One person: Go talk to my Rumble-Rumble Fruit!

Page 112

The light of the Qimen Dunjia divination slowly faded.

On the rooftop, only the thick smoke of gunpowder and the pungent smell of molten metal remained, permeating the night air.

The three "Ru Hua" figures have been reduced to twisted, charred, and smoky metal debris scattered across the ground, their crimson single eye now completely dimmed.

The man with the pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks now had only a deathly ashen face.

His hunched body trembled violently like a candle flickering in the wind, and his oily green pupils shrank to two pinpoints due to extreme fear!

His carefully prepared and highly anticipated trump card was easily torn apart like a paper toy by Zhuge Qing's every move!

The destructive power of wind and fire shattered all his wishful thinking and arrogance!

As Zhuge Qing stepped over the burning remains of the puppets, his icy gaze locked onto him like a thousand years of ice, the man with the pointed mouth and monkey-like face completely broke down!

"wait wait wait!"

He screamed, his voice distorted by extreme fear, staggering backward as he flailed his arms wildly in front of him, as if trying to push away the invisible pressure of death. "Don't come any closer! You...you don't come any closer!"

He retreated to the edge of the rooftop, where the cold metal railing pressed against his lower back. Below him, eighty meters above, lay the city lights and traffic, like an abyss. The night wind howled, filling his collar and bringing a chilling, deathly dizziness.

Zhuge Qing stopped less than a meter in front of the man with the pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks.

The night wind ruffled the stray hairs on his forehead, revealing his icy blue eyes, which were calm at the moment, yet more chilling than any rage.

He tilted his head slightly, looking down at the trembling rat curled up on the edge of the railing, and a mocking and cold smile slowly appeared on his lips.

Zhuge Qing's voice was soft, yet it pierced the pointed-mouthed, monkey-faced man's eardrums like an icicle. "Weren't you quite arrogant just now?" He raised his hand, his slender fingers casually pointing to the dazzling abyss behind the man, his tone as calm as if discussing the weather.

Two words, light and airy.

But it was like two heavy hammer blows, slamming hard into the heart of the weasel-faced man!

He turned around abruptly, glanced at the bottomless, seemingly all-consuming abyss of darkness, then turned back as if electrocuted, his face instantly turning deathly pale, large beads of cold sweat sliding down his pale cheeks, his teeth chattering wildly with fear.

"I...I..." The man with the pointed mouth and monkey-like face trembled, his words incoherent. "You can't kill me...you...do you know who I am? Do you know what the consequences will be if you mess with me?! 'Village Chief'...'Village Chief' won't let you get away with this!" He tried to invoke the power behind him, but his voice sounded like a dying wail.

Zhuge Qing listened quietly, his mockery deepening.

"Consequences?" He leaned forward slightly, his icy gaze almost piercing the soul of the weasel-faced man. His voice was even lower, yet it carried an absolute, oppressive aura of knowing everything and controlling life and death. "From the moment you knocked on that door and set your sights on me—"

"You should have expected this consequence."

.........

"Wait! Zhuge Qing—!" A hoarse, piercing shriek cut through the wind, carrying a twisted urgency. "Don't move! We're on the same side! It's...it's the village chief who sent me!"

A glint of ice flashed in Zhuge Qing's eyes.

"What village chief? I don't know him!"

"Biyou Village, Ma Xianhong! Yes, yes, yes! It's Village Chief Ma Xianhong!"

The man with the pointed snout and monkey-like face pulled something out of his pocket with a comical gesture. "A test! This is a test from the village chief! Let's see if you're qualified... uh... to cooperate!"

He finally pulled out a palm-sized, metallic-gleaming satellite phone and threw it forcefully to Zhuge Qing!

The phone flew in an arc and landed precisely at Zhuge Qing's feet.

"The village chief's phone is on! Answer it! You'll understand once you do!" The man with the pointed chin and monkey-like face spoke with a fawning and urgent tone.

