Chapter 2148: Devour
"Presumptuous!" Wang Shi saw Wang Jie's miserable state, his expression instantly turning extremely ugly. The soft lines on his face could no longer be maintained, becoming somewhat twisted instead, as if he was on the verge of a full eruption.
This situation was something Wang Shi had never anticipated. That was his own younger brother, the little madman of his clan, a madman with terrifying combat power, yet at this moment, he was being brutally beaten by Lin Feng.
He had arranged for Wang Jie to fight anyone except the Nine Nether Emperor, staking the Purifying Sin Flame as the wager, because in his view, this was a battle that could not be lost. It was purely meant to humiliate the other party and salvage some face. His goal was merely to take the life of that seemingly insignificant person. Yet that insignificant person was now using absolute power to crush his brother Wang Jie, intending to annihilate him.
Wang Shi had not expected it. Almost no one had expected this brief battle to be so spectacular. The madman Wang Jie, renowned for his strength, was being mercilessly suppressed by Lin Feng in a contest of pure power. His strength was inferior to Lin Feng's, and the gap was so obvious. Every time they heard the violent, booming sounds, they felt their own hearts tremble along with them.
"Presumptuous? The arrogance and disdain you had carved on your face just now—have you already forgotten it so quickly?" Lin Feng's voice rang out calmly as another fist slammed heavily down onto Wang Jie's body, causing Wang Shi's heart to shake and tremble as well.
"Release him, and you may live," Wang Shi said coldly, his killing intent surging forth. But Lin Feng only responded with a mocking smile and spoke calmly: "The reason I've kept his life until now is simply to let you see the stark contrast between your current behavior and your earlier attitude. It's also to make you understand that the arrogant words you spoke just now are nothing but a testament to your shamelessness."
"Boom!" Flames erupted violently from Wang Shi's body. But at that moment, the Heartless Young Master took a step forward, his Heartless Dao erupting wildly. In an instant, the entire void became a scene of desolate slaughter. The three thousand strands of heartlessness seemed to transform into killing techniques, each thread of heartless intent capable of taking a life. This forced Wang Shi to halt abruptly in place, staring at the Heartless Young Master before him, his expression extremely ugly.
"You may not care about the promises you made yourself, but please don't treat us witnesses as if we don't exist," the Heartless Young Master said coldly.
"That guy is right. It seems we have indeed witnessed a wonderful farce," Lei Dongtian said, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the people of the Pill King Clan, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "I am also a guarantor for this battle. If Lin Feng wins, then killing him is just killing him."
Wang Shi's face twisted, extremely ugly. Through the gaps, his pupils looked toward Lin Feng. Seeing that calm face, he felt a chill run through his entire body. It seemed he finally understood why Lin Feng had driven away the Emperor realm experts of his clan and had people intercept them. All of this was preparation for killing his younger brother Wang Jie.
In other words, from the moment he had proposed this battle, Lin Feng had already planned everything, including Wang Jie's death.
"Remember, it was you who personally buried your brother's life. The one who should have died was you, Wang Shi," Lin Feng's voice was cold, as if penetrating into Wang Jie's mind, echoing endlessly like a demonic sound. It was he who had caused his brother Wang Jie's death. Lin Feng's words overlapped with the thoughts in his own heart, making the tremor in his heart even more intense.
From the moment he proposed this battle, his brother's death had been sealed. In other words, it was he who had buried his brother's life. Not a single word was wrong.
Watching the nine dragons roar up to the heavens, Wang Shi's face turned pale as he let out a furious roar: "No..."
His eyes were bloodshot as he let out a scream. A demonic dragon behind Lin Feng opened its massive maw and suddenly devoured his brother Wang Jie whole. Wang Shi's face twisted completely, his heart trembling violently. Wang Jie, the madman with the strongest combat talent among the younger generation of the Pill King Clan in Divine Thunder City, had lost his life here because of a small wager.
Or rather, it was because of a seemingly insignificant person. Because of Wang Shi's arrogance and conceit, his disdain for that insignificant person, he had caused his genius brother to lose his life at that person's hands. Regret? Of course Wang Shi regretted it. But what he felt more was hatred. Yet none of it mattered anymore. The demonic dragon had completely devoured Wang Jie, making him vanish from sight.
"You must die!" Wang Shi roared. But the Heartless Young Master only had a cold smile in his eyes as he stared at Wang Shi. "A pitiful person always has something laughable about them."
Wang Shi slowly turned his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the Heartless Young Master, as if he wanted to vent his anger on him.
