Chapter Fourteen: Awakening the Body of Nine Tribulations

The fortress was eerily silent. After the recent battle, more than a hundred of Qi Tianba's followers had been slaughtered by Chu Jie, and almost all had fled. Nearby, Granny Yu's corpse still lay upon the ground, her chest blown open, her face unrecognizable.

"Qi Wei! Please, let nothing happen to you!" Chu Jie prayed inwardly, stepping into the stronghold.

Qi Tianba's room was barely ajar. When Chu Jie pushed open the door, he felt as if his whole being had exploded.

Stunned as if struck by lightning, Chu Jie froze in place, his eyes instantly bloodshot. "No! No!"

Deep within the room, Qi Wei's clothing had been torn to shreds. Her face was filled with terror, her arms broken from struggling. Bloody handprints marred her chest, and below, a crimson stain spread. Her eyes were vacant, her body discarded upon the floor.

Just satisfied, Lord Lin sat nearby, his face twisted in a cruel smile as he sipped his tea. Bloody fingerprints from Qi Wei still marked his clothing.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Chu Jie murmured, "Qi Wei... is dead... Lin Pohu! You bastard!"

Lord Lin turned, sneering, "Chu Jie, look, I've killed Qi Wei. What can you do to me?"

Suddenly, Lord Lin's aura surged, sweeping across the entire room like a tempest.

Seeing Chu Jie's ragged appearance, Lord Lin disdainfully shook his head and took another sip of tea. "Chu Jie, I offer you one last chance. Submit to me, and I will spare your life. Let bygones be bygones. What do you say?"

"Qi Wei is gone... gone from this world forever..." With bloodshot eyes, Chu Jie abruptly raised his head, ignoring the pain that tore through his body. Grabbing the sword beside him, he swung it fiercely toward Lord Lin.

"Lin Pohu! I will tear you to pieces!"

Chu Jie's clothes whipped about him, his body leaping like a dragon as he swept toward Lord Lin.

"Hmph! Ignorant fool!" Lord Lin raised his hand; the tea in his cup transformed into three thumb-sized water blades, shattering Chu Jie's sword aura and hurtling toward him.

Bang!

Chu Jie, mid-leap, was struck and thrown back.

Lord Lin rose to his feet. "An ant trying to shake an elephant—a fool's errand!"

Chu Jie spat blood, the agony of his Ninth Stage body still tormenting him, curling him into a ball. A burning heat surged from his core, as if his whole body were about to ignite. His clothes dried instantly, wisps of white smoke rising from him.

Lord Lin failed to notice the changes within Chu Jie's body and strode forward. "I've played with countless women in this outer city. In Black City, only the strong rule; what place is there for justice?"

"You? You're nothing but an insect!" Lord Lin scoffed.

He kicked Chu Jie, sending him flying several meters. Yet Chu Jie's eyes burned red, his core ablaze, smoke billowing from his head.

"Hmph!" Lord Lin swept his sleeve, casting a beam of light—had it struck, it would have torn Chu Jie apart!

Boom!

Suddenly, Chu Jie erupted with a formidable aura. His long hair billowed wildly, his eyes glowing crimson.

"This is..." Lord Lin was slightly shocked.

Chu Jie felt his wrath fuse with the tribulation within his core, as if something had been unlocked.

A torrent of power surged within him, vast and overwhelming!

Staring at Qi Wei's ravaged body, Chu Jie let out a feral roar and punched at Lord Lin.

Chu Jie's body was like a barbarian dragon; the force of his punch created a sonic boom, striking Lord Lin directly.

Unbeknownst to Chu Jie, he had inadvertently awakened the Body of Nine Tribulations.

The Body of Nine Tribulations was infamous as the world's most useless physique, for its nine tribulations were almost impossible to survive, and cultivation brought little progress. Yet, this body possessed its nine tribulations precisely because it was so overwhelmingly powerful.

Even legendary physiques, sacred or spiritual, paled before the Body of Nine Tribulations.

Its might was nearly unmatched; at its peak, one's flesh could rival dragons.

Today, by accident, Chu Jie had fully unlocked the Body of Nine Tribulations within himself. The minor tribulation, boundless resentment, and the mysterious "Scroll of Reincarnation" all ignited his Ninth Stage body.

