Nightmare Despair

Chapter 84 Death Wing
Second Realm Qi Induction!

Upon hearing these four words, Luo Tong's pupils contracted, and he involuntarily took half a step back, feeling an overwhelming sense of sorrow.

Once upon a time, he was a genius praised by everyone in the martial arts school, and was said to have the potential to enter the second realm...

Until that time, over a few words of argument, over that ridiculous bit of fighting.

and then?
Even achieving consistent power has become a luxury, so how can one talk about advancing in martial arts, let alone reaching the second realm of Qi cultivation?

Gone... everything is gone.

He could only glimpse the power level of the second realm by transforming into the enhanced human he once despised.

Luo Tong leaned against the shadows in the corner, like a statue that had lost its soul.

Upon seeing this, Wei Bao's eyes, which vaguely showed traces of vertical pupils, swept over Luo Tong's face, and then his smile widened: "Luo Tong, I know you."

Luo Tong became even more uneasy upon hearing this. How could a genius martial artist at the second level of the Horse Realm know a useless person like him?
Seeing that Luo Tong was only preoccupied with his own sorrow, Wei Bao's mocking expression deepened.

He turned his head and smiled at Hu Yuan on the sofa: "Boss Hu, speaking of which, I actually have a bit of a history with Brother Luo... I was watching him fight Chen Ping from the audience that year."

"Tsk, life is truly unpredictable. Back then, I didn't even have the qualifications to go on stage, and could only watch helplessly as the two broken-winged birds fought on the stage... I never thought that now, I would have the upper hand."

"Haha, I heard that Chen Ping is also stuck at the late stage of True Strength and can't make any progress? What a coincidence! This time, I'll have to learn a thing or two from him!"

Wei Bao's words contained some sarcasm, but not much.

The Blue Leopard and Broken Wing factions have a long-standing feud and seize every opportunity to sow discord between each other. But today's situation is special.

Luo Tong has already betrayed Broken Wings and hates Chen Ping to the core; they are about to become comrades-in-arms. Wei Bao didn't need to be so absolute in his words.

Just a casual joke, a bit of a perverse pleasure, nothing more than a pastime before the cat catches the mouse.

Hu Yuan leaned back in his large executive chair and chuckled, "Seeking advice is fine, but the mission comes first. Don't overdo it and get counter-attacked; that would be a real mess."

Wei Bao's eyes turned cold: "Boss Hu, do you look down on me?"

"No, just a reminder." Hu Yuan waved his hand and said calmly, "Chen Ping is at the Falcon Wing Martial Arts School tonight. Although that old man who is about to reach the Qi Refining stage is not here, he still has the advantage of being on the field. You are fighting away from home, so be careful."

Wei Bao scoffed, unimpressed. This operation involved one peak True Strength cultivator, one injured former True Strength cultivator, and one Level 1 Enhanced Human.

What unexpected events could there be when facing another peak True Strength cultivator?
At this moment, the enhanced human who had been silent spoke up, his voice surprisingly soft, his tone like a ragdoll cat whining: "Wait, isn't our target Zhou Kai? Why is everyone talking about Chen Ping?"

Wei Bao frowned, somewhat bewildered, and said, "He is the target, that's true, but he's not my purpose here. If it weren't for the chance to kill Chen Ping, I wouldn't even bother taking this job!"

The female enhanced human gave an exaggerated smirk and glanced at Luo Tong.

The two shared almost identical thoughts: "I also want to kill Chen Ping... to avenge him."

The female enhanced human's expression became even more exaggerated, almost shouting, "Damn it, you bunch of martial arts fanatics... so I'm the only one here for the money?"

Hu Yuan, Luo Tong, and Wei Bao all turned their gazes to her.

Yes, that's true.

The enhanced woman, who called herself Qi Fang, clicked her tongue and nonchalantly patted her hard chest: "I'm above level one enhanced; my sternum and arm bones have all been replaced with the latest models. I still owe the modification agency 1.1 million in medical fees. This commission is a must-have."

Her eyes darted around, and a fawning smile spread across her face.

"So, you two brothers, is there something you need to discuss?"

"You go find your beloved Chen Ping, and leave little brother Zhou Kai to me, how about it? I promise, I'll play with him half to death first, then kill him, and after that... we'll play with him some more."

Qi Fang stuck out her tongue and licked her scarlet lips, looking like a female demon crawling out of hell.

Unfortunately, the two martial artists completely ignored her, chatting amongst themselves about how to subdue Chen Ping and exchanging their insights on Qi cultivation.

