The First Order

Chapter 755 Manifestation

Holding the saber tightly in hand, White Mask walked towards them step by step with an oppressive aura.

The crowd subconsciously stepped aside for fear of getting dragged in.

Then White Mask came to a stop and stood behind Ren Xiaosu.

Two similar-looking physiques holding two similar black sabers-Ren Xiaosu was filled with killing intent.

Ren Xiaosu stared intently at Chen Liu’er in front of him. He suddenly asked someone next to him, “What day is it today?” The Great Hoodwinker did some calculations on his fingers and smiled, revealing his yellowed teeth. “Today’s the ninth day of the new year. It’s a day suited for carrying out burials, shifting of coffins, weeding out personnel, and killing people.”

Ren Xiaosu nodded. “What a coincidence.”

Wang Yun looked over at the Great Hoodwinker. It seemed that neither the Great Hoodwinker nor Ren Xiaosu was surprised by the sudden appearance of White Mask.

But Ren Xiaosu was unaware of the impact his display had on the others.

Before this, Wang Yun thought White Mask was just Ren Xiaosu’s friend and comrade. In Wang Yun’s eyes, they were two different individuals who worked for the same organization, and all they shared was a common objective and goal.

Meanwhile, Cheng Yu simply thought Ren Xiaosu was just White Mask’s assistant. But now, all of those speculations were overturned.

There might be someone who possessed two different superpowers in this world, but there could absolutely be no two people with the same superpower. Even if they were of the same elemental type, their powers would still be different.

However, Ren Xiaosu was the only exception in this world. He could have what the others had, but he could also have what the others did not

have.

When Ren Xiaosu and White Mask conjured their black sabers out of thin air at the same time, Wang Yun and the others immediately understood. So it turned out the renowned White Mask was only a manifestation of Ren Xiaosu’s superpower. It was no wonder White Mask appeared so often wherever Ren Xiaosu was. During the disaster at Stronghold 74 and the chaotic battle in Luoyang City, Ren Xiaosu had fought alongside White Mask.

Wang Yun thought White Mask was an extremely close friend of Ren Xiaosu’s, but it turned out they were actually the same person.

The truth of this matter upended Wang Yun’s understanding. That was because White Mask was way too powerful.

When Wang Yun fought the T5 combatant, he needed to join hands with Cheng Yu to do so. Even if he had joined forces with everyone, he would still have gotten slashed by the T5 combatant to the point of still being injured. However, White Mask was able to go head-to-head with a T5 combatant and kill him.

The afternoon sun was glaring and heavy, the mountain peaks in the distance stood tall as knives, and the young man exuded a magnificent aura about him.

White Mask stood diagonally behind Ren Xiaosu. The stance they had when carrying the saber was exactly the same. White Mask… looked just like Ren Xiaosu’s shadow.

But this was a shadow that could kill. Chen Liu’er sized up both Ren Xiaosu and White Mask calmly. “Only the two of you? That’s not nearly enough.”

But Ren Xiaosu ignored him and said to Luo Lan, Li Shentan, and Yang Xiaojin instead, “Luo Lan, Xiaojin, you two know why I’m here. Don’t worry about me. If the person captured by the Pyro Company is really the one I’m looking for, please help me rescue him.”

Yan Liuyuan was probably still inside the Pyro Company’s building right now. Once Ren Xiaosu engaged in battle here, others with ulterior motives would definitely take the opportunity to move in. Ren Xiaosu only asked Luo Lan and the others to save Yan Liuyuan because he did not want the battle to delay the rescue.

Luo Lan looked at Chen Liu’er, then at Ren Xiaosu. He had wanted to stay behind to help Ren Xiaosu fight, but it seemed like it was really as Li Shentan had said. Ren Xiaosu was planning to end everything by himself.

Someone on the team had already taken advantage of this confrontation between Chen Liu’er and Ren Xiaosu to quietly run off towards the building behind them.

Ren Xiaosu and Chen Liu’er’s survival had nothing to do with them. They were only here to capture the No. 001 Experimental. So they couldn’t wish more for those two to kill each other.

Chen Liu’er stood still. It was as though he did not see those people slipping off into the building. He suddenly said, “Mortals always care only about what they see in front of them. They think that as long as they can get into the building, they can get what they’re after. But they’ve never thought there’d only be death waiting for them in there.”

