Chapter 576

In a huge desert where heat distorts the air, sandworms crawl out from the golden sand terrain as Gu Masters cry “Kill!” and curse another myriad beast king’s arrival. The Gu Masters occupy a small area of a sand dune, desperately defending themselves. This is Eighty-Eight True Yang Building’s seventh floor, the eighty-ninth round, and every round brings an entirely new area filled with its own tests. A sandworm myriad beast king enters the battle, sending ripples through the Gu Masters’ defenses. ^{ch. 576}

Sole Blade General Pan Ping shouts to boost morale, urging the group to hold on for just forty-five more minutes to get through the round. He is a demonic Gu Master who joined Hei tribe to become their external elder. Though his own battle strength is great, this round is focused on defense. The round requires challengers to hold the specified dune for twelve hours against waves of sandworm attacks, and since mortals, unlike Gu Immortals, have limited strength alone, more challengers means a better chance. But Pan Ping’s words have little effect, since the Gu Masters have already taken great losses and are tired and near their limits. ^{ch. 576}

Big Beard wipes blood and sweat from his face as he shouts about how they will survive another myriad beast king. Nobody knows his real name; his thick beard earned him the name Big Beard. In earlier rounds he cleared the sixth floor’s eighteenth round, which made him a little known despite his previously unknown background. He was originally a rank two Gu Master, as common as a pebble and true fodder in the sacred palace, but the reward for clearing that round raised him to rank three. Becoming rank three changed his situation, since rank two is common while rank three is rare and mostly held by elders. His higher quality primeval essence then surged his battle strength, winning him more battle rewards, and many middle sized tribes offered to take him on, since small tribes cannot afford an external elder and large tribes have no use for him. ^{ch. 576}

Big Beard reasons that ordinary people like him will not win this round’s own reward, but the mission reward would still let him obtain two rank three Gu, since this is the eighty-ninth round and any reward for clearing it would be considerable. He watches the higher-ups on the peak of the dune. They sent out this mission, gathering a thousand Gu Masters to clear the difficult round. ^{ch. 576}

The sandworm myriad beast king rushes the defensive line, and though the Gu Masters answer with golden light, a rain of arrows and flames, its yellow lustered body’s rising defense blocks the attacks easily. It growls continuously, whipping up a storm as it barges into their territory. Chang Biao, frowning on the mound, says the situation is a little out of hand, since this beast king carries a rank five golden armor Gu whose unchecked rampage would crumble their defenses. This is the ninth myriad beast king so far, and their battle strength differs by the Gu worms each one carries; this one is comparatively troublesome for its strong defensive Gu, though it lacks a strong area attack. ^{ch. 576}

In such situations expert Gu Masters usually strike a beast king themselves, since soldiers fight soldiers and generals fight generals, and Chang Biao means to do so here. Ma Ying Jie, standing beside him, offers to do it instead, and nobody objects. During a myriad beast king’s appearance everyone takes turns striking by an agreed order, and it is Ma Ying Jie’s turn. He personally strikes, leading a pegasus group that blocks the sandworm king and stabilizes the situation, and onlookers on the dune praise him as “Young Ma Zun.” ^{ch. 576}

Pan Ping secretly asks Chang Biao through voice transmission what he thinks of Ma Ying Jie. Ma Ying Jie was once Ma tribe’s young tribe leader under his teacher Ma Zun, and after Ma tribe was defeated, Hei Lou Lan forced them to submit, leaving the tribe weak and merely mid sized. Chang Biao knows Pan Ping wants to recruit Ma Ying Jie into the Wolf Killing Alliance, a secret organization formed to deal with Fang Yuan. Pan Ping’s own hatred comes from Fang Yuan snatching his inheritance at Xing Jiu peak, and he wants revenge for it. Chang Biao’s grudge is that Chang Shan Yin took his wife. He considers that grudge impossible to mend. Fang Yuan is powerful enough to contest Hei Lou Lan, and though Pan Ping and Chang Biao have gained much in Eighty-Eight True Yang Building and both reached rank four peak stage, their odds against him alone are low, so they need more help. ^{ch. 576}

Seeing Chang Biao stay silent, Pan Ping continues that Ma tribe lost terribly because of Chang Shan Yin, and that Ma Zun, Ma Ying Jie’s own teacher, was also killed by him, giving Ma Ying Jie a grudge of his own. Chang Biao shakes his head and transmits back that he disagrees. He argues that Ma Ying Jie is determined but also a genuine leader, focused now on reviving his dying tribe, and would not oppose Wolf King on that basis alone, and might even try to mend the relationship. Wolf King commands a huge force, he adds, and their own advantage as a secret organization is exactly that secrecy, which reckless recruiting would risk exposing. ^{ch. 576}

