Chapter 175: Chapter 172: The Killing Game Has Begun
Whenever Mo Qi was attacked, his Dark Horse-level Token automatically emitted a special Energy to protect him.
If the attack came from a physical object, it would be repelled.
Therefore, to allow the Pig Emperor to pinpoint the Dragon Vein’s location, he needed Qian Duoduo and the others to stand at a distance and hit him with ranged attacks condensed from their True Essence.
This was also why Mo Qi didn’t have his External Incarnation attack him.
Although the External Incarnation possessed the combat power of the Peak of Purity Realm, it was merely an incarnation. It lacked a Dantian and Meridians, so the concept of True Essence didn’t apply to it.
Strictly speaking, the External Incarnation was simply a powerful weapon.
It would take the Pig Emperor a quarter of an hour to pinpoint the Dragon Vein’s exact location.
During this time, Mo Qi learned something from Qian Duoduo and the others.
Su Yu, the man who had previously led the hunt for him, was an Official Disciple of the Imperial Academy who studied under Yan Hong, one of the academy’s Eight Great Masters.
’I have no connection to this man whatsoever. Why does he want me dead?’
"He’s already an Official Disciple, so why is he still able to participate in the year-end selection?" Mo Qi asked.
While tossing True Essence attacks at Mo Qi, Qian Duoduo explained, "There are two types of Official Disciples at the Imperial Academy. The first is like you, Brother, gathered by the Empire and then passing the year-end selection. The second type are those who possess an Imperial Academy Order."
"Anyone who becomes an Official Disciple through an Imperial Academy Order has the right to participate in the year-end selection once before their Cultivation reaches the Void Realm. However, their Tokens don’t get upgraded for killing criminals."
"Generally speaking, those with an Imperial Academy Order look down on participating in the year-end selection. I have no idea what’s gotten into that Su Yu."
Mo Qi understood. ’In that case, Su Yu joined the year-end selection specifically to come after me from the start.’
"By the way, who is this Yan Hong?"
Qian Duoduo looked at Zhu Fan. "You tell him. You’re sure to have the most detailed information."
Zhu Fan nodded. "Yan Hong is two hundred thirty-eight years old, with a Late-stage Void Realm Cultivation. He’s currently a Renowned Master at the Imperial Academy, ranked seventh among the Eight Great Masters."
"He has three Vajra Realm disciples, fourteen Purity Realm disciples, and thirty-one Refining God Realm disciples under his tutelage."
"He joined the Imperial Academy one hundred and two years ago, right after he broke through to the Void Realm."
"Before that, he was the Direct Disciple of Zhang Shao, the Sect Leader of the Wolf Fang Sect. They later had a falling out for some unknown reason, and he..."
"Wait!" Mo Qi cut Zhu Fan off.
’As expected of the Zhu Family, the intelligence experts of the Three Great Families. This is incredibly detailed!’
"Yan Hong was Zhang Shao’s Direct Disciple?"
"He was."
Realization dawned on Mo Qi. It all made perfect sense now.
Zhang Shao held a grudge against him for killing his son. Furthermore, at the Void Sect, the Pig Emperor’s glare had given him a phantom pregnancy with quintuplets, forcing him to flee in disgrace.
’I thought him handing Jin Quan over to the Mountain and Sea Empire was his revenge, but it turns out he’d already laid a death trap to lure me into his net step by step.’
’Zhang Shao, Wolf Fang Sect... very well. If you want to play, then I’ll play along!’
...
About ten miles away from Mo Qi’s group, a fissure suddenly split the earth, and a middle-aged man with shackled limbs crawled out.
He wore a set of tattered Armor, so fragmented it looked as if it could shatter at any moment.
"Haaa... It really is more comfortable outside!"
The middle-aged man stretched lazily, and his aura began to surge dramatically.
But moments later, the shackles binding his limbs flared with a blinding light. Intricate patterns spread across them, and a vast, majestic pressure descended from the heavens.
The middle-aged man took a deep breath, forcibly reining in his aura.
BOOM!
He was still slammed to the ground by the pressure. Only after he had completely withdrawn his aura did it slowly dissipate.
The middle-aged man slowly got to his feet and sneered, "That little brat Wang Chen is certainly cautious, only undoing ten percent of my seal. But ten percent is more than enough!"
Just then, a monstrous beast’s roar echoed for one hundred and fifty miles across the land Within the Pass.
Everyone within that range—whether they were the young geniuses of the year-end selection or the criminals—was stunned.
They looked around in terror.
Judging from the roar alone, it was clearly a Demon Beast that had surpassed Vajra Realm Cultivation—an existence capable of slaughtering every last one of them!
Why would such a creature appear during the year-end selection?
This was far beyond the intended difficulty of the event!
"Hm? That beast was let out too? Did that little brat Wang Chen leave a backup plan, worried that I couldn’t kill that kid Mo Qi?"
"Hmph. Let me just see where that unlucky kid Mo Qi is!"
The middle-aged man first sniffed the trace of Mo Qi’s aura that Wang Chen had given him. Then, he smashed a large crater in the ground and buried his head in the dirt.
A few breaths later, the middle-aged man lifted his head, wiped the dirt from his face, and gazed in the direction of Mo Qi and the others.
"Found you. Pretty close, too."
...
"ROOOAR!"
The ten-meter-tall Silver-backed Earth Dragon shattered its chains. With blood-red eyes, it charged into the one-hundred-and-fifty-mile area Within the Pass.
Back where the beast had been imprisoned, Su Yu’s face was pale, but he wore a sinister smile.
In his hand, he held a Lifting Ban Order.
Clearly, he was the one who had released the Silver-backed Earth Dragon.
’Mo Qi, I’d like to see how you’ll fend off this Void Realm Demon Beast!’
’I don’t know what you’ve done, but anyone who offends Master must die! Master’s dignity is not to be challenged!’
Su Yu put away the Lifting Ban Order and prepared to tend to his wounds.
Just then, a scornful and boisterous voice rang out.
"What bullshit dignity? ’Everyone must die,’ is it?"
Liu Hui appeared before Su Yu.
Su Yu was startled at first, but when he saw that Liu Hui only had an Early-stage Purity Realm Cultivation, he sneered. "A measly Early-stage Purity Realm cultivator dares to spout such nonsense in my presence? Even injured as I am, dealing with you would be child’s play. With just one hand, I could..."
Before he could finish, a gigantic hammer flew at him from behind.
BOOM!
Utterly unable to resist, Su Yu was slammed into the ground, the immense force pulverizing his internal organs.
If he hadn’t already reached the Vajra Realm and possessed a tough physique, that hammer strike wouldn’t have just pulverized his organs—it would have obliterated his entire body.
Jin Sanpang emerged from another direction, his massive body lumbering forward.
Spitting up blood, Su Yu struggled to get up but couldn’t muster the strength.
If he didn’t receive treatment soon, his current injuries were severe enough to be fatal.
Liu Hui squatted in front of Su Yu and grinned. "What’s the matter, wanted a one-on-one fight? Don’t you know where you are? This is the land Within the Pass. Haven’t you mastered an advanced tactic like ganging up on someone?"
"You... PFFT!"
Overcome with rage, Su Yu spat out another mouthful of blood, his eyes rolling back in their sockets as he passed out.
Liu Hui wasn’t pleased. He took out a Medicinal Pill, broke off a small piece, stuffed it into Su Yu’s mouth, and made him swallow.
"I went through all that trouble, sensing for ages to finally pinpoint this Earth Dragon’s location, and you motherfucker just let it loose!"
"And you wanted to go after my Lord? You think I’d let you die that easily?"
