RNP Page 22
Page 22
Yue Fei was poor and couldn't afford so much money. Seeing his fellow disciples presenting farewell gifts to Liu Hong one by one, his face turned red with embarrassment. In the end, he grabbed Liu Hong's hands and led him into the shadows.
"Junior brother, this journey is dangerous, please be careful."
Yue Fei sighed, knowing it was time to part. He looked at Liu Hong with reluctance, as if he had made up his mind, and his eyes shone with golden light.
The next second, Liu Hong discovered that spiderweb-like cracks had suddenly appeared on the skin of his back, and a dazzling golden light flowed beneath the cracks like molten lava. The flesh and blood on his back surged and rippled like a raging storm, and then rapidly expanded like a balloon!
"Tsk!!!"
With two sounds of tearing flesh and ripping cloth, two bone wings cast from molten gold pierced through the shoulder blades, scattering shreds of cloth and blood in the air, which then coalesced into dazzling fragments of crimson gold. The bones grew at a visible speed, each extension carrying the luster of flowing liquid metal, until at the tip of the wing bones, a crescent-shaped blade suddenly lashed out.
Thousands upon thousands of quills burst forth from the main bone like silkworm cocoons, followed by tens of thousands of gilded feathers blooming in succession. The lowest downy feathers gleamed with the mottled patterns of gold tempering, while the most pointed feathers possessed the cold brilliance of a newly forged sword. Under the sunlight, the pair of gilded wings sometimes resembled molten lava surging, and sometimes the breaking of dawn. When the last blade-shaped feather clattered back into place, the entire pair of wings unfurled with a thunderous roar, the resulting shockwave distorting the light within a ten-meter radius into flowing gold foil.
I grew golden-winged roc wings just like Yue Fei's?
“Junior brother, your dragon blood ability may seem weak, but your potential is even greater than mine! You know my family situation, so I really don’t have anything to give you. I will become your psionic companion! Consider this [Golden-Winged Roc] ability as my farewell gift.”
Liu Hong stared blankly at Yue Fei. As the only two dragons in Qilin Village, the two of them had spent a lot of time figuring out how to trigger each other's dragon blood abilities over the past year. Yue Fei also knew the conditions and consequences of triggering his [Spiritual Power Domination], but he was still willing to become his soul-linked companion to greatly increase his strength.
[Liu Hong] (Dragon)
Level 5 (Level 1 Mind Mage + Level 2 Wanderer + Level 2 Blade Master)
Life 55, Psionic 5+5
Strength 22, Agility 12, Constitution 20
Intelligence 24, Perception 12, Charisma 18
攻击命中：12（2任侠+2战刃+6力量+2金翅大鹏）
Physical Defense: 16 (+10 base +5 dragon hatchling scales +1 agility)
Magic Resistance: 25 (+12 base +5 character level +8 double charm adjustment)
[Pan Jinlian - Qingqiu Fox Blessing]: Gain 21 Magic Resistance (+12 Base +5 Level +4 Charisma)
[Li Cunxiao - Blue Dragon Breaker]: Increases size by one level, Strength +2, Constitution +2. Gains 5 points of Physical Defense (Hatchling Dragon Scales +5), and is immune to lightning.
[Yue Fei - Golden-Winged Roc]: Strength +2, Agility +2, Intelligence +2, Charisma +2. Attack Accuracy +2, Weapon Damage +2, Armor Penetration Damage +2 (equivalent to 1/2 character level). Also possesses flight ability at 200 km/h, perfect maneuverability, and triple speed and damage during dives and charges.
Perhaps Yue Fei's dragon blood ability was too special, and he couldn't take it all away. The bonus effect of each attribute was only half of Yue Fei's, but this bonus was still quite terrifying. Liu Hong tried to flap his wings, and with the howling wind, he really took off. All his physical functions and qualities also rose steadily under the blessing of Yue Fei's dragon power!
Pan Jinlian grants me strong magic resistance, Li Cunxiao grants me strong physical defense, and with Yue Fei's high-speed mobility and combat abilities, plus the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear and Flying Dragon Staff Techniques taught to me by my master, my combat stats are now extremely terrifying! Even if I were to encounter Suo Chao again, I'm confident I could fight him for ten rounds!
