Starforce Warriors-Chapter 547: Finally Emerged

The Rock Solid Special Operations Squad members were martial arts prodigies who had been carefully selected by the Jiepeng Royal Family. They were death warriors forged through countless resources and grueling trials of life and death.

It was said that the royal family had once deployed Rock Solid Squad members into Great Xia territory. Their mission included intelligence gathering and assassinations of Great Xia martial artists. In less than six months, they had assassinated over eighty Great Xia hardline officials and warriors, earning the notorious title of The Blade That Slays Xia.

Captain Asuka Sai and Vice-Captain Tōri Mika were known to have secretly competed in killing Great Xia martial artists. Ultimately, Asuka Sai had claimed victory with a staggering 236 kills, just three more than Tōri Mika. Both were heralded as national combat heroes, and had received royal commendations across the empire.

"Great Xia dogs," Asuka Sai sneered, drawing his infamous blade that was said to have slain over two hundred men. His face lit up with excitement.

He grinned savagely. "I feed this blade every day with the blood of Great Xia dogs. But it hasn’t tasted the blood of a true Great Xia master for one hundred and ten days. Today, I wil-"

Smack!

Before he could finish, a slap landed squarely on his face. The monkey-masked figure moved with lightning speed and his strikes were as heavy as a collapsing mountain.

Asuka Sai didn’t even register what had happened before he was sent sprawling to the ground. Half of his face was reduced to a mangled, bloody mess. Before he could react, a devastating punch struck his abdomen.

“Urgh...”

Asuka Sai’s body was sent flying with a muffled groan, the power armor on his back shattering instantly under the impact.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In an instant, countless punches rained down on Asuka Sai's body. The strikes fell like a torrential downpour as blow after blow landed in rapid succession. It was over in a flash.

Asuka Sai’s body was like a discarded sack as it was repeatedly flung into the air and slammed back to the ground. Never in his life had he imagined that, as a quasi-Saint-level warrior, he would one day lose control of his own body.

Bang!

The final punch sent Asuka Sai hurtling through the air until he met a nearby stone wall. The impact left the wall caved in, with cracks spiderwebbing outward in all directions. His mangled body had been driven deep into the wall.

Puff, puff, puff.

Thin lines of blood mist sprayed from his broken body, forming exactly two hundred and thirty-six distinct streaks. This number matched the exact number of Great Xia lives Asuka Sai had taken. Li Xiaofei had delivered precisely two hundred and thirty-six punches, one for each of his victims.

The sheer force of the strikes reduced Asuka Sai’s body to a ruined husk. His lifeless form slid from the wall and hit the ground with a sickening plop. Nearby, Zhou Rulong stood frozen, not daring to make the slightest movement.

Li Xiaofei approached the fallen Dragon Scale and his companions. He calmly infused them with the warming inner qi of the Dual Sacred Body of Blade and Sword. The potent super-anesthetic coursing through their bodies was purified and expelled in an instant.

"Thank you, my friend," Dragon Scale expressed his gratitude immediately as he sprang to his feet.

Li Xiaofei nodded silently and approached Tan Zhenwei. Something about Tan Zhenwei seemed off. When he had stepped out of the armored hovercar earlier, he had seemed spirited and alert. But now, his expression was vacant and he was standing stiffly. It was as if his soul had dissipated. No wonder he had remained unresponsive during the chaos of the earlier battles. A sense of foreboding crept into Li Xiaofei's heart.

He softly called out a few times. But Tan Zhenwei remained unresponsive, his gaze vacant, showing no reaction to the world around him. With a frown, Li Xiaofei channeled his inner qi to probe Tan Zhenwei's condition. Suddenly, his expression darkened.

He sensed a peculiar and disturbingly familiar energy within Tan Zhenwei's body. It was the aura of the Nether God Spear. The energy tied to the gods of subspace. The realization struck him like a thunderbolt.

He recalled what Mitsui Masao had mentioned earlier: that the Jiepeng Temple harbored a connection to the subspace entities, allowing these so-called gods to grant blessings, which were essentially a parasitic infusion of immense power. Tan Zhenwei had been imprisoned within that temple all along.