In other words, he meant that other dangers were lurking in the building, so those people were running to their deaths by going in.

However, Chen Liu’er’s condescending attitude left everyone disgusted.

Perhaps Chen Liu’er was representing a group of supernatural beings who had already drawn a line between themselves and normal people.

Li Shentan could not bear to hear someone talking to him in such a tone. So he raised an eyebrow and said to Ren Xiaosu, “We’ll head in first then. Hurry up and kill him. It’s so uncomfortable to hear him speak.”

With that, he completely ignored Chen Liu’er’s words and walked straight into the building.

Yang Xiaojin looked at Ren Xiaosu but did not say anything Vanilla had intended to stay behind and watch the battle, but what was in the building was still much more important.

When everyone else had gone into the building, Ren Xiaosu’s aura suddenly got even more oppressive.

Chen Liu’er looked at Ren Xiaosu who remained behind and asked, “I’ve always been very curious about something. Why do you all seem to care so much for that fool?”

But Ren Xiaosu did not intend to answer his question at this moment.

White Mask walked in front of Ren Xiaosu from behind, and the two of them gripped their black sabers with both hands at the same time.

Yang Xiaojin once mentioned that after humans had undergone some training, even a simple breathing technique could be used to give themselves a psychological suggestion and allow their bodies to reach a state that was most suitable for killing.

Ren Xiaosu had tried before, and he managed to do it as well.

But later, he realized he did not even need to go through all that trouble.

It seemed that ever since he was born, he possessed an extraordinary talent. As long as he wanted to do something, his body would be ready to serve his will.

If mental strength was the highest caliber of weapon humanity had, Ren Xiaosu would have been holding this weapon in his hands from the moment he was born.

In an instant, Ren Xiaosu and White Mask charged over like two highly coordinated machines.

Looking at Chen Liu’er before him, Ren Xiaosu felt like a fire had been stoked in him.

Chen Liu’er raised his Golden-Hooped Rod and held it out in front of him. At the same time, he nonchalantly blocked the saber attacks from Ren Xiaosu and White Mask.

He thought he could easily block the attack. But to his surprise, when White Mask and Ren Xiaosu’s sabers simultaneously landed on the Golden-Hooped Rod, the unstoppable force pushed Chen Liu’er backwards.

Sparks were sent flying. Chen Liu’er finally steadied himself and looked at the Golden-Hooped Rod in his hand. There were two obvious cuts etched deeply into it.

The Pyro Company had used many methods to test the strength of the Golden-Hooped Rod. When the Golden-Hooped Rod was placed into a cutting machine, the machine broke. Then they used a hydraulic press and pitted it against the Golden-Hooped Rod, but that broke apart too.

Just as everyone thought the Golden-Hooped Rod was impervious to damage, someone actually managed to leave a half-centimeter cut on it with a slash.

“Interesting,” Chen Liu’er said.

But he was unaware that Ren Xiaosu was also a little surprised. After all, this was the first time the black saber had failed to cut through something. In the past, the black saber could even cut through a T5 combatant’s body like it was tofu. But now, it could not even cut through the Golden-Hooped Rod successfully.

However, Ren Xiaosu started laughing instead. “My disciple is indeed powerful.”

The more powerful Chen Liu’er was, the prouder Ren Xiaosu was of Chen Wudi. That was because everything Chen Liu’er possessed was bestowed upon him by Chen Wudi. If Chen Liu’er was powerful, then Chen Wudi would only be stronger!

This was the kind of strength the Great Sage of Heaven should possess!

Chen Liu’er could not understand what Ren Xiaosu was laughing about. He looked at the cut made on the Golden-Hooped Rod and said, “But I’ve also discovered your secret. White Mask is much stronger than you are. However, neither of you are as strong as me.”

There were two cuts on the Golden-Hooped Rod, and the one made by White Mask was clearly stronger than Ren Xiaosu’s slash. So Chen Liu’er immediately understood Ren Xiaosu was not as strong as White Mask. But Ren Xiaosu did not feel embarrassed that he had been exposed. Instead, he and White Mask gripped their sabers with both hands again. He said seriously, “Even though you’re full of strength, you don’t understand that it isn’t strength that determines how strong humans are.”

Chen Liu’er wondered, “Then what is it determined by?”

