Chapter 273 - 164: I Also Put in a Lot of Effort

Chapter 273: Chapter 164: I Also Put in a Lot of Effort

He didn’t understand. The family’s secret research into the abomination had always been extremely well-hidden. Aside from a very small number of high-ranking family members and the Wizards involved in the research, no one else knew. Even many Wizards within the family were unaware of the details. How could this have been leaked?

For some reason, a person suddenly flashed through Pei Lingjie’s mind.

Pei Yonggao!

Back then, Pei Yonggao had said he was going to assassinate Pei Ze, but then he’d gone silent.

He had just assumed Pei Yonggao had failed and hadn’t given it another thought.

’Thinking back now, that’s most likely when the problem started.’

Pei Lingjie didn’t care whether Pei Yonggao lived or died. He just recalled that Pei Zhanqing had also died around that time. The explanation given by Red Maple City was that he had died during a mission. Thinking back, it was highly probable that Pei Zhanqing had fallen into the hands of the elemental faction.

And Pei Zhanqing happened to be one of the Wizards involved in the research of the abomination!

’The elemental faction must have found their breakthrough through him.’

Once he figured this out, Pei Lingjie’s heart sank to the bottom of a ravine.

Now that even the Star Realm Alliance Council had gotten personally involved, the situation had become irreversible. The Pei Family was likely at its end.

But in the next second, a savage glint flashed in Pei Lingjie’s eyes.

’The reason we researched the abomination was because we were unwilling to be shackled by our bloodline for our entire lives. We wanted to shatter the fate that was forced upon us.’

’At this point, how could I possibly surrender without a fight?’

’So what if we’re purged?’

’As long as I kill these people in front of me and escape the Turin Plane, the Multiverse is vast. Where couldn’t I go?’

’I’ll find a place to lie low, and once I’ve fully mastered the abomination’s power, I’ll return one day to kill them all!’

As his thoughts raced, Pei Lingjie made his decision, and killing intent flared in his eyes.

Ji Sheng saw this and his heart tensed. Without hesitation, he made the first move, throwing out a golden bead the size of a longan.

CRACK!

The golden bead shattered in mid-air, and an invisible, strange ripple abruptly spread out.

In the next instant, both Ji Sheng and Pei Lingjie vanished.

"That’s a Dimensional Pearl. It can temporarily create a semi-Dimension Space to serve as a battlefield. But given the intensity of a battle between Level 3 Wizards, it can only last for five minutes at most. During this time, we should take care of Pei Lingjie’s accomplices first."

Yin Xue said in a hushed, rapid voice.

Pei Ze nodded in understanding. He glanced at the three panicked Pei Family Wizards, a dark light flashing in his eyes.

"It won’t take five minutes."

As he spoke, silver stars had already spread over his entire body, and he instantly began to glow with a brilliant silver light.

The three Pei Family Wizards finally came to their senses. They exchanged a look, gritted their teeth, and attacked Pei Ze, Yin Xue, and the others.

They had the Pei Family’s blood running through their veins and had enjoyed the family’s resources. They were already an inseparable part of the clan.

’At this point, it’s impossible to sever ties with the family even if we wanted to.’

’Only by fighting to the death might we have a chance to survive.’

However, that thought was completely extinguished the moment Pei Ze made his move.

A dazzling bolt of lightning tore through the void, leaving a blue-white trail as it arrived before one of the Pei Family Wizards in the blink of an eye.

The Wizard’s expression changed drastically. He unhesitatingly activated all his Defensive Magical Items while simultaneously thrusting out his palm, firing a beam of lightning.

But the moment it made contact, the lightning beam was instantly crushed and annihilated by the thunderous light. The spear drove straight through, and the instant it struck the Pei Family Wizard, it erupted with incandescent lightning, tearing his layers of protection to shreds!

The Pei Family Wizard’s eyes went wide in horror. An expression of terror and despair filled his face as he was engulfed by the lightning!

RUMBLE!

After the lightning dissipated, only a charred black mark remained on the ground.

Seeing their companion blasted into nothingness, the remaining two Pei Family Wizards turned pale with fright. Any thought of fighting to the death vanished, and they unhesitatingly split up and fled in different directions.

"That one over there is yours."

Leaving those words behind, Pei Ze shot off like a bolt of lightning after the Second-level Wizard.

Yin Xue and the others snapped out of their daze. They acknowledged his command and chased after the other Pei Family Wizard.

"Pei Ze’s strength is getting more and more terrifying. Now, even a Second-level Wizard can’t last a single exchange against him," the Female Witch whispered, her face full of amazement.

"Didn’t Lord Ji Sheng say it? Pei Ze’s current power has likely already approached the level of a Level 3," another Wizard chimed in.