"Senior brother, thank you for this wonderful gift!"
Liu Hong bowed and thanked him excitedly. The two hit it off and decided to go directly to the Guan Yu Temple outside the village to swear an oath of brotherhood, making the most solemn and sacred blood oath of the era.
From today onwards, you call me senior brother, and I'll call you elder brother. We'll address each other by our own titles! We don't ask to be born on the same day, month, and year, but we do ask to die on the same day, month, and year.
Liu Hong also secretly made up his mind: once I rob the birthday gifts, I will go to Liangshan to establish my own territory, gradually develop and expand my power, and one day I will surely be able to reverse the future!
The author says:
Author's Note: Four chapters and 10,000 words released! 888 monthly votes! Five chapters when it reaches 900!
Chapter 42: Gathering Heroes and the Great Sage of Chaos to Join in a Grand Event (900 Monthly Tickets, 5th Chapter!!!)
The group had a final meal together in Qilin Village, and everyone enjoyed themselves. Afterwards, the family of five, who had stayed there for a year and a half, boarded their fishing boat again after a warm farewell from the villagers.
At this moment, Liu Hong could already wield the thirty-pound iron rod perfectly. Moreover, this thing was only two meters long, making it easy to carry. So he used it as his main weapon, with a wooden crossbow and a waist knife hanging on his waist.
Wu Song replaced his long weapon with a broadsword that Liu Hong had obtained, and carried two steel swords at his waist as spares.
As for Pan Jinlian and Li Cunxiao, their weapons were their own tails, dragon scales, and dragon claws; they did not need any other weapons.
The group packed their belongings onto the boat. Wu Song held the oar and gently pushed it, and the entire fishing boat shot towards Daming Prefecture like an arrow. Liu Hong flapped his huge gilded wings, while Li Cunxiao flapped his dragon wings with blue scales and yellow membranes. They soared in the sky, practicing and familiarizing themselves with their flying abilities.
"Oh dear, you're not flying right like that, brother, you're so clumsy! Keep your body flat in the air, don't stand upright! This is flying, not walking! Flying upright creates too much air resistance. Just imagine you're swimming in the sky, flap your wings! You're going to fall!"
After discovering that his brother couldn't fly at all, Li Cunxiao got really excited. He flew around Liu Hong noisily, instructing his brother on how to fly, like a butterfly fluttering around flowers. The cobalt blue scales shimmered coldly in the clouds, showing off his abilities. The two of them were like dazzling shooting stars of blue and gold, soaring in the azure sky.
Suddenly, Li Cunxiao sensed something, but he didn't say anything. He watched with a wicked smile as Liu Hong crashed into a gust of air, immediately lost his balance, and flew out of the air like a kite with a broken string. He struggled for a long time before finally falling headfirst to the ground.
Realizing he had gone too far, Li Cunxiao rushed over to save Liu Hong, letting him lie on his dragon's back to stop the fall.
"You need to learn to sense the wind direction and airflow! Then use the airflow to fly. Dragons use their dorsal fins to sense strong winds, and birds use their feathers to test airflow. Try it, try it!"
Li Cunxiao turned his head and deliberately exhaled a stream of static electricity close to Liu Hong's ear.
Liu Hong calmed down and discovered that the tip feathers of the golden-winged roc did indeed have a very high sensitivity, like a cat's whiskers or an insect's tentacles, allowing him to sense changes in wind direction. Combined with some flying techniques taught by Yue Fei and Li Cunxiao, it wasn't too difficult to learn. On the way from Qilin Village to Daming Prefecture, he had already learned how to fly.
When it stops, a pair of gilded wings that blot out the sky can also retract and fold behind it. They are ridiculously large. It is currently 2.4 meters tall, and the length of the two wings is 2.5 meters each. When fully spread, the wingspan is 5 meters, which is quite astonishing.
After arriving in Daming Prefecture, the family of five continued to stay at Zhu Gui's hotel. Seeing Wu Song and Liu Hong return, Zhu Gui immediately beamed with joy.
"Oh my, have you decided, brother and sister? Are you going to take this big order? Hey? What incredible opportunity has Brother Liu Hong encountered? Such dazzling golden wings have grown on his back?"
