Chapter 281: From Another World

Chapter 281: Chapter 281: From Another World

Upon hearing Yi Xiaoyao’s words, the King of Shang’s expression shifted. A look of delighted surprise appeared on his face as he asked, "Xiaoyao, are you truly certain you can kill those two Nascent Soul Transformation experts?"

"Of course, it’s no problem," Yi Xiaoyao said confidently.

His confidence stemmed from the fact that even if he was wrong—even if the two from the Imperial Army Mansion weren’t in the early Nascent Soul Transformation Realm, but the middle stage—Yi Xiaoyao could still activate the Soul Burning Forbidden Technique to kill them.

As for the Late Stage of the Nascent Soul Transformation Realm, that was out of the question. Beings of that caliber held extremely high status even in the Great Xia Empire. Why would they personally intervene for a minor dynasty?

But seeing Yi Xiaoyao’s confidence, the King of Shang’s brow furrowed once more.

"No! Those two are from the Imperial Army Mansion. Even if you manage to kill them, Xiaoyao, the Imperial Army Mansion will not let the matter rest. When that time comes, the Great Shang Dynasty will face an even greater disaster."

As the monarch of a nation, the King of Shang naturally considered the long-term consequences.

Yi Xiaoyao nodded. It was indeed a problem that had to be considered.

Then, he spoke up. "Don’t worry, Senior. I’ll find a way to handle this properly."

"In that case, my hopes—and the hopes of the entire Great Shang Dynasty—are all on you, Xiaoyao!" the King of Shang said, his expression solemn.

Yi Xiaoyao nodded and asked, "Those two... when will they arrive?"

"They were just here today. They gave me a final deadline: tomorrow," the King of Shang replied.

"Alright. Then we’ll wait for them tomorrow."

With that, Yi Xiaoyao left King Shang’s Palace.

Now that he was back in Great Shang, he naturally had to go see the brothers and friends he hadn’t seen in a long time.

Next, Yi Xiaoyao headed directly back to the Seven Kills Star Hall.

Just as he arrived in the skies above the Seven Kills Star Hall, he heard a startling BOOM.

Below, the disciples of the Seven Kills Star Hall didn’t seem to react much to the sound.

"That guy blew something up again!"

"Sigh. I’ve lost count of how many times that’s happened."

"Ever since Yi left, that guy has locked himself in his room, tinkering away. I’d feel weird if he didn’t cause a few explosions every day."

A few disciples passing by the area of the explosion exchanged a few casual remarks, then paid it no more mind.

Yi Xiaoyao, however, watched from the sky with a strange expression, his eyes fixed on the source of the blast.

Because that was the very courtyard where he used to live.

In the next moment, Yi Xiaoyao’s figure flashed, and he landed inside the courtyard.

Just then, a figure clad head-to-toe in armor emerged from the room that had been wrecked by the explosion.

Upon seeing Yi Xiaoyao, the armored figure trembled and then shouted, "Xiaoyao! You’re back!"

"Sanbao?" Yi Xiaoyao grinned. "Why are you dressed like that?"

The armored person was none other than Jin Sanbao. He sighed in resignation. "I have no Spiritual Cultivation. If Senior Sister Luo Yi hadn’t helped me get this armor, I’m afraid I’d have been blown to bits by my own creations countless times by now."

Yi Xiaoyao couldn’t help but smile. So this guy was the cause of the explosion.

He then glanced around and asked quizzically, "Where’s Xuan Mo? Don’t tell me you blew him up?"

"Xuan Mo? That guy got ridiculously lucky. An Insect Cultivator took him on as a disciple and brought him to the Great Xia Empire. I thought you would have already seen him."

Jin Sanbao said, pouting with a hint of envy.

Yi Xiaoyao’s brows rose at his words.

Insect Cultivator. As the name suggested, it was similar to a Sword Cultivator. A Sword Cultivator was a Cultivator who excelled with the sword, while an Insect Cultivator was one who excelled at controlling insects.

However, Insect Cultivators were always mysterious and extremely rare among their kind. A powerful Insect Cultivator was countless times more terrifying than an ordinary one.

One could only imagine: upon encountering an enemy, an Insect Cultivator could summon tens of thousands of powerful Spirit Insects with a wave of their hand. In a flash, they could devour an enemy until only a skeleton of White Bone remained. It went without saying how troublesome they were to deal with.

