Luo Yang had no rebuttal to Zhao Feng's words. Because he knew, in the end, that this was simply reality.
Once Zhao Feng's plunder ability became known to others, no ability user would ever willingly come near him.
In this era, the thing harder to bear than death itself was becoming weak.
But that was no justification—not even close—for Zhao Feng killing someone in order to plunder their ability.
Zhao Feng knew that, too. Which was precisely why he had never once denied his own sins.
Even if it all happened again, he would do the same thing.
"It's not too late for you to turn yourself in."
That was all Luo Yang could say.
If that girl had truly harbored a desire to die, then Zhao Feng's actions—though still unforgivable—would at least offset a significant portion of the guilt. Meritorious service under criminal charges was a real possibility.
Considering his current talent was First Sequence caliber, the punishment might even amount to nothing more than words.
Times were different now. The way certain things were handled had changed accordingly.
The past and the present could no longer be measured by the same yardstick.
"Turn myself in?"
"Why would I do that?"
"There's no point."
Zhao Feng laughed lightly, as though he had just heard something absurd.
"I already possess the possibility of reaching the very summit. Why would I go back and accept your chains?"
"What do their lives have to do with me?"
"Not everyone wants to be a hero. From the very beginning, all I have ever wanted is to become strong."
"And the strong—are not bound. No one can control me."
"I do what I want. I save who I want to save. I kill who I want to kill. I can be a good man, or I can be an evil one."
"This is the era of ability users. The era of the strong. On what grounds am I supposed to take orders from the weak? What right do they have to command me?"
"The rule of nature is that the strong survive and the weak perish. I respect your desire to protect the nation. But I don't share it."
"I will become a god in this world."
"And you—all of you—will be the stepping stones that carry me there."
The words fell into stillness. Then, from Zhao Feng's pupils, a gray beam of light lanced outward.
"Crack."
"No—!"
Luo Yang felt it the instant it struck—the rigidity spreading through his body, a terrible hardening that began at his feet and crept upward in an unstoppable wave of petrification. A cry of alarm tore through his mind.
"Do you feel it? This force that admits no resistance."
"Any ability, stripped of its innate talent, is pathetically weak."
"Among elemental abilities, a First Sequence holder's is a fundamentally different thing from anyone else's. The gap between heaven and earth."
"Of course—it's also possible that First Sequence elemental abilities differ from ordinary elemental abilities at a more fundamental level."
"Take what I just demonstrated, for instance. Whether it's the crushing superiority in strength, speed, defense—or the ability to petrify you—every single one of them is a First Sequence capability I plundered."
"Medusa? Gorgon? I have no interest in Western mythology. There may not even be any connection between the two."
"By that logic, the ability you claim as a Second Sequence holder might not truly be what you call Titan at all. You might simply be a mutated ape. Nothing more."
At that, Zhao Feng let out a brief, humorless laugh.
"I've been talking to too few people lately. That's why I've been saying far more than I should."
"Well then. I'll be taking your ability and your talent."
Zhao Feng stepped forward and placed his hand on Luo Yang's shoulder—the only part of him that remained unpetrified, save for his head, which had already gone slack into unconsciousness.
[Ability: Plunder]
[Initiating]
A terrible suction force poured outward from Zhao Feng's hand, seeping into Luo Yang's body and corroding it from within. A cool, warming current flowed out of Luo Yang—drawn steadily, inexorably, into Zhao Feng's own body.
"Not First Sequence, but Second Sequence isn't bad either."
As things stood, the First Sequence holders currently exposed to the outside world—aside from whatever batch was still being cultivated in secret, ones even he knew nothing about—were opponents he couldn't be confident against, no matter who he faced.
White Emperor, Dragon Emperor, Ice Emperor, Flame Emperor. Facing any one of them head-on was a death sentence.
But as his plunder ability grew sharper, and the number of abilities he consumed continued to mount, his own strength would climb without limit. By the time that happened—
Just as Zhao Feng was lost in thought, a dragon of condensed flame came screaming toward him.
"Thud."
A gray beam lanced from his pupils. The flame dragon hung in the air for a brief, suspended moment—then petrified entirely and crashed to the ground in a heap of stone.
"That's..."
Something clicked in his mind. Zhao Feng released Luo Yang's shoulder instantly. Spiritual energy flooded the soles of his feet, and he shot forward at a speed that defied belief, fleeing deeper into the distance.
"ROAR!"
A streak of crimson light blazed past him and planted itself firmly in his path. It was a lion—mane thick and luxuriant—its entire body radiating a dense, pungent aura of flame. Zhao Feng's brow furrowed. He tried to change direction—only to find every other avenue of escape blocked by creatures of various kinds, all of them radiating presences of formidable strength.
"Surrounded."
"Which is precisely why, the moment I realized I was heading toward Vantora City, I felt such deep reluctance."
"Any city that houses a First Sequence holder is never my first choice."
"If not for that voice... ah well."
"Saying any of this now serves no purpose."
Zhao Feng shook his head with a weary sigh, then turned his gaze upward—toward the figure standing in the sky atop an immense crimson bird. A waterfall of fiery red hair streamed behind her in the wind. Slender brows arched with quiet severity. Her eyes shimmered with a languid, captivating gleam. Red lips, vivid and full. And atop a face as white as snow—an expression of absolute, frozen coldness.
"Flame Emperor Firewing. Among the First Sequence holders, you are one of the opponents I least want to face."
Unlike other summoner-type ability users, who tended toward frail physiques, Firewing possessed not only the ability to fully transform into flame—rendering her immune to any physical attack—but also formidable offensive power in her own right.
She was no weaker than a Second Sequence holder with a fire-type ability. Not by a single degree.
And the sheer number of summoned beasts she could call upon was enough to make anyone give up trying to count.
It had been Firewing who, during Vantora City's Beast Tide, had been the first to order everyone—including the Spiritual Energy Bureau—to evacuate. She had then, entirely on her own, exterminated the Beast Tide through her summoned beasts alone.
She had done it while sitting on the back of one of them the entire time. And she had even played two rounds of a game in the middle of it.
Had this not been confirmed through internal intelligence, he would never have believed it.
In a straight fight, Firewing was undoubtedly the weakest of the four Emperors. But her vast army of summoned beasts was something no one wanted to face.
"Flame Beast—transform."
Firewing had absolutely no intention of exchanging words with Zhao Feng. Her gaze fell to the ground—to Luo Yang, petrified from the neck down and slumped into unconsciousness. Her expression turned colder still.
"Yes."
"Divine Weapon Flame Beast—transform!"
"ROAR!!!"
In Zhao Feng's eyes, the lion that had initially blocked his path let out a thunderous roar. The shockwave of sound alone was enough to make even him falter for an instant—that creature's cry was a spiritual attack.
But what came next left him even more stunned.
Right before his eyes, the lion's body twisted and contorted—folding in on itself like machinery—and reformed into a longsword. Its hilt was a deep, vivid purple. Its blade burned with a radiant orange.
"What is that?"
A summoned beast... transforming into a weapon? How was that possible?
He had never once heard of a summoned beast being capable of becoming a weapon.
Unless this particular summoned beast was somehow special?
(End of Chapter)