Lies

"Eighth Body Refinement..." Lin Chen's mouth twitched.

Three days. Just three damn days.

This kid's strength had broken through from the sixth to the eighth Body Refinement, surging explosively. Even those two savage apes, who together could battle a Blood Fiend martial artist, had been no match for him.

Seeing the miserable state of the two savage apes, Lin Chen's eyelids twitched wildly.

"Monster!"

"Good kid, hahaha... Good, excellent!" Situ Ting threw back his head and laughed without restraint.

"Eighth Body Refinement, Eighth Body Refinement..."

On the other side, Kong Ao of the Martial Alliance stared fixedly toward Su Bo, watching that figure display divine might as he pinned the savage apes down and beat them.

Suddenly, the searing pain from his injuries and memories from the past surged into his mind.

Kong Ao grinned. Standing behind Lin Chen, he clasped his hands behind his back. A faint ripple tore open space, and he vanished from this starry sky in an instant.

And at the instant space was torn apart...

Situ Ting and Lin Chen abruptly turned to look at him.

"Old Kong?" Lin Chen frowned.

"Who did you send a message to?" Blazing sun power capable of incinerating stars surged around Situ Ting. Solar fire formed the divine shape of a Golden Crow, blazing with raging flames.

A violent killing intent suddenly rose from him.

Kong Ao's face instantly turned pale. Situ Ting's killing intent enveloped him, while that Three-Legged Golden Crow divine shape completely sealed off the nearby starry sky.

A deathly aura that seeped into his soul swept over his heart.

He would die. He would die. He really would die...

He knew perfectly well that if he failed to deceive Situ Ting, Situ Ting would erase him completely in the next breath.

Situ Ting had never once shown mercy when killing Martial Alliance martial artists. After several massacres, the Martial Alliance had still been unable to do anything to him.

Because his teacher was Yue Shan, an ultimate powerhouse of the Dharma Image Realm.

Even the Martial Alliance would not lightly offend a Dharma Image Realm martial artist, let alone Red River Star, whose martial artists had produced more than one Dharma Image Realm expert over the past century.

If not for the Federation Tribunal's verdict, the title of Sin Star hanging over Red River Star, and the title of sinners hanging over Red River Star's ancient human race...

Which required a Nirvana Throne powerhouse to slaughter alien Nirvana Thrones on the Ten Thousand Races Battlefield...

And accomplish the grand feat of being crowned king beneath the stars before they could be lifted...

Then this Sin Star of the ancient human race, which possessed so many extraordinarily gifted martial artists and had produced several Dharma Image Realm experts and dozens of Divine Ability Realm experts...

Would long ago have been absolved of the names Sin Star and sinners.

After all, under Federation rules, nurturing human prodigies could offset a portion of the crimes for which their ancestors had been judged and sentenced.

But back to the point...

If Situ Ting had merely been a Dharma Image Realm martial artist's student, then for daring to kill Martial Alliance martial artists, he would have long since been cut down in the starry sky by the Martial Alliance's enforcement squad.

Rather, it was because fifty years ago, on the Ten Thousand Races Battlefield, Situ Ting had broken through to the Divine Ability Realm before reaching thirty.

Then, under the name of a genius, he had challenged the genius martial artists of the myriad races at the Divine Ability Realm.

He had slain seven genius martial artists of the myriad races in succession on the arena, earning the Federation Second-Class Military Merit Medal bestowed by the Federation.

Only a mad Martial Alliance would provoke a holder of the Federation Second-Class Military Merit Medal. What was more, every Martial Alliance martial artist Situ Ting had killed had been caught red-handed by him.

Even if the matter were brought before the Federation Tribunal, Situ Ting would win without question.

Kong Ao forced himself to remain calm and said coldly, "Situ Ting, you barged into the Trial Star and attempted to challenge the trial rules established by the Federation..."

"I sent word to the enforcement squad, asking them to detain you and hand you over to the Federation. Is that not allowed?"

