Chapter 48 (048) - Two-in-One [VIP]

As soon as the man in black appeared, Yue Ling and Zi Zhuo immediately charged forward. The black cat, not to be outdone, was even faster than Yue Ling and Zi Zhuo as a transformed magical beast.

Yin Chu Jiu followed him up. He stepped on the wall next to him twice, and soon he was on the roof.

Four people stood on the rooftop, facing the man in black. The man in black held a large bow and his face was covered with a black cloth, making it impossible to see his appearance.

"Kill him!" Yue Ling said coldly almost as soon as he reached the rooftop, his words filled with boundless rage. After his body tempering, the energy released by the Heavenly Pearl within him had reached the ninth level of the Earthly Pearl. With a little more effort, he could reach the Heavenly Pearl level and become one of the top beings on this continent.

However, at this moment, the person he cared about, who was a future top figure, was actually attacked by someone whose face he did not know, which touched his sore spot.

Zi Zhuo and the black cat were also extremely annoyed with that person, and without waiting for Yue Ling's orders, they rushed forward on their own. The man in black reacted quickly as well, and in an instant, the three figures were locked in battle.

This attack only fueled Zi Zhuo's anger. Despite the fact that this man in black only dared to ambush people, he was actually quite strong, being a fifth-level Earth Bead expert.

Zi Zhuo and the black cat started fighting, and the aggrieved Yin Chu Jiu was about to join the battle. But just as he was about to act, he immediately turned around, unleashed a burst of energy from his hand, and hurled it fiercely behind him. In mid-air, the energy collided with a rapidly approaching arrow and exploded.

There was more than one man in black.

While Yin Chu Jiu was still in shock, a figure flashed past him. The next moment, Yue Ling was engaged in battle with that person. Enraged, the protagonist seemed to want to crush the person with every strike. A layer of black, billowing mist swirled around him, and with each of his attacks, the mist adhered to the person's body.

A green mist also emanated from that person, and under Yue Ling's black mist, the mist went from being evenly matched to being at a disadvantage.

As Yue Ling attacked, she felt the energy emanating from the black mist. Her cells absorbed the energy, sending waves of satisfying pleasure through her body.

In his rage, Yue Ling finally unleashed his innate power.

In the Phantom Demon Continent, energy levels are divided into three types and twelve ranks, but each type of energy contains different attributes. Some people possess fire, some possess wind, and the power of each attribute is also different.

For example, Zi Zhuo's energy is of the 'medicine' attribute, containing toxicity, while Hei Mao's energy is deceptive; her energy mist will cause those who fall into it to hallucinate.

Before reaching the fifth tier of Earth Beads, their attributes will not be displayed. After reaching the fifth tier, the attributes will be displayed based on the user's attacks, or they may not be displayed at all.

Yue Ling had been unable to cultivate before, so naturally he wouldn't awaken his attributes. He did have two outbursts because of Yin Chu Jiu, but those outbursts were short-lived, and after they ended, his own consciousness wasn't very clear, so naturally he didn't have time to figure out his energy attributes.

But this time was different. His body's capacity had increased, the seal on the Heavenly Pearl had been broken, and without harming the foundation of his body, his level had directly increased to the maximum limit that his body could accommodate—the ninth level of the Earthly Pearl.

A ninth-tier Earth Bead already makes one a renowned powerhouse on this continent. And at this level, Yue Ling's energy attribute also manifests—devouring.

Yes, it's about devouring. He can absorb the energy from others through the mist and use it for his own purposes. This group of men in black seemed to have decent combat strength, but under Yue Ling's devouring power, the stronger Yue Ling became, the weaker they became. Before long, their combat strength decreased, while Yue Ling grew stronger and stronger.

Yin Chu Jiu stared blankly for a moment, his heart pounding like a drum. The blood in his body seemed to boil as Yue Ling grew stronger. This was his protagonist, the protagonist he had always hoped for, the one who would become powerful later.

