Rise of Humanity

Chapter 134 - You Think Too Low of Me

“*cough *cough, King Teng really was a knotty opponent.”

Zhong Yue was in the monster god Ming King’s palace. He laid a palm on his chest, his eyes twitched in pain. The battle with King Teng had been too risky, King Teng was indeed worthy of his title as the undying one, his prowess was incredibly strong. The battle with him had inflicted immensely heavy injuries to Zhong Yue’s body.

His muscles were almost ripped apart during the fight, a few tendons snapped from the tension. Deep wounds and small cuts added up to a hundred on his body, and his internal organs were slowly beginning to dehisce!

The injuries would have been the death of most ordinary people, but he was still able to temporarily suppress the wounds and maintain his peak condition for the duration of the battle. However, as time passed, his wounds would eventually erupt and if by then, he was still embroiled in a protracted fight with King Teng, unable to finish him once and for all, then his ending would’ve only been death.

His forte was that he was taught the art of sculpting by the Swords Gate headmaster. Although the art of sculpting seemed to be useless, it was the key for him to turn the tide of battle and ultimately slay King Teng’s undying body, and incinerate him from the inside to destroy the giant vine treant.

Otherwise, if the battle had persisted, Zhong Yue would’ve been in grave danger!

Come to think of it, King Teng’s defeat was reasonable and his death was not an injustice, it could even be said that it was unfortunate that he was matched up with Zhong Yue. He was after all, a wood affinity monster cultivator who has cultivated from a green vine. His body was made up of the vines which just happened to be a suitable material to engrave the totem patterns. What led to his defeat was his own recklessness in entrapping the seven Sword Qi inside of his body with the intention of preventing Zhong Yue from reclaiming them.

“King Teng forced me to muster all my strength in battling against him, and yet, he was only regarded as the second strongest among the monster Rebirth Qi Practitioners?”

The sun and moon spun behind Zhong Yue, the sunlight and moonlight shone onto his wounded body, healing his injuries, and he became lost in his own thoughts, King Teng despised the saint city lord of the monster race, accusing him of being biased towards the Heaven Monster, Li Jun. But what kind of existence is the saint city lord? One that was on par with the old man, the old man had only taught me the art of sculpting and just with that, I was able to use it to finish King Teng’s undying body. It isn’t likely that the saint city lord’s evaluation was erroneous. That would mean that this Heaven Monster, Li Jun truly is even stronger than King Teng! What a shame that he died, I could have used him as a test subject for my strength to ascertain any flaws in my prowess in the Rebirth level.”

He recollected his thoughts and took out the key he had obtained from Zhu Xian’er, he then placed it on the notch of the door.

The five poison totem patterns on the notch were completed, and it was as if the mother insect and the five poison totem patterns were coming to life, moving on the surface of the door as if they were swimming in the water. The scene was incredibly bizarre.

The tracks they took seemed to be random but they in actual fact, they followed a certain pattern of a seal. On the outer-most rim, was the big mother insect, it was squirming its body tardily, while incubating eggs within its womb.

Those are the just changes of the totem carvings on the door. The five poisoned insects and the mother insect did not actually come alive, and the formation of the eggs was not real either.

After a short while, the door slowly creaked open, revealing a pathway tunneling down a stoned stairway. Walking down the stairs into the deep space beneath the palace, Zhong Yue thought with curiosity, Why didn’t I notice this place when I was casting the【Boundless Great Sun】to burn down the entire Ming King palace? Furthermore, Ming King palace is located on a mountain, the mountain dangling mid-air with only a pillar connecting it to the abyss. Are the guarded treasures of the Ming King palace in this very mountain? If they were, wasn’t this place too easily discovered?

“Why isn’t Brother Long Yue out yet?”

Hu Qimei and Yu Xuanji looked at each other and waited patiently. There was no movement after Zhong Yue killed King Teng and the two cannot help to ask themselves, Is there really a complete heritage of the Monster God Ming King in the palace? Or is he severely injured?