With a single punch, the space around him twisted violently, wild as a dragon.

"Die!" Chu Jie radiated a faint, oppressive aura, striking Lord Lin and shattering the spiritual shield that protected him. Lord Lin staggered back, astonished. "What is happening?!"

Chu Jie ignored him, sweeping his palm and launching another punch at Lord Lin.

Lord Lin stepped back, his hand flickering as a flaming long blade appeared in his grasp.

Bang! Flames swept the skies, clashing with Chu Jie's fist.

Boom! The flaming blade exploded, Chu Jie's fist slammed into Lord Lin's chest, sending him flying.

Chu Jie charged forward like a rampaging beast.

Lord Lin's eyes grew grave. A mass of light flickered in his palm, and a bolt of lightning shot toward Chu Jie. Chu Jie's hair whipped around him; he let the lightning strike his body.

Bang! The lightning exploded—Chu Jie remained unscathed.

"Impossible!" Lord Lin cried out in shock. That blow would have torn even Qi Tianba apart, let alone Chu Jie!

Yet Chu Jie stood unharmed.

A monster! Lord Lin's eyes twisted with fury. Lightning surged in his hands as he summoned all his spiritual energy, his face turning pale.

"Thunder Dragon's Roar!" With a ferocious expression, Lord Lin thrust his palm forward, unleashing a lightning dragon as thick as a barrel toward Chu Jie.

Blood gleamed in Chu Jie's eyes; flames ignited on his fists.

The path of cultivation is to defy heaven!

A thunder dragon? Chu Jie would blast it apart!

A fierce light burned in Chu Jie's eyes. With a roar, he punched forward.

The space before him stilled under the force of his blow; the lightning dragon collided with Chu Jie's fist.

Boom!

Qi Tianba's encampment shattered in an instant! The lightning dragon exploded, and Chu Jie charged forward like a mammoth.

Bang! The stunned Lord Lin was punched high into the sky. Chu Jie seized him by the hair and slammed him into the ground, gouging a massive pit in the earth.

Lord Lin groaned in agony.

"Return Qi Wei's life!" Chu Jie leaped, stomping on Lord Lin's groin.

"Ah!!" Lord Lin howled in pain, a foul stench rising. Remembering Qi Wei's suffering, Chu Jie's eyes reddened as he smashed Lord Lin's shoulder with his fist.

Bang! Lord Lin's shoulder shattered under Chu Jie's blow.

The furious power of the Ninth Stage body was overwhelming, its blood like a wild dragon.

Lord Lin fainted from pain. Chu Jie, ruthless, punched again, blasting a hole through Lord Lin's core.

Now Lord Lin was utterly crippled. Chu Jie grabbed both his legs.

Jolted awake by the pain, Lord Lin pleaded, "Chu Jie... what are you doing... don't kill me... if you do, the Luo family will never forgive you."

Seeing Chu Jie unmoved, Lord Lin grew desperate, "Chu Jie... as long as you spare me, I'll give you treasures, spirit herbs! Please... don't kill me!"

A savage light flashed in Chu Jie's eyes. "He who kills shall be killed. Too late!"

With a forceful wrench, he tore Lord Lin's body in two.

Blood and flesh splattered everywhere.

Chu Jie kicked aside the remains, then entered the room, wrapping Qi Wei's body in a bedsheet.

He buried Granny Yu and Qi Wei together in the pit he'd gouged in the ground.

Staring at Qi Wei's body, Chu Jie felt an unbearable heaviness. Here, even weakness was a crime...

If only he had power, perhaps everything could have changed!

He remembered the trouble he'd stirred with the Luo family of the outer city, and the old man's command to slay the Wang family's descendant...

A steely resolve flashed in Chu Jie's eyes. Strength! He must have strength—to avoid being bullied, to protect himself... and those he wished to protect!

Become stronger!

"Chu Jie... you actually killed... Lord Lin..." Unable to bear seeing his niece ravaged by Lord Lin, Qi Tianba finally returned. Seeing Lord Lin torn apart by Chu Jie, he trembled as he spoke.

Chu Jie suddenly turned, his crimson eyes making Qi Tianba's legs weak.

"You won't escape either!" Chu Jie leapt, swooping toward Qi Tianba like a great roc.