The creature that emerged from the "Dark Trade Guild," Bicheer, was a picture of utter disarray. In the end, he’d even had to sacrifice two chunks of flesh from his backside because Zackley’s hands had managed to grab him there!
Bicheer was filled with monumental regret; he kept thinking how foolish he was to go looking for trouble at the "Dark Trade Guild" in the first place!
Recalling the scene now still sent chills down his spine. If he had been even a fraction slower, he surely would have ended up as meat in that monster's maw!
Damn it, what kind of monster was that? How could something so grotesque exist?
The mere thought of Zackley’s head moving independently even after being severed sent shivers down his spine—it was terrifying. Truly terrifying! He vowed then and there: as long as the "Dark Trade Guild" didn't actively come after him, he would never provoke them again!
In a strange way, he even owed the "Dark Trade Guild" a debt of gratitude; without their antidote, he’d likely be a corpse by now. Yet, even though his life was temporarily spared, his body still ached abominably. His head felt as if it were filled with lead, prompting another wave of curses in his heart!
Thank heavens for his Spirit Insect; otherwise, who knew how many millennia it would take to return to the "Cunbu Jiu Nation"!
Bicheer was currently seated atop the swiftly flying Spirit Insect, watching the Imperial City draw closer below, a flood of emotion washing over him.
Although this Spirit Insect had sustained injuries, they weren't serious enough to impede its flight!
Perhaps at this point, readers might wonder why Bicheer didn't release this Spirit Insect during the battle. The reason was simple: Bicheer himself hadn't been a match for his opponent; releasing the insect would have likely resulted in instant obliteration, leaving him with no last resort for escape!
The Imperial City finally appeared. Bicheer tumbled down from the insect, and the surrounding guards immediately rushed forward.
"Greetings to the State Preceptor!" The guards bowed in unison, but their strange expressions betrayed the shock they were desperately trying to suppress!
They had witnessed Bicheer’s previous might firsthand—the freak who once single-handedly confronted all of them, seizing the King with lightning speed and, through coercion and inducement, establishing himself as the State Preceptor here!
But now, he was so wretched, and missing an arm! What in the world had happened? Who could possibly be stronger than their State Preceptor?
"Summon the best imperial physician for me at once!" Bicheer commanded in a low voice, staggering toward his private chambers.
Although he held the title of State Preceptor in name, he was, in reality, the ruler here!
"Yes!" The few guards were about to move to obey the order when a sudden, loud impact startled them all.
"What happened?" Bicheer frowned, an angry expression clouding his face.
He was already in a foul mood; if not for his agonizing physical state, he would surely find someone to vent his frustration upon!
"Bad news, someone is invading!" A cry echoed from a distance.
Hearing this, Bicheer’s heart nearly stopped. He inwardly gasped: Did that monster follow me?
A trickle of cold sweat immediately streamed down his face, and an inexplicable terror instantly enveloped his entire being!
He didn't know it yet, but the person arriving wasn't Zackley, the one he had just fought, but someone far more monstrous: Zhong Shenxiu!
"W-who is it?" Bicheer managed to ask, suppressing the fear churning inside him. This was his territory, after all, which offered a sliver of composure.
"Report!" Just then, a guard came running from afar with a frantic expression, but upon seeing Bicheer’s current state, he froze entirely!
Heavens, is this... is this the State Preceptor? How could he be in this condition?
"What is happening?" The cold glare in Bicheer's eyes was lethal enough to kill.
The guard broke out in a cold sweat, quickly kneeling on one knee before reporting, "State Preceptor! An intruder is outside!"
"Just one?" Bicheer’s face darkened instantly. If there had been many invaders, he might not have been so nervous!
"Yes, that child is incredibly powerful. Our soldiers couldn't hold the line at all; the losses are catastrophic!" The guard’s face was even paler than Bicheer's.
"A child? You mean a mere child?" Bicheer’s eyes snapped open wide as he pressed, "Are you saying that?"
"Yes, a little boy, about seven years old!"
"You can't even stop a child? What good are you people?!" Bicheer roared in exasperation. To think they were trying to scare him with news about a child, nearly giving him a heart attack!
The Bicheer of now had regained his former air of authority. As long as it wasn't that immortal freak, he feared no one!
"State... State Preceptor, that child is truly formidable!"
The guard looked on the verge of tears. He truly wasn't making excuses; that small child was unbelievably perverse, completely beyond the capability of mere guards like them to resist. What chilled him even more was the sheer ruthlessness in the little boy's actions—it made one’s scalp tingle. In just a short span, thousands of guards were dead, each death more bizarre than the last. If it weren't so horrifying, he wouldn't have dared to alarm Bicheer!
