[【Barton wielded the power of Rules. Though there was clearly no air around us, the wind suddenly howled, and its sharp gusts stung your cheeks.】]
[【The source of that fierce wind was the enormous eagle-shaped phantom behind Barton.】]
[【The eagle spread its wings and soared through the sky, then swooped at you with overwhelming force.】]
[【“Caw!”】]
[【Seeing his move, you were reminded of a cartoon you watched as a child.】]
[【“What a fine ‘Shadow Wing Slash’! Beautiful!”】]
[【The other side had no idea what was wrong with you, praising your enemy before a fight had even begun. Or perhaps Venom still hadn’t worn off completely.】]
[【The war eagle formed from Rules unleashed wave after wave of pressurized wind, pinning you down completely.】]
[【You had nowhere to dodge, so you simply didn’t bother!】]
[【“Artifacts, lend me your strength!”】]
[【The Ten Thousand Souls Banner, the Demon Refining Pot, the Immortal-Binding Rope, the Heavenly Dragon Blade, the Lightning-Chasing, Thunder-Racing Boots, the Immortal-Crossing Bridge, the Jade-Cleansing Vase...】]
[【You circulated the Divine Armament Revelation and activated your Awakening Aura. A whole pile of Spiritual Treasures shone with golden light as they gathered behind you one after another, like a group of martial artists passing their power to someone in a wuxia novel.】]
[【They focused all kinds of power into your body.】]
[【You unified all that power with the Martial Scripture, converting it all into your divine power and condensing it into an ultimate strike.】]
[【What form this strike took didn’t really matter. It could be anything, because to the Martial Scripture, form was merely a vessel. The source of the power was what mattered.】]
[【So you still relied on overwhelming strength, keeping things simple and brutal.】]
[【“Light Speed Fist!”】]
[【Brilliant light erupted from your body, as if a white sun had risen above the moon.】]
[【The light gathered into a beam and surged upward, crashing into Barton’s Rule power.】]
[【“Rumble!”】]
[【The aftershock spread across the lunar surface, triggering a violent earthquake.】]
[【Formless, which had just burrowed underground, was jolted by the disturbance and burst back out on the spot.】]
[【For the record, Formless wouldn’t grow stronger from the aftershocks of a battle, even if they hit it.】]
[【Formless’s power was driven by belief. Only stimulation aimed at Formless itself could provoke a response from it.】]
[【“What?! A mere Divine Art from the tiny Transcendent Realm can actually stand up to my Rules?!”】]
[【“I’ll punch you to death, you volcanic freak of a bird, Barton!”】]
[【The Light Speed Fist broke through the suppression of the Rules and charged forward without stopping!】]
[【“Pfft!”】]
[【Barton stared in shock at the bloody hole pierced through his chest.】]
[【“Good heavens...”】]
[【Horton, who had been preparing to deal with Formless, was also dumbstruck.】]
[【“Brother Barton, you...”】]
[【“It’s just a small wound! My clothes are barely dirty! But this guy’s no pushover. Don’t underestimate him! He must be hiding his cultivation level. I’d guess he’s at least a seventh-stage Immortal Lord! No, an eighth-stage!”】]
[【Horton was sweating profusely. He shielded the wounded Barton while staring at you and demanding,】]
[【“Who exactly are you, and which organization do you belong to?”】]
[【He was asking about your background.】]
[【Either he wanted to use your connections, or he was trying to figure out whether he could afford to fight you to the death.】]
[【You gave a cold laugh.】]
[【“Why don’t you take a good look at my face?”】]
[【The two Birdmen were a little confused by that remark.】]
[【So you took out the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and had it release some black smoke, letting it drift above your head.】]
[【“How about now?”】]
[【“Chen Yi?!”】]
[【Back when you spent a year as Venom, causing trouble everywhere with the Black Monkey King, you never used an alias.】]
[【That idiot Venom went around causing trouble under your real face and name.】]
[【As a result, your wanted posters had long been plastered across the Celestial River Daily and the streets and alleys of countless planets.】]
[【Once they realized who you were, the two Birdmen clearly lost their nerve.】]
[【“Chen Yi, we meant no offense. You hadn’t revealed your identity earlier, and you’re a member of the Human Race, so...”】]
[【“So it’s only right for you to bully the Human Race? And their homes are fair game for your experiments?”】]
[【“That’s not what we meant...”】]
[【“Talk! Where did you come from, who sent you, and where did you get Formless?”】]
[【“We’re from the Andromeda local galaxy. Brother Barton and I are two training officers of the Skyhawk Cult. We’re usually responsible for taming Exotic Beasts. Our superiors considered Formless a special kind of Exotic Beast, so they assigned it to Brother Barton and me to handle.”】]
[【You paused, then checked again.】]
[【“The Andromeda local galaxy? You aren’t from the Celestial River local galaxy?”】]
[【“No. We knew how dangerous Formless was, so for safety’s sake, we brought it outside our local galaxy.”】]
[【Earth was on the outskirts of the Celestial River local galaxy, so it made sense if these two had come from another local galaxy.】]
[【“Am I really that famous? People from other local galaxies have heard of me too?”】]
[【The other side took out a copy of the Celestial River Monthly Report and gave an awkward smile.】]
[【Thinking of how Venom had once forced the Celestial River Monthly Report to publish your glorious exploits, you gave an awkward smile too.】]
[【Then your expression turned stern in an instant.】]
[【“I don’t care where you’re from. Take Formless away the same way you brought it here!”】]
[【The two Birdmen looked a little troubled.】]
[【So you clenched your glowing fist.】]
[【“Do you believe in the light?”】]
[【The two Birdmen immediately backed down again.】]
[【They might have been despicable outsiders, but Venom’s fearsome reputation was simply too great. They had watched as the Demon Twins took control for a whole month of the Celestial River Monthly Report, the Holy Dragon Society’s own propaganda tool.】]
[【It was completely absurd.】]
[【The two Birdmen still wanted to confirm your identity again, but they didn’t dare take the risk, so they could only nod.】]
[【“Very well. We’ll take Formless to another planet right away.”】]
[【“Not ‘take Formless to another planet.’ Get rid of it!”】]
[【“How are we supposed to get rid of Formless?”】]
[【“I’m asking you! If you can’t get rid of Formless, I’ll get rid of you!”】]
[【Barton and Horton muttered to each other for a while. They mentioned some technical terms, probably things from their beast-taming profession.】]
[【“We could try throwing Formless into a black hole. Even if it can’t die in there, it won’t be able to escape the black hole’s gravitational field.”】]
[【“Oh, that’s a good idea. You really are the experts. You two go throw it in.”】]
[【“W-we two...? A black hole is an absolute no-go zone even for an Immortal Lord. One wrong move and...”】]
[【“Then should I go?”】]
[【“We’ll go.”】]
[【Who would’ve thought the fearsome reputation Venom had earned as a great demon would be so useful?】]
[【You borrowed the tiger’s might and bluffed those two Birdmen into backing down.】]
[【Then you saw Horton take out a glass cup.】]
[【He tossed the cup out. It grew larger and trapped Formless on the ground inside it.】]
[【Immortal power flowed through his hand. The glass cup began to shrink, and Formless shrank along with it until they had both returned to his hand.】]
[【Reverse Engineering identified the item as a primal spiritual treasure.】]
[【Ominous in Old Age identified it as top grade.】]
[【“This thing can actually seal Formless?”】]
[【“It’s an Illusion Bottle. It confuses Formless’s judgment of what counts as stimulation, so it didn’t respond. But it can’t deceive Formless forever, so it can’t keep it sealed long-term.”】]

Comments

Loading...