Chapter 435: Crystal Stone? Peach (Two-in-One)

The old man lifted his pale face to look at Yan Jing opposite him, his expression one of visible disbelief.

He couldn't fathom how his opponent had blocked a full-strength strike.

Even an Eighth Tier shouldn't have emerged completely unscathed!

Yet it had happened.

Without a moment's hesitation, he grabbed Quan Dazhong.

And turned to flee!

Fleeing wouldn't achieve much. Even if they escaped, Quan Dazhong's presidency was as good as lost. In an era where individual martial prowess reigned over nations, the rules of the game had fundamentally changed.

But there was no other option left.

They had to gamble.

Gamble that Luo Sheng wouldn't show up. Gamble that Yan Jing was equally exhausted. Gamble that they could dodge the ensuing pursuit long enough to return home, and gamble that Quan Dazhong could still stage a comeback.

Though the old man knew the odds were abysmal.

To him, it hardly mattered who sat in the president's chair; his only mission was to protect the man holding the title.

He had no choice but to carry it out.

Quan Dazhong, on the other hand, was frantic. Unwilling to lose the position he had fought so hard to secure, he relentlessly ordered the old man to turn back and fight Yan Jing to the death.

He knew that once he retreated, clawing his way back to the top would be utterly impossible.

"Elder He! Go back! He can't possibly use that move twice in a row!"

"Mr. President, I am responsible for your safety."

The old man replied in a low voice, "The odds of winning if we go back now are too slim."

"Let's go. If you survive, you might still have a chance to reclaim the presidency later."

"What do you mean, reclaim the presidency?!" Quan Dazhong flew into a rage, roaring, "I am the president right now! I order you! Go back!"

"If we can just hold out for half an hour, we still have a chance!"

Left with no alternative, the old man turned around.

This was the choice he had made back then. It was the price of reaching the Eighth Tier.

Like the werewolf, he hadn't climbed to this height through standard pathways. Having accepted that power, his only option now was to obey Quan Dazhong.

What greeted him was a swarm of pitch-black spears.

They cascaded from the sky like a waterfall. The old man spread his hands, and starlight surged. This time, the light didn't take on any complex shape; it simply formed a spherical barrier.

He had changed his approach. Rather than going on the offensive to seek out openings, he fully committed to defense.

The effect was immediate. The moment the spears struck the starlight barrier, they instantly pulverized into dust. Though the endless barrage left the barrier trembling, it didn't look like it would break anytime soon.

Soon, the giant scissors arrived, snapping shut against the shield.

""

This time, a web of fine cracks appeared across the barrier. The old man's gaze darkened as he increased his Weird Energy output, stabilizing the shield once more.

A second later, the threads and the heavy trunk of the Fear Tree struck exactly as expected, widening the fractures.

But—

The barrier held.

Pouring everything into his defense, the old man sighed inwardly.

He still held a slight advantage. Against the methods Yan Jing had displayed so far, it would take time to fully shatter this barrier.

He didn't know what Quan Dazhong's trump card was, but right now, he had no other choice but to trust it.

Suppressing his intense pain, Quan Dazhong raised the Information Component on his wrist and dialed a number.

The call quickly connected.

"Hello? My dear Mr. President, what can I do for you?"

The voice belonged to a gentle, refined man.

"Chen Wang, haven't you always wanted to be the head of the Four Major Megas? Let's make a deal—"

Quan Dazhong panted heavily, speaking through clenched teeth. "After this, your Chen Family will definitely rise to—"

"I'm sorry, Mr. President. I overstepped my bounds earlier."

The man on the other end of the line—Chen Xiaojing's father—spoke softly.

Quan Dazhong froze. Only then did he catch the faint tremor of fear in the man's words. Puzzled, he asked, "Chen Wang, what are you playing at?"

"Alright, Mr. President, let's leave it at that. I want no part in your recent dealings with Zeng Chu and Song Yanjun."

With that, Chen Wang sounded ready to hang up.

