Grasping Evil

The star of a Fiendgod!

It was the first time the Ruler of Jin witnessed something like that and immediately knew that Ning Fan possessed the Immemorial Divine Veins… and this godly veins had already been cultivated into a star!

What’s more shocking was that… it was a thunder star! It possessed the gift of manipulating lightning and thunder!

He was feeling flabbergasted inside but his expression did not show any irregularities.

“The Divine Star of Imperial Lightning… with this star, you’re qualified to stay in my Great Jin…” He still spoke like a king that’s far from reach and seemed as if he was speaking to himself.

But Ning Fan snickered.

“This is not all I have… Strike!”

The roof of the giant palace was shattered to pieces by lightning while also striking down on the Ruler of Jin!

The king’s expression became serious as he had not anticipated that this mere Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivator would dare to attack him after he had given his decree.

That lightning strike swiftly changed into countless electric currents coursing all throughout his body, causing his qi to be slightly chaotic. But it was quickly dispersed by a mere vibration of his magical force.

The lightning strike was not something that the two Early Nascent Soul Realm demonesses could easily disperse. But the king was a Late Nascent Soul Realm cultivator and the gap between him and the demonesses was like that of heaven and earth.

But right after he dispersed the electricity, the king’s expression changed. Ning Fan moved closer in a blink of an eye with teleportation with his fist enveloped with an icy glow, as a ruthless punch struck the king!

“Ice Smash!”

“Ugh…”

The punch and the lightning strike was perfectly coordinated and did not leave any room for the king to use any magical treasure making him use his body to defend against it. He let out a pained grunt after the punch landed on his body and quickly retreated a hundred zhang away with his qi becoming chaotic from the attack. But he still look unharmed.

This man’s physical body is certainly not weaker than the Black Corpse!

Ning Fan’s knuckle was on the verge of shattering from just the recoil of punching this man.

The king pushed his feet down strongly after a hundred zhang and steadied his body. The golden light in his eyes changed into a strange blackish gold and coldly said.

“The Art of the Overlord, Ten Decrees!”

In an instant, Ning Fan felt an impending crisis in his heart.

After exchanging fists with the king, a fist that was enveloped with a black glow vibrated as if it could tear everything in existence. Ning Fan’s arm immediately felt like breaking and the force’s vibrations went towards his chest too. His gaze slightly shook and retreated as fast as he could with an escaping light.

Right after he retreated, the glow in the king’s fist changed into a giant black wave. It then immediately separated into ten waves, containing the prestige that seem to command everything under the heavens. The giant black wave rushed towards the retreating Ning Fan and engulfed him!

The Art of the Overlord, Domination Technique!

If the previous golden light was the Art of the King, the fist that could dominate everything under the heavens would be the Art of the Overlord!

The King did not possess the Immemorial Fiendgod Veins, but his Dao was the Dao of the King, the way of the overlord, with Great Jin as his country and Nascent Soul Realm cultivators as his subject… This person’s Dao was slightly terrifying. If this person has the chance to break through to Spirit Severing Realm, his Divine Intent would certainly be outstanding!

Not to mention, the King was a Late Nascent Soul Realm cultivator that was stronger than Ning Fan in terms of cultivation base. Even if he was an Early Nascent Soul Realm, he would still be stronger than the Black Corpse and would definitely be a difficult enemy for Ning Fan to win against.

There was a hint of qi that Ning Fan couldn’t go against in the black wave. That qi was of the King while he was the subject. That qi was of the Immortal and he was a mortal. That qi was superior and he was inferior!

The hierarchy must not be defied!

After Ning Fan got engulfed in the black wave, he took out the jade slip that had the Demon General’s stored attack from his storage pouch and grasped it in his hand.

Unbeatable… I would certainly be shredded into pieces if I don’t show my trump cards now…

However, his heart hesitated.

Ning Fan found it hard to accept the fact that he was weaker than the king.

There was a large gap between Half-Step Gold Core Realm and Late Nascent Soul Realm… This insurmountable feeling cleared Ning Fan’s mind. He could use his trump cards to fight a life and death battle with a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, but the disparity between his real strength and a Late Nascent Soul Realm cultivator was astronomical…

If I use the jade slip now, a single Spirit Severing stored strike would be able to break through the black wave.

And another slip could probably deliver a grave injury on the king.

But this is the strength of others and this victory would be dishonest… and in the end, I would still be inferior than him.

