Legend of the chosen ones: Beyond Destiny

Chapter 1522 - 774: A Cornered Dog Will Jump Over the Wall

The sound of things breaking was endless, blasts erupting one after another.

That wretched figure was kicked into the air, slammed down, then kicked up again. Wherever the Invisible Hand passed, every treasured thing on his body shattered on the spot.

Even his Matrix, under Jing Zhen, was falling apart, crumbling to pieces.

"Ji Jue!!!"

Dragon Poison roared, struggling desperately, yet he couldn't get up.

A leather boot stepped on his face, grinding him forcibly into the mud and Dust. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break free.

"Elder Anvil! Elder Anvil won't let you go!"

In the slurry, that scarlet eye lifted, staring up at Ji Jue's face looming over him, hatred etched into the bone: "As long as you still…"

"That's about enough."

Ji Jue asked indifferently, "At this point, who the hell are you still acting for, you piece of trash?"

Right under his foot, that maimed body that had been struggling nonstop froze—only for an insignificant instant.

Then he let out a scornful, cold laugh.

He shut his eyes and swallowed the bitter fruit.

"Embers Path, the capable rise above, winner takes all… humiliate me however you want!"

He squeezed the words out between his teeth: "I will never…"

"I already said, drop the act. What are you still trying to cover up?"

Ji Jue impatiently cut him off, pressing down on that mouth that wouldn't stop yammering, then suddenly asked, "I heard that before becoming 'Dragon Poison', that guy gave up his old name…

That's how it went, right?"

In that instant, Dragon Poison's pupils suddenly shrank.

He couldn't help it.

Because he heard Ji Jue's words:

"—Since he's already abandoned it once, there's no reason there can't be a second time, right?"

Immediately, the man stomped into the ground seemed to explode in rage, thrashing again and again, trying to get up, bellowing: "Bullshit!!!"

But right then, behind Ji Jue, Tong Shan had already dropped from the sky.

He pulled a seemingly ordinary magnifying glass from his pocket and aimed it at that terrified face. Instantly, in the magnifying glass, layers of color melted like oil paint, rapidly blurring and turning into nauseating, mottled patches.

"The stench of Pollution…"

He declared flatly, "No doubt about it, this is the work of those bastards from the Truth Publishing House!"

Beneath the rapidly stripped "paint," line after line of tiny characters surfaced on that frenzied, dodging, evasive face.

Like the notice printed on the last page of a publication list.

"Master of You Sui: Dragon Poison—New Revised Edition"

Editor in charge: Penglai

Book number: D8777609

Publication date…

And even, right at the very end, they blatantly marked a reminder: [Produced by Truth Publishing House·End Editorial Department. Piracy will be prosecuted!]

Tong Shan let out a cold snort and put away the magnifying glass.

The Polluted Demon views all things as raw material, cutting, swapping, twisting at will, wantonly revising. For the sake of so‑called drama, they don't hesitate to distort the very essence of events. The guy before them was, without a doubt, a counterfeit they'd edited into existence.

"Looks like the truth is pretty simple."

Ji Jue shrugged in regret. "After throwing away his original name, he tossed the name Dragon Poison aside like worn‑out shoes as well, shifting everything he'd gained onto you…

Maybe you think you're important, impressive. Too bad—I'm not interested in wasting time on a fake."

"Why—"

Dragon Poison roared, lifting his head out of the mud, mouth opening to question him. But before he could even voice his doubt, he heard the answer, cold as ice.

"Because you're too weak."

Granted, this guy was cautious, meticulous, suspicious, and strange… which did make him a real hassle to deal with.

But no matter what, as a craftsman, everything comes down to what your hands can do.

As a "master," your body of work isn't big enough.

As one of You Sui, your work isn't vicious enough.

As a craftsman, your technique is embarrassingly low-grade…

To the point that he couldn't give Ji Jue even the slightest sense of danger.

And even now… that oddly familiar chill, that yet‑unspent killing intent, still lingered within Ji Jue's Perception, coming from this pirated copy.

Pure yet drifting, skirting the edge of nothingness.

Faint, flickering.

"So that's how it is… You're still watching me, aren't you?"

Ji Jue lowered his head, and toward the unseen observer lurking behind those eyes, he gave a small smile and made a promise: "Don't rush. I'll come find you right away."

"When the time comes, we'll sit down and really bare our hearts, have a nice, honest talk!"

Crack!

Dissociation Technique·Jing Zhen!

Under Ji Jue's outstretched palm, Dragon Poison's body suddenly went rigid, then inch by inch turned to ash and vanished!

Only a single Elder Anvil token-coin fell from the ashes, rolling, bouncing, tumbling into the mud, and in the burning flames, it disappeared for good.

The distant chill of that killing intent finally cut off.

Or rather, took a temporary leave…

"Still need a hand?"

Tong Shan asked, then suddenly grinned. "I've already made my pledge anyway; one more job on the list won't kill me, right?"

"Don't tease me, Brother Shan."

Ji Jue waved helplessly.

These days, everyone in Nirvana has to go to work with their faces covered, and that goes double for a Tian Yuan with a sensitive status like Tong Shan.

Behind closed doors, they could throw down however they wanted; but once his identity was exposed, just leaving his assigned zone without orders and authorization would be enough to get him chewed out hard.

He was already plenty grateful that a single phone call had him drop everything and rush over without a single question. Why drag him into the Seven Cities' cesspit on top of that?

Besides, you're telling me a single You Sui…

even I can't handle it myself?!

