Apex War God

Yang Wu had no choice. He had to face the skin-clad skeleton to leave this place, and the remaining node that kept the being contained was running out of energy.

Hearing Yang Wu's promised salvation, the skeleton was pleasantly surprised. “Really?”

“Yes. As long as you swear a strict oath not to cause me any more harm, I will set you free!” Yang Wu replied.

“Boy, who gave you the nerve to make demands?” the being snarled.

“Senior, you have been trapped here for many years. You might be resentful and craving revenge, but you are still trapped. The prison guards must have notified the imperial court by now, and they will send a King. The way I see it, you can either let that King kill you or remain a prisoner. Think about it. Would you prefer to cooperate and leave here together or wait for your impending doom?” Yang Wu was confident and his words, eloquent.

Weighing his options, the skin-clad skeleton admitted defeat. “Alright, I'll count on you, boy. Now, break the node and free me!”

“Only a strict oath will assure me, Senior!”

“Fine! As long as you help me break free, I will not harm you again. Should I break my word, may lightning strike me dead.”

“How cliché!”

“What more do you want from me?!”

“Let me think…. How about this? If you break the oath, eighteen generations of your descendants will be cursed to never reincarnate, your ‘little man’ will never rise again, you’ll get hemorrhoids, smallpox, and syphilis. That should be enough.”

The skeleton’s already unhappy expression twisted upon hearing Yang Wu’s oath.

What kind of rubbish was this?

But the being had no choice. As Yang Wu had said, the guards outside the pit must have called for reinforcements. And the imperial court were no fools. The longer he delayed, the harder leaving would become. His only option was to suck it up and swear the oath.

Once the skin-clad skeleton swore the strict oath, Yang Wu said, “I hope you’re a man of honor, not a crook who goes back on his word.”

Those words only agitated the skeleton further.

What a shame that he, a dignified King, had to suffer ridicule from a mere Warrior.

Yang Wu snatched up the Tiger Fang Saber that had fallen with him. He then directed the energy within, sending Profound Energy from his peach-pit dantian gushing like a roiling river through his twelve major meridians and the newly opened minor meridian. Turbulent, the energy swirled in his forty-nine acupoints, rushing through his arms like a herd of wild horses. His arms gleamed with brilliance as energy poured into the Tiger Fang Saber. As a result, an energy blade approximately two hundred seventy centimeters long overshadowed the weapon, and he slashed at the broken profound spirit stone.

Boom!

Typically, Inferior Grade Warriors could only pull their energy to the surface of their skin, enhancing their defensive power. These cultivators were also usually limited to between half of a cauldron and one cauldron of strength and could extend their Profound Energy by about thirty-three centimeters. In contrast, Medial Grade Warriors could wield two to four cauldrons of strength and extend their Profound Energy to one hundred thirty-three centimeters, at most. Superior Grade Warriors usually measured between five and ten cauldrons and could extend their energy by about three hundred thirty centimeters. Finally, a Consummate Grade Warrior possessed more than ten cauldrons and could extend their Profound Energy by more than three hundred thirty centimeters.

Yang Wu had only just reached the Medial Grade Warrior Realm, yet his reach with his Profound Energy was as powerful as a Superior Grade Warrior’s. It was clear that he was no ordinary Medial Grade Warrior.

Even with his reach, Yang Wu still recoiled from the defensive energy’s countershock. However, the shock was not as potent as before. It only pushed him back a few steps and left the area between his thumb and index finger a little numb.

Emboldened by the boundless power he felt, he smirked and slashed at the spirit stone again.

As the Tiger Fang Saber swung forward, his Profound Energy materialized as a blade three hundred thirty-three centimeters long!

One slash, two slashes, three slashes….

Yang Wu swung eighteen times but still failed to break the profound spirit stone, despite how close it was to cracking.

Of course, he showed no signs of giving up. Rather, he blazed with fighting spirit. He finally understood how to control his newfound power.

Sliding into the Dragon Turtle Water Suppression Stance, he circulated it with the Supreme Nine Profound Art, emitting a formidable aura. The faint shadow of a dragon turtle stretched forth, and Yang Wu swung the Tiger Fang Saber again. The pure-white light shifted into a faint blue, and his energy blade extended to five meters. The sight of it was stunning!

Boom!

Sharp and powerful, the blade finally broke through the profound spirit stone’s defensive energy and slid into the stone itself, smashing it to pieces. In that instant, the last of the ritual array lines failed, and the nodes went dark. Rocks began to fall in a shower of destruction.

Above him, the skin-clad skeleton broke free and shot into the sky, his powerful aura shattering the falling stones in his way.

