Chapter 616: Immortality

Li Xiaofei turned to look. The burly figure of Zhang Mingjun emerged from the crowd. In the dim light of the night, the towering man resembled an iron fortress as the scars across his face, arms, and chest made him look like a vengeful ghost escaped from hell itself.

Beside him stood the disfigured woman, her half-destroyed face resembling a mask of blackened tar. The two stood side by side.

"If you don’t want to die, don’t sign that contract," Zhang Mingjun repeated, fixing his gaze on Li Xiaofei.

"Old Zhang, what nonsense are you spouting? Get out of here!" Song Shiyu, the third-in-command, shouted loudly.

Zhang Mingjun didn’t even glance at him.

Instead, his intense stare remained locked on Li Xiaofei, he said, "I don’t know where you’ve come from, nor do I know your purpose. But since you were willing to step up and slay the Iron-Eating Bear and even dive into Grandpa Lake for everyone’s sake, I’ll give you a piece of advice. Do not sign that contract. If you do, your life and death will be under the control of that old dog Zhang Wannian."

"Old Zhang! You’re still trying to sow discord at a time like this?" The second-in-command, Wang Bolun, roared angrily. He frowned as he shouted, "You vile traitor! You’ve broken the rules repeatedly, but the chief has been merciful enough to spare you time and again. But you still have not repented. Now you dare to spout such lies here? How dare you betray the chief’s goodwill?"

Zhang Mingjun ignored Wang Bolun entirely. He continued to sneer coldly, as his beast-like eyes stayed on Li Xiaofei.

"I could have stayed out of this," Zhang Mingjun said coldly. "But out of goodwill, I’m giving you a warning. Believe it or not, it’s up to you."

He turned to leave. Li Xiaofei chuckled softly.

"Hold on," he said, raising his hand.

Zhang Mingjun turned back to look at him.

Li Xiaofei smiled faintly. "Captain Zhang, you claim signing this contract leads to death. You should at least provide a reason. I’ve carefully reviewed the contents of the contract and found nothing improper."

"The problem isn’t with the contract itself," Zhang Mingjun snorted. "The issue lies in that beast hide. As soon as you write your name on it, your life and death will be at Zhang Wannian’s mercy."

Oh?

Li Xiaofei froze for a moment, his mind racing.

So, the beast hide really was the problem?

"Ah, Mingjun, I’ve always treated you like my own nephew. I’d placed great hope in you. If you don’t want to contribute to the camp, fine, but why spread such fearmongering nonsense?"

At this moment, the camp’s chief, Zhang Wannian, slowly stood up.

Zhang Mingjun let out a derisive snort. "Zhang Wannian, I bet you’re wondering why your Death Contract hasn’t taken effect yet, aren’t you?"

Zhang Wannian coughed before replying calmly, "I have no idea what you’re talking about. Recruiting Li Xiaofei and the others into the camp is for everyone’s safety. My old injuries have flared up again; I don’t have long to live. Little Friend Li and his group are young, so they can protect everyone here for decades. Yet you still choose to sow discord. Do you want everyone here to die?"

"Ptui!" Zhang Mingjun spat a mouthful of phlegm onto the ground.

"You filthy lapdog of Eden," he snarled. "You dare talk about protecting the camp? Everyone here is nothing more than livestock for you. Do you think I haven’t figured that out yet?"

Li Xiaofei and his companions were stunned by Zhang Mingjun’s words.

He knows about Eden too?

In an instant, countless eyes turned on Zhang Wannian.

"Ugh,

cough, cough

—" Zhang Wannian coughed violently, suddenly spitting out a mouthful of blood.

His body wavered as he struggled to stand. "Mingjun, how could you spew such venomous lies? I...

cough...

I see now. It’s you... You’re the mole from Eden. You’ve been hiding in plain sight all this time. I misjudged you...

cough, cough...

"

"Save the act, old dog," Zhang Mingjun sneered, gripping the hand of the scar-faced woman beside him. "If it weren’t for that cursed Death Contract binding me, do you think I would’ve followed your orders for all these years? Today, I’ve broken the contract. My wife and I are free. There’s no need for more words. If you want to stop us, come and test my fists... We’re leaving."

He turned to leave with the woman.

"Hold it."

Li Xiaofei stood up slowly.

Under the weight of countless gazes, he spoke calmly, "You’re not going anywhere. I think the chief’s judgment is correct. You are the real lapdog of Eden. Stop them."

Swish, swish, swish.

