223: We've been set up

"Don't kill me!"

Kun Gou fled frantically through the Imperial Palace, but Wang Yao remained silent, only swinging his sword and relentlessly pursuing.

The two chased and fled until Kun Gou suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground for unknown reasons, and the farce finally ended.

He turned in fear, looking at Wang Yao, who had raised his Wooden Sword and was about to strike, instinctively shutting his eyes tightly.

Then—

..."I didn't die?"

Kun Gou looked at his body, which had been sliced into pieces, and suddenly remembered something, his Aura instantly surging.

The body, which had been chopped into hundreds of pieces, quickly gathered and returned to its original state.

Immediately afterward, before Wang Yao's next sword strike landed, he slammed a fist onto the sword, sending Wang Yao staggering back several meters.

"Damn it, you almost scared this Third Master to death!"

Realizing that the attack had not harmed him as expected, and also remembering that this was not his original body, Kun Gou finally calmed down.

"Alias!"

Wang Yao was still swinging wildly, without any technique, possessing only pure killing intent and almost instinctive fatal attacks.

But after shedding his fear, Kun Gou began to counter and defend. Although he was repeatedly forced back, he seemed to have plenty of room to maneuver.

"I really thought you were Zhang Ling. Turns out you're just a cosplay."

"By the way, you're not a person from the Eastern Domain, so do you even know what cosplay means?"

"Forget it. Seeing how crazy you are, just like Zhang Ling, there's definitely no way to communicate."

Kun Gou grinned, revealing a cruel smile, and the Dragon Transformation features on his body deepened further.

"You just need to know that your current appearance disgusts this Third Master just by looking at it!"

Dust billowed around him as he launched a counterattack.

The situation, which had originally been suppressed, instantly became a balanced contest.

"It looks like this Small Branch is working again... I'd like to see how long you can maintain this state."

Kun Gou suddenly became interested and decided to have a proper showdown with this person before him, who possessed the quality of an old acquaintance.

But he didn't know that inside the Huge Meatball at that moment, there was only a headless male corpse and a “big surprise.”

"Don't panic, Dear Nephew, Second Uncle will definitely save you."

Prince Kang carried Song Yan on his back, following closely behind Zhou Yan as they fled outwards.

At the same time, he didn't forget to turn back and comfort Song Yan, who was so weak he couldn't move.

After all, everyone could see that two troublesome individuals were fighting fiercely in the sky, so it was naturally best for them, the old, weak, sick, and disabled, to leave first.

Zhou Yan, running ahead, was also somewhat surprised at this moment and subconsciously asked.

"Do you really have a way to save Song Yan?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted it, because he thought Prince Kang was probably just comforting Song Yan, and his current question might affect Song Yan's state.

He had just checked Song Yan's panel; not only was his health continuously dropping, but there was also a progress bar beneath it.

The dropping health was manageable; it could be alleviated by taking some medicine after meeting up with Li Wenbo and the others.

But that progress bar looked suspicious no matter how he viewed it; once it reached zero, the Young Emperor would likely face a terrible fate.

He had tried feeding him medicine that could clear negative statuses, but it had no effect. Song Yan couldn't even move now, so he had to rely on Prince Kang to carry him.

Therefore, it didn't look like he could be saved no matter what, and if Prince Kang's words had just given him a glimmer of hope, only for it to be shattered now, it was hard to guarantee the Young Emperor wouldn't just die on the spot.

However, upon hearing this, Prince Kang smiled wickedly.

"Brother Zhou, do you really think I, Song Jie, am just freeloading? I at least cultivated to the Soul Transformation Realm using some of my own ability."

"I still have some foresight. How could I get involved in such a huge affair and truly be unable to do anything?"

"Are you sure Kun Gou didn't just boost your cultivation because this body was too weak and inconvenient for him to use?" Zhou Yan glanced at him with dead fish eyes.

"Ahem... See through it, but don't say it."

Prince Kang coughed twice and continued.

"I once used Python Swallow Dragon on my Dear Nephew, you know about that, right?"

"Was that really done by you? Not Kun Gou?"

"Of course it was me."

"Otherwise, why would Old Man Chen have wanted to strangle me back then?"

Prince Kang recalled the scene at the time, breaking out in a cold sweat internally.

"I had no choice back then. They were all involved in this kind of wicked plan; it clearly wasn't proper. Who knew if something would go wrong?"

"I had to keep a path of retreat, didn't I?"

"And initially, I wanted to seize part of my Dear Nephew's fate so he couldn't complete the Final Ritual."

"That way, the plan would have to be executed by me. At least I could save my life and survive until the end."

"Later, after being taught a lesson, I gave up."

