Chapter 78 – Ambush

The Snow Wolf and the Golden-Winged Little Peng were very unhappy. They were the Exalted One’s primary and secondary mounts, yet they could only watch helplessly as the Supreme Deity rode away on the Azure Dragon, which left them with an exceptionally sour mood.

The Snow Wolf squatted on the ground and howled at the sky.

Upon hearing this, the Golden-Winged Little Peng also let out several sharp cries.

The sounds of these fierce beasts and birds pierced through the vast sky, carrying a powerful impact.

The pilots resting nearby heard their calls and assumed they were on guard duty. They praised them one after another, expressing their affection and respect for these spirit beasts.

Li Zheng, who could understand their calls, covered his face silently upon hearing the soldiers’ praise.

Snow Wolf: Why? Why? Supreme Deity, isn’t the Snow Wolf your primary mount? Are you abandoning me just like that?

Little Peng: Primary mount? That was only because the Supreme Deity was present, and I was letting you have it. A mere spirit beast like you, what kind of primary mount are you? Look at your strength, bloodline, and background; where do you surpass me?

Snow Wolf: There must always be a first-come, first-served principle. I was the first spirit beast to recognize the Supreme Deity’s nobility. You were there too, but your eyes failed you. You couldn’t discern his identity from the Supreme Deity’s noble bearing; you deserve to be second.

Little Peng: …Let’s not kill each other. Both the Snow Wolf and I were before the Azure Dragon and Bai Ze. Why does the Supreme Deity favor them more? What has gone wrong?

Snow Wolf: I don’t know, but my weak-spirited Spiritbond Master and I have inferior abilities, so it’s natural we weren’t chosen. You’re a divine beast, and your Spiritbond Master is the Chief. Why weren’t you selected?

Little Peng: Exactly! Why are the Azure Dragon and Bai Ze so close to the Supreme Deity? What did I fail to do? Was it because I didn’t fly fast enough, or wasn’t sincere enough to the Supreme Deity? Whatever they can do, Little Peng can do too!

Snow Wolf: Why?

Little Peng: What trick did they use to gain the Supreme Deity’s favor?

Li Zheng felt that if he translated their conversation and replaced “Supreme Deity” with “Emperor,” it would be a perfect palace drama.

When he had no memory, he spent his days listening to the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s incessant, muffled sounds, which were both irritating and confusing. He always hoped that someday he could hear the content of those censored conversations.

Now that he truly understood their content, he began to long for the days of amnesia.

If he couldn’t hear the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s words, it would still be a majestic divine beast in his heart. Now…it was nothing more than a disgruntled concubine in a palace drama.

Its image was ruined.

Feeling disillusioned, Li Zheng watched Wu Ailang listen intently to the Snow Wolf’s distress.

Ever since entering the Youying realm, Wu Ailang could also understand the censored words in the Snow Wolf’s speech, but he didn’t feel puzzled. He had always believed what Yun Xiguang said, firmly believing that Little Spirit Bird was an ancient divine beast, and it was normal for spirit beasts to revere him as the Supreme Deity.

He was someone who had rewritten his name to include “Wolf Love”; how could he bear to hear such sorrowful howls from the Snow Wolf? After analyzing the dialogue between the two spirit beasts and recalling every detail since meeting Yun Xiguang, Wu Ailang spoke up at the right moment,

“Have you forgotten Brother Yun?”

Both the wolf and the peng turned to look at Wu Ailang.

Wu Ailang said seriously, “I noticed that you two keep talking about the Supreme Deity, rarely initiating a chat with Brother Yun. But the Azure Dragon and Bai Ze seldom speak directly to the Supreme Deity; they are constantly discussing matters with Brother Yun. When Brother Yun has problems, he seeks their help. He needs them, and thus the Supreme Deity relies heavily on them.”

The wolf and the peng fell into deep contemplation.

Wu Ailang continued, “Xiaoyuan respects Brother Yun but doesn’t often initiate conversation with him. Little Peng, on the other hand, not only fails to build a good relationship with Brother Yun but also speaks ill of him. If I were the Supreme Deity, I wouldn’t like you either.”

Upon hearing that the Supreme Deity didn’t like him, the Golden-Winged Little Peng nearly exploded. It cried out in pain, “I’ve been cooing and clucking all this time. Wasn’t my heart sincere enough towards the Supreme Deity?”

