The sweep of 900076076 four-eight reached 687, hitting five thousand nine hundred characters. An hour late, I have to borrow a line from that young lady, Big Sister 338: I am very satisfied!
The Chiefs of All Departments Vied to Take Disciples. Qin Fen followed behind Ferrero and Di Shitian, his mind still reeling from the news just delivered by the two great Chiefs—it was truly astonishing.
Any martial artist who joined the Sacred Martial Hall knew that securing a master here was no easy feat. To apprentice under a Martial Arts Grandmaster often depended on whether your ancestral graves were smoking with good fortune, and to even be considered by a Department Chief? Even if your ancestors were having a bonfire, you likely wouldn't make the cut.
The Department Chiefs of the Sacred Martial Hall were an elite cohort of powerhouses who had carved out their positions through life-and-death struggles, virtually representing the Hall's first-rate combat strength.
In the Federation's urban centers, while a Martial Arts Grandmaster might open a school, they rarely accepted formal disciples; this wasn't just due to a scarcity of worthy pupils but was also a mark of status.
Ordinarily, the Chiefs of the Sacred Martial Hall held their heads so high their necks would ache, utterly indifferent to anyone’s background.
To have disciples fought over? In the entire history of the Sacred Martial Hall, besides the Martial Maniac and Qin Fen, no one had ever enjoyed such treatment.
Qin Fen, while astonished, was also genuinely happy for the others who had received such fortune. The martial artists who could become a department chief were undoubtedly powerful individuals with genuine substance.
Qin Fen had interacted with three Sacred Martial Hall Chiefs: Ferrero, Di Shitian, and Asura! Any one of these three possessed profound martial foundations. Though he hadn't met the other chiefs of the same rank, he assumed they all possessed their own unique specializations.
The Sacred Martial Hall was vast. Following the unhurried pace of the two Chiefs, Qin Fen walked for about twenty minutes before stopping before a building.
It was an extremely peculiar structure. From the outside, it resembled a sphere cleanly sliced in half, as if a great bowl had been inverted and set upon the ground.
The strange architectural style exuded an indefinable ancient aura, yet everywhere one looked, the shadows of high technology were visible. Above the structure, the words "Intelligence" floated in two massive characters.
The Intelligence Department—one of the three sections under the jurisdiction of the Outer Sacred Martial Hall—was a specialized unit tasked solely with gathering all types of intelligence and providing it to the Invitation Department.
Qin Fen had heard the name of the Intelligence Department Chief before. According to the titles distributed among the Eightfold Assembly, the Chief of Intelligence was known as the Dragon King, Ba Baiying, who had firmly occupied the position of Intelligence Chief for...
Before Qin Fen could step forward to knock, the heavy door of the Intelligence Department suddenly lifted upward, swinging open with the sudden force of a dam releasing its floodgates.
The instant the door opened, Qin Fen’s skin was struck by an icy wave of battle intent. The murderous aura felt like a physical blade! It bypassed the spatial distance and stabbed directly toward the center of Qin Fen’s chest.
Bang! A muffled thud echoed as the air was struck. Qin Fen instinctively took half a step back, his expression cautious as he stared at the man emerging from the room.
He wore a long gown as white as snow! His black hair trailed past his waist! His eyes were colder than the deep winter frost, an aura of chilling ice surrounding his entire body. His long black hair moved without wind, swaying left and right with his measured steps.
The Chief of the Sacred Martial Hall Intelligence Department! The Dragon King, Ba Baiying!
A sharp, sorrowful howl, mournful as a wandering spirit, ripped through the air from the room behind Ba Baiying, sounding distinctly like...
A person!
The door slammed shut instantly, brutally severing the mournful cry from the outside world.
“Dragon King, what is the meaning of this?”
Ferrero’s body flashed forward, placing itself in front of Qin Fen. Di Shitian also silently positioned himself between Qin Fen and Ba Baiying, his face grim and vigilant as he stared down the Intelligence Chief. It was clear they were ready to turn hostile if a reasonable explanation wasn't forthcoming.
