Chapter 535: Universe's Invincible Number One??? (Two in One)

"Heave, ho—"

Mantou grabbed a rock much larger than her own body and dragged it over to Xiao Xin.

"Are five—enough? If not—I'll go catch more."

She lifted the sewer cover off the rock to show Xiao Xin what was inside.

"That's enough, Sister Mantou! Xiao Xin couldn't carry any more anyway."

Xiao Xin opened its mail pouch. The opening expanded and swallowed the entire rock whole.

"Sister Mantou, can these ones make babies?"

It remembered Yan Jing's instructions and made sure to ask again.

"Mhm."

Mantou nodded vigorously. "Tell—Yi Ji—if it's not enough—I'll go get more—"

Hearing Mantou's words, Xiao Xin felt the rock in its pouch tremble.

The little things inside seemed terrified.

It had no idea how the seemingly fragile Mantou had managed to dig them out.

"Okay, I'll definitely tell Zhu Leng!"

Xiao Xin nodded firmly.

Mantou leaned in close to Xiao Xin, her eyes wide and her expression serious. "And—and—tell—Yi Ji—I miss him a lot—"

"Okay!"

Xiao Xin nodded hard.

Drip—drip—

Water dripped from a broken faucet, making the already damp room even more humid.

Weng Lingxiao sat on the edge of the bed, his expression placid.

He wore a set of black silk loungewear and custom slippers. The dark gold patterns on the slippers had been hand-stitched by the best tailor in the prison, who had observed him for a week to match his aura. It was said that the silk thread used just for those patterns could be traded in any Domain for enough money to sustain a minor Clan for a lifetime.

Despite the wretched squalor of his surroundings, Weng Lingxiao's sheer presence made the space feel less like a prison cell and more like a uniquely styled boutique hotel.

He held a cup of coffee in one hand and the same Codex he had carried for a century in the other.

Sipping his coffee while reading the Codex, he showed absolutely no air of being a prisoner.

Clack, clack.

Footsteps echoed outside the cell.

Immediately after, a cloying yet seductive voice drifted in.

"Deputy Warden Weng, how did you end up in such a state? You really look quite pitiful."

Her voice was like a sickeningly sweet chocolate cake. You might know it wasn't to your taste and would even catch in your throat, but if you stood near it long enough, you would eventually want to take a bite.

Even if just to see exactly how sweet she could be.

Without even looking up, Weng Lingxiao knew Song Huien was standing outside the bars.

"I think it's quite nice here," he said.

He kept his eyes on the Codex, his face calm. He wasn't pretending to be brave; he genuinely felt secure, and he didn't believe Yan Jing could actually do anything to him.

He refused to believe that human was truly a madman. If anything happened to him, the fall of the Great Prison would only be a matter of time.

If Mu Tian couldn't get rid of him back then, Yan Jing certainly couldn't now.

"Is that so?"

Song Huien smiled, deliberately raising a hand to cover her nose. "But I think it smells a bit."

Her platinum blonde hair looked entirely out of place in this environment, and coupled with her gesture, it gave off a sense of intentional malice.

The corners of Weng Lingxiao's mouth curled up. "If that's the case, I suggest you run far away. It would be best if you left the Great Prison for a while, otherwise you won't end up much better off than I am."

"Since he could act against you once, he can do it a second time."

"The cell next to mine is in much worse condition, and it's filled with a bunch of criminals who haven't seen a woman in a hundred years."

Song Huien remained entirely unaffected by Weng Lingxiao's verbal attack.

She chuckled. "I am indeed considering leaving the Great Prison."

"But before that, Deputy Warden Weng, do you want to make a deal with me?"

"I can get you out."

"..."

Weng Lingxiao looked up, his eyes meeting Song Huien's for the first time since their conversation began.

He frowned. "Didn't Yan Jing outplay you earlier?"

When Yan Jing had left the Great Prison earlier, removing that obstacle, both of them had grown restless.

However, their differing ideologies meant they couldn't fully cooperate, and they remained wary of each other.

This mutual checks-and-balances setup was exactly the effect Mu Tian had wanted.

Weng Lingxiao had initially thought he still wouldn't get a chance, but unexpectedly, he soon received news that Song Huien had been injured.

He sent people to investigate from multiple angles and personally verified it, confirming the news was true.

Rumor had it that Yan Jing was behind it.

That was what prompted Weng Lingxiao to quickly seize control of eighty percent of the higher-ups and attempt a coup.

