Chapter 142: Despicable Me

"Heh, heheh..."

Thinking of that scene, Yan Jing parted his cracked lips and chuckled.

He looked down at the girl beneath him.

This was his first time looking at her from such a close distance.

It was the same face as when they'd first met—by no means pretty, no matter how he looked at it—but Yan Jing couldn't tear his eyes away.

He gazed into those eyes he had seen countless times. Beneath her long eyelashes lay a gaze like a clear, stubborn lake, and reflecting in that lake were the stars and the moon.

Those stars and that moon were the final sliver of hope to turn this situation around.

A voice he often heard in the Surface World echoed in his mind:

"Xiao Yanzi, I asked around about the thing you wanted me to search for..."

...

Opposite them, the First Ward Chief and the Great Elder of Virtue Bridge watched warily as Mantou suddenly appeared and hoisted Yan Jing onto her back.

But after using Anomalous Energy Detection, both of them paused in surprise.

The young girl before them was only at the First Tier.

Yet, against all reason, here she was.

This absurd sight made the two hesitate, but Mantou was already dragging Yan Jing away.

The First Ward Chief of Solitude Lane made his move.

A Dark Giant Sickle materialized in his only remaining hand.

The moment it appeared, it triggered a violent surge of weird energy that rippled through the narrow alley like a crashing tidal wave.

This was his strongest attack. Very few people had ever survived a strike from it.

The more he believed he could kill his target, the stronger the attack became.

And right now, the target across from him was merely a First Tier girl.

Under this strike, the head wearing the Electric Helmet was guaranteed to fall.

Fueled by this absolute confidence, he swung the Scythe Blade. A crescent-shaped gleam flashed at the tip, aimed straight at Mantou.

Right at that moment, he heard a sharp noise.

It wasn't loud, yet it wasn't drowned out by the deafening roar in the air. Because it was a sound he had almost never heard before, it stood out with striking clarity.

It sounded like grinding metal.

The Scythe Blade in his hand faltered for a fraction of a second.

Such a pause was entirely out of character for him, but a few years ago... a certain battle had cost him an arm.

Ever since then, his once-unshakable belief in his own invincibility had suffered a heavy blow.

And right now, the person across from him was that man's younger brother.

Thus, he fell into a moment of hesitation.

In that split second, Chen Nian stood up on a distant rooftop.

He looked completely unrecognizable from his previous self.

Metallic fissures split open across half of his body, unfurling various mechanical modules. Heavy metal components grafted onto him, forcefully twisting his formerly gaunt frame into a mechanical monster.

Gun barrels and ballistic trajectories were the sole design philosophy of this beast. The flashing lights and surging weird energy running through it were the true lifelines keeping him alive.

A flurry of urgent mechanical beeps echoed rapidly in Chen Nian's ears.

"Mental restraints disengaged."

"Ranged strike system operating at 200% capacity."

"Computing system operating at 200% capacity."

"Energy storage system fully unrestricted; output capacity maximized."

"Warning: Unit overheating."

"Injecting coolant... Command received. Coolant injection halted."

"Overload mode engaged."

"Warning: Overload mode may cause irreversible damage to the unit."

"Alarm systems disengaged."

"Target locked."

"Hum—"

Blue light and churning weird energy intertwined across Chen Nian's monstrous mechanical body as hundreds of gun barrels simultaneously aimed at the First Ward Chief in the black trench coat.

The next second.

Gunfire blanketed the sky!

The First Ward Chief reacted the instant the flames erupted, forcefully jerking the Scythe Blade away from Mantou and hauling it upward!

Boom!

Tidal waves of dark blade light collided with the hailstorm of artillery fire in midair. A scorching shockwave rolled over Rotten Vegetable Village, dyeing the sky a blazing, unbroken crimson!

"You have a death wish!"

The First Ward Chief quickly realized his attacker hadn't reached the Third Tier. His eyes darkened, and he immediately poured more weird energy into his weapon.

The dark arcs of blade light linked together into a solid expanse, crashing over the flames like a towering, shadowy tsunami.

Watching this unfold from the sidelines, the Great Elder of Virtue Bridge finally broke his silence and made his move.

He waved his hands, silently chanting:

"I have been diligent for so long, all for this moment of explosive release."

Virtue Pathway—Diligence Third Tier Ability: Power Accumulation.

It could convert all the accumulated effort from his daily life into a short, massive burst of weird energy.

If his cultivation on any given day fell short of true 'diligence,' all his saved progress would be slashed in half.

In a flash, dark weird energy cascaded from his body until it flooded the entire alleyway.

With a light wave of his hand, the weird energy shaped itself into a massive dark hand that reached for Mantou.

