Chapter 362 - 117: Pyrrhic Victory
Dust settled as Lu Hong knelt on the shattered ground, gasping for breath. His right shoulder was pierced by a dark long spear—a counter-attack from Zun Long, a strange force inveaded Lu Hong’s body, not belonging to Magic Power nor a curse’s force. Lu Hong could still muster the strength to contend with it.
Struggling to pull out the spear, Lu Hong rose to look towards the chaotic other half of the continent.
In the billowing dust, Zun Long’s figure reemerged.
"I take back my previous slights against you," Zun Long, disheveled, said under the crimson onslaught, injured in multiple places, his bloodstains mottled.
His abdomen, though, had been torn open by a dreadful gash, his intestines most likely pushed back by Zun Long himself, and fixed in place using the power of space—an emergency measure.
"Pity, I couldn’t kill you."
Zun Long pondered briefly before speaking, "Your strength has earned my recognition. Now, on behalf of Duke Xin Lei, I formally extend an invitation to you. If you’re willing to give up your Baron status of the Empire, Duke Xin Lei is willing to accept you and designate you as the ninth honoree of the Xin Lei family. Though the ninth, the honor is second only to me."
"Honor?" Lu Hong chuckled, "I’ve seen you under the tournament stage many times. Not once did you not look like a loyal dog guarding in front of Xin Lei, wagging your tail, trying to please her."
Facing Lu Hong’s mockery, Zun Long didn’t get angry and candidly said, "In this world, no one can live in isolation and practice alone. Support from a family is much faster than pursuing alone. Our lifespans are finite, and if we cannot advance within the limited time, we will age and die with regret. Only by advancing and becoming a Heavenly God can one attain eternal life and transcend the mortal plane. If being a loyal dog for a hundred years can exchange for immortality, then who will remember that I was once a dog for some family after a thousand years?"
Zun Long was very straightforward, without any concealment—unexpectedly, the Duke’s top assassin was also a person of true character.