Li Junjie, Ximen Piaoxue, Gu Haochen, and Zhang Zhihong moved in unison, their figures flickering as they intercepted Zhang Mingjun and his wife.

"Traitors of Eden deserve death," Li Xiaofei said with a cold sneer. "You don’t want me to sign this contract? Then I’ll do exactly that."

He picked up the pen and wrote his name on the beast hide contract with a flourish. He then held it up to show everyone.

"Idiot!" Zhang Mingjun couldn’t hold back his fury. "That old dog Zhang has the ability to devour! He’ll take your supernatural essence, consume your vitality, and extend his life by another hundred years. You... you fool! There’s no one more foolish than you in this world!"

Li Xiaofei turned to look at Zhang Wannian. The latter remained calm. He stared silently at the beast hide contract, and his scholarly face betrayed a mixture of exhaustion and a hint of uncontrollable excitement.

"Good. Very good. Finally, you’ve signed it," Zhang Wannian said softly. "All my painstaking efforts weren’t in vain. This is wonderful. Truly wonderful."

Before his words fully settled—

Boom!

A bolt of lightning hammered Li Xiaofei into the ground without warning. Caught completely off guard, Li Xiaofei had no time to react. He trembled, as his body was charred black and his hair stood on end. Blood spewed from his mouth as he collapsed to the ground.

A moment later, his aura vanished entirely. The suddenness of the event left everyone utterly stunned.

"Brother Li!"

"Senior!"

"Boss!"

Li Junjie and the others could hardly believe what they were seeing.

The one who reacted the fastest was Zhang Wannian. He raised his hand, and an invisible force surged forward, pulling Li Xiaofei's lifeless body toward him.

When he placed his palm over Li Xiaofei’s chest and abdomen, a milky-white orb of light emerged from Li Xiaofei's body. The orb condensed into a small, glowing white sphere that spun rapidly in Zhang Wannian’s palm.

Zhang Wannian opened his mouth and inhaled deeply, swallowing the white orb. The entire process was completed before anyone could react.

"You old bastard, what is the meaning of this?"

A flash of sword light stopped just a hair's breadth away from Zhang Wannian’s forehead. Ye Liuying, her body radiating an aura of sword qi, stood before him. Her icy, elegant face was twisted with uncontrollable killing intent.

"What did you do?" she demanded, her voice sharp and cold.

"Hahaha, hahahahaha!"

Zhang Wannian suddenly burst into laughter. As he laughed, blood gushed from his mouth and nose as if it were free-flowing. Yet, the loss of blood didn’t weaken him. Instead, his vitality surged dramatically, swelling with newfound strength.

Completely ignoring the sword poised inches from his forehead, Zhang Wannian cradled Li Xiaofei’s corpse in his arms as if he was holding the most precious treasure in the world. Tears of joy welled up in his eyes.

"Truly, the heavens are on my side." He chuckled. "Who would have thought that just as I was nearing death’s door, I’d stumble upon such a perfect specimen. With him, I can live another five hundred years!"

"You old bastard, you’re courting death!" shouted a furious Ye Liuying.

Her killing intent exploded as she unleashed the Ten Thousand Swords Return secret technique. Her slender sword gleamed with dazzling light as it shot toward Zhang Wannian’s forehead, aiming to pierce straight through him.

Clang!

The sharp sound of metal clashing rang out. The sword, infused with Xuanzhen energy, failed to penetrate Zhang Wannian’s skin.

"The only one I feared among you was Li Xiaofei," Zhang Wannian said with a cold smile. "Now that he’s dead, none of you are a match for me. Hahaha! Little girl, you’re far too inexperienced."

He gestured casually.

Boom!

The silver sword shattered into fragments, exploding in midair. Ye Liuying was flung backward and crashed heavily to the ground.

"Damn it!" Li Junjie roared in anger, drawing his blade and slashing down with full force.

Zhang Wannian effortlessly caught the strike powerful enough to split mountains and shatter the earth with one hand.

"Your physical body is sturdy," Zhang Wannian said with a mocking smile, "but it’s nothing compared to Li Xiaofei’s. You’re not even qualified to be a backup candidate."

He squeezed, and the treasured blade crumbled like fragile clay. The force transmitted through his fingers sent Li Junjie flying backward.

"Kill that old dog!"

"Avenge Senior Li!"

Wang Xiaofan, Gu Haochen, and the others, their eyes blazing red with rage, charged at Zhang Wannian in a frenzy.

"Stop them," Zhang Wannian ordered calmly.

