Chapter 133: Make Tang Suffer!

Ke Bei’s calm words drifted slowly through the air. Though spoken with nonchalance, they struck the ears of everyone on the Blue Stone Battle Platform like a sudden clap of spring thunder, exploding deep within their minds.

"An S-rank mission? He—he actually dared to accept an S-rank mission!"

On the Blue Stone Battle Platform, those who had made it into the top one hundred of the Azure Dragon Ranking were stunned into silence. Since the founding of the Jiujiang Genius Training Camp, no one had ever dared to take on an S-rank mission. Li Qingfeng hadn't dared, and Mu Duanhun hadn't dared, but Ke Bei had!

Upon hearing Ke Bei’s declaration, not only were the geniuses of the Jiujiang Training Camp shocked, but the old man who had been sitting behind the stone table, seemingly dozing off, suddenly opened his eyes. A sharp, piercing gaze shot out, fixing directly upon Ke Bei.

"Are you sure you want to accept an S-rank mission?"

"I am sure."

A faint smile played on Ke Bei's lips. His tone was level but exceptionally firm. He had already learned enough about the so-called S-rank missions; completing one would grant him one hundred points—ten times more than an A-rank mission! Ke Bei was determined to break into the top three of the Azure Dragon Ranking!

He needed those points!

With Luo Ling by his side, he required more points than ever. Ke Bei felt that wasting time on A-rank missions, which posed no challenge to him, was inefficient. After all, the entire second phase lasted only one month.

In any case, with his current strength, as long as he didn't encounter a God-King realm expert, he had nothing to fear, no matter how many demon beasts he faced!

Thinking of the deep, boundless internal energy of the Nine Yang Divine Art within him, the terrifying power of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, the sharpness of the Six Meridian Divine Sword, and the overbearing nature of the Indestructible Diamond Body, Ke Bei felt that if he weren't qualified to accept an S-rank mission, then who else below the War God realm would be?

"Very well."

The old man took a deep look at Ke Bei and nodded slowly, recording the mission Ke Bei had chosen.

Seeing the task recorded, Ke Bei politely bowed slightly to the old man, then walked to the stone tablet. Holding Luo Ling’s small hand, he began to walk slowly off the Blue Stone Battle Platform.

It was not until Ke Bei and Luo Ling’s figures disappeared from sight that the geniuses of the top one hundred finally gasped in unison. They glanced at one another, then, with various thoughts in mind, shifted their gazes back to the stone tablet to continue selecting their own tasks.

The vast majority were stunned by Ke Bei's actions. However, a small minority waited to see him make a fool of himself. Although Ke Bei was currently tied for first place on the Azure Dragon Ranking alongside Li Qingfeng and Mu Duanhun, this group believed deep down that Ke Bei’s strength couldn't compare to the others. In their eyes, Li Qingfeng and Mu Duanhun had avoided the S-rank missions out of caution, while Ke Bei’s behavior was merely reckless and arrogant.

Ke Bei, holding Luo Ling’s hand, was naturally unaware of their thoughts, and even if he had been, he wouldn't have cared. Now that the mission was chosen, it was time to prepare.

Ke Bei himself needed little preparation, but Luo Ling was different. Her strength was only at the early stage of the Mortal Transcendence realm, and her overall combat ability was still weak. Therefore, obtaining a sturdy suit of defensive armor was essential, as was stocking up on medicine to treat wounds quickly in case of emergency.

Early the next morning, Ke Bei, dressed in a standard-issue silver combat suit, and Luo Ling, clad in black athletic gear, set off side by side toward the Nine-Ring Mountains.

Just as Ke Bei and Luo Ling left the Jiujiang Genius Training Camp, deep within the zombies' headquarters at Heavenly Corpse Mountain, inside a magnificent palace, a youth sat upon a golden throne. He wore loose purple robes, and his brow was slightly furrowed. His purple eyes held a trace of hidden gravity as he gazed at Han Qi, who was kneeling in the hall clad in purple battle armor.

"Is the small golden pagoda truly identical to the Qitian Pagoda?"

"Ancestor, Han Qi is willing to swear a blood oath. My words contain not the slightest exaggeration. That youth truly only possesses the cultivation of the Mortal Transcendence realm. It was only because of that strange purple fire and the small golden pagoda that I could not harm him in the slightest."

The intermediate God-King Han Qi knelt in the hall, looking respectfully at the youth on the throne, speaking every word with care. As he spoke, he reached out his finger, ready to bite it and perform the most terrifying blood oath of the God Race to prove his sincerity.

Even if it sounded absurd—how could an intermediate God-King fail to harm a human youth at the Mortal Transcendence realm?—the facts were the facts. Han Qi truly had no way to deal with Ke Bei.

"That will not be necessary."

The youth in the purple robes looked at Han Qi indifferently. The wrinkles on his brow smoothed out, and his face returned to a calm, expressionless state. He waved his hand slowly at the kneeling Han Qi.

"You may withdraw."

"As you command, Ancestor."