But in the next second, a motorcycle launched into the air with a roaring engine and landed squarely in front of Mantou and Yan Jing, blocking the path.

Under Tiger's shocked gaze, the Old Man hopped off the bike. Flinging aside his heavy military overcoat, he laughed loudly.

"You old fossil, picking on the little ones is no fun!"

"Let me fight you instead."

Facing the grasping dark hand, Old Master Liu took a slight half-step back. His right arm sank along with his center of gravity. His hand moved with his body; his intent flowed with his heart. In this life-and-death moment, the first person that came to mind was his late wife. Then came his children. Finally, he thought of a certain cynical, worldly figure.

"Don't blame me, don't blame me..."

He muttered to himself just as the dark hand descended, his body abruptly twisting.

A single punch!

Weird energy coated his fist, delivering the most beautiful strike Liu Fu could ever throw.

Behind him, Tiger stared at the punch, utterly dumbfounded.

Even though he only caught the afterimage of the movement, it left him in absolute awe.

At his level, it simply looked flawlessly perfect.

This perfect punch collided with the giant hand in an earth-shattering impact.

Weird energy violently rippled outward in shockwaves.

A second later, a web of cracks spread across the massive hand, as if it were about to shatter.

"He won!!!"

Tiger's face lit up with excitement.

However, the Old Man's next words sent a chill straight through his heart.

"Get the two of them out of here!"

The Old Man growled in a low voice.

Only then did Tiger notice that the Old Man's right arm was trembling uncontrollably. That vigorous, powerful arm now looked like a shattered glass bottle. Blood spurted out wildly, splattering all over the ground.

Tiger froze, gripping the motorcycle handlebars, momentarily at a loss for what to do.

Should he listen to the Old Man and take Mr. Yi Ji and Mantou away? But... if he did, what would happen to the Old Man...?

Just as Tiger was caught in indecision, he suddenly felt a profound throbbing deep within his soul.

This was...

His Zipper Button!

He immediately turned to look at Yan Jing. Yan Jing had one hand stuffed in his pocket—clearly, he was holding Tiger's Zipper Button inside.

So...

Tiger instantly understood and stepped back.

At a time like this, he chose to place his trust in Yan Jing.

Meanwhile, Mantou felt as if Yan Jing had suddenly grown heavier. As he leaned to the side, she quickly shifted her body, barely managing to catch him.

That near slip made her even more cautious, and her pace slowed down further.

She turned her head and gave Yan Jing a simple, honest smile.

"Yi... Ji... don't be afraid... We're... almost... home..."

"Grandpa... Big Brother Chen and Mr. Tiger... They all... they all came back... With them here... there's nothing to fear..."

"Once we're home... everything will be fine..."

Billowing shockwaves blasted against them. Mantou's inherently uncoordinated body swayed unstably, looking as though she might collapse at any moment. A distance of mere dozens of meters now stretched out like an insurmountable abyss.

But she merely reached up to wipe the sweat from her forehead, staring resolutely in the direction of that door.

Lying on her back, Yan Jing looked at Mantou, his heart aching so much he couldn't speak.

Of course, he had intentionally made her slow down.

Yes, he was truly that despicable of a person.

A man who would do absolutely anything to achieve his goals.

That was why, the very first time he saw Mantou, he had decided he would never have any romantic feelings for this girl.

Not in his past life, and not in this one either.

In his previous life, he had neither money nor power. Just feeding himself was a struggle, so he never would have considered marrying a sick girl.

And in this life, armed with a golden finger, even if he couldn't reach the absolute Summit, finding a few pretty girls—the kind he couldn't get in his past life—would have been no problem at all.

That was what he had originally thought.

But now, those foolish notions had long since been trampled into the mud by this very girl, step by step.

Now, they walked forward through an intersection of light and shadow. Above them raged the fires of battle and brilliant auras, and ahead of them was their home.

"How despicable," he muttered, mocking himself.

What right did he have? Forcing a girl to risk her life just to toss his affection at her like a handout.

How truly despicable, Yan Jing.

But he was exactly that kind of madman.

Just like those other two guys—they were all crazy. That was why they had jumped out to shield him. Regardless of whether he managed to escape this time, they were now targets in the eyes of Third Tier powerhouses.

And he was crazy too. That was why he couldn't just hop on that motorcycle and flee to some place without these friends of his.

He was going to gamble on the last shred of possibility!

He was going to win! Not a few years down the line, and not all by himself. He was going to win right here, right now, with these guys by his side!

If he lost, he would die right here alongside those two madmen, letting his girl walk away with a healthy body.

I'm sorry, Mantou.

I'm so sorry.

Mantou's speed dropped.

