Chapter 1429: Earth Realm (5): Those Whom the Heavens Wish to Destroy, They First Make Mad
The moment Long Zhengyu fell from the sky, the five monster beasts that had the upper hand in the battle swarmed forward to devour him.
The Tang Sect disciples struggling to hold off the group of monster beasts cried out in alarm when they saw that Long Zhengyu was about to get eaten and their eyes filled with despair.
The next moment, the five peak-stage Great Ascension monster beasts disappeared into thin air, as though they were illusions and had never existed all along. The monster beasts that had been swarming the hills and trampling the Tang Sect disciples also faded out of existence.
Having barely escaped the gates of death, the Tang Sect disciples looked around with fear still lingering in their minds. As they tried to comprehend how they managed to survive the ordeal, the disciples noticed that Tang Xiu was approaching them. They greeted Tang Xiu emotionally and sat down cross-legged to recover while he returned their greeting.
“Duanmu Lin, who gave you the guts to cast your eyes on the Great Tang Empire?” Tang Xiu, after taking care of the monster beasts and settling down the Tang Sect disciples, turned to question Duanmu Lin in a harsh voice.
Duanmu Li had actually thought of escaping while Tang Xiu was greeting the Tang Sect’s disciples. However, he knew Tang Xiu’s personality too well. Since he would have to face Tang Xiu’s pursuit even if he managed to escape from this pocket world, he decided that he might as well take on Tang Xiu right at this very moment.
“Tang Xiu, you speak so loudly and proudly of the Great Tang Empire, yet do you even hold the country in your heart?” Duanmu Lin calmed himself down and responded loudly with a question of his.
“Duanmu Lin, you are too naïve. The things I’ve done for the country, you should know better than I do. If I don’t hold the country in my heart, will the country be as prosperous as it is now? Will it lead the trends of technology, culture, and economy of the world as the strongest country?” Tang Xiu cast a gaze full of irony at Duanmu Lin as if he was speaking to a r.e.t.a.r.d.
“Tang Xiu, the benefits you’ve brought to the country are but mere specks of sand slipping through your palms! The Great Tang Empire consumed and occupied so much of the country’s resources, and with them, your empire has developed and trained a powerful army. Just the fact that the Great Tang Empire poses a threat to the country is a good reason to have you die thousands of times!” Duanmu Lin, triggered by Tang Xiu’s gaze, denounced him in a righteous tone.
“If you’re gonna shove ridiculous arguments down my throat, I don’t see why I have to reason with you anymore.” Hearing Duanmu Lin’s seemingly upstanding words, a sense of disgust emerged from within him. Sighing, he twisted and closed his palm, then a stone glowing in a rainbow hue flew from Duanmu Lin and landed safely on Tang Xiu’s palm.
Duanmu Lin was celebrating his verbal victory over Tang Xiu when he suddenly noticed that the World Core in his Storage Ring appeared in his enemy’s hand. His expression took a quick turn for the worse, the speech he had prepared beforehand now stuck in his throat.
An owned Storage Ring could not be opened by anyone apart from the owner. Others could only open a ring if the owner had died and the soul imprint was removed.
Yet, he was sound and alive, nor were there any signs of abnormality on the soul imprint on his ring. Having the most precious item hidden in his ring stolen by Tang Xiu, Duanmu Lin was not only nervous about having lost the World Core, but he also feared Tang Xiu’s strength.
The thing he feared more, though, was that he was the only one who knew of the existence of the World Core apart from Ji Mu. However, the first thing Tang Xiu did was take it from his ring. This made him wonder if Tang Xiu knew what he had done to Ji Mu.
“Duanmu Lin, are you going to continue your act?” Noticing the nervous look and fluttering emotions on his face, Tang Xiu couldn’t help but grin. “Presenting yourself as the hero of justice all the time, don’t you get tired? Ji Mu told me everything already and there are no outsiders here, so there’s no need for you to act anymore.”
“Give it back, give the World Core back!” Duanmu Lin was still struggling whether to continue putting up his act or just turn hostile, but he made his mind up instantly once he heard what Tang Xiu said. His expression quickly turned into a sinister one.
As Duanmu Lin spoke, he flicked his arm to reveal a golden gun barrel and aimed it at Tang Xiu.
“Tang Xiu, this is an energy pistol that took the Taklamakan Desert secret base thirty years to develop. Just one shot is enough to destroy a pocket world. If you don’t want to die, you better hand the World Core back.”
“Will you let me go if I return it to you?” Sensing the destructive power within the energy pistol, Tang Xiu looked worried and asked with a tense expression.
“The World Core was mine, to begin with, it’s only natural for you to return it to me. Also, give me your storage ring along with all the funds and resources the Great Tang Empire has. If not, I’ll not only end your life but also decimate the Great Tang Empire as well.” Duanmu Lin started laughing at the sight of Tang Xiu’s troubled face.
