Stranger Danger

The newcomer looked to be an ordinary-looking youngster around twenty three or four years old. He was dressed in a burlap outfit, and his hair was rolled up into a Taoist bun. He was carrying a rusted iron sword on his left waist, and a wine gourd on his right. At first glance, he looked so average he could melt into any crowd he entered without a trace.

The one and only thing that stood out about him was the black donkey he was riding.

The black donkey was as big as a horse and looked extremely healthy. It was also strong and muscular with pitch black hair that shone like water under sunlight. Its eyes were as big as bronze bells, and there was a proud, intelligent glint in his eyes that resembled a human’s.

Unlike most donkeys, this one had a pair of horns growing out of its skull. Crescent-shaped and standing perfectly parallel to each other, they formed the shape of a full moon. Some sort of black light was gleaming in between the horns as well. It was obvious at first glance that this was no ordinary donkey.

The contrast made the youngster look even more mundane than he already was.

It was at this moment the youngster spotted the corpses littered around the woman and removed his wine gourd. After enjoying a small sip of wine, he ranted at the black donkey, “It’s all your fault. If you moved a little faster, we could’ve prevented a few innocent lives from being lost. Now, it’s too late.”

“I told you to walk faster, but no, you just had to throw a fit. These people’s deaths are on your conscience, you hear me?”

“Snort.”

The black donkey let out a loud snort as human-like disdain entered its eyes. Then, it kicked backward as if it was trying to throw the youngster away from its back.

The youngster did not budge an inch, however. He patted the black donkey’s head and said, “That’s all it takes to piss you off, White? How old do you think you are, three? If you keep this up, I’m gonna turn you into a donkey hotpot, you hear me? It’s been a long time since I had a donkey hotpot, so don’t you dare tempt me!”

Having failed to throw the youngster off its back, the black donkey bent its knees and sat on the ground just like that. At the same time, it covered up its ear canals with its long ears and licked some of the sand clinging to its lips into its mouth, chewing and paying no attention to the youngster’s incessant rants.

Can’t hear you~ can’t hear you~ the tortoise is chanting sutras~

A while later, when the youngster saw that he had failed to elicit any reaction from the black donkey, he let out a long sigh. “You’re lucky that I’m a handsome, strong, and kind-hearted master. Otherwise, I really would’ve turned you into a donkey hotpot! I really gotta steel my heart sometimes, dammit…”

The crowd could not help but exchange confused glances as they listened to the man’s nonsensical rants. The razor sharp tension from before had disappeared before they knew it.

“What are you doing here, Zhang Lingyang? Shouldn’t you be napping at Dragon Tiger Mountain right now?”

The woman finally interrupted the youngster’s incessant rants.

“I know right? This place is full of sand, stone, and more sand! The sun is hot, the wind is dry, and even the scenery grates on you after a while! It’s nowhere nearly as comfortable as Dragon Tiger Mountain!”

The youngster—Zhang Lingyang—slowly slid off the donkey’s back and sighed deeply. “But my master said that there’s a ‘great opportunity’ waiting for me at the Death Sea and insisted that I come no matter what. He even threatened to kick me out of the sect if I refused. What can I do? I can only comply with his wishes.”

The warriors’ mouths slowly fell open as they listened. They looked like they could not believe their ears.

If before the name “Zhang Lingyang” only evoked a sense of deja vu in them, now they knew exactly who he was.

There was only one person in the entire world who was called Zhang Lingyang and a member of the Dragon Tiger Mountain. He was the champion of the Human Champions Ranking and the one they called the Little Heavenly Master of the Heavenly Master Mansion of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Zhang Lingyang, the “Little Heavenly Master” was favored by the heavens since birth. It was said that purple qi came from the ease, the sun stood wide and bright in the sky, and all sorts of strange phenomena appeared during his birth.

The current Senior Heavenly Master of Heavenly Master Mansion had personally descended the mountain to meet Zhang Lingyang, and the first thing he said upon seeing him was, “This boy is extraordinary. He will surely carry Dragon Tiger Mountain to great heights.” He would proceed to name him “Zhang Lingyang (To Surpass The Sun)” and recruit him as a direct disciple.

