Revenge

Harvey was suddenly ambushed by Qi Fei's attack and died on the spot.

Beirut was furious and slapped Qi Fei to death.

The end.

Of course, that was impossible.

A layer of scorching Dou Qi appeared over Harvey, easily blocking Qi Fei's attack.

The seemingly powerful strike wasn't even a nuisance to him.

Still, Harvey didn't underestimate him in the slightest.

"Not bad, not bad. You've already grasped the Profundity of Explosion in the Laws of Fire Elements."

To grasp the Laws of Elements before reaching the Saint Realm meant you could at least call yourself a genius on the Material Plane.

"It was just a coincidence."

Qi Fei steadied his breathing as he savored his recent insight.

The Will Jewel had connected him to the world, letting him directly sense the elements; his aptitude had been enhanced by the Shared Space; and Beirut had given him a spark of inspiration that morning.

Only with all these conditions combined had he managed to take the first step toward understanding the Laws of Elements.

It hadn't been easy.

Qi Fei couldn't help feeling a little more respect for the powerful figures in the Coiling Dragon World.

They had all painstakingly cultivated their insights without any cheats.

"If you understood it, then you understood it. What does that have to do with coincidence?"

Harvey shook his head, rejecting Qi Fei's explanation.

"By the way, as a reward for grasping the Laws of Elements, I can tell you something."

He continued.

"What is it?"

Qi Fei asked.

"About your parents."

Harvey replied.

"Please, Senior Brother."

Qi Fei put on an air of calm.

The feelings were complicated, but he had the original owner's memories. With some truth mixed in with the act, it wasn't difficult.

"Last night, a coachman from your household secretly left the castle to deliver a message to someone."

"My father spotted him and followed him to investigate. That was when he discovered the real culprit behind your parents' deaths."

Harvey polished up what had actually happened.

The coachman who delivered the message was real, and so was the discovery of the true culprit, but the two events weren't closely related.

His father had stumbled across some information about Qi Fei while investigating how the second God-Devouring Rat had come into being, then looked into it on a whim.

During that process, he had also discovered the coachman who delivered the message.

To show how important Qi Fei was to his father, Harvey switched the order of events.

That made it sound as if Beirut had cared deeply about his disciple, noticed something suspicious about the coachman, and taken the initiative to investigate until he finally uncovered the truth.

"Senior Brother, who was the real culprit?"

Qi Fei didn't care about the coachman at all.

After the Supreme God of Destruction descended yesterday, he had known that if there were spies in the castle, they would surely make a move.

But Qi Fei hadn't planned to investigate.

He was already Beirut's disciple. Why should he fear some insignificant mastermind?

If anything, the mastermind should be afraid of him.

Besides, Qi Fei reckoned Beirut would probably investigate him after taking him on as a disciple.

Not because Beirut cared about him that much, but because he needed to learn what kind of person he was.

That way, he could avoid a situation where Qi Fei got his hands on a Sovereign Spark and then immediately betrayed him.

An investigation would naturally uncover the problem with the original owner's parents.

Qi Fei just hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

"The current king of the Fenlai Kingdom, Clayde."

Harvey gave him the name.

"So it really was him."

Qi Fei murmured.

In truth, the original owner had always suspected who the real culprit was.

A Level 8 Warrior was already a powerful figure in the kingdom. Ordinary people wouldn't dare offend one, nor could they.

So the original owner had always believed that the royal family or the Radiant Church had to be involved.

But that was only a suspicion. Back then, the original owner hadn't even dared let on that he suspected anything.

"Your father offended many people as he rose to prominence. The royal family was the most aggrieved."

After giving Qi Fei some time to absorb the information, Harvey began recounting what Beirut had discovered.

"At first, the royal family tolerated him because of his talent. But things soon changed."

"Everyone praised him as a future Saint, and your father grew increasingly arrogant. Gradually, he became unwilling to bow to the royal family, and he even stopped taking the Radiant Church seriously."

"In the end, the royal family had had enough and killed your parents, while the Radiant Church chose to stand by and do nothing."

Harvey recounted all this in as sorrowful a tone as he could manage.

Otherwise, he feared he might accidentally blurt out, "Good riddance."

Why would a weakling go out of his way to provoke the powerful?

If he wanted to die, he could just say so.

After hearing all this, Qi Fei was left somewhat stunned.

