Ultragene Warlord

Chapter 363: A Divine Gift

 

Upon returning to the third realm, Musi Yu spat out a mouthful of fresh blood as he panted.
He had been moments away from dying at Hong Tianqi's hand.
Hong Tianqi's technique hadn't even landed—the pressure from the fluctuations in his genetic energy alone had been sufficient to cause severe damage to his body.

Peak of the third realm though he was, it seemed as though he were realms away from Hong Tianqi's level.
Musi Yu regretted his actions almost instantly.
Had he hesitated a little, he would have died to that technique, he was sure.

In truth, however, he was mistaken.
No matter what, Hong Tianqi wouldn't have killed him, because he didn't want to bully a far weaker hunter, and he believed that Zhang Lie would be able to deal with him in his own right.

There was just one point that confused Musi Yu: given how many teleportation arrays there were situated all over China, how did Hong Tianqi know just where he would emerge? Could he have reached such esteemed heights that his senses now covered all of China? If that were the case, as long as Zhang Lie remained in China, he would be unable to touch him at all.

Musi Yu walked out of the teleportation array mulling over his plans when someone suddenly called out to him, “Musi Yu, you've finally returned! We've been waiting for you for quite some time.”

Musi Yu raised his head to see a whole crowd of people staring at him.

“Musi Yu?” He glanced left and right, showing off his acting skills.
“Where is he?”

“Musi Yu, you don't have to act anymore—your good brother sold you out! Your identity's been exposed!” Lie Feng stepped forward, clutching a hoard of soulshards, pills, herbs, and potions.
“I have to thank you—you'll be my good brother for the rest of your life!”

Musi Yu's eyes bulged.
“You bastard!” No wonder he had been so friendly!

“I told you to hide, didn't I? You should have listened to me.”

Killing intent flared in Musi Yu's eyes.
“I'll kill you!”

Lie Feng laughed.
“Don't blame me, Musi Yu—blame that champion of the Void Cup whom you've made your enemy.
Which of us here wouldn't be tempted by these limit-breaking potions?”

Large explosions rang out as a whole horde of peak third-realm hunters charged at Musi Yu, the dazzling colors of soulshards and techniques filling the air.
None of the hunters, by themselves, would be a match for Musi Yu, but dozens of them combined could easily overwhelm one lone hunter.

“If we kill Musi Yu, we'll be able to claim Potion #2 for ourselves!”

Wave after wave of techniques wreaked destruction on their surroundings.
They had to admit that Musi Yu really was a talented hunter, able to survive even the onslaught of dozens of hunters working in tandem.

He retorted, “I only have one head.
How are all of you going to divide it among yourselves?!”

Indeed, the reward for the bounty would be five vials of Potion #2.
How would they split it among themselves? As a result, the allied combatants divided into groups of five, but Musi Yu made use of the gaps between the five-member teams' formations to break out of their encirclement.

Although he had successfully escaped, Musi Yu was grievously wounded after the combined attacks of Hong Tianqi and the third-realm hunters, and he had lost quite a few of his soulshards by forcibly overusing them.

“Zhang Lie!” Musi Yu roared in anger and frustration.
It was all his fault! Without Zhang Lie around, he wouldn't have been exiled from his settlement, and neither would his friends have betrayed him.
Now, there was no one he would be able to trust, no one but himself.

He had to kill Zhang Lie and acquire Potions #1 and #2! Only then could he rise up again.
With the recipe to the two potions under his control, he would be able to manipulate other hunters to his will.

“Zhang Lie, Lie Feng—just you wait! I, Musi Yu, swear that you'll regret having provoked me!”

With Potions #1, #2, [Eclipse], and [Black Sun], he would be able to discover the secrets behind the two techniques—and then, with a bit more time, even Hong Tianqi would have to kneel at his feet! Musi Yu roared in laughter, so loudly that he hurt his already-battered body and began to cough violently.

He knew of a secret dimensional tunnel that would allow him access to the second realm at certain specific points in time.
If he remembered correctly, that tunnel was open now, and he would be able to descend to the second realm.
Doing so was a means of last resort; traveling through such exposed dimensional tunnels was extremely dangerous.
If he weren't careful, his body could be disintegrated by spatial folds—and he wouldn't be able to control where in the second realm he would end up.

However, Musi Yu had no other resort.
There was no place for him remaining in the third realm, and few things could threaten him in the second.
If he didn't leave now, he might not have a chance to do so later.

While he was contemplating his decision, a shout came from behind, “Look! I think Musi Yu's over here!”