But in the end, his instincts as a businessman prompted him to offer Quan Dazhong one last token of goodwill.

"Mr. President, do yourself a favor and check the news."

"Are you afraid of ending up like Zeng Chu? Chen Wang, you don't need to worry about that. You and I both know perfectly well—"

Desperate after hearing Chen Wang's tone and seeing the ever-deepening cracks on the barrier, Quan Dazhong rushed to reassure him.

Unexpectedly, Chen Wang cut him off again.

This time, his tone was much heavier.

"Mr. President! That's enough!"

With that, Chen Wang hung up.

Quan Dazhong stared at his wrist in disbelief, cursing vehemently. Then he looked up at the sweating old man and said, "Elder He, just hold on a little longer. If I can reach the head of one of the Four Major Megas and get Elder Chen's help—"

A fierce glint flashed through his eyes.

Hearing this, a sliver of hope rose in the old man's heart.

Indeed, it was their only way out of this deadlock.

With two Eighth Tiers, there was no way they could lose.

But to their dismay, when Quan Dazhong called the Zhou Family, the response he received was identical to Chen Wang's. Driven by a frantic mix of panic and confusion, Quan Dazhong pulled up the news feed with bloodshot eyes and trembling hands.

He had to see exactly what was going on.

What could possibly make both of those men panic so much?!

The top headline on the news portal was, naturally, the activation of the Heavenly Kingdom Weapon and the sudden death of Zeng Chu.

Ranked right below it was Zeng Chu's posthumous leak exposing the president's true identity as a bionic species.

And then—

The next instant, he froze completely.

[Previous Head of the Zeng Family Unexpectedly Passes Away; New Head Takes Control With Ruthless Methods]

[Suspected Eighth Tier Backing; New Head of the Zeng Family Purges the Board of Directors in Blood]

[Zeng Qing, Not Even Thirty Years Old: How Did She Seize Control, and Who is Really Backing Her?]

Quan Dazhong stared at a press photo attached to the article. It showed Zeng Qing, and standing right beside her was a man with curly hair. Quan Dazhong felt his heart grind to a halt. The veins on his claws bulged violently.

Luo Sheng!

It was Luo Sheng!!

He had gone there ahead of time!

Shock flooded his eyes as all the pieces fell into place. If Luo Sheng was the one pulling the strings to put Zeng Qing at the head of the Zeng Family—

Then in that case—

Before he could even finish the thought, the starlight barrier protecting them abruptly shattered.

The werewolf stepped out from the moonlight. His fists swung as lunar light surged around him. He looked down at them with cold detachment. "Of the Four Major Megas, two have formally approved the purge protocol against President Quan Dazhong. It is now in effect."

"How dare you!!!"

Quan Dazhong shrieked in shock and fury. Before he could react, the werewolf threw a devastating punch that sent the old man flying backward, still clutching the president. In the very next instant, the horde of pitch-black spears blanketed the sky, zeroing in on them like a cage woven from the night itself.

The sight of those endless, oppressive black points bearing down on them made their scalps prickle with dread.

A split second later, the old man and Quan Dazhong were both impaled, riddled like sieves.

Blood poured out in rivers.

For the first time, Quan Dazhong truly understood the agony the old man had been enduring. As the spears pierced his flesh, they dragged his deepest, most visceral fears directly to the surface.

"Damn it! Boss Rat! Damn you! Get away! Stay away from me!!!"

He thrashed his arms wildly, trying to swat away a phantom figure only he could see.

"Elder He, Elder He—just go! Leave me here!"

When he finally surfaced from the paralyzing grip of his terror, he looked up at the old man and, entirely out of character, begged him to flee.

The old man was currently bristling with spears. If he hadn't used his own body as a meat shield, Quan Dazhong would have died instantly.

Hearing Quan Dazhong's plea, a trace of conflict flashed through the old man's eyes. Finally, with a heavy sigh, he forcibly spun around and hurled Quan Dazhong as far away as he could.

Then he turned back to face Yan Jing and the werewolf, and the aura surging around his battered body abruptly skyrocketed!