If there was no satisfactory justification, Ferrero and Di Shitian wouldn't mind bullying the one using the advantage of numbers. They would stand united against the Dragon King, Ba Baiying.
As a master, having one’s disciple threatened right in front of them was absolutely intolerable! Especially since Qin Fen had not come here to deliver a challenge.
“What is my meaning?” The Dragon King’s icy eyes burned with scorching rage, creating an inexplicable sense of contradiction. He raised his arm, his index finger like a sword, piercing past the two Chiefs to point directly at Qin Fen: “I want to kill him!”
The chilling words roared from the Dragon King’s mouth, and the very air seemed to freeze solid in that instant! No one doubted that the Intelligence Department Chief’s statement was anything but deadly serious.
The Dragon King truly intended to kill!
Qin Fen remained silent, watching the enraged Dragon King without moving. In the brief moment the door had opened and closed, a piercing, mournful cry echoed. Even though he hadn't seen him for days, Qin Fen could still recognize that inhuman shriek—it was Yang Lie, the Little Dragon King!
Qin Fen knew his companions well. Yang Lie was livelier than most, but his endurance was no less than that of the quiet Solomon and the others. Under the relentless, grueling special training administered by Asura for days, they had all endured countless inhuman tortures. They had cried out and groaned before, but Qin Fen had never heard the Little Dragon King Yang Lie’s cry sound so agonizingly tragic!
Yes, tragic! Even shielded by the walls, unable to see Yang Lie, one could tell from the sound alone that the Little Dragon King was in an extremely abnormal state.
The sharp cry! It pierced through the superior soundproofing of the door. The Dragon King’s ears twitched slightly, and his expression immediately froze over with ice. The corners of his mouth and eyes convulsed frequently, a look of heartache flickering in his eyes, like the deep ocean suddenly churning with violent waves.
Gulp, gulp...
The throat of Ba Baiying, the Dragon King, bobbed several times. His eyes flashed with murderous intent as he strode towards Qin Fen. He ignored the presence of the two Chiefs, his pupils devoid of their images: “Move aside, or I will kill you both.”
Ferrero and Di Shitian were both stunned. The usual Dragon King, Ba Baiying, despite practicing his unique Absolute Deep Chill technique, was generally kind-hearted and maintained excellent relations with the other Chiefs, even treating younger martial artists with geniality. Why, upon seeing Qin Fen today, was he utterly determined to kill him?
“Dragon King—”
“Masters, please step aside. I have something I need to inquire about with Chief Dragon King.”
Qin Fen’s voice rang out. The two Chiefs exchanged a look, a mix of reluctance and readiness, and retreated behind Qin Fen. If the Dragon King truly intended murder, they would certainly intervene!
Qin Fen was powerful, possessing supreme strength among the younger generation, but against a Department Chief—Ferrero and Di Shitian did not favor his chances.
Whether in terms of raw power or experience, anyone who occupied a Chief position was no ordinary person.
As for Bio-Beasts or combat enhancers, Qin Fen might possess them, but how could a formidable martial artist like a Sacred Martial Hall Chief lack such resources?
Qin Fen was merely at the peak of the Stellar level, while the Sacred Martial Hall Chiefs were...
“Inquire?” Ba Baiying’s eyes flashed with ever-increasing cold light. He shifted his ankles into a Dragon-Form movement technique; the thirty-meter distance between them seemed to vanish. The air behind him was torn open, forming tunnels that rapidly filled with air, emitting a rumbling roar. A technique, Fire Refining Golden Elixir, descended from above, its sizzling dragon-like roar tearing through the atmosphere, seemingly trying to rip the air into a thousand rents.
Ba Baiying attacked immediately, his intent lethal. His Eighteen-Star martial force enveloped Qin Fen, like a myriad of falling stars!
Eighteen Stars? Qin Fen’s scalp prickled, and the black hair on his head shot straight up, as if a porcupine were bracing for defense! The Inner True Gang surged; it transformed his skin into an ice-jade tending toward a glass-like quality, faintly glowing across his body. He crossed his arms, spiraling them in a clinging, coiling fashion toward Ba Baiying’s Fire Refining Golden Elixir.
