Chapter 268: Chapter 267: You Stole My Line

Li Gui and Zhang Hu sprinted down the town’s main street. In just a dozen leaps, they crossed half the road and spotted a massive pool shrouded in dense Blood Qi.

Within the Blood Pool, seven or eight of their brethren from the Blood Coagulation Realm were seated, using the immense power of blood and flesh from the pool to refine their Blood and Flesh Cast Armor Body.

The two looked past the Blood Pool, their eyes landing on a stone throne behind it.

Through the Blood Qi, they could make out a gaunt, middle-aged man with a hazy face, lounging lazily on the stone throne.

"Lord Upper Envoy!"

The two men hurried around the Blood Pool and prostrated themselves before the Blood Palace’s Upper Envoy, their foreheads pressed to the ground and their rears high in the air in a perfect kowtow.

"You two... you don’t seem to be my men, do you?"

Looking at the two men kneeling on the ground, the Upper Envoy slowly opened his eyes and spoke.

"In response to my lord, my name is Li Gui. It’s true I do not serve under you. I came here because something happened unexpectedly..."

Li Gui raised his head slightly, a sycophantic smile on his face, and quickly recounted what had happened at his garrison.

As he described a Cloud Pattern Captain storming the mountain and slaughtering all the brethren at their garrison, the Upper Envoy, still seated on his stone throne, showed little emotion.

Instead, a few muffled thuds echoed from within the Blood Pool.

SPLAT! SPLAT!

Upon hearing Li Gui’s words, especially the part about an entire garrison being wiped out, three of the demonic cultivators lost their composure.

Their minds destabilized, they suffered a backlash from the raw power of the blood and flesh. Their inner cores shattered, and their bodies instantly disintegrated, melting into the Blood Pool.

The Upper Envoy didn’t even blink at the deaths of several of his subordinates.

The remaining demonic cultivators in the Blood Pool, however, were visibly ecstatic, frantically refining the now even more abundant Blood Qi.

Li Gui and Zhang Hu remained prostrate on the ground, not daring to utter another word.

A brief silence fell over the area.

After a few moments, the Upper Envoy spoke nonchalantly:

"Not even a month has passed. I didn’t expect the court’s hounds to be this fast... Still, the priority right now is to inform the other Upper Envoys."

With that, he looked down at the two men prostrating before him.

"Since your garrison was destroyed, just stay here. There’s more than enough flesh and blood to go around for your refinement."

Hearing the Upper Envoy’s words, Li Gui and Zhang Hu were overjoyed. They immediately kowtowed in gratitude.

"Thank you, Lord Upper Envoy!"

"We would gladly give our lives for you, my lord! We will serve you until our last breath!"

"..."

The Upper Envoy ignored their vows of loyalty. He stood up, preparing to send the message, and sighed wistfully.

"It’s a shame I have important duties here. I must guard this place and cannot leave."

"Otherwise, I would hunt down this hound of the court and refine his magnificent flesh and blood!"

Even an Upper Envoy like himself craved the power of a Cloud Pattern Captain from the Leakless Realm.

If he could refine the Captain’s flesh and blood, his own Blood and Flesh Cast Armor Body, already at the Perfection stage, would surely reach a whole new level of strength!

But his opponent’s whereabouts were unknown, and he couldn’t leave his post. It was useless to dwell on it.

The Upper Envoy shook his head and sighed at the wasted opportunity, about to turn and leave.

But in the next instant, his body went rigid.

A formidable aura washed over him!

"Who’s there?!"

The Upper Envoy followed the aura, whipping his head around to look down the street leading out of town. His pupils contracted violently.

A black silhouette came hurtling straight toward them.

’It’s the demonic cultivator who was on watch outside the town!’

BANG!

The demonic cultivator, as if hit by a tremendous force, flew uncontrollably and plunged straight into the center of the massive Blood Pool.

The impact was so powerful that he not only disintegrated on the spot and merged with the pool, but also kicked up a massive wave of blood.

The resulting chain reaction was staggering.

The five demonic cultivators in the Blood Pool, who had been refining their Blood and Flesh Cast Armor Body, were struck by the wave. Their minds reeling in terror, their bodies cracked and fell apart on the spot.

SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!

After a few dull thuds, the demonic cultivators’ inner cores shattered. Their bodies exploded into a mist of blood, and the Blood Qi emanating from the pool grew alarmingly potent.

