Volume Two: A Bandit’s Life, Chapter Forty-Six: Keep a Hostage

“Heh, yes—a first-grade Grandmist spiritual treasure!” Qin Si laughed. “Old fool, now you know we don’t like you, yet you actually tried to fob us off with three second-grade Grandmist spiritual treasures.”

“Hmph. So what if it’s a first-grade Grandmist spiritual treasure? It still depends on whose hands it is in.” Zhou Tian gave a cold laugh, and his figure suddenly vanished.

“Teleportation?” Qin Si was startled for a moment, but immediately rejected the thought. This space had already become extremely chaotic. Attempting to teleport here would be no different from seeking death.

“Hmph. Break!” Qin Si suddenly sensed movement behind him. He spun around in an instant, thrusting out the golden spear in his hand. Wherever the spear passed, space shattered, and the fractures remained unhealed for a long time.

“Boom!”

A bolt of deep-purple lightning struck Qin Si in an instant, staggering him. Zhou Tian’s attack, combined with the power of the Thunder Origin Spiritual Pearl, was indeed incomparably formidable.

“Impossible!” Zhou Tian shouted. “Even if you have the Fire Origin Spiritual Pearl protecting you, it’s impossible for you to withstand my origin lightning without suffering the slightest injury!”

“There’s nothing impossible about it.” Qin Si shook his body indifferently. “With that level of power, you can’t even make me itch.”

Zhou Tian’s gaze had nearly descended into madness. “You… you have a defensive Grandmist spiritual treasure?”

Other than that, he could think of no explanation for Qin Si’s ability to withstand his full-powered strike without injury.

Qin Si merely shrugged. “Old fool, did you come here to fight or to chat? Watch my spear!”

With a tremor of Qin Si’s golden spear, countless spear shadows instantly filled the air. Each one carved a long spatial rift that remained unhealed. In the blink of an eye, the space between Qin Si and Zhou Tian, a mere few dozen meters apart, was covered in cracks.

Zhou Tian’s expression turned ugly. Faced with so many spatial rifts, even a God King would find them troublesome.

“Break!”

The Thunder Origin Spiritual Pearl above Zhou Tian’s head suddenly blazed with violet light. Countless tiny electric snakes coiled and flickered across its surface. Immediately afterward, innumerable deep-purple bolts of lightning, each as thick as a finger, descended from the heavens and savagely bombarded Qin Si several dozen meters away.

“Hahaha! Is that all you’ve got?”

Qin Si laughed uproariously, dodging only slightly. He paid no attention to the lightning filling the sky. Whenever he could not evade a bolt, he simply stood there and let it strike him. It could not inflict the slightest injury.

“Hmph. Too naïve.”

Zhou Tian’s figure vanished once more.

“You’re using that trick again?” Qin Si laughed. “You’re really shameless. Hurry up and think of a way to break through my defenses.”

“Freeze!”

All at once, Qin Si’s gaze became fixed. Even the spatial rifts before him, which had been slowly closing, came to a halt. That entire region of space fell into complete stillness.

Qin Shuang and Li Yang worked together, keeping the many God Kings of Punishment City from approaching. Although the two of them possessed the advantage, killing their opponents was still extraordinarily difficult.

Then Qin Shuang suddenly caught sight of Qin Si’s predicament, but it was already too late. Zhou Tian had appeared before Qin Si, a lightning-wreathed dagger gripped in his hand.

“Die!”

Zhou Tian shouted fiercely. The dagger was already less than half a foot from Qin Si’s head.

At that moment, a bizarre scene unfolded. Qin Si suddenly grinned at Zhou Tian, his eyes filled with mockery. With nothing more than a slight tilt of his head, he dodged Zhou Tian’s dagger, while the spear in his hand pierced straight through Zhou Tian’s body.

“Whew—”

Zhou Tian’s mouth fell open. He hastily fled at his fastest speed, terror filling his gaze as he looked at Qin Si.

“How is this possible?” he muttered. “He’s only an Upper Heavenly God, yet he possesses offensive power beyond that of a God King, spatial control beyond that of a God King, and can even ignore the laws of temporal stillness?”

The wound on his body healed almost instantly, but the blow Qin Si had dealt Zhou Tian was one to his very soul.

“Heh heh, I never imagined Big Brother’s ability would be so formidable!” Qin Shuang said with a nervous laugh, having narrowly escaped a fright.

It was not only Qin Shuang who was astonished. Li Yang was equally shocked. An Upper Heavenly God had broken through the laws of temporal stillness in such a short time—throughout the history of the divine realm, no one had ever accomplished such a feat. Even Lin Meng, once acknowledged as the strongest of them all, had been unable to do so.

“What a monster,” Li Yang said with a shake of his head and a laugh.

“You… could you all stop fighting?”

Just as everyone’s eyes were focused on Qin Si, a frail voice rang out. Zhou Fei’er stood nearby, staring blankly at the God Kings flying back and forth around her, looking utterly helpless.

“Kill them! Kill all those bastards from Punishment City!”