Bang!
The moment his two palms connected with the Dragon King’s arm, the usually silent coiling technique exploded with a deafening sound upon contact. Qin Fen’s arms wrapped around the attack like vines, sharply diminishing the murderous sharpness of the blasting Golden Elixir light.
Ba Baiying relaxed the force in his ankles! The ground within a one-meter radius instantly pulverized into dust. He twisted his waist and back, unleashing a fierce whip. A chain of cracking sounds erupted from his bones, sharp as firecrackers on New Year’s Day. Qin Fen’s feet could no longer hold firm. Blasted by the force of the Elixir strike, his arms were ripped free from Ba Baiying’s grasp, and his body rocketed backward like a cannonball.
Three hundred meters away, Qin Fen slammed his feet down, only to scrape another fifty meters before finally halting his retreat. The grooves left by his rooted feet were deep, half a foot deep, resembling the path of a plow pulled by an old ox, stretching fifty meters long.
En? A flicker of surprise crossed Ba Baiying’s murderous eyes. His Fire Refining Golden Elixir had actually been entangled, forcing him to use the Golden Dragon Spitting Elixir strike against his opponent. He hadn't expected that two consecutive attacks wouldn't kill the foe, and as he moved to attack again, someone had already blocked his path.
Two immense, heaven-shaking waves of killing intent completely enveloped Ba Baiying.
Qin Fen’s blood surged, his arms numb, gasping for breath as he glared at the distant Dragon King, Ba Baiying.
This was the true strength of a Sacred Martial Hall Chief! No need to gather power; every move was this ferocious. His clinging, coiling maneuver had only managed to deflect half the blow.
Taking a deep breath, Qin Fen’s body returned to peak condition. His Inner True Gang had shattered completely upon contact—something he had never experienced before.
Di Shitian, Azhiya, stared coldly at the Dragon King, Ba Baiying. A stern killing aura rose from his purple-tinged face, and crackling purple-blue electrical arcs surrounded him like thousands of snakes flicking out their red tongues.
“Step forward one more time, and I kill you!”
As Azhiya’s words fell, a pillar of purple lightning shot toward the sky, seemingly piercing the cloud layer. Lightning illuminated the area for several miles around.
Di Shitian, the legendary Thunder Emperor! The god who commanded lightning! When the master of lightning became enraged, the very heavens and earth changed color.
Azhiya was furious. The disciple he had just taken on—Ba Baiying was, by seniority, Qin Fen’s martial uncle—was attempting to murder someone right in front of him? If this were an opposing force, it would be Qin Fen’s own mess to clean up. But this was an ally attempting murder, and doing so openly, which was utterly outrageous!
“A-zi-ya...”
The Dragon King Ba Baiying spoke Di Shitian’s name word by word, and the cold air he exhaled was visible to the naked eye!
Qin Fen darted past Di Shitian, inserting himself between the two Chiefs, facing the heaven-piercing killing intent of the Dragon King. He offered a slight bow: “Chief Dragon King—”
“Die!”
Seeing Qin Fen, Ba Baiying didn’t utter another word. He extended his hand, fingers spread like dragon claws, delivering a void-rending palm strike! A large volume of air instantly froze solid!
Qin Fen clamped his mouth shut. His electric footwork activated instantly, and he vanished from the spot like a wisp of smoke. Ba Baiying’s strike only managed to freeze the afterimage Qin Fen had left behind.
“What exactly happened to Yang Lie?”
Qin Fen, now a hundred meters away, urgently called out. He didn't fear fighting Ba Baiying! Even though the star-level gap between them was immense and the probability of victory negligible, he didn't fear the fight itself.
But Yang Lie—the moment Qin Fen heard that mournful shriek, his heart had been filled with dread.
“Yang Lie?” For the first time, a trace of tenderness flickered in the Dragon King’s chillingly murderous eyes, swiftly replaced by overwhelming heartache. His arms clenched into fists, trembling; his entire body shook violently.