“The courage to go all out and the will to never yield, both of which you don’t possess. What you have is only an incomplete soul.”

Zhang Jinglin once said that life should be a candle, burning brightly from wick to end.

Li Yingyun mentioned before that only faith, the sun, and the moon were eternal.

And Jiang Xu also said he would not regret reporting the truth even if he had to die a 1,000 times.

How did mankind manage to survive the previous disaster? Was it because of supernatural beings? No, they did not exist at that time yet.

Therefore, it was definitely not superpowers that supported humanity til this day but the undying spirit of the pioneers magnificently displayed throughout history. Ren Xiaosu and Old Xu raised their sabers again and started slashing at Chen Liu’er. Every attack they threw out was for Chen Wudi’s sake, to prove that in the face of scientific ethics, humans would be the bearers of history, not clones. Perhaps everything in this world could be cloned, except heroes!

He and Old Xu kept circling around Chen Liu’er like two swirling dragons joining hands in battle.

Alternating their attacks, Ren Xiaosu and Old Xu’s coordination was flawless as they worked together to kill their enemy.

Chen Liu’er kept his composure and focused on Ren Xiaosu and White Mask as he blocked their attacks with his Golden-Hooped Rod every time. “Is that all you can muster?”

But when Chen Liu’er saw Ren Xiaosu smirk, he immediately looked at his Golden-Hooped Rod. Only then did he realize that no matter which angle White Mask was attacking from, it was always to force Chen Liu’er into a position where Ren Xiaosu could strike at the same spot with every slash!

He could see his Golden-Hooped Rod was close to breaking!

When Chen Liu’er realized Ren Xiaosu’s intent, he quickly tried to adjust the position of his grip of the Golden-Hooped Rod. But it was too late. The black saber slashed across in front of him.

Behind the saber, Chen Liu’er saw Ren Xiaosu’s cold gaze align with the blade’s edge. He realized he was in a perilous situation!

The blade connected with the Golden-Hooped Rod again. It was as though it slashed down at an endless abyss and allowed light to seep in through the gap! ‘Wudi, can you see it? If you can still see this, watch how Master protects this ray of light.’

“Do you think you’re worthy of wearing the golden circlet? Do you think you’re worthy of holding this Golden-Hooped Rod?! Have you been to the Western Paradise before? You’ve never!”

‘You’re just a thief who stole my disciple’s DNA. You’re nothing but a thief.’

The black saber was like a scalpel in Ren Xiaosu’s hand, accurately landing on the cut in the Golden-Hooped Rod again!

The Golden-Hooped Rod broke into two!

The Golden-Hooped Rod the Pyro Company had spent so much effort trying just to scratch was broken in half!

Chen Liu’er fell silent as he looked at the rod in his hands that had been split in two.

Ren Xiaosu glared at him and said, “Let me correct you again. He’s not a fool, and you aren’t qualified to talk about him with me.”

“He’s just a fool nobody acknowledges. Does anyone he has helped feel grateful to him?” Chen Liu’er asked.

Ren Xiaosu looked at Chen Liu’er. “How could you possibly understand human emotions?”

Chen Liu’er seemed to become more serious. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

Ren Xiaosu said coldly, “What’s there to answer? If a good person doesn’t get acknowledged by people, it’s the world that’s wrong. It isn’t his fault!” What wrong had Chen Wudi done? All he wanted was to be a good person.

Looking at this devastated world and era, the wrath in Ren Xiaosu’s heart burnt even fiercer.

If this world and era could not accommodate good people, if it could not accommodate Chen Wudi, then it should just perish.

“You’re speaking too soon.” Chen Liu’er threw his broken weapon to the ground without a care and the two broken rods landed with a loud clang. “I always found this thing to be a little cumbersome. But it’s all good now. I have to thank you for breaking it for me so that I’m not bound by it. To express my gratitude, I’ll send you to meet that fool.” With that, Chen Liu’er’s golden chain mail materialized out of thin air. His phoenix-feather cap looked very magnificent as well.

“Did your disciple have these?” Chen Liu’er asked with a laugh.

Ren Xiaosu shook his head. “Compared to him, you’re still a long way off.”

On that day, Chen Wudi transformed into the Great Sage and fought his way to victory to save his master. His phoenix-feather cap that had materialized on his head had two striped feathers that pointed upward to the sky, forming a connection with the clouds. His golden armor that had appeared out of thin air as well glowed golden like the burning sun competing for glory with the Heavens.