But the two had been entangled for so many years that they understood each other perfectly. Hearing Song Huien's words now, Weng Lingxiao immediately deduced that the earlier news was likely fake.

Song Huien's injury might have had nothing to do with Yan Jing. Taking it a step further, she might not have been injured at all.

She had simply sacrificed her trusted subordinates completely to deceive him.

Hearing his words, Song Huien covered her mouth and laughed. "My subordinates were quite useful, weren't they, Deputy Warden Weng?"

"They were all dogs I raised with my own two hands. Even though the Heart Imprisoning Speech was dispelled, their ingrained slavish nature hasn't changed, has it?"

Weng Lingxiao's face sank.

He had judged that Song Huien was truly in trouble precisely because he had examined her subordinates and confirmed that her unique Heart Imprisoning Speech had been lifted.

The Heart Imprisoning Speech wasn't something one could use on a whim. The ability required immense time and energy; the caster had to speak a specific sentence to the target every single day for a hundred consecutive days—missing even one day would ruin it.

Furthermore, once broken, it could never be implanted again.

He hadn't expected Song Huien to be so willing to discard them.

"What are you trying to do?"

He stared at her.

"What I want to do is exactly what you wanted to do." Song Huien smiled faintly. "I'm just doing it a bit smarter than you did."

"Thank you for helping me test out Commissioner Yan's strength, Deputy Warden Weng."

Her smile fading slightly, she continued, "So, do you want to make a deal?"

"I'll get you out of here. All you have to do is put this in your ear."

Song Huien opened her hand to reveal a tiny, pitch-black beetle crawling across her palm.

Weng Lingxiao's expression darkened. "You're dreaming."

If he put that beetle in his ear, his life would be entirely at her mercy, even if it wasn't completely impossible to cure.

But—

Following Song Huien was worse than following Mu Tian.

"Suit yourself."

Song Huien sneered, closing her hand over the beetle. "I know you're waiting to see that human make a fool of himself."

"I'll give you a hand, then. We'll see the outcome by tomorrow morning."

Without another glance at Weng Lingxiao, she turned and walked away.

The clack of her high heels faded into the distance.

Weng Lingxiao walked over to the sink and splashed his face with cold water, hoping it would wash away some of the unease Song Huien had provoked.

He stared at his gloomy reflection in the mirror.

He forced himself to calm down.

He naturally didn't believe Song Huien when she said she would help him.

But he also didn't believe Yan Jing could find immediate combat power so quickly.

And so, he sat back down on the bed, remaining there until dawn the next day.

Though he had told himself to stay calm, in this situation, sleep was simply impossible.

The sun gradually rose.

Yet it seemed there was still no activity outside.

Yan Jing hadn't shown up, and Song Huien's promise of an "outcome by tomorrow morning" didn't seem to have materialized.

"Damn it—"

His eyes narrowed, realizing he had been played again.

But just as he was about to wash his face again, he suddenly looked up at his cell wall, his pupils shrinking.

The next second, the entire room—no, the entire prison—shook violently.

Dust and gravel rained down from the ceiling by his feet. He stared in disbelief outside the cell where weird energy surged, tracing the outline of a colossal behemoth.

It was an impossibly large bird. Its head resembled a vulture with a crescent-shaped beak and a bald crown, yet its half-bent wings looked like those of a seagull, covered in smooth feathers. Upon closer inspection, it had no feet. Its enormous belly bulged outward, utterly devoid of fat; its skin, laced with a dense network of purple-black veins, was directly exposed, looking as if it were gestating something terrifying inside.

But the most striking aspect was its sheer size.

If measured against Weng Lingxiao's cell, the bird was at least ten times its size. Its eyeball alone was large enough to fit Weng Lingxiao inside.

"Damn lunatics!"

Weng Lingxiao clenched his fists.

His emotions were in complete turmoil.

On one hand, he should have been happy, because Song Huien had indeed delivered a "huge gift."

Although the Great Prison lacked combat power right now, as long as no major incident broke out and Yan Jing managed things well, the weakness wouldn't be exposed so quickly.

He might have had to wait quite a while before Yan Jing respectfully came to "invite" him back.

Song Huien's active assault on the Great Prison undoubtedly accelerated that process.

But this brought up the second issue.

The bird outside was called a Sky Bird, named so because it was bred by the Sky Domain.

In other words, Song Huien had actually allied herself with the criminals of the Sky Domain!

This meant the Great Prison had lost yet another Ninth Tier combatant, while the enemy had gained one.