Blocked by Di Shitian and Ferrero, it was impossible for Ba Baiying to instantly strike down Qin Fen. The trembling in his arms quickly spread to his whole frame.
“Qin Fen!” Ba Baiying gathered his true energy and let out a long roar that scattered the clouds above, turning them into nothingness: “You, you...”
Ba Baiying’s chest heaved violently. The look he gave Qin Fen was filled with the hatred of having his father killed, his wife stolen, and his clan wiped out: “It’s all you... it’s all your fault...” If it weren't for you, my beloved disciple wouldn't be suffering this pain!
Ba Baiying was strikingly handsome; even amidst this extreme fury, he retained an extraordinarily dashing appearance. His face, usually favored by women, was now contorted in horror.
“Help—”
Qin Fen froze, his face a picture of confusion.
“See for yourself!”
Ba Baiying swept his arm through the air, and a gigantic projection screen materialized above Qin Fen’s head—it was an image of Yang Lie.
In a simple, spacious stone chamber, Yang Lie, dressed in his streamlined martial arts uniform, his golden hair parted at the forehead and falling past his nose, was connected to a video phone call, sweat beading on his brow.
On the video screen was a middle-aged man with short black hair and a high, prominent nose, possessing an Eastern aesthetic—he bore a visible resemblance to Yang Lie.
“Father.”
Yang Lie bowed slightly toward the middle-aged man on the screen, his demeanor respectful and humble.
“I have an order for you. If Qin Fen comes looking to recruit you for his team, refuse immediately!”
A slightly rough, deep voice, utterly devoid of room for argument, emerged from the middle-aged man.
Yang Lie’s body shook slightly. He looked up at the man on the screen and asked, “Why?”
“Why? Yang Lie, you never ask me why.”
The authoritative gaze was like a great mountain; even Qin Fen, watching from afar, could feel the man’s imposing majesty. This authority wasn't derived from martial force but was the subtle aura cultivated by a patriarch who had managed a major family for many years.
Yang Lie raised his head, his body trembling slightly: “Father, this time I need to know.”
“Very well. You will eventually inherit the Yang family, so I will tell you this time.” The middle-aged man’s eyes sharpened instantly: “Interests! The Zuo family has ceded sufficient interests to us, specifically concerning Saturn’s influence...”
Yang Lie listened quietly as his father explained the entire context of the matter.
The situation was not complicated. Yang Lie quickly grasped the full picture. After a few seconds of thought, he slowly straightened his back, his fists unconsciously clenching: “Father, concerning this order, please allow me to refuse.”
“What did you say?” The sharp, knife-like eyes of the middle-aged man showed a flash of confused astonishment: “Yang Lie, do you know what you are saying?”
Qin Fen’s eyelids twitched. He watched Yang Lie on the screen nod slowly: “Yes, Father. I know what I am saying. I refuse to obey this order.”
“Yang Lie!”
The sharp shout echoed like thunder. The pressure of years spent in a superior position instantly manifested.
Yang Lie’s body convulsed as if struck by electricity. As an American who received a Confucian education from Central State, coupled with military discipline, Yang Lie had always followed his father's arrangements for everything.
“Father,” Yang Lie’s body trembled violently, his neck becoming stiffer: “Please allow me to state my reasons.”
“Speak!”
The middle-aged man’s words remained brief, but the light emanating from his eyes already conveyed everything: no matter what Yang Lie said, it wouldn't move him. Family interests were paramount!
“Father, from your perspective, Qin Fen is the one who can bring you the greatest immediate benefits.”
“Him? What does he have now? A Fifteen-Star Martial Arts Master? Son, you have already undergone Marrow Replacement and Nests Transformation, and you will surely reach the Fifteen-Star level soon. He is just a lone martial artist, whereas the Zuo family is a colossal power! Qin Fen cannot obtain leadership over Saturn, and even if he did, he couldn't control it.”
Yang Lie held his head higher: “He has a future. An infinite future!”
“Future?” The middle-aged man’s laughter was icy: “The future might amount to nothing. Yang Lie, answer me now. If Qin Fen comes to you, what should your response be?”
