Quang Binh City, somewhere at an abandoned breeding station.
Ever since Somsak emerged from the bottom of the sea and leisurely began searching the belongings of the dead Eternal Society cultist, Uncle Binh had seized the opportunity to close the distance toward Vuong Minh.
Therefore, right as the Sea Viper intended to make his move, the old man timely surged forward.
Only…
BOOM!!!!
Facing this veteran soldier retired from the battlefield, Somsak didn’t expend any effort at all.
With a casual flick of his tail, he easily batted Uncle Binh flying.
Then, fixing his sinister pitch-black eyes entirely on Vuong Minh, a streak of black light flashed forth—the very same mystical item that had slain the Eternal Society cultist moments earlier.
It shot straight toward Vuong Minh’s glabella with unimaginable speed.
Clearly, even after mutating, Somsak still harbored an unforgettable grudge over what happened earlier and wanted to use the exact same method to pierce right through the handsome Vuong’s face.
It wasn’t until the dark mang shot right in front of him, his eyes dilated to the point of tearing open, that Vuong Minh finally caught sight of its true form: a flying needle no larger than a sewing needle.
Whoosh!
The flying needle carried a bone-chilling, nether-cold aura as it tore through the air.
Fueled by an erupting Ninth Stage Spirit Channeling Realm cultivation, this magic artifact easily pierced through the already heavily cracked defenses of the Spirit Armor.
The screeching sound of the energy barrier shattering rang out piercingly, but it was precisely thanks to that split-second obstruction that Vuong Minh’s survival instincts kicked in, allowing him to tilt his body by a hair’s breadth just in time.
The flying needle grazed past his temple, carrying away a stream of fresh blood alongside a murderous aura that pierced straight into his divine soul.
Vuong Minh felt as though his cerebrum had been struck hard by a thousand-pound sledgehammer, aching to the point of numbing paralysis as his entire body collapsed onto the sand.
His vision blurred, and his limbs refused to obey commands.
Pain!
So painful!
He frantically mobilized every shred of remaining faith value inside the Violet Star, intending to rouse his divine soul.
But before the pain could fully subside, Somsak slowly strode up right in front of him.
Watching the Sea Viper grin with an evil snarl as it closed in to deliver the decisive blow—while Uncle Binh was still too far away to provide timely reinforcement—Vuong Minh, despite having already died once before, felt an overwhelming sense of despair wash over him.
He thought bitterly to himself, Could my life really end right here today?
Boom!
Just as Somsak’s scythe-like blade was mere inches from Vuong Minh’s neck, a heaven-shaking pressure descended straight down from the high heavens, directly blowing away all the surrounding sand and dust into nothingness.
“You dare, reckless villain!!!!”
A ringing, booming roar echoed across the sky like a giant bronze bell.
A figure descended like a deity from the heavens, abruptly blocking the path in front of Vuong Minh.
With a simple wave of his hand, he knocked the rampaging monster Somsak flying backward like a kite with a snapped string.
The pleasant surprise came too fast.
Having snatched life back from the jaws of death, both Vuong Minh and Uncle Binh were overjoyed, hurriedly searching for the identity of the newcomer.
“Young Master Cuong!”
Uncle Binh recognized him first.
Vuong Minh also forced his dim eyes wide open, recognizing that familiar back as he blurted out in shock:
“Uncle…?!”
Who else could it be if not his maternal uncle, Nguyen Hung Cuong?
A small fry who relied on heterodox arts to boost his cultivation to the Late Stage of the Spirit Channeling Realm, like Somsak, was simply not worth mentioning in front of a genuine Meridian Opening Realm expert like Nguyen Hung Cuong.
Neither Vuong Minh nor Uncle Binh even managed to clearly track how Old Nguyen made his move.
They only saw a flash of a figure, heard a few thud-bang sounds echoing in their ears, and then spotted Nguyen Hung Cuong dragging back a limp figure like a dead dog, its face painted with the utter despair of impending doom.
With the danger neutralized and an overlord like Nguyen Hung Cuong presiding over the scene, undoubtedly no further accidents could possibly occur.
Both Vuong Minh and Uncle Binh finally set their minds entirely at ease.
Great Emperor Vuong collapsed flat onto the sandy shore as if every ounce of strength had been drained from his body, managing a twisted smile:
“Uncle, how did you get here?”