In the future, he will become even stronger, becoming the strongest being on this continent. He will become a Great Sage, living freely on this continent.

Perhaps... someone will still be by his side.

A hint of sadness flashed in Yin Chu Jiu's eyes, but the next moment, he gathered his energy and rushed towards the battle circle to help Yue Ling fight.

Although Yue Ling had become stronger, his body still couldn't withstand such strong energy, so he ended it as quickly as possible.

However, just as Yin Chu Jiu rushed over, he was stopped by Yue Ling. The boy pushed him towards safety, and before that, he gently kissed his forehead, saying, "Don't come, I'm here."

After saying that, the boy turned around and fought with the man in black again, while Yin Chu Jiu was pushed to a safe area, away from the battle.

The man in black was a fifth-level Earth Bead expert, while Yue Ling was a ninth-level Earth Bead expert. Before long, the man in black was about to lose. He looked like he wanted to escape, but how could Yue Ling let him escape? His attacks became more and more fierce, and he kept the man in black under pressure.

Yin Chu Jiu couldn't see how bad the man in black was; his eyes were only on Yue Ling.

I don't know when it started, but Yue Ling began to prefer wearing black clothes and no longer liked wearing white. But it's obvious that black suits him better than white.

He wore a long black robe, which billowed with his movements during the battle, making him appear like a demon emerging from hell in the darkness, exuding a terrifying aura.

However, Yin Chu Jiu was not afraid of his terrifying aura. The Yue Ling in front of him gradually overlapped with the Yue Ling who had come to the Gong family to save him a few months ago.

Back then, Yue Ling wore white, his handsome face still youthful. Now, he wears black, his handsome face more mature, but the only thing that remains unchanged is…

...His eyes, his eyes were always on him.

The feelings in his eyes have never changed; they have only become deeper, clearer, and more intense.

There were two men in black who launched the sneak attack. Yue Ling fought one of them, while Zi Zhuo and Black Cat fought the other. All three of them were quite strong, and it wasn't long before the two men were captured.

Both men were beaten half to death and tied up. The three of them didn't want to waste any more time, so they found a spot on the roof and began the interrogation.

But before they could interrogate them, the two men in black suddenly foamed at the mouth, convulsed, and collapsed, dying shortly afterward. Zi Zhuo ripped the black cloth off their faces, pried open their mouths to examine them, and her expression immediately darkened.

They had poison in their mouths and committed suicide.

"Yue Ling, what do you suggest we do with these two corpses?" Zi Zhuo asked Yue Ling.

Yue Ling's face was gloomy and his eyes were somber. He stared at the two men in black who dared to offend Yin Chu Jiu, his aura surging around him.

Under Zi Zhuo's questioning gaze, he hugged Yin Chu Jiu, turned his head towards the direction of the lanterns hanging in the city, then stretched out his hand, black mist rolling in his hand, and then pounced on the two corpses. After a long time, the black mist returned from the two corpses, and the two corpses immediately turned into two mummies.

No one can escape unscathed after hurting Yin Chu Jiu.

Yin Chu Jiu's head was turned away by Yue Ling, but he could guess what Yue Ling was doing behind him. However, he still didn't see what the two looked like at the end. He only glanced back when Yue Ling jumped off the roof with him in his arms and saw two withered bodies.

The appearance of the man in black completely ruined the atmosphere of the evening. On the way back, Zi Zhuo kept fanning herself to calm down, her face flushed with anger. The black cat was also angry and kept stuffing food into its mouth.

Yin Chu Jiu turned her gaze away from the two of them. They both looked angry, but it was good that they weren't injured. Of course, the most important thing was that Yue Ling wasn't hurt either.

Zi Zhuo just checked Yue Ling's body and found that there was no damage. It seems that the body tempering he has been doing these past few days has been very effective.

“Just now, I saw a mark on the side of the necks of those two men in black.” Suddenly, Zi Zhuo stopped, turned around and said. Before Yin Chu Jiu and the others could ask any questions, he continued, “It looked like a scorpion rune, black in color.”

