H City.
"Die!"
Swish!
A blood-red sword wave streaked across the air, tearing through the members of the Blood Lotus Sect in an instant!
Ren Kurogane and Mu Tiancai touched down on the pavement. Mu Tiancai frowned. "Bro, why are these cultists in H City? Wasn't the perimeter supposed to be locked down? How'd they get in?"
"There are plenty of ways: the sewers, airdrops... either way, they're out of luck. With us two here, H City is a living hell for them!" Ren laughed easily. They had already wiped out several waves of foreign and local opportunistic factions. Ren had even used a Rasengan to grind the Left Protector of the Blood Lotus Sect into dust. The man's weapon, the Blood Magic Blade—a massive, solid-red greatsword—was now in Mu Tiancai's hands; the genius scientist admitted he quite liked the feel of it.
"True." Mu Tiancai suddenly swung the red blade behind him. A bloody arc of light cut through the air, and two dark shapes tumbled from the building behind them.
"What were those?"
Mu Tiancai started to move forward to investigate, but Ren held him back. "Just use Eagle Eye. They're a couple of Little Japs."
Mu Tiancai complied, his pupils shifting into a sharp, predatory shape. The two dark figures were revealed as ninja wrapped entirely in black, save for their eyes. Both had been killed instantly by Mu's strike.
"Damn! Even foreign powers are sticking their noses in?"
"It's a virus that could end humanity. It's a crisis, but it's also an opportunity," Ren pointed at the two of them. "Aren't we the best examples of that?"
Mu Tiancai nodded, finding Ren's logic sound. "So, what's next?"
"An outbreak like this always has a source. Let's find out where the 'Origin' is."
Ren remembered that the Corpse King had a massive showdown with Immortal Master in H City. In the original story, the Master nearly fell because of a sudden bout of Alzheimer's. Ren wanted to use this chance to show his face to the Yan Huang high command—to let them know that he and Mu Tiancai were powerhouses. It would make things a lot easier once they left the city.
The two sped through the streets until they sensed two terrifying energy fluctuations near the City Library!
"Here we go!" Ren lunged forward, becoming a blur as he reached the roof of a nearby skyscraper. He looked down at the two figures clashing in the plaza below.
One was the Immortal Master, wreathed in golden light. The other was pale-skinned with clawed hands and long, greyish-white hair that billowed even without wind: the secondary cause of this catastrophe, the Corpse King, Long You.
"Hm?"
The combatants both halted mid-clash, their gazes snapping up toward Ren on the rooftop.
Seeing this, Ren waved a hand. "Greetings! Immortal Master, do you need a hand?"
After a quick internal comparison of energy levels, Ren realized his own reserves were actually superior to the Corpse King's. Why hide it? Time to steamroll!
He leaped from the roof, drawing the Juque and delivering a massive slash toward the King!
Hum—!
A blood-red sword arc flashed, neatly bisecting the building behind the King.
Long You didn't hesitate for a second. Seeing another power on par with a God-level combatant appear, he turned and fled! He could handle one God-level opponent, but two meant he'd definitely lose.
Under the cover of the dust raised by Ren's strike, the Corpse King dove into the ground and vanished.
"Huh? He ran?" Ren hadn't expected this. Wasn't the Corpse King supposed to be a "stand-your-ground" kind of guy? In the original plot, he hadn't run even when facing a group of God-levels. Why did he bolt the moment Ren showed up?
Ren landed on the ground, and he and the Immortal Master stood there, staring at each other.
"Sigh... The demon has escaped once more." The Immortal Master reverted to his normal state—a frail, thin old man. He sighed deeply. "I miscalculated the monster's strength, and a great calamity has been wrought."
Ren scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry about that, Master. It seems my interference made him decide to bail."
"No, it was because of your arrival that this old monk kept his life!" The Master pressed his palms together and smiled. "Young friend, how may I address you?"
"You can call me Ren Kurogane," Ren replied.
"Master!!" A woman's voice shouted from behind them. A tall, anxious-looking woman ran over.
"Nima! Ah, your master has failed you! I couldn't kill the demon who defiled you!" The Immortal Master cried out in grief.
"I wasn't defiled!" Nima snapped, losing her cool. She still had no idea why her master kept insisting the Corpse King had raped her; it was completely nonsensical!
"Eh? You weren't? Well, that's good then. That's good." The Master smiled with relief, then his personality shifted again, and he started loudly demanding to listen to pop music...
"Bro, this Master doesn't seem very reliable," Mu Tiancai whispered behind Ren.
"Whatever. Alzheimer's is a tough break," Ren noted. He turned to the Master's disciple, Nima. "H City is dangerous. You should take the Master and leave. My brother and I are going to clear out the remaining foreign agents before we head out too."
Nima looked at the two of them. Hearing they intended to clear out foreign infiltrators, she asked, "You're not going after the Corpse King?"
"The Corpse King? No," Ren shook his head. "He's immortal and capable of evolutionary devouring. To kill him, you'd have to trick him into suicide. Right now, there isn't a soul on Earth who can kill him in a straight fight."
Nima didn't fully grasp the technicalities, but she nodded. "Then I'll leave the Japs to you! I'll take Master and go; sigh, to think he's still trying to serve the country with his condition. Doesn't he know the youth of today are reliable?"
As he watched Nima and the Immortal Master depart on the Sirius aircraft, Ren tossed his phone up and caught it.
"Phase one: complete."
The two shadows faded into the distance as they continued their patrol of H City.
Meanwhile, at Yan Huang Supreme Command.
"The files on these two are right here. Both are top-tier national talents, but after some 'incidents' two years ago, they've been acting as freelancers."
An elderly man flipped through the documents on his desk, his face darkening with every page.
"Investigate that man named Huang!"
"Yes, sir!"
Once the uniformed officer left, the elder rubbed his forehead wearily. "I hope they don't harbor a grudge against the entirety of Yan Huang. Otherwise, this will be a disaster for all of humanity."
Two young men reaching God-level in less than two years... if talents like that turned against them, combined with the Corpse King, Yan Huang might as well dissolve on the spot.
Ren had no idea his files were currently on the desk of the top brass. He and Mu Tiancai were on a warpath; whether it was Americans, Europeans, or Japanese, any foreign agent they met was met with a blade—Ren didn't give them a single second for a "last word."
In the face of absolute power, ninjas and magicians alike weren't worth a single strike!
In two days, the duo had cleared out nearly eighty percent of the foreign infiltrators in H City. At the same time, Yan Huang's strongest combat unit—the First Special Ops Team—arrived in the city!