Chapter 53

Finally, Qi Xing was even able to find the leisure to taunt during the fight.

"I see no difference between you and the [ants] you've killed; you're only half as strong as I am."

In truth, he was just saying that casually; Romanie was not weak enough to actually be only half as strong as Qi Xing.

However, to Qi Xing's surprise, this offhand taunt caused an instant change in Romanie's gaze.

"What did you say?"

The black guy, who had always been breezy and enjoyed the pleasure of all sorts of slaughter, actually showed an expression of annoyance on his face for the first time.

Huh??

He… he actually got triggered by that?

Why?

Although he didn't know the truth, Qi Xing naturally wouldn't miss the chance to attack verbally—what was his weakness? Why was it so sudden—could it be that the word [half] really triggered him?

"Isn't it? You mixed-race black guy, your bloodline is [half], your status is [half], even your power is only [half]. Romanie… aren't you just a half-baked amateur? Oh, I forgot, even your parents are only [half]!"

Qi Xing grinned, a wicked smile.

"Everything about you is only half! With you like this, are you worthy of being my kind?"

He was actually making personal attacks! And even telling dark jokes about black people! How despicable! Is this what a hero should do?!

Qi Xing was quite impressed with himself for being able to think of such vicious words in an instant!

"Damn it! I'm going to kill you! I will definitely slaughter you!"

Anyway, Romanie was truly triggered now.

—It was incredible; at the very moment Romanie lost his cool and started cursing, Qi Xing suddenly felt a tremor like an undersea earthquake coming from beneath their feet, from deep within the ocean of this [Inner Realm].

What could be deeper than the deep sea?

Of course, it was Romanie's [Heart Chamber], which Qi Xing had been searching for.

When the master of the [Inner Realm] is shaken, the path to his inner depths naturally reveals itself.

However, Romanie, who was furious, would definitely continue to pester Qi Xing on the surface of the sea. How was he supposed to get down there?

"Come on! You half-baked amateur! You really like the war dance you imitate, right? Let me show you what real imitative kung fu is!"

Qi Xing already had an idea.

Without waiting for Romanie to react, Qi Xing leaped up. Instead of entering the sea, he flew high into the sky, his figure shooting up like an arrow released from a bow.

A bolt of lightning tore through the sky.

[Master Leipu] had already synchronized his heartbeat with the thunder. His breathing gradually synchronized with the wind, and with every inhale and exhale, the true energy within his body surged like a tide. All the wind and thunder between the sea and sky were now surging and moving within his body.

Romanie looked up at the sky, trying to catch a glimpse of Qi Xing. But the wind howled and lightning crisscrossed; it was as if he had become a part of the heavens' might, wandering between the firmament. For a moment, he actually didn't know what [Master Leipu] was trying to pull.

At this moment, time seemed to stand still.

Only Qi Xing flew into the dark clouds, feeling the power of every strand of electric current weaving through the clouds.

Everyone has heard of a palm technique that descends from the sky. However, Qi Xing did not know the long-lost Tathagata Palm.

He had another killing move.

Ancient martial artists would study fighting methods from creatures other than humans. Imitating tigers, cranes, snakes, horses, monkeys, eagles—even dragons!

Romanie's war dance was also imitating other creatures, only it was imitating deities. Actually, there wasn't much difference between dragons and deities.

But it is said that the ultimate of Xingyi Quan is not to imitate living creatures, but the forms of heaven, earth, and nature.

Be it water, wind, or thunder. There are no fixed routines; there are moves but no forms.

Another clap of thunder exploded.

In the next instant, a thunderous figure descended from the sky, his right leg cleaving down like a giant axe that could split the heavens, carrying the momentum to destroy everything, wrapped in violent and unparalleled force!

The air shattered under this kick, and the sea and sky changed color! Before Romanie could react, he was locked on by an invisible pressure, his muscles stiffened, and his mind was almost stunned by the heavenly punishment!

He had never seen such a terrifying move! That was not a move that human power could reach or imagine!

This was the third of the three ultimate moves of Qi Xing's [Thunder Fighting Technique]. Leaping into the sky, lurking among the clouds, breathing unpredictably; he does not make a sound until he astonishes everyone, like divine thunder from the nine heavens crashing through the clouds, descending as heavenly punishment!

This was the ultimate of Xingyi Quan. With no sword in hand, the sword intent is hidden in the heart, and what is imitated is the form of heavenly thunder.

Hence, it is named [Heart Sword · Thunder God Kick].