“Haha! I, Wang Jiuzhong, am finally free! Just you wait, Evil Boy King. I’m coming for you. As soon as I recover to my peak, I will kill you! I swear on my humanity!” The skin-clad skeleton laughed maniacally.

However, even as he aired his grievances, he began to weaken, staggering and nearly tumbling over.

He had been trapped for too long and lost too much vitality. Replenishing the loss was impossible, even if he absorbed vitality from others. Moreover, he had lost a great deal of strength, the bloody aura having injured his foundations over time. He would need a lot of blood-nourishing food and spiritual herbs to truly recover.

Unwilling to remain and be buried alive, Yang Wu rushed out of the pit’s underground section as well.

The skin-clad skeleton, Wang Jiuzhong, turned to Yang Wu once they were safe. The younger man shrank back, reminding the skeleton, “You made a strict oath, Senior. Don’t forget that!”

Although he was unusually strong for his cultivation level, he was no match for a real King. He would be as effective as an egg smashing against a rock.

“Humph!” Wang Jiuzhong snorted coldly before ordering, “Carry me out!”

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Confusion flashed across Yang Wu’s face as he said, “Senior, about that powerful technique—”

Before he could finish, Wang Jiuzhong cut him off. “Keep up that nonsense, and believe me, I will kill you.”

With zero hesitation, Yang Wu rushed over and threw the skin-clad skeleton over his shoulder, running toward the bloody pit’s entrance.

The ritual array had been broken; the bloody pit, destroyed. Chaos reigned in the prison above.

People stormed toward the block’s exit in retreat. About one thousand five hundred meters of ground had collapsed, burying dozens alive while the rest ran for safety.

Wan Lanxin had returned to cellblock 8. It had been two days since Zhang Xiong had knocked her out. As soon as she had woken, she had rushed to the block to watch for any sign of Yang Wu’s return.

She appeared heroic and valiant in her armor and sat proudly atop her leopard, spear in hand. Her gem-like eyes shone with worry. She wanted nothing more than to rush back into the bloody pit, desperate to learn if Yang Wu was dead or alive.

“Lanxin, that younger godbrother of yours might not make it!” Lie Ziying said in a soft voice, trying to comfort her after appearing out of nowhere.

But as he finished those words, he found the woman’s spear pointed at his throat.

Lie Ziying was taken aback. He exclaimed, “Lanxin, what are you doing?!”

“One more inauspicious word from your lips, and I will fight you to the death!” Wan Lanxin's eyes were cold. She was not joking.

It was only then that Lie Ziying realized his mistake, although he saw nothing wrong with his statement. He continued, “The ground has collapsed, burying the ominous object underground. I’ll write my name backward if he makes it out alive!”

[TL Note: Names are important and should not be changed casually. Doing so is a form of humiliation.]

Wan Lanxin did not waste another word on the man, thrusting her spear even as she suppressed the urge to stab him.

Lie Ziying dodged quickly, retreating on his mount. “Lanxin, I have given you my heart! Does that mean nothing to you?!”

“You are not worthy!” Wan Lanxin dismissed, her tone disdainful.

“Okay, okay,” Lie Ziying repeated, resentment flashing in his eyes. He thought to himself, Don’t think that I’m unaware that your so-called younger godbrother is the prodigal viscount who was imprisoned after offending the archduke. We’ll see how you come crawling back to me once the imperial envoy arrives and convicts you of harboring a criminal.

At this point, the ground began to calm, and the sinkhole stopped growing.

Wan Lanxin immediately ordered the guards to start digging. She vowed that she would find Yang Wu, even if all she uncovered was his dead body.

To her surprise, the ground exploded in the distance, a figure emerging from the flying debris, before the guards had even begun to dig.

“Little Brother Wu!” Wan Lanxin’s eyes filled with tears the moment she saw the familiar figure.

Even a fool like Lie Ziying recognized the special way the young woman looked at Yang Wu, and he burned with jealousy.

Yang Wu had emerged, carrying Wang Jiuzhong on his back. The two brimmed with joy the moment they saw the sun.

“We’re finally free!” Yang Wu released a sigh of relief.

If he had not broken through to the Warrior Realm, that cave-in would have been his death.

Of course, Wang Jiuzhong had been a great help.

This ordeal in the bloody pit had pushed Yang Wu to the brink of death, and he would never forget that.

Meanwhile, Wang Jiuzhong had been trapped underground for so many years. For him, gazing upon the sun was a great blessing.

Just as Wan Lanxin was about to step forward and greet Yang Wu, Lie Ziying shouted, “Guards, arrest that young man!”

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