Chapter 166: [Thank You] (Combined Edition)

In a forbidden zone rife with fire fiends, there existed a chilling abyss brimming with ice fiends.

This statement seemed inherently contradictory, yet therein lay the wonders of nature.

Particularly in the world of the new era, which was saturated with surging energies.

Stimulated by the ambient cosmic energy, even more bizarre sights could be found.

This ice fiend, born amidst the fire fiends, possessed an even more formidable stored energy.

However, to reiterate:

A forbidden zone was a forbidden zone precisely because of its extreme danger.

No one could predict when another mutation might occur within it, intensifying the perils.

Forbidden Zone No. 3 was completely enveloped by fire fiends, so the internal temperature could well be imagined.

Ordinary martial artists, even those of Grandmaster rank, were incapable of operating within it for extended periods.

Tang Mubai was unconcerned by the temperature, but the Crimson-Armored Earth Dragons within Forbidden Zone No. 3 gave him a slight headache.

The Crimson-Armored Earth Dragon was a mutant lizard, belonging to a species of gregarious fierce beasts. Upon reaching adulthood, every single Crimson-Armored Earth Dragon attained Elite rank. Among every hundred Crimson-Armored Earth Dragons, one reached Commander rank. Among every ten Commanders, one reached Lord rank.

Essentially, the population of a Crimson-Armored Earth Dragon pack hovered around three thousand.

In other words, one either did not encounter them at all, or upon encountering them, would have to face a massive pack led by three Lord-rank beasts!

Against such a configuration, even a Grandmaster would have to retreat.

Tang Mubai was not afraid per se, but without a sufficient supply of "Yin-Yang Sword Qi" to annihilate an entire pack of Crimson-Armored Earth Dragons, his confidence was truly lacking.

After some thought, he temporarily shelved the idea.

The smartphone resting on the table suddenly began to ring.

Tang Mubai picked it up and answered. Fang Shuixian’s voice came through first on the other end, "Xiaobai, a lot of people have come to the headquarters, saying they want to join the mercenary group. How should we handle this?"

"Ha, are people really delivering themselves to our doorstep?"

Tang Mubai chuckled upon hearing this. "This is simple, Aunt Fang. Tell them that our Miracle Mercenary Group is not currently recruiting and ask them to go back and wait. If they refuse to leave, call the Public Security and Martial Arts Bureau and report that someone is causing a disturbance!"

"Alright," Fang Shuixian replied crisply, hanging up the phone.

Tang Mubai placed the phone back on the table, crossed his legs, and grinned secretly to himself.

Delivering themselves to his door, wanting to join the Miracle Mercenary Group?

Weren't they likely after the "Fierce Heart Fist" and the "Nine Wolves Saber"?

After all, although Tang Mubai had defeated several Grandmaster-level martial artists like Xu Zhaolong and Sun Mingyuan, those were matches. In a life-or-death battle, few would believe that Tang Mubai could so easily slaughter Grandmaster-level fighters.

Under such circumstances, joining the Miracle Mercenary Group and acting aggressively to seize a voice in the leadership—

Would acquiring the "Fierce Heart Fist" and the "Nine Wolves Saber" not be as easy as reaching out and taking them?

Martial arts obtained through such a method would leave others with nothing to say.

This mental calculation could be described as very shrewd.

Unfortunately, Tang Mubai would not grant their wish. Wanting to join the Miracle Mercenary Group?

Keep dreaming!

A short while later, the phone rang again.

Tang Mubai picked it up and answered. Fang Shuixian’s voice came through once more, "Xiaobai, I told them what you said. As a result, not a single person left. They are all guarding the main gate, saying they want to wait for your return."

"Fine, then let them wait," Tang Mubai curled his lip. "Wanting to use this method to force my agreement? No way!"

Hanging up the phone, Tang Mubai continued browsing the internet. After eating lunch, he even took a nap.

By the time dusk was approaching, he slowly woke up, washed his face, and drove home.

However, no sooner had the car left the slaughterhouse than his heart skipped a beat.

He immediately stepped on the gas pedal, drove the car into a narrow alley, parked it, and stepped out. Staring straight ahead, he said indifferently, "Come out, there's no need to hide."

