Chapter 140 - 123: Elaven’s Invitation

Chapter 140: Chapter 123: Elaven’s Invitation

September 15th, 15:24:17.

Above Gesite Lake.

Zhang Ji and Elaven stood facing each other.

"Between an accident and tomorrow, it seems an accident is always more likely to come first." Zhang Ji wiped the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and sighed. "This time, I must refuse!"

He had thought he wouldn’t face Elaven until the Ultimate Fighting tournament, but he never expected his opponent to come looking for him so soon.

"You’ve made an unwise choice," Elaven sneered, glancing at his torn and tattered clothes.

"BOOM!"

The Alchemy Furnace burned fiercely as a violent energy surged. The temperature around Elaven soared, causing the water of Gesite Lake to evaporate and send clouds of steam drifting into the air.

At the same time, Zhang Ji closed his eyes slightly.

Within his Limited Space, ten (Excellent) grade Fighting Crystals merged into one. They intertwined and collided, releasing a strand of deep purple light that signified they were undergoing a qualitative transformation.

"Come on, then. Let me see just how strong a so-called Saint King truly is!" Zhang Ji declared as a tangible aura of purple Primordial Qi flared out from his body.

"You clown. Are you prepared to bear the price for angering a god?" Elaven retorted, his body shrouded in a crimson glow.

The next instant, the two figures shot toward each other. Immense power erupted from the point of impact. The lake’s surface exploded upward, creating a colossal wave hundreds of meters high, while a blast of air transformed into a violent shockwave that swept out in all directions, destroying everything in its path!

.....

.....

「Two hours earlier.」

High above Roman Country, a figure broke the sound barrier, transforming into a streak of red light as it headed straight for the Dragon Country’s Capital City.

Its speed was incredible, exceeding Mach 10.

He covered the vast distance in just over an hour.

This figure was, of course, Elaven.

His purpose for this trip was simple: to find himself a new, qualified subordinate.

Without a doubt, that person was Zhang Ji.

As he approached the territorial waters of the Dragon Country, Elaven’s figure was detected by satellite.

The relevant national defense departments were immediately on high alert.

"An unidentified object is approaching our territorial waters at a speed exceeding Mach 10. Three warnings have been issued with no response. Do we intercept?"

"Intercept!"

Almost instantly, an interceptor missile was launched, heading straight for Elaven.

The missile was incredibly fast, its speed nearly rivaling Elaven’s own.

But Elaven’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. When the missile came within a thousand meters, he simply raised a hand, extended his index finger, and released a wave of red energy that pierced the missile, detonating it on the spot.

"KABOOM!"

With the interception failed, the Dragon Country officials immediately launched several more missiles to intercept.

But without exception, all of them failed.

"Report to the Capital City at once! The target’s destination is the Capital City! Dispatch drones to intercept immediately!"

Shortly after the report was sent, the news reached the Capital City.

"What’s the situation? A supersonic strike?"

The defense department in the Capital City was still trying to make sense of the situation.

They could only try broadcasting a message first to see if the target would respond.

However, before the broadcast could even be sent, Elaven arrived in the Capital City.

A streak of red light tore across the sky, and Elaven’s figure descended directly into Zhang Ji’s newly constructed palace.

His Spirit particles spread out, bringing all environmental information within a radius of several dozen li under his control, but he couldn’t find any sign of Zhang Ji.

"Tell me, where is that clown?" Elaven flickered, appearing next to a guard and grabbing him as he demanded an answer.

"Who are you? Intruder! We have an intruder!" the guard shouted into his communication channel.

Elaven’s hand tightened around the guard’s neck. Applying a bit of pressure, he changed his wording. "Tell me, where is your king?"

The guard didn’t reveal Zhang Ji’s location, and other security personnel quickly arrived.

"You there! Listen up! Put your hands up and surrender—"

Before the words were out, a red beam of light pierced through the speaker’s head.

"Perhaps you don’t understand the situation. I am asking the questions. You mortals need only answer!" Elaven said.

The response to Elaven was a hail of bullets.

And Elaven’s response to them was an Energy Cannon blast that flattened everything.

"RUUUUUMBLE!"

A pillar of red light erupted from Elaven’s mouth, its countless Energy Particles destroying everything in their path and leveling the ground for several kilometers. Zhang Ji’s recently built palace was more than half-annihilated, and all the surrounding guards, even the approaching drones, were obliterated in the attack.

This scene left countless onlookers shocked and horrified.

Elaven moved, soaring into the air, and then shot off toward a nearby government building.

"BANG!"

The door burst open. Elaven strode inside, looked at four trembling office workers, and demanded, "Tell me, where is your king?"

"Where did you come from? Do you have any idea what you’re doing—"

Before he could finish, a red beam pierced his head.

Elaven looked at the other three.

"BOOM!"

As they hesitated, another beam claimed a life.

"I... I know... At the power station on Gesite Lake..." Finally, under the immense pressure, one of them blurted out the answer in the Roman language.

"Thank you."

Elaven smiled and turned to walk out of the room.

After just two steps, he suddenly turned back. He opened his mouth, and a torrent of red Energy Particles spewed out, instantly engulfing two of the remaining people and erasing them on the spot.

Elaven closed his mouth and said, "Should’ve just said so earlier. You wasted a lot of my time."

With that, Elaven soared into the sky, transforming into a beam of light that shot toward Gesite Lake.

...

...

Atop the Gathering Light Tower at Gesite Lake, Zhang Ji sat cross-legged and swallowed dozens of medicinal pills in one gulp. His powerful digestive abilities activated, and before long, he had fully absorbed them, converting them into vital essence. Then, through the circulation of his Cultivation Technique, this essence was transformed into the Five Elements Primordial Qi of his "Five Elements Longevity Technique."

