Chapter 414: Chapter 232: Corpse-controlling Gu Insect, Secret of Feigned Death

Hmph!

Two jets of hot air blasted from Gangzi’s nostrils, its face twisted in fury.

’Mess with my master while I’m eating? I guess you don’t want me to eat anymore.’

The furious Gangzi charged at He Shujun once again.

The heavy blow to his lower back had seemingly scattered his internal energy, preventing it from circulating at all. On top of that, his "Rebirth" had consumed a portion of his vitality. His Power was no longer at the Sixth Grade!

"An... an Exotic Beast!"

He clutched his side with one hand and stood up, glaring at Cheng Zongyang with gritted teeth. But when he saw the Exotic Beast charging at him again, he immediately circulated his True Qi to suppress his injuries, his face twisting into a vicious snarl.

"A dignified Sixth Grade Martial Artist like me, bullied by a mere animal like you?!"

He Shujun roared and charged forward to meet it!

Gangzi was a Two-and-a-Half Stars Level beast, and with its Talent Ability, it was no ordinary Exotic Beast.

While Gangzi might not have been a match for a Sixth Grade Martial Artist in a pure contest of Power, its Super Senses allowed it to perfectly predict He Shujun’s moves.

Thus, He Shujun was in for a rude awakening.

Using its predictions, Gangzi dodged He Shujun’s attacks one after another. Even the few strikes that did land had little effect on its powerful physique. In contrast, most of Gangzi’s attacks found their mark on He Shujun.

Before long, He Shujun’s clothes were reduced to tattered rags, and his body was covered in bloody gashes from the beast’s claws.

To Cheng Zongyang, the outcome of this clash between man and beast was a foregone conclusion.

Although He Shujun had reached the Sixth Grade, he was only a novice. His power was superficial. Before a Martial Artist opened their meridians and Acupoints, their strength was all on the surface; they couldn’t be considered a true Sixth Grade. Considering he had just taken Gangzi’s kick to a vulnerable spot on his lower back, it was already impressive that he could even stand and fight.

This was why Gangzi was able to overwhelm He Shujun.

If He Shujun had managed to open even a few Acupoints and strengthen his True Qi, his Power would be on a completely different level. In that case, Gangzi might truly not have been a match for him.

SMACK! A heavy, fleshy slapping sound echoed from He Shujun’s face.

Gangzi had dodged a heavy punch from He Shujun and delivered a massive backhanded slap in return. It then swiftly retreated, waiting for another opportunity to strike. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Sent staggering by the slap, He Shujun spun around in place and shook his head, completely dazed.

"What a fine Palm Technique," Cheng Zongyang remarked, finding the situation rather amusing. ’That was a powerful slap.’

But now, He Shujun was a truly pathetic sight. Even Cheng Zongyang was finding it hard to watch.

As if it had finished venting its anger, Gangzi sauntered back to its spot and resumed eating its meat.

"ANIMAL!!!"

Snapping back to his senses, veins bulged on He Shujun’s forehead as his face turned beet-red with rage.

’He’d actually been slapped by a mere animal??’

’A Sixth Grade Martial Artist like him, bullied to this extent by an animal! Did he have any dignity left?!’

"I’LL KILL YOU!!!"

He Shujun was now blinded by fury. Losing all reason, he charged at the Mole Beast.

Cheng Zongyang’s expression darkened. He moved, appearing before He Shujun in a flash. His right hand shot out, fingers forming a claw that clamped down on his wrist. With a sharp pull, he sent his opponent stumbling toward him, only to kick him away the very next moment.

Cheng Zongyang hadn’t used much Power in that kick. ’I still need to learn his strange feigned-death technique, so I can’t have him unable to talk. Besides, healing him cost me three hundred Points. I need to get my investment back!’

He Shujun crashed to the ground once more. The kick, however, seemed to have knocked some sense into him.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and slowly got to his feet, staring at Cheng Zongyang. "So you really are a Sixth Grade Martial Artist!"

"Looks like you’ve come to your senses." Cheng Zongyang ignored his statement. "Ready to talk now?"

After a moment of silence, He Shujun said, "Let me go, and I’ll tell you. I won’t return to the County Town, and I won’t say a word about what happened here. Otherwise, you can kill me, but I’ll never talk."

’Things have come to this,’ he thought. ’There’s no point in hiding it anymore.’

’Based on what just happened, it’s clear I’m no match for that Exotic Beast, and I can’t beat Cheng Zongyang either.’

’If I don’t talk, I’m not leaving here alive!’

Cheng Zongyang nodded. "I can let you leave. But how do I know if you’re telling the truth?"

In response, He Shujun said, "You’ve probably already ransacked my home. In my study, there’s an ancient book that contains a record of it. You can go look for it; it will corroborate my story. Or, you can lock me up for now. Once you’ve found it, I’ll tell you the details, and you can verify them against each other."

Hearing this, Cheng Zongyang figured He Shujun was likely telling the truth. "Fine. Let’s hear it."

He Shujun fell silent for a moment before saying, "I want you to form a contract! The same kind you used last time!"

Cheng Zongyang looked at him in surprise. "You actually believe in that?"

He Shujun didn’t answer, just kept his eyes fixed on Cheng Zongyang.

’He didn’t believe it, but after everything he’d seen Cheng Zongyang do, he would rather believe it was real than risk it.’

Cheng Zongyang’s expression was calm as he said, "Your choices are to be locked up until you’re willing to talk, or I can kill you right now and find another way to get the secrets I want from you."

However, after staring at Cheng Zongyang for a long moment, He Shujun suddenly smiled.

"No, you won’t kill me. If you did, you’d never get my method for dying and coming back to life. You also wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of healing my injuries. Furthermore, that ancient book only records the General Outline of the technique. I’m the only one who knows the specific details! I am the sole inheritor of this method! Kill me, and you’ll get nothing!"