"Commander Tang has quite some nerve."

A figure suddenly flashed into view, accompanying the voice as he walked step by step toward Tang Mubai.

With a familiar face, it was none other than Xu Zhaolong!

"Truly a youthful genius."

Xu Zhaolong spoke as he walked, "Knowing it's me, you aren't the least bit flustered, and you even have the leisure to show yourself. It seems Commander Tang is not only exceptionally bold, but also brimming with self-confidence."

"It's alright. Is there something Mr. Xu needs, tracking me all the way here?" Tang Mubai grinned.

"Simple. I'd like to borrow a book from Commander Tang." Xu Zhaolong also smiled—a ferocious smile!

"The 'Nine Wolves Saber'?" Tang Mubai raised an eyebrow.

"Precisely." Xu Zhaolong sneered grimly, "Commander Tang's lightness skills and archery are both peerlessly superb, but your saber techniques are thoroughly mediocre. If that 'Nine Wolves Saber' remains in your hands, I'm afraid it will only be buried and wasted. Hand it over to me, and I can carry it forward and make it shine. By then, Commander Tang should feel deeply honored as well!"

"Haha..." Tang Mubai could not help laughing out loud.

It was truly rare to find someone who could speak of brazen robbery with such a righteous and unashamed tone.

"What, does Commander Tang think I'm wrong?" Murderous intent surged in Xu Zhaolong's eyes.

"No, you are completely right," Tang Mubai continued to smile. "However, I have a question. Even if I don't know saber techniques, why should I hand the 'Nine Wolves Saber' over to you? Wouldn't giving it to someone else work just as well? Why is it that only by giving it to you, this saber technique will not be buried?"

"Because it was originally mine!"

With a low roar, Xu Zhaolong stopped exchanging pleasantries. Abruptly raising his hand, he pulled out a metal cylinder as thick as an infant's arm from behind his back, aiming one of its pitch-black hollow ends directly at Tang Mubai.

Complex patterns covered the metal tube, and an invisible, chilling murderous intent erupted abruptly, permeating the scene. In an instant, Tang Mubai was locked onto firmly.

Danger!

Tang Mubai's heart leapt. Ceasing all idle chatter, he unleashed his "Pressure Control" divine ability, directly pinning Xu Zhaolong to the ground with Grandmaster-level pressure.

The metal cylinder in his hand slipped and fell to the earth along with him, and the invisible murderous intent silently dissipated.

And Xu Zhaolong was completely dumbfounded!

"Gr... Grandmaster-level?" His eyes bulged as he struggled with all his might to raise his head and look at Tang Mubai, his heart gripped by shock and terror, disbelief plastered across his face.

"Th... This is impossible? How... how could you possibly be a Grandmaster?!"

A Grandmaster-level martial artist!

In his wildest dreams, Xu Zhaolong had never imagined that Tang Mubai would be a Grandmaster-level martial artist!

Across the entire Red Leaf City, how many Grandmaster-level martial artists were there?

Tang Mubai was so young, merely eighteen years old, yet he was actually a Grandmaster too?

How could this be possible!

Xu Zhaolong was unwilling to believe it, but the invisible force pressing down upon his body told him it was the truth, leaving him no room for disbelief!

"I actually tried to rob a Grandmaster-level martial artist?"

At this realization, Xu Zhaolong felt like going crazy; he wanted to scream in terror, but pinned down by the terrifying repressive force, he couldn't even summon the strength to yell.

Tang Mubai paid him no mind, walking over instead to pick up the metal cylinder and examine it closely.

Suddenly, a flash of memory sparked in his mind, and he blurted out, "This is a 'Fire Dragon Sting'?"

Although the metal tube was cylindrical in shape, its name was the "Fire Dragon Sting."

This was because its power could condense into a single point upon detonation.

It possessed tremendous might and was capable of obliterating a Grandmaster!

In other words, Xu Zhaolong knew that Tang Mubai possessed the "Vajra Ring," and thus had procured a precious weapon—the Fire Dragon Sting—designed specifically to counter it!

In terms of grade, the Fire Dragon Sting was inferior to the Vajra Ring, as the former belonged to the category of single-use consumables.