So, had Tan Zhenwei also been tainted by subspace energy? Or perhaps some kind of secret technique had been implanted within him?

The thought unsettled Li Xiaofei deeply. The purifying inner qi of the Dual Sacred Body of Blade and Sword was said to cleanse all foreign energies. Yet, when Li Xiaofei channeled it into Tan Zhenwei’s body, it had no effect whatsoever.

His heart sank. The energy of the subspace entities was clearly of a higher tier than his inner qi. This was a serious problem.

"This friend," Dragon Scale said politely, clasping his hands in respect. "Could you entrust him to us? He’s one of our people."

Li Xiaofei turned his gaze toward Dragon Scale.

“To give one’s life for the nation, to face death as if it were nothing.” He spoke softly. "I am also a member of the Dragon Group."

Dragon Scale’s eyes lit up and replied, "So, you’re one of us."

In truth, Dragon Scale was already aware of Li Xiaofei’s deeds in Urawa Base City, but there had been uncertainty about whether the Monkey was truly an ally. Thus, neither Dragon Scale nor San Zang had been able to trust him completely.

Li Xiaofei remained silent. He gestured and an invisible force pulled Zhou Rulong through the air toward him. After a quick but detailed scan, Li Xiaofei discovered that Zhou Rulong's body also carried traces of subspace energy. A thoughtful expression crossed his face.

Why do Tan Zhenwei and Zhou Rulong exhibit similar subspace energy signatures with comparable concentrations, yet Zhou Rulong seems completely normal, while Tan Zhenwei seems like his soul has been drained?

"What do you intend to do with him?" Li Xiaofei asked, pointing at Zhou Rulong.

Without hesitation, Dragon Scale replied, "Traitors like him must die."

Zhou Rulong’s face turned ashen, but he didn’t beg for mercy. He simply hung his head, resigned to his fate.

Li Xiaofei said, "Hand him over to me. He still holds some value for me."

Perhaps he could find clues to help save Tan Zhenwei by studying the subspace energy in Zhou Rulong.

Dragon Scale hesitated briefly before nodding. "Alright."

Whether or not the Monkey was truly a member of the Great Xia Dragon Group, his actions had shown tremendous goodwill toward their cause. Such a rare and powerful ally must be won over at all costs. Just as they were speaking...

Boom!

A terrifying roar of energy erupted around Kanzaki Palace. Not even three seconds later, a shockwave like an apocalyptic hurricane swept through the area, violently shaking the ground and engulfing everything in its path.

Dragon Scale and the others struggled to stay on their feet, stumbling backward under the force of the blast.

"That’s..." Electron Spark's pupils flickered in shock.

The explosion had come from the outer plaza near Kanzaki Palace. They were close to four kilometers away, but the intense shockwave had reached them in mere seconds.

What kind of battle is unfolding in the plaza? Could something have happened to San Zang?

As this thought crossed everyone’s mind...

Boom!

A massive fireball plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily into the ground just a hundred meters away. A web of fractures spread outward, forming a crater the size of a football field whose edges were jagged and sharply recessed. Surrounding buildings toppled like fragile blocks, collapsing with deafening roars.

A figure bounced out of the depths of the crater and tumbled five or six times on the ground before finally skidding to a halt at the mouth of an alley.

"It's Lord San Zang!" Electron Spark cried out in shock.

The fireball that had plummeted from the sky was none other than the rotund, fair-skinned San Zang, also known as Bajie. He had stayed behind in the outer plaza of Kanzaki Palace to intercept Akihito Gyokushitsu, the Blade Saint, one of the Four Saints of the Jiepeng Royal Family.

San Zang's chubby figure resembled a bouncing ball. His clothing was now nothing but tattered rags, and his pale skin was charred black, emanating an oddly appetizing aroma as if it had been roasted.

"Huh?" Bajie climbed to his feet and glanced around. "What are you all doing here? And you..."

His gaze landed on Li Xiaofei, still wearing his monkey mask.

"Lord San Zang, what happened to you?" Dragon Scale swallowed hard and asked nervously.

