Three Days Later, Outside Nuoding City

Three days later, outside Nuoding City.

The morning mist had yet to lift, but the heavy thud of hooves and the steady march of soldiers were already rolling in from the horizon like muffled thunder.

Dust filled the air, and banners fluttered.

A five-thousand-strong army, every soldier clad in regulation iron armor, was slowly closing in on Nuoding City in a massive encirclement.

At the very front of the army was an elite battle group of several hundred Soul Masters. Every mount beneath them was a Soul Beast worth a fortune.

At the center of the army, beneath a massive commander's banner,

the governor of Nuoding Province, a fat middle-aged man named Li Mude, sat smugly atop a mighty Armored Earth Dragon.

At his side was Salas, wearing a brand-new white-and-gold Platinum Bishop's robe, though his face was still rather pale.

"Bishop Salas, just sit back and watch!" Li Mude stuck out his paunch and pointed his riding crop at the gleaming steel city ahead, his tone full of disdain.

"Some peasant without even a Soul Ring dares to throw his weight around on my turf? He even dares to detain people from Spirit Hall?"

"My five thousand city guards, plus the three hundred Soul Masters under my command, could drown that shithole in spit if each man gave it one good spit!"

Li Mude was a veteran noble of the Heaven Dou Empire, a hereditary provincial governor. He looked down on all commoners without noble blood.

Over the past few days, Salas had brought secret orders from Spirit Hall and promised him countless benefits before finally persuading him to gather an army to "put down the rebellion."

In Li Mude's eyes, this wasn't a battle at all. It was an armed parade—a chance to claim easy credit!

Salas watched Li Mude's smug expression. His lips moved as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, all that came out was a sigh.

What could he say?

That there was a madman in that city who could use thousand-year Soul Beasts as power banks? That he could level a mountain with a single "missile"?

Would Li Mude believe him? He'd only think Salas had gone crazy!

"Governor Li is mighty indeed." Salas forced a stiff smile. "Still, the people in that city have some truly strange methods. Please be cautious, Governor."

"Hahahaha! Bishop, you worry too much!" Li Mude roared with laughter. "Before absolute power, every scheme is just a paper tiger! Once I've flattened that city and captured that brat named Qin Feng, we can split the treasure inside fifty-fifty. How does that sound?"

Salas's mouth twitched.

Treasure?

At this point, he only hoped the grass on his grave wouldn't grow too tall.

Meanwhile, atop Nuoding City's walls,

Qin Feng lounged in a beach chair, a steaming cup of coffee on the little table beside him.

He was even wearing sunglasses, as if he weren't facing an enemy army at his gates but relaxing at the seaside.

"Boss, the enemy has entered a ten-kilometer radius."

Grey Wolf's voice came through the communicator on Qin Feng's wrist, tinged with excitement.

"There are 5,327 of them in total, including 315 Soul Masters. The one with the highest Soul Power is that fatso riding the big, fat dragon. He's a level 76 Soul Saint with the Armored Earth Dragon Martial Soul. Nothing special."

"That old geezer Salas is there too. Heart rate: 140. Blood pressure: 180. Looks like he's scared out of his wits. Heh heh heh."

Qin Feng picked up his coffee and took a small sip.

Before him, a massive holographic map hung clearly in midair.

On the map, more than five thousand red dots representing the enemy army were moving slowly but steadily toward the blue area representing Nuoding City.

This was the Umbrella Corporation's latest "Eagle Eye" drone reconnaissance array.

Dozens of silent drones with wingspans of over three meters circled at an altitude of ten thousand meters. Their optical, thermal imaging, and Soul Power fluctuation sensors had a clear view of everything below.

Every soldier's body temperature, every heartbeat, every trace of Soul Power in motion—all of it was converted into precise data and transmitted in real time to the Central Control Room on the third underground level.

Before Qin Feng's "full-map cheat," Li Mude's five-thousand-strong army, which he was so proud of, was like a group of naked girls, with no secrets at all.

"Boss, should I give them a 'Dongfeng' missile to whet their appetites?" Grey Wolf's voice came through again, full of eagerness.

"No rush." Qin Feng set down his coffee cup.

"Missiles are too expensive. Using one on cannon fodder like them would be a waste."

"Besides, I need a public, absolute, crushing victory to tell the entire continent—"

Qin Feng stood and walked to the edge of the wall, looking down at the army now close enough to touch.

"The times have truly changed."

The army stopped five hundred meters from the city gate.

Li Mude urged the Armored Earth Dragon beneath him forward a few paces, channeled his Soul Power, and boomed across the entire battlefield in a voice like a great bell.

"Rats in the city, listen up!"

"I am Li Mude, governor of Nuoding Province in the Heaven Dou Empire!"

"You have one minute to open the gates, hand over the criminal Qin Feng, and kneel to surrender!"

"Otherwise, when the city falls, not a soul will be spared!"

His arrogant shouts echoed across the open plain.

The city walls remained silent.

Li Mude waited a few seconds, but when no one answered, the smug look on his face only grew.

He turned to Salas with a grin. "Bishop, see? A bunch of cowering turtles, too scared by my kingly aura to make a sound!"

Salas's eyelids twitched violently.

He had a very bad feeling.

Just then, a huge loudspeaker slowly descended from above the wall.

Qin Feng's rather lazy voice rang clearly in every soldier's ears.

"Governor Li, was it?"

"You've got quite a voice. I just wonder whether there's anything in your head besides muscle."

Li Mude's smile froze.

The army behind him also stirred.

"You're Qin Feng?" Li Mude's face darkened. "A rat who hides his face dares to insult me?"

"I'll give you one last chance. Come down and face your death now, and perhaps I'll leave your corpse intact!"

A trace of amusement entered Qin Feng's voice.

"Governor Li, I'm curious. What gave you the courage to bring so few men to surround my city?"

"Those seven flashy rings of yours?"

At that, Li Mude laughed instead of getting angry.

He slapped his mount, and the yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, and black Soul Rings at his feet suddenly lit up. The powerful aura of a Soul Saint drew awed cheers from the soldiers around him!

"Exactly! I've got these seven Soul Rings!"

Li Mude pointed his riding crop at Qin Feng on the wall, his face full of a noble's contempt for a commoner.

"Brat, I'll admit your walls are well built, and those metal contraptions of yours look pretty intimidating."

"But you don't even have a single Soul Ring!"

"You're not even a Soul Master!"

"In this world, without a Soul Ring, you're nothing!"

"Now tell me, what can you possibly fight me with?!"

Li Mude's voice brimmed with absolute confidence and arrogance.

Behind him, Salas shut his eyes in despair.

It was over.

The idiot had said the one thing that infuriated that madman most.

On the wall, Qin Feng didn't get angry after hearing Li Mude's words. Instead, he laughed.

"Heh... hehehe..."

His laughter echoed through the loudspeaker and across the battlefield, sending an inexplicable chill through everyone.

"Governor Li, you're right."

Qin Feng's voice suddenly turned cold and detached.

"I don't have a Soul Ring."

"Because I don't need that kind of inefficient energy cheat."

Qin Feng slowly raised his hand. In it appeared a peculiar silver-white metal disc, no bigger than his palm.

"I believe only in physics."

"Today, I'll give you all a free lesson."

"The lesson is called—"

"Gravity."