Chapter 37: The Tyrant’s Flattery
Chen Ning glanced once at the two zombies tearing into Xiao Zihao’s corpse, then turned to Su Luo. The two of them quietly picked up their gear and slipped away into the darkness.
So much had happened tonight that Chen Ning and Su Luo were in no mood to hunt any more zombies. They didn’t even take down Da Yan and Niu Er to collect the zombie zore. Of course, a large part of the reason for sparing these two zombies was that Chen Ning intentionally wanted Xiao Zihao to taste the bitter consequences of his own actions.
When they reached the meeting point where they were supposed to meet Bai Yuhao and the others, it was still early. The rest of the team hadn’t returned yet, so Chen Ning and Su Luo waited quietly in the shadows.
Su Luo remembered how Chen Ning had been ambushed earlier—shot by those treacherous bastards—and she immediately asked, “Chen Ning, how’s your gunshot wound?”
Chen Ning possessed a demigod bofy—half human, half zombie. Zombie bodies lack pain receptors, and although Chen Ning did have a nervous system capable of registering pain, his half-zombie nature made his sensitivity to pain twice as dull as that of an ordinary person. It was as if his body had a built-in mild anesthetic. Moreover, as a demigod, his healing ability far surpassed that of a regular human.
Hearing Su Luo mention the gunshot wound, Chen Ning now felt a dull throb of pain from the location of the injury.
He calmly said, “The bullet had strong penetrating power—it went straight through my body. Fortunately, it only injured my left lung, so it’s not immediately fatal. I’ve already treated the wound and stopped the bleeding.”
Su Luo, hearing that, immediately crouched down and reached out. “Let me take a look!”
That threw Chen Ning off completely. He froze. “That… isn’t really necessary, is it?”
The reason Chen Ning felt embarrassed was that if Su Luo wanted to examine his gunshot wound, he would have to take off his shirt in front of her. Although it was just removing his top in the presence of a girl, he still felt somewhat uncomfortable and awkward.
Moreover, his wound-healing ability was astonishingly fast, and he was afraid Su Luo might notice something unusual.
Su Luo rolled her eyes. “We’re comrades, aren’t we? What’s the big deal about checking a wound? Why do I feel like I’m the man and you’re the shy maiden? And don’t forget—I’ve seen you shirtless plenty of times when you were whipped during training.”
Tonight, Chen Ning had saved Su Luo twice just in time. Although mutual support, covering, and rescue among comrades were normal—even common in every battle—Su Luo couldn’t help but feel a trace of gratitude toward him in her heart. Naturally, she insisted on checking Chen Ning’s injuries herself before she could feel at ease.
Chen Ning sighed and took off his shirt.
“Wow,” Su Luo gasped softly. “The bleeding really has stopped completely. It’s already scabbing over! I just don’t know how bad the internal bleeding is. Do you feel any difficulty breathing? Any coughing, blood in the throat?”
“No,” he replied. “Just a dull pain.”
Su Luo stared, impressed. The recovery was unbelievable. Chen Ning quickly covered it up with a lie. “Old Doctor Fang gave me a Bone-Cleansing Marrow Pill, I saved it for emergencies. I swallowed it after I was shot. That’s why the healing’s so fast.”
“Oh!” Su Luo nodded, relieved. “That explains it. The Bone-Cleansing Marrow Pill doesn’t just strengthen the body—it’s a miracle medicine for wounds. No wonder you’re recovering so quickly.”
She then asked eagerly, “Since you took it, have you tried igniting your third meridian node yet?”
Chen Ning shook his head. “Not yet.”
Su Luo immediately urged, “Then start cultivating now! I’ll stand guard.” She raised her rifle and positioned herself a few meters away, alert and ready.
Chen Ning could only give a wry smile. This girl’s even more impatient than I am.
Still, he sat down cross-legged—not to cultivate, but to enter his spiritual realm. He had a score to settle with that cunning old Crimson Tyrant, who had nearly stolen his body earlier.
Closing his eyes, Chen Ning sank into meditation.
