Chapter 1064: Zhao Yi Returns

Author: Sānjiǔ YīnyùWord Count: 1266

This voice...Chen Ling was slightly taken aback.

The five senses are interconnected. When a person sees an extremely familiar image, a sound might unconsciously echo in their mind; when a traveler far from home tastes a familiar dish, they instinctively recall their mother's face.

The moment Chen Ling heard this familiar voice, he felt as if he were back at the entrance of that small, dilapidated house on Frost Street in District Three.

"Uncle Zhao, Xiao Yi is in love... with a man.""Chen Ling... I did it. I avenged my father. Thirteen full stabs... I returned every single one!""Zhao Yi, nineteen years old, a survivor from District Three. Attacked by a calamity from the Forbidden Sea during his escape to Aurora City, leaving a fatal wound. Less than a week left to live.""Why... why?! Why did I survive in the end, but they died? They barely escaped District Three with their lives! They had finally started a new life! What did they do wrong?!""Brother Xiao Yi, the red-hot coal is so beautiful, like roses...""...Who in this city sells coal?!""...Zhao Yi is innocent."

Silver banknotes fluttered everywhere in the cold wind, and Chen Ling felt as if he were once again on the streets of Aurora City... He saw a monster covered in curses standing alone amidst the flesh and blood, stumbling, eyes hollow, like an avenger who had lost everything.

“This is...” Chen Ling murmured to himself.

Boom—!!!

An all-freezing cold wave surged from beyond the swarming puppets.

As Zhao Yi's cry rang out, a colossal skeletal direwolf directly shattered two puppets and sped towards Chen Ling. On the direwolf's head, a figure cloaked entirely in a wanderer's robe had eyes that gleamed with sharp light!

He slowly rose from a crouch, pulled back his hood, and as his lips curled slightly, mysterious black curses appeared on the surface of his skin.

“How about it? I arrived just in time, didn’t I?” Zhao Yi lifted his chin, full of spirit.

“...Zhao Yi?”

Chen Ling looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar figure, feeling as if an eternity had passed. During his time in Aurora City, Zhao Yi had been dependent on others, cautious and timid. Even though youthful vigor was still etched into his bones, he was mostly resigned to compromising with reality.

But the Zhao Yi before him had completely shed that desolate gloom, as if he had been reborn.

Seeing him now atop the skeletal direwolf, Chen Ling was reminded of "Salt-Bae" Zhao Yi from their earliest days in District Three, that young "bully" of Frost Street.

“That Fusionist who broke into the city, was that you??”

Seeing the skeletal direwolf beneath Zhao Yi and recalling the commotion when the Fusionists entered the city, Chen Ling seemed to guess something and spoke with surprise.

Zhao Yi chuckled, “Of course it was me. So, how about it? Weren't we cool just now?”

Chen Ling was speechless.

As Zhao Yi made his forceful entrance, a gap was forcibly torn open among the many puppets. Chen Ling caught sight of this out of the corner of his eye and immediately said:

“We can catch up later. First, I need to deal with this guy... What rank are you now?”

“Uh...” Zhao Yi glanced at the dense multitude of Rank Six puppets surrounding them, scratching his head awkwardly. “Well, Fusionists aren't categorized by rank... Of course, I'm not saying I'm weak, though... Anyway, if Old Wolf were to be ranked by combat power, he'd be considered a top-tier Rank Seven. Tell us what you want to do, and we can help.”

Zhao Yi directly avoided the question of his own strength, pointing to the skeletal direwolf beneath him. The latter, hearing this unconfident statement, silently rolled its eyes.

“Here, clear a path for me.”

Chen Ling raised his hand, pointing in a certain direction.

“Old Wolf! Go!”

With Zhao Yi on its back, the skeletal direwolf's Calamity Domain opened in the void. The next moment, its body visibly compressed into the depths of space, like a slingshot being drawn back, then it launched forth, carrying terrifying oppressive power!

Boom—!!

The skeletal direwolf instantly pierced through the battlefield, knocking three puppets flying within half a second, clearing a long, empty path for Chen Ling!

Seeing this, Chen Ling's figure once again broke through the encirclement, stepping towards the "boxes" floating in the air. With every step he took, a puppet was unveiled, and within mere seconds, more than fifty of the Seventy-Two Earth Fiends had been freed.

Witnessing this, Tian Huai seemed to dimly guess something, his brows furrowing tightly.

Could it be that he was...How could this be possible? How did he know?

Tian Huai knew he couldn't let Chen Ling continue like this. When only about twenty "boxes" remained unopened, he raised his hand again, and an eerie black long box outlined itself directly above him.

Unlike the Seventy-Two Earth Fiends being released before them, the moment this mysterious black long box appeared, a Rank Eight aura swept across the battlefield, so oppressive that everyone struggled to breathe.

“Weren't there only seventy-two in total? How can there be more?” Cui Ran watched the black long box, his heart pounding wildly under the oppressive feeling.

“There are seventy-two Earth Fiends in total, but besides those, there are also thirty-six Heavenly Stars,” Huai Mang slowly began. “Each Heavenly Star has Rank Eight combat power, but during a fight, my brother can usually only control one at a time...”

“...Are you saying that to defeat your brother, besides dealing with the seventy-two Earth Fiends, we also have to fight thirty-six Rank Eight Heavenly Stars one-on-one, in a continuous battle?”

“Normally, yes...”

“Your brother is a monster!!”

“But now, it seems there aren't thirty-six Heavenly Stars left...” Huai Mang murmured, looking at the faint, flickering shadows around the black long box. “Before my brother came here, someone already shattered thirty-two of his Heavenly Stars? Is that true...?”

The moment the Heavenly Star appeared, Chen Ling knew Tian Huai wasn't going to drag this out any longer. His gaze swept over the remaining twenty-odd "boxes," and with a thought, he stopped in place.

“Seeking death,” Tian Huai stated flatly.

The next moment, an afterimage shot out from the black long box, charging directly towards Chen Ling!

The instant it charged out, Chen Ling moved.

He sprinted in a single stride to one of the outermost Earth Fiend boxes. A revolver materialized in his hand, its dark muzzle pointed directly at the surface of the box's lid.

“...Got you.”

Chen Ling pulled the trigger hard!

Bang—!!

A brass bullet, carrying Tian Huai's "yesterday," instantly pierced the "box's" lid and shot inside. The figure lying within the "box" trembled slightly.

The Heavenly Star puppet, which had already flown above Chen Ling's head and was about to sever it in an instant, abruptly froze mid-air...