Chapter 389: Chapter 204: If You Resist, You’ll Die in Greater Pain—You Say Wei Fan Is Kind-Hearted? (Part 2)

"Once you’ve tasted the speed that comes from Human Race cultivation, you’ll never forget it!"

Even Martial Kings aren’t immortal; as long as they still fear death, people like Zhong Zhenyu will keep plunging deeper into madness.

Becoming a Martial King doesn’t protect more people; on the contrary, it ends up killing even more.

"Impossible, I just wanted to glimpse the mysteries of the Martial King Realm!" Zhong Zhenyu seemed struck by lightning, clearly hit where it hurt by Wei Fan’s words.

But to react this way proves that some conscience remains; he’s not completely lost, just enough left for him to feel pain and try to defend himself.

"Nothing is impossible. In the history of the Human Race, there have been many just like you, craving power and falling into the Demon Dao. Think about it: did their desires ever get fulfilled? Did they save others after breaking through to the Martial King Realm, or did they simply keep slaughtering humans?"

Wei Fan scoffed coldly, letting out a faint sigh.

Zhong Zhenyu wasn’t wrong about one thing—he’d guarded Yunzhou for seven hundred years, protecting billions of humans and earning endless merit.

He ought to have been a hero worthy of respect, but a single thought—a fear of death—turned him into a traitor to his people. What a waste.

"Become a Martial King first, then protect the Human Race? Where in the world is such luck found? That kind of lie duped countless people in my past life."

"I’m not that kind of person..."

As Zhong Zhenyu recalled history, he realized that people like that never ended up as protectors; they just kept slaughtering humans, clawing for a higher Domain.

His expression twisted, teetering on the edge of insanity.

He was the General guarding Yunzhou for seven centuries, once worshipped as a guardian deity. He wasn’t rotten to the core; some conscience survived.

But Wei Fan exposed his self-deception; now he was writhing, torn between desire and conscience.

"Let me help you!"

Wei Fan looked immensely sorrowful, determined to end Zhong Zhenyu’s suffering.

He darted forward, fist blazing like the sun, driving straight for Zhong Zhenyu’s skull.

"No... Give me a chance!"

Wei Fan’s killing intent snapped Zhong Zhenyu awake; he roared, still gripped by terror, desperate not to die like this. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Seeing this, Wei Fan knew he couldn’t spare him.

"Go. The Human Race can’t afford you making the same mistake again!"

Without the guts to face death, sooner or later he’d harm people once more.

BANG!

Wei Fan’s fist slammed down. Zhong Zhenyu’s head snapped back, a webbing of cracks splitting across his skull.

He still didn’t want to die, and his skull was the toughest part; Wei Fan’s punch hadn’t blown it apart, only shattered it partially.

"Stop resisting. You’re only making it more painful!"

Wei Fan shouted warning.

He’d wanted to help Zhong Zhenyu end his suffering, but it looked like he was making it worse. That wouldn’t do.

Thinking fast, he launched another killing blow. Qi Blood surged from every pore like the open sea, his momentum like a storm; a blood-red cloud hung ominously in the sky.

Zhong Zhenyu’s face collapsed in despair: "No!"

If you don’t kill me, I won’t be in pain! After all that talk, Wei Fan still wouldn’t let him go.

He twisted desperately, channeling all his True Essence to his head, while sweeping his Martial Venerate Divine Soldier—his Great Halberd—squarely at Wei Fan.

But before his Divine Soldier could even rise, Wei Fan’s fist tore his golden aura apart and hammered straight down on his skull.

In an instant, blood exploded. Brain and bone mingled in the air as Zhong Zhenyu’s head burst like a smashed watermelon.

"..."

Kuang Shaohua, Li Yunfei, and Ji Qingyue’s faces turned bizarre.

When Wei Fan said he’d "help" Zhong Zhenyu, they’d thought he might actually spare him—after all, Zhong Zhenyu looked pretty repentant, understood where he went wrong. Who could have guessed "help" in Wei Fan’s mouth meant killing Zhong Zhenyu on the spot?

Looking at Zhong Zhenyu’s headless corpse, a dry, bitter taste spread in their mouths.

The General who’d guarded Yunzhou for seven centuries—dead, just like that. Wei Fan, with Golden Body Third Forging, reverse-slashed and killed a Golden Body Eight-Forged Martial Venerable barehanded, even while the other wielded a middle-level Martial Venerate Divine Soldier.

[Killed Zhong Zhenyu. Gained 20,000 years of Ordinary Power, 80 years of Golden Body Power.]

[Ordinary Power: 91,000 years]

[Golden Body Power: 210 years]

Wei Fan grabbed Zhong Zhenyu’s headless corpse, confiscated his Martial Venerate Divine Soldier and Storage Gourd, then hefted the body and flew to Kuang Shaohua. Tossing it to him, he said, "Even though he went astray, he did guard Yunzhou for seven hundred years. Give him... well, not much left of a whole body, just this. You handle the burial."

