Chapter 987: Five Shadows of Souls
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The disciples of the Human Alliance were frightened. After all, the army of Monster Race and Demon Race that had appeared was far too powerful. It was beyond anyone’s expectations.
On the other hand, Mu Xing, Lin Yu, and the other G.o.ds who were following behind ‘Chou Qi’ looked puzzled.
That was because they didn’t find ‘Meng Tian’ amidst the Human Alliance.
“Meng Tian has disappeared?” Mu Xing felt that ‘Meng Tian’ shouldn’t have disappeared. At the very least, this wasn’t the appropriate time for him to disappear.
Unlike Mu Xing, Lin Yu and the ma.s.sive army of Monster Race and Demon Race were puzzled for a different reason.
Lin Yu wasn’t puzzled by ‘Meng Tian’s’ disappearance. Rather, it was because he saw a familiar figure standing in front of the Human Alliance.
It was Fang Zhengzhi!
He was supposed to be laying low in Northern Mountain Village, so he should be the last person to show up here.
‘Fang Zhengzhi? Why is he here?’ Lin Yu was far more puzzled than Mu Xing. Furthermore, this reminded him of an extremely unpleasant possibility.
Meng Tian disappeared.
Yet, Fang Zhengzhi had somehow appeared?!
What did that mean?
‘Did Young Lord’s worry actually come true?!’ Lin Yu turned grim instantly because he knew far too well about Fang Zhengzhi’s strength.
That was precisely why he was afraid of him.
In less than half a year, did this man that they didn’t have to worry about at first make such terrifying progress? Was he really human?
Lin Yu wasn’t the only person who was stunned.
The army behind him was shocked to its core.
Fang Zhengzhi was a name that they could never forget, especially for the Demon soldiers. They hated Fang Zhengzhi to their cores.
Yet, this man had somehow appeared right here.
At this moment, ‘Chou Qi’, who was standing in front of the army, said, “Fang Zhengzhi is Meng Tian. Meng Tian is Fang Zhengzhi!”
His voice was chilling.
It exuded a deathly aura that could make people’s hearts tremble.
“What?!”
“Fang Zhengzhi is Meng Tian?!”
“Is that true?!”
The army of Monster Race and Demon Race couldn’t believe what they had heard. However, since ‘Chou Qi’ had already said so, they must take it as the truth. That was because ‘Chou Qi’ was their commander currently.
Nevertheless, this was a truth that was overly shocking.
Not a single one of them had expected that the mighty Sagely Battle G.o.d Meng Tian’s true ident.i.ty was the shameless Fang Zhengzhi.
…
Fang Zhengzhi knew that his ident.i.ty was already revealed when he fought against Chou Qi just now. Hence, he wasn’t too surprised when ‘Chou Qi’ exposed his disguise.
However, he didn’t understand why Chou Qi was standing in front of the army of Monster Race and Demon Race.
Shouldn’t Qin Xian be standing there?
Moreover, Chou Qi should be severely injured.
Given his personality, the first thing he would do after he was injured would be running away. In that case, how could he possibly enter the Black Stone Palace and chase after the Human Alliance on purpose?
This was weird.
Fang Zhengzhi didn’t quite grasp the situation. While he was trying to figure things out, he saw ‘Chou Qi’ taking a couple of steps forward, following which, he bowed to Fang Zhengzhi and his companions.
“I’ll introduce myself. I’m Chou Qi, the current commander of Monster Race and Demon Race.”
“What?! Commander?”
At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi was no longer the only one that was baffled. Even Mo Shans.h.i.+ and the Human Alliance’s disciples were equally stumped.
‘Isn’t Qin Xian their commander?’
‘How did it become Chou Qi?’
No one knew what had happened. However, the army of Monster Race and Demon Race didn’t say a word after ‘Chou Qi’ made that statement.
This meant that ‘Chou Qi’ was speaking the truth, and his rank had been acknowledged by the army of Monster Race and Demon Race, as well as Mu Xing and the other G.o.ds of the two races.
“Qin Xian is dead.” Chou Qi spoke again.
“…”
“…”
Mo Shans.h.i.+’s mouth was agape. It was obvious that he was actually surprised. Having said that, as the leader of one of the Five Sects of the Holy Region, he knew that he had to maintain his composure.
“Did you kill him?” Asked Fang Zhengzhi.
“Yes.” Chou Qi nodded and replied.
“Why?” Fang Zhengzhi continued asking.
“He was too weak to be the commander of the army of Monster Race and Demon Race.” Chou Qi explained. He wasn’t about to attack the Human Alliance immediately, for he didn’t seem to be in a hurry.
“Yeah, he was actually pretty weak.” Fang Zhengzhi nodded and agreed with him.