……

"Luo Tong, one failure and you've lost all your spirit?" Wei Bao adopted the air of a senior, his tone carrying a hint of admonition, "If you're going to act like this, I think you'd better not go on the next mission."

Luo Tong dared not refute, and forced a hint of sincerity onto his stiff face: "I'm sorry... I won't have any problems. I'll do anything as long as I can get revenge."

Hu Yuan listened to these grudges and feuds in the martial arts world and found it all amusing. He glanced at his watch; it was almost time.

He clapped his hands, interrupting their conversation: "It's almost two o'clock, get ready to leave. I've already sent you Zhou Kai's address. There's a woman in the house, whether you kill her or not is up to you, the cleaners will take care of everything."

"As for Chen Ping... I think you know the location of the Falcon Wing Boxing Gym better than I do."

As Hu Yuan assigned tasks, he felt something was off.

Where is it? He thought about it carefully.

Oh right, it's the guard downstairs's scheduled report. Perfectly punctual. Not a second off.

Normally, a few of these useless idiots are always a second or two late in pressing the safety buttons at their respective deployment locations, and the total error might be around half a minute.

When all the buttons are pressed, his custom watch will vibrate regularly according to the signal.

Today, his men were incredibly punctual, causing his watch to hum almost incessantly... This seemingly normal anomaly made Hu Yuan feel uneasy.

"Wait." Hu Yuan suddenly raised his hand, stopping the three people who were about to leave. He pointed to the elevator's floor display screen, where the numbers were steadily rising.

"Although it's not certain yet, my intuition tells me... our bounty target has come knocking on our door."

"Let's get ready to start the meal. Oh, and try not to damage my custom-made tables and chairs, and antique furnishings."

Hu Yuan clapped his hands and slid back in the recliner.

The roller skates made a slight creaking sound on the floor, and he quickly retreated to the safest corner of the room.

Wei Bao grinned, not with contempt, but with the excitement of a hungry tiger smelling blood.

He twisted his neck, making a series of popping sounds.

"These hotel staff are useless; they can't even keep their own private affairs in check. I think they should just close down as soon as possible."

As he spoke, a faint sweat began to rise from his skin, and he became excited.

"Chen Ping? I can't wait any longer."

They delivered themselves to my door?
Is there such a good thing?

That saves them the trouble of making a trip!

Wei Bao raised an eyebrow at Qi Fang: "Woman, after we kill Chen Ping, Zhou Kai is yours. My commission is yours too."

Qi Fang's eyes instantly lit up like two 100-watt light bulbs, and she said with a beaming smile, "Big brother! You're my real big brother! I was blind to your greatness just now, you're such a kind person!"

Luo Tong lowered his head, looking at his arm, which was noticeably thicker after the modification, and sighed heavily.

After his sigh, a sharp aura suddenly rose from him, even drawing Wei Bao's attention.

"Interesting, it's not completely useless yet."

……

Wei Bao rubbed his hands together, exuding a fierce aura like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey.

But this momentum, though strong at first, weakens at second and eventually exhausts.

The elevator slowly swayed up, but eventually stopped on the floor below.

Wei Bao's patience ran out, and his momentum crumbled.

He frowned and shouted, "Damn it, where is he? Dead downstairs?"

Luo Tong's wooden voice rang out: "There's a safety passage...the person has arrived."

Before he could finish speaking, a flash of silver light appeared.

It was silent yet swift as lightning, shooting out from the dark corner and tearing apart Qi Fang's self-righteous grin and the composite armor on her chest.

Luo Tong had no time to be surprised at the woman who was almost instantly killed. He pushed off the ground with both feet and was sent flying backward like a stone.

Almost simultaneously, a large hand, resembling a sharp claw, grazed his nose, the resulting gust of wind stinging his cheek.

In the blink of an eye, the attack and defense were over.

Zhou Kai and Luo Tong passed each other, their gazes clashing fiercely in the dim light, as if invisible sparks exploded in the air.

Looking into those eyes that gleamed with a scarlet savage glint in the dim light.

Luo Tong was momentarily lost in thought.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered his master, whom he had only met three times but who had left a lifelong mark on him.

That master, with hundreds of his fellow cultivators lost to his claws, used blood and fear to make the living bestow upon him a name—

Deathwing

Please, everyone, keep reading and voting! In these next few days, help me get through the initial release period so I can start updating more frequently once it's officially launched.

(End of this chapter)