Chapter 039: Perspective

Ever since Wang Bo obtained the power of the Spartan bloodline, a shadow has lingered in his heart.

The family tradition of being stabbed!

This is a curse of the Sparda bloodline: it seems that no one who possesses the blood of Sparda can escape this fate, including Dante and Vergil—everyone has been stabbed.

Especially Dante, who gets stabbed in all sorts of ways.

Stabbed by Vergil, stabbed by Nero, stabbed by enemies, stabbed by his wife.

So Wang Bo had always been afraid—could it be that he too would end up on this path?

Whenever he thought about being stabbed by all kinds of enemies in the future, a huge shadow would fall over Wang Bo's heart, so he was always trying to find a way to prevent this from happening.

But the result? It seems it was all for nothing.

He was still stabbed. Despite possessing a body as impenetrable as steel, he was still stabbed. This only magnified the shadow in Wang Bo's heart several times over.

For Gu Xingwen, who had stabbed him, Wang Bo naturally had no kind expression.

So he punched down mercilessly, blow after blow. This time, Wang Bo was truly intent on simply beating the fellow to death, and his strikes were extremely ruthless.

His strength also climbed ceaselessly upward.

Twenty tons, twenty-five tons, thirty tons, thirty-five tons…

What surprised Wang Bo, however, was that Gu Xingwen still did not die. Anyone else would have been beaten to death by him hundreds of times, but Gu Xingwen survived.

And the wounds were still ceaselessly healing.

Wang Bo felt that this kind of ultra-fast regeneration was very unnatural, as if something was providing Gu Xingwen with restorative power.

So Wang Bo opened his eyes wide, his pupils seeming to flicker with a sharp light.

At the same time, his gaze penetrated Gu Xingwen's skin and muscles, seeing his bones, internal organs, and even blood vessels, all clearly displayed within Wang Bo's field of vision.

X-ray vision!

This is one of his superhuman abilities, allowing him to see through most objects. Wang Bo had never awakened it before, but this time, with the awakening of the Spartan bloodline, even his steel-like body evolved.

Wang Bo finally awakened one of Superman's abilities, X-ray vision.

Under Wang Bo's penetrating gaze, nothing inside Gu Xingwen's body could escape his sight.

As his gaze shifted, he noticed a round bead embedded in the flesh of Gu Xingwen's abdomen.

Wang Bo instinctively locked onto this object, brought his five fingers together, and like a finger knife sliced open Gu Xingwen's abdomen, fiercely yanking out the thing inside.

In that moment, Gu Xingwen let out a violent scream, his whole body convulsing as if he had lost something vital; his skin became withered, and his entire frame shrank in an instant.

Under Wang Bo's astonished gaze, Gu Xingwen struggled ceaselessly, but his skin lost its smoothness and luster, and at the same time lost its vitality. In a mere dozen or so seconds, Gu Xingwen transformed from a handsome man into a withered, desiccated corpse.

His appearance was utterly repulsive.

But what surprised Wang Bo was that even as a dried corpse, Gu Xingwen's chest was still slightly rising and falling, and he had not lost his vitality.

This vitality is simply unbelievable.

Wang Bo even suspected that, given enough energy, this fellow could still be revived.

This also proves one thing: Gu Xingwen is no longer purely human. As he himself said, he has abandoned his human body, transcended species, and become something like a demon.

And the chief culprit behind all this is the object in Wang Bo's hand.

Wang Bo drew a bucket of water from the well in the Liu residence, and after washing the blood from his hands, he suddenly heard a burst of hurried footsteps approaching the Liu residence.

Judging by the sound and vibration, it seemed quite a few people were coming.

Wang Bo turned his head, his gaze brilliant, piercing through layers of walls, and saw outside the walls a fully armed army rushing toward the Liu residence.

These must be the Xuanjia Army guarding Luoyang.

This was a formidable force. During the late Sui period, the Xuanjia Army stepped onto the stage of history, founded by Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin. Unlike the Yanyun Eighteen Riders, which exist only in legend, the Xuanjia Army was a real elite unit that followed Li Shimin in the early Tang, rendering great service in the pacification of the realm.

The Black Armor Army, as the name suggests, wore black uniforms and black armor. They were the elite of the elite, personally trained and led by Li Shimin. Their numbers ranged from as few as 1,000 to no more than 4,000.

The black armor was light and handy, making it convenient for cavalry to conduct long-distance raids and launch sudden attacks.

This unit always served as the vanguard in every battle, and its casualties were not few; through continuous selection and replenishment, it maintained a fixed quota of troops.

But precisely because of this, this unit could maintain its vigorous combat effectiveness.

It could be said to be the most elite army under heaven.

After Li Shimin ascended the throne, the domestic separatist forces had been largely swept away, large-scale warfare no longer occurred, and he no longer needed to personally lead troops into battle. Thus, Li Shimin divided the Xuanjia Army into two parts.

One contingent of about a hundred riders remained near the palace as a guard force to ensure its security. The other, led by the renowned general Li Jing, was dispatched to the northern frontier to help suppress the momentarily rampant Turks.

However, later this unit was replenished and became a thousand riders. Although its might was not as terrifying as the hundred riders, its combat effectiveness still did not decline much.

The scope of protection also expanded from the imperial palace to Luoyang.

The decline of this army seems to have occurred during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, when the Xuanjia Army expanded to ten thousand cavalry. By that time, because the Great Tang had long been without warfare, the Xuanjia Army ultimately became a decorative piece.

But for now, the Xuanjia Army still maintains a certain level of combat effectiveness.

The battle between Wang Bo and Gu Xingwen just now was so intense that it clearly alerted this unit guarding Luoyang's safety.

With Wang Bo's current strength, routing the Xuanjia Army should not be a problem, but he still remembered his agreement with Wu Zetian—no one could know about the Demon Pearl.

So Wang Bo chose to retreat.

Wang Bo's gaze could see through buildings. After locking onto the Xuanjia Army, a few glances revealed the gaps in their defensive encirclement. Through these gaps, he effortlessly led Gu Xingwen away from the Liu residence.

By the time the armored troops burst in, the entire villa was already empty.

Wang Bo, carrying Gu Xingwen, who had turned into a dried corpse, relied on his clairvoyance to move along deserted paths the entire way. Half an hour later, he finally returned to his own residence.

Afterward, Wang Bo secretly tossed the dried corpse inside the rockery, and only after making sure it wouldn't be discovered did he swagger back to the main hall.

Liu’er and Yu’er immediately came forward, massaging Wang Bo’s shoulders and pounding his back, very obediently.

Wang Bo couldn't be bothered to stop them, decadently enjoying the perks of the old society.

Before long, after the three had finished dinner, Wang Bo returned to his room alone, locked the door from the inside, and took the magic pearl out of his four-dimensional pocket.