Chapter 156: Ultimate Rarity, Seventh-Grade Heart Ape

Chapter 156: Unique and Rare, Seven-Grade Heart Ape

“Gong Qinghong, you wish to change your path—people have their own ambitions, and I do not blame you.”

Cao Cang’s gaze swept past the towering and robust Wei Meng, as if he cared little for the grinning ‘Jiu Wan’ before him, nor did he seem concerned about whether he had been outwitted.

His eyes fixed on Gong Qinghong’s smiling face, and he raised his hand to point at the terrifying skull on the ground. “But Ya Ji and Er Tiao did not stand in your way—why did you strike them down?”

“Great deeds are not bound by trivialities.”

The smile on Gong Qinghong’s face faded, and his voice remained calm. “Is this simple truth something I must teach you?”

“Simple? The faces of those in the vertical and horizontal ranks remain as thick as ever.”

Cao Cang let out a cold smile and turned to Wei Meng. “Would you dare to take in such a person among your ‘Wan Zi’?”

“What’s there to fear?”

On Wei Meng’s brutish face, disdain was evident.

“This world has always revered the strong. Only the weak fall prey to ‘chicken and egg’ sentiments—mutual debts and affections. Where do they come from?”

The strongman sneered. “The rumors say that woman’s heart is as sharp as a needle’s point. It’s only a matter of time before her subordinates seek to change their paths.”

“A small heart? How fitting—mine is no larger.”

Cao Cang’s lips pressed into a thin line. His right hand rose, level with his shoulder.

The exposed palm bore no trace of synthetic flesh, and the cold, elongated mechanical fingers gradually unfolded, revealing an iron rod the length of an arm from the mechanism in his palm.

“I never liked speaking so much drivel, but I’ve resorted to violence too often in the past, slaying many innocents. So I’ve sought to temper my killing intent, to subdue my heart ape, and calm my desires.”

As he spoke, the iron rod in Cao Cang’s hand rapidly transformed, its length extending amid a clang of metal. It became a six-foot-long staff of pale iron.

The staff’s tip aimed at the fearsome Wei Meng.

“But if I don’t kill you today, my mood will only grow worse.”

“Indeed, it is that rare Seven-Grade Mechanical Heart ‘Heart Ape.’”

Wei Meng’s tiger-like eyes blazed with unhidden greed.

He twisted his wrist, and the ferocious Wolf Tooth Stick in his hand seemed weightless.

A whistling gust of wind, and a chilling glint!

“Cao Cang, such a treasure lies within your belly, yet you’ve not even advanced to the Seventh Rank. What a waste! Since you cannot wield it, why destroy it? I shall find a more worthy master for you today!”

“So you seek my Mechanical Heart?”

Cao Cang’s face remained calm, but a flicker of pride flashed in his eyes. “Then why the idle words?”

Wei Meng let out a cruel laugh, and his form suddenly surged forward, dragging the stick as he charged.

His massive body, like a giant bear, seemed impossibly heavy—each step sank into the soft ground of fallen leaves, leaving deep pits. Yet this did nothing to slow him; in the blink of an eye, he was upon Cao Cang.

The iron-toothed staff came crashing down, its force like a collapsing mountain, splitting the air, and exploding with thunderous force!

“Weak… too weak.”

Standing beneath the Wolf Tooth Stick, Cao Cang slowly shook his head, raising his single-handed staff with a casual flick.

Clang!

The collision rang out like a great bell.

Zhao Qingxia, leaning against a tree, felt his eardrums tear as pain surged through him.

A bitter smile tugged at his lips. Though both were Eighth Rank, the two warriors clashing before him were clearly far stronger.

Yet he could only rely on Mohist techniques to protect himself against a mere common foe.

Was the mimetic martial art he had devoted himself to truly a dead end?

As Zhao Qingxia’s mind wandered, the stalemate of the staffs had already decided the victor.

The Wolf Tooth Stick was swept aside with a single strike!

But Wei Meng had anticipated this. He let out a low growl, his left foot pivoting backward, using his right foot as a fulcrum to twist his body along the trajectory of the thrown staff, driving it toward Cao Cang’s face like a spear.

The gust of wind struck his face, yet Cao Cang’s expression remained unmoved.

Facing the ‘Jiu Wan’ Wei Meng, whose reputation matched his own, he still had no intention of wielding the staff with both hands. With calm assurance, he crossed the staff before him, effortlessly blocking the oncoming Wolf Tooth Stick.

But then, a sudden shift!

The tip of the Wolf Tooth Stick emitted a mechanical transformation sound, and a fist-sized, dark, icy void appeared before Cao Cang.

The next second, flames erupted!

Boom!

Orange-red fire devoured Cao Cang’s figure, and the surging heat formed a fan-shaped jet over a foot in diameter behind him.

Wei Meng, having landed his blow, did not cease his assault. He fired repeatedly at the figure flickering within the flames.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thick, yellow shells spurted from the end of the Wolf Tooth Stick, enveloped in white smoke as they fell to the ground.

This Wolf Tooth Stick was both a fearsome melee weapon and a powerful handheld cannon!

The blinding fire and thunderous explosions, the sulfur smoke overpowering the scent of grass, the flames driving back the night wind.

Until the ammunition within the staff was exhausted, Wei Meng’s face showed no sign of relief—instead, it grew inexplicably grim.

For he could see clearly: the figure wrapped in flames still stood.

“Something’s wrong.”

As the thought arose, Wei Meng leapt backward.

In that instant, the rising flames suddenly split, and a lithe figure shot out, wielding two staffs from above, striking the spot where Wei Meng had just landed!

Bang!

Grass and soil erupted, a terrifying pit forming in the earth.

Before the relieved Wei Meng could recover, the pale iron staff swept toward him again. Sparks clinging to the staff illuminated his iron-black face in flashes.

Wei Meng clenched his teeth, raising his knives with both hands to barely deflect Cao Cang’s sweeping strike, attempting to retreat.

Alas, his foot had not yet left the ground when a mighty force slammed him back down.

Cao Cang, now unleashing his true power, summoned a wave of staff shadows, striking Wei Meng relentlessly.

For those on the warrior path, strength is not measured by physical stature but by the Mechanical Heart within.

Though Cao Cang stood no taller than Wei Meng’s shoulders, his power utterly crushed his opponent.

Whirr.

The hum within Wei Meng’s chest grew shrill; his Mechanical Heart operated at extreme output, yet the force it pumped could not halt the iron staff inching closer.

Crack!

The Wolf Tooth Stick snapped, and the unstoppable pale iron staff struck Wei Meng’s shoulder, sending him flying and cleaving a tree as thick as a man’s embrace at the waist.

Cao Cang’s shoulder twitched, shedding torn clothing and skin to reveal a charred, upright form.

Ah!

The iron rod struck the ground. He turned his head to gaze at Gong Qinghong, who stood nearby with his hands bound, his voice flat: "So today's drama, the protagonist has emerged victorious?"