Chapter 77
Chapter 77
“Simple!”
A playful smile tugged at Zhou Ming’s lips as he gave Renee an honest answer. “Because… my Talent lets me ignore 50% of your Defense!”
Renee froze, utterly dumbstruck. For a long time, she could not speak.
Ignoring 50% of an enemy’s Defense meant that no defense-focused opponent at Zhou Ming’s level could gain an advantage over him!
Qianying was the first to react. “Did you copy the Sword Saint’s Talent?”
“That’s right!”
Zhou Ming nodded. “It was a rare chance to encounter both Cangxuan and Ye Zhibei, two generations of Sword Saints, in their true bodies. If I’d done nothing, I would have been unforgivably careless!”
How could the Talents of two renowned supreme powerhouses possibly be weak?
That was why Zhou Ming had secretly examined their Talents as soon as the battle ended.
[Bloodcry] (SS-Rank Talent): Attack +30%. When dealing damage, recover HP equal to 30% of the damage dealt.
[Annihilation] (SS-Rank Talent): All attacks ignore 30% of the target’s Defense and 10% of its Damage Reduction.
The results were exactly as he had expected.
The Talents of supreme powerhouses would naturally be at least SS Rank. And as Sword Saints, both men would have chosen Talents that strengthened their offensive power.
After weighing the two options, Zhou Ming chose Ye Zhibei’s Annihilation. It was simply better suited to his current needs.
“Ding!”
[You have used the Talent Sovereign’s Descent to successfully copy Sword Saint · Ye Zhibei’s Talent Annihilation and raise its rank by 1!]
“Ding!”
[Your Talent has transformed into Heavenbreaker (SSS Rank)!]
[Heavenbreaker] (SSS-Rank Talent): All attacks ignore 50% of the target’s Defense and 20% of its Damage Reduction.
Simple and brutal!
As an SSS-Rank Talent, Heavenbreaker was the ultimate tank killer.
That was why Renee’s terrifying Defense might as well not have existed before Zhou Ming. He could still deal massive damage to her.
“Copy?”
Renee worked her little brain as hard as she could. “Does that mean your Talent is…”
“Exactly what you’re thinking. My Talent can copy anyone else’s Talent without conditions, then enhance it,” Zhou Ming patiently explained.
“That’s absurd!”
Renee stared at him in disbelief. “Did you clear the entire Talent Trial?”
Zhou Ming nodded.
Their conversation continued as the group began the return journey.
“Once I recruit the Sword Saint too, I’ll have three god-tier powerhouses at my side!” Zhou Ming calculated inwardly. “Then whether it’s the gods or the Demon Gods, they’ll have to think twice before trying to touch me.”
The siege was of immense importance.
As long as he successfully captured Juyan City, the benefits would be enough to change the balance of power!
But first, he had to actually win…
“So how many powerful people does our organization have?” Renee asked excitedly. “Is it filled with hidden dragons, crouching tigers, and experts as numerous as the clouds?”
She had seen Xuanniao and the Divine Ember Queen at Zhouyou Shijie’s side with her own eyes. Both were extraordinary beings. Surely that meant the organization behind him was enormous.
Yet under Renee’s eager gaze, Zhou Ming merely held up four fingers.
“Forty?” Renee beamed.
“No.”
Zhou Ming shook his head and corrected her. “To be perfectly honest, we have four powerful members in total!”
Renee’s smile slowly disappeared. “And those four powerful members are…?”
“You, me, her, and it!” Zhou Ming said concisely, pointing to each of them in turn. “Anything else you don’t understand?”
“Yes!”
“What’s your question?”
“Is it too late to regret this?”
“Hahaha! You’re so funny!”
Zhou Ming could not help laughing. Then his expression turned serious. “Our next mission is very important. I need you and Qianying to infiltrate Zijin City, the Eastern Region’s super main city!”
Renee sucked in a sharp breath, her heart pounding with alarm.
She had chosen the wrong crowd!
She had definitely boarded a pirate ship!
“As long as you find the Sword Saint’s wife and daughter inside Zijin City, Qianying can teleport them to safety,” Zhou Ming explained as briefly as possible. “Once that’s done, the Sword Saint will join us as well.”
“Ding!”
[You have entered the Jingshui City map (Secondary City)!]
To avoid drawing attention, the group stopped in a city where they had never operated before.
Zhou Ming used the Heavenly Secrets Compass and sacrificed an A-Rank item to obtain the coordinates of the Sword Saint’s wife and daughter.
Since he could not go in person, Zhou Ming could only direct the mission from afar. “With your strength, secretly entering the imperial palace shouldn’t be difficult. The key is getting past all their watchers and reaching the Sword Saint’s family immediately. Escaping afterward will actually be the easiest part. Once the Sword Saint hears what happened, he won’t stand by and do nothing.”
“Here’s what I think…”
After a brief discussion, Qianying, Renee, and Xuanniao began the operation.
Notably, Xuanniao behaved very differently from other pets. Even if it traveled far from its master for a short time, it would not be forcibly recalled to the pet space.
Zhou Ming watched the two women and one bird depart, then waited at the marker Qianying had placed.
Night lay thick over the world.
Qianying and Renee hurried to Zijin City. With the abilities of god-tier powerhouses, they easily avoided detection, infiltrated deep into the imperial palace, and reached the location of their rescue targets.
