Beyond the Timescape

Xu Qing had never heard of Chen Batian before. After all, this Chen Batian had only jumped in the rankings when the one-month countdown began. Though he was the focus of a lot of attention, few cultivators in the Fifth Star Ring knew anything about him.

As time passed, more and more rumors spread about him. As it turned out, not one of the dramatic and fanciful rumors proved to be true. In the end... how could anyone guess that the top contender in the Trial of the Hunt had been prepared as a gift?

It was a gift that had been created out of nothing. At the moment, the person who had created this gift out of nothing was bowing deeply and smiling humbly.

That was the most terrifying thing about Zhou Zhengli. He had been very careful when dealing with the menacing Sir Star Ring. He didn’t reveal how dangerous he could be. And Xu Qing got the feeling that the conflict and grudge between him and Sir Vilespirit was a facade.

In all likelihood, Zhou Zhengli and Sir Vilespirit were doing it all on purpose. And was all done... to please people far more important and powerful than them. Those important people were interested in watching the show, and the willingness of Zhou Zhengli and Sir Vilespirit to go along with it was a way of showing subservience.

Xu Qing knew that he wasn’t one of those ‘important people,’ and he didn’t think Sir Star Ring was one of them either. He didn’t make demands of subservient people. To him, both the Fifth Star Ring and the Immortal Capital were just stops along a very long journey.

Since it was just a stop on the journey, he would be cautious... but do as he pleased. In other words, he didn’t care about Zhou Zhengli’s ulterior motives. Vipers were fine as long as they didn’t bare their fangs. But if the fangs came out, well, Xu Qing had already explained to Zhou Zhengli what would happen then. He liked to eat snakes. And venomous snakes tasted the best.

Besides, after everything he had experienced in his youth, plus his journeys in the Revered Ancient mainland, as well as the teachings of his Master and the tutelage of Erniu, Xu Qing... was far more venomous. Therefore, he only glanced at Zhou Zhengli before turning to look at Chen Batian.

“I selected Chen Batian very carefully,” Zhou Zhengli said in a soft voice. “I wanted to make sure he had no deep karmic ties. Incidentally, you could say that he’s evil through and through. Also given to lust.”

Zhou Zhengli knew that he had to make sure Xu Qing was comfortable accepting his gift. Therefore, he had picked someone without any karmic connections, and could thus be killed without worry about the consequences. That was the way to make sure his gift could be accepted without worry.

To further achieve that end, he bowed and backed away from Xu Qing and Chen Batian.

That was because Chen Batian was gasping for breath. The flame of his life force was just about to go out. Zhou Zhengli had taken measures along the way to ensure that Chen Batian would actually die of natural causes. And it would happen... very soon.