Realm Walker

Guan Ya, cradling the rifle in her arms, keenly noticed the shift in Ling Jun's expression. This guy is truly furious.

The Flowery Young Master of the Four Young Masters had always been the type to dote on women. In his youth, he had read Dream of the Red Chamber and promptly enshrined its protagonist, that notorious playboy Jia Baoyu, as his personal idol, swearing to become a man just like him.

He even mimicked Jia Baoyu's manner of speaking, adopting the famous line, "Women are made of water, men are made of mud," as his personal catchphrase.

It didn't stop there. As a young boy, he had accompanied his grandfather, one of the Hundred Flowers Society Elders, on a visit to the Fu family estate. The moment he laid eyes on the teenage Guan Ya, he clasped his hands in delight and exclaimed, "My dear Sister Lin has arrived!"

Guan Ya knocked out his front tooth.

So she's Rong Mama after all, Ling Jun thought, reining himself in just in time. He abandoned his pursuit of that particular beauty and, upon meeting another young woman from the Fu family, lit up again, saying, "Ah, so my beloved Sister Bao was here all along!"

His other front tooth got knocked out too.[1]

From that day forward, Ling Jun held a lifelong grudge against every woman in the Fu family.

In any case, in the eyes of this self-proclaimed, modern-day Jia Baoyu, Chi Yue'an's laundry list of atrocities had violated every principle he held dear and crossed every line imaginable.

While Ling Jun's trio seethed over Chi Yue'an's crimes, Kou Beiyue lay on the ground, drifting between consciousness and blackout. Only one thought echoed through his mind: This guy is Yuanshi Tianzun?

He wasn't Yuan Ting. He was Yuanshi Tianzun. The Yuanshi Tianzun who had killed Li Xianzong. The comet that blazed across Songhai Branch's sky, that rapidly ascending genius. So, the official Walker that Xiao Yuan had befriended was him all along.

Kou Beiyue was stunned, yet it made perfect sense. Xiao Yuan's standards were impossibly high. A mild-mannered but mediocre person might earn her goodwill, but would never become a true friend.

Wait. Wasn't he bragging about Yuanshi Tianzun earlier? No wonder he kept boasting about the guy. How could Xiao Yuan possibly be friends with someone so shamelessly thick-skinned...

Fragmented, chaotic thoughts flickered through his mind, but idle musing was all he could manage. Chi Yue'an's blow had damaged his internal organs, and he was probably hemorrhaging internally. An Enchanting Demon's body wouldn't give out easily, but it lacked the absurd self-healing that a Nocturnal Specter possessed.

Facing accusation after accusation, Chi Yue'an stood tall and defiant, sneering coldly. "Yuanshi Tianzun, you aren't even a steward yet. Do you know the penalty for framing a steward? Don't think your puny A-rank Merit gives you the right to do whatever you please. Ordinary Walkers may fawn over you, but not everyone will. That pittance of merit means nothing in the eyes of those with real depth and standing."

Zhang Yuanqing spat a mouthful of bloody foam and returned a cold glare. "At the very least, that A-rank Merit works wonders against a coward like you.

His gaze drifted to Master Wu, slumped unconscious against the wall. "Ling Jun, that man over there is Chi Yue'an's puppet. He has evidence of bribes paid to officials at every level."

Ling Jun nodded grimly and strode toward the crime boss. "On it."

Chi Yue'an's eyes narrowed, and a dark crimson glow spread across the surface of his pristine white suit. His thin red glove radiated a heat that warped the air around it as flames threatened to erupt at any moment.

Just as the two seemed about to clash, a stampede of hurried footsteps echoed from outside the hall. Ling Jun halted and turned to look, and the crimson glow on Chi Yue'an's body receded along with the searing heat from his gloves.

The three members of Squad Two looked over at the source of the sound. A swarm of uniformed security officers in full tactical gear poured in through the wide open doors of the hall, carrying riot shields and firearms.

The only man without a shield stood in the middle, surrounded by his officers. He was middle-aged and slightly overweight, with the flesh on his cheeks sagging faintly, though his sturdy frame suggested he had been an imposing man in his youth.