Wu Ailang replied, “But Yun Xiguang is the Supreme Deity’s Spiritbond Master. Put yourself in his shoes. If there was a spirit beast that respected you immensely but constantly yelled and hurled insults at Director Li in front of you, would you like that spirit beast?”

The Golden-Winged Little Peng immediately responded, “It wouldn’t dare! Even when punishing a dog, one looks at its owner. No matter what happens to Li Zheng, he’s still mine. Anyone who dares to scold him will definitely get pecked by me!”

Li Zheng: “…”

He could feel the Golden-Winged Little Peng’s affection for him, but the emotions were quite subtle.

Wu Ailang shrugged and said, “See, according to your standards, the Supreme Deity hasn’t pecked you, which means he’s already treating you well.”

The Golden-Winged Little Peng and the Snow Wolf suddenly realized their mistake and recalled the interactions between Bai Ze, the Azure Dragon, and Yun Xiguang. They pounded their chests in frustration, realizing that they had been targeting the wrong person all along!

Thus, the wolf and the peng started calling out again, their voices firm and fierce, seemingly making some kind of determination.

The soldiers, standing far away, didn’t hear the quiet conversation between Wu Ailang and the others. They only heard the even more resolute calls of the wolf and the peng, feeling inspired by their emotions and filled with fighting spirit.

Little did they know that the two were discussing how to curry favor with Yun Xiguang and resolving to treat him better in the future.

Birds were naturally chatterboxes, and the Snow Wolf’s personality was closer to that of a Siberian husky, also loved to talk and curse. These two could chat for days and nights nonstop.

Rubbing his temples in pain, Li Zheng was about to remind them to lower their voices when an elderly voice emerged from the smoke. “I’ve been wanting to attack you when you’re relaxed, but I didn’t expect you to be so alert. The two spirit beasts never let their guard down. It seems we’re destined for a direct confrontation.”

As the voice faded, countless black boulders appeared out of nowhere, crashing down heavily on the fighter jets.

Fortunately, the Golden-Winged Little Peng was now perched on Li Zheng’s shoulder, and Li Zheng rapidly sprouted wings, flapping them to create whirlwinds.

The whirlwinds didn’t target the black boulders but the fighter jets.

The fifteen fighter jets were blown hundreds of meters away by the whirlwinds, narrowly avoiding the boulders. Only one aircraft suffered wing damage, while the other fourteen remained unscathed.

At the same time, the silver Snow Wolf merged with Wu Ailang, transforming numerous silver-white hairs into ice and snow that covered the pilots’ bodies, concealing their figures and making their positions invisible.

In just the blink of an eye, only a dozen fighter jets, Li Zheng, and Wu Ailang remained visible, with no sign of anyone else.

Taking advantage of their invisibility, the soldiers rushed toward the fighter jets. They intended to board the jets and utilize their weapons to provide fire support for Li Zheng and Wu Ailang.

Li Zheng immediately recognized the elderly voice. He said sternly, “President Gu, I remember you were supposed to be under surveillance by Lingxi and unable to leave the capital temporarily.”

The smoke dissipated, revealing Gu Shoulu’s aged yet youthful face.

The visitor was none other than one of the two surviving Heaven-grade Spiritbond Masters in the world, the President of the Spiritbond Master Association, Gu Shoulu.

Gu Shoulu sneered. “Do you think Lingxi can confine me?”

“Of course, Lingxi can’t hold you back, but the distance between the capital and South Province isn’t short. By now, I should have received news of your escape.” Li Zheng remarked.

He glanced at his communicator, finding no messages as expected.

Naturally, the communicator had lost signal ever since Gu Shoulu appeared. However, before that, Li Zheng had gotten into the habit of checking his communicator every five minutes. The last check was three minutes ago, and the signal was still fine then.

The distance between the capital and South Province exceeded 3000 kilometers. Even the Golden-Winged Great Peng flying at full speed would take half an hour. And traveling at such high speeds would cause significant harm to the Spiritbond Master’s body, leaving them in a weakened state unable to fight upon arrival in South Province.

And the Golden-Winged Great Peng was already the fastest spirit beast in the world today. How could Gu Shoulu possibly arrive in South Province within three minutes?

Gu Shoulu smiled. “I came to South Province by plane an hour after you left.”

