Sentencing

On the afternoon of December 27, 2058, the tarmac outside the Limit Dojo's Global Headquarters was crowded with expensive aircraft, both flying-saucer models and intelligent fighters.

That was because more than thirty Councilors had arrived today!

More than thirty Councilors were enough to decide the outcome of the trial!

These Councilors, along with a few Invincible War Gods, would preside over and witness the trial of Li Yao and his wife in the highest court at Limit Dojo Headquarters. Of course, the trial went both ways. If Luo Feng could be proven guilty, he would be punished too. It was only fair to both sides.

"Luo Feng, do you want to go meet the Councilors?" Ji Yun sat in a seat near the middle of the courtroom, with Luo Feng, one of the parties in the trial, beside him.

"If you do, go over with Liu He. After all, you're a Councilor now, too."

That was true. After the War God Palace's assessment, they had unanimously agreed that Luo Feng's attack power had reached the level of an ordinary Councilor. Under the circumstances, he was qualified to be a Councilor. Besides, he was about to become Limit Dojo's sixth Inspector, so naturally, these Councilors wanted to get on good terms with him.

"All right. I'll go over first." Luo Feng was eager to build good relationships with the Councilors, so he followed Liu He over and started chatting with them.

But—

Some of the Councilors weren't exactly friendly.

At least, Ji Yun heard more than ten of them quietly muttering among themselves.

"So that's Luo Feng?"

"I heard he can control concealed weapons with a maximum impact force of around eight or nine million kilograms. He really can rival some Councilors."

"So what if he can rival them? He hasn't broken through yet. His movement and running speed on the ground, as well as his fighting techniques, can't match our agility and finesse! If he actually fought a Councilor, he probably couldn't beat a single one."

"Some Councilors can control flames, others can control ice, and so on. They're impossible to defend against. Their attacks are definitely more sophisticated than his."

Hearing this, Ji Yun's lips curled into a cold smile.

A Psychic Master who had obtained a Falling Ink Star Token and whose talent had been recognized by the Falling Ink Star's intelligence—how could his talent and potential compare to those of warriors who hadn't reached Planetary Level until they were in their forties or fifties?

***

Once Hong and Thor arrived, the plaintiff and defendants also took their places in court.

Luo Feng, the plaintiff, sat down, while Li Yao and his wife, Venina, stood in the defendants' dock, handcuffed and shackled.

Simply presenting the evidence took a full two hours.

"Li Yao, Venina, the evidence against you is conclusive. Do you have anything to say?" the presiding judge of the highest court asked coldly.

The two said nothing.

"Li Yao and Venina Polenas are guilty of ordering others to murder a Councilor's family member. They are sentenced to death, to be carried out immediately!"

"Take the prisoners to the Wilderness Zone to carry out the sentence," the judge of the highest court ordered.

The executioners were Inspector Liu He and Amukhan, an Inspector from Thunder Dojo.

A little over ten minutes passed.

"Dojo Master!" Liu He suddenly called.

"Dojo Master, just as Li Yao was about to be executed, he broke through to the Councilor level! His special ability seems to be 'light,' and he's extremely fast. He just shot into the sky, and Luo Feng has already gone after him. Amukhan and I couldn't catch up." Liu He immediately reported the situation. Amukhan reported the same thing.

"What?" Ji Yun was startled. "To break through right before death, Li Yao must have been consumed by hatred. Even if he's broken through, we can't let him live."

Hong immediately ordered, "Yao Rao, Vladimir."

"You two, take my Prehistoric-class Intelligent Fighter and go help Luo Feng. Kill Li Yao!" Hong ordered. "Li Yao has broken through and reached Councilor level! His special ability is 'light.' Hurry and set out."

"Yes!"

"Brother Hong, I'm going too." Ji Yun frowned and turned to Hong.

"All right." Hong nodded.

Ji Yun strode out of the dojo headquarters and quickly boarded Hong's Prehistoric-class Intelligent Fighter.

The intelligent fighter could reach a top speed of 8,000 meters per second—the fastest speed on Earth.

Ji Yun had tested Luo Feng's strength before. His attack power was unquestionably at the first level of Planetary Level. But Luo Feng wasn't a Planetary Level warrior yet and didn't have a Planetary Level warrior's special abilities. Li Yao's ability was light, making him extremely agile. It would be difficult for Luo Feng to kill him.

***

As soon as Ji Yun and the others arrived, they saw Li Yao's chest pierced by a streak of golden light, leaving a gaping hole. The light instantly tore his entire body apart, scattering blood and flesh everywhere.

"Holy shit." Ji Yun couldn't help swearing at the sight.

"Luo Feng, why did you kill him in one move?" If Ji Yun wanted to kill a first-level Planetary Level warrior, he relied entirely on strength. But he couldn't make heads or tails of that golden light.

Inside Limit Dojo's banquet hall.