Zhuge Qing's gaze did not immediately fall on the phone, but slowly swept over the three piles of "Ru Hua's" remains on the rooftop, still emitting blue smoke and exuding the smell of burnt iron.

The night breeze dispersed some of the smoke, revealing more details.

The alloy fragments shredded by the Wind and Fire Wheels exhibited an extremely complex honeycomb-like microstructure at their fracture surfaces, clearly indicating that they were not simply cast, but rather the product of some kind of nanomaterial self-organization!

The pipes and energy circuits exposed inside the wreckage have an integration and energy conduction efficiency far exceeding that of modern precision instruments, and they also exude a strange rhythm that is natural and like the veins of life!

Especially the crimson single eye that rolled to the ground and was half melted, the optical sensor structure inside it faintly showed traces of runes that absorbed light and converted energy!

This is not "manufacturing".

This is a creative means of endowing inanimate objects with "spirituality"!

"Look...look at these 'flowers'!" the weasel-faced man hissed from below, a hint of barely perceptible smugness in his voice. "The village chief said that after you see them...you'll get the job!"

When Zhuge Qing saw the terrifying technological power contained in these wreckages, his pupils suddenly contracted to the size of a pinhead!

A chilling torrent, mixed with immense shock and an even stronger sense of resentment, utterly shattered all his composure and cynicism!

Feng Hou Qi Men... those eight extraordinary skills that surpass Wu Hou Qi Men and control the changes of time and space are like a sharp sword hanging over his head. They are the driving force that spurs him forward day and night, and also the thorn hidden deep in his heart.

And now...

The broken puppet remains beneath his feet, every twisted piece of metal, every melted rune, were silently screaming out an even crueler truth—in the realm of "creation," his proud Martial Marquis Divine Strategist inheritance had been utterly crushed by this technique called "Ru Hua" in an almost humiliating manner!

The Qimen Dunjia of Wuhou is not as good as the Qimen Dunjia of Feng Hou!

Even Zhuge Liang's creations are not as good as Ru Hua's!

Is our Zhuge family... really just a stepping stone for anyone to trample on?!

This thought, like a venomous snake, gnawed fiercely at his proud soul.

Deep within those icy blue eyes, a storm was brewing—a storm of humiliation and anger at being abandoned by the times and ruthlessly surpassed by those who came after!

His hands, hanging by his sides, clenched tightly without his notice. His knuckles turned bluish-white from the excessive force, and his fingernails almost dug into his palms.

Time seemed to freeze for a few seconds.

Zhuge Qing slowly bent down and picked up the cold satellite phone at his feet.

The metal casing was cold to the touch, but it couldn't extinguish the burning flame in his heart.

…His thumb hovered over the answer button, his fingertips trembling slightly, not from fear, but from a sense of oppression.

Zhuge Qing let out a long sigh.

When she looked up again, all the turbulent waves in those icy blue eyes had been forcibly suppressed into the bottom of an unfathomable cold pool, leaving only a cold, almost mechanical calm.

"Hello." Zhuge Qing's voice came through the receiver, steady and clear, without even the slightest ripple. "This is Zhuge Qing."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.

A few seconds later, a voice rang out.

The voice was young, yet it carried a calmness and vicissitude that seemed out of place for someone of that age, like an ancient rock.

His tone was calm, even gentle, like a mountain stream flowing over jade, but beneath this calmness lay an absolute confidence that understood everything, and a hint of...unquestionable authority.

“Mr. Zhuge Qing,” the voice said calmly and clearly, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Ma Xianhong.”

He paused briefly, as if giving Zhuge Qing time to process the name, before continuing:

"The village chief of Biyou Village. You may not have heard of me, but that doesn't matter."

His tone was as calm as stating an objective fact: "What I have learned comes from the Jia Shen Rebellion, one of the Eight Extraordinary Skills—"

"Divine Machine Hundred Refinements."

