1985 The Fist King!
His heart had never been colder, and his death had never been clearer. His every organ, from his fingers to internal organs, did not seem to belong to him anymore. All the senses over his body were gone, except for the hotness and stinging when his blood was spraying into the air through his carotid artery!
Right when the world before the fatty’s eyes was about to fall into an infinite abyss, his neck suddenly ached, and the b.l.o.o.d.y was stopped abruptly.
Huchi! Huchi! Huchi! Huchi!
The fatty breathed heavily, with cold sweat popping up nonstop. His lips were still dry and withered, and his body was trembling.
He knew that he was still on the verge of death. If his blood was to be released for a couple of more seconds, he would certainly die from the blood loss.
Tides of darkness came at him, and he felt as if he was about to pa.s.s out.
But a stream of cold, sharp spiritual energy pierced through his head from his back, making his brain cells more excited than ever. He could not have been more awake.
Then, an indifferent voice echoed next to his ears, which almost made him burst into tears. “Don’t be scared. I’m not here for you.”
The fatty’s Adam’s apple protruded from his fat and rolled hard, but he did not know what to say.
The voice continued. “I’m here to kill the leader of the Red Fire Gang. But after I arrived, I noticed that all the gangs in Double Dragons City were gathered for a meeting, and there were few opportunities for me to attack. That’s why I decided to find a random person for intelligence. Fatty, judging from your clothing and your shuttle, you must be a big shot in the b.l.o.o.d.y Worlds. I do not want to kill you unless it is absolutely necessary because it will cause a lot of trouble.
“So, you will answer whatever questions I ask you dutifully. As long as your information is satisfactory, I will be gone in ten minutes, and you can continue enjoying your woman comfortably. We can act as if this never happened. If you agree, nod.”
Brutality flashed inside the fatty’s eyes as he nodded quickly and stammered, “I—I understand.”
“Very well.” The voice seemed convinced and went on with a smile. “Tell me your ident.i.ty first.”
Li Yao’s guess was correct. The fatty was indeed a merchant from a great gang in the b.l.o.o.d.y Plateau Area. He had been in the slave business for a long time, especially the trade of young, beautiful female slaves.
Because the gang that he was in had been known for their infamousness in the entire b.l.o.o.d.y Plateau Area, and the Black Water Gang had proven a trustworthy partner after several deals, along with some special reasons, he did not take too many guards on his trip, and it never occurred to him that he would run into his doom.
Li Yao was not interested in his filthy and despicable businesses at all. He got straight to the matter at hand. “Do you know why all the gangs in Double Dragons City have gathered? What are they discussing exactly?”
The fatty was indeed well-informed. After a brief hesitation, he said, “They are probably discussing how to respond to the invitation from the Fist King and whether or not to attack Liberty City together with the Fist King.”
Li Yao was slightly dazed. “Who is the Fist King?”
The fatty was somewhat lost. “You—You don’t know the Fist King?”
Li Yao sniffed. His spiritual energy was condensed into a sharp blade that was half freezing and half scorching as it brushed the fatty’s neck.
The fatty’s courage and pa.s.sion had been released together with his blood just now. Under Li Yao’s threat, he immediately flinched. After thinking for a long time, he could only say, “The Fist King… is the Fist King.”
Some names were indeed hard to explain because they did not need to be explained in most cases.
For example, in the Star Glory Federation, no one needed to explain who the Vulture was. The Vulture was the Vulture, Li Yao. ‘Vulture’ Li Yao alone was enough to explain everything.
By the same logic, Ding Lingdang was Ding Lingdang and the Blazing Tyrannosaur. Not one word of explanation was needed.
In the Land of Sins, or at least in the cruelest b.l.o.o.d.y Worlds, ‘Fist King’ Lei Zonglie was also a name that need not be explained. All one needed to do was submit to him, avoid him, or be crushed by him.
The legends of ‘Fist King’ Lei Zonglie had begun when he was sold as a slave soldier to a gang after the village that he was born in was slaughtered by another gang.
The slave soldiers were all cannon fodder. In the battles of the b.l.o.o.d.y Worlds, their casualties were very high. Hundreds of them could die in a random gang fight.
The slave soldiers were the humblest scouts to explore the path ahead or bait during the hunting of mutated beasts. When the battle came, they would be injected with all kinds of exhilarants before they were sent to lunge at the enemy’s cannons and chainswords while roaring like animals. Few slave soldiers could survive for a year and a half in such cruel eliminations.
However, ‘Fist King’ Lei Zonglie miraculously endured five years and even made great contributions to the gang. He even saved the leader of the gang many times at the risk of his own life. His own strength also soared in the battles as if his primitive intuition had been awakened. In the end, he successfully got rid of his ident.i.ty as a slave and became the most dominating and ferocious member of the gang.