On the way back, Luo Feng had already told Ji Yun about it.

Luo Feng's foot was on a weapon called the Sky-Escaping Shuttle. The reward for passing the test at Ruins No. 9 was instructions on how to use it. The golden light just now had been Luo Feng activating its secret technique.

But the golden light was only a threat to second-level Planetary Level warriors without the Black God Set. Against warriors above the second level, or those wearing the Black God Set, it was far less dangerous.

But wealth made people covetous.

Ji Yun suddenly felt that the Councilors around him were getting noisy.

"He's only at the peak of the War God level, yet he can unleash such power with that weapon. If a true Councilor-level expert used it, it would be even more powerful..."

"Exactly..."

Ji Yun rubbed his forehead in annoyance. The Councilors kept whispering among themselves, but he heard every word.

In an instant, a hazy blue domain spread out, pressing down on every Councilor. They were pinned in place, unable to move or even speak.

Hong and Thor pushed open the doors and nodded.

"A-Yun, let them go."

The blue domain vanished. The Councilors gasped for breath and stared at Ji Yun in fear.

Why did Ji Yun have an ability like Hong's?

"Everyone."

Hong's icy gaze swept across everyone present. An invisible pressure made the Councilors tremble; they couldn't resist at all. "I heard every word you said just now. I never thought that in just over ten years, so many of you would have forgotten why I founded the War God Palace."

"Thor and I founded the War God Palace and brought you all together because we hoped that humanity's finest would work to ensure humanity's survival!"

"As for Luo Feng's weapon, it's called the Sky-Escaping Shuttle. I gave it to him," Hong said coldly. "First, Luo Feng has excellent talent. Second, he gave me all the Vegetation Spirits he found on Mist Island. In exchange, I gave him the Sky-Escaping Shuttle."

"I've always been fair."

"If you want something, you have to give something in return."

Hong, dressed in black, looked at Luo Feng. "Luo Feng, come with me. The rest of you, carry on with the banquet."

Luo Feng followed Hong inside. Ji Yun remained in the banquet hall. With a sneer, he stood and walked straight out.

"Some people are rotten to the core."

Deep beneath the Pacific, in the dark and silent seabed, a giant egg lay still on the sand.

Mysterious, cryptic patterns covered its shell. The sea beasts nearby had been interested in the egg at first, but after a while, it remained completely still, and they lost interest.

Suddenly, the egg cracked open.

A black monster crawled out. It was an unknown reptilian creature, entirely black, with powerful limbs and black scales covering its body. A pair of scaled wings grew from its massive body, and a tail swayed slowly behind it like a dragon's.

Its raised head bore a single horn that pointed proudly toward the sky!

As it devoured the eggshell, its body grew at an astonishing rate. It was about twelve meters long at first, but gradually grew longer. By the time it had eaten all the shell, it had reached sixteen meters!

Earth's monsters needed to accumulate enormous amounts of energy to evolve. Yet this creature had reached this level just by eating its eggshell.

Starting that night, the surrounding sea became a bloody hunting ground!

Lord-level monsters, and even the ruler of those waters—a King Rank Dragon Turtle—were all reduced to food for the black monster. Yet even after all that, the creature had grown only a little.

Even an ordinary Beast Soldier would have grown into a gigantic King Rank Monster after devouring so many monsters.

The mysterious black monster's birth and the bloody slaughter it unleashed in the Pacific went unnoticed by humanity. Satellites could barely detect what was happening on the ocean floor.

Five or six days later, Luo Feng became an Inspector.

As soon as the ceremony ended, Hong brought Ji Yun inside the dojo.

Hong and Luo Feng went in first, but Ji Yun could guess what they were discussing. Luo Feng was the most talented Psychic Master on Earth, and he had also earned the recognition of the Falling Ink Star. His talent and potential were both exceptional.

Hong wanted to see whether Luo Feng was willing to work hard for Earth, too.

Four people working together was far better than Hong and Thor fighting alone.

Before long, Hong and Luo Feng came out. Hong wore a smile and seemed to be in a good mood. Clearly, Luo Feng felt a deep attachment to Earth as well.

"A-Yun, go straight to Mist Island—the place where you found the Vegetation Spirits. A new Beast Emperor has appeared there."

"A Beast Emperor?" Ji Yun was startled.

The emergence of a Beast Emperor was extremely rare. It couldn't have happened by chance. Something extraordinary must have appeared.

Ji Yun knew very well that Wood Bud Crystals had played a crucial role in his breakthrough to Planetary Level and his rapid rise in power. So... had the Beast Emperor appeared because there were more Wood Bud Crystals on Mist Island?

The Wood Bud Crystals had released a scent that attracted him, so they could certainly attract monsters too. Maybe a King-level monster had eaten one and transformed into a Beast Emperor in a single leap.

"We can't waste time. Let's set out now."