Countless specks of starlight seemed magnetically drawn to him, raining down upon his form.

The ambient light began to aggressively dim.

A domain of absolute darkness was descending over them.

The giant face from earlier had merely instilled primal fear upon sight, but now, it felt as though the entity itself had physically descended. A chilling, murderous aura saturated the night sky. In Yan Jing's ears, a hollow, ancient whispering began to echo.

The murmurs drifted from the deepest veil of the night, their volume magnifying at an astonishing rate.

Accompanying the whispers came a violent rumbling, heavy and rhythmic like cosmic footsteps.

Step after step, it felt as if some titanic existence was rapidly closing in on them from the endless void.

The werewolf's expression shifted drastically as he looked at Yan Jing. "We need to fall back. He's burning his own life force. If we just dodge this strike, he's dead anyway. This is his final struggle."

Familiar with the old man's abilities, he knew exactly how to handle this.

The old man was doing this for one reason alone: to buy time for Quan Dazhong to escape.

But Yan Jing's face remained perfectly calm.

Contrary to the werewolf's expectations, Yan Jing didn't retreat. Instead, he rose from his throne and, wrapped in an endless cocoon of threads, took a single step forward.

At his command, the towering, sky-piercing mass of the Fear Tree rapidly shrank down until it condensed into a miniature arboreal imprint, landing squarely between his brows.

Right on Mao Si's fluffy forehead, a tiny tree-shaped mark pulsed with golden light.

The werewolf stared at Yan Jing in utter disbelief.

It only took a split second, yet the sheer presence radiating from Yan Jing had completely transformed.

If the Yan Jing of a moment ago was merely a troublesome opponent, he now felt like a dormant, world-ending beast.

Condensing his massive projection had only compounded his terrifying aura.

It was an absolute sublimation of power.

The werewolf didn't even have time to blink before the enemy's assault arrived. In that briefest of moments, the ancient entity summoned by the old man seemed to materialize right before them, reaching a hand out toward Yan Jing.

Driven by the old man's fading life force, a massive hand forged of brilliant starlight thrust its way out from the impenetrable veil of night.

The whorls of its fingerprints were planetary rings, its flesh was woven from radiant nebulae, and its joints were burning stars. It was as if an entire miniature universe were reaching down to crush Yan Jing.

Next to it, Yan Jing appeared incomprehensibly small.

Yet, he casually reached out a hand to meet it.

His fingers lightly brushed against the celestial palm.

A blinding flash of light erupted.

Then, an aura of absolute death slowly began to permeate that river of stars.

Before their very eyes, the planetary rings withered, the radiant nebulae dimmed, and the massive stars burned out.

That miniature universe was rapidly decaying toward its end.

Under the combined empowerment of Peerless and the Fear Stance Third Layer State, he had executed his second ability nullification of the day.

Yan Jing stepped right through the decaying remains of the attack and stopped in front of the old man, whose vital energy was completely exhausted.

"I will preserve both your corpse and your ability."

He spoke softly. "Thank you for your contribution. You were an outstanding protector."

With that, he struck, casually snuffing out the old man's final flicker of life.

His daily limit for ability nullification was extremely low.

Even Peerless hadn't increased the number of uses; it had merely allowed him to nullify skills four Tiers above his own, up from three.

Yet, Yan Jing had still chosen to spend a charge here.

He knew perfectly well that dodging would have been the rational choice.

But he had taken a liking to the old man's ability.

Laurel Crown: Winning Momentum recorded the final ability used by a defeated opponent and awarded a stack of victory momentum.

A speck of starlight drifted up from the old man's corpse and sank directly into Yan Jing's forehead.

He then stored the old man's body away.

Watching from the sidelines, the werewolf drew a deep breath. He was just gathering the courage to speak when Yan Jing abruptly vanished from where he stood.

Utilizing Blink, he instantly caught up to Quan Dazhong, who was still sprinting for his life like a rabid dog.