"Isn't it obvious?" Bajie replied, raising his left hand to reveal something he was holding. He smirked smugly. "I was showing off, of course. Recognize this head? It’s Akihito Gyokushitsu!"

The group froze in shock. When they focused on his hand, they realized he was holding a severed head that had been freshly torn from its body. It still had a blood-soaked scrap of a shoulder still attached.

But it was unmistakably the head of Akihito Gyokushitsu, the Blade Saint of the Jiepeng Royal Family’s Four Saints.

Tears welled up in the eyes of Dragon Scale and the others. This Blade Saint had been the one to brutally kill Fei Suo, the chief of the Great Xia Dragon Group's operations in Jiepeng. Worse still, Akihito had desecrated Fei Suo's remains, turning his severed head into a chamber pot, and had even captured Fei Suo's young daughter.

Now, their bitter enemy was dead, and vengeance had been served. At last, they could honor Fei Suo's spirit in peace.

"I told you, I can crush these idiots all by myself," Bajie said smugly, a wide grin spreading across his face.

Dragon Scale and the others let out a sigh of relief.

But then Bajie added, "Oh, by the way, there's something really important I forgot to mention."

"What is it?" Dragon Scale asked curiously.

"Run for your lives," Bajie said, winking mischievously.

Dragon Scale froze, confused by the sudden statement.

Bajie bared his teeth in a grimace and explained, "Someone even nastier just showed up."

Before his words could fully register, the sky above them darkened as it was engulfed by flames that looked like an inverted sea of blood. A short, stocky figure radiating overwhelming power stood in the middle of the ominous flames.

"Run!" Bajie yelled, his voice sharp with urgency. "It’s one of the monsters from the Temple. I can’t beat it!"

Dragon Scale and the others were left speechless.

Why didn’t he mention that earlier?

Bajie had been too busy showing off, and had left such a crucial detail unsaid until now. But was there even time to run anymore? They had already been marked as prey.

"Go!" Dragon Scale shouted firmly, his voice cutting through the tension.

At the same time, he glanced at Li Xiaofei. Li Xiaofei’s gaze was fixed on the stocky figure floating high in the sky, surrounded by the ominous, blood-like flames. He could sense an all-too-familiar aura of subspace energy emanating from the being.

So, this is one of the gods from the Jiepeng Temple?

His curiosity was piqued, but his sense of danger was also roused. This creature posed a threat that far surpassed the Saints.

"You all need to leave immediately," Li Xiaofei said in a low voice. "Take Lord Tan with you. I'll hold it off."

"That’s usually my line," Bajie interjected with a smirk. His charred, blackened skin flaked off rapidly, revealing fresh, pale skin underneath. "Monkey, why are you stealing my thunder?"

Li Xiaofei was speechless.

Is this really the time for such antics?

Even in such a dire moment, Bajie was concerned about stealing the spotlight. His codename, Bajie, truly couldn’t have been more fitting.

"Why are you still standing here? Take them and go!" Li Xiaofei glanced sharply at Dragon Scale.

Bajie added, "The Monkey and I will cover the rear. You take them and leave. Stick to the plan and rendezvous at the usual spot."

Dragon Scale nodded and led Tan Zhenwei and Zhou Rulong away, quickly disappearing into the distance.

Li Xiaofei reached into the Secret Time Pavilion and retrieved the Great Xia Dragon Group’s straight saber. He leaped into the air without a moment’s hesitation, and shot toward the hulking creature suspended in the sky.

"Be careful! That thing can’t be killed!" Bajie shouted after him.

At the same time, a swarm of figures began converging on them from all directions. Their faces were blank and devoid of expression. Their eyes glowed with a blood-red madness, radiating an eerie fanaticism. They moved like soulless husks, utterly stripped of humanity.

Bajie’s senses flared as he scanned the growing horde.

"Shit," he cursed loudly.

Those corrupted beings had finally emerged out in the open, without even a pretense of concealment.

"What the hell is wrong with the Jiepeng people?" He muttered to himself, his frustration boiling over. "Have they completely lost their minds?"