Volume Two: Bandit Life - Chapter Fifteen: Enhancing Strength

Eleven years later, in the direction of the Thousand Insects Valley of the God Realm.

"Rumble..." Thunder and lightning flashed wildly across the sky. Simultaneously, clouds of seven different colors gathered overhead. These auspicious clouds converged incessantly, with bolts of lightning slithering through them like snakes.

A heaven-and-earth anomaly—a sign that someone had become a God King. However, in the Hongmeng God Realm, ascending to the rank of God King was no longer a rare occurrence. This upheaval caused by a newly promoted God King did not attract much attention.

"Law of Time?" Qin Si, who was in seclusion, suddenly sensed something beyond the Law of Space. As he pondered it, it seemed to resemble a law as well.

"Yet, it doesn't quite feel like the Law of Time," Qin Si frowned. "But in the universe, besides the Law of Space and the Law of Time, what else could there be?"

Qin Si had heard his father, Qin Yu, speak of the eight great origins of the universe. The Laws of Space and Time were, logically, the fundamental constituents of the cosmos. Yet, this layer of understanding he had grasped was neither the Law of Space nor the Law of Time.

Qin Si, who had been meditating with eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open. He flicked a burst of energy, causing the third space of the Jiang Lan Realm to tremble violently. Following the path of that energy, the space collapsed and shattered completely, forming a pitch-black void that took a long time to restore itself.

"This... what is this?" Qin Shuang, who had already become a God King, was stunned. He had been awakened from his own contemplation of the Law of Time by this surge of power.

Within the Jiang Lan Realm, the two brothers had been in seclusion for over eighty thousand years. Qin Shuang had long since fully grasped the Law of Space to become a God King, and in recent days, he had even begun to catch glimpses of time acceleration.

Watching the space still trembling and slowly repairing itself, Qin Shuang believed that even with his own God King cultivation, he could not achieve such power with a mere flick of his hand.

Let alone Qin Shuang, even the perpetrator, Qin Si, had his eyes wide open in disbelief. "This... this power is too immense!"

"Big brother... what on earth are you doing?" Qin Shuang asked, feeling a bit foolish. As a God King, he could easily sense that Qin Si’s cultivation remained at the level of a High-level Heavenly Deity, without the slightest change.

"Heh, to tell you the truth, I don't know either, but the power is truly great," Qin Si replied. "Just now, I used my control over the Jiang Lan Realm to reinforce that portion of space by threefold. How about that? Your big brother is pretty impressive, right?"

"This... that's impossible..." Qin Shuang scratched his head, looking incredulous. One had to realize that while the third space of the Jiang Lan Realm was not as stable as the space of the God Realm, it was only about five times weaker. This meant that Qin Si, a mere High-level Heavenly Deity, could almost shatter large areas of the God Realm's space with a casual strike.

"Nothing is impossible. You’ve reached the God King realm, so why can’t your big brother be a bit tougher?" Qin Si rolled his eyes at Qin Shuang.

"God King?" Qin Shuang gave a bitter smile. "Big brother, I’m afraid my attack power as a God King is still a hundred and eight thousand miles behind yours."

Qin Si smiled mysteriously. "Little Shuang, that isn't just raw attack power; it involves a certain technique."

This technique was something he had first derived from the experience of breaking through the Hongmeng Primordial Water. Through these days of seclusion, Qin Si had discovered a great secret: this technique seemed to be a form of law itself, distinct from the Laws of Space and Time—a unique entity. The sensation was profound and mystical; he could understand it, but he could not put it into words.

"Forget it. I thought you would feel inferior after this seclusion, but it turns out it’s still me," Qin Shuang said, feigning dissatisfaction. "You’re only a High-level Heavenly Deity and you’re already like this. What will happen when you reach the God King realm?"

"Pow!" Qin Si’s figure flickered to Qin Shuang’s side, landing a sharp rap on his head. "You brat, you’re a God King now, what are you feeling inferior about? What good is my attack power if I can't teleport or grasp the Law of Time? Be content."

Qin Shuang was startled, then laughed. "Heh, that's true. But big brother, can you stop hitting me in the future? I’m all grown up; stop treating me like a child. Besides, I was just joking earlier. I was ignorant before; there's no difference between you being strong and me being strong."

"Hmph, that’s more like it. Fine, I won’t hold it against you," Qin Si said. "But counting it up, we’ve been in seclusion for less than a hundred years. I suspect that even if I faced a God King now, I wouldn't be at a disadvantage."

"That may be so, but big brother, have you considered that God Kings can teleport? You still need to be careful." Qin Shuang was naturally worried; his brother was not a God King and could not teleport, making battles against God Kings highly dangerous.

"Teleport? Hmph!" Qin Si let out a cold laugh. "When the time comes to fight, I’ll just destroy the surrounding space and let their teleportation go to hell."

Qin Shuang gave a bitter smile. "Big brother, they might not fight you face-to-face. What will you do if you’re ambushed?"