Looking over the area, Qianying saw two god-tier powerhouses patrolling near a heavily guarded corner of the imperial palace. One of them was none other than Lei Qianjue, who had already done Zhou Ming several enormous favors without meaning to.
“A formation restricts this area. Spatial skills can’t be used inside it,” Qianying said, recognizing the setup with her vast experience.
“We’ll follow the plan. You get them out while I make some noise and draw everyone’s attention!”
Renee eagerly volunteered. “With my strength, even the strongest person on Destiny Continent couldn’t kill me in a short time.”
Since she had chosen to enter the world, she could not merely offer empty words and avoid doing any real work.
Zhou Ming’s newly formed organization might currently lack manpower, but Renee knew that a true colossus would never treat her so kindly. Even if she sincerely joined one, she would only be adding flowers to brocade.
And flowers added to brocade could never compare to fuel delivered in a snowstorm. That much, at least, she understood.
“Remember, your own safety comes first!” Qianying reminded her.
“Got it!”
Once Qianying was in position, Renee raised a hand and shouted, “Meteorfall Art, activate!”
Boom!
Earth elements converged from every direction, then surged into the sky like a tornado of dust. Above the clouds, they formed a gigantic meteorite that rapidly expanded from several hundred meters in diameter.
The sky turned dark yellow, its radiance illuminating the earth below.
Carrying incomparable force, the meteorite plummeted from the heavens in a spectacular display.
“Who dares attack the imperial palace?!”
The experts inside reacted immediately, rushing to stop the intruder from causing widespread destruction.
“Zhouyou Shijie really dared come here to rescue them?” Lei Qianjue exclaimed in fury as he flew toward the disturbance.
Qianying seized the opportunity to slip inside the restricted area.
“A diversion. Just as expected!” A stooped old man with white hair appeared before her and sneered. “Rescuing anyone from this old man’s hands won’t be so easy!”
[Dragon Guardian · Gu Yuchen] (God-Tier Boss)
“Xiaoyou!” Qianying could not afford any delay.
“Chirp, chirp!”
Xuanniao decisively flapped its wings, casting Misfortune Divination on the old man and Good Fortune Divination and Holy Light’s Blessing on Qianying. Then it charged straight at him.
The old man frowned. He already knew that killing Xuanniao carried grave consequences, so he tried to evade it.
“Lock!”
Qianying raised a hand and clenched her fist toward him. Space formed a cage, trapping him within a tiny area.
Thud!
Xuanniao rammed into him and died on the spot.
-1!
“Ding!”
[You have killed Celestial Spirit Beast · Xuanniao, triggering its passive Undying. Luck -99, All Attributes -10%, and All Elemental Resistances -20% for 7 days!]
Gu Yuchen fell silent.
“Anyone who stands in my way dies!”
Qianying rushed toward him, unleashing a forbidden spell. Divine light streamed around her body, and her killing intent surged.
Seeing this, Gu Yuchen hurriedly dodged. “Divine Ember Queen, go rescue them! I won’t stop you!”
Qianying ignored him and continued attacking without mercy.
Now severely weakened, Gu Yuchen could not withstand her assault. Panic crept into his voice. “Fighting me to the death will only waste time! You should focus on the greater objective. The rescue is what matters!”
With that, he fled the area in a battered, disheveled state.
After driving her opponent away completely, Qianying entered the room. Inside stood a lovely woman with a little girl of five or six at her side.
There was no time to explain. Qianying took them beyond the restricted area, activated her marker, and sent them away.
“Mission accomplished!” Qianying finally relaxed.
Things had gone more smoothly than expected.
But it made sense when she thought about it. The gods came from every nation across Destiny Continent. A single Zijin City had fewer god-tier powerhouses than she could count on one hand.
Afterward, she found Renee again. The girl seemed to have forgotten the mission entirely. Facing the combined attacks of two god-tier powerhouses and a crowd of Immortal-tier guards, she taunted them, “Come on! Aren’t you god-tier? I’m begging you, beat me to death!”
She had found her confidence again!
In a battle between equals, not everyone was as terrifying as Zhouyou Shijie.
“Don’t get cocky, you little brat!”
“You think high Defense means you can run wild in the imperial palace?!”
Her opponents were livid. None of them had ever endured such humiliation.
Qianying did not know whether to laugh or cry. She flew over, grabbed Renee, and carried her out of the palace at full speed.
Slash!
The guards were about to pursue when an incomparably sharp sword aura swept in and cut across the space between them and the fleeing women.
Everyone looked over in shock.
A man in brocade robes walked toward them. He stood tall and straight, his gaze keen, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Spatial teleportation methods were rare in the world. Those capable of infiltrating the imperial palace and rescuing someone by teleportation were even rarer.
The Divine Ember Queen, however, happened to be one of them.
That was precisely why he had hoped Zhou Ming could rescue his wife and daughter.
“Sword Saint, what is the meaning of this?” the guards demanded furiously.
“Nothing much. I simply wished to remind you that a wise bird chooses the tree where it roosts, and a worthy minister chooses the lord he serves…”
The Sword Saint paid them no mind. With effortless confidence, he turned, stepped onto his sword, and flew away, looking freer and more exhilarated than words could describe.
“From this day forward, I, Ye, have found my worthy lord!”
…