Scourge King.

Liang Chen looked at the wall of people that was slowly moving closer to them, each one vigilantly eyeing the other, worried that someone would steal their prey. Even though Yan Ling said that she could get him to the Demonic beast corpse, he was still a bit worried that she might have some trouble getting through this wall of people.

"Do you need me to open a slight path at the start?"

If Liang Chen opened a small path with his crimson lightning, it should be easier for Yan Ling to breach through. His injuries would get worse, but it was better than not getting through. He said it to be helpful, but Yan Ling puffed out her chest and let out a low snort.

"Don't you think you've gotten to show off enough? I'm the older one here, so where will my dignity be if I keep letting you do everything? Just you watch and let me show off a little."

After she spoke, Yan Ling removed the two talismans that were stuck to her body, sticking one onto each of her legs. She bit her tongue and spat out some blood, smearing some of it on the talisman responsible for increasing her speed. The talisman lit up with a bloody light, quickly draining the energy in the other talisman and turning it to dust.

Once the second talisman turned to dust, the first one let out a resplendent crimson light that sank into Yan Ling's body. She grabbed onto Liang Chen and immediately kicked off the ground, dashing forward, her entire body turning into a blur. She moved with such force that the blood vessels in her legs exploded, the bones in her legs starting to creak and shatter. Her face distorted from the pain, but she didn't let out a complaint.

She reached the wall of people in less than the blink of an eye, once more kicking off the ground and jumping up. She used the head of one person as a steppingstone, kicking off it and dashing forward, stepping on several more heads to keep herself above the group. Each head she stepped on exploded into a rain of blood, showing just how much force each of her steps produced.

She moved so fast that only a few people were able to react to her movements, launching attacks to try and slow her down. The talisman responsible for defending her had been drained of all its energy, so she had nothing to defend her from the incoming attacks.

Liang Chen heard the sound of an attack hitting her left shoulder, completely shattering it and causing her arm to hang down limply. An attack also approached Liang Chen, who was carried under her right arm, but she quickly twisted her body and let the attack hit her back instead, blocking it for Liang Chen. He wanted to say something, but Yan Ling cut him off before he could get out the words.

"You're the one who is going to get us out of this mess, so can't exactly let you accumulate more wounds."

Yan Ling sent him a smile and a light laugh, signaling him to not worry about it. Since she didn't want him to worry about it, he quickly changed the words he was going to say, giving an exasperated shake of his head.

"Didn't you just say that I've gotten to show off enough and that it was your time to show off?"

They were surrounded by enemies, both of them wounded pretty badly. Their situation looked pretty dire, so Liang Chen did what he had gotten used to doing, joking around to lighten up the situation. Yan Ling immediately played along, letting out a chuckle.

"Am I not doing that right now?"

With Yan Ling's speed, it didn't take long for the two of them to escape from the people that had surrounded them, giving them some breathing room. But Yan Ling knew that her speed wouldn't last much longer, so she quickly forced herself to move as fast as she could, reaching the corpse that they were looking for after only five minutes.

The spider was around 100 meters long, had thin legs that ended in sharp points, and a pure white carapace covered in small barbs. Yan Ling quickly dropped Liang Chen by the corpse of the spider, her legs trembling fiercely, threatening to give out under her. If it wasn't for the fact that she was trying to put on a strong front, her broken legs would have already given out under her. She glanced at the spider, but she still didn't know what they were doing here.

"Alright, we're here, now what? They'll catch up quick, so you better work fast."

Liang Chen's eyes landed on the chest of the spider, the part of the corpse that seemed to be the softest. His entire body seemed to hunger for the spider, some drool starting to drip down from his mouth. He quickly took a deep breath, swallowing the saliva and turning back to Yan Ling.

"Now I carve open the chest of this thing, and you run and hide somewhere far away, someplace where I can't find you."

There was no telling what might happen to him after he drenched himself in the blood of this spider, he might lose his mind, or he might just explode from the sheer amount of energy. If Yan Ling was next to him when either of those things happened, she would get caught up in it. Yan Ling forced her legs to step forward, quickly rapping Liang Chen on the head with her knuckles as she scowled at him.

"You're still trying to get me to leave you alone?"

She had already told him earlier that she wouldn't leave him here alone, so why was he still trying to tell her to flee on her own? Did she really seem like such an unreliable person? Liang Chen could only put on a bitter smile when he saw her be this adamant about not leaving, giving a weak shake of his head and trying to explain himself.

