Chapter 123: Jiangling Ahead, Where Evildoers Dare Not Tread

On the concrete highway leading out of Jiangling City, Zhang Changlin was running at full tilt, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

The dream spirit energy within his brow was continuously surging, amplifying his physical strength. His legs grew powerful and resilient, each stride propelling him a great distance. His trench coat billowed behind him, trailing a black afterimage as he tore down the road at a speed rivaling that of a high-performance sports car.

Suddenly, Zhang Changlin came to a halt. The wind from his sprint had whipped his hair into a stiff, broom-like crest. He stared toward the outskirts of the city, a grave look flashing in his eyes.

The air was thick with a scorching heat that felt as though it were incinerating his very soul, bringing with it a sharp, stinging pain. It was an unsettling sensation, like a beast from the abyss awakening in hell, opening its slumbering eyes to gaze down upon the world of men.

"Something big... has happened outside the city."

Zhang Changlin spat out his cigarette and let out a long breath. He drew his broken blade and gripped it in reverse. He feared today would be a bitter struggle.

"The God Core Organization... are they really trying to annihilate Jiangling City? Is this how ruthless they are?"

A fierce glint flickered in Zhang Changlin's eyes. He tightened his grip on the hilt, a surge of righteous fury rising within his heart. Exhaling once more, he gathered his strength and broke into a sprint again, heading toward the city's edge.

Suddenly, he stopped again. He gripped the broken blade tightly and looked up, toward the horizon of the highway. Under the scorching sun, heat waves rolled across the pavement, causing the road to appear distorted in the distance.

Zhang Changlin stared intensely. The will within his broken blade sent a warning, a silent plea for him to turn back and flee.

Zhang Changlin’s pupils constricted. On the horizon, a figure was slowly walking toward him. With every step the figure took, the entire road seemed to warp.

It was a figure clad entirely in white: a white suit, white shirt, white trousers, even white socks and white leather shoes. Unlike the others, this man wore no mask, revealing a handsome, slick, and smiling face. He looked like a frivolous dandy.

Yet, Zhang Changlin did not dare to relax for a second. Both his broken blade and his dream spirit perception told him that this was an incredibly dangerous individual.

Dressed all in white—could this be one of the priests of the God Core Organization? He had actually bypassed the detection of Li Ang and his wife, planning to stroll right into Jiangling City!

Zhang Changlin looked beyond the city. Flames were soaring into the sky, thick smoke billowing so violently it threatened to pierce the clouds and blot out the sun. Terrifying fluctuations of dream spirit energy were clashing incessantly. Clearly, Li Ang and the others had been intercepted by a powerful force.

The priests of the God Core Organization certainly had their methods.

The white figure moved with immense speed. As the road distorted, he covered the kilometer of distance in an instant, shifting from a mere speck on the horizon to a solid presence before Zhang Changlin’s eyes.

Zhang Changlin held his broken blade firmly, not retreating a single step. He stood his ground in the middle of the road, quietly waiting for the encounter.

The man in the white suit finally arrived, face-to-face with Zhang Changlin. The figure wore a smile, his eyes seemingly looking right through Zhang Changlin as he prepared to walk past him and continue toward the city.

However, Zhang Changlin raised his blade. He held the broken steel horizontally, blocking the path of the man in white.

*Tap.*

The sound of white leather shoes hitting the concrete was crisp. The world seemed to fall into a deathly silence at that moment.

"You intend to stop me?"

The white figure spoke, his voice carrying an elegant, magnetic quality. Clearly, he was addressing Zhang Changlin. He turned his head slowly, his smiling eyes settling on Zhang Changlin.

"Are you... not afraid of death?"

Zhang Changlin gripped his broken blade, staring at the figure. With the unlit cigarette still hanging from his mouth, he replied calmly:

"Ahead lies Jiangling. Villain."

"Halt."

***

Scorching, molten magma surged like a rushing river with a deafening roar. Amidst the lava, a draconic figure with dark-gold eyes stared coldly at the four people in the air.

Suddenly, those dark-gold eyes shifted to white.

"I heard... you were looking for me?"

The dragon-man curled his lips, his mouth filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth that radiated a terrifying, lethal intent. He glared at Li Ang and his wife. As for Du Fang and Zhao Lingyin, he didn't even bother to look their way. A powerhouse at the "Nation-Destroying" level naturally only had eyes for fellow Nation-Level Dream Weavers. Du Fang and Zhao Lingyin’s energy fluctuations—one an upper-tier Dream Weaver and the other just breaking into the City-Level—were beneath his notice.