"Leave the rest to me."

Ji Jue gave a clean, decisive smile, without the slightest hesitation.

We've all been mixing it up in the Mud Pond of the Seven Cities for this long, and up till now we're still not even neighbors who can bow to each other? This has to get wrapped up somehow!

"Be careful of everything."

Tong Shan nodded, stopped nagging, and didn't start fussing over Ji Jue either: with a heart as big as his, worrying about this guy was worse than worrying about what to eat tonight!

The Seven Cities could blow up and it still wouldn't blow Ji Jue up, what's there to worry about?

If there's one pity, it's this Red Sky Banner in his hands…

It's really damn handy!

Could you let me borrow it again, next… next month I'll definitely return it!

Unfortunately, Brother Plant was ultimately an honest man; words that shameless, he really couldn't say them out loud. He could only reluctantly hand Ji Jue's spine back.

Wanting to speak, but holding back.

If one day you don't want it anymore, make sure you sell it to me, okay!

"Next time for sure!"

Ji Jue did his best to dodge his hopeful gaze, set the Wanxiang Engine running, and sent Brother Plant back to Central Earth. Then it was Inaya, who'd been silently lurking in the shadows after eating and drinking her fill.

In the end, only Old Tang's ingratiating face was still swaying in front of him, blinking, gazing at his boss with puppy-dog eyes, waiting for some reward.

"I'll tally up your pay later. There's still work for you."

Ji Jue beckoned and walked in front. At once Tang Qian's eyebrows danced with joy: "Who am I killing?"

"Do the job you're best at: gate guard."

Ji Jue said, "There's still a vacancy in the gatehouse at the Coast plant. You stand watch at the door. Whoever comes, doesn't matter who they are—if they don't have a badge, cut them down without mercy!"

He paused, then warned, "How you handle it is your business. Ask for as much money as you want, no problem. But the plant's employees—absolutely no mistakes allowed, got it!"

"Copy that, sir!"

Tang Qian grinned, raised his hand, and threw an Empire military salute.

With a shrill scraping, the gate leading up to the surface of Luo Island boomed open, revealing a night sky already split with cracks and drowned in firelight!

Everywhere his eyes fell, in the pitch-black sea water, there was nothing but patches of rapidly spreading phosphorous flame. As if an ink-green sun had fallen from the vault of heaven into the sea, burning countless waves and igniting the Seven Cities entirely!

But that wasn't a sun.

It was the Lighthouse…

Without the slightest ebb or dimming, hanging right there between the black sea and sky, the Lighthouse still towered high, standing in the very heart of the Seven Cities, blazing with light!

It was scattering endless Flames of Decay over the Seven Cities, devouring everything!

Even now, clusters of ghostly light were still pouring down from the sky without end, slamming into the crystalline giant tree that had thrust up from the center of Luo Island.

Under the surging tide of flame, the Transformation Mirror·Star of Bethlehem held up the Spiritual Barrier.

Keeping it up with great difficulty.

It was like closing and opening your eyes once, and the world abruptly became something else. Everything that had once been bright and polished was now crumbling to pieces, glory gone, only devastation remaining.

Perhaps, this was the purpose of "Dragon Poison."

No matter whether Ji Jue won or lost this struggle, its goal was already achieved: that bastard had never believed in anyone from the very start!

Everyone he'd dragged in was cannon fodder, just to buy time.

Now that the flames were lit and slowly devouring everything—

there was nothing left to worry about.

"About damn time you came out!"

Lou Feng, already dripping with sweat, finally let out a breath, still shaken: "We're screwed, Ji Jue! There's a You Sui, damn it!!!"

"…"

Ji Jue's expression twitched; he started to speak, then stopped.

He had no idea why, but Lou Feng actually saw a hint of apology and pity in his eyes. He went blank for a moment, dazed.

Then, slowly, fear crept in. He subconsciously took half a step back.

"Wait, don't tell me this is your doing!"

"…"

Ji Jue's eye twitched; his blood pressure almost burst through the roof: "If I were gonna give a grand welcome to a Great Evil, you think I'd wait till now?!"

Lou Feng fell silent too, staring at him for a long time, then nodding seriously, as if finally admitting that this actually made sense…

But the problem was: what about the Seven Cities now?

He pointed toward the blazing Lighthouse in the distance, at that projection and manifestation from Zhi Fu, utterly baffled: "Then what the hell is going on?"

"An old bastard, once he realized his playbook was about to stop working, decided to jump the wall like a cornered dog."

Ji Jue shot it a glance, then pulled his gaze back. "How's the evacuation going?"

"All done," Lou Feng wiped his sweat. "They're all in the underground works of the plant. Don't worry, as long as I'm still alive, Luo Island will be fine."

"Good work. Today, I really owe you one."

Ji Jue finally smiled, clapped him on the shoulder in genuine gratitude, then said his farewell: "Hold on a bit longer. I'm leaving Luo Island in your hands.

I'll be right back."

"At a time like this? Where the hell are you going now?"

Lou Feng was stunned, wanting to ask more, but holding back.

He finally caught Ji Jue's expression—clearly smiling, yet with no warmth at all.

Only those pitch-black eyes, so quiet, like an abyss set on fire.

Blood-light flared like flame, surging in silence.

"To a place… I'm supposed to go."

Ji Jue heard the crying again.

So familiar.

As if it had been with him all along, never once leaving.

So he walked toward that Hell the Lighthouse had set ablaze.