Chapter 679: I Am the Ruthless One

Time went back to when they parted ways with Xing Yuan and the others.

Inside the underground palace.

A puppet holding a head sprinted at full speed, while over twenty alien clan puppets chased relentlessly, roaring madly as if they wanted to devour him.

Seeing that a whim of his had driven these puppets so crazy, Zhang Xuan's curiosity grew stronger.

This puppet body could be discarded at will, the clone couldn't be killed, and the soul was formless and intangible—if he really wanted to escape, no one could stop him. Besides, he still had the golden pages in his mind; even if trapped, he had the means to flee, so he wasn't afraid.

That was why he had let the others escape first, drawing these puppets toward himself.

He had thought that this move would at most get the puppets to follow him; he never dreamed they would chase him like he was their mortal enemy.

What exactly was this heart that could drive a group of mindless creatures so crazy?

"Whatever it is, I'll know once I touch it..."

To let the others escape safely, he had to keep the puppets from pursuing. Without hesitation, Zhang Xuan hugged the head and sprinted, reaching the river in seven or eight breaths.

The small altar and that heart were still there.

"Go!"

Seeing the puppets closing in behind him, Zhang Xuan had no time to think. He leaped into the river.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Seeing him jump in, all the puppets were frantic but dared not charge forward. They glared angrily, as if wanting to tear him to pieces.

"Just as I thought..."

Seeing that they indeed didn't follow, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Earlier, he had found it odd that the puppets entered the river one by one to receive the heart's spiritual infusion. Now it seemed his guess was correct.

This river could only allow one puppet to cross at a time; the others dared not even if they wanted to.

"Let's see what this heart is..."

Now that he was in the river and not far from the heart, Zhang Xuan glanced back and strode forward.

Splash!

The moment his gaze focused, he felt a dense killing intent pierce straight into his mind like a dagger.

"Heavenly Path Art, activate!"

Anticipating this, he raised his brows and activated his soul power.

True enough, the killing intent weakened, but his head still throbbed painfully, barely bearable.

"The soul lacks Heavenly Path True Qi; it can't resist..."

He stopped.

This killing intent was far stronger than that of the alien clan member Hong Shi had brought out. Although the soul had also cultivated the Heavenly Path Art, without Heavenly Path True Qi to sustain it, it couldn't withstand the assault. Reaching this point was already a struggle; going further would corrode his mind and cause severe damage.

He glanced back. The surrounding puppets were furious but dared not approach or attack from a distance. For now, safety wasn't a major concern. Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth and focused his mind.

Whoosh!

His physical body appeared from the storage ring.

His soul left the puppet and returned to his original body.

Once inside his body, he felt much more comfortable and let out a long breath.

Though the puppet body was far stronger than his current physical form, his own body was still better—easier to control and indescribably comfortable.

"Heavenly Path True Qi!"

With his soul perfectly integrated with his body, True Qi began to circulate. The killing intent that had been invading his mind instantly vanished as if it had never existed.

Heavenly Path True Qi had a suppressive effect on the alien clan's eerie aura; he had tested this before, and now it worked perfectly.

Roar!

Seeing the puppet in the pool disappear and a human appear, the puppets grew even angrier, roaring incessantly, yet they seemed to fear something and dared not approach.

Since they weren't coming, Zhang Xuan didn't worry and strode toward the heart before him.

After all, he needed to touch it to use the Library, so there was nothing to fear.

A few steps brought him close. He gently placed his hand on the heart.

"Ha ha!"

The moment his fingers made contact, he had just called out "Flaw" when a frenzied laugh rang out. Then his vision went dark, and a massive figure appeared before him.

"This body, it's perfect, perfect... Heaven helps me!"

The figure howled madly, and the huge heart writhed as if it had received a great tonic, twitching uncontrollably.

"With this body, after sleeping for tens of thousands of years, I can finally revive!"

The colossal figure was ecstatic. It roared, its eyes snapping open, shooting sharp lightning bolts: "Master Kong, you wanted to kill me? Wait till I return and see how I destroy your Mentor Hall and wipe out your legacy..."

Amid the roar, the massive figure reached straight for Zhang Xuan.

The heart on the altar also flew toward his chest in a flash.

It seemed intent on burrowing into his body to replace his heart.

If it succeeded, his consciousness would be devoured, and he would lose himself completely.

"Hmm?"

Zhang Xuan's expression tightened.

Before this being, he felt like an ant before a giant mountain, utterly powerless.

"So strong..."

The strongest person he had ever encountered was Hall Master Mo of the Hongyuan Empire, but even he seemed as insignificant as an insect before this heart!

This feeling was like when he had first met Master Kong—his mind and spirit were involuntarily controlled by the other party.