Seeing Yan Jing materialize right behind him was like seeing a ghost. Quan Dazhong shuddered violently, tripped over his own feet, and tumbled into the dirt.

He rolled several meters before coming to a halt.

Yan Jing used Blink again to appear right in front of him.

Looking up at Yan Jing, Quan Dazhong lay motionless, seemingly resigning himself to his fate.

"Heh. Boss Rat took in a good son."

He spoke through gritted teeth, stubbornly refusing to admit that he had lost to Papa Rat; he was only willing to concede defeat to Yan Jing himself.

"Perhaps."

Yan Jing smiled.

"I've already backed up everything to the Heavenly Kingdom Weapon. Kill me, and your crimes will be broadcast to the world. Regardless of the motive, the one who assassinates the president must face the most severe legal punishment. If you want to put that stupid Crocodile in office, even you will have to pay the price to clear the way. Otherwise, the public will never accept him."

Quan Dazhong sneered coldly.

"Uh-huh."

Yan Jing nodded.

"You still have a very long, very bright future ahead of you—"

Quan Dazhong mocked. "Maybe you should stick to that damn rat's plan and let him pull the trigger."

"No need."

Yan Jing's smile widened. "I've already decided to do it myself."

"Has it never crossed your mind that the rat calculated all of this? Right down to you stepping out to save him, or taking a knife for him?" Quan Dazhong let out a raspy laugh. "Don't think too highly of him."

"Heh. And exactly whose fault do you think it is that my Pops ended up in this state?"

"I just watched you beat my Pops half to death, punch by punch, kick by kick."

A ruthless glint sparked in Yan Jing's eyes. "Are you implying that I'm too soft?"

"My relationship with my Pops isn't nearly as sappy as you're imagining, Mr. President."

Quan Dazhong opened his mouth, but no words came out.

He could hear it in the tone. There was no wedge to be driven here.

The relationship between this cat and that rat wasn't "not nearly as sappy" as Yan Jing claimed; it was actually rock-solid.

"Actually, I used to have a child as well... about your age..."

Racking his brains, he latched onto another topic, desperately trying to stall for a few more precious seconds.

"Is that so?"

Yan Jing smiled. "Was he like me?"

"He had white fur."

Quan Dazhong chuckled weakly. "It's a pity he got sick. And he probably wasn't as smart as you—"

He rambled on for several full minutes, and Yan Jing didn't make a single move to interrupt him.

"Did he die?" Yan Jing asked pleasantly.

"Probably." Quan Dazhong nodded, before his tone shifted into a callous laugh. "I didn't treat him."

"The president's child cannot be a cat."

"Lovely," Yan Jing smiled. "Have you managed to stall for enough time?"

Why else would the president drop the pitiful act?

"Enough."

Quan Dazhong burst into triumphant laughter. "You utter idiot!"

"Did you forget what I still hold in my hand?!"

Whether it was recounting a sob story, forcing the old man to hold Yan Jing off, or finally playing the martyr to manipulate his bodyguard into sacrificing himself...

He'd had exactly one purpose from beginning to end.

To buy enough time for his mechanical species to decipher how to use that green Crystal Stone.

And now, they had finally figured it out.

"Right now, half the lives in the Heavenly Kingdom are in my hands!"

Quan Dazhong shrieked with laughter. "What do you think your Pops bled for all this time?! Come on!! Kill me!! Do it!"

He was completely devoid of fear. He had nothing left to lose.

A desperate man with nothing to lose fears no one. He refused to believe the Yan Jing standing before him had any tricks left to play.

At worst, he would drag all these people down to their graves with him.

And that wouldn't be a bad trade at all.

But to his shock, Yan Jing merely smiled—an eerie, unsettling smile. "Why are you so certain that Crystal Stone is really a Crystal Stone?"

"What do you mean?"

Quan Dazhong swallowed nervously despite himself, an icy spike of dread piercing his heart.

"I mean, why couldn't that Crystal Stone be a peach?"

Yan Jing's eyes curved into crescents, his gaze brimming with open mockery.