Chapter 91

Chapter 91

In the blink of an eye, the flesh on the top of Yu Wei’s bitten foot rotted until it went numb. The decay spread outward from the bite like ripples, and black hair slowly sprouted wherever the flesh putrefied.

Yu Wei’s expression changed drastically. “You… You turned into a zombie. You’re a monster.”

Tang Tian’s toxin had infected him.

After years of dealing with ghosts and monsters, Yu Wei was no stranger to infectious toxins like this one.

Tang Tian said nothing. He merely continued sucking and licking the blood pouring from the stump of his wrist. Before long, the profuse bleeding stopped.

Zombies had neither souls nor spirits and fed on flesh and blood. So long as they could feed, they were nearly impossible to kill.

Ordinary zombies feared sunlight and fire. Judging from Tang Tian’s condition, however, he was at least as powerful as a Flying Zombie.

He was a scourge.

Yu Wei’s gaze sharpened.

“Bullshit! I received the blessing of Jiangchen, Progenitor of Zombies!” Tang Tian shot back. “I’m not a zombie. I’m a Zombie King! I’m not the monster. You are! A whole pack of twisted, self-righteous monsters!”

“You’ve got incredible powers. You can soar through the sky, burrow into the earth, and stand above ordinary humans without even trying. Yet you conceal who you are, work yourselves half to death, and live like dogs. What’s the point of torturing yourselves?” Tang Tian’s vicious eyes resembled those of a starving wolf stalking prey in the dark, and his voice dripped with mockery. “I can’t stand that self-righteous, superior act of yours. Do you really think you’re bodhisattvas saving people from suffering? The world is enormous, and there are so many weak, useless people. How many of you are there? How many hands do you have? How could you possibly save them all and deliver them from their misery?”

“You said I wasn’t worthy of becoming a guardian of order. You said I wasn’t suited for the job. Hahahaha! What a joke. I never wanted to be someone who tortured himself! I wanted to be strong! The strongest!” Tang Tian threw back his head and laughed, exposing his fangs. “And I did it! I became stronger than every last one of you! You can’t kill me! Master, you’re old. You’ve grown weak. And now I’m the strongest!”

Yu Wei’s face took on a solemn, heroic resolve. Holding his saber in one hand, he said, “I once led you and taught you. You called me Master, and I treated you as my disciple. Today, I will purge this traitor from my ranks and rid humanity of scum like you. Your blood will honor the former Director, and the dead who fell because of you will finally rest in peace.”

“Hahaha! Are you telling a joke? How are you going to purge me? With that weak, aging body? Or with a body that my toxin will soon assimilate?”

Tang Tian enunciated every word. “Stop struggling, Master. Soon your body will become just like mine. Your whole body will rot and stink. The smell of blood will drive you mad. Your body will no longer obey reason. All you’ll want is to feed, feed, and feed… Hair will cover your face and hands, and you’ll become the lowest kind of Hairy Zombie. You won’t have a soul anymore. You won’t be able to think. All that will remain is a rotting, stinking body for me to command. Accept your fate. Prepare to submit to my orders and serve me!”

“Is that so?” Yu Wei remained calm. He merely answered with a cold question, offering neither argument nor explanation.

Then, amid Tang Tian’s crazed, triumphant laughter, Yu Wei used his saber to slice away the part of his foot that was rotting and growing hair.

He carved a chunk of flesh straight from his body. Blood poured down, but Yu Wei did not so much as twitch an eyebrow. His face remained perfectly calm.

“When have you ever heard me tell a joke?” He raised the bloody saber and pointed it at Tang Tian. “This is how I’ll purge you.”

“You – ” Tang Tian’s face twisted with rage. “You’re asking to die!”

Tang Tian flung his arms wide with a roar. His entire body transformed into that of a zombie, swelling enormously as though bloated.

His muscles took on the bluish purple of rotting flesh, and wormlike blood vessels sprawled across his body. Every trace of living color drained from his face in an instant, leaving it skull-like – gaunt, savage, hollow-cheeked, and blue-black.

The zombie transformation amplified his innate strength and physical advantages. The arm Tang Tian had lost grew back under its influence, and longer, sharper black nails rapidly extended from all ten fingertips.

The clothes he wore burst apart in an instant, leaving shredded strips hanging from his body like rags.

A Zombie King could soar through the sky and burrow into the earth. It could fly, possessed tremendous speed and strength, and was more a colossal monster with a human shape than a human being.

At the sight, Yu Wei roared and charged forward with his saber.

But Tang Tian was faster.

He sprang straight into the air, evading Yu Wei’s ferocious strike. Then he plummeted, fangs bared and claws spread, swinging one black hand – swift and powerful as a tiger’s paw – at Yu Wei’s face.

Yu Wei turned his saber sideways and blocked the blow while twisting his body aside to evade it.

But Tang Tian’s palm pinned Yu Wei’s great saber in place and smashed it heavily toward the ground.

A tremendous crash rang out. The impact split the thick marble floor in two, exposing the soil beneath and revealing the terrifying force behind the strike.