However, the good days did not last long; ‘Fist King’ Lei Zonglie’s brilliant performance raised the jealousy and dissatisfaction of other tough bandits in the gang. The leader of the gang was wary of his expanding force, too, and concerned that he would hold a grudge because he had been treated as cannon fodder for five years. In the end, everybody reached a deal to set up a fatal trap in order to kill him.
At that time, he had just led his elite team to crush the commercial team of a hostile gang. He had been heavily wounded in the battle, but he was greeted with the siege of his own people in the end.
He fought and retreated almost a hundred kilometers, leaving a trail of blood behind him. Eventually, he was caught by his own people and slashed to death. His dead body fell into the crater in the ruins of a city.
Many people witnessed his body being ripped apart and pulled into the dark caves by the mutated beasts.
However, death was not the end, only the beginning of the real horror.
Ten years later, the Fist King returned—as a ghost.
Years ago, when his body was shredded and swallowed by the mutated beasts, part of his remaining soul survived. It was also said that he accidentally found a secret art to strengthen the soul. Then, after a series of unbelievable fortuitous incidents, his remaining soul was strengthened to an unprecedented level.
‘Fist King’ Lei Zonglie spent three years wiping out all the gangs that set him up and slaughtered his hometown. He did not even let go of the bandits who had left the gangs while he was away, hunting down each and every one of them before he crushed all their bones and blew up their bodies with brute force.
Then he established his own organization. With his iron fists that could summon storms and fight lightning, he became one of the most awe-inspiring experts in the b.l.o.o.d.y Worlds!
The communication of information was very difficult in the Land of Sins. Also, because of the eternal fights, the death rate of the top-tier experts was very high. It was not usual for a dominating expert to be killed and left in the wilderness, never to be heard from again. Therefore, there had never been a fair rank of ‘top ten experts’.
However, all the tough bandits in the Blood Worlds agreed that if there was indeed a rank of ‘top ten experts’ or ‘top ten bandits’, ‘Fist King’ Lei Zonglie would certainly be included, and he would probably be among the top five!
After hearing the fatty’s vivid descriptions, and especially after the introduction of a few battles that ‘Fist King’ Lei Zonglie was involved in, Li Yao could not help but grow curious about the powerful spectral Cultivator.
Normal spectral Cultivators often preferred to choose erratic, unpredictable arts because they did not have a fleshly body. ‘Mother White Lotus’ Wan Mingzhu was a perfect example.
However, ‘Fist King’ Lei Zonglie defied common sense. Although he was a ghost, his arts were in the most violent, tough, and open style. According to the fatty, normal experts at the peak of the Core Formation Stage or even at the beginning level of the Nascent Soul Stage were no match at all. It seemed that he had indeed found some intricate training arts of ghosts from the Immortal Cultivators and was lucky enough to not get killed during his practice. That was how he had made such shocking achievements.
The form of Li Yao’s soul was similar to a ghost. If he could learn some secret arts from ‘Fist King’ Lei Zonglie, would it not be a great enhancement for him?
After pondering for a moment, Li Yao asked with great interest, “The Fist King is going to attack Liberty City? What’s the meaning of that?”
“Liberty City is an ‘Elysian World’.” The fatty swallowed hard and put on an expression of both hope and dread. “The Fist King intends to bring the leader of Liberty City down and become the new master of the city!”
The so-called ‘Elysian Worlds’ were the super metropolises that had enormous a.s.set transmission tubes that were connected to the Heavenly Rails beyond the atmosphere and therefore had the support of the angels.
The prosperity and power of those places were beyond the imagination of the people from the b.l.o.o.d.y Worlds and the Desolate Worlds. The random magical equipment or arts of the angels that leaked from the Heavenly Rails randomly would be enough to raise a storm of blood in the b.l.o.o.d.y Worlds.
All the experts that controlled the Elysian Worlds were great men who had fought out of the b.l.o.o.d.y Worlds after decades of battles before they established their reign.
It was also said that they had been approved by the angels, and they could directly be at the service of the angels and receive rewards. They also grasped a lot of contribution points that could allow people to rise to the City in the Sky.
Becoming the ruler of an Elysian World was perhaps the greatest dream for every tough bandit in the b.l.o.o.d.y Worlds. The position meant infinite strength, power, fortune, and a vaster world beyond the firmament!
The b.l.o.o.d.y Worlds were a h.e.l.lish arena where the tiny bugs brutalized each other. Every couple of years, the strongest bug would distinguish itself and become the toughest bandit of the toughest bandits.
Those invincible and unstoppable monsters in the b.l.o.o.d.y Worlds always cast their ambitious eyes on one of the Elysian Worlds without exception, trying to overthrow the precious ruler with a great army so that they could be the new lord!
It was said that the angels above the Heavenly Rails did not interfere with the conflicts in the Land of Sins. Whoever seized an Elysian World and got the situation completely under control would always be acknowledged by them.
This year, it was ‘Fist King’ Lei Zonglie’s turn, and his target was Liberty City, the Elysian World at the edge of the b.l.o.o.d.y Plateau Area!