"Everyone, hands on your heads, and get down on the ground!" the middle aged man barked.

Chi Yue'an blinked at the sight of the armed officers. He had expected his own Walker squads to arrive first. After receiving the alert, he had sent messages to his squad captains before rushing over himself. By his estimate, they should have arrived by now. Instead, his colleagues from Shakou District's Public Security Bureau had beaten them here.

"Bureau Chief Lu, what brings you here?" Chi Yue'an asked, his tone measured.

Zhang Yuanqing's eyebrow rose. Bureau Chief Lu? The deputy chief who ordered Kong Liangping to fabricate evidence and shield Chi Yue'an?

On the ground, the badly-wounded Kou Beiyue's breathing quickened.

Bureau Chief Lu, decked in a bulletproof vest and helmet, wore a severe expression. "I received a civilian report that criminals had forced their way into a private residence and were committing murder."

Chi Yue'an gave a slight nod and pointed at Ling Jun's group. "That's them! These people appeared out of nowhere. They've been killing indiscriminately and are extremely dangerous. Bureau Chief Lu, do be careful."

The Bureau Chief caught the hint. Maintaining his authoritative posture, he bellowed, "You four! Hands on your heads, get down on the ground! First warning!"

Then, with virtually no pause, leaving zero room to comply, he barked, "Second warning! Third warning! Open fire!"

The surrounding officers turned a blind eye to their superior's blatantly illegal orders. They obeyed without question, raising their muzzles in unison. Over a dozen officers opened fire simultaneously, pouring a hail of bullets toward the four of them.

Zhang Yuanqing's heart lurched. A barrage this dense could genuinely be a threat to him. Even worse, Chi Yue'an and Shakou District's Bureau Chief were clearly in bed together. The crooked steward was using ordinary officers as tools to manufacture a crisis and create an excuse.

Killing security officers would change the nature of the situation entirely, and cost Morality points on top of it.

The floor tiles beneath Ling Jun's feet split apart with a large crack, and a vine dotted with green leaves burst from the earth and coiled itself into a circular shield three meters across.

Bang, bang, bang!

Every bullet slammed into the hardened wooden shield, either ricocheting off or embedding itself in the dense fibers.

Ling Jun snapped his fingers. At the sound, the floor tiles beneath the officers fractured and split. Gnarled vines, thick as tree roots, erupted from the ground and grew at a wild, impossible pace.

The fully armed officers toppled like dominoes, unable to keep their footing. Arm-thick vines lashed and struck at them, the sharp cracks of impacts echoing endlessly through the hall. In the span of a few heartbeats, every officer had been whipped to the ground and left groaning.

Bureau Chief Lu stumbled backward, then froze as a searing pain pierced his back. He looked down in horror to see a vine protruding from his lower abdomen, slick with blood. He screamed in agony.

The other officers fared no better. Bones were snapped, tendons were torn, and the pain was so intense that some couldn't even manage to scream.

Chi Yue'an, who had been watching from the sidelines, raised an eyebrow and let out a mocking laugh. "You dare attack the Bureau Chief? You dare attack security officers? Young man, impulsiveness comes at a price."

"Officers, Bureau Chief, I don't care who. When I'm in a bad mood, anyone who makes noise gets slaughtered." All traces of Ling Jun's usual easy smile had vanished, replaced by something cold and dangerous.

He walked steadily toward Chi Yue'an, his voice cold and flat. "Chi Yue'an, I've met plenty crueler and more vicious than you. But very few of them have actually managed to make me angry."

As he spoke, Ling Jun's body swelled violently, tearing his loose T-shirt apart. Dense fur, patterned in alternating black and tawny stripes, sprouted across his exposed arms and face. His palms widened and thickened, jet black claws extending from the tips of his fingers. His flip flops burst apart as both feet transformed into the hind paws of a tiger.

His nose broadened and his brown irises contracted and grew amber as his eyes turned into a pair of fierce predator eyes. The black fur across his forehead arranged itself into the character for "King."

In two or three strides, the transformation was complete. He had become a massive tiger, walking upright and standing over two meters tall. The humanoid tiger dropped to all fours, let out a deep, majestic growl from low in its throat, and launched itself at Chi Yue'an.