"I don't know what I might do once I pull this off. I might just lose myself and end up attacking you alongside the others."

His plan was to drench himself in the blood of the spider, using the massive amount of energy stored within it to forcefully increase his strength and either rebuild his cultivation or create a Poison Seed. But because of the aggressive nature of the energy within the blood, he might very well end up losing his mind to his bestial instincts. But in contrast to Liang Chen's bitter smile, Yan Ling let out a light giggle after hearing his explanation.

"Really, and here I thought that you had gotten a little better, but it seems like your thought process is still as childish as it was back in Four Clouds city."

Liang Chen was completely caught off guard by her sudden giggle. How was his thought process at this moment in any way comparable to how it had been in Four Clouds city when he wanted to kill Liu Daning? Yan Ling once again rapped Liang Chen on the head with her knuckles, but she did it softer this time, gentler.

"You're not here alone, there is no need for you to try to do everything on your own, to carry everything on your own shoulders. If you just ask, there are several people who would be willing to help."

Not just her, but Yan Ying, Teng Yimu, Xiao Yong, as well as all the others. If Liang Chen would just ask for help, all of them would spring forth to help him, there was no need for him to try and solve everything on his own. Liang Chen was stunned into silence after hearing her words, his words slightly hesitant as he spoke up.

"...Then if I asked, would you... would you save me if I were to lose myself?"

It hadn't even been a year since his parents died, but he had already been forced to get used to doing things on his own, to struggle for the things he wanted. Was it truly okay for him to just ask someone else for help? Yan Ling's face lit up with a bright smile as she nodded her head, nudging Liang Chen with her right elbow.

"Of course I would! And besides, compared to the tantrums my sister could throw, I am certain that what you are about to do is nothing."

They were both wounded and weak and might be facing death at any moment. But despite that, they were still able to smile and joke around, the desire to live burning strongly in their chests. Liang Chen also put on a smile of his own, forcing himself to stand up and move towards the chest of the spider, his spear appearing in his grasp.

"You'll have to tell me about those tantrums someday."

It sounded like a casual statement, but it carried a deeper meaning. We will both survive and escape so that we could chat freely in the future. Yan Ling nodded her head, forcing herself to walk up next to Liang Chen, her legs finally giving out under her once the two of them reached the chest of the spider.

"It's a promise, so you just focus on getting us out of this pickle, we'll have plenty of time to talk after that."

Liang Chen gave a slight nod, stabbing his spear into the chest of the spider. The spider had been here countless years, so the carapace had weakened considerably, allowing Liang Chen's spear to sink deep into the spider. But as he was about to pull out the spear, he heard the sound of running footsteps from around them, someone calling out to them.

"So this is where you ran to hide."

Liang Chen turned his head slightly, glancing at the people that had once again surrounded them. There seemed to be even more of them this time around, just how many people had surrounded them in hopes of killing them and taking over their spot as a possible honorary disciple? While Liang Chen was sending them a deadly glare, a blonde-haired middle-aged man holding a thick and long saber took half a step forward, his expression containing a trace of pity as he looked at Liang Chen and Yan Ling.

"Listen, I know that you must be pretty monstrous to not only be able to become most likely to become an honorary disciple but also to survive for this long. But no matter how monstrous you are, we won't let you run anymore. This is the end of the line."

All the other possible honorary disciple's had been replaced several times by now, only Liang Chen and Yan Ling had been able to hold onto their positions. For them to be able to do so even while being chased by so many people, it was clear that their skills were rather monstrous. Liang Chen didn't give a proper response to the man's words, only letting out a low mutter that only he and Yan Ling could hear.

"Monstrous? Just you watch, I will show you a monster."

Liang Chen pulled out the spear slightly, using the tip to slash open the chest of the spider, making sure to not cause a wound that would spill any blood on the nearby Yan Ling. He then took a step forward and drenched his own body in the blood, poison, and organs that poured out from the wound. It was unknown how many of the people surrounding them would be able to survive past today, but all those that survived would remember this day for the rest of their lives, for it was the day that the Scourge King was born.

There wasn't even any time for Liang Chen to feel pain, his entire body suddenly burst forth with a tremendous amount of energy, his bones creaking and his veins protruding and wriggling like worms beneath his skin. But Liang Chen didn't notice any of this, his mind flying far away, sinking into a familiar city that was now flooded with blood. And as his mind flew far away, he heard the laughter of the blood-haired Liang Chen ring out within his own mind.

"Hahaha, it didn't take you long to come back to me. I. Win."