Reaching out to grab Ly Phong, checking over his condition along with Uncle Binh and Vuong Minh in turn to gauge the extent of their injuries, Nguyen Hung Cuong pulled out two syringes—one for Ly Phong and one for Uncle Binh—and casually replied: Follow the newest chapters on NovelPing.
“It was your mother; she couldn’t settle her mind and called, forcing me to make a trip over.
Fortunately…”
Whatever “fortunately” meant, Nguyen Hung Cuong left unsaid, but everyone understood.
Had he arrived even a second later, the three of them would probably have already been resting on an altar eating whole bananas.
Afterward, even if they completely slaughtered the Sea Viper Somsak, it wouldn’t have served any earthly purpose.
Vuong Minh also felt immensely grateful that Her Majesty the Queen Mother possessed such a formidable sixth sense; otherwise, this fledgling young eagle wouldn’t even have managed to leave the nest before getting stir-fried by someone.
He had simply gone out to do a D-rank mission, armed to the teeth down to his very teeth, yet he had still nearly died—where on earth was he supposed to go reason about this kind of luck?
“You punk, be more slick when you get home.
Don’t spell out too many details too clearly, remember?”
Warned by his uncle, Young Master Vuong instantly sobered up and nodded like a pounding pestle.
No matter what, not only Old Vuong and his uncle feared Mom, but he himself also dreaded Mom’s wrath.
If her Ladyship found out just how dangerous the process had been, none of the three of them would get off easy.
Having given Vuong Minh his reminder and seeing that the kid understood his intent, Nguyen Hung Cuong finally turned his attention to asking:
“What on earth happened here?
How did things end up in this state?”
“Young Master Cuong, it went like this…”
After receiving his injection, Uncle Binh had recovered five or six tenths of his condition.
At that moment, he spoke in a deep voice, explaining the ins and outs of the story from beginning to end.
Hearing that Somsak had called for reinforcements consisting of two Late Stage Spirit Channeling Realm Eternal Society cultists, and hearing that the Sea Viper had somehow secretly fused with Zerg genes, skyrocketing his cultivation all the way to the peak of the Spirit Channeling Realm, Nguyen Hung Cuong felt his internal organs churning violently as he clicked his tongue in amazement.
With Somsak’s combat power at that level, had he joined forces with the two Eternal Society cultists from the very beginning, Vuong Minh and his group would unquestionably have died.
Fortunately…
fortunately the opponent had intentionally concealed himself, otherwise it would have been a catastrophe.
Nguyen Hung Cuong also felt a surge of self-blame welling up inside him; it was entirely his fault for picking this dangerous mission for his nephew, nearly plunging all three of them into an unrecoverable abyss.
The anger of a Meridian Opening Realm powerhouse wasn’t so easily suppressed.
Poor old Som was in for another round of brutal torment.
Anyway, since the commotion caused here was so massive, they still had to wait for local law enforcement to arrive and handle official business, giving everyone plenty of time to sit back and listen to Sea Viper undergo interrogation.
Slowly, guided by the loose-lipped nature of that scumbag, the little group finally grasped the entire sequence of events.
As it turned out, right from the very beginning, everything had been part of his plan.
Somsak was the one who had intentionally leaked information to lure Viet Nation police over here, while simultaneously contacting the Eternal Society to claim he had a treasure he wished to trade.
That antique-looking leather pouch Somsak had fished out earlier was the exact resource those two cultists had brought along to trade with him.
Yet they certainly never expected that Somsak—who had long maintained covert ties with the Eternal Society, treating himself as an outer-circle member who could officially join the inner fold after this operation—had actually turned traitor long ago.
Driven by a desperate craving to advance his cultivation, he had secretly surrendered to the Truth Church and received the descent of the Truth.
Somsak had fused with the genes of a Black-Armored Bug, a Zerg species possessing a shell harder than steel and terrifying regenerative abilities.
Thanks to this fusion, his true cultivation was long past the fifth stage, already reaching the Ninth Stage of the Spirit Channeling Realm.
His objective today was none other than playing one last hand to pull off a black-on-black heist.
He had intended to slaughter all the Eternal Society members, pin the blame on the Viet Nation police, let the two sides tear each other apart like dogs, while he himself faked his death and slipped away into the shadows of the Truth Church carrying all the spoils.