When Wudi shouted “Sky Breaker” back then, even the vault of heaven had to give way.

How could a fake compare to Chen Wudi in all of this?

Chen Liu’er sneered, “Think before you speak!” Then he plucked a handful of hairs from the back of his head and blew them into the wind. “Come on out, my little monkeys!”

Ren Xiaosu saw countless hairs fluttering into the wind. In the blink of an eye, they turned into ferocious armored monkeys with sharp fangs.

Chen Liu’er laughed, “Did your disciple have such a technique?”

But something unexpected happened. After those hundreds of monkeys appeared and landed on the ground, they did not follow Chen Liu’er’s wish to fight Ren Xiaosu. Instead, they suddenly knelt down in worship at the building behind Chen Liu’er!

They were like extremely devoted believers, and their faces were full of grief. As though someone had sighed in the building, everyone heard something in their heads.

After kowtowing repeatedly, the monkeys burst into tears and vanished into the wind. The clouds in the sky parted and a rainbow emerged!

Chen Liu’er immediately turned around. Why did his monkeys kowtow in a direction away from him? What could possibly be there?!

Ren Xiaosu started laughing so hard that he nearly cried. Only he knew… that was where Chen Wudi was. Si Liren was in that building, and she happened to be carrying Chen Wudi!

‘Wudi, you’re still around, right? Wudi, can you see Master right now?’

At this moment, Li Shentan had just arrived on the first floor of the building when the box behind Si Liren suddenly emitted a rainbow glow. Before Li Shentan could get excited, the glow faded away again.

The hope in Ren Xiaosu’s heart also dimmed for a moment, but only for a moment.

“Master will kill this Six-Eared Macaque on your behalf.” Ren Xiaosu did not have any regrets. Even if Wudi had only shown his brilliance for a moment, it was enough to put him at ease. At the very least, Li Shentan had not lied to him. Wudi was really still alive.

Chen Liu’er was feeling unsettled. Ren Xiaosu laughed maniacally and said proudly, “Did you see that? That’s the real Great Sage while you’re only the Six-Eared Macaque. What’s real can’t be faked, and what’s fake can’t take the place of the real. What did I say just now? You’re nothing compared to him!”

‘It’s a good day today. It’s suited for carrying out burials and killing people!’

As he spoke, Ren Xiaosu slashed at Chen Liu’er’s golden armor with his saber and forcefully cut through it, leaving a deep and bloody wound on his chest.

If Chen Liu’er had not lost his composure, Ren Xiaosu would probably have a tough and extended battle on hand if he wanted to kill the other party. However, with the manifestation of Chen Wudi’s presence, Chen Liu’er got flustered.

Although Chen Liu’er kept saying Chen Wudi was just a fool, he knew deep inside that he was only a clone of that person.

Ren Xiaosu felt that facing battle was definitely not the worst fear for a clone like this but instead the moment he felt ashamed of his own inferiority in the presence of his progenitor.

Chen Liu’er could no longer remain calm. He turned his head and said to Ren Xiaosu ferociously, “So what if he’s still alive? After I kill you, he will be next. Then you and your disciple will be reunited on the road to the Underworld….”

Before he finished talking, Chen Liu’er launched a sneak attack. He crouched down and kicked Old Xu aside. Using the momentum, he charged straight at Ren Xiaosu.

But before Chen Liu’er could get close to Ren Xiaosu, he noticed Ren Xiaosu had made a strange move.

Ren Xiaosu took out an ear pick from somewhere and started picking his ear!

Chen Liu’er did not dwell on it and threw a heavy punch straight at Ren Xiaosu’s face. However, that punch was completely stopped by an invisible force 30 centimeters away from Ren Xiaosu!

Ren Xiaosu threw his head back and laughed. “I’m giving you a chance by picking my ears, but it looks like you’re useless.”

Ren Xiaosu was messing with him. It felt like he was trying to humiliate Chen Liu’er by standing there and picking his ear, letting the monster who was one foot away bare its fangs and brandish its claws at him threateningly. No matter how hard this monster tried to punch or kick at him, it was all but a futile attempt. “Liu’er, do you understand now?” Ren Xiaosu stopped laughing and said in a serious tone, “This is all that the so-called gods you were referring to can do. Let me ask you one last time: Do you know the difference between you and him?”