The shockwaves rolling around them were growing stronger and stronger.

Just as Mantou's body seemed about to give out and collapse, Yan Jing finally saw it—that long-awaited, tyrannical aura erupting from within her!

Dark eyes forcefully tore open across the surface of Mantou's skin, like a violent monarch descending upon the world, ready to shred everything to pieces.

A voice that sounded like it came from hell rang out.

"You intentionally tried to force me out, didn't you?!"

"I already told you! Even for me, defeating them is impossible!!!"

Those myriad eyes swiveled to glare at Yan Jing, boiling with intense rage.

She didn't understand why this guy refused to just hand over that Sapling.

Could he not see how much the idiot beneath him had done for him?

"Yes, I did it on purpose."

Yan Jing smiled, using the last ounce of his strength to speak.

"This is what you want. Haven't you always wanted it?"

Faint, flickering illusions of a Sapling materialized in his palm.

In a voice so low it was practically a whisper, he spoke close to one of the eyes on her skin:

"Mantou running into me back then... it wasn't a coincidence, was it?"

"You used some trick to lead her to me."

"You felt it... You sensed the aura of the Fear Tree fruit..."

"..."

"..."

Fear Bird fell silent.

Because Yan Jing was right.

Her shadow was undeniably pulling the strings behind the scenes, leading this farce to where it stood today.

Just like how the man in front of her had constantly deceived this fool, she had been deceiving the girl all along, too.

It wasn't just their first encounter. Even the reunion between this idiot and this man in Rotten Vegetable Village was something she had deliberately orchestrated.

She and this man were actually no different.

They were both scum who used other people.

The turbulent waves of battle and surging weird energy exploded around them, terrifying whistles howling amidst the deafening roar.

Those many eyes swiveled back to the faint Sapling in Yan Jing's hand. She understood his intention.

"So... you want me to enter your body, is that it?"

"You want to use your own body to endure my final years in her place. On top of that, you want me to use your body to fight these Third Tier bastards."

"But I have to warn you right now."

"Part of your plan isn't going to work."

"Even if I take over your body, the best I can do is fight a single Third Tier to a draw."

"Winning against so many Third Tiers is absolutely impossible."

Yan Jing smiled.

"How will we know if we don't try?"

"..."

Fear Bird fell silent for a moment before finally nodding.

"Fine. We'll do it your way."

"I hope you don't regret this."

She ultimately agreed. Perhaps it was out of gratitude for this idiot taking care of her for so many years. Perhaps she wanted to do something to repay the fool. Or perhaps it was because she saw a true change of heart in the man before her.

After all, the moment she took the Fear Tree Sapling and entered this man's body, he would completely lose control over himself.

However... there was still a difference between her and this man.

If he behaved well, she might occasionally let him out for a breather to see this fool again.

Harboring these thoughts, the multitude of eyes slowly closed. Under Mantou's bewildered gaze, a dark shadow radiating a tyrannical aura shot out from the center of her brow and plunged straight into Yan Jing's chest.

"Heh."

And in that exact moment, the corners of Yan Jing's mouth curled up.

He had finally waited until this moment.

The very instant the dark shadow entered Yan Jing's body...

A terrified, near-screaming voice rang out:

"What is this?!! This is the aura of a cage?!!!"

"No! No, no, no!!!!"

The dark shadow frantically tried to flee outward. Yan Jing hadn't expected Fear Bird to catch on so quickly, but the Power of the White Stone, which had long been lying in wait inside him, naturally wasn't going to let her escape.

The Power of the White Stone manifested into streaks of white silk within his body, binding the vast majority of the shadow deep inside him. A tiny remnant got completely wedged in place.

Thanks to the Power of the White Stone, she was trapped. She could neither fully retreat back into Mantou's body nor advance any deeper into Yan Jing's.

"Let me go!! You despicable piece of trash!!! Curse your whole family! You're going to die a horrible death!!! Everyone in your Clan is exactly the same! Damn you, damn your ancestors for eight generations..."

Fear Bird screamed every curse word she could think of.

"Hush now, keep it down."

Yan Jing smiled gently, then closed his eyes.

Next came the final, most crucial step.

In his heart, that voice echoed once again.

"Xiao Yanzi, I asked around about the thing you wanted me to search for..."

"To complete a flawed Inner World Pathway, first, the person's Pathway must actually be flawed."

"Then, there are three methods."

"The first is to travel to a Domain that possesses the intact Pathway and slowly complete it through years of painstaking cultivation."

"The second is to use rare items associated with that Pathway to defy the heavens and alter your fate."

"The last method is to take an entity whose Pathway is already intact, entirely hijack its Pathway for your own use, and fuse it completely with yourself."