My Crazy Upgrade System

Chapter 298: Chapter 297: Because He’s Already Dead

The Netherworld Empire’s recruitment might seem beneficial, but it was actually assimilation—a complete eradication of a faction. Over time, these people would be scattered and integrated into the Netherworld Empire. This might not seem bad, but the Spirit Race had a long heritage and, more importantly, valued all the secrets of their race.

Once all the Spirit Race’s secrets were taken, they would lose all their value. Whether they lived or died would be of no concern to the Empire.

In truth, recruitment itself wasn’t terrifying. Joining a powerful empire had its benefits for any faction. The fear was joining an empire that was too domineering and ruthless—one that would take everything and then discard them like trash.

They would even force the newly joined factions to work themselves to death until their own power structures crumbled and they were completely annihilated. More often than not, it was about replacing the faction’s upper echelon. That way, the Empire could control a reasonably strong force without having to destroy it, making it fight for them and become their own.

The Celestial Extreme Mansion was the best example. Once its upper echelon was replaced, it became nothing more than a puppet faction.

If the Spirit Race were to join, they would sooner or later end up in the same state. Their former elders held no real power; the Netherworld Empire was the one that truly controlled the lifeblood of the race. Who would be willing to agree to join under such conditions?

They would rather die than become slaves to the Netherworld Empire!

Some members of the Spirit Race held different views, wanting to join these major powers and enjoy a life of superiority. This polarization led to the current situation.

Ye Qingxuan’s heart was filled with pain. If she didn’t kill them, she couldn’t quell the rage in her heart, and worse, she would be failing her fallen kinsmen! Anyone who refused the recruitment was tortured, brutally interrogated, and ultimately killed.

Because of this, her heart had become utterly ruthless. ’Traitors must die! The Netherworld Empire must die!’

"Don’t blame yourself too much..." Yi Tianyun walked over and gently patted her shoulder, signaling for her not to be in so much pain.

"Mm, this isn’t about blame. There are some prices they must pay!" Ye Qingxuan turned to look at Wu Peng, who was lying on the ground to the side, so heavily injured he could barely get up.

Wu Peng regained some consciousness. He glared at them and said intermittently, "If you’re going to kill me, then kill me. Stop dawdling. The Netherworld Empire will uproot your Spirit Race sooner or later!"

As he spoke, he slammed his hand on the ground and sprang up, lunging toward them. But a foot had already shot out. BANG! Wu Peng was kicked hard against a giant tree, the force almost embedding him into the wood.

This fierce kick worsened Wu Peng’s injuries; he was nearly stomped to death.

"Your act of being too injured to get up was a bit too fake," Yi Tianyun said to him coldly. "Don’t worry, it won’t be the Spirit Race that gets uprooted. It’ll be your Netherworld Empire!"

At the same time, the foot pressing down on him began to crazily channel the Star Absorption Technique, drawing the Spiritual Power out of Wu Peng’s body. The Star Absorption Technique didn’t necessarily require a palm to absorb an opponent’s Spiritual Power; any physical contact was enough. freewebnøvel.coɱ

However, compared to using one’s feet, the hands were undoubtedly better for absorption and for suppressing an opponent.

"You, you..." Wu Peng felt the terrifying suction, his own Spiritual Power growing weaker and weaker. The anger in his eyes was replaced by a trace of terror.

"Holy Daughter, how do you want to deal with him?" Yi Tianyun turned his head to ask Ye Qingxuan.

"Kill him!" Ye Qingxuan’s reply was crisp and decisive.

"No problem." Yi Tianyun stomped down hard. Wu Peng’s body was driven several inches into the giant tree. The incredibly hard wood still gave way under this tyrannical force.

Wu Peng’s eyes widened, and then his breathing ceased. That single stomp was enough to crush his internal organs, killing him instantly.

"Ding! Successfully killed Wu Peng. Gained 380,000 experience, 4,300 Madness Value, 300 Sin Value. Obtained Martial Arts: Bloodthirsty Slash, Demon Blood Soaring into the Sky. Obtained items: Blood-Red Demon Blade (High-grade Soul Artifact), Brahma Heaven Armor, 500,000 Experience Pills."

Yi Tianyun then skillfully removed his Storage Ring. This was good stuff; how could he possibly pass it up?

"I can see you’re quite skilled at taking people’s things," Ye Qingxuan said, shooting him a sidelong glance.

"I’m just average at it. There’s a lot of good stuff in here, how could I let it go to waste?" Yi Tianyun put it away. He didn’t even need to look to know there were many Treasures inside—things that could be used to develop a sect. How could he waste them?

"By the way, has your cultivation already reached the Core Formation Stage?" Ye Qingxuan remembered something and asked.

"That’s right. Is there a problem?" Yi Tianyun said, looking at her.

"No problem, it’s just... your breakthrough speed is way too fast, isn’t it? When I met you before, your cultivation was still very low. How on earth do you cultivate?" Ye Qingxuan was shocked. ’He’s even stronger than me now.’

"What can I say? I just kept cultivating and then I broke through," Yi Tianyun said with a shrug.

"Fine." Ye Qingxuan didn’t press the matter. Instead, she said, "Let’s go. We’ll continue to the next location and wipe them out, one by one!"

They didn’t have much time, so they had to hurry to the next location to prevent any accidents.

Then, they vanished from the spot and continued deeper into the forest.

"What the hell is this place? Have you found a breakthrough point or not? Why can’t you break this damned Maze Array?!" Liao Cheng watched his surroundings warily, worried someone might suddenly launch a sneak attack.

"Lord Liao, we can’t break it for now. The Divine Rune Array has probably been repaired, so destroying it will be quite difficult..." one of the Spirit Race traitors who had come with him said with a pained expression.

"Aren’t you guys from the Spirit Race? How can you not even break this thing!" Liao Cheng was furious. "I brought you here to break this Maze Array, and you’ve been useless since we got here!"

The scolded Spirit Race traitors were furious inside, but they could only force a smile on their faces. They didn’t dare show their anger.

"W-we are somewhat familiar with this place, but when the Illusionary Array is active, even we can’t break it easily. It’s constantly changing. Forget us, even the elders would get trapped inside."

This Illusionary Array didn’t distinguish between friend and foe. As long as you didn’t understand its workings, even an elder would get lost in it.

"Dammit, if Wu Peng and his men steal the credit, won’t all my effort be for nothing?" Liao Cheng couldn’t help but kick the giant tree a couple of times. He looked up at the sky and said, "If only I could see what’s going on from up there!"

He was a Core Formation Stage expert, so he could definitely fly. It was just pointless to fly here, as you couldn’t see anything from above. The cultivators who could fly might be able to escape, but they were here to conquer the Spirit Race. Escaping was meaningless.

"Don’t worry, Wu Peng won’t be stealing your credit." A young man suddenly appeared before them, giving them a fright.

"Why?" Liao Cheng didn’t even ask who the newcomer was, blurting out the question subconsciously.

"Because he’s already dead." A wicked smile played on the corners of Yi Tianyun’s lips.

Hiding in the shadows, Ye Qingxuan’s eyes flashed; she was ready to launch a sneak attack. It was Yi Tianyun, of course, who had charged out to draw their attention so she could ambush them. She had originally wanted to be the one to draw their attention, but Yi Tianyun wouldn’t let her. The reason was simple: it was too risky!

If she were suddenly captured by the enemy, things would become very troublesome.