Therefore, most people would take a wide berth if they ever encountered an Insect Cultivator.

He never expected Xuan Mo to be noticed by an Insect Cultivator. It was truly a stroke of good fortune for him. ℯℯ𝘭.

Even though Xuan Mo had no Cultivation, just like Jin Sanbao, if he could one day control a massive number of powerful Spirit Insects, he could still become a fearsome Insect Cultivator.

Then, Jin Sanbao pulled Yi Xiaoyao into the house. Inside stood dozens of puppets—some humanoid, some beast-like, and some in bizarre shapes that Yi Xiaoyao had never seen before.

"Xiaoyao, see? These are the combat mecha I created after you left!"

Jin Sanbao said with a proud, sly grin.

"Combat mecha? What’s that?" Yi Xiaoyao was completely baffled.

"Combat mecha are a type of fighting tool from where I’m from. You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it," Jin Sanbao said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Where you’re from?" The more Yi Xiaoyao listened, the more confused he became. He asked, "Sanbao, don’t tell me you’re not from the Great Shang Dynasty?"

Jin Sanbao gave a bitter smile and sighed. "Since it’s come to this, and you’re my brother, Xiaoyao, I’ll tell you where I come from."

"The truth is, Xuan Mo and I... we’re not from this world at all!"

Seeing Yi Xiaoyao’s strange expression, Jin Sanbao quickly added with great seriousness, "Xiaoyao, you have to believe me. I’m not joking in the slightest!"

It was rare to see Jin Sanbao so serious. Yi Xiaoyao nodded. "I believe you. Does that mean your inability to cultivate is related to this?"

"I think so."

Jin Sanbao nodded and continued, "Xuan Mo and I come from a place called the United Stars Federation. Back there, I was an Energy Mecha genius known throughout the entire Federation. At eighteen, I created an Energy Mecha model that caused a sensation."

"And Xuan Mo was hailed alongside me as a ’genius youth.’ He’s a master of insect communication, born with the innate ability to communicate with and control them."

"Later, Xuan Mo and I boarded a space-time shuttle to complete a top-secret mission a hundred years in the past. But we never expected that when the machine activated, it would bring us here, to this world!"

"What we expected even less was that after arriving in this world, the two of us—geniuses from the United Stars Federation—would become what everyone here calls worthless..."

At this, Jin Sanbao’s face filled with bitterness, but he then declared with unwavering conviction, "So Xuan Mo and I swore an oath! Even in this world, we will use our talents from the United Stars Federation to become the strongest!"

Although Yi Xiaoyao didn’t really understand what Jin Sanbao was talking about, he could imagine the hardships he and Xuan Mo must have endured.

"So, that’s why you blew the house to smithereens?"

Yi Xiaoyao said, gesturing at the surrounding ruins with a deliberately teasing tone.

Jin Sanbao said helplessly, "I had no choice. When Xuan Mo was here, he could use his insects to help me procure Spirit Stones. Now that he’s gone, I don’t have Spirit Stones to power the combat mecha, so I have to use Demon Cores instead."

"But the energy within Demon Cores is too volatile. One small mistake, and you get... well, what you see right now."

"But Demon Cores do have one advantage over Spirit Stones. The higher the grade of the Demon Core, the more powerful the resulting combat mecha—far more powerful than one running on Spirit Stones!"

Hearing this, Yi Xiaoyao suddenly grew pensive.

"If you can use Demon Cores to create these puppets, could a Cultivator’s Nascent Soul work too?" Yi Xiaoyao asked.

Jin Sanbao was startled. "A Nascent Soul? The energy contained in a human’s Golden Core or Nascent Soul isn’t nearly as volatile as a Demon Core’s, and it’s just as potent!"

"As for the Nascent Soul of a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator... I’ve never even dared to dream of using one of those. I can’t even imagine how powerful a combat mecha it could create!"

"Xiaoyao, are you planning to get a Nascent Soul for me?"

Jin Sanbao asked, his eyes shining with intense longing as he looked at Yi Xiaoyao.

Yi Xiaoyao grinned. "What’s the Nascent Soul of a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator? Soon, I can give you the Nascent Souls of two Nascent Soul Transformation experts."

The two Nascent Soul Transformation experts he mentioned were, of course, the two who would be arriving in the Great Shang Dynasty tomorrow.

...

(PS: This identity reveal is just an interesting interlude and won’t affect the rest of the book.)