Zhu Gui approached cautiously and asked tentatively.
"Can I touch it? It's so pretty."
"can."
Liu Hong nodded, and Zhu Gui immediately stroked the golden feathers with curiosity, praising their soft texture.
"I have indeed had some fortuitous encounters recently, and I'll take on the birthday tribute mission without any problem! However, no matter how strong they are, it's impossible for just a few of us to intercept the birthday tribute mission."
Liu Hong stared into Zhu Gui's eyes.
"You tell me, this matter has stirred up the bandits under Daming Prefecture. Who else would be willing to join us in this?"
“Many leaders are willing to do this, but if you take them out individually, none of them can accomplish such a great thing. If they are to unite, none of them will submit to each other. Therefore, we need to bring together some powerful leaders first.”
Zhu Gui analyzed the current situation for the group.
"Currently, in the underground of Daming Prefecture, there are two Ghost Fanlou restaurants that are the largest: Du Qian who touches the sky and Song Wan who stands in the clouds."
"Du Qian is from Youzhou, a Khitan cannibal, and a rare two-headed cannibal at that. She is exceptionally tall, reaching up to four meters! She is taller than her older brother and sister, and her nickname in the martial arts world is 'Touching the Sky.' She is extremely strong, but her agility is very poor. She committed murder in the Liao Dynasty and fled all the way to the Song Dynasty, thinking that she was safe now."
Unexpectedly, the Liao Dynasty demanded the murderer be handed over to the Song Dynasty, and the officials actually intended to capture her and send her to Liao. Forced into a corner, she fled into the underworld, relying on her own skills to make her way in the criminal underworld, smuggling people between Liao and Song, and providing protection for cannibals like herself who had committed crimes in Liao and fled to Song territory. She now commands about twenty cannibals, and like her, they all possess a demon, the abilities of which are unknown.
Zhu Gui handed over two wanted posters, each depicting a woman.
"Song Wan was a local of Daming Prefecture. She was also very tall and strong, standing at least two meters tall. I remember that her family's land was seized by a landlord, resulting in the destruction of her family. She could only work in the city to make a living. Unexpectedly, the workshop owner lusted after her and wanted to rape her. As a result, Song Wan fought back and accidentally killed him. She then fled to Gui Fanlou."
Later, by chance, she became a henchman for a pharmacy owner, smuggling and selling medicinal herbs that were prohibited from sale by the authorities. She commanded nearly a hundred men, all of whom worshipped the Void Sun Rat, one of the Twenty-Eight Mansions—this star deity was truly powerful. Song Wan and her men possessed the ability to communicate with rats and even transform into them. Although their combat strength was mediocre, their sphere of influence was vast. Every rat on the ground could potentially be their informant.
Not only that, Song Wan also kept a demon under the command of the God of War, a Gore beast that could transform into a gorilla-like creature, hence her nickname "Cloud Vajra."
Liu Hong nodded, memorizing the appearances of the two leaders. "I remember, when Chao Gai started intercepting the birthday gifts next June, Ruan Xiaoer complained that a group of thieves had recently come to Liangshan and wouldn't let them fish anymore."
It seems that the first generation of Liangshan, led by Wang Lun, will only be formed next year. Right now, these Liangshan veterans are still hiding underground in Daming Prefecture.
"Now, we need to persuade the two leaders of Ghost Fanlou, along with about a hundred rats and twenty cannibals, to join us?"
Wu Song was eager to fight.
“That’s right, they are capable, but they are definitely not as good as their older brother and sister, so they are nothing to be afraid of! The real trouble is some other people—in this Daming Prefecture, I’m not the only one responsible for gathering intelligence from both the legitimate and underworld circles. There are also some people who want to steal the birthday gifts. I haven’t figured out their background yet. They seem to be a spellcaster with some magical counter-surveillance methods. My crocodile can’t infiltrate them.”
Zhu Gui offered a subtle reminder.
"Oh, right, there's something I need to tell you. When you're traveling the world, you need a prestigious name. Otherwise, you'll always lose in terms of presence."
Liu Hong thought about it carefully, looked at his own pair of golden wings, and wanted to take the name Golden-Winged Roc, but felt that it would take away Yue Fei's nickname, so he settled for second best and used another word to refer to the Golden-Winged Roc.