"Stop with the explanations. I refuse to believe that so many of you guards can't handle a mere child." Bicheer hadn't finished speaking when his words were abruptly cut off by a crisp, young voice!
The voice sounded incredibly close, as if whispering right next to Bicheer's ear!
"Who is it?" Bicheer whipped around like a startled bird, but saw no suspicious figure.
"Are you looking for me?" The youthful voice sounded again, and simultaneously, Zhong Shenxiu materialized not far from Bicheer's sight.
Truly just a child?
Bicheer stared intently at Zhong Shenxiu. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that such a fair-skinned, adorable child could be an invader!
Zhong Shenxiu was currently regarding him with a wicked smirk, though his eyes occasionally flickered with a strange, unsettling light!
"Is this the intruder you mentioned?" Bicheer turned and challenged the reporting guard.
But the guard offered no reply. Upon seeing Zhong Shenxiu, the man simply stood there, utterly stupefied!
"Men, seize this child for me right now!" Bicheer didn't want to waste any more time on this; he needed the imperial physician to tend to his injuries immediately.
"Yes!"
The few guards, still unaware of the situation, aggressively lunged at Zhong Shenxiu, each one striving to be the first, eager to impress Bicheer!
Zhong Shenxiu stood still, watching them approach. Just as the guards were less than a meter away, he finally moved!
As his figure vanished, a deafening crash erupted from the spot where he had been, followed immediately by a rain of blood spraying everywhere.
Bicheer’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. In that single instant, he hadn't even glimpsed how the little boy had disappeared. The impact of this realization was staggering!
What he expected even less was the brutal, soundless annihilation of those guards—they were slain instantly, beyond anything he could have imagined!
This child... this child is no simple figure!
The tension Bicheer had just managed to release surged back, and an invisible pressure began to weigh upon him!
He finally understood why that guard had been so frantic. This little boy was indeed beyond the capability of their guards to handle, perhaps even posing a significant challenge even to himself. "Hey, is this your Spirit Insect?" Zhong Shenxiu was now standing atop the creature, his gaze brimming with amusement!
He had thought they were dealing with something formidable, but it turned out to be mere trash. If Robin hadn't been rushing towards his tribulation, these people would already be checking in at the Hell HR department!
"Who are you?" Bicheer demanded, instantly adopting a fighting stance.
Zhong Shenxiu’s lips curled into another smile, and at that moment, the Spirit Insect beneath his feet let out an agonizing shriek before dissolving into ash right before Bicheer’s eyes. Zhong Shenxiu gracefully landed on the ground.
"You... who do you think I am?" Zhong Shenxiu countered.
Bicheer’s mind was reeling, short-circuiting from Zhong Shenxiu’s display. While he had realized the child's power, he hadn't anticipated it reaching such a grotesque level—destroying his Spirit Insect instantly, and apparently without effort!
God, why is my luck so terrible? Why do I keep encountering monsters!
Bicheer suddenly felt that the child before him was even more terrifying than the immortal monster he had previously fought!
That immortal monster, at least, had discernible patterns to its attacks, allowing for a few moments of resistance. But this child before him was so ephemeral, and all the while maintaining that mocking smile!
"Oh? So you’re already injured. Have you been to the 'Dark Trade Guild'?" Zhong Shenxiu’s tone dripped with mock inquiry.
From the wound on Bicheer’s arm, he could deduce that it must have been inflicted by Bicheer’s zombie—that corpse poison wasn’t native to this world, after all!
"H-how do you know?" Bicheer stumbled backward several steps, his expression of terror deepening palpably.
"Are you the perpetrator who instigated the invasion?" Zhong Shenxiu’s demeanor shifted abruptly, turning as cold as ice. "And this is your idea of an invasion?"
As Zhong Shenxiu finished speaking, a piercing scream tore from Bicheer’s throat—his other arm had been severed!
And no one had witnessed how Zhong Shenxiu had struck during that interval!
Zhong Shenxiu merely watched the convulsing Bicheer with detached interest, not pressing the attack further. For him, dispatching Bicheer would be easier than crushing an ant. But that wouldn't be fun!
He wanted Bicheer to stew in the consequences of his crimes until the very end!
"Why... why are you doing this to me?" Bicheer pleaded desperately.
Zhong Shenxiu’s reply was even crueler: "I find you annoying."
As Zhong Shenxiu spoke, Bicheer’s entire being froze. He saw the scene he least wished to witness, the scene that terrified him most!
Heavens above, just kill me now! This was Bicheer’s thought in that final moment! To know what happens next, please log in to Chapter X for more, support the author, and support genuine reading!