Li Zheng frowned. “Why hasn’t Lingxi sent any messages? What did you do to the people at Lingxi? Did you kill them? No, it’s impossible for you to kill everyone at once; someone would have notified me.”

Gu Shoulu explained, “In the eyes of the people at Lingxi, I’ve only been missing for less than ten seconds. They haven’t had enough time to confirm that I’ve escaped.”

Time… Li Zheng instantly understood what had happened. “It’s the Zhulong! The Zhulong helped you alter everyone else’s perception of time. Ten hours have passed, but in their time perception, it’s still less than ten seconds!”

“Indeed,” Gu Shoulu agreed. “After disposing of you, I can leisurely return to my residence. They’ll still believe I was only disconnected for ten seconds and won’t suspect that I ever left.”

Li Zheng said, “You graduated from Youying Academy. I thought you should be opposed to the Zhulong.”

The Zhulong and Youying had different stances. They were monitoring Gu Shoulu due to his connection with Youying Academy and never imagined that Gu Shoulu had ties with the Zhulong.

Gu Shoulu replied, “Shouldn’t you know that there are no living beings left in Youying Academy? Youying never treated us as its own. Why should I be a puppet of Youying?”

Indeed, Gu Shoulu was also aware of the situation with Youying and the Zhulong. As someone who knew the truth about the world, Li Zheng was perplexed. “Don’t you know that the Zhulong intends to destroy the world? You couldn’t accept Youying viewing human lives as grass, but why can you accept becoming a lackey of the Zhulong? President Gu, I remember you were a staunch defender of rules. You didn’t even like using cellphones. Why would you betray humanity?”

Gu Shoulu said indifferently, “I haven’t changed. I’ve always been a defender of rules. The Law is the most standard and correct rule in the world. There’s nothing wrong with working for the Law.”

Li Zheng asked, puzzled, “Even if the Law wants to destroy the world and establish new rules?”

Gu Shoulu responded, “Dying together is equality under the rule, isn’t it?”

Li Zheng realized that reasoning with Gu Shoulu was futile. He said, “When you appeared, you thought the conversation between the Golden-Winged Great Peng and the silver Snow Wolf was a warning. You couldn’t understand their conversation. How is that possible? Didn’t the Black Tortoise tell you what they were saying? Or have you severed your spirit beast bond with the Black Tortoise? No, you can still use the Black Tortoise’s abilities, which means you’ve controlled the Black Tortoise!”

The Zhulong was related to the Spirit Beast Codex. Gu Shoulu had read the Spirit Beast Codex decades ago. Perhaps he had used the power of the Spirit Beast Codex to counter-control the Black Tortoise’s abilities all along!

No wonder Gu Shoulu could live for so long. It seemed that not only had he not provided soul energy to the Black Tortoise, but he could even extract soul energy from the Black Tortoise.

Gu Shoulu said, “Li Zheng, are you trying to stall for time?”

Li Zheng replied, “I’m not stalling for time. I just don’t understand your thoughts.”

Gu Shoulu sighed. “There’s nothing to understand. Without the Spirit Beast Codex and the Zhulong, I should have died long ago. Even if I’ve lived for so many years, I’ve reached the end of my life.

“People will die eventually, me included, as well as you. Since that’s the case, shouldn’t we all follow the guidance of the Law and head into the night without suffering?”

“No,” Li Zheng firmly stated.

He didn’t attempt to persuade Gu Shoulu. Their perspectives differed. Gu Shoulu was resigned to fate, while Li Zheng didn’t want to die nor wanted others to die. With different values, neither could convince the other.

The only way to genuinely persuade the other was through combat!

Li Zheng wasn’t worried about the Zhulong making a move. The Zhuzhao and the seven phoenix feathers were inside Youying Academy. The Zhulong would be foolish to divert its attention to attack them.

Sending Gu Shoulu to ambush them was merely to eliminate witnesses and cut off any escape routes for Yun Xiguang and the others.

While contemplating how to deal with Gu Shoulu, Li Zheng suddenly felt the ground shake continuously.

Gu Shoulu said, “I know you weren’t stalling for time, but I was.”

With that, Gu Shoulu stretched out his hands, which caused countless black boulders to emerge around Li Zheng and the others. They converged from all directions, about to crush them between the massive rocks!