The three of them jumped out only after the six-armed general had left.
Eden, Wei Potian, and Zhao Yuying exchanged fierce glances but refrained from an actual fight. They didn’t really have the will to fight, either, after witnessing the scene from just now.
Eden pointed at Zhao Yuying and said in a deep voice, “If we meet again after three days, it’ll be the end of your life.”
Zhao Yuying laughed, “Brag on! Come and take this mommy’s head now if you’re capable!”
Eden snorted but ultimately decided against a verbal spar. He retreated slowly and faded into the depths of the forest.
Wei Potian watched Eden’s receding figure while scratching his head. “Are we letting him go just like that?”
Zhao Yuying smacked him on the head, saying, “What else can we do? We’ve already agreed to three days later, so even if we want to fight, it’ll be then. What kind of person do you think this mommy is? I keep my word!”
Wei Potian was still hesitant. “I think we had a good opportunity just now, we might not have such a good chance the next time we meet him. Back in the Far East battlefield, I would never pass on any opportunity. That was how I was taught by the elders of the clan. Now that we’ve let Eden go, perhaps he will become a calamity for the empire.”
“That’s a battlefield, naturally, it’s fine to do so. This place isn’t the same.”
Truth be told, Wei Potian didn’t feel anything different between the Great Maelstrom and the Far East battlefields. The only difference was that the Great Maelstrom was a clash of experts, while the other was a battle between armies. In terms of cruelty, however, the Great Maelstrom could only be superior. No expert entering this place would dare say he could escape alive.
Despite feeling that Zhao Yuying was just twisting words, Wei Potian still tried to persuade her patiently, “I just feel that we might be ambushed if we meet Eden again, even before the three days is up. If we’re too soft, there’s no telling how many Imperial experts will die in Eden’s hands. There’s no room for friendship between the Empire and Evernight.”
Zhao Yuying didn’t agree. “There’s no need to discuss great virtues when you can’t even keep up your personal morals. I’ll be the first to doubt your character.”
“Those are different things.”
“Of course they’re the same.”
“I’m not saying we should be immoral, but we need to look at who we’re dealing with! There’s no need to be righteous when dealing with the dark races.”
“Morality is morality, we agreed to hold three days, so we can’t go back on our words. This has nothing to do with race but with one’s integrity.”
The two argued for a good while without any conclusion. Actually, this kind of debate would never have a conclusion. Wei Potian shook his head helplessly and sighed. “Sigh, women…”
This made Zhao Yuying unhappy. “What about women? Brat, you weren’t even a recruit when this mommy was fighting through life and death on the battlefield!”
At the mention of this, Wei Potian raised his hand in defeat. “Okay Yuying, it’s my fault…”
Zhao Yuying became even more furious. “Don’t address me with such familiarity! Is Yuying for you to call? Don’t think anything can happen between us just because I lost my composure after some wine. Let me tell you, this mommy won’t take responsibility!”
Blushing hard, Wei Potian stammered, “That’s not what I meant. About yesterday, I also…”
Zhao Yuying shrugged. “Stop! Are you trying to say you were also in the wrong? Save your breath! Back then, I drank a bit too much and forced myself onto you. Do you think you can escape my claws with your meager skills? It’d make no difference even if you had resisted.”
Wei Potian’s face swelled red, and he wanted nothing more than to drill into the ground. It seemed the Thousand Mountains was useless no matter how high his cultivation of it was.
Zhao Yuying patted his shoulder. “Enough, no need to think too much about it. There are things one cannot help while roaming the world, things like this will happen sooner or later. You didn’t take that much of a loss with me. No matter what, you’re more or less one of mine in the future, so let me know if there’s anyone you can’t beat. I’ll blast him away.”
Wei Potian didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. “I…”
He had just uttered a single word when he was interrupted by Zhao Yuying. “I what? Don’t keep talking about this small thing all the time, it’s annoying. I only slept with you one day out of the three hundred and sixty-five in a year. What’s the big deal? Let me tell you, it’s useless no matter what you think. You can ask around after leaving this place how heartless this mommy was back in the year.”
Wei Potian was a well-experienced character, but he simply couldn’t deal with Zhao Yuying’s marketplace vulgarity. Who would’ve thought Duke You’s descendant and a genius of the Zhao clan would be such a person? Wei Potian was stopped so badly that he could hardly breathe, his heart filled with an inexplicable sensation. Disappointment and indignation burned in his entire being, mixed with a strong tinge of love. He wanted nothing more than to roar at the sky.
However, the six-armed general was still nearby, and howling at the moon would be no different from courting death. The stifling sensation was truly inexplicable.
Wei Potian forced himself to calm down, and then pointed at the direction of the native general. “Then let’s talk about something else, does your Zhao clan have records about that monster?”