"A Beast King, eh?"

Chi Yue'an didn't panic. They were both Saints. The gap couldn't be that wide. His thin red glove spewed roaring flames that condensed into a bright yellow whip. With a swing of his arm, he lashed at the charging tiger.

Mid-sprint, the tiger sprang to the left. The whip struck empty air and carved a deep furrow into the floor.

Crack, crack, crack...

Chi Yue'an whipped his arm furiously, unleashing one vicious strike after another, but the great striped tiger dodged left and right with breathtaking agility, evading every lash, closing the distance until it was right on top of him. Then it pounced.

Chi Yue'an staggered back several steps and recalled his whip, reshaping it into a straight sword. Then, his body erupted with a blast of scorching heat. His aura climbed steadily as he activated Berserker. Planting his feet firmly into the ground, he pushed hard against it, his thigh muscles swelling as his body rocketed forward like a cannonball to meet the lunging tiger head on.

He knew his opponent was a Beast King with formidable regeneration, but Chi Yue'an wasn't afraid of mutual destruction. In terms of healing, his Sweet Rain Inner Armor was more than enough to match the Beast King's regeneration. Meanwhile, the Crimson Flame Divine Weapon's burn effect could suppress that very same regeneration. If they traded blow for blow, he wouldn't come out behind.

All of a sudan, the massive striped tiger in front of him twisted in a way that defied anatomy. Its body rippled like a boneless fish, undulating and stretching, elongating rapidly. The next instant, the tiger had transformed into a barrel-thick serpent covered in black scales.

Hissss...

The sword that should have pierced the tiger's heart merely scraped along the serpent's scales, leaving a charred wound in its wake.

The serpent's head snapped forward. Fangs bared, it clamped down on Chi Yue'an's neck.

No...! Chi Yue'an had never encountered a Beast King capable of shifting forms so quickly. Caught completely off-guard, he prepared to self detonate, to force the serpent back, but a wave of overwhelming exhaustion flooded his body. Hands that could tear apart tigers and leopards went limp. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground.

Venom.

The serpent's fangs carried a terrifying toxin. During that split second bite, it had been injected directly into his bloodstream, paralyzing him entirely.

"Hrrrgh..." Chi Yue'an's eyes bulged wide as a strangled growl of frustration escaped his throat.

The serpent released its jaws and reared upright. Its scales receded into its body, legs and feet sprouting from its body as it returned to human form, with thick fur covering anything that needed covering.

Ling Jun looked down at the fallen man. "Between one Saint and another, the gap can be enormous."

He turned to Li Dongze. "Take that worthless scum and go get the evidence."

Li Dongze nodded and hoisted the unconscious Master Wu.

Ling Jun next turned to Zhang Yuanqing, his eyes narrowing. "I stuck my neck out for you on this one, but you'd better start thinking about how you're going to explain to the Council of Elders why you were working alongside an Evil-class Walker."

Zhang Yuanqing was still reeling from shock. This guy is ridiculously strong.

A Saint at the peak of Level 4 had looked utterly helpless against him. And it was obvious that Ling Jun hadn't even gone all out.

At that moment, another rush of hurried footsteps echoed through the hall. Seven or eight Spirit Realm Walkers burst in, firearms in hand. They took in the wreckage, the sight of Chi Yue'an lying paralyzed on the ground, and froze mid-stride, exchanging bewildered glances.

Chi Yue'an strained to lift his head. While no one was watching, he mouthed a silent message to his arriving subordinates. Save me. Otherwise, I'll expose everything you've done.

1. Dream of the Red Chamber is a famous 18th century Chinese Novel, known as one of the four great classic novels of Chinese Literature. Sister Lin is one of the main characters of said novel, an intelligent, beautiful but apparently frail woman. As a result, it’s funny that Guan Ya knocks out his tooth. Sister Bao is another character as well.

Rong Mama should refer to another show, the TV Series My Fair Princess. This character is the sadistic nurse of the Empress who tortures the heroines, which is in line with what was just done to Ling Jun. ☜

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