Mu Xing, the other G.o.ds, and the soldiers of the Monster Race and Demon Race were all rendered speechless with a weird expression on their faces.
‘Qin Xian was weak?’
If Qin Xian was weak, what about them?
Mu Xing and the other G.o.ds begged to differ, but they couldn’t because it was Chou Qi and Fang Zhengzhi who claimed that Qin Xian was weak.
“I do things differently as compared to Qin Xian.”
“Is that right? What are the differences?” Fang Zhengzhi wanted to see Chou Qi’s expression through the black cloak.
However, the hood of the cloak was pulled all the way down and it covered Chou Qi’s face completely. Furthermore, there was a thin layer of fog beneath the cloak.
It was obvious that Chou Qi did it on purpose.
His motive was naturally to stop people from seeing his expression or his appearance.
This was somewhat strange.
“I prefer a more direct approach. I don’t like to waste time on chit-chatting.” Chou Qi said flatly.
“Don’t like to waste time on chit-chatting?” Fang Zhengzhi was a little startled. For some reason, his impression of Chou Qi suddenly improved a little.
At the very least, he didn’t detest him as much as before.
After all, this fellow must be fairly thick-skinned if he could claim that he didn’t like chit-chatting while he was chit-chatting.
In fact, Fang Zhengzhi wasn’t the only one who was startled.
Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shans.h.i.+, and the disciples of the Human Alliance were equally perplexed because there was no doubt that Chou Qi was chit-chatting with Fang Zhengzhi.
“Then why aren’t you attacking us yet?” After some consideration, Fang Zhengzhi decided to expose Chou Qi’s pretentiousness.
“That’s because I have my concerns.” Chou Qi replied lightheartedly.
‘Concerns?’ Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have understood how Chou Qi had managed to command the army of Monster Race and Demon Race and gain the approval of all the Demons and Monsters.
The reason was simple. Qin Xian didn’t have any concerns, so he died. Chou Qi had his concerns, so he became the commander of the army of Monster Race and Demon Race.
The reason sounded a little boring.
However, it was fairly straightforward.
The army of Monster Race and Demon Race needed a commander who had concerns, hence they chose to accept Chou Qi.
“It seems like I made the right decision of sparing Yun Qingwu’s life.” Fang Zhengzhi smiled after he understood the circ.u.mstances.
“That’s right.” Chou Qi nodded.
“Can I infer that your army wouldn’t dare to attack us as long as Yun Qingwu is in my hands?” Fang Zhengzhi’s smile grew brighter.
“No. I have my concerns, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t dare to do it.” Chou Qi shook his head and replied.
“Shall we be more direct?”
“Sure, I’d like to negotiate terms with you.”
“What terms?”
“I’ve heard that the Human Alliance once organized a Heaven Alliance Meeting on Heaven Zen Mountain. However, it was stopped halfway because the Gates of G.o.d of the Monster Race and Demon Race opened.”
“You heard it correctly.”
“I want to continue the Heaven Alliance Meeting.”
“Continue the Heaven Alliance Meeting?” Fang Zhengzhi’s smile slowly faded, and he stared at Chou Qi.
He thought of many possible terms, but he didn’t expect that Chou Qi wanted to continue the unconcluded Heaven Alliance Meeting.
Strange.
This was extremely strange.
Most importantly, how did Chou Qi intent to continue the meeting?
Only three out of the Five Sects of the Holy Region remained. Nine Pinnacles Mountain had long been annihilated by the Monster Race and Demon Race, and Yin Yang Hall no longer had any say in this matter after both Dao Hun and Dao Xin died.
On the other hand, Ling Yun Tower… Didn’t even enter the Black Stone Palace.
Under such circ.u.mstances, the only remaining sects of the Five Sects of the Holy Region were Heaven Dao Pavilion and Fu Xi Valley. Moreover, Mo Shans.h.i.+ was severely injured. Was there any point in continuing the meeting?
Most importantly, the Heaven Alliance Meeting was organized so that the Human Alliance could be established. Since the alliance had already been established, why would Chou Qi want to continue the meeting?
“Who exactly are you?” Fang Zhengzhi raised a question that he never expected to ask because he felt that Chou Qi wasn’t the Chou Qi that he knew.
However, the deathly aura on Chou Qi’s body did actually exist.
‘Is it possible that Chou Qi has a younger brother?’
‘Named Chou Ba!’*
“Chou Qi.” He replied flatly.
“What if I don’t agree to your terms?” Fang Zhengzhi frowned. He was clearly upset with Chou Qi’s reply.
However, since Chou Qi wouldn’t tell him the truth, then there wasn’t a need to keep asking.
“Look behind me. You don’t have a choice.” Chou Qi seemed to have expected Fang Zhengzhi’s response, and he pointed towards the four G.o.ds and the army of Monster Race and Demon Race behind him.