The four words fell like four invisible hammers, striking Zhuge Qing's heart like a drumbeat!

Although he had suspected it beforehand, when the other party so calmly uttered this legendary title, the impact of facing the successor of the Eight Extraordinary Techniques, combined with the overwhelming sense of technological superiority brought by the puppet's remains, still made him gasp for breath!

"The 'Ru Hua' you just saw is nothing more than a minor work among the Hundred Refinements Divine Machines."

Ma Xianhong's voice remained steady, yet carried a sense of looking down upon it: "Their existence is not about killing, but about 'measurement'."

He paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully, "Measure your capacity, measure your ability, measure whether you... are qualified to touch the edge of this era of 'change'."

"Now you have passed my test."

"I would like to invite you to join Biyou Village."

"Become my... friend."

.........

.........

Chapter 121 The storm is coming

Zhuge Qing remained silent, his knuckles tightening again as he gripped the phone.

He could sense the self-righteous arrogance in Ma Xianhong's words—as if it were perfectly natural to "test" others with a creation technique that was ahead of its time.

The other party did not even offer any explanation or apology for the disturbance and murderous intent in the middle of the night!

This detachment stung Zhuge Qing's pride more than any threat.

Zhuge Qing finally spoke, his voice even colder than before, each word like a piercing ice bead, "Village Chief Ma's method of testing people is truly ingenious. Using puppets capable of taking lives to harass people in the dead of night—is this how Biyou Village treats its guests? Or perhaps..."

His tone suddenly sharpened, "The successor of the Divine Strategist, has always acted in such a way...unscrupulous?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment.

Ma Xianhong's voice remained calm, but it lacked a touch of gentleness and gained an unyielding firmness: "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Mr. Zhuge, the 'normal order' of this world is collapsing, and the old order is like rotten wood. What I am doing is only to select those who can shoulder the responsibility of the 'new heaven.' The process may be intense, but the result is the only true meaning."

He seemed to be stating an irrefutable truth: "You have passed the initial screening."

“Heh,” Zhuge Qing let out a short, cold laugh, full of sarcasm, “That is truly…an honor.”

He didn't press for details about what "New Heaven" was, as that would only put him in the other party's line of reasoning.

"So, Chief Ma went to such lengths to 'invite' me to speak, surely not just to tell me that I've 'passed'?"

“Of course not.” Ma Xianhong’s voice regained some warmth, but it sounded more like a calm and collected demeanor. “Mr. Zhuge, the Wuhou Qimen is exquisite and unparalleled, and your talent in the art of magic is rare even in a century. However, being confined by sectarianism and outdated rules, you will ultimately find it difficult to reach the pinnacle of the Great Dao.”

He abruptly changed the subject, his tone becoming increasingly alluring:

"The Divine Strategist, refined through countless trials, can transform the rotten into the miraculous, and imbue metal and stone with spirit. If you obtain this method, coupled with your foundation in the Divine Strategist school, Master Zhuge, you will no longer be merely a 'successor'..."

Ma Xianhong's voice, like the whisper of a devil, pierced through the radio waves and reached the depths of the soul: "You will become one of the 'creators' who will usher in a new era."

"The gates of Biyou Village are open to you. There you will find like-minded people, resources, and even more... the possibility to break through all constraints and touch the 'ultimate'."

Ma Xianhong threw out his bait.

An earth-shattering temptation that integrates eight extraordinary skills, transcends family traditions, and may even reshape the landscape of the supernatural world!

The core of this temptation is precisely the deepest thorn in Zhuge Qing's heart at this moment—the desire to "surpass" and the intense resentment that his family's skills have been left behind by the times!

Zhuge Qing stood on the edge of an 80-meter-high steel cliff, holding the phone.

Beneath his feet lay a vast city, both slumbering and awakening; above him, the heavy night sky churned with intrigue and opportunity. The night wind whipped the hair across his forehead, revealing a violently churning storm deep within his icy blue eyes.