"The Nine Heavens Gathering brings together countless monstrous geniuses from all continents to Divine Thunder City. Besides the First Lord of the Nine Heavens, how many geniuses have you, Wang Shi, even heard of, that you dare to be so arrogant? The number one young man of the Pill King Clan in Divine Thunder City—you don't even know who your opponent is, yet you dare to be so arrogant. Do you think of yourself as the First Lord of Divine Thunder?"
The Heartless Young Master's tone was filled with undisguised sarcasm and contempt. He glanced back at Lin Feng, a cold smile on his lips, and continued: "Have you ever considered that if you were in the Azure Night Continent, the person you look down upon with such arrogance might actually be standing higher than you?"
These cold, heartless words struck Wang Shi's heart like a heavy hammer. He, the number one young man of the Pill King Clan. When the Nine Nether Emperor appeared, he thought that was his opponent, the only one worthy of being his opponent. Lin Feng, being together with the Nine Nether Emperor's junior brothers, was just a supporting role. So he paid him no mind. But did he truly understand Lin Feng? Did he know the relationship between Lin Feng and the Nine Nether Emperor?
He knew nothing. He had simply projected his own assumptions, harboring that self-righteous notion, and thus brewed this tragedy. He had used his own brother Wang Jie's life to test the other party's strength. That was all. How foolish, how ignorant.
But it seemed things were not over yet.
When the Nine Nether Emperor's figure descended in the void and came before him, he spoke a single word: "The flame."
This calm voice, landing on Wang Shi's heart at this moment, was so ironic and humiliating. But don't forget, this was something he had agreed to himself. If he lost, he would hand over the Purifying Sin Flame.
Now, he had witnessed a complete defeat with his own eyes. He had witnessed his brother, the young man with the strongest combat talent in the clan, being brutally beaten to death before his eyes. And now, the other party was reaching out to him, demanding the spoils of war—the flame.
What a cruel and heartless voice. But he and the Nine Nether Emperor had made a bet. Did the other party need to consider his feelings? Was the Nine Nether Emperor supposed to sympathize with his grief and anger?
Obviously not. So the Nine Nether Emperor unhesitatingly stepped forward to claim the wager of this battle—the Purifying Sin Flame—stabbing another knife into Wang Shi's wound.
Given what Wang Shi had done to Yao Yao and the others before his arrival, the Nine Nether Emperor would show him no mercy whatsoever.
Wang Shi's mouth twitched, his face twisted into a hideous grimace. The experts of the Pill King Clan beside him all descended to his side, seemingly furious as well. But would the crowd surrounding them care about this anger? The victor is king, the loser a bandit. If they had won, would they have sympathized with Lin Feng, who had lost his life for nothing?
"Since you made the bet, be straightforward about it. Don't add to the joke," Xian Ren said calmly. Since Wang Shi himself had set the wager, he should bear the bitter fruit.
Looking at these faces, Wang Shi raised his palm, and a ball of flame drifted out. The killing intent on his body was still strong. The Nine Nether Emperor sneered, took the drifting flame, and then flashed over to Yao Yao's side, handing the flame to her, saying: "Since your friend is willing to give it to you, you should accept it."
"Hehe." Yao Yao nodded slightly, looking at Lin Feng and saying: "Thank you, Brother Lin Feng."
"Little girl, didn't you just help me win a pill as well?" Lin Feng smiled. The nine dragons were still roaring behind him, looking especially ferocious.
"We should go," Lei Dongtian said calmly. His figure turned into a gust of wind as he appeared beside Lin Feng. Lin Feng nodded slightly. Although the battle had been brief, the Pill King Clan must have very powerful figures who could arrive quickly. In the distance, terrifying auras were already roaring over—clearly the Emperor realm experts who had been driven away earlier, now receiving word and rushing back.
Having survived in the world of martial arts for so many years, Lin Feng had never believed in the so-called rules established during life-and-death battles. What were rules? Strength was the only rule. Otherwise, even if you were killed, it would be for nothing. If I break the rules, what can you do? The person is already dead. What can you do?
Therefore, in everything Lin Feng did, he only considered strength, never so-called rules.
The wind howled furiously, thunder light filled the sky. The two figures instantly vanished in the lightning, shooting into the distance. Lei Dongtian had promised Lin Feng that if he could kill Wang Jie, he would guarantee his safe entry into the four major powers, ensuring Lin Feng's absolute safety. Since he had agreed, and it involved neither life nor death nor personal interest, he would follow through.
"After them!" Wang Shi's twisted face revealed terrifying killing intent as he roared. The crowd chased after them into the distance. Just as Lin Feng had thought, after a life-and-death slaughter, any rules were nothing but empty talk.