“Attack!”
“Attack!”
“…”
The war cries of the army of Monster Race and Demon Race went through the roof. Unlike how Qin Xian commanded them outside the Black Stone Palace just now, the army was definitely more unified now.
Its ferocity was comparable to the days when it was under Yun Qingwu’s command.
“Do you think that the Human Alliance would definitely lose if we go to war?” Fang Zhengzhi held his sword tightly and pointed its tip towards Chou Qi’s throat.
“Yes. Once we go to war, I’d do my best to keep you occupied. Then, the army of Monster Race and Demon Race would slaughter the Human Alliance. The four G.o.ds behind me would split up and gang up on Ping Yang and Yan Xiu. If my calculations are right, Ping Yang and Yan Xiu would die within 15 minutes.” Chou Qi replied with confidence.
“Are you threatening me?” Fang Zhengzhi finally furrowed his brows together.
“I’m just telling you my plan. Of course, I’ve said that I got my own concerns, so I don’t want to follow through with my plan unless it is really necessary. Now, can we keep negotiating?”
“You want to continue the Heaven Alliance Meeting?”
“Yes.”
“How do you intend to do it?”
“Since it’s the Heaven Alliance Meeting, we must naturally welcome all the sects in the world. That would obviously include the Monster and Demon Sect.” Chou Qi replied calmly.
“Monster and Demon Sect? I’ve never heard of this sect before. The Heaven Alliance Meeting doesn’t welcome such a small sect.” Fang Zhengzhi rejected his suggestion without any consideration.
“Yeah, it’s only natural that you haven’t heard of it, because it was just founded today by the Monster Race and the Demon Race. The size of the sect isn’t too big since there are merely a couple hundred thousand disciples. I don’t think it’s too small.” Chou Qi didn’t seem to be irritated by Fang Zhengzhi’s shamelessness. It felt like he was prepared for it.
“Do you think that the sect was founded just because you claimed it was? Does your Monster and Demon Sect have its own territory? Without your own territory, you guys are just a bunch of undisciplined militias and cannot be considered a sect.”
“Yeah, we are fortunate enough to have our own territory. It’s the Great Swamp.”
“The Great Swamp? That’s Monster Emperor Baizhi’s territory, it isn’t yours just because you claim that it is. I don’t believe you. Without any proof, you and your people can return.” Fang Zhengzhi continued.
“…”
“I can prove it.”
While everyone, including the Human Alliance and the army of Monster Race and Demon Race, was rendered speechless by Fang Zhengzhi’s shameless tactics, they heard Yun Qingwu’s voice.
“Yun Qingwu, as a hostage, you must understand how to act like one.” Fang Zhengzhi turned towards Yun Qingwu and threatened her.
“I’m your hostage, but I’m also Monster Emperor Baizhi’s only daughter. Hence, I can prove that the Great Swamp is the Monster and Demon Sect’s territory.” Yun Qingwu was unfazed by his threat.
“Yun Qingwu, I’m truly worried about your future as a hostage.” Fang Zhengzhi clenched his fist and glanced around her body.
“Since I’m already your hostage, you can do whatever you want.” Yun Qingwu actually didn’t avert her eyes from Fang Zhengzhi’s gaze this time, nor did she call him shameless. She faced him head on instead.
“…” Fang Zhengzhi was actually speechless for a moment.
At this moment, Chou Qi took another step forward, bowed to Yun Qingwu and said, “Thank you, Young Lord. So, Fang Zhengzhi, do you have any other questions?”
“Of course, I do!” Fang Zhengzhi answered without any hesitation.
“You do? Fang Zhengzhi, I believe I mentioned that I don’t like chit-chatting.” Chou Qi seemed to have lost a little of his patience.
“But I like it.” Fang Zhengzhi didn’t care at all.
“…” Chou Qi opened his mouth, but he was really at a loss for words this time. Nevertheless, after a long silence, he ultimately replied, “How many more questions do you have?”
“One.”
“Alright, go ahead.”
“How many moves did it take you to kill Qin Xian?” A bright silvery radiance appeared in Fang Zhengzhi’s eyes when he asked that question.
It was Ghost Dao.
It could open his eyes to another world.
As the silvery radiance appeared, Fang Zhengzhi saw a world that was black and white. Many white shadows quickly appeared above the army of Monster Race and Demon Race in front of him.
Unlike the black shadows on the ground, those were the shadows of their souls.
Everyone had a soul, and every soul had a shadow. It didn’t matter if you were human, a monster, or a demon. There was no difference.
However, Fang Zhengzhi’s eyes opened wide with shock when he looked at Chou Qi.
That was because… There were five shadows above his body!