Chapter 368: Musi Yu's Death

But how could Musi Yu have lost against Zhang Lie?! That was impossible!

And yet they could all see Zhang Lie standing hale and unharmed, while Musi Yu, warlord of the third realm, had been beaten to a pulp. Was Zhang Lie too strong, or was the warlord of the third realm too weak?

"I can't believe this..."

Those who had proclaimed Zhang Lie's imminent loss felt as though they had just been slapped, but the other spectators didn't really mind. After all, just about no one present had thought well of Zhang Lie's chances.

"Could this be the power of limit fragments?"

That was the only explanation the flummoxed crowd could think of.

After all, Musi Yu was a warlord of the third realm, one who had defeated a near-impossible number of enemies to get to his position. The only wildcard was the theory of limit fragments that Zhang Lie had developed.

The spectators' eyes burned with greed. If that were the case, if they could get these limit fragments, they too could possess strength on par with Zhang Lie's!

Of course, greedy though they were, none of them dared lay a hand on Zhang Lie. If Zhang Lie were able to defeat even a third-realm warlord without suffering any injuries, he could easily do the same to them.

Once news of Musi Yu's defeat spread, the price of these limit-breaking potions was bound to at least double.

Zhang Lie walked up to Musi Yu; the third-realm warlord began to beg. "Please, don't kill me. I'll hand over anything you want, I'll be your dog—but please, don't take my life!"

What was honor and reputation in comparison to one's life? Musi Yu would do all that he could to live on. He would spread his legs for the sura king, and he would even beg for mercy in front of an enemy who had slaughtered his clan.

Zhang Lie gave Musi Yu a rough kick, forcing a gasp of pain out of him.

"You need a hound, don't you? I'll be your most loyal, most obedient hound, and I'll bite whoever you need me to. I'm a third-realm warlord, and your enemies will be nothing in front of me." Musi Yu refused to give up. He clutched Zhang Lie's legs and began licking his boots, but Zhang Lie kicked him aside again.

Musi Yu racked his brains and shouted once more, "Please, wait! Don't you want [Black Sun]? As I've told you, [Black Sun] and [Eclipse] form two parts of a whole, cohesive technique. If you let me live, I'll hand you the entirety of [Black Sun]!"

Musi Yu regretted provoking Zhang Lie, not knowing just how frightening his strength was. Zhang Lie seemed to be all but undefeatable in the second realm. Musi Yu suspected that the only being that could challenge him here was the legendary asura.

.

He had to live, no matter the cost. As long as he was able to survive, he would hand Zhang Lie a half-true, half-fabricated manual of [Black Sun]. While Zhang Lie was stuck trying to learn [Black Sun], he would have an opportunity to strike back.

"There's no need. I have a simpler, more direct method." Zhang Lie pressed a hand on the back of his head, activated a soulshard, and sent Whitey to probe the depths of his mind.

The heavily wounded Musi Yu was unable to resist the intrusion, and Whitey quickly bundled up all the treasures in his mind. Once Whitey returned to Zhang Lie, Zhang Lie squeezed Musi Yu's head tightly, causing it to burst open like an exploded watermelon.

Zhang Lie closed his eyes as he processed Whitey's finds: the entirety of [Black Sun], along with some extensions that Musi Yu had developed, [Netherworld Thrust], [Blackflame Wings], and other miscellaneous techniques.

Many were upgraded versions of the techniques that he had seen the members of the Musi clan use.

"Hasn't Musi Yu been hiding too much from his clan?"

Musi Yu refused to hand down his strongest techniques even to his own son. The techniques which he had imparted to the Musi clan were all watered-down versions of his own, far weaker than those in Musi Yu's possession.

Perhaps it was those who had betrayed others who felt most keenly the fear of being betrayed. And yet, in a twist of karmic retribution, despite all his precautions, Musi Yu had been betrayed by an acquaintance he considered a friend.

Included among the cache of techniques was Musi Yu's trump card, the fusion of Zhang Lie's [Black Sun] with his body. After glancing at it, Zhang Lie frowned. This wasn't a technique he wanted to learn; the side effects were outlandish. However, there were quite a few techniques that both Hong Xi and Hong Xiao could benefit from.

Last were the soulshards. Musi Yu seemed unusually poor; there was nothing that struck Zhang Lie's fancy except for a storage-type soulshard. Before he could be entirely disappointed, however, he found something within Musi Yu's storage that caused his eyes to bulge.

"What's this doing here?!"

Zhang Lie was looking at a fragment of a treasure map, one stitched out of some dark green canvas. Ancient and mysterious, it seemed as though it would lead to some fantastic treasure.

Zhang Lie reacted with such surprise because he had seen a fragment of the map before, and it was because of this fragment that an important person had left him in his past life. Unfortunately for the Zhang Lie of the past, he had been nothing more than a regular hunter. Even to his death, he didn't know who the mastermind who had orchestrated his downfall could be.

Now that he had chanced upon this fragment again, Zhang Lie clenched his fists tightly. He would find the culprit; he wouldn't let the tragedy of the past occur once more!

With his spoils in tow, Zhang Lie returned to the Zenith Dojo, preparing to meld the effects of [Black Sun] and [Eclipse].