Chapter 1058: I Am Truly Sincere With You
Yang Haoran had long ago made up his mind: today, the Corpse-Controlling Gate would be his first target.
His decision stemmed from several factors. On one hand, the Corpse-Controlling Gate had deliberately provoked him. Given his personality, since they were actively courting death, he certainly intended to grant their wish—after all, helping others fulfill their desires was a virtue. On the other hand, he wanted to "kill the chicken to warn the monkey. " According to his original plan, he intended to maintain as low a profile as possible in the early stages, waiting until he had thoroughly familiarized himself with Gu Mo City and gained a deeper understanding of its major factions. Only then would he reveal his true capabilities to them. Unfortunately, plans often can't keep up with changes. Xia Xinger's actions forced him to alter his strategy, bringing himself from the shadows into the open sooner than anticipated.
Now that he had stepped into the light, failing to demonstrate absolute power would make it difficult for him to establish a foothold here. Everyone would perceive him as a "soft persimmon," eager to squeeze him. Therefore, he absolutely had to "kill to establish his prestige. " The Corpse-Controlling Gate had boldly stepped out to provoke him, even slaughtering people within their Death God Temple, explicitly intending to eliminate him, the newly appointed Emissary of Death. Such arrogance! If he didn't make the Corpse-Controlling Gate his first target, he would be betraying his own temperament.
Beyond these two points, there was an even more crucial reason: his parents had both met a tragic end at the hands of zombies.
Although he harbored opinions regarding both zombies and corpse refiners, he wouldn't go so far as to kill them on sight. He disliked "condemning an entire boat of people" due to a few bad apples; no matter the profession, gentlemen and villains exist. Even if a profession appears sacred in the eyes of the world, scoundrels will still be found within it. Therefore, he wouldn't hate an entire group because of one incident or one person, and this applied equally to Spirit Mediums and corpse refiners.
His active hunt for Spirit Mediums had absolutely nothing to do with hatred; it was purely a matter of duty. Their respective stances differed, much like soldiers clashing on a battlefield. They held no personal grudges, yet each sought to eliminate the other, all due to their positions and responsibilities.
As for corpse refiners, he had never actively hunted them. Even if he encountered one, he wouldn't lay a murderous hand on them simply because of his parents' tragic deaths. "Every injustice has its perpetrator, every debt has its debtor"; he wouldn't involve other innocent people in his personal vendettas. However, if they crossed him, or even worse, actively provoked him, just like the Corpse-Controlling Gate had done today, then that was an entirely different matter. In such a situation, he truly couldn't find a reason to persuade himself to be less bloody and ruthless.
The words he spoke to the other factions present were, in fact, a subtle hint: today, he would make an example of the Corpse-Controlling Gate on behalf of the Underworld Office. They should simply enjoy the spectacle, and ideally, not get involved. Once they became involved, they would be standing against the entire Underworld Office.
Yang Haoran's pronouncements naturally had a significant impact on some of the factions present. However, it was only *some* factions; others had long since lost faith in the Underworld Office, so Yang Haoran's words had little effect on them. Nevertheless, both groups chose to observe and watch the show, with no one immediately stepping forward to take sides.
Their reaction was good news for Yang Haoran, but for Xu Jingwen, it was anything but. His face was grim, and his inner fury skyrocketed. At this moment, his anger was no longer solely directed at Yang Haoran; a portion of it was aimed squarely at the representatives of the major factions present.
Just as he found himself at a loss, a low, distinctly displeased voice echoed through the air above the temple.
"Eliminate our Corpse-Controlling Gate and replace us with your Underworld Office? Your tone is quite arrogant indeed. I don't know about other places, but here in Gu Mo City, you believe you can destroy our Corpse-Controlling Gate? I think you utterly lack the ability."
Outside the temple, three figures slowly emerged. Though the power fluctuations emanating from them were not strong, they nonetheless drew the gazes of everyone present.