"But because I did take some of his fate, even though the fate has been returned, the connection hasn't been severed. So there's still a link between us... And now, this connection can be put to good use."

"Presumably, that's also why my father didn't make me return the fate directly back then."

"I can feel that the so-called 'Transform into Dragon' is acting upon the Imperial Mandate."

"If I use Python Swallow Dragon to absorb it again, I should be able to transfer part of the influence over."

"One person might not be able to bear it, but if two people share the burden, maybe we can sever that connection."

"As for the price, it will probably shorten his lifespan a bit, but my Dear Nephew is still young, so he won't miss it."

Looking at Prince Kang's appearance, Zhou Yan didn't know whether to believe him. But regardless, meeting up with Li Wenbo first was the priority.

Meanwhile, Kun Gou was fighting with increasing fervor.

The power of the celestial master sword had received no replenishment since its initial infusion by Xiao Sheng's Master, and it was now gradually showing signs of fatigue.

"What a pity, you aren't Zhang Ling... otherwise, this Third Master could avenge Fifth Brother today."

"To be honest, I've long wanted to meet the strongest Celestial Master in history, but unfortunately, I never had the chance."

"However, although you aren't Zhang Ling and don't look like him, this Aura... it's quite to my liking."

As he spoke, he covered his palm with dust and yellow Magical Power, gripping the sword blade from a distance.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you easily."

"I want to preserve this power of yours so that when my Fifth Brother revives, he can personally slaughter you."

"Tsk tsk, I can barely imagine it—being resurrected using the body of his idol, and being able to slay a Little Zhang Ling right after waking up... Even I'm starting to envy him."

Kun Gou believed victory was within his grasp, but sudden changes arose.

A giant Earthen Golem surprisingly drilled out from the large hole beneath the Giant Egg, wildly smashing its fists, shattering large sections of the meat wall and revealing the strange Purple Space behind it.

Immediately after, it turned and struck fiercely on the other side, smashing out another hole.

Just then, a youthful figure clad in armor rushed toward the Black Space carrying two sacks on his back, and violently hurled one sack into it.

The space seemed to come alive, and all the purple viscous material rapidly surged toward the sack.

The Purple Space on the Earthen Golem's side also flowed elsewhere, revealing the protected meat wall beneath.

The Young General turned and tossed the other sack into the exposed void.

Just as Kun Gou intended to stop him, a sharp pain suddenly struck his chest, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

He tore open his collar, revealing a Buddhist Seal imprinted on his chest.

Searching his memories, he recalled that this spot was exactly where the guy named Lu Ren had accidentally touched him during the competition back then.

"It was back then!"

Before he could think further, intense pain struck again. The Dragon Horns that had already formed began to shrink back, and the gradually appearing Dragon Features regressed toward a serpentine form.

The pupil of one of his eyes split into two again, and his body began to tremble slightly.

Taking advantage of this momentary lapse, he forcibly withstood several more of Wang Yao's sword strikes and was beaten back repeatedly.

Kun Gou covered the Buddhist Seal on his chest with one hand, parrying the attacks with his single arm, and suddenly smiled.

"Good, good... Not a single one who should come is missing."

"I was indeed set up again."

There was no anger on his face; instead, he wore a smile.

"It's a pity that Mortals are Mortals after all. How could you easily fathom the Realm of those like us?"

"I have already won. No matter how many schemes you set up, they are meaningless!"

Before his voice faded, his body split open from the chest, dividing into two.

A gaunt Stone Man appeared from within, clasping the celestial master sword between its palms, then spun around and flung Wang Yao far away.

The split upper body hung down on both sides like a skirt, clearly exposing the tender pink connection point between the Stone Man's torso and the fleshy trunk.

"Come!"

Just as Kun Gou shouted, he suddenly felt an emptiness inside his body.

Following the sensation, he looked and saw Li Wenbo, pale-faced, holding a heart in his hand.

"You—!"

Before he could finish speaking, a suddenly appearing leopard had already swallowed him whole.

While other sudden changes might have been manageable, the appearance of this leopard completely disrupted his composure.

He struck with all his might, shattering the leopard's head and escaping, only then seeing the leopard's full appearance clearly.

"She Tail Tiger Constellation Beast! Damn it!"

Kun Gou angrily glared at the Meatball, defending against the group's siege while simultaneously casting his consciousness back inside the Meatball.

Kun Gou, reshaped from meat sludge, rushed quickly toward the place of his concern, but upon arrival, he only saw a headless corpse bound to the meat wall, a skeleton sitting cross-legged nearby, and... Zhang Feng, sitting calmly opposite, as if he had been waiting for a long time.