Darkness enveloped him. All around was pitch black, with a vast spiritual lake at its center. The martial energy within the lake had not yet fully accumulated. On the left coiled a black martial vein shrouded in dark mist, while on the right shimmered a silver martial vein gleaming with light. Suspended above the lake was a severed head—that of the Crimson Tyrant.
“You old bastard,” Chen Ning’s voice echoed like thunder through the space. “You actually dared to play tricks on me. Now it’s time for me to settle the score with you.”
The tyrant flinched, immediately switching into a pitiful tone. “Ah—merciful young hero, please, spare this old soul! I have elders to care for—”
“Silence!”
“Alright, alright, I’ll shut up. I won’t beg for mercy anymore. But there’s one thing I’d like to say: young hero, your bones are extraordinary, and with dual martial veins, you have the potential to become a peerless double level twelve powerhouse in the future. Of course, that’s only a theoretical possibility. Judging by your current cultivation methods, which are completely unrefined, I estimate that reaching double level nine in this lifetime would already be your limit.”
Chen Ning snorted coldly, “What do you mean by ‘completely unrefined’? I practice the Mighty Tigers Art of our Empire’s military. How many elite warriors in the empire have cultivated using this method and risen to the rank of Great General? Why do you claim that I can only reach the level of a Battle Commander at best in my lifetime?”
The Crimson Tyrant was still quite afraid that Chen Ning, this reckless youth, would punish him without a second thought. Since Chen Ning had already responded, it meant he had succeeded—there was a chance to appease Chen Ning’s anger and avoid the calamity of his retaliation.
He said smugly, “Do you think those elite warriors of the Empire military all rely solely on the Mighty Tigers Art to advance their cultivation? Wrong. Many of them come from influential noble families, ancient clans that each possess their own set of secret cultivation techniques.
For example, the Battle Commander of the Empire, Xiao Ke, comes from the Xiao family, whose secret technique is ‘Eastern Purple Dawn.’ And your military’s Major General Duan Canglong—his Duan family practices the ‘Imperial Dragon Art.'”
Chen Ning was stunned; he had always thought all military elites advanced their cultivation through the Mighty Tigers Art.
The old man continued nonchalantly, “The Mighty Tigers Art is the most fundamental cultivation method, designed for soldiers. Its progress is relatively slow, and it’s often called ‘the path for the poor.’ Ordinary people, unlike the members of prestigious families, don’t have access to more profound and sophisticated cultivation techniques. The Mighty Tigers Art is their only way out. A few geniuses have managed to reach the rank of Great General through it, but you—you absolutely cannot!”
Chen Ning retorted unwillingly, “Why not?”
“Simple,” the tyrant replied smoothly. “First, the Mighty Tigers Art is the most fundamental technique, so its progress is naturally slow. Besides, others have only one martial vein, while you have dual martial veins. To try and use the Mighty Tigers Art to light up more than ten nodes in both of your martial veins is absolutely impossible.”
Chen Ning snorted coldly, “I don’t believe it. If others can do it, then I can certainly do it too. If they spend 10 hours a day cultivating, I’ll spend 20 hours. With persistence, I refuse to believe that constant effort won’t bring success. You deceitful old man, you tricked me into giving up control of my body before, and now you’re trying to crush my confidence. It’s time you learned a lesson.”
Hearing Chen Ning’s words, the Crimson Tyrant felt an urge to cry. He had deliberately exaggerated the situation, expecting Chen Ning to beg him for help in finding a better cultivation method. But instead, Chen Ning not only didn’t plead with him but was even preparing to teach him a lesson.
Originally planning to keep his secrets, now truly panicked.
He hurriedly offered his treasure, his tone turning ingratiating.
“Little brother, don’t be upset. When I said all that, it wasn’t to crush your confidence. I just wanted to tell you that I can guide you toward a new path of cultivation—or rather, make some slight adjustments to your Mighty Tigers Art. It will absolutely double your results with half the effort.
I won’t make any grand promises for now, lest you think I’m boasting. But if you follow my guidance, I guarantee you’ll soon be able to light up the third node of your dual martial veins.”
After listening, Chen Ning felt somewhat tempted.
Although this cunning old man was wicked, he was a tyrant who had dominated both the zombie world and the human realm.
If he were willing to guide him, Chen Ning would undoubtedly benefit greatly.
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