A few days ago, he had been struck by an inexplicable sense of urgent crisis.

As a result, Zhang Ji had ramped up his training progress.

He had forcibly compressed his already tight training schedule even further.

He spent nearly twenty-four hours a day on top of the Gathering Light Tower.

Thanks to this, his efficiency had indeed increased.

As of today, his "Five Elements Longevity Technique" now had nine essences. He estimated that with just one more day—by tomorrow evening—he would surely be able to form the final essence.

At that time, he would also obtain the (Epic) grade Fighting Crystal he had planned for.

Just then, all the surrounding Light-Gathering Mirrors moved apart, and the sunlight Zhang Ji felt on his skin suddenly dimmed.

This was a notification method used only in emergencies.

Zhang Ji frowned slightly. He leaped down from the Gathering Light Tower, throwing on his clothes in mid-air before flying toward the control center.

Someone was already waiting for him at the control center.

"Saint, the Capital City has been invaded! Someone broke into your Saint Palace, killed the guards, and found out your location. It seems they are heading this way," the person in charge said to Zhang Ji.

"Hm? They’re looking for me?" Zhang Ji frowned.

’He really couldn’t imagine who would cause such a huge disturbance to find him at a time like this.’

’I just displayed so much power on the world stage. Who could be so blind as to come looking for trouble with me?’

’Right now, the only people in the world capable of causing trouble for me are those five Saint King Level masters.’

’But they have no reason to confront me.’

’The world is large. They each have their own territories and their own business to attend to.’

’They’re either busy trying to achieve a breakthrough, enjoying life with their descendants, or teaching their disciples.’

’The one from the Color Cluster Country might be less occupied, but if he were looking for me, he wouldn’t be so rude about it.’

’As for Elaven, the most ambitious one who dreams of world domination, he should be busy arranging the Ultimate Fighting tournament and trying to improve himself at a nuclear power plant. He shouldn’t have time to bother with me.’

Zhang Ji couldn’t have imagined that the butterfly effect he had caused would be so significant.

It had made Elaven unable to contain his ambition, prompting him to step onto the world stage ahead of schedule.

He especially didn’t expect that his prior actions in the Eastern Extreme Country would attract Elaven to his doorstep personally, intending to recruit him as a new subordinate.

After all, in terms of causing a stir, there had been far more troublesome martial artists than him in the past century or two, yet very few of them had attracted Elaven’s personal attention.

Just as Zhang Ji was about to ask for more details, he suddenly felt an immense Spiritual Power spreading from the distance, brazenly covering the entire area.

Immediately after, a red streak of light flew rapidly from the horizon and arrived before his eyes.

Short golden hair falling around his ears, eyes with a faint red glow, and a tall, powerfully built body full of knotted muscles.

’Elaven Uth? One of the five Saint Kings?’

Questions flooded Zhang Ji’s mind.

’What wind blew him here?’

’Did he find out that I’m about to break through to A-rank? Is that why he’s come to eliminate a threat in its cradle?’

"I’ve finally found you!" Elaven smiled as he looked at Zhang Ji. "Clown, I quite enjoyed your previous performance. As it happens, I need a capable subordinate to handle matters for me. Come, accept my recruitment and my boon. Become my vassal god, and I shall bestow upon you the supreme glory of being my servant."

"Huh?"

Zhang Ji was taken aback by Elaven’s opening words.

’When he first saw Elaven, he’d assumed the man wanted to fight him to vent some of his martial energy.’

’After all, based on what he knew, Elaven had the characteristics of a battle maniac.’

’But he never would have guessed the guy was here to recruit him.’

’And to open with such arrogant, self-important words...’

’It seems being modified too much by Alchemy Technology really does affect your brain.’

’Of course, it was also possible that Elaven simply didn’t care what mortals thought.’

’His arrogance and ego seemed more like an instinctual refusal to see ordinary people as his own kind.’

’It was the attitude of someone looking down on ordinary living beings from a higher plane of existence.’

"And I don’t believe I know who you are, sir?"

Zhang Ji was assessing the current situation, trying his best to stall Elaven.

’Honestly, if Elaven had come just two days later, Zhang Ji wouldn’t have been worried at all.’

’By then, he would be A-rank, and he could have properly tested his strength against Elaven’s.’

’But at this stage, Zhang Ji’s only path to A-rank was through the Fighting Crystal from his 「Wind God Kick」.’

’However, the Fighting Crystal from 「Wind God Kick」 was clearly inferior to the one from his "Five Elements Longevity Technique." Moreover, they belonged to different systems and couldn’t complement each other well, which always felt like a shoddy addition to him.’

"Elaven Uth," Elaven said, looking at Zhang Ji. "Remember this name. I will ascend to the pinnacle of the world and become an eternal god."

Hearing Elaven’s cringey and ridiculous words, the people around Zhang Ji looked a little odd, but they didn’t dare say anything.

They had also seen Elaven fly over with their own eyes, so they knew he was a powerful martial artist.

"I should have some time to consider, right?" Zhang Ji asked.

He didn’t want to confront Elaven right now; it wasn’t in his best interest.

’At least give me two more days...’

"Perhaps you’re not yet clear on the gap between us," Elaven said, the corner of his mouth curling up. "When it comes to my invitation, you have no room to consider or refuse!"

The next instant, Elaven curled his index finger toward Zhang Ji and flicked it gently.

"BOOM!"

A tremendous force struck him, sending Zhang Ji flying backward. He only managed to stop himself after being thrown several hundred meters.