Chapter 85: The Tyrant

Chapter85: The Solitary Tyrant

Intermittent screams startled the vendors lurking deep in the alley waiting for drinkers; many curiously poked their heads out, only to be instantly frightened stiff by the scene before them.

There stood a bare-chested man bathed in blood beneath the streetlamp, his raised arm skewering a burly red-robed foreign monk.

The bundle on the bare-chested man's back had flipped open a corner, revealing a pale child's face with tightly knitted brows, still trembling faintly.

Almost simultaneously, all the peeking vendors clamped their mouths shut in unison and silently withdrew their heads.

As if feeling his spine being pulled out inch by inch, Mu Chi's dim pupils suddenly trembled, and his mouth, spewing blood foam, let out a sharp scream.

"You want to pull out my Buddha bone? You actually dare ascend to Sequence Seven?"

Sprayed with a face full of blood, Li Jun's expression remained impassive, "Why wouldn't I dare?"

"Hahahaha"

Mu Chi vomited blood in great mouthfuls, his smile manic, "Another martial arts sequence seeking death, the Buddhist and Daoist sects won't let you off!"

He widened his eyes staring at Li Jun, murderous intent surging in their depths.

"You think defecting to Confucianism guarantees peace? Wishful thinking, Shu Dao Logistics can't protect you, the Gu family can't protect you either!"

"Your end will be the whole world as your enemy, you will die miserably!"

The final rally of his strength fading rapidly, Mu Chi's pupils gradually dilated, his voice turning into a faint murmur.

"I must achieve nirvana and return quickly, otherwise it'll be too late and he'll become a Daoist Powerhouse, that fat Daoist has already set his sights on his physique."

"Want to seize his body and cultivate into a Sword Immortal?! This Buddhist Lord won't let you succeed, he can only be my Dharma Protector God!"

The light in Mu Chi's eyes completely scattered.

From start to finish, Li Jun remained expressionless, but his constantly twitching eye corners betrayed the turmoil in his heart.

A martial artist breaking through Seven, a dead end.

This was the second time he'd heard similar words, and this time the speaker was from the Buddhist and Daoist sequences.

The towering hatred and icy killing intent in Mu Chi's words seemed engraved in their genes.

Despite meeting Li Jun for the first time, it felt as if they had a blood feud spanning lifetimes.

But so what if the whole world is the enemy?

Li Jun raised a forefinger to scratch his eyebrow, haven't I always been like this?

Afraid? Bullshit.

Pfft!

A spine the length of an arm was brutally yanked from Mu Chi's body.

[Gained 200 Proficiency Points]

[Remaining Proficiency Points: 253]

"See that? Kill like this from now on."

Li Jun murmured softly, faint groans coming from the bundle on his back.

Bereft of spinal support, Mu Chi curled up in the blood pool like a cooked shrimp.

Li Jun held up that section of spine, examining it closely in the streetlight.

Finally seeming to discover some mystery, he peeled away the mechanical structure on the spine's outer layer like shelling a peanut, leaving only a bright yellow Buddha bone the size of a peanut in his palm.

"A Sarira?! You want to ascend to the Solitary Tyrant?!"

A shocked voice rang out.

Li Jun turned his head to see the exoskeleton armor with a helmet stuffed with wine bottles frozen there, a headless girl's corpse dangling from its hand.

"The Martial Dao Sequence Seven is called the Solitary Tyrant?"

Under a narrow stretch of eaves, the bare-chested man and a suit of armor sat side by side on the steps.

Red eyes flickering in the helmet, the Horse King sighed long, "Chew Buddha bones, drink Dao blood, build Five Viscera Temples, cultivate the Self God. My body is my God, my temple is my prayer, realize truth see me, the world's Solitary Tyrant."

These words resembled a Daoist scripture, yet also a Buddhist verse, yet exuded a bloody aura of killing the Dao and slaughtering Buddhas.

Li Jun fell silent for a moment, slowly exhaling, "This ritual... is ruthless."

"Actually originally it wasn't necessary, only the most ferocious martial artists would do this."

The Horse King's tone paused, somewhat helpless, "They think it's a great tonic, making them fight even more fiercely after ascending."

Li Jun grinned, this bunch of sequence seniors really are something else.

"Then why has it become like this now?"

"Because of the Martial Arts Injector."

The Horse King's voice now mechanical, "Inside are the genes of those slain martial artists, from the moment you used the injector, you can only walk this ritual path."

"So that's how it is."

Li Jun nodded casually, smiling, "As long as it's a great tonic, it's fine."

The red eyes flickered rapidly, yet no sound came forth.

The atmosphere froze for a time.

"What is this?"

Li Jun suddenly spoke, changing the subject, pointing at the corpse in the Horse King's hand.

At the same time, a tremor came from the bundle behind him.

"The mobile Huangliang Buddhist Kingdom mainframe. Those damn bald donkeys love doing this, small target, high deception, highest safety coefficient."

"If I hadn't seen it fleeing without a head, I wouldn't have caught it."

Li Jun silently untied the bundle from his back and handed it to the Horse King.

"The Buddhist Kingdom is the Buddhist Kingdom, she is she, can you save her consciousness?"

"Yes." The Horse King answered crisply.

Li Jun's tightly knit brows suddenly relaxed, relieved, "Then I owe you a favor. Later I'll send you some slices of Yang Zhan's brain tissue."

"That's great."

The Horse King nodded, paused a moment, then suddenly said: "This world, you can't save everyone."

Li Jun smiled wryly, shook his head, "I didn't think that much, nor do I have such a broad mind and capacity."

"Then why save? The Tianzhi Society's favors aren't cheap."

"But I saw it, and I'm displeased, so I'll meddle."

A wild man enraged by injustice, wearing down the ancient blade in his chest.

This line flashed through the Horse King's mind, he hugged the bundle, "Right, what's this kid's name? Can't keep calling her 'her her her'."

At this moment, Li Jun suddenly recalled that purple Gesang flower blooming on the girl's fingertip.

"Same surname as me, call her Li Hua."

“Good name.”

Lord Ma flicked a finger; a cigarette materialized at his fingertips, its tip flaring to life.

“A rare thing these days, a smoke like this. Want one?”

Joy kindled in Li Jun's eyes—this seemed the sole familiar thing in this world.

Smoke curled, settling in lungs and heart alike.

As twin plumes jetted from his nostrils, Li Jun seemed to deflate with them, a bone-deep weariness rising.

He leaned his head back against the wall and simply fell asleep.

“Black out every Sky Net camera within two kilometers. Then take men and walk the streets—see if those bald donkeys left a trace.”

Lord Ma's voice was low.

In darkness where light never reached, a swarthy figure nodded, then melted away.

Lord Ma glanced sideways at that sharp-angled face, plucking the guttering butt from Li Jun's fingers.

A flick.

The butt arced upward, striking a protruding sign, exploding in sparks—brief flare, then dark.

“So what? At least we lit up this darkness.”

Lord Ma rose, bundle clasped, and raised a middle finger to the ink-black sky above.