Even though Romanie stood before the sea, he could absolutely not withstand this thunderous, swift, ultimate move.

The [Thunder God Kick], carrying the force of ten thousand jun, ruthlessly crushed the Six-Armed Demon King! Romanie only had time for a brief flicker of shock in his eyes before he was blasted into the bottomless deep sea.

The earth-shattering momentum did not cease, continuing to cleave toward the sea ahead with irresistible force. The sea surface disintegrated in the storm and tremors, almost like the magnificent spectacle of Moses parting the sea.

The rolling heat waves and raging billows were all torn in two at this moment. The [Thunder God Kick] cleaved down like a giant axe splitting the heavens, even dividing the seawater into two huge walls of water. Firelight and thunder intertwined, causing the entire ocean to tremble and moan. Lightning struck from the split sea surface, illuminating the endless turbulence into a magnificent scene of golden-red and azure blue. The wild wind whipped up countless sea pearls, scattering them at the point where the water split.

The entire small world seemed to stop breathing at this moment, with only the thunderous leg strength remaining, stirring up power that shook the universe.

Even the sea seemed small in the face of this power, and could only obediently open up for the absolute powerhouse, the passage leading to deeper secret realms.

Qi Xing kicked open Romanie's [Heart Chamber] and stormed in, laughing loudly!

056: Are you dreaming, where is there a wife?

Every [Inner Realm] is divided into at least three layers.

The shallow layer overlaps with the material world; at first glance, it is not much different from the real world, and the laws of physics are not too different.

The deep layer of the [Inner Realm] is clearly an otherworld, where even the laws of physics can be rewritten. Therefore, the master of an [Inner Realm] is usually stronger when fighting in the deep layer. Because he decides the rules of this otherworld, this otherworld is his home field—though that said, the environment and rules of the deep [Inner Realm] still cannot escape the mythological archetypes in the [collective unconscious of humanity]. It is not something the master can just write and change randomly.

On the contrary, the last layer, the core of the [Inner Realm]—the [Heart Chamber]—is purely the mental landscape of its creator, a purely personal world.

Qi Xing kicked open the door to Romanie's [Heart Chamber] and stormed in, laughing loudly, wanting to take a look at Romanie's inner world and see what the [wife] he had hidden away really looked like.

As it turned out, the scene before him really gave him a slight shock.

Because what appeared before Qi Xing was, unexpectedly, another ancient ruin—a long, narrow corridor built of rough stones, with mottled walls emitting a faint and cold light.

At least at first, Qi Xing really thought this was some kind of ancient city ruin.

It wasn't until two seconds later, as he observed carefully and moved forward slowly, that he gradually noticed unusual traces from the subtle details.

This was not an ancient city ruin; this was a prison.

The surrounding stone walls were made of simple gray stones, their surfaces mottled and uneven, as if carved with painful memories that had passed through the years.

The winding corridor was deep and narrow, with prison cells of various shapes densely packed on both sides; every small cell emitted a faint, eerie glow. The iron bars were covered with mottled rust, cold, hard, and sturdy. Each cell door seemed to lock away a secret that could not be told.

This space was filled with an absolutely cold and oppressive power.

"So this is what Romanie's [Heart Chamber] looks like."

Qi Xing really didn't expect this. He had originally thought that Romanie's [inner world] should be something wilder.

However, as Qi Xing walked further inside, he gradually discovered that the oppressive atmosphere around him might have deeper meanings.

On the winding, dark corridor hung exquisitely shaped yet chilling torture devices. Those instruments were intricately carved, and the details revealed a kind of cold, artistic beauty; sharp iron hooks flickered coldly in the faint light; the hanging chains drooped and tangled, as if they would capture and bind the soul of any passerby at any moment.

Some iron chains tried to bind Qi Xing as he passed by. But the [Thunder-Fire Heavenly Garment] melted them all.

Walking in this quiet, ancient prison, every step felt like treading on the deep valley of the soul; every cell on both sides of the corridor seemed to imprison suffering and loneliness solidified by the years.

This was the epitome of the darkest corner of Romanie's inner depths, a prison that confined the spirit, a huge cage from which even the soul could not escape.

Every step Qi Xing took now was inside a cold iron cage. Every stone and every iron chain here contained loneliness and indifference that was oppressive to the point of suffocation.

Only by passing through this iron cage could one reach the secret hidden deep in Romanie's darkness, his most hidden and desperate secret.

In fact, generally speaking, this kind of deepest mental secret belongs to personal privacy, and morally, it seems it should not be uncovered.

