Volume Two: Life of a Bandit, Chapter Thirty-Six: The Dog-Beating Staff Technique

Qin Si led a group of God Kings to the outskirts of Tongmu Stronghold. Guided by Zhao Yongkui, they had made a circuit through over sixty factions, successfully subduing more than forty God Kings. Lined up in a row, their presence was truly formidable.

"Lu Qingtian, an old friend has come to visit. Why don't you come out and welcome us?" Zhao Yongkui's voice was not loud, yet it carried perfectly to everyone within Tongmu Stronghold.

"Stop! Everyone, stop!" Lu Qingtian shouted, his eyes bloodshot and his tone frantic.

Evidently, the God Kings present had heard the voice of the Profound Mystery God King and ceased their fighting. Although the earlier skirmishes had escalated, the lines had already been drawn, and with no more sneak attacks, only three God Kings had fallen in the chaotic melee.

"The Zixuan Alliance... it's the Zixuan Alliance!" someone in the crowd suddenly shouted. If one were to ask earlier, almost everyone would have believed that uniting sixty-three bandit factions to deal with the Zixuan Alliance would be as easy as flipping one's hand. But now, between those killed in sneak attacks, those who had rebelled, and those slain during the infighting, almost half the original force was gone.

At this critical moment, Lu Qingtian, Fang Tao, Shui Ruojun, and Gu Tai remained composed, shouting to halt the brawling God Kings. Lu Qingtian yelled, "Those who don't want to die, come out with me!"

Suddenly, everyone fell silent. No matter what, the Zixuan Alliance was currently the most significant threat.

"Hmph, look at the state of you all? Before the enemy has even attacked, you've already lost four God Kings to infighting." Shui Ruojun cast a disdainful glance at the chaotic scene before saying to Lu Qingtian, "We have forty-seven God Kings left. As for the Zixuan Alliance, my divine sense cannot detect them."

"That is enough. The Zixuan Alliance only had seven God Kings before." Lu Qingtian’s lips curled into a sinister smirk. Although the initial plan had been disrupted, the situation was not yet beyond saving.

"Let's go and meet the Zixuan Alliance." Lu Qingtian was the first to step out of Tongmu Stronghold. Fang Tao, Shui Ruojun, and Gu Tai followed closely behind, with the remaining forty-plus God Kings trailing. Once outside, they immediately teleported to surround Lu Qingtian and his group.

At first glance, Lu Qingtian's side looked more impressive: forty-seven God Kings and hundreds of High-level Heavenly Deities, each brandishing their Heavenly Divine Artifacts, glaring fiercely at the Zixuan Alliance.

Relatively speaking, the Zixuan Alliance had only about fifty people. Among them, only their leader, Qin Si, was merely a High-level Heavenly Deity, while everyone else was a God King.

However, almost everyone present was already aware that this "High-level Heavenly Deity," Qin Si, was more terrifying than all the God Kings present combined.

Seeing that Lu Qingtian’s group was assembled, Qin Si merely waved a hand, and a chair appeared, floating in the void behind him. Everyone present was at least a High-level Heavenly Deity, and with a single glance, they could tell that the chair Qin Si sat upon was actually a High-grade Heavenly Divine Artifact.

"What a spendthrift," Lu Qingtian muttered. He was feeling a bit apprehensive now. Qin Si had fifty-three God Kings with him, the vast majority of whom were their former acquaintances. Although many of them had average strength, the sheer number was undeniable.

"The Zixuan Alliance has no intention of being enemies with any of you," Qin Si said with a faint smile after sitting down. "As the leader of the Zixuan Alliance, I am always thinking of developing and strengthening our ranks. Therefore, our motto is: surrender and be spared."

"Boastful talk," Fang Tao sneered with a strange laugh. "Qin, you are just a High-level Heavenly Deity; do you think you can command so many God Kings without fearing for your life?"

Qin Si picked at his ear without even glancing at Fang Tao, saying with disgust, "Whose dog hasn't been leashed properly? Running over here to bark."

"You... you're courting death!" Fang Tao was instantly enraged. His eyes filled with a purple hue, and with a single teleport, he appeared before Qin Si. A fork-shaped weapon flashed with a cold glint, leaving a trail of afterimages in the air as it pierced toward Qin Si’s face.

Qin Si remained smiling and motionless. Just as the fork was about to pierce his head, a black barrier instantly appeared, clinging to his body. The terrifying aura radiating from the space annihilation startled Fang Tao, who quickly teleported away.

One had launched a teleportation attack, while the other had defended with total ease. The attacker looked as if he were fleeing in a panic. Although no one was injured, the disparity in their strength was clear to everyone.

"You don't need to get so angry just because of a casual insult," Qin Si chuckled.

"Leader, you might not know," Zhao Yongkui said to Qin Si with a laugh, "Fang Tao is a very powerful type of demonic beast; his true form is a... Purple-Eyed Dog. You called him a dog just now, but in reality, he truly is one." Zhao Yongkui was speaking to Qin Si, but his slightly acerbic voice was loud enough for everyone to hear clearly. Some people were already covering their mouths to hide their laughter.