The Incense Sword of Luo You had assisted me in eliminating the Heaven Separation…

The scabbard of the Sword Ancestor had assisted me in defending the strike of Emperor Moksha…  

And now, I have to borrow the strike of the Demon General to defend myself against the king…

“If I rely on the Dao of others, then what does my Dao amount to?! This wave is only a realm higher than my Body Refining Technique. The insurmountable feeling is because… this technique made me feel afraid without even trying to fight! If one is afraid, this black wave would become much stronger… I’ve seen through his technique… His golden eyes, or even the black wave, it’s all a means to scare people with his aura. The longer the exchange is, the fear induced would be stronger, making this technique even more be powerful… This is the King’s Dao!”

At this moment, Ning Fan kept the jade slip away and his eyes were filled with fighting intent.

All grudges were tossed aside.

Cultivation base had became irrelevant.

There were only layers upon layers of the black wave left in his eyes. But when his heart is at peace1, those black waves was nothing scary!

The Second Realm of Silver Bone is just a realm higher than me… there’s no such thing as totally superior and inferior!

The King of Jin is the Monarch, is the Heaven itself, and is the superior one. I am the subject, the Earth, and the inferior being… but this inferiority can be defied!

It is the determination of defying the heavens!

“Ice Smash!”

The punch was imbued with unyielding intent. The first layer of the black wave was frozen into ice and shattered!

Outside of the black wave, the king’s expression changed as his Overlord Art was unexpectedly directly broken by a mere Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivator!

The unexpected thing was that the second and third layer of black wave were shattered too!

Three layers! Even those talented Early Nascent Soul Realm cultivators can only take on three layers!  

“I’ve underestimated this child… since you have such strength, even if you are a foreigner, I hereby specially exempt you from established customs 2  and be made into one of my Great Jin’s commanders!” The King of Jin coldly said

His golden eyes could immediately see that three consecutive layers were Ning Fan’s limit.

Each wave was 30% stronger than the previous one. The fourth layer was even twice as powerful as the first!

This child is extraordinary, but he shouldn’t be able to take on the fourth layer…

“Your Majesty, please stop!” Jie Xiu pleaded with his fist clasped!

“Yes, his strength is useful for my Great Jin, I’ll retract the technique now…”

The King of Jin inherited the harsh personality of his ancestors. Ning Fan might even be a spy from the demon camp, so if he wasn’t useful to the country, he could be killed. However, if he was from the demon camp but he has his own use for the country, the King was confident in making him submit and loyal through rewards. This was the Dao of the King of Jin!

But he was again shocked when he tried to retrieve the waves.

The fourth layer of the black wave, shattered! The fifth layer, too, shattered!

“Only those with a cultivation level that is higher than Mid Nascent Soul Realm can take on the fifth layer of the waves… How and what did this child do?!”

His expression immediately changed drastically as his golden eyes pierced through the curtain of the black wave!

“To think he would employ such measures, he’s a lunatic!”

“…”

Ning Fan broke through three waves consecutively with an unyielding spirit, but this was in fact his limit.

And he had decided to not use the stored attack of the Demon General… He wanted to use his own ways to break through the wave!

Ning Fan then took out dozens of second and third grade chilly qi from his storage pouch and detonated it!

Two types of fourth grade chilly qi were also taken out and detonated!

These chilly qi was gained from all the storage pouches that he obtained in the past. They were dispensable for him.

But at this moment, they were extremely useful and had increased the strength of his icy fist!

His black pupils remained calm, as if there was nothing serious about breaking all those treasures.

Layers and layers of chilly air engulfed his body and was changed into the glow engulfing his fist, causing the fourth and fifth layer of the black wave to freeze and shatter!

It’s not enough, still not enough!

Note:

1. Literal: Heart as still as still water

2. of having only local cultivators as commanders

His gaze fell on the Burning Blood Pills stored in his storage pouch. This black wave is a threat but it’s also an opportunity!

This black wave is just the right outlet for me to vent my excess killing intent!

A bottle containing ten Burning Blood Pills was emptied in a single gulp!

He was engulfed with the pain of his blood boiling. But he was unfazed, with his body changing into nine zhang nine chi large while he submerged in the giant wave.

His Colossal Bone Secret Art reached the third stage with the help of the Burning Blood Pills!

The tyrannical killing intent that was imbued within the Burning Blood Pills engulfed Ning Fan in an instant.

His punching power increased by 30% after his body had become ten zhang in size.

The glow in his fist had now changed into pure killing intent. It dispersed after his punch clashed with the black wave, causing the sixth and seventh layers to be destroyed!

Seven layers of wave!

The King was utterly shocked. Only those cultivators who have Second Realm Silver Bone would be able to break this many…  

Plus, the most unbelievable thing was that Ning Fan broke through a realm in his cultivation method under the onslaught of the black waves!

“Seven layers, it’s enough! You will become one of the ‘Seven Commanders’ after you join the Cultivation Guard! This King will allow you to stay in Jin for ten years, with all your needs in regards to cultivation given to you and will definitely be satisfied!”

