Chapter 28

Yun Jiuzi did not press the matter further. Knowing Li Hong’s deep sense of loyalty and righteousness, he had anticipated a refusal and was not surprised. In the end, he agreed to keep a watchful eye from the sidelines, promising to intervene if Li Hong’s plans went awry. He remarked that he preferred a direct, forceful approach over the awkwardness of trying to curry favor with others.

You Fei turned slowly, his face solemn. He stared fixedly at Zhou Libo, his gaze brazen yet powerless, the provocation clear and undeniable.

"Big brother, sisters, I’ll be heading back now." With that, he avoided Nie Ying’s gaze and sprinted away as if fleeing.

"Then you’ll have to prove you have the ability!" A cold sneer played on the lips of the True Martial Immortal Emperor. With a flash, he darted in front of Yi Hai, his large hand striking out like lightning toward Yi Hai’s throat.

Li Hong felt a secret anxiety. Yun Jiuzi, what are you still doing in there? Do you really intend to wait inside until you ascend?

However, Nie Ying and the others could not be bothered with such thoughts. Their minds were preoccupied with how to obtain the so-called mandate tokens from the three great masters. Even though Nie Ying was now highly regarded as a Dharma Master, he realized that in the eyes of those at the peak, he still lacked the necessary standing.

"Right!" Tomo Sakanada held blind faith in Kazuo Inoue. As far as he was concerned, if Kazuo Inoue believed something could be done, it was unconditionally possible.

Just like that, two more strongholds were taken. The tally of Japanese soldiers eliminated by You Fei’s troops today had reached an even three hundred.

Li Hong’s face flushed. He felt embarrassed, having made a promise only to expose the truth, though he didn’t care much about whether he received the Chaos Origin Mirror. He already possessed an abundance of magical treasures; losing one was of little consequence.

There is no such thing as a free lunch. I must find another way to deal with the Profound Energy. It seems I won't be leaving this labyrinthine forest anytime soon.

"Beiming Ying'er, how have you become so weak?" Yin Shuangshuang looked at the battered Xiao Ke, her suspicions growing.

Zhang Cheng slapped his forehead, feeling as though he had been infected by Lin Mu’s stupidity and had become brainless himself.

***

The explosion subsided. Mu Dong picked up the gold coins and silver-tier equipment dropped on the ground and tossed them into his backpack. Even if he had no use for them, he could sell them or contribute them to the guild for others to exchange.

Qi Meng checked the teleportation list and discovered the final destination was the Tree Heart City Adventure Zone. It required reaching level 20 and a fee of 9,999 gold magic coins.

The use of residential land in the village required official approval, but since the village leadership had ceased to function, every matter had to be brought to Zhang Cheng.

Brushing aside the strange feeling in his heart, he toyed with the Blood-Slaying Divine Blade. Tendrils of malevolent blood energy rose, manifesting all sorts of incredible and ominous visions.

His reasoning was sound; after all, if a person loses all hope, what difference is there between life and death? The Three Pure Palaces currently had only ten thousand members. With so few, they would eventually need to recruit more disciples—who was to say those future recruits wouldn't be qualified?

When it came to rolling dice, Zhao Lin was notoriously unlucky. A single roll of 18 points had immediately knocked him out of the game.

Not far from the donkey, another stubborn one was grazing. Beside it, a burly man sat squatting on the ground, head in his hands. Given that physique, who else could it be but Li Gongfu?

"See? Chu Xuan says there’s no problem. Old Wang, do you still have any concerns?" Nie Shengli said with a smile.

At that moment, a prominent head was displayed at the East Market gate of Qingcheng. The local onlookers gathered in a continuous stream, pointing and whispering with great curiosity.

That same day, the eight major cities of the new nation established their National Guard. Some were formed by local troops who had defected, others by militia, and some by common citizens.

As Li Xiuxiu stepped out of the Zhou family apartment building, she had only gone a few steps when she spotted a dark shadow standing under a tree nearby. She recognized him instantly as Zhou Shaojie.

In any case, the only reason they were obsessed with her was this face, which appeared devastatingly beautiful in this world.

***

To hold off a barbarian cavalry nearly ten times their size with only a few hundred men—only Tang An could do such a thing; others wouldn't even dare to imagine it.

"Ding! System installation successful. Checking system status, please wait..." Once bound, the system initiated its self-diagnostic function.

However, as the two engaged, they traded over twenty moves in a brief span without a clear victor. Furthermore, Yu Huang’s techniques were fierce, his grasp of the Great Dao profound, and he began to vaguely gain the upper hand.

Hearing Xu Xuan’s near-soliloquy, a smile blossomed on Bai Suzhen’s face. It seemed she had not misjudged him. When she had first entered and seen Xu Xian and Wu Yulian’s intimate appearance, she had been deeply worried. Now, hearing Xu Xuan’s words, the stone in her heart finally dropped.

Behind the desperate men lighting the fuses, the winding trails of fire reached toward round holes in the ground. Some were shallow, revealing bundles wrapped in cloth hidden within.

The reason for Li Jie’s howling was that in Lister’s plan, once they crossed the front lines, they had to abandon all the infantry fighting vehicles, armored vehicles, and military trucks they had worked so hard to seize. They were forced to rely on the various modified off-roaders, cargo trucks, and buses that had been rattling and shaking throughout their journey, offering zero protection.

Second, aside from the zombies pouring in from the outside, the original zombies within the detention center had not been completely cleared.

Taking advantage of the chaos, combined with his previous grievances with the Earth Demon Sect—it was the perfect time to settle all accounts. With Lin Yun’s current strength, who in the Earth Demon Sect could possibly stop him?

Though Jiang Lan felt a sense of humiliation, the desire to become a disciple of the Three Emperors allowed her to overlook it.

Lu Su clenched his fists in secret, his expression turning grim. He knew clearly that Zhu Ping spoke the truth. The army had run out of rations, morale was shattered, and the enemy’s numbers far exceeded his own, their forces fierce and high-spirited. If he insisted on fighting, it would truly be a dead end.