The original owner's father really was his father. When it came to courting death, he was far better at it than the original owner.

For starters, he had lived in the Holy Union and still dared to disrespect the Radiant Church.

Granted, the Radiant Church in the Coiling Dragon World looked splendid on the surface, but it was actually a nest of trouble. It didn't deserve any respect.

But the least he could have done was keep up appearances.

After all, their dozen or so ordinary Saints and five peak Saints were no joke.

The original owner's father wasn't even a Saint. How had he dared to do something like that?

Qi Fei simply couldn't understand.

"My father originally wanted to wait until you reached the Saint Realm before telling you all this. But aside from not being able to fly, your strength should be pretty decent even among Saints."

Harvey spoke while Qi Fei was processing the information.

Qi Fei's strength now placed him around the middle to upper ranks among Saints, more than enough to take revenge on his own.

"Are you going to get revenge?"

Harvey asked.

"I am."

Qi Fei's answer came with some hesitation.

At first, he really had wanted to avenge the original owner. After all, he'd gotten the original owner's body and wealth for free.

But after hearing why the original owner's father had died, Qi Fei admitted that his resolve had wavered a little.

"Then let's go now."

Harvey was decisive.

In his eyes, the sooner they took care of these trivial matters, the sooner Qi Fei could return and focus on cultivating.

Harvey shrank down and hopped onto Qi Fei's shoulder.

Qi Fei looked at Harvey, then at the other two brothers, who were lounging in their chairs and eating pastries.

"Senior Brother Harry, sorry for the trouble, but could you tell Teacher I'll be back soon?"

"Don't worry."

Harry waved a paw.

With Dad's abilities, he would definitely know.

"Thanks, Senior Brother."

From Harry's reaction, Qi Fei knew that Beirut was probably watching them from somewhere nearby.

That meant there was nothing to worry about.

"Senior Brother, how are we getting there?"

He asked Harvey, who was perched on his shoulder.

Harvey patted Qi Fei's shoulder, and a gentle Wind Attribute Power enveloped him.

Qi Fei suddenly felt something strange. It was as if he could fly.

"I used the Flight Technique on you. We'll fly straight to Fenlai City."

Harvey's words confirmed that the sensation hadn't been an illusion.

Qi Fei put his Greatsword into his Space Ring, then followed his instincts and controlled his own power.

The next moment, Qi Fei shot up from the ground and soared into the sky.

It was probably his first time flying, because his movements were rather clumsy. His flight path was like a skyrocket.

"Wrong way! You're flying in the wrong direction!"

Harvey grabbed Qi Fei's shoulder and called out loudly.

"Oh, right."

Qi Fei awkwardly turned around and flew toward Fenlai City.

With the Flight Technique cast by a Saint-level Harvey, they flew very fast.

Before long, Qi Fei spotted the holy city of the Holy Union and the capital of the Fenlai Kingdom: Fenlai City.

"Strangers, state your business."

A bald man in white robes flew out of the Temple of Light and stopped Qi Fei as he was about to rush into Fenlai City.

But as he spoke, he wasn't looking at Qi Fei. He was looking at Harvey on Qi Fei's shoulder.

"This is Heidens, the current Pope of the Radiant Church."

Harvey introduced him to Qi Fei.

"So you're the Pope. A pleasure."

Qi Fei said the words, but there was little respect in his voice.

Heidens frowned slightly.

Speaking to him like that, even with a Saint-level magical beast backing him, was far too presumptuous.

But when he remembered that the powerful figure from the Forest of Darkness still seemed to be active nearby, he had no choice but to swallow his anger.

"May I ask what brings you here today?"

Heidens asked.

"Qi Fei Cadmus. That's my name."

Qi Fei's voice was as cold as that of a true avenger.

"Cadmus? Are you here to take revenge on Clayde?"

Heidens dug through his memories for information about the surname.

That couldn't be right. Hadn't he heard that the orphan of the Cadmus House spent his days drinking and indulging himself, his cultivation completely ruined?

But the man before him was at least a Level 9 Warrior. How could someone whose cultivation was ruined manage that?

"I hope you won't stand in my way, just as you stood by when they moved against my father."

Qi Fei kept his expression cold and restrained.

He was a modern man, after all. He couldn't bring himself to start killing people for no reason.

Apart from Clayde, he would only consider killing anyone else if they attacked him first.

Qi Fei's words made Heidens frown even more deeply.