From then on, he would live unrestrained and joyful, seeking a chance to break through to the Meridian Opening Realm or even higher tiers, stepping right onto the peak of human existence.
His scheme had indeed been brilliantly laid out, but unfortunately, he failed to account for the divine calculation of Queen Mother Vuong, getting caught red-handed on the spot.
Without a word, Nguyen Hung Cuong picked up the tiny black needle belonging to the villain.
Puff!!!
He unleashed a formidable surge of divine consciousness, shattering Somsak’s spiritual imprint to smithereens.
The Sea Viper immediately suffered backlash, coughing up another massive mouthful of blood.
Yet with the Black-Armored Bug genes sustaining him, he wasn’t going to die so easily, so nobody needed to pay him any mind.
Nguyen Hung Cuong carefully inspected the black needle, nodding in a low voice after a few moments:
This Nether Soul Soul-Destroying Needle magic artifact contains a massive amount of Soul-Destroying Iron, which explains why the Eternal Society valued it so much.
Sea Viper, where is the Soul-Destroying Iron ore vein?
Confess honestly, and we might still spare you a chance.”
“Heh, heh…”
Somsak wore a haggard, wretched expression as he shook his head miserably:
“There isn’t one!
I only obtained a tiny bit of it from the Truth Church and fabricated a story about a Soul-Destroying Iron ore vein to lure the Eternal Society in.
There isn’t any mine here at all.”
His attitude was extremely sincere and cooperative, except Nguyen Hung Cuong simply refused to believe him and prepared to press forward with harsher interrogation.
Noticing the dangerous glint in the older man’s eyes, Somsak panicked frantically:
“Milord, I really didn’t lie!
If there were a Soul-Destroying Iron ore vein, wouldn’t I have secretly gone to mine it and become a billionaire myself?
Why would I risk my life joining the Truth Church, ending up neither human nor ghost like this?
Please exercise your clear judgment, Milord!
Whatever else you want to know, this lowly one will hand over completely!”
Looks like the Sea Viper was still a snake after all—its spine just couldn’t stay stiff.
Vuong Minh couldn’t care less about his affairs, throwing all his attention instead onto the so-called Soul-Destroying Iron.
Rare treasures and precious ores were Chairman Vuong’s absolute favorite things:
“Uncle, can you lend me that magic artifact called the Nether Soul Soul-Destroying Needle to take a look at?”
Without a shred of suspicion, his uncle cheerfully tossed the flying needle over to him while dragging Somsak off elsewhere to continue their heart-to-heart chat.
The moment the flying needle touched his hand, Vuong Minh felt his divine soul subjected to a stabbing, swelling numbness.
Uncle Binh gently advised from the side:
“Young Master, be careful.
Soul-Destroying Iron inflicts massive damage on the divine soul; don’t let it injure you.”
Halfway through his sentence, the old man suddenly remembered that his young master had just been struck directly by one of those needles, and hastily inquired:
“Young Master, you were hit by the flying needle—is your injury not causing any major problems?”
“Haha, Uncle Binh can rest easy.
Perhaps my divine soul is stronger than an ordinary person’s, so it was just a moment of dizziness before recovering completely.
I haven’t noticed anything major.”
If he hadn’t relied on faith value to nourish his soul, this bastard would probably have been bedridden for ten days to a half-month, rather than standing here laughing.
But Uncle Binh didn’t know that.
Seeing his expression appear completely normal, he smiled in relief:
“Must be!
Though Soul-Destroying Iron is somewhat dangerous, it is simultaneously a rare wondrous item that helps temper the divine soul.
If used correctly, it can greatly boost a martial artist’s divine sense and expand their divine soul.
Young Master, after resting for a couple of days, you’ll likely notice the difference.”
It even has that function?
Chairman Vuong’s eyes lit up even brighter.
Unobtrusively, he slipped the Nether Soul Soul-Destroying Needle into his chest pocket, secretly instructing the Violet Star to break it down while maintaining casual small talk with Uncle Binh on the surface:
“Uncle Binh, what on earth are this Eternal Society and Truth Church?
Are they very dangerous?”
Instantly, Uncle Binh’s expression turned graver than ever before.