"Ambush? Don't forget your big brother has a top-grade Hongmeng Spirit Treasure armor. Do you think it’s that easy to break?" Qin Si said dismissively.

"You’re lucky. You just need to put a portion of your soul into a clone and everything is fine. After that sword strike from Ping Tian last time, I am convinced that this clone is truly indestructible," Qin Si said, feeling a tinge of jealousy.

"The clone?" Qin Shuang was stunned, then said excitedly, "Big brother, I just sensed that the clone has fully comprehended the Law of Time and has become a Heavenly Venerable!"

"Already a Heavenly Venerable?" The envy in Qin Si’s eyes became even more evident. After a moment of thought, he said, "Little Shuang, a clone becoming a Heavenly Venerable might not be a good thing."

"Oh? How so?" Qin Shuang did not understand his meaning.

"Think about it. Ping Tian told us that the Heavenly Venerables of the Hongmeng God Realm have a mutual agreement: they must not interfere in battles between God Kings. This means that once we leave seclusion, we cannot use that clone."

Qin Shuang’s expression dimmed. "That’s true. If the clone takes action, it will surely alert the other Heavenly Venerables. If that happens, we would become the targets of over two hundred Heavenly Venerables. That would be disastrous. However, if we can't use it, so be it. Surely, the two of us brothers can make a name for ourselves in this Hongmeng God Realm? If we couldn't, we’d really be losing face."

Qin Si’s eyes shone. "Exactly. Even though I’m not a God King yet, my current strength is enough. The eleventh great bandit faction—just thinking about it is exciting." Recalling Ping Tian’s plan, Qin Si couldn't help but tremble all over—not from fear, but from excitement.

"Welcome, two Alliance Leaders!" At the entrance of the main hall of the Demon Refining Cave, Ping Tian bowed to greet Qin Si and Qin Shuang, his attitude extremely respectful.

"Enough, don't do this next time, lest someone discovers us," Qin Shuang said.

"Do not worry, Alliance Leaders. I have set up a spatial barrier around the area; ordinary God Kings cannot probe this place with their divine sense," Ping Tian bowed again to Qin Shuang. "Congratulations to the Vice Alliance Leader on achieving the rank of God King."

"It seems you knew I had become a God King for a long time," Qin Shuang said with a faint smile.

"Heh, indeed. Ever since that heaven-and-earth anomaly at the Thousand Insects Valley decades ago, I knew that a God King must have emerged between the two of you. By the way, Alliance Leaders, when shall we begin?" Ping Tian asked expectantly. "I can hardly wait."

Qin Si glared at him. "The Purple Profound Alliance isn't yours, why are you in such a rush?"

"We can start now. Tell us about the surrounding factions and share your thoughts," Qin Shuang commanded.

"Yes. Within a hundred thousand li of the Demon Refining Cave, there are over twenty factions. However, in my opinion, we should first strike at the Underworld King Palace." Ping Tian spread out a scroll, a map covering three million li around the Demon Refining Cave, and pointed to a location. "The Underworld King Palace is over eighty thousand li from here. While it is not the closest, it is the strongest in the vicinity. Once we subdue the Underworld King Palace, we only need to use a little intimidation, and more than half of these twenty-plus factions will surely submit."

"Oh? Tell me, how many God Kings are in the Underworld King Palace?" Qin Si asked with interest.

"There are two God Kings. One of them is a master artifact refiner; my own high-grade Heavenly Deity-level dagger was crafted by him," Ping Tian smiled cunningly. "Alliance Leaders, forgive my bluntness, but since you can produce so many Divine Spirit Stones with a wave of your hand, I assume you have plenty of artifact-refining materials as well."

"You fellow, you’re quite clever," Qin Si smiled helplessly. "We do have plenty of refining materials. Your suggestion is good; we will start by taking down the Underworld King Palace."

"We must establish our authority among the surrounding factions this time. We must take the Underworld King Palace with the force of a thunderbolt," Qin Shuang pondered. "However... Ping Tian, this operation must be in the name of your Demon Refining Cave. Nominally, my brother and I are just your subordinates."

"I understand. It’s just that it will be a grievance for the two Alliance Leaders to pretend to take orders from me," Ping Tian said, looking troubled.

In the Underworld King Palace, the two palace masters, Cui De and Jiang Zheng, were drinking and chatting.

"Second brother, how many materials were left over after you finished refining the Heavenly Artifact for the Xuanqing Palace this time?" the palace master, Cui De, asked with a smile.

Jiang Zheng took a sip of wine and said casually, "Not much, I only kept sixty percent of the materials."

Cui De’s eyes lit up. "Sixty percent? Doesn't that mean you could still refine two mid-grade Heavenly Artifacts?"

"Haha, mid-grade Heavenly Artifacts?" Jiang Zheng laughed, then whispered, "Big brother, my artifact refining skills have improved recently. When they asked for mid-grade Heavenly Artifacts, I only used forty percent of the worst materials. The remaining sixty percent of high-quality materials are enough to refine a top-grade Heavenly Artifact."

(To be continued)