Zhang Lingyang did not disappoint. He had Reforged his body in one day, Invoked his qi in nine days, Augmented his vessels perfectly in thirty-six days, and Refined his astral qi in seventy-two days. To say his talent far exceeded his peers would be an understatement.

In fact, Zhang Lingyang’s progress was so quick that the Senior Heavenly Master had to seal his cultivation temporarily to prevent issues with his foundation or mind. He wasn’t allowed to break into the next cultivation stage until he had tempered both fundamentals properly.

Zhang Lingyang’s cultivation speed slowed down after that, but even so, his strength far surpassed everyone as his name implied. There were few among his peers who could even catch a glimpse of his back, much less stand shoulder-to-shoulder beside him.

Not only that, Zhang Lingyang had never lost a single battle since he embarked on the journey of a warrior, and it wasn’t like he only fought against weaklings. He had fought against Holy Sons and Daughters, Dao Children and Children of the Demon, and even powerful Grandmasters.

This was why his position was unshakeable since he became the number one warrior of the Human Champions Ranking six years ago. Countless people had tried to dethrone him, but every effort was met with abject failure.

Back in the present, everyone here had heard of Zhang Lingyang at least once in their life. No one expected it to be this ordinary-looking youngster, however.

“You came early, senior Rakshasa. Have you figured out what treasures are hiding in the Death Sea yet?” Zhang Lingyang ignored the crowd’s looks and asked the woman.

“Rakshasa…? She’s the Blood Rakshasa?!” Those who hadn’t guessed it already blurted out as soon as they heard the title.

Blood Rakshasa was the eighty-fourth warrior on the Earth Champions Ranking. Her background was unknown, but people had guessed that she was a member of the Blood God Sect of the Nine Demonic Ways because they practiced blood manipulation.

Blood Rakshasa was a highly emotional, very chaotic neutral person whose behavior was mostly based on her whims. She wasn’t truly a villain, but she definitely wasn’t a good person either. The fact that she killed without batting an eyelid but gave her victims repeated warnings earlier was proof of that.

“I was just asking them just now, wasn’t I? You’re the one who interrupted me!” Blood Rakshasa shot him a sideway glance that seemed capable of stealing one’s soul.

She was a Grandmaster and a named warrior on the Earth Champions Ranking, but not even she dared to underestimate Zhang Lingyang, champion of the Human Champions Ranking. Otherwise, she would’ve attacked him already.

Zhang Lingyang coughed. “Ahem… what did I want to say again? Right! One should not resort to murder and violence as their first option.”

He looked embarrassed. It was impossible to say if it was because Blood Rakshasa’s side-eye was too sexy, or something else.

The group of warriors let out a sigh of relief when they saw this, but Zhang Lingyang’s next words plunged back to hell all too soon.

“Instead, we should practice diplomacy before violence. If they tell us, then all is well. If not, then you can kill them to your heart’s content.”

Everyone: “...”

Is this what a famous warrior of the righteous sect should say?

Hell, is this what a human being should say?

“How can you say that, Little Heavenly Master? You’re a representative of Dragon Tiger Mountain and a member of the orthodoxy!”

“Yes, I’m a member of the orthodoxy, but you’re not, are you? Why should I save your lives?”

Zhang Lingyang replied matter-of-factly. “Besides, I am giving you a chance. I’m persuading Blood Rakshasa to practice diplomacy before violence, aren’t I? Or do you disagree with my solution and prefer it the other way around?”

Everyone: “...” Fuck, we can’t refute that.

“So? I’m giving you a chance here. Is no one going to speak up?” Blood Rakshasa shot Zhang Lingyang a curious look before asking.

No one answered her. A portion of them wanted to do as she said but couldn’t because of the Oath of Burden. The other portion was unwilling to give up the Dark Overlord’s Token and the Dark Overlord’s inheritance just like that.

And of course, the large majority of the group was a combination of both.

The silence continued for a while longer when suddenly, one man’s eyes suddenly grew dazed and unfocused. At the same time, his face began contorting like he was in abject pain, and blood trailed down the corners of his eyes.

Zhang Lingyang lifted his eyebrows and dashed toward the man. Unfortunately, he was only halfway there when someone blocked his way. It was Blood Rakshasa, of course.

That short delay was enough. The man let out a bloodcurdling scream, and his head exploded like an overripe melon.

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