Volume Two: Travels in the Kingdom of Qi Chapter Ninety-Seven: Annihilated Completely

“Lingtian? Lingtian!” After hearing the old man give his name, the man in black was struck with shock and stammered, “Lingtian of Spirit Feather Palace?”

“The old man bears the name he was born with and the surname he was given; yes, I am Lingtian. What of it?” said the white-haired elder, a sixth-level Heaven Origin cultivator, glancing at the man lying on the ground with a挑眉 and a mocking sneer.

“Even if you are Lingtian, our Nether God Sect is not to be trifled with. You had best think carefully about the consequences of opposing us.” Thinking of the sect behind him, the man in black felt somewhat emboldened.

“Your Nether God Sect is so utterly devoid of humanity that even if your sect master stood here, this old man would still strike him down. Enough nonsense. Tell me how to save them, and I may grant you a swift death.” The elder had no desire to waste time. As he spoke, a vast surge of spiritual energy erupted from him, pressing the man until he coughed up blood again and again.

“Don’t waste your effort. Those trash are dead for sure. They are nothing but useless vermin. To be able to become tools for our Nether God Sect is their honor,” the man in black still refused to bow his head. He was a member of the Nether God Sect; he was certain Zhang Heng would not dare kill him.

Zhang Heng gave no reply. A flash of cold light passed through his brow, and a short blade appeared in his hand.

In a flat voice, Zhang Heng said, “If you won’t speak, that’s fine. I’ll cut your flesh off piece by piece. Sooner or later, you’ll choose to speak of your own accord.”

“Brat, dare you? I am a man of the Nether God Sect!” Seeing Zhang Heng draw a short blade, the man in black was somewhat afraid, yet he still forced himself to sound fierce.

Zhang Heng laughed coldly and raised the blade toward the man’s right arm.

“No, don’t—I’ll talk!” Just as Zhang Heng was about to touch him, the man in black finally panicked and shouted in haste.

He had thought he would be some hard-bitten fellow, but to think he would cave so quickly. Young master still has plenty of methods I haven’t even used yet.

“I don’t know,” the man in black gritted out loudly.

“Trying to fool me?” Zhang Heng froze.

Then the short blade plunged into the man’s arm. By now the man had no spiritual power left, so he could not resist.

Blood gushed out at once. He was a high-level cultivator; he would not die so easily, so Zhang Heng drove the blade in very deeply.

“Brother, I really don’t know. I’m just a minor nobody. Everything I did was according to orders from above. I truly don’t know how to save them,” the man in black said pitifully, clutching his arm in agony.

“So you really don’t know? Looks like I misunderstood you. My apologies,” Zhang Heng said, his old face flushing red, then he pulled the blade free.

The searing pain made the man in black cry out, “Don’t!”

“Oh.” Zhang Heng nodded, then thrust the blade in again.

After saying that, he rose and no longer paid any attention to the man in black lying on the ground, crying out for his father and mother.

This was troublesome. They didn’t know. Then how was he supposed to save the common people of Joyful City? Could it be he had to let this old man Lingtian take him to the imperial capital to fight the Nether God Sect master?

Zhang Heng felt a headache coming on.

System big brother, have you had your fun yet? Come out already. This isn’t the time to test me.

The system still gave no reply. Forget it. He would deal with the matter before him first.

With a cold gaze sweeping over everyone present, Zhang Heng said indifferently, “Patriarch Han, trouble you to kill that Qi Buyi.”

That sort of man deserved to die.

“But after all, he is a man appointed by the State of Qi.” Han Xuan hesitated.

He also wanted very much to slaughter Qi Buyi, but Qi Buyi was the city lord personally named by the State of Qi. If he were killed just like that, the State of Qi would be displeased.

“No matter.” Zhang Heng smiled faintly, then took out the jade token the Qi prince Qi Xuan had given him and tossed it to the soldiers of the State of Qi within the city lord’s manor.

After carefully examining it, those men confirmed it was indeed Prince Qi Xuan’s token, and tremblingly handed it back to Zhang Heng.

“Qi Buyi colluded with outsiders and brought disaster upon the people of Joyful City. His crimes deserve ten thousand deaths. I, on behalf of Prince Qi Xuan, will eliminate him. As for you all—” Zhang Heng swept a cold gaze across all the soldiers of the State of Qi.

All of them lowered their heads, trembling.

Zhang Heng continued, “Since you merely acted under orders and have not committed any grave fault yourselves, I will spare your lives. But remember this: from this day on, you are forbidden to do even a single wicked deed. Otherwise, Patriarch Han Xuan of the Han family will receive you properly.”

All the soldiers, seeing that Zhang Heng was willing to let them go, hurriedly knelt to the ground and thanked him again and again.

Ever since coming to this world, Zhang Heng seemed to have killed many people already. Sigh. Better give them a chance. Killing too much may well affect my chance to ascend.

Seeing that Zhang Heng actually knew the prince of the State of Qi, Han Xuan had no more concerns. He then walked coldly toward Qi Buyi, who was lying on the ground.

“Spare... spare me,” Qi Buyi said weakly. He was still begging for that sliver of life.

Han Xuan said nothing. He clenched his right fist, gathering spiritual power, and brought it down with a single blow. Qi Buyi, unable to resist at all, exploded on the spot and vanished between heaven and earth.

The matter at the city lord’s manor was settled. Now it was time for the Nether God Sect.

The core members of the Nether God Sect had gone to the royal capital of the State of Qi, leaving these minor figures behind in Joyful City to conduct their experiments. Altogether, more than thirty of them had come to the city, all staying inside a temple.

These words came from the man in black. By now his heart had been conquered by fear, so these words were more than likely true.

Zhang Heng and Lingtian returned to the Han residence.

Meanwhile, Han Xuan, the Han family head, led the Han guards to the temple to arrest all the cultivators of the Nether God Sect.

The strongest among those left here was the one who had run to the city lord’s manor to show off. Now that those people had been wounded by Lingtian, what remained was nothing but a rabble. With Han Xuan acting personally, they were naturally easy to capture.

Before long, every member of the Nether God Sect had been brought to the Han residence.

Zhang Heng sat above them, looking coldly at these demonic cultivators of the Nether God Sect.

“Spare us. We only acted under orders; we know nothing,” begged the people of the Nether God Sect.

“Kill them! Kill them!” the common folk shouted with raised hands.

These Nether God Sect members had ruined their homes, scattered their families, and torn husbands from wives and children from parents. Of course they hated them.

After a long silence, Zhang Heng rose and said, “Kill them all.”

These people were only minor figures; it would be impossible to learn from them how to save the common folk. They had committed every sort of evil and deserved death.

At his words, the people of the Nether God Sect fell to their knees in despair. Naturally, they did not dare resist; resistance would only make their deaths more miserable.

The ordinary people, by contrast, cheered and rejoiced. “Thank you, immortal! Thank you, immortal!”

Zhang Heng gazed heavily at the sky. Since most of the people in the city had black qi within their bodies, this whole world seemed wrapped in a formless oppression.

Even now, he still did not know what this black qi was, nor how to save the ordinary people who had been infected.

“Brat, what you’ve done is already very good. I’ll bring that old rascal Wu Hong here,” Lingtian said, naturally understanding why Zhang Heng was troubled.

No matter how heaven-defying Zhang Heng might be, he was still young.

Zhang Heng stood up, smiled with unwavering resolve, and replied, “Senior Lingtian, these people won’t be in danger for the moment. Give me a little more time.”

It was not that Zhang Heng insisted on being stubborn. It was because even Wu Hong would not be able to solve the problem here.