Seven Commanders!

Other than the King of Jin, the country of Jin possessed fourteen Nascent Soul Realm cultivators and seven of them were Mid Nascent Soul Realm cultivators!

They are called the Seven Commanders! And one of them had just perished in the demon tide…

This matter had shook the hearts countless cultivators of Jin causing the king to feel depressed.

Losing a Mid Nascent Soul Realm cultivator was precisely the reason why he had to personally patrol the country. He needed to fill in the gap in their ranks and scout a Mid Nascent Soul Realm cultivator from the borders to assist his Great Jin in exterminating the demons.

Regretfully, only a few Early Nascent Soul Realm cultivators were discovered at the border and enticed by the King with generous gifts, but no Mid Nascent Soul Realm could be found.

When Jie Xiu said that there was a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator that he couldn’t fathom, the king immediately rushed to him that very night.  

The King knew that Jie Xiu’s talent was only at the above average. But his cold sense was so special that people lower than Early Nascent Soul Realm couldn’t hide against his inquisitive cold sense.

The King naturally thought that ‘Zhou Ming’ was a Mid Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. He even brought generous gifts to recruit him.

But in the end… this person wasn’t a Mid Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, nor at Early Nascent Soul Realm, let alone at Gold Core Realm… But a Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivator! And this Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivator possessed demonic blood, giving rise to suspicions of him being in cahoots with the demons!

Therefore, the king was naturally furious and the first attack he launched was an attack to aimed to kill  trying to kill Ning Fan with the golden ray in his eyes.

Unexpectedly, Ning Fan saw through the secrets of the golden ray and blocked it with his sword sense.

Sword sense… The king did not know how strong or weak it was unless directly going against it. But he managed to find out that Ning Fan was a Silver Bone expert.

He then concealed some of his killing intent while carrying an intention to probe whether Ning Fan was worth recruiting.

The king was not interested in the ice smash punch. But the Thunder Star had a restraining effect on demons, and this resulted in him become willing to rely on Ning Fan’s strength.

But it was unexpected that Ning Fan still dared to attack him after he had already agreed to let Ning Fan join the Cultivation Guard… That’s why he was so furious that he had used the Overlord Technique ‘Ten Decrees’. But he had another idea in mind.

This black wave could be said to be a lesson for Ning Fan of not respecting royalty. The king would’ve saved Ning Fan if he couldn’t take it anymore.

From the very start, he never expected for Ning Fan to be able to overcome the black waves, much less seven consecutive waves!

Even though this child is just in the Harmonious Spirit Realm, his true strength is enough to make Mid Nascent Soul Realm cultivators be wary against him. He’s enough to fill the vacancy of the Seven Commanders!

But Ning Fan snickered again inside the black wave.

“I am not interested in being one of the Seven Commanders and I do not give a damn about cultivation resources… three months! I will fight for Jin for only three months! Three months later, I’ll leave this place with your Ancient Teleportation Formation!”

“Three months? That’s too short!”

“Really…”

Ning Fan showed an expression that had made a decision. He then took out twenty Burning Blood Pills and gulped them down!

His Colossal Bone Secret Art once again broke through to the third level of the second realm under the onslaught of the black wave. His ten zhang body once again increased to twelve zhang!

Scatter, scatter, scatter!

The glow in his fist that was filled to the brim with killing intent was fully unleashed.

Ten waves! Scatter!

In an instant, the king’s gaze secretly wavered and the cold sense that was in Jie Xiu’s pale blind eyes showed extreme shock!

“There’s only three people that are able to scatter His Majesty’s Ten Waves within the Seven Commanders. One of them is the ‘Water Commander’ Xun Ri that had recently died in the demon tide… Your Majesty! This person can definitely be put in an important position, we must borrow this person’s strength!” Jie Xiu said in a clear and resonant voice.

But the King of Jin was silent.

“Three months… I’ll eliminate demons for Great Jin for three months, and I will leave after three months!”

Ning Fan retracted his manifestation with a solemn expression. His palm pressed upon his storage pouch and a blood-coloured jade slip was taken out for self-defence. If the King does not agree with him, then he shall use whatever means necessary to leave using the teleportation formation!

The king looked deeply at Ning Fan without looking at Jie Xiu.

“Alright! Three months!”

“En!” Ning Fan replied coldly.

He left the Ice Palace and went towards the direction of the inn.

He did not truly intend to use the jade slip to give the king a grave injury… While it is true that he had attacked me, he is still the Ruler of Jin, so it’ll be extremely troublesome if he’s hurt.