"You..." Fang Tao’s face turned bright red. His true form as a Purple-Eyed Dog was no longer a secret, but being called a dog twice in front of so many people, compounded by his defeat at Qin Si's hands in a single move, was more than his pride could bear.

"This leader of the Zixuan Alliance certainly has some tricks," Lu Qingtian pondered to himself. "But even so, if a few God Kings attack together, we could kill him."

"Whoosh!" The space within a radius of ten thousand miles around Tongmu Stronghold trembled simultaneously.

"Very well, the space for ten thousand miles around Tongmu Stronghold has been locked down by our people. There is no chance of escaping via teleportation," Qin Shuang stepped out with a smile, shrugging nonchalantly. "My brother and I repeat: surrender and be spared."

Lu Qingtian, Fang Tao, Shui Ruojun, and Gu Tai all grew tense. Only then did they realize that just as Fang Tao had launched his sneak attack, twenty God Kings from the Zixuan Alliance had departed, and now they had locked down the space, clearly intending to capture them all in one fell swoop.

"Hmph, Qin Si, is it? Who told you we intend to run?" Lu Qingtian chuckled. "Don't think too highly of yourself. Can't teleport? We had the same intention: to keep all of you from the Zixuan Alliance right here at Tongmu Stronghold."

"Oh? How did you know we wanted to stay?" Qin Si asked, feigning surprise. "I was just thinking that the scenery here at Tongmu Stronghold is beautiful and the terrain is excellent, and I was planning to make it the headquarters of the Zixuan Alliance... I've only had this thought for a moment, and you already knew... I am impressed, truly impressed!" As he spoke, he cupped his hands toward Lu Qingtian.

"Hmph, enough talk. Who from your Zixuan Alliance dares to challenge me?" Gu Tai, who had a direct personality, stepped forward to issue a challenge.

"Don't be in such a rush, don't be in such a rush," Zhao Yongkui said, standing beside Qin Si in a leisurely manner. "If you want to die, no one is stopping you, but there are so many people behind you. The doors of the Zixuan Alliance are open to everyone; even High-level Heavenly Deities can choose to join."

"Zhao, stop trying to sow discord. If you have the guts, fight me one-on-one!" As Gu Tai spoke, he already charged toward Zhao Yongkui.

"Hmph, Gu Tai, others may fear you, but I do not." Zhao Yongkui scoffed, his figure flickering a few times before arriving beside Gu Tai. He swung his arm, aiming a heavy blow at Gu Tai’s head.

"Boom!" Gu Tai blocked Zhao Yongkui’s arm with his hands. He had no intention of dodging. In a battle between God Kings, if teleportation were off the table, nothing felt better than a brutal, flesh-to-flesh fight.

"Brother Gu, I'll help you." Fang Tao’s figure flashed, appearing at Zhao Yongkui’s side. His fork struck out, aiming straight for Zhao Yongkui’s head, intending to intervene. He knew Zhao Yongkui's strength; if they were allowed to fight like this, Gu Tai would inevitably suffer.

"Clang!" A sound of clashing metal rang out. Before anyone knew it, Qin Shuang had appeared on the battlefield. Smiling, he said to Fang Tao, "To think a God King could be so shameless. What kind of skill is two against one? Let me spar with you instead." Qin Shuang had sensed Fang Tao’s movement the moment he shifted, intercepting him just in time. Fang Tao’s face turned bright red, and his eyes, glowing with an odd purple light, glared at Qin Shuang. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Fine, fine. Let me see exactly how much skill the Deputy Leader of the Zixuan Alliance possesses." As he spoke, the fork in his hand suddenly grew several times larger, its color shifting to blood-red. With a sudden thrust, he accelerated time to its limit, stabbing toward Qin Shuang.

"Child's play." Qin Shuang said, casually flicking his staff. The staff deflected Fang Tao's fork at an incredibly strange angle. Immediately afterward, the staff seemed to split, creating dozens of afterimages that rained down upon Fang Tao.

"Hmph, break!" Fang Tao roared, swinging his fork and harnessing the power of space to violently scatter most of the staff images. However, he couldn't clear them all; a small afterimage grazed his face.

Although the attack was light, being grazed on the face was worse than suffering a severe wound. It was a matter of a God King’s dignity—and which God King didn't care about their face?

"You've gone too far!" Fang Tao was furious. He swung his fork, causing the space to collapse in layers, his heart filled with genuine rage.

"I didn't do it on purpose," Qin Shuang said with a helpless smile. While blocking Fang Tao’s attacks, he unleashed another flurry of staff images. Perhaps by coincidence, another light graze landed on Fang Tao’s face.

"You... what kind of technique is this?" Fang Tao was both shocked, angry, and helpless.

"This..." Qin Shuang had been playing around casually and hadn't thought about what technique he was using. But after a quick thought, he loudly replied, "The Dog-Beating Staff Technique."