Chen Liu’er was going absolutely crazy. He even felt a little despair. He could not figure out Ren Xiaosu’s power. No matter how hard he tried, he was unable to break through that transparent barrier.

It was like a child fighting an adult. He had already lost before the other party even made a move. This feeling was akin to being roasted on a fire. It was so painful he would rather die.

So it turned out that his strength he was most confident about was not even worth mentioning!

At this moment, Wang Yun, who was upstairs, took the time to look down through the windows of the building. He saw Ren Xiaosu picking his ears in front of Chen Liu’er who could not do anything about it. Chen Liu’er’s punches and kicks could even shake the ground, but the young man just held his saber and did not budge. This devastated Chen Liu’er.

The sight was so shocking it rendered Wang Yun speechless. His impression of Ren Xiaosu reached unfathomable levels!

He could not understand something. Didn’t they say there were only two demigods in the era of the “Rise of Gods”? How on earth did they miss out on the real god?! In truth, Ren Xiaosu did not display his combat prowess at all. However, the impression he gave when he picked his ears was way too terrifying! Who would pick their ears in the middle of a fight? Could you show some respect to your opponent, please?!

Chen Liu’er stopped attacking. He asked while panting heavily, “Who on earth are you?! And why are you so strong?”

Ren Xiaosu just smiled. “It’s not that I’m strong but that you’re too weak. You’re not even at 0.01% of my disciple’s level.”

But Chen Liu’er was not dumb either. “Why are you still picking your ear? I get it now. This is your power, right? But you can’t hurt your enemy when you’re picking your ear!”

Ren Xiaosu stopped talking. When Chen Liu’er saw his reaction, he laughed even harder. “So that’s how it is. You’re deliberately mystifying things!”

Chen Liu’er laughed so hard he threw his head back. While laughing, he happened to notice Ren Xiaosu conjure a black sniper rifle out of thin air!

Bang!

After a gunshot from the sniper rifle rang out, Chen Liu’er slowly lowered his head and looked at his chest.

Earlier, Ren Xiaosu had slashed at Chen Liu’er’s golden armor with his saber and made a chink in it. And now, a shot from the sniper rifle had blown a hole out of that chink and left a huge, bloody wound within!

Meanwhile, Ren Xiaosu was holding the rifle in one hand while picking his ear with his other.

“Where did your saber go?” Chen Liu’er asked bitterly.

Wasn’t the young man holding a saber just a moment ago? When did it turn into a black sniper rifle?

Chen Liu’er suddenly realized his opponent’s goal for breaking the Golden-Hooped Rod by hitting it repeatedly and making a chink in his golden armor was just so he could open fire at him without anything hindering the bullet’s path.

To be safe, Ren Xiaosu even used a black bullet that cost him a 100 gratitude tokens for a sure kill!

He knew full well that it was still unclear who would emerge victorious in the prolonged battle. That was because Chen Wudi was simply too strong, so even his clone would be strong as well!

However, Ren Xiaosu could kill those ruthless people by himself when he was still living back in town. He had never relied on only brute strength to kill people but used whatever means could be used! Ren Xiaosu had already discovered that his Ear Picking skill could block all kinds of close-range attacks, even if it included melee weapons. But at the same time, Ren Xiaosu was unable to attack others barehanded or with melee weapons either.

However, Ren Xiaosu had a sniper rifle, and it was not a melee weapon! So if he and the enemy were engaged in close combat, he could simply pick his ear and use his sniper rifle concurrently, leaving him invincible.

With the Ear Picking and the black sniper rifle, he would be invincible in close combat.

Besides, his black sniper rifle was extremely lethal too!

The purpose of fighting was not for victory but to kill the enemy.

For some reason, Ren Xiaosu was always able to come up with such strange combinations of powers that were extremely lethal as well. In Ren Xiaosu’s opinion, victory would be meaningless if the enemy did not die.

Chen Liu’er slumped to the ground pathetically and coughed up blood.

Ren Xiaosu looked silently at the building. He did not know where Si Liren had gone with the box, nor could he see through the thick glass.

‘Wudi, did you see it? Master managed to protect that ray of light for you this time. When you return, you’ll see that the ray of light is still there.’