Suddenly, both of them felt something and turned their heads around, what met their eyes was a ‘young and pretty’ man treading on the pontoon walking towards them.

The description of “young and pretty” was because he had a countenance that would even incite the jealousy of females; he boasted flawless skin and his pointed ears could make the females erupted with an obsessive furor!

His charming eyes were like a twin emerald that exuded an extraordinary and refined aura. Zhong Yue held a stern and unflustered bearing, but under which, there was hidden an explosive power that would instill fear in all. He was akin to a simmering volcano that was on the verge of eruption. King Teng was malicious; Yu Xuanji was peculiar; and Hu Qimei was temperamental — each individual had a unique air of their own. Likewise, this man also commanded his own charm.

He carried himself like an elegant fairy in the midst of clouds; like an eagle that soared unfettered in the lofty firmament, and like a slumbering dragon quietly hibernating in the cold and desolate winter.

He was the prodigal son of the monster race!

“The Heaven Monster, Li Jun!”

Hu Qimei and Yu Xuanji were shocked and dumbfounded at his unexpected arrival. The Heaven Monster, Li Jun, proclaimed to be the strongest among the Rebirth Qi Practitioners by the saint city lord of the monster. He was believed to have been killed in the dark forest, but had just made a sudden appearance, nearly reaching their sides without them even noticing at all!

Yu Xuanji and Hu Qimei exchanged panicked looks, catching the anxiousness in each other’s eyes, He is here to act as the fisherman! He waited in silence until both Long Yue and King Teng were embroiled in battle, so that he could then jump out and reap the rewards from the effort of the two formidable opponents to secure his place as the disciple of the saint city lord!

Heaven Monster Li Jun must have thought that he could not handle Long Yue and King Teng at the same time, given their strengths. So he decided to wait until Long Yue and King Teng’s strength was exhausted to take the fruits of their labor!

Heaven Monster Li Jun was already at the hundred and eighth step of the stoned stairway when they returned their attention to him. He stepped on the first pontoon, passing the first threshold and continuing on towards the second platform.

He gazed at the totem engravings for a few seconds and then proceeded past the second pontoon, reaching the third platform easily!

His speed was terrifying, he only glanced over the third and fourth platform, and crossed the bridge without a trace of error!

Yu Xuanji and Hu Qimei were amazed to see him pass the first test on the first pontoon with ease, not being hurt by the Ming King divine eye totem patterns on the pontoon.

Regardless whether it was Zhong Yue or King Teng, they had been attacked by the Ming King divine eye on the first pontoon — all because of the missing divine eye totem patterns on the stone wall.

And when Heaven Monster Li Jun was able to walk over safely, the impact on their state of mind was immense!

But what Yu Xuanji and Hu Qimei did not know was —— the Ming King divine eye on the first pontoon had already been plundered by Zhong Yue and no longer existed. Hence, Heaven Monster Li Jun was able to cross the pontoon without being attacked since there was nothing there to attack him in the first place.

Soon, Heaven Monster Li Jun had already set foot on the fourth pontoon, striding towards the fifth platform where Yu Xuanji and Hu Qimei were currently situated.

Most talented monsters would usually require over twenty days to pass all five stages of the inheritance test, with most of even dying halfway through. However, Heaven Monster Li Jun had just cleared all of them in less than an hour!

Hu Qimei suddenly had an idea when the Heaven Monster Li Jun stepped on the sixth platform to size up the inheritance on the platform. She exclaimed out involuntarily, “Heaven Monster Li Jun ... saint city lord’s disciple!”

Heaven Monster Li Jun shifted his gaze towards her and his brows rose in interest, “Oh? Why would you say that, Qimei?”

“The totem inheritance on these walls are complicated and profound. I suppose that not even a god would be able to glean the secrets behind them with merely a glance or two?”