Black runes?

Scorpion?

Yue Ling noticed a slight change in Yin Chu Jiu's emotions in an instant. He pulled the person next to him closer, his dark eyes fixed on Yin Chu Jiu's eyes, but asked in a gentle tone, "What's wrong?"

Yue Ling's question seemed to wake Yin Chu Jiu from his daze. He blinked in surprise, looked back at Yue Ling's beautiful eyes, and said uncertainly, "That seems to be someone from a faction that will dislike you in the future."

After Yue Ling obtained the opportunity to break the seal on the Heavenly Pearl within him, he stirred up a great storm on the continent. All those who had wronged him, hurt him, or let him down were all taken revenge on by him.

In severe cases, an entire town could be ravaged by bloodshed; in milder cases, a small family could be wiped out. In addition, many people were deliberately targeted for revenge.

Yue Ling took revenge on each person according to the scores he had recorded in his mind. Some were skinned and had their limbs cut off, some were bled out, some had their dantian shattered and became ordinary people who could no longer cultivate, while others had their entire clan killed.

All of this happened within a single month.

During that month, the Illusionary Demon Continent was devastated, and blood was everywhere. The only good thing was that Yue Ling did not harm ordinary people or those who were unrelated to him.

He killed people who had some degree of enmity with him.

Even so, his actions were met with disapproval from some moralists who felt he was a great demon, an unparalleled demon, and that if he wasn't eliminated, the entire continent might be crushed under his weight, and the people would suffer.

So many people gathered to "punish" Yue Ling, to make him pay the price and make him disappear from this continent. However, Yue Ling had endured so much suffering and humiliation to get to where he was today, how could he let his life be taken away so easily?

So he fought back, unleashing a burst of energy within him, and none of them were a match for him. Although he wasn't yet very skilled at wielding those powers, he still managed to drive them back.

Then he realized that he was being targeted because he was alone on this continent, and that he couldn't survive alone.

He barely survived, so why should he die for these irrelevant people?

Thus, the protagonist, whose values ​​had been completely warped, began his journey of recruiting followers. The first was a magical black cat that he subdued by feeding it a piece of meat. The second was Zi Zhuo, who was famous for his use of poison and was known as the Ghost Doctor. The third was Mo Ling, the Black Knife.

The three of them are the protagonist's biggest assistants. Ghost Doctor Zi Zhuo and Black Knife Mo Ling eventually become his right and left hands, while Black Cat, due to her special race and her love for Yue Ling, has another identity in Lingyue Palace, which is equivalent to an invisible harem set up for the protagonist.

Although he wouldn't be interested in it given the protagonist's personality, in the leveling-up genre, while there are single-male-protagonist novels, a female character is often added for the sake of the readers—to make it more interesting. Black Cat is such an example.

The Scorpion Palace was a force that emerged when Yue Ling established the Lingyue Palace. Although it appeared to be on par with the Lingyue Palace, it was actually no match for it. The top forces within the palace were no match for Yue Ling, who later became a Great Sage, and the other forces within the palace were also inferior to the Lingyue Palace.

Most of the people in Lingyue Palace are victims of persecution; they are all resolute and possess various abilities. In short, Scorpion Palace cannot defeat Lingyue Palace.

However, the Scorpion Palace is a force that will appear later. Right now, Yue Ling has not only not established the Lingyue Palace, but he has not even obtained the opportunity of the Moon Forest. Why would the Scorpion Palace appear at this time?

Not only did they appear, they also began to take action.

After returning to the inn, Yin Chu Jiu told Yue Ling and the others about the 'prophecy' he knew. He only mentioned the existence of the Scorpion Palace, but did not say that the Scorpion Palace had appeared ahead of schedule.

He didn't understand the problem, and if he explained it, Yue Ling and the others would be even less clear about it. More importantly, he had a gut feeling that this might be related to Zi Zhuo's unusual appearance.

He didn't know when it started, or rather, from the moment he transmigrated, but the way this world operated was different from the plot of his novel.