In a single move, he had killed six of his most capable subordinates.

The Upper Envoy’s expression finally darkened.

His gaze pierced the thick, scarlet mist, locking onto a figure sauntering toward them.

As the figure approached, a detached voice drifted into their ears.

"No need to look for me. I’m right here."

"If you have what it takes, my magnificent flesh and blood is yours for the taking!"

The voice was detached, but the words were utterly defiant.

’This guy actually followed us...!’

Still prostrate on the ground, Li Gui and Zhang Hu felt their scalps tingle as they heard that familiar voice.

They couldn’t care less how arrogant Wu Chen sounded, nor would they be foolish enough to charge forward and fight him just to prove their loyalty to the Upper Envoy.

Instead, with perfect synchronicity, they rolled away, one to the left and one to the right.

This was the third time they had performed this maneuver recently, and all because of Wu Chen. Thus, their rolling was exceptionally smooth, done without alerting anyone.

The Upper Envoy eventually tore his gaze away from the young man. He looked down, intending to ask Li Gui and Zhang Hu if this newcomer was the one who had destroyed their garrison.

But when he looked, there was no trace of them!

’Are they working together?’

’Did those two lead him here?’

The Upper Envoy was startled for a moment, but then found the idea laughable.

’A single Cloud Pattern Captain from the Leakless Realm, even if he colluded with two demonic cultivators from the Blood Coagulation Realm—what trouble could they possibly stir up against me?’

"Coming alone? You’ve got guts!"

A bloodthirsty light gleamed in the Upper Envoy’s eyes. Suppressing his murderous intent, he stared at the young man, then glanced at the empty street behind him.

"I’m a busy man. Tell your people to come out. I’m in a hurry!"

"..."

Hearing this, Wu Chen was left speechless—not because he truly had no one behind him to call upon.

’It was because this guy had stolen his line!’

However, Wu Chen’s attention shifted to his panel.

[Blood and Flesh Cast Armor Body (Great Success) Proficiency +30]

[Blood and Flesh Cast Armor Body (Great Success) Proficiency +50]

[Blood and Flesh Cast Armor Body (Great Success) Proficiency +130]

[...]

Just as he’d expected, ever since stepping into the town thick with Blood Qi, the proficiency on his panel had begun to skyrocket.

The closer he got to the Blood Pool, the more his proficiency visibly multiplied.

’But for the Blood and Flesh Cast Armor Body, which would take a full ten days to reach the Great Success stage, this was still a trivial amount.’

Wu Chen tore his eyes from the panel and scanned the streets on either side of him.

Many of the Blood Palace’s demonic cultivators had heard the explosion from the Blood Pool and reacted swiftly.

In the brief time they had been speaking, they had already gathered, their figures crowding the surrounding alleys and rooftops.

They had Wu Chen completely surrounded.

Their hands rested on the hilts of their sabers, killing intent coiled and ready to strike at the Upper Envoy’s command.

This, however, was exactly what Wu Chen wanted.

He gave them a cursory glance, felt the auras emanating from the demonic cultivators, and shook his head almost imperceptibly.

’Not much different from the last garrison. About two hundred of them.’

’The majority are in the early to Mid Stage of the Blood Coagulation Realm.’

’So I’ll need to wipe out two groups of this size to get my Blood and Flesh Cast Armor Body to the Great Success stage?’

Wu Chen frowned. He did a quick mental calculation and decided it was a bit too slow for his liking.

His gaze traveled past the Blood Pool to the man standing before the stone throne. As he sized up the man’s aura, his brow gradually unfurrowed.

’The Leakless Realm! I wonder how much proficiency you’ll give me.’

"You’re courting death..."

Feeling the young man’s detached gaze sizing him up, the Blood Palace Upper Envoy’s face fell, his anger flaring.

He was all too familiar with that look.

It was the same look he gave a table full of food before a meal, contemplating which dish to start with.

’And today, he was the dish!’

The Upper Envoy slowly raised a hand, flexing his wrist and cracking his knuckles. CRACK.

"You reckless fool! I’m going to skin you alive and rip out your bones!"

Then, suppressing the surging killing intent in his heart, he said in a hoarse voice:

"Kid, I’m running out of patience. Get your men in here now, so I don’t have to waste my time hunting them down!"

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