"You are the Seventh Priest of the God Core Organization?" Li Ang sat upon the shoulders of his wife, grey mist swirling in his eyes, deep as an abyss as he stared at the dragon-man. "What is it you want to do?"

"I don't want to do anything. I never intended to stand in opposition to the Xia Nation's Dream Weaver Association."

"But your current actions are already an act of opposition."

"My disciple, Green Dragon, died in Jiangling City. His small-scale God Core, which I meticulously crafted for him within the organization, was also extinguished there... I don't want much. I only want the murderer of Green Dragon, as a tribute... to my student."

"A tribute to your student? Your student’s goal was a Fallen God, and I suspect your goal is the same... The priests of the God Core are just like the organization’s philosophy: full of high-sounding rhetoric about benevolence, morality, and world peace, but in reality, you are selfish, motivated entirely by your own interests!"

Li Ang spoke to the dragon-man, his words devoid of mercy.

The white light in the dragon-man’s eyes flickered as he let out a low laugh. "Enough. Further talk is useless."

"You cannot stop me from entering Jiangling. I have another reason: I must enter the city to capture a traitor who betrayed the God Core Organization," the dragon-man stated.

"A traitor? You say there is a traitor, so—"

Li Ang was about to continue, but he was interrupted by the hulking Shizuka beneath him.

"Husband, why are you wasting breath on this guy? Just fight!"

"Just beat him to death!" Shizuka muttered.

In the next instant, her massive frame vanished from where she stood. She reappeared high in the air, fearless, plummeting like a cannonball and slamming down with tremendous force! The dream spirit energy around her boiled like water in a cauldron.

*BOOM!*

The magma in the abyss exploded, splashing violently in all directions.

The white light in the dragon-man’s eyes began to fade. "You cannot stop me. Enjoy playing with the Fallen God avatar I have created!"

As the white light dissipated, the Seventh Priest’s faint, mocking voice lingered in the air.

"A Fallen God avatar?!" Li Ang’s expression shifted slightly as he sat on the hulking Shizuka’s shoulders.

*BANG!!!*

The hulking Shizuka landed a punch. The dragon-man was massive, standing nearly three meters tall, but he was still smaller than Shizuka. Struck by the punch, he was sent flying, carving a fan-shaped wake through the magma that sent waves splashing against the sides of the chasm. The dragon-man’s body skipped across the lava like a stone across a pond.

*BANG!*

The dragon-man’s body slammed into the ground, creating a massive crater.

"Such powerful strength. You mortal, you pack a punch!" The dragon-man’s eyes returned to dark gold. Despite taking a hit from Shizuka, he didn't have a single scratch. He cracked his neck and wore a smile.

He raised a hand and clenched it. A giant hand made of magma erupted from the lava, reaching directly for the hulking Shizuka. However, despite her massive size, Shizuka was freakishly agile, dodging through the air so that the magma hand couldn't catch her.

"Du Fang, Lingyin, get back into the city."

"Husband, you go back too!" Shizuka rumbled. "I’ll handle this Fallen God avatar alone!"

"The Seventh Priest is surely already heading for Jiangling! Once he enters the city, without a powerhouse to keep him in check, the damage will be catastrophic!"

"No!" Li Ang, sitting on Shizuka’s shoulders, shook his head. "You are no match for him alone. If you fall, and this dragon-man breaks into Jiangling, the consequences will be even worse!"

"This Fallen God avatar is the God Core Organization’s latest 'peacekeeping' tool. It draws upon the will of a Fallen God and combines it with special materials extracted from Forbidden Dream Disasters to manifest the power of a Fallen God’s avatar in the real world!"

"It possesses not only true Nation-Destroying power but also the supernatural abilities of a Fallen God! Only by fighting together can we hope to resolve this."

Li Ang was cool and collected. "Du Fang, stay. Lingyin, you return to Jiangling! Find the God Core Priest and do your best to pin him down. Your semi-domain, combined with the Fire God Spear, should be just enough to hold him back."

"Once we have dealt with this Fallen God avatar, we will immediately return to the city to assist you!"

Li Ang issued his orders. Du Fang frowned; he wasn't happy with this arrangement, as he didn't want to stay behind.

Li Ang looked at Du Fang. "The God Core Organization priest’s target is you—the Fallen God hidden within your body. If you stay with us, we can protect you while simultaneously luring him out of the city."

"His ultimate goal, after all, is you."