"Alright!"

Kuang Shaohua caught it, stowing Zhong Zhenyu’s corpse away.

No merit outweighs a crime, but likewise, merit can’t be erased by a terrible mistake. Seven centuries holding the line in Yunzhou—how many bloody battles had Zhong Zhenyu fought?

With him dead, Kuang Shaohua felt no triumph, only sorrow.

"Thanks for your mercy last night—and thank you for rooting out Yunzhou’s black sheep!"

Remembering the night before, he couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat.

He’d come to Qingshui City on Zhong Zhenyu’s orders, found Wei Fan’s group accusing Xue Yuanshan of colluding with Demon Fiends—which he hadn’t believed—so he’d fought them on the spot. Fortunately, Wei Fan saw he was innocent and held back.

Otherwise, with Wei Fan’s cultivation, he could have killed him with a single move.

Wei Fan shook his head: "Let’s go. It’s not over yet!"

He flew ahead to Qingshui City, ready to kill the Dragon-Horned Deer Monarch.

Mercy? That’s a joke. If the panel hadn’t shown no reaction toward Kuang Shaohua, he’d have slapped him dead already.

Once done, he headed toward Yunzhou.

Ji Qingyue, Li Yunfei, and Kuang Shaohua trailed behind: "Are there others who colluded with Demon Fiends?"

Wei Fan glanced back: "Maybe, maybe not. I’ll have to check in a moment. But with Zhong Zhenyu dead, Yunzhou has no General overseeing things; so Flying Tiger Venerable needs to die too."

Even in a place like Daqian Kingdom, it’d be tough to find another Golden Body Eight-Forged Martial Venerable to replace Zhong Zhenyu right away.

Once Flying Tiger Venerable’s gone, the remaining Demon Fiends won’t be able to stir up much trouble.

If they just up and leave, Yunzhou’s people would suffer—and that would make them villains, not heroes.

Killing Flying Tiger Venerable keeps the Human-Demon balance in check—other issues aren’t his problem anymore.

Demon Hunters aren’t meant to fret over everything, but that’s only when there’s no other choice. If there’s a way, no one wants their actions to end up killing thousands.

Kuang Shaohua bowed again: "Brother Wei, as expected, you’re thorough. Jianghu rumors say you’re a House-Slaying Demon Fiend—ruthless and vicious. I always thought you were the worst of the worst."

To be honest, when he heard Wei Fan was coming to Daqian Kingdom, he wasn’t happy, figured he’d bring a wave of killings.

But now, seeing for himself, he realized Wei Fan’s ruthlessness targeted only Demon Fiends and evildoers. In truth, Brother Wei is a noble, compassionate man.

His impression of Wei Fan changed dramatically.

Wei Fan was ruthless, yes—but he didn’t kill the innocent. To keep Zhong Zhenyu from hurting more people, he’d rather invite trouble on himself than spare him.

Even he couldn’t compare to that kind of heart.

If he were in Wei Fan’s shoes, even knowing for certain Zhong Zhenyu had turned corrupt and colluded with Demon Fiends—without hard evidence—he probably wouldn’t kill him and risk trouble.

But Wei Fan put the Human Race first; he’d rather face hardship than let Zhong Zhenyu live. If that’s not compassion, what is?

Wei Fan grinned: "Commander Kuang gets me. When this is over, drinks are on me."

Anyone else killing Zhong Zhenyu without hard proof would just get headaches; but he was different.

Because killing Zhong Zhenyu brought gain.

Twenty thousand years of Ordinary Power, eighty years of Golden Body Power—his reward.

He was only at Golden Body Third Forging, still needed over a thousand years of Golden Body Power to reach Martial Venerable Perfection. Martial Venerable powerhouses are hard to find, and those you can power harvest from are even rarer. When you see one, how could you let them go? What’s a little trouble compared to that—he’s already waist-deep in trouble anyway.

Of course, the outcome turned out all right: Zhong Zhenyu panicked as expected, lost his wits, and confessed to colluding with Demon Fiends.

Killing Zhong Zhenyu might bring more problems, but unless they’re in the open, he doesn’t care.

As long as the Demon Hunter Organization doesn’t judge him as an indiscriminate murderer, anything else isn’t important—not even the Daqian Kingdom’s Court giving him grief.

"The rumors in Jianghu about Wei Fan are truly misunderstood!"

Ji Qingyue chimed in. After all this time, she knew well enough how much of Wei Fan’s reputation was false.

He was, in fact, a House-Slaying Demon Fiend, and ruthless too—but no one ever said Wei Fan only killed the guilty.

Only Li Yunfei’s eyes twitched wildly. He wanted to say something. Calling Wei Fan righteous, upright, with a heart for the people—all that’s fine, but "compassionate" might be going too far, right?

But he kept his mouth shut; if he opened his mouth now, Wei Fan would probably show him firsthand that the rumors weren’t exaggerated at all.