But things had reached this point; even without considering the Brahma Undying Body, just physically annihilating Romanie was not enough for Qi Xing. Of course, he had to be tortured mentally as well!

Some strange, grotesque shadows began to emerge from the end of the stone corridor, as if they had crawled out from the depths of the [Heart Chamber]. They had no fixed form, their bodies constantly changing and twisting in the thick darkness, sometimes dispersing like dense smoke, and sometimes condensing into sharp fragments. Intertwining with each other, accompanied by low, mournful roars, they quietly appeared in the corridor and surrounded Qi Xing.

They must be some kind of mental shadow monsters emerging from Romanie's [Heart Chamber].

Unfortunately, Qi Xing couldn't be bothered to tangle with them. He wasn't even interested in doing any psychological symbolic analysis on them.

With a flick of his finger, five bolts of lightning flew out and blasted all these shadows away—oh no! Wait!

Suddenly realizing, Qi Xing immediately changed the direction of one lightning blade and reached out to grab a shadow. Before the shadow could resist, he ferociously poured the power of the [Dominator] into it!

Eeya!

This is the [Heart Chamber] of another [Silver Coin Messenger]; for Qi Xing to use the power of the [Dominator] to directly control it entirely, that is of course impossible. Otherwise, everyone wouldn't need to fight in the future; if they met [Master Leipu], they would just kneel down and let him Leipu them.

But to only control a shadow, a fragment, that is easy!

Golden divine lightning cracked and jumped. Half a second later, the grotesque shadow obediently bowed to Qi Xing, allowing him to command it.

"Take me to find Romanie's wife."

The shadow did not move.

"Take me to find Romanie's [wife], or anyone else in this [Heart Chamber] he calls his wife."

The shadow did not move.

Damn it, why is this thing even dumber than an AI?

Qi Xing pondered for a moment and changed the command: "Take me to the core of the [Heart Chamber], to the most important place on this level."

The shadow floated up and began to fly away.

They went down floor after floor, occasionally passing huge iron doors, walking toward the deepest part of the [Inner Realm] in complete silence. After going down many times, they finally walked to a corridor with no stairs at the end, replaced by a final iron door.

The shadow stopped in front of the door.

Nothing happened as they delved deeper into the [Heart Chamber], which had made Qi Xing feel a bit bored. But now, his curiosity began to rise again. They were already at the bottom level, and Romanie's deepest secret was within reach.

The lock made a soft click, and Qi Xing opened the door.

The room was dim and lightless; the only light source was an old wall lamp, which outlined the mottled rust on the walls even more hideously. The air was filled with the smell of rust and old leather, stuffy and damp.

Then, Qi Xing saw it.

It stood alone in the center of the room, silent and closed, like a coffin; heavy iron plates cast a cold outline, the surface covered with the traces of time, mottled rust scattered on it like dried bloodstains, and it was tightly closed, not even a glimmer of light could penetrate through the cracks, as if it had never been opened.

It was a… it was an Iron Maiden.

A legendary medieval torture device.

It was even cast with an indifferent and ruthless female face, coldly staring at the poor soul about to step into it.

"It's not this kind of [Maiden], right? Romanie, aren't you a bit too imaginative?"

Qi Xing was even a little shocked for a moment. Fortunately, things weren't that crazy yet. He reached out and pulled open the iron door, seeing the inside of the torture device. The scene inside surprised him, and also made Qi Xing breathe a sigh of relief.

Densely packed spikes extended from inside the Iron Maiden, each one long and sharp, arranged neatly like the fangs of a beast.

But at the same time, inside this iron coffin, there really was a living, breathing, and fortunately not blood-covered, [Mysterious Little Girl].

A little girl with golden hair reaching her waist, blue eyes, and a petite, slender figure.

Even though Qi Xing, a stranger, suddenly pulled open the Iron Maiden, she didn't look surprised at all, expressionless, without a ripple.

This is Romanie's [wife]?

Although Qi Xing had long guessed that it was impossible for Romanie to really have a hidden wife, this situation was too weird.

"Are you locked in here? Don't be afraid, I'm here to save you."

He tried asking.

The [Mysterious Little Girl] didn't say a word, silently looking at Qi Xing with her big blue eyes.

"What is your name?"

She didn't speak.

"Why are you here?"

She didn't speak.

"What is your relationship with Romanie?"

Hey, this time the [Mysterious Little Girl] actually spoke: "He said I am his wife."

Eww.