“Actually, I should be thanking you. If you hadn’t handed over the technology from the three-star vestiges to the country, we couldn’t have invented this world-obliterating weapon. Now that our country has such a weapon, the entire world will kneel before the power of our weapons. Unfortunately, Shao Mingzhen and Miao Wentang left too soon, if not, I would have given them a shot each for all the troubles they caused for the Special Abilities Bureau.
“Tang Xiu, I bet you never expected us to create an energy pistol which was on par with the weapon of a powerful expert from the Immortal World, right? No matter how hard and fast you cultivate, no matter how strong you become, one shot is all I need to turn you into dust.
“Tang Xiu, you’ve been an eyesore for so long. I’ve always wanted to get rid of you and the Great Tang Empire. Thanks to your empire, our Special Abilities Bureau has always been shoved down the pecking order, so much that we can’t find our reason to exist. The country can’t even breathe because of your empire’s existence and it has become the largest source of instability for the country.
“For the few years after you’ve ascended, the Great Tang Empire almost reigned over the country. You people keep showing your superiority to the government, keep flaunting your strength in front of the Special Abilities Bureau, suppressing us to the point that we had no way to retaliate. But now, with the energy pistol, we will slowly eliminate all cultivators so that only special ability users of China remain. We’re the world’s true enforcers.”
…
Perhaps he had been repressing his emotions and constraining himself for too long, Duanmu Lin ditched his disguise and revealed all of his inner thoughts. He didn’t hold back his words at all, and a crazed smile had crept upon his face as well.
“Those whom the heavens wish to destroy, they first make mad.” Tang Xiu merely snickered and waved his hand. The energy pistol in Duanmu Lin’s hand was gone without a trace, along with his cultivation and special abilities.
If it had been another person, the energy pistol might have indeed frightened them, and even peak-stage Crossing Tribulation experts might have surrendered under its threat.
However, the twelve zodiac jade carvings within his body had suddenly activated when he had become a deity and the heavenly laws of Earth had come under his complete control, so he could create or destroy anything on Earth with just a single thought, and this spelled tragedy for Duanmu Lin.
It did not take long before Duanmu Lin noticed the abnormality. One moment he was blabbering about his plan to destroy the world, the next moment his energy pistol was nowhere to be found.
Shocked, Duanmu Lin tried to pull out another energy pistol from his Storage Ring in haste only to realize he could no longer access it, almost as if it had turned into a decorative ring. He then discovered that his entire cultivation base had disappeared along with his special abilities.
“No, no, no, this isn’t real, I must be dreaming!” When Duanmu Lin realized that he had suddenly aged a few decades in a matter of seconds and was now nothing more than an ordinary old man who had half-a-foot inside his coffin, he finally knew what true terror felt like.
Duanmu Lin tried everything he could to open the Storage Ring. He then tried to circulate the True Essence Energy within his body. At last, he attempted to use his special abilities.
Duanmu Lin repeated these actions several times yet failed on each occasion, and half-an-hour later, he had become completely drenched in sweat as though he had been dunked in water and his face had taken a deathly pale shade.
During the whole process, Tang Xiu did not say a single word. He simply looked at Duanmu Lin’s desperate struggle, his eyes filled with ridicule.
The Tang Sect disciples had been terrified by Duanmu Lin’s energy pistol. Added with his insane speech about how he was going to destroy the world, the disciples had been in fear and trepidation.
However, after witnessing Duanmu Lin’s changes, the Tang Sect disciples couldn’t help but cheer. As they looked down on him with contempt, they also directed their ardent gazes at Tang Xiu.
Although they didn’t know how Tang Xiu did it, they were sure that he was responsible for the changes.
“Your Majesty, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have laid my hands on Ji Mu, I shouldn’t have cast my eyes on the Great Tang Empire. Please, I beg you, return my cultivation to me. I will serve you and the Great Tang Empire faithfully for all eternity.
“Your Majesty, the country trusts and relies on me a lot now. If you spare me, I will find some way to let people of the Great Tang Empire dominate the political scene in the country. The whole country will belong to the Great Tang Empire.”
…
When Duanmu Lin finally understood that all his efforts and struggles were in vain, he quickly knew what the fundamental issue was. He did not hesitate to bow down and beg Tang Xiu with tears and snot all over his face.
“Sorry, the Great Tang Empire doesn’t need a back-stabbing person like you, nor do I think the country needs such an unfaithful, unjust, unkind, and unfilial person like you. I gave you a chance once, but you failed to make good of it.” Tang Xiu sighed, then pointed his finger at Duanmu Lin.
Hearing Tang Xiu’s response, Duanmu Lin was filled with pain. He was still trying to come up with words to save his own life when he saw Tang Xiu point his finger at him and then, Duanmu Lin could not say anything more, for his world had faded into darkness.