"I originally thought Lord Ji Sheng was exaggerating, but now it seems I was just short-sighted."

"A genius is a genius. He’s so much stronger than ordinary people like us."

The group was filled with continuous awe.

Although anyone who could advance to become a Wizard undoubtedly had outstanding talent and would be considered a genius by ordinary people.

But even among geniuses, there were different tiers.

Compared to a monster-class genius like Pei Ze, they were no different from ordinary people.

Hearing her teammates’ praise for Pei Ze, the corners of Yin Xue’s lips curved up slightly, and a hint of a smile flashed in her eyes.

The group’s expressions were all quite relaxed.

After all, Ji Sheng and Pei Ze had dealt with most of the enemies. Only a single Level 1 Wizard remained. If they couldn’t even handle that, they wouldn’t deserve to be elites of the Witch Hunting Team.

And that was indeed the case. After catching up to their fleeing target, the group joined forces and easily finished him off in two or three exchanges.

By the time they returned to their original spot, Pei Ze had already dealt with his enemy and was waiting there.

Seeing Pei Ze staring grimly at the spot where the Dimensional Pearl had vanished, Yin Xue walked over and said in a low voice, "Don’t worry. Lord Ji Sheng is a Level 3 Crystalized Wizard and a renowned combat specialist in the Witch Hunting Team. With his strength, killing Pei Lingjie will definitely be no problem."

"That’s good." Pei Ze nodded slightly.

However, he actually had a faint premonition that things wouldn’t go so smoothly.

’During the ambush just now, even though we were still far away, Pei Lingjie sensed that something was wrong ahead of time.’

’Perhaps his strength is far greater than the Witch Hunting Team anticipated.’

’If that’s the case, this operation might take an unexpected turn.’

Yin Xue glanced at Pei Ze and was about to say more when her expression suddenly changed. Before she could react, she felt a tight grip on her wrist as Pei Ze pulled her back rapidly.

"Watch out!"

The invisible, strange ripple appeared again.

The void suddenly collapsed and twisted, then violently erupted outward. A fissure slowly appeared and rapidly expanded.

A tall figure stepped out from within.

It was a humanoid creature wreathed in dense black energy.

The extremely deep black energy faintly formed a translucent, spectral layer of scales over its body. It completely encased its nearly three-meter-tall torso and limbs, leaving only a ferocious, half-human, half-serpentine head exposed, which vaguely resembled Pei Lingjie.

The sudden turn of events stunned everyone.

When they got a clear look at the person Pei Lingjie was holding, Yin Xue and the others’ faces changed drastically.

"Lord Ji Sheng!"

Ji Sheng, who had appeared so imposing just a short while ago, was now covered in blood and held limply in Pei Lingjie’s grasp.

If not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, everyone would have thought he was already dead.

THUD!

Pei Lingjie casually tossed Ji Sheng aside and sneered, "What a shame. I’ve disappointed you all."

"Look! This is the power granted by the abomination! Even a combat specialist from the Witch Hunting Team who is a higher level than me is no match for me at all!"

A fanatical light flashed in Pei Lingjie’s eyes, which had turned into serpentine vertical pupils. He looked down at his own hands, wreathed in black energy.

"With this power, the Yugro Giant Serpent bloodline is no longer a shackle for me! Sooner or later, I will be able to fuse the two and break through to an even higher realm, hehehe..."

A low laugh escaped Pei Lingjie’s lips.

But a calm voice immediately rang out, cutting his laughter short.

"When that time truly comes, you will no longer be yourself, just a puppet controlled by the abomination."

Pei Lingjie’s laughter stopped abruptly. He snapped his head up to meet Pei Ze’s calm gaze, and in it, he saw pity and ridicule.

"To lose yourself in the pursuit of power... what use is such strength, no matter how great?"

"You arrogant fool, what could you possibly understand?"

As if provoked by Pei Ze’s words, Pei Lingjie’s eyes instantly filled with a dense web of blood vessels. His gaze, filled with killing intent, stabbed toward Pei Ze like a sharp sword.

Pei Ze said calmly, "At least I understand the principle of give and take."

"Your Bloodline Clan enjoys the benefits brought by the blood of ancient creatures, yet you complain about the injustice of fate. How ironic."

As if that wasn’t enough to provoke Pei Lingjie, Pei Ze then raised an eyebrow and added:

"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you. I was the one who killed Pei Yonggao and Pei Zhanqing. I was also the one who handed the abomination over to my teacher. Speaking of which, I’ve contributed quite a bit to the Pei Family’s fall to its current state."

Pei Lingjie’s face twisted grotesquely in an instant as he lunged murderously at Pei Ze.

"You little bastard, I’ll kill you!"