Chapter 177: Chapter 174: Confrontation
Before them stood a middle-aged man, his limbs bound in shackles. He was burly and clad in a set of tattered Armor.
Through the gaps in the Armor, granite-like muscles were faintly visible, exuding a sense of immense power.
Mo Qi was on high alert.
According to the Pig Emperor, this man was on par with the Ni Brothers—an expert who had surpassed the Void-Piercing Realm to reach the Void Realm!
Judging by his attire, he was undoubtedly a prisoner.
But Mo Qi clearly remembered the three elders from the talent assessment saying that within a five-hundred-li radius, the prisoners’ highest Cultivation was the Vajra Realm.
So why had an old monster at the Void Realm appeared here now?
Mo Qi highly doubted this man had just happened to wander by.
Qian Duoduo and the others also sensed the oppressive atmosphere. They all gathered around Mo Qi and stared at the middle-aged man.
"You must be Mo Qi," the middle-aged man said, tilting his head and eyeing Mo Qi nonchalantly.
Mo Qi’s heart skipped a beat. ’He’s looking for me?’
’Could he be another one of Zhang Shao’s lethal stratagems meant for me?’
’Hiring an old monster from the Void Realm... He really spared no expense.’
The External Incarnation moved behind Mo Qi, ready to transform into armor to protect his real body at a moment’s notice.
Mo Qi wasn’t sure if the protective power of the Dark Horse-level Token would still be effective against an expert from the Void Realm.
Before Mo Qi could answer, Qian Duoduo couldn’t hold back and jumped forward.
"What rock did this prisoner crawl out from under? How dare you speak to my brother like that? Believe it or not, this young master will slap you to death!"
"Qian Duoduo, get back!"
Mo Qi hastily pulled Qian Duoduo back, breaking out in a cold sweat from the scare Qian Duoduo had just given him.
Truly, ignorance is bliss. He’d actually threatened to slap an old monster from the Void Realm to death!
"Brother, you...?" Qian Duoduo asked, confused.
"This man is an expert from the Void Realm!" Mo Qi explained via voice transmission.
Huh?
’Oh god, what did I just say?!’
Qian Duoduo froze on the spot as if he were a duck with its neck being wrung, not daring to make another sound.
"Heh heh, are all you young whelps this arrogant nowadays? Go on, then. Come over here and try slapping me," the middle-aged man said, crooking his finger.
Scared out of his wits, Qian Duoduo scrambled to hide behind Mo Qi.
"Senior, you’ve misunderstood! I was just talking in my sleep... yes, that’s it, sleep-talking! I have a habit of sleepwalking, you see. My apologies for making a fool of myself."
Qian Duoduo kept explaining even as he hid.
"I feel like I’ve seen those chains on his limbs somewhere before."
Zhu Fan, who was standing to the side, looked thoughtful for a moment before it suddenly hit him.
"I remember now! Those are the Empire’s most powerful sealing shackles, used to imprison its most heinous criminals!"
"But that makes no sense. Those prisoners are all confined to the Dark Plain, beyond the five-hundred-li perimeter. He shouldn’t be here!"
"The moment they leave the Dark Plain, they’re supposed to be suppressed by the power of the Empire’s Dragon Vein. Why is he unaffected?"
The middle-aged man shot Zhu Fan a surprised look. "The little one knows quite a bit. I take it you’re from one of the Six Great Clans of the Imperial City?"
Zhu Fan cupped his fists. "This junior is Zhu Fan of the Zhu Family."
"Ah, so it’s the Zhu Family, the one that specializes in operating in the shadows. No wonder." The middle-aged man grinned, revealing two rows of large, white teeth. "But the power of the Dragon Vein isn’t enough to hold me down!"
Qian Duoduo and the others turned pale with fright. If even the Dragon Vein couldn’t suppress this man, just how powerful was he?
’He might have even surpassed the Void Realm!’
The group’s reaction was very satisfying to the middle-aged man, and his smile grew even wider.
Mo Qi stared at the middle-aged man as the Chaos Scripture in his mind provided an annotation on the sealing shackles.
"That’s not right. It’s not that the Dragon Vein can’t suppress you—it’s that the seal on your chains has been partially opened!" Mo Qi suddenly declared.
The middle-aged man’s smile vanished. He glared at Mo Qi with hatred. "You damn brat, you just had to run your mouth! You’re asking for it!"
The moment the words left his mouth, with no apparent movement from him, the ground beneath Mo Qi’s feet suddenly churned. A giant hand made of rock erupted and swatted at Mo Qi.
BOOM!
Before the External Incarnation could react, the Dark Horse-level Token activated again. The stone hand was shattered by the force of the backlash.
Not only that, but a majestic and tyrannical aura descended from the heavens, slamming the middle-aged man to the ground.
"Impossible!" the middle-aged man cried out. It took all his strength to finally struggle free from the suppressing aura.
He looked at Mo Qi, his face filled with terror.
"What’s your relationship with that whelp Li Shimu? Why is the Dragon Vein actively protecting you?"
’The Dragon Vein is protecting me?’
Mo Qi was puzzled for a moment, but he quickly put two and two together.
’Could it be that the power triggered by the Dark Horse-level Token actually comes from the Dragon Vein?’
’That would explain why the Pig Emperor can only sense the Dragon Vein’s location when the Token is activated.’
"I don’t know what you’re talking about," Mo Qi said, careful not to reveal anything.
"You don’t know?"
The middle-aged man made a grasping motion in the air, and an immense force seized the other four, plus the External Incarnation, lifting them off the ground.
"With a single thought, I can make them explode into a shower of blood. Do you understand me now?"
Mo Qi’s expression remained unchanged. He didn’t even spare Qian Duoduo and the others a glance.
"If you think threatening me with them will work, you’re barking up the wrong tree," Mo Qi sneered. "I’ve known them for less than an hour. What do I care if they live or die?"
"Oh, is that so?" The corners of the middle-aged man’s mouth lifted. With a slight twitch of his finger, the force constricting Qian Duoduo and the others tightened violently.
CRACK!
With the sound of breaking bones, all four of them—everyone but the External Incarnation—spat out blood as their chests caved in.
"Trying to play mind games with me? You’re still too green for that. This was just a warning. Keep playing dumb, and next time they’ll be nothing but mincemeat!"
A cold light flashed in the depths of Mo Qi’s eyes. Of course he wasn’t unconcerned for Qian Duoduo and the others.
But he still feigned a casual shrug. "Mincemeat or not, suit yourself. But I should remind you, they’re not just from the Zhu Family. You’ve also got the Nangong, Qian, and Zhao Families here."
"The person who released your seal probably promised you freedom, right? But if you kill these four and leave this place, you’ll be hunted by four of the Six Great Clans of the Mountain and Sea Empire Imperial City. And when that happens, do you really think the other two clans and the Royal Family will just stand by and watch?"
"And you can guess how long you’ll be able to enjoy that freedom once you’re out."
The middle-aged man froze. He spotted the respective family Tokens on Qian Duoduo and the others, proving Mo Qi wasn’t bluffing.
He fell silent.
Offending four of the Six Great Clans was no different from offending the entire Mountain and Sea Empire.
By then, even if the Slave Seal in his body were to be removed, he would have no hope of escaping the Mountain and Sea Empire’s hunt.
But he had a reason that forced his hand.
Time was short. Even if it meant leaping into a fiery abyss, he had no choice but to press forward.
"Kid, I don’t care what you say. I have to take your life today. I don’t give a damn what your relationship with Li Shimu is. Hand over the thing that can draw on the Dragon Vein’s power, or they will die for sure!"