A single tube of the Fire Dragon Sting could only be fired once; after firing, it became useless scrap.

Yet, the price of just a single tube of the Fire Dragon Sting started at thirty million!

To deal with Tang Mubai, Xu Zhaolong had racked his brains and spent god-knows-how-much to acquire one...

Wait, hold on!

Suddenly remembering something, Tang Mubai flipped Xu Zhaolong's body over and, sure enough, spotted two more tubes of the Fire Dragon Sting strapped to his back.

Three tubes of the Fire Dragon Sting in total, valued at nearly one hundred million.

To destroy Tang Mubai's Vajra Ring, Xu Zhaolong had actually tracked down three tubes of the Fire Dragon Sting!

Yet the result left him dumbfounded, stupefied, and bewildered.

Not a single one of the three tubes had been used before they were all snatched away.

"This is good stuff indeed. Thanks a lot."

Tang Mubai grinned, picked up the three tubes of the Fire Dragon Sting, and set them aside. Then, he continued searching Xu Zhaolong's body.

Soon, he dug up several more good items: a martial arts manual, "Fatal Saber," a bizarre token, and a third-tier battle weapon, the Absolute Killing Saber.

The manual and the battle weapon constituted Xu Zhaolong's martial combat power.

Carrying them on his person, he most likely intended to obtain the "Nine Wolves Saber," kill Tang Mubai, and then immediately flee Red Leaf City.

Tang Mubai did not immediately recognize the bizarre token, so he simply picked it up and placed it aside for the moment.

Searching thoroughly to ensure nothing else was on Xu Zhaolong, Tang Mubai circulated the "Rolling Cloud Hand," infusing it with fire-attribute genuine qi.

"You... you..." Seeing this, Xu Zhaolong trembled violently with fear. "If you kill me, don't even dream of learning the 'Fatal Saber'! This martial art has been modified by me; without my guidance, you can't cultivate it at all!"

"Is that so?" Tang Mubai grinned, pricking up his ears to listen to the movements on the highway outside and all around the surroundings. Confirming that no one was about, he brought down a single palm strike, executing Xu Zhaolong.

[Vitality +78]

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Searing palm wind, accompanied by fiery energy, incinerated Xu Zhaolong's corpse.

Before long, nothing remained in the spot except a charred mark; Xu Zhaolong had been reduced to ashes.

Picking up the Absolute Killing Saber, Tang Mubai obliterated the mark and refilled the earth.

Leaving not a trace behind, he scooped up his spoils of war and returned to his car.

Starting the engine, he drove leisurely back into the city.

Spotting a crowd gathered outside the headquarters gate from afar, Tang Mubai simply found an underground parking garage, parked the car, grabbed his loot, and took a shortcut through a narrow alley, climbing over a wall to return to the headquarters.

He ate dinner with his little cousin and Fang Shuixian, and watched television for a while.

Taking out the token, Tang Mubai went into his bedroom, opened his computer, and searched the internet for relevant information.

Half an hour later, holding the token, Tang Mubai was stunned, then flooded with delight.

A Military Beast Command Token!

This was actually a Military Beast Command Token!

The so-called Military Beast Command Token was a unique precious weapon capable of forming a contract with a spirit beast and turning it into a battle beast.

As the name suggested, a battle beast belonged to a martial artist as a combat partner.

Basically, once the contract was successfully forged, the battle beast would never betray its master for the rest of its life.

Utterly loyal, it would follow the martial artist faithfully until death.

If the martial artist died, the battle beast would die. If the battle beast died, the martial artist would not die, but their soul would suffer damage, making it difficult to recover to their original state without a year or two of recuperation.

Therefore, when forging a contract with a battle beast, martial artists were invariably extremely cautious.

Of course, the prerequisite for bonding with a battle beast was finding a powerful spirit beast.

Fierce beasts weren't entirely out of the question; in fact, contracts could be forged with fierce beasts as well.

The problem was that bonding with a fierce beast would also impact the martial artist's own soul, causing it to imperceptibly become violent, cruel, and bloodthirsty.

While strong willpower could suppress this aspect, it could not be completely eradicated.

