Chapter 262 - 260: Ji Donglai’s Awakening

Chapter 262: Chapter 260: Ji Donglai’s Awakening

When Prince Qing opened his eyes, he found he had been reduced to a mere prisoner.

Here in the once-resplendent imperial palace, all of the Heaven-Ascending Road Martial Artists in the Capital City had been gathered.

But these men were a far cry from their former glory.

They were strewn about haphazardly, their faces contorted in pain and the space between their legs stained blood-red.

The King of Willpower clutched the head of a Second Turn Martial Artist, brainwashing the others with a boost from the King of Shitshows’ superpower.

That was right—a boost from the King of Shitshows.

The King of Shitshows was currently copying the Deifier’s ability and using it to empower the King of Willpower.

They had recently discovered a new application for his powers: the King of Shitshows would siphon off half of the Deifier’s superpower.

He would then, in turn, use it to boost the Deifier’s own superpower. This way, a Continent Level user’s abilities could be amplified by a factor of 5*5, or 25 times.

For a Nation-level user, this amplification could be stacked for a 3*5, or 15-times, bonus.

The King of Willpower was now receiving this 25-times multiplier, further increasing his brainwashing speed. He could now successfully brainwash a Second Turn Martial Artist in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

While he worked, the King of Willpower had enough spare attention to notice Prince Qing beside him. "Oh, you’re awake. You’ve got the best constitution of the bunch."

"You’re... one of Fang Can’s helpers." Prince Qing vaguely recalled the events before he lost consciousness.

As he spoke, his eyes scanned the room. He was stunned to discover that every other male Martial Artist, aside from himself, had been castrated.

The discovery sent an involuntary shiver down his spine, and the arduous memories of forging his Transcendent Body flooded his mind.

"That’s right. You should be grateful you’re still alive. If Fang Can hadn’t spoken up for you, you’d already be dead."

"And don’t think you can hold some past favor over his head just because you helped him once. You people without superpowers aren’t worthy of him. We’re sparing you this time, so you’d better stay out of his sight from now on."

The King of Willpower’s tone was casual. He wasn’t the least bit afraid of Prince Qing attacking him, as he had already planted a mental brand in the prince’s body.

Even if Prince Qing wanted to kill him at this very moment, his body would refuse to obey, as if it had been conditioned by another master.

Having more or less grasped the situation, Prince Qing sighed. He never expected things to come to this.

"What are you going to do?" Prince Qing asked.

"What are we going to do? Clean up all the loose ends, of course." Looking at Prince Qing, he added, "Including the Fourth Turn Martial Artists."

"You want to take on a Fourth Turn?" Prince Qing’s eyes widened, and he quickly tried to dissuade him.

"I suggest you give up that fantasy. Take Fang Can and leave immediately, while you still haven’t been discovered. It’s your only chance of survival."

Halfway through his sentence, Prince Qing’s expression fell. He had remembered the Celestial Secret Tower.

’With the Celestial Secret Tower tracking them, where could they possibly run?’

"Hah, you don’t need to worry about that. I’m in a good mood, so get lost. And stay put in the Capital City for the next three days."

As the King of Willpower spoke, he seized control of Prince Qing’s mind and began dragging him out step by step. His own mood, however, was abysmal.

The encounter with Bai Xiaosheng today had only revealed the tip of the iceberg, yet it had placed immense pressure on him.

A Fourth Turn Martial Artist who hadn’t even fought back had been that difficult to kill. They’d had Superman F, a Continent Level esper, make a move and he *still* hadn’t finished the job.

’Can we win?’ The King of Willpower looked down at his arm, a surprising wave of fear washing over him.

Compared to the other espers, he wasn’t old—only thirty-five.

Ever since becoming an esper, he had grown accustomed to a life of ease. He had never been in a true life-or-death battle; all his fights had been easy, lopsided victories.

You didn’t need a license to become an esper; it could happen to anyone at any time.

Among the espers who had come this time, Ji Donglai was a veteran who had survived the Great Collapse Era, the King of Shitshows was a heartless moron, Superman F had XYY syndrome, and the Deifier was the one who had been conscripted for the most missions after the founding of the New Country...

Among them, he had the least combat experience.

This was arguably his first time participating in a "ranked match" of this caliber. The fear in his heart was indescribable; he was under the most pressure of anyone.

’Calm down... calm down... This is all for my family... We will win.’

The King of Willpower took a deep breath, recalling Ji Donglai’s teachings.

He was around twelve years old when he first discovered he had an extraordinary ability.

After hurting his classmates, he had fled in terror, hiding amidst a pitch-black pile of junk in a storage room.

His parents had always taught him that if you broke the law, the police would take you away and you would suffer horrible abuse.

But in the darkness, it wasn’t the police who came for him, but a man with a scar on his face.

In a gentle voice, the man told him his name was Ji Donglai, and that from now on, he was his family.

Terrified, the twelve-year-old boy who would become the King of Willpower looked at the backlit figure and admitted he was afraid of the police. The reply he received was completely unexpected.

The King of Willpower still remembered how Ji Donglai had spoken to him with a respect and gentleness that even his own parents had never shown.

"It doesn’t matter. Don’t be afraid of the police. Don’t worry about the law. Don’t even mind your parents. You are a heaven-sent gift to the New Country."

Facing the boy’s fearful gaze, Ji Donglai then said in a calm tone the words that would be engraved in his memory for life:

"Your ability is of the Spiritual System, isn’t it? If you’re afraid, go ahead and use it on me."

"You can view all of my memories. My thoughts have no need for secrecy from an esper. They can withstand anyone’s scrutiny."

...

The memory ended. As he slowly exhaled a long breath, the King of Willpower noticed something different about his body.

His physical constitution had improved by more than just a small margin.

’It seems... I’ve drawn qi into my body?’

He looked at his body in surprise, his eyes filled with astonishment. He had never practiced any Cultivation Technique.

It seemed that because his Mental Power was so strong, it perfectly fit the principles of the Mind-based Martial Dao. ’So, did I just accidentally overcome a Heart Demon?’

"If I were to cultivate the Martial Dao, with Mental Power that surpasses a Third Turn Martial Artist, perhaps my talent wouldn’t be any less than Fang Can’s. I might be a peerless genius myself, you know?"

In a much better mood, the King of Willpower grabbed another Martial Artist’s head and continued his brainwashing.

But as he worked, the fear from before was completely gone from his expression. He was now perfectly calm and composed.

On the other side of the palace, Fang Can calmly extracted himself from a pile of women.

He likely wouldn’t have time for any... recreation for quite a while, so he might as well satisfy them all in advance as compensation.

Stepping out of the residence, Fang Can walked through the kneeling forms of Ye Yonglie and his other followers, his gaze landing on the brainwashed Second Turn Martial Artist.

"My Lord, I will take you to the Inversion Gate," the Martial Artist said obsequiously.

"Wipe that ugly look off your face on the way back. Don’t blow our cover," Fang Can warned, then began to circulate the blood and qi throughout his body.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

As the blood and qi shifted away, the parts of his body left without their support began to twist, and his bones snapped one by one.