cultivation.
This was the object Ma Lie had carried on his body while training for a year within the simulation space—a weapon custom-made for its master by the Reincarnation Canon.
On the road, Ma Lie and Ma Li had split up. Ma Li had gone to deal with Chi Yun, while Ma Lie had come to enjoy himself with the boss himself—Chi King.
End of chapter.