Musi Yu didn't dare dally any longer.
He darted off toward the mouth of the secret tunnel.
He spent the entire day running for his life before reaching his destination.
He peered into the tunnel, only to see black, mysterious swirls of space, as though it led into a deep abyss from which he would never return.

“Stop, Musi Yu! You're surrounded—hand over your head!”   His pursuers didn't seem inclined to give up.
“Musi Yu, don't force us to make a move! Surrender now!”

There were over two dozen hunters chasing after him.
If he were at his prime, Musi Yu wouldn't have been afraid, but he was still suffering from wounds from Hong Tianqi's technique, followed by the free-for-all brawl in the settlement.
His body was on its last legs, and he had no energy to fight.

“Just you wait.
I'll return before you know it!” Musi Yu leapt into the portal.

 

 

A crack suddenly materialized in the second realm, ejecting a human covered in blood.

“I'm alive—Zhang Lie, Hong Tianqi, Lie Feng, and those bastards of the second realm will pay for what they've done a hundred times over, I swear it!”

If not for his astounding willpower, he would long since have died from his body's naked exposure to the wild, primal energies of space and time.
He had paid a heavy price, defraying his body's corrosion by sacrificing all the soulshards he owned.

Having suffered blow after blow, Musi Yu was in a critically weakened state, but he had yet to give up.
After all, he knew that as long as he was alive, there was still a possibility for him to turn the tide.

Now that he was in the second realm, he had to figure out just where he was.
Wiping away the blood that pooled around his left eye, he saw a magnificent city, though one whose architecture was clearly not of human construction.
He looked all around him: the humanoid figures were tall and large, with demonic clawlike appendages on their right arm.

“Th-this is…” Musi Yu's face turned pale.
He knew that he could be teleported to any random location in the second realm, but he had hardly expected to be so unlucky.

He was in the land of the sura, the dominant race of the second realm! He was found in the heart of their city, and he had been surrounded by quite a number of curious onlookers.

Musi Yu cursed, but he didn't even have the strength to stand up.

A sura rider came toward him.
Musi Yu struggled to move, but the moment he did so, a spear pierced his leg and pinned it to the ground, causing him to yelp in pain.
He could easily have defeated all the sura in front of him if he was still at peak strength, but unfortunately for him, he had grown so weak that he couldn't even lift a fist.

Another sura walked forward.
“This looks like a human.”

“How could a human have suddenly appeared out of nowhere in our capital?”

“I asked those onlookers that were nearby—it seems like he was suddenly ejected from a crack in space.”

One of the riders called out, “Human, how did you end up here?”

Musi Yu trembled.
“I don't know, I don't know anything!” Pretending to be innocent and clueless was his only chance at surviving.
“When I came to my senses, I found myself here somehow.
I really don't know anything!”

The sura frowned.
“Human trash.
Kill him.”

“Heh, we'll have human meat tonight!”

Musi Yu was dismayed.
Was he, a warlord of the third realm, going to die just like that?

An elderly sura slowly walked forward and raised an arm.
“Hold it!”

“What's the matter?”

“This man looks somewhat unkempt, but if you clean him up, he wouldn't look too bad, would he?” The riders examined him carefully.

In truth, Musi Yu looked like a fierce, grizzled hunter who would hardly be considered handsome, but the sura seemed particularly enraptured by his appearance.

The sura elder continued, “The king has been very upset that the human concubines that have been procured for him have all been broken.”

The riders frowned.
“Weren't those concubines all captured just a few days ago from the human cities?  Human bodies really are quite frail!”

“That's why the king was so upset.
It's time for him to take a new consort—this human's sudden appearance must be a sign from the deity of the sura!”

One of the riders asked cautiously, “Elder, is it really alright to send an unknown man into the king's quarters?”

The sura elder glared at him.
“What's wrong with that? Do you want to be sent in his place, then?”

The rider's eyes widened as he clutched his buttocks.
“No, Elder! I agree wholeheartedly with you—he must be a gift for the king from the divine, I'm sure of it!”

The sura elder nodded seriously.
“Very well.
Have him wash up and change his clothes, then send him to the king's palace.”

Although Musi Yu didn't know what was going on, it seemed as though he wouldn't have to die, after all.
He knew a little of the sura tongue; it seemed as though the riders and the elder were discussing him.
Musi Yu had seen one of the sura lords before, but never their king.

After all, before he discovered a ruin in the third realm, Musi Yu hadn't been a particularly special hunter.
He had ventured into the third realm the moment he had capped his superior gene fragments. 

As far as he could make out, they seemed to be wanting to present him to the sura king.
Could their king be female? Was he bound for some good fortune at long last?