"Just call me the Great Sage Who Conquers Heaven, Liu Hong!"
The author says:
Author's Note: Bonus chapter for 900 monthly votes~ More bonus chapters for 1000 monthly votes~
Chapter 43: Demons Dance Wildly in Daming Prefecture
After deciding on a nickname, Zhu Gui's eyes lit up and a plan came to mind. He began to work on the three-family alliance. In no time, Du Qian, who was touching the sky, and Song Wan, who was like a golden man in the clouds, both received Zhu Gui's message and were surprised by it.
"Dear sister! What news did you see that surprised you so much?"
Deep within an exceptionally vast ghost tower, the stench of roasted meat and sweat condensed into a sticky mist. More than twenty enormous, burly mountains of flesh writhed in the flickering light of torches, filling the enormous space to capacity.
There were twenty Khitan cannibals, each three or four meters tall. Their massive muscles and greasy fat, layered beneath their wheat-colored skin, formed fleshy towers. They sat around a campfire, the firelight still illuminating the grassland totem tattoos on their bodies, as well as the branding marks of Han Chinese criminals.
"Tsk, interesting. That little girl, Drought Crocodile, invited us to rob the birthday tribute."
Forget about that damned quack! Give me the wine!!!
A two-headed female ogre, taller than an ordinary ogre but with a slender, graceful figure (by ogre standards), sat on a stone throne in the cave.
The head on her left was clearly in charge, controlling her giant, tall body, and trying to read a letter. The extra head on her right was in a worse state; it could only open its mouth and babble, and couldn't do anything else. Right now, it was howling and wailing in a hoarse voice because it couldn't get any wine.
The left head, annoyed by the noise, held a letter in one hand and picked up a wine cup with the other to feed its second head. The murky wine poured from the earthenware jar flowed down its sharp fangs and wheat-colored skin.
"Huh? Birthday gifts?! No way, no way!"
Several burly, obese ogres sat beneath him, shaking their heads repeatedly. Their massive, triple-layered chins rippled with a brownish-yellow hue in the firelight.
"The birthday tribute is indeed a tempting prize, but it's so big it could choke us! How could we, a mere twenty or so cannibals, possibly succeed?"
"However, that guy from the dry land said that she had invited three powerful outsiders, namely Wu Song, Liu Hong, and Li Cunxiao, who had been making waves at Gui Fan Lou during this period."
Are these three family members? Three people, three different surnames! How amazing!
Du Qian hesitated for a moment before touching her left head. Her arms were extremely long, even extending past her knees. Even though this Ghost Fanlou was dug and enlarged based on the physique of an ogre, the act of scratching her head caused the back of her hand to brush against the rock wall of the top floor, raising a wisp of dust.
On the right side of her head, even drinking couldn't shut her up; she continued to chatter incessantly.
"What's even stranger is that the Dry Land Crocodile said that Song Wan, the Cloud Vajra from the Ghost Fanlou next door, has agreed to join the plan!"
"If we brothers don't join, those three groups will just do it themselves! They'll ignore us! Then Song Wan's gang of rats will grow incredibly powerful and overwhelm us—brothers, if the four of us unite, do you think we can steal this ill-gotten gain?!"
【Yes! Yes! Smash them to death! Burn them to death!!!】
Du Qian ignored the endless chatter of her right head and hesitantly calculated the balance of power and interests. The twenty ogres were also confused, counting on their fingers, plunging the huge cave into silence. Only her second head was still arguing back and forth.
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In another Ghost Fanlou, two eerie green lights flickered and swayed in the dim cave. A four-toed rat's claws crushed the eye sockets of a withered bone, leaving a string of its own claw prints on the damp soil. When the large rat with slick fur crawled through the hidden rat hole and entered Ghost Fanlou, it underwent an extremely terrifying transformation.
"Boom!"
The sound of flesh bursting, mixed with a pungent smell of sulfur, exploded outwards. The enormous rat's body, the size of a kitten, convulsed violently in the eerie green phosphorescent light. Its tail seemed to be kneaded and stretched by an invisible hand, and the cracking sound of its spine expanding segment by segment was like bamboo shoots breaking through a bluestone slab! Its glossy fur faded into a sticky, asphalt-like substance, constantly dripping down its newly grown, pale skin, covering the filthy, pitted ground.