Han Qi bowed his head and retreated slowly from the golden hall. As he exited, the hall fell into silence. The youth on the throne tapped his fingers rhythmically against the armrest, a cold sneer forming at the corners of his mouth.

"Tang, you are still as cunning as you were all those years ago. This 'secretly crossing the Chencang' tactic was well played. Hahaha... but alas, man proposes and heaven disposes. I doubt even you imagined that the little brat would stumble into my Crystal Cage by pure chance..."

"You humans are truly blessed with good fortune. You took the divine artifact last time; this Qitian Pagoda must never fall into human hands again!"

The youth on the throne stared distractedly at the golden ceiling of the hall, whispering to himself.

"Since we are playing, let’s play for high stakes!"

The youth in purple robes stood up abruptly. A brilliant purple light flashed deep within his purple eyes, and in an instant, his divine sense shot toward the depths of Heavenly Corpse Mountain.

"Hmph, let's start with a little appetizer!"

A cold sneer appeared on the youth's face. The God Race had been fighting humans for nearly a hundred years, and he understood them well. He knew that this was the time when the young geniuses from the three major human bases were out for field training.

"Intercept and kill the human geniuses!"

"I will make Gu Tang suffer!"

A flicker of murderous intent crossed the youth's eyes, and his pale hands, hidden within the purple sleeves, clenched slowly. As the youth sent out his divine commands, hundreds of God-King realm experts roared out from the depths of Heavenly Corpse Mountain. These God-King experts transformed into streaks of lightning, darting toward zombie strongholds within human-controlled territory.

The message the youth, the Ancestor of the God Race, had sent was for them to lie in wait at the strongholds within human territory and wait for the human geniuses to appear!

Once a human genius was spotted, they were to kill them on sight!

Those who received the order were all lower-stage God-King experts of the God Race. It was not that the Ancestor did not want to send more powerful beings, but because it was within human-controlled territory!

The Ancestor knew exactly how powerful Gu Tang was. With his current methods, even if he used all his strength, he could only barely disguise the aura of a lower-stage God-King as that of a high-ranking God Race member—and that was only if he were willing to exhaust his own life force!

If an intermediate or high-stage God-King were to step into human territory, they would likely be detected by Gu Tang or another human being who had transcended the War God realm.

If that happened, a full-scale racial war would likely erupt once more!

Although the God Race and the demon beasts possessed combined strength far exceeding that of humanity, they dared not easily provoke such a war, because humanity had three beings who had transcended the War God realm!

Only a being like the Ancestor knew how terrifying those who transcended the War God realm could be once they were enraged! Even if the demon beasts and zombies succeeded in wiping out the human race, they would pay a price they could not afford!

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, the Ancestor of the God Race did not want to trigger a war between the races! His act of sending people to hunt the geniuses of the three major cities was merely a smokescreen; his true goal was to kill Ke Bei!

He could not allow the human who had been recognized by the Qitian Pagoda to grow, or the current advantage held by the demon beasts and the God Race would vanish entirely!

If Ke Bei, having been recognized by the Qitian Pagoda, were to become humanity's fourth being to transcend the War God realm, the demon beasts and the God Race would face an absolute catastrophe!

"Hmph, Gu Tang, I want to see if you have the guts to wage war against my race again for the sake of a dead genius!"

The youth in the purple robes wore a faint, evil smile. If Ke Bei were not killed, humanity would likely be willing to risk a total war against the God Race and the demon beasts to protect this little one who had been recognized by a divine artifact and might even transcend the War God realm!

But what if Ke Bei were already dead? No matter how heaven-defying his talent, once dead, he was nothing! Would the typically cunning humans still be willing to risk extinction just to fight a war for a dead genius?

The youth watched his clansmen darting rapidly toward human territory, a confident smile on his lips. A brilliant purple light flashed in his eyes again, and he sent another message into the depths of Heavenly Corpse Mountain. Moments later, a peak God-King realm expert with purple armor and a hideous scar across his face raced over. In the blink of an eye, this burly figure appeared before the youth.

"Ancestor."

The peak God-King, standing over three meters tall and possessing an immensely powerful physique, bowed respectfully to the youth in purple robes.

"Ba Ye, go to the human territory and kill this person!"

The youth in purple robes slowly extended a pale finger and tapped it on the center of the brow of the peak God-King named Ba Ye.

Instantly, Ke Bei’s image and aura were branded deep into Ba Ye’s mind.

The youth then retracted his finger. As he did so, a look of gravity crossed his face. He drew a slow breath, and several purple energy clusters emerged from his pale palm. Looking closely, one could see silver lightning dancing frantically within the purple energy.

Boom!

When the silver lightning within the purple energy danced to its limit, as if about to burst forth, the youth slammed his palm onto the top of Ba Ye’s head.

As his palm made contact, the aura radiating from Ba Ye rapidly diminished, dropping from the peak God-King realm down to the peak of the high-ranking God Race!

"You... go."

Beads of sweat broke out on the youth's forehead, his voice growing weak as he waved his hand at Ba Ye.