The faint power fluctuations they emitted did not mean they lacked capability, as many people habitually concealed their true strength. Thus, Yang Haoran did not underestimate them based on their subdued aura. As for why he hadn't sensed their presence before, it indicated that the three had undoubtedly sealed all their fluctuations, making them undetectable. When exactly they had arrived, of course, only they themselves knew.
The appearance of the three figures caused many faces among the onlookers to change. From their reactions, it was clear that they all recognized these individuals.
Xu Jingwen, who had been fiercely attacking the Ghost Fiend Soul Chains, felt an immediate surge of intense delight when he heard the sudden voice, for it was a sound he knew well.
The excitement in his heart made him instinctively turn his gaze toward the three figures. He knew very well who had spoken, but he didn't know the identities of the other two. When he finally recognized them, his delight instantly intensified.
His momentary distraction gave the Ghost Fiend Soul Chains an opening, resulting in one of them striking his body and sending him flying. He sustained some injuries, yet he felt no regret, nor did the intense joy in his heart diminish in the slightest. After all, a minor injury was nothing to him. Now that these three had arrived, he believed not only would his predicament be immediately resolved, but he would also have a chance to vent his frustration on Yang Haoran. Compared to that, being wounded by a Ghost Fiend Soul Chain was indeed no big deal.
However, just as he was brimming with excitement and joy, an unforeseen event occurred, catching everyone present completely off guard!
Yang Haoran's Soul Armament, Remnant Moon, had been relentlessly entangled by Xu Jingwen's Corpse Ghoul, preventing it from directly attacking Xu Jingwen. Everyone believed this was Remnant Moon's limit, and by extension, Yang Haoran's limit; Remnant Moon absolutely could not break through the Corpse Ghoul's defenses. Yet, precisely at this moment, Remnant Moon's speed and power suddenly surged, and the Yin Qi it radiated more than doubled in density. In an instant, it sliced off one of the Corpse Ghoul's arms, then shot towards Xu Jingwen with lightning-fast speed.
Before Xu Jingwen could even react, Remnant Moon cut his body in half at the waist. The speed was so immense that Xu Jingwen didn't even register the pain, and his body, severed by Remnant Moon, didn't immediately fall apart.
Yang Haoran's speed likewise surged at this moment, as if he had suddenly consumed some miraculous elixir of acceleration. He vanished from his spot in a flash, reappearing directly in front of Xu Jingwen.
At this moment, Xu Jingwen still hadn't realized his body had been bisected by Remnant Moon. Seeing Yang Haoran suddenly appear before his eyes, his expression changed drastically, and he instinctively attempted to dodge. But just as the thought flickered through his mind, his consciousness suddenly blurred.
Simultaneously, Yang Haoran's palm descended upon his head. In the fleeting instant before his consciousness fully faded, he heard Yang Haoran's icy voice.
"I told you before, even if the King of Heaven himself came, he couldn't save you. I wasn't lying. I am truly sincere with you."
Yang Haoran was right before him, yet to Xu Jingwen, his voice seemed to fade into the distance. He completely lost consciousness, but the world, devoid of his presence, continued to operate as normal.
At this moment, Yang Haoran was enveloped in a dense shroud of Yin Qi. His icy expression, emotionless gaze, and the powerful, chilling aura he exuded perfectly matched the image of an Underworld Official as perceived by mortals.
Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, Yang Haoran, without hesitation, forcibly condensed Xu Jingwen's soul and ripped it from his corpse. The moment the soul was extracted from Xu Jingwen's body, copious amounts of blood finally spurted from his wound. His body split in two and plummeted from the air.
From the sudden surge of Remnant Moon's power that bisected Xu Jingwen, to Yang Haoran forcibly extracting Xu Jingwen's soul from his body—it all happened in but a single instant. By the time the crowd recovered from their shock, Xu Jingwen's soul was already clutched firmly in Yang Haoran's hand!
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