"The enforcement squad?" Situ Ting stroked his stubble, always feeling that this fellow was lying.

The problem was...

He could not find a flaw!

Given Kong Ao's earlier anxious behavior, he really had violated the trial rules set by the Federation. If judged guilty, he truly would be handed over for sentencing.

Moreover, Kong Ao was extremely afraid of death, afraid that Situ Ting would kill him.

So calling the Martial Alliance's enforcement squad to save his own life was logically consistent.

Besides, even though Situ Ting was indeed far stronger than Kong Ao, he had no way to investigate where the space Kong Ao had torn open led.

Naturally, he had no idea whom Kong Ao had contacted.

Situ Ting looked toward the Trial Star. Su Bo was already locked in battle with a quasi-Second Rank savage ape, and he was still hammering it into the ground.

Another seven or eight savage apes comparable to the ninth Body Refinement stood nearby, itching to join the battle.

Savage apes were demonic beasts famed for their astonishing strength. Yet within their own territory, one had been defeated against the odds by a tiny human martial artist using overwhelming power despite his lower realm.

This drove the savage apes, who possessed no little intelligence, into a furious rage.

After glancing at Su Bo again and confirming that he was fine, Situ Ting sneered. "Trash. If you're this timid, don't cultivate martial arts..."

"The Martial Alliance is full of garbage like you!"

"You..." Kong Ao flew into a rage. A domain of lightning flickered in and out behind him, constantly unleashing terrifying bolts that bombarded the void.

But Situ Ting no longer wished to pay him any attention.

He was merely a weak Divine Ability-level martial artist, his future prospects nearly shattered. His eventual peak would probably be no more than the pinnacle of weak Divine Ability.

Perhaps even Lin Chen beside him would become stronger than him.

A minor character like that was not worth remembering, much less worth dirtying his hands over.

A Divine Ability Realm martial artist only had around a thousand years of lifespan anyway. This kid was already seven or eight hundred years old; in a few more years, he would croak.

"Refreshing..." Su Bo stood bare-chested, the Wind-Treading Step driven to its limit.

Yet under the joint assault of more than a dozen savage apes, they still found an opening and landed several heavy blows in succession, smashing him straight into the ground.

Especially that quasi-Second Rank savage ape, comparable to a Blood Refinement into Fiend martial artist. Its strength was only a little weaker than his.

When it hammered him...

Damn, his whole body felt much better. After tempering his internal organs, the feeling of bodily saturation had probably been digested by over twenty percent through this savage battle...

In another three days or so, he could continue tempering his internal organs and speed up his cultivation.

Su Bo's eyes shone brilliantly. These savage apes are damn fine demonic beasts.

The strength in his hands inevitably weakened by several degrees...

No, he could not just kill them all like this. He would still need them later to help him digest it.

His body felt good, and the sky had darkened...

Su Bo threw several punches, sending the quasi-Second Rank savage ape flying. With the Wind-Treading Step, he crossed several miles and ran out of the savage apes' territory.

"I'll come find you again tomorrow..."

"Roar, roar, howl, howl..." The quasi-Second Rank savage ape let out frenzied roars.

It wanted to chase him, but could not beat him. Looking at its clansmen, all panting from exhaustion, starving and dizzy, they practically wanted to lie down and sleep on the spot.

After raging helplessly for a while, the quasi-Second Rank savage ape's roars shook the mountain range. In the end, it could only fall silent in resignation.

After leaving the savage apes' territory, Su Bo returned to the Five-Viscera Yuanchen Tree...

Along the way, he caught several edible demonic beasts, then began skinning them, stripping out their tendons, draining their blood, and lighting a bonfire. Right there amid the tree canopy, he started roasting them.

Elsewhere, at a location at least three thousand miles from Essence Lake.

Within a superbly concealed hidden site, Liu Yue and Yi You set up several layers of precautions before beginning to refine the Five-Viscera Yuanchen Fruit in cultivation.

The auras around their bodies...

Eighth Body Refinement!