Someone among the God Kings of the Purple Mystic Alliance shouted. In the next instant, more than a hundred God Kings charged into the ranks of Punishment City’s over three hundred God Kings, who had already been intimidated by Qin Si.

That shout drove Qin Shuang and Li Yang’s fighting spirit to its peak.

“Big Brother Li Yang, with these God Kings joining us, hold them off for a while. I’m going to settle the score with Zhou Xian.”

Qin Shuang finally relaxed and entrusted the task entirely to Li Yang. With a flash of his figure, he plunged into the crowd and began searching everywhere for Zhou Xian.

“These two brothers are certainly interesting.” Li Yang gave a wry smile, then casually sent a blade-ray flying, forcing a God King back.

“Zhou Xian!”

Qin Shuang finally spotted him. With a flash, he appeared directly before Zhou Xian.

“You… what do you want?” Zhou Xian’s face went pale. He already knew that the vice-leader of the Purple Mystic Alliance had not only comprehended temporal stillness but also possessed a first-grade Grandmist spiritual treasure. He was utterly incapable of resisting him.

“Hahaha!” Qin Shuang was amused by the question. “You tried to ambush my big brother earlier. I’m here to settle that debt properly.”

Zhou Xian’s eyes kept darting around as he searched for a chance to escape. But God Kings were battling everywhere around him, making teleportation impossible. As for fleeing by flight, he did not believe he could possibly outrun Qin Shuang.

“Stop looking around. If you want someone to blame, blame your father for giving you such an unlucky name. Remember this—do not use it again in your next life.”

Qin Shuang shook the Azure Profound One-Qi Staff in his hand. A vast wave of energy swept across Zhou Xian’s body. Poor Zhou Xian had become a God King only a few million years earlier, yet now he perished on the spot.

“Stop! Everyone, cease fighting!”

Zhou Tian’s voice suddenly exploded across the battlefield.

Qin Si did not understand what was happening. He instantly retreated several hundred meters and looked at Zhou Tian in puzzlement.

“What is it, old fool? Are you afraid?”

Upon hearing Zhou Tian’s voice, all the God Kings of Punishment City withdrew. A single sweep of their divine senses revealed that four God Kings were already missing. In less than the time it took to burn a stick of incense, four God Kings had fallen. Zhou Tian felt as though his heart were bleeding.

“Afraid?” Zhou Tian snorted coldly. Without explaining, he continued, “Alliance Leader Qin, why don’t we make an agreement?”

For some reason, Zhou Fei’er let out a long breath beside them. Although she was reputed to be Punishment City’s most gifted God King, that reputation applied only to cultivation. Zhou Fei’er had never liked fighting or killing.

“An agreement?” Qin Si rolled his eyes, then burst into laughter. “Fine, I’ll give you that much face. Tell me, how much does Punishment City plan to compensate the Purple Mystic Alliance?”

Zhou Tian’s eyes widened, and he nearly cursed aloud. After repeatedly reminding himself to put the greater situation first, he said, “Alliance Leader Qin, although the Purple Mystic Alliance holds a slight advantage in this battle, do not forget that if I give the order now and summon every God King in Punishment City, your Purple Mystic Alliance will be surrounded in an instant. No matter how powerful you are, you will probably be unable to escape destruction.”

Qin Si dug at his ear impatiently. “If you have something to say, say it quickly. Let me tell you plainly: we aren’t afraid. If you have the nerve, summon Punishment City’s Heavenly Venerable.”

“Uh…”

Zhou Tian was instantly rendered speechless. In truth, he had said those words merely to frighten Qin Si. Let alone mobilizing every God King in Punishment City, even summoning more than a thousand God Kings required the approval of the Council of Elders. As a Saint Emperor, he did not possess such authority.

What he had never expected was Qin Si’s temperament. He carried himself as though Heaven itself ranked first and he ranked second, even more overbearing and arrogant than Li Yang had once been.

“Very well. Punishment City occupies a lofty position and disdains to become enemies with a minor force such as yours—”

“Bah! You have one minute. Finish what you want to say. If I don’t hear the point within a minute, I’ll keep fighting.”

“We propose a truce…”

Utterly helpless, Zhou Tian said, “Punishment City has lost four God Kings in this battle, but we will not pursue the matter with the Purple Mystic Alliance. From this day forward, Punishment City will no longer be your enemy, and the Purple Mystic Alliance must likewise cease treating Punishment City as an enemy.”

Qin Si smiled, then threw his head back and laughed. “Old fool, you should have admitted you were afraid from the beginning. Why waste so much breath?”

Li Yang was also in excellent spirits, watching the scene with delight. A God King had been forced into such a position by an Upper Heavenly God—if word of it spread, no one would dare believe it.

Zhou Tian’s face flushed red, then pale. Not only had Punishment City lost four God Kings in this battle, but he had also lost every shred of dignity.

“Forget it. We don’t want anything from Punishment City. However, I’m worried you may go back on your word, so leave one person behind as a hostage.” Qin Si narrowed his eyes and smiled.