I can use the identity of Zhou Ming and the All-Heaven Relic to mask my real identity, but I am still travelling with Suqiu and Jing Zhuo. The king’s Nascent Soul Realm underlings would certainly retaliate if the king was hurt. If there’s a one-in-a-million chance that they manage to find out about Yue Country…

Ning Fan did not like this kind of grudge that couldn’t be sought, but he had no other choice.

Even if the jade slip was used, Ning Fan felt that he could only injure him but not really kill him.

Since I have my trump cards, won’t this person have them too… Spirit Severing Realm stored attack, the Ruler of Jin perhaps has much more of them.

A Late Nascent Soul Realm cultivator is much stronger than me. That single Body Refining Technique of his wasn’t his full strength. It would’ve made me use everything to defend against it!

He did not use a single magical treasure and his powerful Late Nascent Soul Realm magical force, he didn’t even use Spirit Severing Realm techniques….

“I am inferior to him… but this is just temporary! Very soon, I’ll form my Gold Core, congeal my Nascent Soul, and attain Spirit Severing Realm… On that day, I will let the Ruler of Jin know how powerful I am with my own strength!”

For sure… Certainly!

“…”

Jie Xiu let out a long sigh of relief after Ning Fan left.

Although there were many twists and turns today, Ning Fan eventually managed to satisfy the king. Hence, the crime of negligence should be exempted.

“Congratulations Your Majesty on obtaining a new commander! Even though it’s just a three-month service, but according to the news that’s obtained from the Rain Palace,  ‘the date of the decisive battle’ will be in the next few months…” Jie Xiu congratulates.

But to his surprise, the king’s face was as pale as ‘gold paper1’ and he coughed out black blood that was filled gold strands with his slightly weakened qi.

“Congratulations… Hmmph! Congratulating that this king got hurt?!”

“What! How is Your Majesty hurt?!” Jie Xiu was extremely shocked!

“Do you know why I allowed this person to only serve for three months? Three months, luckily it’s just three months! After this child broke through the ten waves, this king successfully found out that he is a wolf that is ambitious, a person that is extremely hard to subdue and control. To keep this person for ten years in my Great Jin, he’ll be a… big threat! This person has two qi that made me feel a hint of danger. Which I only found out after he had broken through the waves. It is most probably a Spirit Severing Strike… This child held murderous intent towards me! DID YOU KNOW?! ”

The king suppressed his injury and for the first time laughed bitterly.

“If he had used the Spirit Severing stored attack to break through the black waves, that’ll be fine… my technique would be broken without me suffering any injury. This child possesses an unwavering Dao Heart and shattered the ‘Overlord Intent’ that was imbued in my technique… This king’s Body Refining Technique is much too unique, to win or lose, it is all in a single intent. If my intent wins, it’ll be unbeatable. If the intent loses, this body and my clan will perish… This child broke through the king’s intent with a rebellious heart. But he is qualified to become a commander in eliminating those demons… Other than those Rain Palace Division cultivators, he’s the only cultivator in Great Jin that is able to injure me while breaking my King’s Intent…  In addition to that, this child only has a Half-Step Gold Core Realm cultivation base… If I’m right, once he manages to congeal his Nascent Soul… Even if it’s just an Early Nascent Soul Realm cultivation realm, he’ll be able to stand toe-to-toe with me… This Great Jin cannot host him… Immemorial Godly Veins, I wonder which fiendgod inheritance managed to give birth to such a person…”

The king’s gaze was fixed in place and once again become expressionless. While Jie Xiu’s heart could not stay calm, after hearing what His Majesty said.

How is this Zhou Ming so strong? To be able to go toe-to-toe with His Majesty after he attains Early Nascent Soul Realm!

“Jie Xiu, inform the others that my patrolling duties will be temporarily stopped… This king needs to go to the ‘cold pool’ to recuperate and repair the Overlord Intent… As for Zhou Ming, deliver this storage pouch to him later. This is compensation to fix the friction he and I had… Maybe he’ll reduce his hostility towards me after looking at these items and give his full support for Jin…”

The king gave Jie Xiu a golden storage pouch and disappeared without a trace.

After Jie Xiu looked at the storage pouch, the cold sense in his blind eyes immediately flickered, unable to keep calm.

“This is?! To think that His Majesty would give such an item to Zhou Ming as compensation!”

A shred of chilly cold qi emerged silently from the storage pouch… This is the deceased Xun Ri Commander’s item that had made him famous…

But Jie Xiu immediately understood why the king bestow this gift to Zhou Ming.

Aside from enticing Ning Fan, there was still…

“I see… His Majesty is really worried against this person…” Jie Xiu said with a sigh.

Note:

1. Gold Paper or Joss Paper are papers that are burnt to our ancestor as a form of worship (Chinese Tradition)