As a result, even if he successfully took charge in the end, he might not be able to fend off the criminals' attack.

He might seize the throne only to see the kingdom fall the moment he sat on it.

"Damn it! Lunatic! That lunatic!!!"

He never imagined that Song Huien would cooperate with the very criminals she usually looked down upon the most.

Even though he wanted to usurp power, he had never considered using a method like this.

What should he do now—

Weng Lingxiao's thoughts spun into chaos.

The Sky Domain had two city lords at the Ninth Tier. Add Song Huien, Sha Like of the Sand Tower, Merkel of the Desolate Forest, and Zhou Xuan of Haidu—

Even counting Yan Jing, their side only had two, plus whatever strength Mu Tian currently possessed—

"Damn it! Song Huien, you stupid bitch!!!"

Weng Lingxiao growled.

When he wanted to cooperate with her, she had refused, only to turn around and join forces with a bunch of criminals!

"Guards! Guards!!!"

Seeing the impacts outside the prison grow increasingly violent, Weng Lingxiao slammed his hands against the bars.

The staff received his summons, and soon, a figure approached from the end of the corridor.

Cen Ji looked at Weng Lingxiao expressionlessly. "Is there something about your accommodations that Deputy Warden Weng finds uncomfortable?"

"Release all the higher-ups! Song Huien has rebelled!"

Weng Lingxiao's usually immaculate hair was uncharacteristically messy, strands sticking to his face.

But he no longer cared about his appearance. He barked at the stoic Cen Ji, "You know perfectly well, Cen Ji, that if Song Huien rebels, she must have already compromised the prison's defense systems! If they launch a full-scale assault, the Great Prison won't last half a day!"

Cen Ji, however, remained entirely unfazed by his words. She simply replied coldly, "Please rest assured, Deputy Warden Weng."

"Commissioner Yan has already gone to handle it."

"Handle it how? Even if he's at the Tenth Tier, can he protect everyone in the Great Prison?!" Weng Lingxiao practically roared. "Where is Yan Jing? Bring him here! I need to speak with him!!!"

In response to his demands, Cen Ji simply handed him a device resembling a tablet. "Commissioner Yan prepared this device for you in advance. You can watch the battlefield live."

Suppressing his rage, Weng Lingxiao snatched the device.

His fingers flew rapidly across the screen.

He wanted to see just what kind of methods Yan Jing could possibly use to quell this situation.

But the moment the battlefield appeared on the screen, he froze.

On the monitor, several massive, semi-transparent figures floated outside the steel Fortress. Lined up in a row, they looked like giant guardian deities standing before an ancient city wall.

The figures were shaped like giant snot-bubbles, roughly estimated to be hundreds of meters tall. Their eyes were blood-red, and with every breath, their jagged maws exhaled waves of scorching heat. Their faces were terrifyingly grotesque, and their arms were as thick as towering ancient trees, wrapped in knotted veins surging with Red Liquid.

"What are these things—"

He looked up at Cen Ji.

At that question, Cen Ji gave a light cough and replied, "They are a new type of warfare creature developed by Commissioner Yan, called—"

"Universe's Invincible Number One Yan Jing Custom Edition Lesser Wandering Ghost Type 1."

"..."

Weng Lingxiao didn't say a word, but his expression clearly screamed, 'Are you fucking kidding me?'

"That is indeed its name. You may keep watching."

Weng Lingxiao looked back down at the screen. The moment those giant deity-like creatures spotted the Sky Birds, they reacted like starving cheetahs spotting prey. The red light in their eyes flared brightly as they threw themselves forward in swarms.

The pitiful Sky Birds were already significantly smaller than the massive creatures, and being heavily outnumbered on top of that, they were torn entirely to shreds in just a few seconds.

The flock of Sky Birds that had completely encircled the steel Fortress was drowned under the semi-transparent giants. In the blink of an eye, only a handful were left, screeching miserably as they plummeted from the sky.

And then, the moment they finished slaughtering the Sky Birds, the creatures suddenly began brawling amongst themselves. They held absolutely nothing back—pouncing, clawing, tearing, biting—using every conceivable method at their disposal. Soon, their numbers were cut by nearly a half, while the surviving creatures grew even larger than before.

"What is going on here?"

Weng Lingxiao stared blankly up at Cen Ji.

Cen Ji let out another light cough. "Lord Yan said this is their Clan tradition."

"Experts are often raised in this kind of environment."