"Am I going to be possessed by this thing?"

He was frantic.

He had only wanted to see what the heart was; he never dreamed it was alive and could even possess him!

Once possessed, his consciousness would be gone, and he would be no different from a corpse.

"Heavenly Path True Qi!"

He gritted his teeth and tried to communicate with his True Qi through his spirit, but his body felt like it wasn't his own, and he had lost contact with his spirit.

It was like a nightmare—no matter how anxious he was, he couldn't move a muscle.

"Don't bother resisting!"

The figure from the heart seemed to see his predicament and sneered coldly: "Even Master Kong suffered at my hands. You may be a Heaven's Favorite Mentor, but your cultivation is far too weak to resist! Let me possess you obediently, and I will take your body to roam the world and make it tremble once more..."

"Master Kong suffered at your hands? Who are you?"

Zhang Xuan couldn't help asking.

Master Kong was a legendary figure from tens of thousands of years ago. Single-handedly, he founded the Mentor Hall, fought the alien clan, and drove them out completely. His contributions were unparalleled, and his cultivation was unmatched.

This guy claimed to have made even Master Kong suffer—who was he?

"I can't quite remember my name!"

The heart pulsed, and the figure it conjured exuded an ancient aura: "But back then, everyone called me 'the Ruthless One.'"

"The Ruthless One?"

"That's right! Scared?" said the Ruthless One.

"Never heard of you," said Zhang Xuan.

"..." The heart.

Ancient history was recorded in higher-level Mentor Halls, and Zhang Xuan, being only a four-star mentor, wasn't qualified to see it.

As for what 'Ruthless One' or 'Wolfman' meant... he really hadn't heard of it.

"Today, I'll show you my power!" Not expecting to encounter a Heaven's Favorite Mentor who knew nothing, the heart jumped in fury. With a roar, the figure's hand reached straight for him.

Creak!

His throat was squeezed, and Zhang Xuan immediately felt breathless, his vision darkening.

In the other's grip, he was like an infant, utterly powerless.

"You want to possess me?" he blurted out in desperation.

"That's right. A Heaven's Favorite Mentor's body is recognized by heaven and earth. Even as an alien clan member, I can possess it without issue! I can even disguise myself as a human, and no one will notice..."

The heart snorted.

"You recognized me as a Heaven's Favorite Mentor?"

Zhang Xuan said.

So far, no other mentor had been able to identify him as a Heaven's Favorite Mentor. He hadn't expected this heart to recognize him at once.

Could this really be a supreme being from Master Kong's era?

Someone who could contend with Master Kong... what level of existence was that?

And how had he survived until now without dying?

"That fellow Master Kong was one, and I fought him my whole life—how could I not recognize it?" the heart snorted coldly.

With anyone else, he might not have recognized it, but he had spent his life battling Master Kong. The other was a Heaven's Favorite Mentor; if he couldn't even recognize that, it would be a problem.

"You're a contemporary of Master Kong, while I'm just a nobody. How about this: put me down first; I can't resist anyway..."

Zhang Xuan said hastily.

"What, trying to pull something?" said the heart.

"You're so strong; even if I wanted to pull something, I couldn't!"

Zhang Xuan said: "I'm about to be possessed by you and can't fight back. I just want to know some things before I die, so I can die with my eyes open!"

"Hmph, playing tricks in front of me is useless!" said the heart.

"What? Don't you believe me? Or is this 'Ruthless One' just bluffing, afraid of a little guy like me with such low cultivation?" said Zhang Xuan.

"How dare you! When I roamed the world, even Master Kong feared me, and nine-star mentors were crushed like ants. Would I be afraid of a weakling like you?"

Hearing Zhang Xuan's skeptical words, the heart flew into a rage.

"If you're not afraid, then release your hold on me. With my level of ability, even if I had more tricks, I couldn't hurt you..."

Zhang Xuan continued.

The heart grunted in response, seemingly convinced that no matter how many tricks the other had, he couldn't resist, and relaxed his grip.

If the person being possessed resisted unwillingly, even he would have trouble eliminating the隐患. Since this guy wanted to die with his eyes open, indulging him was no big deal.

Feeling the constraint on his body disappear, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, ask away!"

The heart said indifferently.

"Good..."

Zhang Xuan nodded, feeling his spirit reconnect with his body. Suddenly, he smiled: "I want to ask, do you recognize this?"

As he spoke, a golden book appeared abruptly before him.

"This? What is this?"

The heart was startled, and as it wondered, the book pressed down, enveloping it completely.

Then a frenzied roar echoed through the underground palace.

"What the hell, you son of a bitch, who the hell are you..."