Chapter 38
Even at the highest level, Humanity—mastered only by living legends, encompassing the Foot, the Stomach, and the Head—none among them had ever been able to rival him.
Every dividing wall between realms, numbering in the hundreds, had once been seized and subdued.
And now, all that remained was a bitter illusion.
He who once made enemies dream in vain of defeating him had been reduced to this—forced to stumble forward, chasing after the steps of a Young Master who had not even surpassed the Foundation of the Lower Star.
Yet logic and reality conspired to subdue him.
No matter how fierce his anger demanded vengeance, there was no choice but to continue flapping his wings.
If he stopped, he would truly be left behind, vanishing into insignificance more humiliating than death itself.
So he forced himself, multiplying his strength two or even fivefold, digging into the remnants of reserves that should have been preserved.
Each breath felt like swallowing poison, yet the determination not to be abandoned was stronger than the suffering itself.
The sky above stretched wide, becoming an arena of endless suffering.
His body, soaring beyond limits, felt as if burned from within, every muscle screaming, and each inhalation like swallowing fire.
Huan Zheng continued to drive himself relentlessly, his wings tearing through the increasingly resistant air, moving faster than the eye could comprehend.
In the distance, Ling Xu remained ahead.
Her figure grew fainter, almost a dark line absorbed by the light.
Every movement Huan Zheng made brought indescribable pain and exhaustion.
But his determination sparked a flame, refusing to surrender to the crushing reality.
His eyelids opened and closed at an ever-accelerating rhythm, beyond the natural limit of his body, as if time itself was shaken by the speed.
Fine wrinkles on his face confirmed how tightly his body was bound, constantly forced to endure pressures beyond its capacity, demanding he remain alert even as every neuron screamed to stop.
Speed approaching that of light made the world around him blur, reality and illusion merging into an endless vortex.
Every passing second felt eternal, yet there was no space for rest—only a pace forcing body and mind to remain awake under unrelenting pressure.
Meanwhile, Ling Xu ahead seemed to test patience and endurance.
Her steps remained firm and distant, unwavering even when they briefly slowed.
Huan Zheng's gaze stayed fixed, watching her through his rapidly opening and closing eyelids, executed repeatedly with increasing wildness—confirming that the distance between them was not merely physical space, but a chasm separating determination and capability.
His body, continuously squeezed, adapted to the extreme pressure.
Yet each blink further etched the difficulty, marking the impossibility of catching up easily—as if time itself restrained his steps while Ling Xu remained far ahead, forcing his consciousness to bend to unnatural limits.
The growing frustration thickened with every heartbeat, embedded so deeply in Huan Zheng's core that even amidst immense pressure, it could not be eroded.
Though his body was exhausted, his mind and spirit remained sharp, refusing to yield to matters that seemed trivial to the outside world.
He, who had once transcended Humanity, conquered levels only dreamed of by the strongest cultivators, could still feel the bitterness of accumulating anger, eroding patience as the distance to Ling Xu continued to grow.
Every act of indifference from the Young Master left an invisible wound, sparking anger far greater than the physical pain he had long endured.
Huan Zheng's journey was filled with deliberate torment, traveled with a body nearing its final limits.
The demanding elders, judgmental junior titles—all seemed meaningless in the face of his achievements.
Each step felt like an extended trial, squeezing energy and awareness, leaving a fatigue that pierced to the marrow.
Yet for Huan Zheng, all of that was only a shadow of the past, a reminder that no pressure could defeat him when determination and will united in an unstoppable motion.
The Cultivation Wheel title, which once reminded of those who had surpassed levels quantitatively and qualitatively, now lost its meaning.
The strength he had once grasped, capable of conquering the Humanity Layer to its peak, made every insult or challenge feel merely fleeting.
Yet the irritation toward Ling Xu still burned, fueling the drive to surge forward, surpassing stamina and ability—asserting that even if his body could be drained entirely, his spirit refused to submit.
The sky above stretched mercilessly, witnessing Huan Zheng's body trembling from poison and extreme pressure he had just endured.
Each step and movement felt like a new trial, though he had not yet slept, struggling to restore the power lost to the bombardment poison attacking all levels and foundations.
The peak of the Cultivation Wheel he once easily held had now collapsed, leaving ruins of power from five Mahakuasa Dao Points, ten Cosmic Beads, four Bujur Surgawi, and three Foundation Lintang.
Without Ling Xu's help giving him 49 pieces of Lintang Kemahaesaan, body and soul were nearly dead, and even with that aid, the Mustraya poison hidden within those pieces made every step feel like resisting death with each breath.
In a state that should have been weak and vulnerable, Huan Zheng's anger burned even hotter.
Yet he understood, knowing that direct anger against Ling Xu would only harm, destroying himself faster than the sense of falling behind.
His temporary obedience was not a sign of weakness, but a strategy to survive, recover some remaining strength while restraining the nearly erupting rage in his heart.
Every heartbeat silently ignited, burning frustration and injustice, yet he restrained himself, choosing to redirect energy toward a more important goal.
"To stay close to Ling Xu even at the brink of destruction."
The damage left by the poison could not be avoided, making every movement Huan Zheng made heavier, and every wing felt pulled by unseen gravity.
Yet the drive not to fall behind still forced his body to move, soaring through limits that should have been impossible, while his consciousness continued to fight, with heat opposing the freezing effect of Mustraya remaining through the Lintang Kemahaesaan itself.
Ling Xu remained ahead.
Distant, her figure seemed untouchable, attainable only by the suffering and poison that had crushed Huan Zheng's entire core of strength.
His power, once capable of conquering the Cultivation Wheel, now only remained in fragments, yet his will stubbornly refused to collapse.
Bruuukkk!
"Here? How could even the limited jurisdiction allow, impossible to assemble a small city while the emperor's greatness translates literally.
A sense of gratitude."
"Bastard!!"
"...?"
"Authority to assemble is enough.
Now is the time to hold accountable."
"Why? Trying to break the rules?"
Husssshhh!
"Seriousness in examination? If only it were truth …."
Huffffh!
Braaaaak!!
"Haaaaah? What's your business?!"
"Shouldn't it be your humble servant questioning the opposite?
Isn't that right, despicable mortal?"
"Tccckkk!"
"Soon or late, the audience's interest will arise, hastening to disrupt the brilliance of plans established until now.
Immediate action is necessary."
"Grateful for your greatness. But leaving aside all harshness to be delivered, let him live, strictly maintaining the protection as agreed between servant and himself."
"Subordinate, you mean?"
"...."
To be continued…