Hu Qimei held her gaze for moments before saying, “But you just took a quick glance and passed them easily, without even making a single mistake. This can only mean that you didn’t comprehend the secrets with a glance yourself, but that you have already received the inheritance on the pontoon! The only one who could learn the【Monster God Ming King Art】are the disciples of the saint city lord! Hence, you’ve been the saint city lord’s disciple before this whole farce even began! ”

Yu Xuanji came to the same conclusion and responded, “Heaven Monster Li Jun, the saint city lord sent you here to monitor us! ”

Heaven Monster Li Jun smirked as he said, “Junior Martial Brother Yu and Qimei sure have quite the intuition, being able to surmise so much information just by watching me crossing over the pontoon. That's right, my teacher is the saint city lord and I am his fifth apprentice. My teacher taught me the【Monster God Ming King Art】. Surely, I would be very familiar with the totem patterns and there would be no need for me to study them anymore.”

Yu Xuanji and Hu Qimei felt a chill tingle down their spines. Their voices were trembling as they spoke, “Since the saint city lord is selecting for a closed door disciple, then why did he still send you over?”

“Monitoring you was merely one of the reasons my teacher sent me here, the real reason I was sent here was to see if anyone of you Qi Practitioners could completely attain the【Monster God Ming King Art】. If there is, then naturally, he will take them in as a closed door disciple.”

Heaven Monster Li Jun smiled as he said, “My teacher loves and adores talent, and he also needs someone talented enough to acquire the complete【Monster God Ming King Art】for him. Other than that, he knows that the creature that crawled out from the Black Mountain secret realm did not simply die and disappear. It is still lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right time to make a move. With the Black Mountain secret realm now open again, that creature will surely cause trouble again, and will definitely send his subordinates to gather information. Therefore I was charged to monitor that creature’s subordinates. As for the third reason….”

He smiled slightly as he continued, “Although I am his disciple, but I was not officially inducted as his closed door disciple. Therefore, I still need to make a name of my own. If you lot can’t prove to be of any use and die here instead, then he will announce to the world that I will be taken in as his closed door disciple. ”

Yu Xuanji and Hu Qimei’s blood ran cold. Heaven Monster Li Jun had cultivated the【Monster God Ming King Art】long ago, with his prowess, he could definitely be called the strongest among those in the level of Rebirth!

Yu Xuanji and the others were kept in the dark, fighting among themselves for the spot of the closed door disciple, even nearly dying for the opportunity, while the other over sixty monster young experts were dead. And in the end they were just fools being played like a puppet on strings. This made them very unsettled!

Hu Qimei pursed her dry lips as said, “Why did you only come now, Heaven Monster? Why did you wait until the end of Long Yue’s and King Teng’s battle. Why did you wait until after King Teng was dead, to appear?”

Heaven Monster Li Jun was silent, Yu Xuanji’s eyes gleamed and he smirked, “The more death there is, the lesser the competition. After all, there is only one mother that could supply the breast milk. If she had twin babies, the babies would invariably have to compete for the milk. Who would know if he could have still held the glory of the strongest Rebirth Qi Practitioner after the other babies have cultivated the【Monster God Ming King Art】? Incidents of junior martial brothers supplanting the senior martial brothers, with the latter then being slowly forgotten, relegated to living forever under the shadows of the ones they used to call juniors ... this happens more often than one would think. Therefore, instead of having a fair competition, would it not be simpler to eliminate all the other contenders, and end up as the sole winner. Am I right, Li Jun?”

“Your opinion of me is too low.”

The Heaven Monster Li Jun sarcastically smirked and shrugged, “Although I’m exactly having the same thought, but fortunately I have a good reputation among the saint city, who would believe you even if you told them so? ”

He walked towards the sixth platform of the pontoon and grinned, “Consider yourselves lucky, I won’t let every Qi Practitioners who entered Black Mountain secret realm die, for no other reason than to avoid rousing the saint city lord’s suspicion that I have no room in my black heart for competitors. So, I’ve decided to spare some of the more benign weaklings to curb suspicion. Hmmm ... what luck you two have, otherwise, you would already be dead.”