At that moment, Wang Bolun and Song Shiyu, who had been standing to the side, froze in place. Their shocked faces suddenly went blank as their bodies stiffened. When they opened their eyes again, the light of consciousness was gone, leaving their gazes hollow and unfocused.

"Earth Spikes!"

Wang Bolun pressed his hands against the ground, and countless spikes that were as hard as divine steel erupted from the earth.

"Rain Blades!"

Song Shiyu swept his hands through the air, summoning a drizzle from the sky. The raindrops were as sharp as bullets and blades as they shot toward Wang Xiaofan and the others with terrifying speed.

"Damn it..." The bald brute Zhang Mingjun clutched his head in frustration, his fury reaching its peak.

He cursed bitterly, "It’s always impossible to save fools who beg for death! Idiots, idiots, idiots! Argh! Now that old dog Zhang Wannian gets to live another lifetime..."

Grabbing his wife’s hand, he turned to flee, desperation etched across his face. But Zhang Wannian had no intention of letting him escape.

Gravity Technique!

Fifty times normal gravity instantly slammed down on Zhang Mingjun and his wife. Their momentum ground to a half as they felt like an invisible mountain was bearing down on them.

A flash of light streaked across the air as Zhang Wannian appeared in front of Zhang Mingjun and his wife. His face was smeared with blood, giving him the appearance of a vengeful demon.

He glared at them and demanded, "How did you break free from my Death Contract ability?"

This question was of the utmost importance to him. The Death Contract and Devour abilities were his greatest assets. They had allowed him to dominate Earth in this apocalyptic era and become a chosen figure of Eden.

A signed Death Contract was supposed to be unbreakable. Even a Star Tier lifeform couldn’t escape the constraints of the Death Contract. But Zhang Wannian had clearly felt the contracts binding Zhang Mingjun and his wife, Pu Juan, dissolve. He had to find out what went wrong. His secret technique could not afford to have flaws.

"Break your mother’s contract!" shouted Zhang Mingjun as he shielded his wife behind him and threw a punch with all his might.

As a strength-type Extraordinary One, Zhang Mingjun was one of the strongest physical powerhouses of his time. The force of his punch roared like thunder, and sparks flew as his fist and forearm tore through the air, as though ready to shatter the very fabric of space.

"What tremendous strength," Zhang Wannian remarked coldly.

He raised a hand and caught Zhang Mingjun’s fist mid-air.

"You could’ve been among the top three strength-type talents in the world," Zhang Wannian continued, gripping the fist tightly. " Unfortunately, after years under my control, constantly drained and suppressed, you’re left with barely a third of your peak strength. Do you think you can stand against me like this?"

He unleashed a burst of energy.

Crack!

Zhang Mingjun’s arm bent at a brutal ninety-degree angle. He cried out in pain, retreating as he struggled against the crushing gravitational field holding him down.

"Don’t bother struggling," Zhang Wannian said mockingly. "Li Xiaofei’s gravity ability is even more exceptional than I anticipated. Though this is my first time using it, I’m already impressed by its potential. Now, tell me how you broke the Death Contract, and I’ll give you and your wife a chance to live."

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Suddenly, dozens of green vines shot out from the ground, writhing like emerald serpents as they lunged toward Zhang Wannian.

Pu Juan was one of the camp’s top eight Extraordinary Ones, and she launched a surprise attack with her Green Demon Vines.

"Your husband failed, and so will you," Zhang Wannian sneered.

He doubled the gravitational pressure with a mere thought, pinning the green vines to the ground.

"You won’t talk?" Zhang Wannian said coldly. "Fine, I don’t need you to. Once I kill you both, there’ll be no one left in this world who knows how to break the Death Contract."

He reached out to place a hand on Pu Juan’s head. To Zhang Wannian, every Extraordinary One was like a treasure chest waiting to be unlocked. Devouring their supernatural essence meant gaining their powers.

Contrary to what Song Shiyu had assumed, Zhang Wannian didn’t just retain the last ability he consumed; he could store all abilities he devoured.

"Plant-type powers are weak and unimpressive, but they do have their uses. I’ll gladly accept this gift..."

His hand drifted downward, inches away from Pu Juan’s head.

"Hey." Someone tapped his shoulder lightly.

Zhang Wannian froze. A chill crept up his spine, making his entire body bristle with terror. He spun around abruptly. And there it was—a face he knew all too well. A dead man’s face.

"You... aren’t you dead?" Zhang Wannian stammered, disbelief and fear twisting his expression.

Li Xiaofei grinned, his white teeth gleaming eerily in the dim light.

"Let me tell you a little secret," he said casually. "My extraordinary essence is immortality."