He hadn't noticed it before, but after Zi Zhuo appeared, he realized the difference.

Upon hearing this, Yue Ling's handsome face remained unchanged. He simply held Yin Chu Jiu's hand gently, his eyes softening. Perhaps due to his intense anger, he had learned to conceal that emotion deep within his eyes.

Zi Zhuo seemed even angrier than Yue Ling. He frowned, puzzled. "Yue Ling hasn't been anywhere else since he left Yundu City. How could these people attack him for no reason?"

Zi Zhuo felt nothing but disgust towards that Scorpion Palace, a deep, inexplicable aversion.

Yue Ling casually raised his eyelids, revealing his handsome eyes. He stared fixedly at the void, as if looking at something, yet also as if looking at nothing; his eyes were devoid of any emotion.

"So what? It's not the first time."

So... there's no need to make a fuss.

Did anyone who bullied him ever give a reason? It's one thing if it was the people in Juanyun Alley, but what about the others?

He's just a monster.

So what if Scorpio is dealing with him now? What if there's a reason, or no reason?

In short, they wanted to kill him, and that was enough.

Yin Chu Jiu's heart tightened as he felt Yue Ling's soft, cool hand playing with his fingers. He felt a slight pain spreading from there, eventually engulfing his entire heart.

Yue Ling seemed indifferent, but that didn't mean he truly didn't care. He had simply seen too much, so indifference was the only option.

Sometimes, getting to the bottom of things won't harm others; in fact, knowing the truth might only cause pain to yourself.

He could only remain indifferent...

He had only said that Scorpion Palace was Yue Ling's opponent, but he hadn't explained why Scorpion Palace would attack him. However, Yue Ling and Zi Zhuo already believed in his prophetic abilities, so they didn't ask any further questions.

He knew the reason, but he couldn't say it, nor did he dare to. He couldn't face Yue Ling's attitude towards him after she knew the truth; he was a coward.

"By the way, Chu Jiu, we owe you a lot for this." Zi Zhuo said to Yin Chu Jiu with a smile, "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have known who attacked us. Now that we know who it was, we know how to avoid them and how to defend ourselves."

After saying that, he looked at Yue Ling with envy and said, "Yue Ling, you're so lucky to have gotten such a treasure."

Upon hearing this, Yue Ling's handsome face broke into a rare smile. He turned his head to look at the boy beside him, his eyes filled with tenderness. "Mm."

All his hardships were rewarded with Yin Chu Jiu; he was truly lucky.

No, that's not it.

Facing Yue Ling's gentle gaze, Yin Chu Jiu felt an unbearable pain in his heart, and an overwhelming sense of guilt made it hard for him to breathe.

He wasn't Yue Ling's lucky star, but rather his nemesis. If it weren't for him, Yue Ling wouldn't be in this situation.

He may not cultivate, and he may not become the so-called number one on the continent, but he will be an ordinary person with a normal life.

Yin Chu Jiu was lost in deep remorse, unable to respond to Yue Ling's words, nor did he know how to respond. After an unknown amount of time, when he finally emerged from that emotional state, he heard Zi Zhuo say these words to Yue Ling.

"So, according to you, we should also form a force and wipe out that Scorpion Palace in one fell swoop?"

"Um."

During the time he was distracted, the two of them had already discussed how to deal with Scorpio.

"What about those family members and relatives of the Scorpion Palace? What will happen to them?" Zi Zhuo asked. "They shouldn't have been involved in the attack on us."

Yue Ling lowered his eyes slightly and said calmly, "Kill them all."

"Kill them all?"

"Um."

Kill them all?

Upon hearing those three words, Yin Chu Jiu couldn't help but grab Yue Ling's hand. Yue Ling turned his head, staring intently at him, and said softly, "What's wrong? Are you still scared?"

No, he wasn't afraid; he was thinking about something else. Yin Chu Jiu shook her head, thought for a while, and then spoke, saying, "Yue Ling, those people's relatives and family members haven't persecuted you. Can you let them go?"