The only viable choice was to strengthen one's own soul until it was several times stronger than the soul of the bonded fierce beast, using soul suppression to keep the beastly nature in check.

Did people with powerful souls exist?

Yes, but very few!

Whether born with a naturally powerful soul or gradually growing stronger through the cultivation of mind-strengthening martial arts, the number of such individuals was pitifully small.

At any rate, Tang Mubai had never heard of any, and neither the internet in Red Leaf City nor that of the Thirty-Eighth Domain had exposed any such cases.

Tang Mubai's willpower had reached the limit of 20, but his soul remained the same as ever.

If he wanted to use this Military Beast Command Token, he could only look for a spirit beast.

Right, Dabao was also a spirit beast; however, Dabao's combat prowess was best left unmentioned.

Little Rolly-Polly spent day and night knowing only how to lick metal and excrete golden beans.

Tang Mubai found it both amusing and speechless. After confirming that the little fellow lacked destructive, berserk, or murderous desires, he let it roam free, spending its days lying at the garage entrance and occasionally getting snatched away by his little cousin to play together.

To use the only Military Beast Command Token on Dabao would be far too wasteful.

It was still better to find another spirit beast.

As it happened, having picked up three tubes of the "Fire Dragon Sting" for free, his confidence for entering Forbidden Zone No. 3 was now fully replenished.

He would gather ice fiends, harvest a wave of vitality, and if he could find a spirit beast into the bargain, that would be even better.

Having made up his mind, Tang Mubai turned off the computer and went to find Fang Shuixian to tell her that he would be leaving the domain on business early tomorrow morning. She shouldn't tell his little cousin, and she didn't need to pay attention to the people outside the front gate; if anyone tried to barge in or cause trouble, she should call the Public Security and Martial Arts Bureau.

Over the next few days, personnel from the Public Security and Martial Arts Bureau and the Governor's Mansion were keeping a constant watch on the Miracle Mercenary Group's headquarters; no one dared to act recklessly.

After giving his instructions, Tang Mubai returned to his room and slept for a few hours. When the sky was just beginning to grow faintly bright, he got up, climbed over the wall once more to leave, found his parked car, and drove toward the domain wall.

Controlling the Blood King Pearl, he passed the inspection, exited the domain, and following the map, headed straight for Forbidden Zone No. 3.

Forbidden Zone No. 3 was also the furthest from the domain wall, nearly five hundred kilometers away.

To make it back by nightfall, Tang Mubai pushed his speed to the maximum along the way while simultaneously releasing his Grandmaster-level pressure, causing non-human lifeforms blocking or intercepting his path to flee in terror from afar.

Leaving Tang Mubai's journey completely unimpeded, he arrived at an entrance to Forbidden Zone No. 3 before ten o'clock in the morning.

He parked the car in a secluded corner and covered it securely with a tarp.

With a light tap of his toes, Tang Mubai soared into the air, entering Forbidden Zone No. 3 from above.

The moment he stepped inside, a terrifying wave of heat immediately enveloped him from all directions.

Executing his "Temperature Control" divine ability, Tang Mubai flew at a low altitude above the forbidden zone, searching for the chilling abyss.

According to the information exposed on the internet, the chilling abyss was located in the northeastern part of Forbidden Zone No. 3.

Having entered for this very purpose, Tang Mubai identified his bearings and headed toward the northeast.

His speed along the way was blistering.

Flying while observing, he discovered that the fire fiends saturated in the air were extremely active.

Of course, despite the pervading high temperatures, Forbidden Zone No. 3 had its own food chain.

Not long after Tang Mubai began flying, he spotted a pack of giant flame wolves hunting a herd of giant flame sheep.

Each giant sheep stood two meters tall at the shoulder, with sharp horns and iron-like hooves.

During the hunt, several wolves were brought down.

Finding the spectacle interesting and not in a rush to harvest the drifting vitality, Tang Mubai hovered in mid-air, watching with great relish...

Whoosh!

A sharp gust of wind suddenly erupted.

Accompanied by a sharply rising intent to kill, a giant flame eagle with a thirty-meter wingspan materialized above Tang Mubai's head.

Extending talons shaped like iron hooks, the giant eagle lunged downward viciously toward Tang Mubai's head!