“Father,” Yang Lie took several deep breaths and slowly said: “Since I can remember, you have taught me that family interests outweigh the heavens. I have always followed your teachings. I truly believed you were right. Perhaps you are. Over the years, I have had no friends; you told me friends are merely commodities exchanged for benefit. But I must tell you, there is a friendship in this world that cannot be exchanged for anything! I always thought such friendship didn't exist, but now I know it truly does! Qin Fen is my friend. To abandon a friend is to abandon oneself. If you want my response, then I can tell you this: If Qin Fen comes to me, I will certainly go with him.”
Yang Lie shook his head forcefully, waving his fists through the air as he roared: “If Qin Fen doesn’t come to me, I will go find him! I will beat him soundly! And tell him he shouldn't treat a friend this way!”
“You...”
“Respected Father, please allow me to be willful just this once. Even the greatest benefits cannot compare to my friendship. This is the first time I have made a friend, the first time I have made a group of friends. I am happy when I am with them. So... goodbye.”
Yang Lie stopped speaking, crushing the projection phone in his hand with his five fingers.
“Master, please prepare a Level Three Zhurong Space with infinite time for me. I need to strengthen my power. Yes! Before Qin Fen arrives, I need to strengthen myself.”
Yang Lie’s voice was slow but firm. The body of the Dragon King Ba Baiying shook violently. The muscles around his eyes twitched uncontrollably as he cried out in dismay: “What did you say? Level Three Zhurong Space? Infinite time? Yang Lie, do you know what you are saying? You can only stay in the Level Three Zhurong Space for two hours right now. If you exceed that time, you will—”
“Master, do you remember the condition you promised when you took me as a disciple?” Yang Lie was handsome, and his smile at this moment was exceptionally charming: “I know I can only endure two hours, but there is no time left. Qin Fen is coming soon. I am only at the peak of the Fourteenth Star level right now; going out with him like this would only slow him down. I don't want to, and I cannot, burden him. The others have probably all received this news too; I don't want to lose to those guys.”
“Perhaps Qin Fen won’t come,” Ba Baiying tried to persuade him, but Yang Lie placed his index finger to his lips in a silencing gesture and said: “Master, Qin Fen will come find me. I heard the sound of his plane landing. Yes, he will come, won't he? We are friends, aren't we? If he doesn't come, I will go kill him. He knows I will wait for him, so he will come!”
“Master!” Yang Lie smiled again, brighter and more handsome than before: “Level Three Zhurong Space—please allow your disciple to be willful one last time. For the sake of my friend, please allow me to be willful one last time!”
The door opened. A fire-spewing furnace appeared before Yang Lie. With a happy smile on his face, he slowly walked into the Zhurong Space.
Qin Fen’s fists were clenched without realizing it; his fingernails pierced his skin, which was tough enough to resist blades. Although he didn't know what the Zhurong Space was, the moment he saw the scorching flames, he understood why Yang Lie had emitted that tragic cry.
The Little Dragon King Yang Lie, who cultivated the Extreme Chill inner art, was entering an intensely hot space to cultivate his internal energy?
The image ended there. Ba Baiying glared hatefully at Qin Fen: “Do you know? Yang Lie has exceptional natural talent! He has a powerful family awaiting his inheritance. He has boundless prospects! You truly don't treat Yang Lie as a friend; seeing him break through like this for your sake, you actually stood rooted to the spot without rushing in to drag him out.”
“He has been inside for nearly twenty hours! He will die!”
“He won't die! And I won't drag him out.”
Qin Fen gritted his teeth, blood slowly dripping from the crevices in his clenched fists onto the ground. He straightened his back and lifted his chin as he spoke: “I will wait here for him. I know! His request to me is that I stand here and wait for him! Since he asked me to stand here, then I will stand here! Yang Lie will definitely come out!”
To conclude this chapter, borrowing the words of Young Miss Song Jia, I am very satisfied! I want monthly votes! Not just because I updated ten thousand characters today, but because of this chapter, I want monthly votes!