The people who persecuted Yue Ling were from the Scorpion Palace. They did not persecute him; they are innocent. If they are not involved in this matter, then let them go.

Yin Chu Jiu did not want Yue Ling to become a bloodthirsty person. He would take revenge, but those he would take revenge on were the people who had persecuted him.

He is indeed dark and morally questionable, but he has his bottom line and is not the kind of person who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals; those people are innocent.

From a certain perspective, Yue Ling is a very gentle and kind person.

However, facing Yin Chu Jiu's expectant gaze, Yue Ling raised his hand and gently touched his head, his gentleness carrying a chilling undertone, "But they also hurt you, who had nothing to do with this."

"They" refers to the two people who shot arrows at Yin Chu Jiu.

One by one, whether it was the Gong family or the Scorpion Palace, they all wanted to hurt the person most important to him.

Since they dared to take such action, they should pay the price.

He wanted to be a good person, but those people wouldn't let him be.

Holding Yin Chu Jiu in his arms, Yue Ling sighed softly: I'm sorry, I also want to be a good person, but if I become a good person, I won't be able to hold you anymore.

That night, Yue Ling and Zi Zhuo discussed many things about how to build up their forces and deal with the Scorpion Palace. However, Yin Chu Jiu couldn't sleep that night; the only one who slept was the black cat. The black cat didn't have to worry about anything, its simple-mindedness was enviable.

Actually, there was another reason why Yin Chu Jiu didn't want Yue Ling to kill those relatives and family members of the Scorpion Palace: she was trying to redeem herself from more of her sins and to prevent Yue Ling from killing innocent people for someone like her.

He was trapped in a vicious cycle, a cycle from which he didn't know how to extricate himself.

At first, when he came into this world, all he saw was the protagonist who was being blamed so much, and all he thought about was how to repay the protagonist, Yue Ling. Later, he realized that Yue Ling wasn't the only one in this world who was being blamed because of his storyline; the cannon fodder in those storylines were also innocent people.

So, he decided not to follow the plot, but to protect Yue Ling and also to keep those so-called cannon fodder from provoking the protagonist, so that they could live peacefully.

When the time is right, they will take Yue Ling to find the opportunity. In this way, Yue Ling can succeed, and those cannon fodder who serve the plot can also live smoothly.

He had lived by this belief for many years and his life had been going relatively smoothly. The people from Juanyun Lane were not on Yue Ling's death list because their scores with Yue Ling did not warrant death.

Only Ling Zhi and Gong Yunxi appeared along the way, and no matter how he tried to avoid them, those two still managed to provoke Yue Ling.

The plot cannot be changed.

Yin Chu Jiu was acutely aware of this fact, and at that time, he was not without his gloom. Gong Yunxi and Ling Zhi were retaliated against because they had offended the protagonist, but those unrelated relatives of the Scorpion Palace were not.

He couldn't change the plot; he just wanted to prevent so many people from dying.

This is not fiction, but a real world.

He has already committed grave sins, and he does not want to commit any more.

He... was just an ordinary person, an ordinary person who had never seen or killed anyone, yet now many people have died because of him.

And he couldn't tell anyone these things.

And so, Yin Chu Jiu touched the storage ring in her pocket that she could never give away, closed her eyes, and wondered how Yue Ling could be worth killing so many innocent people for him, how Yue Ling could be worth abandoning his own bottom line.

It's not worth it.

Especially since Scorpion Palace might have been created early as cannon fodder to make the protagonist stronger, and Scorpion Palace has already become cannon fodder, he doesn't want those innocent relatives to be implicated.

Author's Note:

Two-in-one~

Thank you to the little angel who watered my plants with nutrient solution!

20 bottles of Zhiyouxi, a cute little thing; 10 bottles of Qianmo; 2 bottles of Xin Gan Chang Geng; 1 bottle of Xiang Chi Mao De Yu;

Thank you so much for your support, I will continue to work hard!