Tang Tian held Yu Wei’s great saber pinned beneath his hand, making it impossible to pull free even an inch. He stretched out his neck and opened his mouth, exposing his fangs as foul saliva spilled from his lips, intent on biting Yu Wei again.
All Tang Tian needed to do was sink his fangs into Yu Wei’s artery and drain his blood. No matter how formidable Yu Wei’s combat skills were, he could not use them without blood in his body.

Yu Wei leaned back, evading Tang Tian’s fangs.

At the same time, he used his pinned saber as a fulcrum, exerted force through his arms, and swung both legs up in a vicious barrage aimed at Tang Tian’s head.

Yu Wei ordinarily fought with a saber, but he had never neglected training the rest of his body. Military boxing went without saying, and he was highly accomplished in kicking techniques as well.

When Shen Huaizhou practiced Flower Hidden Beneath the Leaf, he often traded moves with Yu Wei.

A barrage of swift, cunning kicks struck from one angle after another. Tang Tian dodged left and right until his movements fell into disarray.

With no other choice, Tang Tian released Yu Wei’s saber and withdrew, allowing Yu Wei to reclaim his weapon.

Yu Wei raised his saber with a cold smile. “All you ever do is chase crooked tricks and shortcuts. You refuse to settle down and study real skills. No matter how gaudily you dress yourself up, it won’t do you any good.”

Tang Tian leaped away with a chuckle and landed beside his severed hand.

He picked it up from the floor and, without a word, shoved it straight into his mouth.

It took Tang Tian only moments to swallow his own severed hand.

Shock and grief finally flickered across Yu Wei’s usually gentle face. The turmoil in his eyes vanished almost at once, however, and his expression remained cold and stern as he advanced with his saber.

For both public duty and personal vengeance, he could not allow Tang Tian to leave alive today.

Tang Tian had become a monster through and through. He could not be allowed to continue wreaking havoc in the mortal world.

The two clashed once more.

Yu Wei’s foot was badly injured, yet Tang Tian remained unable to withstand his ferocious offensive.

For a time, they fought with neither able to pull away or gain the upper hand.

The office screens, decorative rocks, and floor were swept into the battle. Some shattered; others collapsed.

Plants corroded beneath the toxin, the floor crumbled under brute force, and the sounds of falling objects and splintering wood never stopped. Everything bore witness to the brutality of the fight.

When Yu Wei caught Tang Tian’s attack on his saber, Tang Tian’s wrist suddenly extended, his arm growing longer and larger.

The elongated hand reached past the blocking blade and shot straight for Yu Wei’s heart.

Sensing the danger, Yu Wei twisted aside to protect the vital spot.

But they were too close. Even though he avoided the hand itself, the force of the strike slammed heavily into his chest.

Three ribs snapped at once, and Yu Wei spat out a mouthful of blood.

Tang Tian’s nails raked open Yu Wei’s chest. Toxin entered through the wounds at their tips, bringing a searing pain that made it feel as though fire burned inside each cut.

Tang Tian immediately pressed his advantage, attacking and slashing without pause.

Yu Wei’s great saber was knocked away, leaving him without his weapon and making the assault even harder to withstand. He could only draw a combat knife from the sheath strapped to his leg and continue defending himself.

Tang Tian’s offensive grew fiercer and fiercer. Like a general on the verge of victory, his morale soared and his smile became increasingly deranged. Yu Wei, meanwhile, resembled a beaten stray. Ever since Tang Tian’s ambush succeeded, he had been like a punctured balloon, collapsing and shrinking with every exchange, until a frontal kick from Tang Tian finally struck him square in the chest.

Yu Wei flew backward like a kite. His body slammed into the courtyard wall, rebounded, rolled twice across the ground, and came to rest without moving.

Yu Wei was covered in blood and appeared to have stopped breathing.

Rainwater and blood mingled on the floor, forming a pale red stream that snaked outward and continued to spread. The sight was gruesome enough to chill the heart.

Tang Tian panted heavily and stared at Yu Wei’s motionless body for a long moment. Only after confirming that he did not move did Tang Tian burst out laughing. “I told you, Master. You’re old. You can’t beat me.”

“You’ve never told a joke, but you’ve turned your life into one.” Tang Tian nearly laughed himself to tears.

“All I did was add the hand I swallowed to my other, intact arm and make it longer. That was enough to break through your defense. No one can refuse to admit they’re old forever.”

“Now I’ll cut off your hand and use your fingerprint to open the door to the deity shrine on the third floor.” Laughing, Tang Tian walked toward Yu Wei. “Master, I’ve waited so very long for this moment. Once I take a deity shrine away, the Eleventh Realm will reward me according to my contribution.”

“You lost my River God. Taking one deity shrine from you in return isn’t asking too much, is it?”

Tang Tian’s body gradually shed its zombie transformation.

His ruined clothes could no longer properly cover him, but victorious pride and arrogance shone from his face as he reached Yu Wei and bent down to claim his spoils.

He intended to wrench off Yu Wei’s index finger and use it to open the door on the third floor.

But the moment Tang Tian bent down, Yu Wei’s tightly closed eyes flew open.

Taking advantage of Tang Tian’s unguarded posture, Yu Wei decisively swung the combat knife at his head.

By the time Tang Tian sensed something was wrong and tried to evade, it was already too late.

Yu Wei’s sudden strike sliced away half his head.

White brain matter, soft as tofu custard, poured out at once.