Allowing Qi Fei to kill Clayde in front of everyone in Fenlai City would damage not only his own standing as Pope but the authority of the entire Church.

Heidens couldn't accept that.

"Cadm—"

"Heidens, I advise you not to make a mistake."

Harvey spoke from Qi Fei's shoulder.

"Would you really side with a mere Level 9 Warrior raised by a Secret Art over the Forest of Darkness?"

Harvey might have missed the point, but his words did make Heidens hesitate.

The superpower from the Forest of Darkness was famous for doting on magical beasts of the rat species. Recently, he had happened to be searching for treasure within the Holy Union's territory.

If he noticed that Heidens had refused to show him respect...

Heidens sighed.

He didn't step aside outright, but he no longer intended to stop Qi Fei.

"Let's go."

Harvey patted Qi Fei's shoulder.

"Right."

Qi Fei glanced at Heidens, went around him, and headed straight for the palace.

The people of Fenlai City still had no idea what was happening.

The guards on watch at the palace only noticed someone flying toward it using flight magic, so they immediately sounded the alarm.

"Reckless fool! How dare you trespass in the palace?"

A burly man leapt out of the palace and landed on the roof.

He held a Greatsword and had a flowing head of emerald-green hair.

Qi Fei recognized him from the original body's memories. This was the Royal Palace Guard Captain, the Fenlai Kingdom's second Level 9 Expert, Caesar.

Qi Fei couldn't be bothered to deal with him.

"Clayde, come out! Cadmus is here to claim your life."

Amplified by Dou Qi, his voice rang throughout the palace and spread across Fenlai City.

"How dare you address His Majesty by name!"

Caesar roared. He pushed off the ground and shot toward Qi Fei in the sky like a cannonball.

"I don't have time to play with you."

Two strings of Life Beads appeared around Qi Fei's wrists.

Then he struck Caesar's incoming Greatsword with his palm.

In the next instant, Caesar and his Greatsword were sent flying backward, crashing into the palace wall on the other side.

The wall shattered with a deafening crash. The rubble and dust buried Caesar completely, and then there was not another sound from him.

Caesar had taken a single blow and was now either dead or dying. The sight brought every palace guard to a halt.

The Court Mages, who had been preparing spells, also silently stopped chanting.

In their worldview, only a Saint Realm expert could defeat a Level 9 Expert so easily.

And only another Saint Realm expert could stand against one.

Seeing that everyone else in the palace had stopped, Qi Fei made no further attacks.

He had used the Life Beads to amplify his power just now to cow them, so they wouldn't throw their lives away for nothing.

"Clayde, come out."

Qi Fei called again.

This time, his voice carried across half of Fenlai City.

Five minutes passed, but Clayde showed no sign of appearing. He was probably packing up to flee.

"Want me to help you look for him?"

Harvey asked, starting to get bored waiting.

"Then I'll trouble you, Senior Brother."

Qi Fei replied.

He could probably find Clayde himself if he spent some time on it, but since his Senior Brother was willing to help, there was no need to waste the effort.

"Haha, all right. Watch this."

Harvey didn't use his soul power to search for Clayde. Instead, he blew a breath toward the palace.

A stream of green air came from Harvey's mouth. When it hit the ground, it transformed into a gale that howled through every corridor and room in the palace.

Every building trembled in the gust.

"Over there."

Harvey pointed Qi Fei in the right direction.

Qi Fei immediately flew over and landed in a garden.

"He's in the underground passage."

Harvey pointed at the ground.

Qi Fei swiftly drew his Greatsword, channeled Dou Qi into it, and slashed at the spot Harvey had indicated.

Boom—

The ground broke apart, revealing the passage below.

The one who appeared along with it was the King of Fenlai, Clayde, known as the Golden Lion.

"Long time no see, Your Majesty. I've come to send you on your way."

Qi Fei grabbed the flustered Clayde and pulled him out.

"Lord Cadmus, surely there's been some kind of misunderstanding between us..."

Clayde still tried to stall for time, hoping for help from the Radiant Church.

"There's no misunderstanding."

Qi Fei shook his head, channeled Fire Attribute Dou Qi into his sword, and unleashed the move he had comprehended earlier.

A flood of Dou Qi engulfed Clayde.

A transparent barrier appeared around him, but it shattered the instant it met the attack.

Clayde, the Golden Lion, was dead.