Zhao Yuying replied seriously, “No, none at all. Besides, this mommy snuck out to join the Great Maelstrom. The clan doesn’t know about this, and I never looked at the core intelligence reports, either.”
Information regarding the Great Maelstrom had always been one of the clan’s most well-kept secrets. Those not entering the Maelstrom had no clearance to read them. Zhao Yuying was a pillar of the Duke You residence and normally wouldn’t be allowed to enter the Great Maelstrom. That was unless she was too weak and couldn’t cross the divine champion threshold on her own.
Wei Potian felt helpless. “Unfortunately, our Wei family has very little intelligence on the Great Maelstrom. I don’t know much, either.”
“What’s the point? We can just avoid things we can’t win against, right?”
Wei Potian replied, “It’s not that simple. This place has around six-times the gravity compared to the Empire. We might even be able to reach the charted area if we keep running for two more days. It’s definitely hard, but it’s not as if we can’t hold out here. So many experts from the Empire have entered to explore this place throughout the years, with no lack of people stronger than us. How had they never encountered this big fellow? There should be records if they had encountered such an unbeatable foe, but now there’s nothing at all.”
Zhao Yuying was baffled. “There are so many unexplored places in the Great Maelstrom, what are you getting at?”
Wei Potian replied, “This kind of monster must’ve appeared recently, in recent years at least. Something that powerful wouldn’t appear for no reason. There must be some awesome treasure nearby or clues regarding it.”
Zhao Yuying was first startled, and then erupted in praises. “Who would’ve thought? You look quite dumb normally, but there are times you can be smart!”
Wei Potian didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. “Hey, this daddy is a leading commander of a region who has managed to defend against the dark race army for many years. I’m not an idiot.”
But Zhao Yuying’s expression changed instantly, thumping him on the head with her fist. “Think about it! No matter how good a treasure that monster is guarding, do you think we can snatch it? You can go alone if you want to die, don’t drag this mommy down! My life is still quite good, a lot of strapping young lads are waiting for me to pamper.”
Wei Potian jumped up in anger. “Y-You! What did you just say?”
“What? What did I say wrong?”
“The last part!”
“So what? Am I wrong?”
Wei Potian made to speak but stopped. In the end, he snorted. “Nevermind, I can’t out-talk you.”
With that, he left without even checking if Zhao Yuying was following him.
The latter was stunned, not expecting Wei Potian to act out like this. “Huh? What are you doing? Are you looking to die!? Stop!”
But Wei Potian kept marching forward obliviously.
Zhao Yuying remained frozen in place, not knowing whether she should give chase.
Wei Potian kept walking with his head down, completely unaware of the pair of eyes on him.
Behind the leaves in a certain treetop, Eden placed his crosshairs on Wei Potian’s vitals. “What an idiot! But there are three more days. Although the three days aren't for you, I guess I’ll spare you as well.”
Eden moved his scope toward the distance, toward the thing he was most fearful of. He could vaguely see the majestic silhouette of the six-armed general seemingly looking for something in the forest.
Eden felt a headache upon seeing that creature. Such a massive frame in this high-gravity region meant that his physique had reached an unimaginable state. Eden wondered if he could injure the native even if he were to blast his head with the Abyssal Tribute.
It just so happened that the fellow possessed sharp senses and was also extremely fast. That was enough to make Eden shy away from facing the monster, let alone try to find out what abilities he possessed.
According to the highest-ranked intelligence of the demonkin race, Eden wasn’t sure if this creature was the only one of its kind. Even if some powerhouse could appear and finish off this bastard, it would most likely serve to draw out even more powerful beings. The intelligence report he had read was of the highest clearance. The Eternal Flame had handed it to him just before entering the Great Maelstrom.
This six-armed monstrosity was blocking the only path toward the lower-gravity region. It looked like he would need to take a long way around to reach the starting zone.
Eden began formulating a route while observing the six-armed general’s movements.
It was at this time that an intense feeling rose up in his heart. It was almost as though the entire world was being twisted and warped. Then, an ineffable sense of palpitation filled his entire being.
All objects in his vision were distorted, and the distant six-armed general even more so. He looked almost like a thin sheet of paper that had been stuffed into a glass bottle.
A silent field of red spider lilies had appeared in the distant sky, blooming and wilting immediately afterward. With the blossoming and withering of each flower, cracks began to appear in the numerous planar realms—especially the one in which the six-armed general had been sealed.
The monster roared and struggled, but it simply couldn’t escape the binding of the planar realms.
The cracks increased progressively, and finally, the realms shattered into countless fragments, each containing an image of the roaring general!
The world finally restored itself and Eden’s palpitation gradually subsided. The six-armed general was still standing, but he was completely still and no longer roaring.