The sharp incisors were still opening and closing, clicking and tapping against the gradually forming cherry-like mouth; the bulging, eerie green rat eyes were being swallowed by the bluish-gray whites, and when the pupils contracted to pinpoints, two turbid tears splashed out.
As the last tuft of fur from the rat's ears melted into its jawline, the enormous rat, the size of a kitten, transformed into a tall, delicate woman. Her eyes emitted a terrifying emerald green light in the darkness, and her dark jade-colored tail suddenly coiled into two spirals on her porcelain-white thighs, resembling, at first glance, a pair of dark jade leg rings presented as tribute from the Western Regions.
Inside the cave, there were dozens of small emerald green lamps, flickering in and out of the darkness, like emerald green stars in the night sky. With the help of these dim lights, one could barely make out some pale faces that resembled both humans and rats—these emerald green lamps were all the eyes of the rat-men.
"Boss, boss, you said you were going to retrieve some important intelligence, what did you say? Is it something urgent?"
Dozens of eerie green eyes focused simultaneously on the woman who had just transformed from a rat into a human.
"That guy, Drought Crocodile, actually invited us to rob the birthday tribute."
Song Wan frowned as he sat on the throne inside the cave and told his underlings the information he had just received.
"Is she crazy? The birthday tribute is a gift from Liang Zhongshu to Grand Tutor Cai. It must be under the highest level of protection in Daming Prefecture. Even if the Dry Land Crocodile joins in, the two of us combined can't rob it!"
"I thought Zhu Gui was a pretty shrewd woman, but now she seems like a madwoman?"
"Boss, you absolutely mustn't join! I know it's incredibly tempting, and a lot of people are itching to get in, but we can't handle it all on our own! Yes! Yes!"
Several rat-men immediately objected.
"No, the Dry Land Crocodile is not crazy."
Song Wan shook his head, rejecting his subordinate's judgment.
"First of all, she brought in powerful outside help, namely the family of Wu Song, Liu Hong, and Li Cunxiao, who had risen to fame in the underground world of Daming Prefecture that year."
"Secondly, the cannibals led by Du Qian next door... they actually agreed to join us, and said that if we don't go, they'll do it themselves! What the hell, Du Qian actually agreed?! If we don't go this time, Du Qian's gang of cannibals will rapidly expand their power, and may even dominate the underworld, surpassing us!"
Song Wan's words silenced the group of ratmen, who began to calculate the balance of power and the issue of interests.
But neither Du Qian nor Song Wan expected that this was all part of Zhu Gui's plan. She told Du Qian that Song Wan had already decided to join, and then told Song Wan that Du Qian had already decided to join. This was all to greatly strengthen their resolve to join. If she could unite the two largest underground forces in Daming Prefecture, and with her, along with Wu Song and Liu Hong's family, their chances of intercepting the birthday tribute would greatly increase!
"Let's do it! I remember a few days ago, a group of merchants from Tanzhou came to our master's pharmacy. The leader's surname is Lü. I've met her once; she's quite capable in combat. A few days ago, there was a torrential rain on the Yellow River, and their boat capsized, spilling all their goods into the river. Many people also drowned. Now they've lost everything and are desperate. These penniless merchant girls will do anything for money. Let's go! Ask her if she'd like to join us! Let's strengthen our forces!"
Finally, Song Wan, the mastermind behind the Black Gloves pharmacy in Daming Prefecture, gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and led the rat horde to join the group. The hundred or so rats in the darkness immediately began to rustle with laughter and approval, and countless pairs of emerald green eyes shone with a fanatical glow in the darkness.
"Let's do it! That's 100,000 strings of silver! We might as well take it!!! A few days ago, the Yellow River had a torrential downpour that drowned a group of mercury traders who were going from Jialing in Sichuan to Youzhou in Liaodong to sell mercury, right? The leader's surname is Guo. All their goods were overturned, and they suffered heavy casualties. Now they've lost all their capital and are desperate. They even asked me if I had any connections to make a fortune in Liaodong. I think these people are desperate for money. We can bring them along to bolster our reputation!"
【One hundred thousand! One hundred thousand! 】