Pan Ping is not willing to give up, and urges that as high achievers they should not worry so much. He calls Chang Shan Yin a scoundrel defended by his myriad wolves, whose own high attainment in strength path would drain their strength once they fight him. He notes that Ma Ying Jie controls a horse group, is now called Little Ma Zun, and has the talent to become an enslavement master, exactly the kind of expert they need against the wolf group. Chang Biao gives Pan Ping a look, feeling unhappy. In Chang Biao’s view Pan Ping, a demonic Gu Master called Sole Blade General who acts without restraint and is daring and cruel, is foolish and rash and will not achieve much. Pan Ping, for his part, feels Chang Biao is too restricted and worries too much to be a true hero. ^{ch. 576}

This difference in personality runs deep. Chang Biao is good at enduring, and when he once plotted against Chang Shan Yin, he used another person to carry it out. He also loves his own reputation, and even after many years he still does not dare acknowledge his son, Chang Ji You. Pan Ping’s own personality shows instead in how, during the Imperial Court contest, he challenged the armies and rushed forward into battle. Despite their differences, both men tolerate each other, since they understand clearly that Wolf King is not someone either could deal with alone. ^{ch. 576}

Privately, Chang Biao thinks that Pan Ping, being of the demonic path, cannot understand righteous path thinking. He judges that recruiting Ma Ying Jie is wishful thinking, since revealing the Wolf Killing Alliance risks betrayal if Ma Ying Jie wants to curry favor with Wolf King instead. He wonders how he might convince Pan Ping. Being witty, he quickly forms a plan, and transmits to Pan Ping a reminder that Chang Shan Yin killed Ma Zun, but asks who killed Ma Ying Jie’s own father. Pan Ping is stunned into a daze. Ma Shang Feng, Ma Ying Jie’s father, was killed by Pan Ping himself during the chaotic battle at the end of that conflict, and the merit he earned for it brought him many rewards. That battle merit has now become his biggest obstacle to revenge, something he never expected. ^{ch. 576}

Pan Ping, obstinate, argues that he did kill the father. But he says it was only in the fight between two armies serving their respective masters. Since Chang Biao believes Ma Ying Jie cares most about his tribe, Pan Ping accepts that judgment and proposes framing Wolf King as the biggest obstacle to Ma Ying Jie restoring it. Chang Biao is stunned this time, thinking to himself that even a foolish man can have a moment of brilliance, surprised that Pan Ping managed a clever rebuttal for once. His mind works quickly: there is indeed a possibility in it, since Ma tribe is Ma Ying Jie’s weakness, but he still needs a plan that makes Ma Ying Jie willing to join. ^{ch. 576}

Chang Biao recalls a small detail he heard earlier. He looks to the left defensive line, at a young rank two Gu Master. This is Ma Hong Yun, once Ma Ying Jie’s servant and now one of his most trusted aides. Not long ago Ma Hong Yun escaped Wolf King’s hunt of the earth chief beast group with his life, and the battle gains he brought back he contributed entirely to Ma tribe. For his loyalty, Ma Ying Jie rewarded him with three green copper relic Gu and returned every Gu worm he had contributed. ^{ch. 576}

Ma Hong Yun’s luck held, Chang Biao reflects. He managed to leave before Chang tribe and Ge tribe Gu Masters entered the battlefield, and the green copper relic Gu he received are themselves of considerable value. With Ma tribe weak and its morale low, Ma Ying Jie used a green copper relic Gu he could not personally use to show his men how loyalty gets rewarded. Ma Hong Yun thereby obtained the very Gu he needed most, reaching rank two in a single night, a speed Chang Biao notes even he could not match. ^{ch. 576}

Chang Biao sighs at the mystery of it, since compared to Ma Hong Yun he started with far greater resources. Yet he himself took about ten times as long to reach rank two. Green copper relic Gu are natural Gu, rare and produced at random places, and it is only thanks to Eighty-Eight True Yang Building that Ma Ying Jie obtained them as a reward at all. ^{ch. 576}

Chang Biao considers that Ma Hong Yun prospered indirectly because of Chang Shan Yin, who had earlier ordered Chang tribe and Ge tribe to capture Gu Masters trying to take advantage of the chaos, and wonders what would happen if he released that information. He reconsiders: a mere rank two Gu Master like Ma Hong Yun would be an ant in Chang Shan Yin’s eyes, too weak to be worth reporting. Ma Ying Jie, he judges, will not move against Chang Shan Yin over so small a matter. Chang Biao decides to keep planning and wait. ^{ch. 576}

Forty-five minutes later the sand dune erupts into cheers as the Gu Masters finally clear the round. Curious gazes turn to Chang Biao, Pan Ping, Ma Ying Jie and the others, wondering what the reward will be. Afterward, new Gu worms appear in their apertures, among them an east window Gu that stores information. Checking it, Chang Biao, Pan Ping and Ma Ying Jie exchange looks at the words “six arm heavenly zombie king,” each with a different expression. The reward, its description says, is a strength path killer move of phenomenal power. ^{ch. 576}