Huinao

What the hell? The instant the blazing light surged toward him, in subjective time wildly accelerated, Ji Jue's head buzzed. He stared dumbfounded: How did a perfectly fine person suddenly blow himself up? Could it be that the artisans of the Profound were so fiercely unyielding that, just to avoid suffering humiliation at his hands, this guy decided to stage a live demonstration and hardcore speedrun his own life? Wait, with a save-file playtime like that, you wouldn't even come close to the any% record! What was the point? Yet soon enough, he finally understood the opponent's purpose. It was for nothing else; he simply wanted to die, pure and simple. As a tool, a puppet, and an artisan's creation, he had been sent before Ji Jue. And then— —Longevity of Heaven and Earth! It was unimaginable that such terrifying blaze could erupt from such a puny human frame. It swelled relentlessly, ballooning outward again and again, swallowing everything in its wake. Who knew just how much chaotic junk had been implanted inside his body? The moment the explosion began, it triggered a chain reaction akin to a fusion bomb. It tore through the sky, scorched the earth, and threw the entire Border Realm into utter turmoil. At the very center of the blast, the moment that body disintegrated into ash, the countless motes of ash expanded once more and detonated anew. Even as they annihilated all matter, they released yet more spores of destruction, blooming again and again. In mere fractions of a second, innumerable detonations overlapped inside the Border Realm, shaking it violently. Right beneath the noses of the two Grandmasters, the boundary swelled faintly, nearly failing to contain the expanding storm within. Trapped inside the sealed space, the blast reverberated back and forth, heaving wave after wave. The mere glare leaking through the Border Realm caused the surrounding seawater to boil abruptly, rising into clouds of steam before being scattered by howling winds. Thick smoke billowed as boundless fire and ash surged and fell. Barely a tenth remained of the shattered land suspended in the void, riddled with cracks and covered in devastation. With physical laws entirely shattered, the Border Realm seemed to turn into cosmic void. No gravity, no air. Amid the dead silence, only a terrifying residual heat like the dawn of primeval creation swept back and forth like a tide. Yet in such a desolate, dead end, a colossal silhouette still stood upright. Half-crouched on the ground, raising both arms to guard its face, it used its massive bulk to shield the artisan behind it. Dragon Mountain! At the most crucial instant, Prosperity—which had remained concealed high in the sky from the very start—had plummeted from the heavens, planting itself before the surge of annihilation. Its entire frame was scorched red, its outer steel melting away to expose the obsidian-like muscle beneath. Layer upon layer of fissures faintly surfaced, and its damaged features grew increasingly savage. Almost all of the countless armor plates stacked through three chains of Blessings had been utterly obliterated under that terrifying impact. Even so, the core frame remained steadfast. Though it appeared heavily damaged, it was nothing that swapping out a few parts and replenishing some materials couldn't fix. By comparison, what proved far more troublesome were the pitch-black streaks swirling through the dark sky and earth. They wound around Dragon Mountain and Ji Jue like rot clinging to bone, refusing to disperse. Curse of the Abyssal Void, Supreme Bliss of Weiyang, Annihilation of Youshuang, Nihility of the Rainbow, Distortion of Defilement, Poison of the White Manor... Various meticulously concocted pollutions continuously shifted forms like living things, seeping inward and spreading without missing a single opening. Much like the little seasonings Ji Jue had once loved mixing into his own bombs, the malice crafted with calculating cunning now emerged from the explosion, taking effect upon him. Immediately following it, a gaunt figure appeared outside the Border Realm. He had a slight hunch, was somewhat advanced in years, with salt-and-pepper hair, a high hairline, and balding already underway. On his face rested a pair of slightly clumsy tortoiseshell glasses, and he wore a goatee, carrying a briefcase in hand like an old pedant from who-knew-where. He offered Ji Jue a genial smile. "My, quite a lot of things were blown out of you..." he murmured in admiring praise. "Mr. Ji's foundation is so rich it makes one envious." "Huinao!" A hairline crack appeared along the wine glass in Jiang Tongguang's hand. In his ear came Gustav's command: "Call Ji Jue back immediately! He absolutely cannot continue!" As a Sin-Bearer bestowed an honorable title by Stagnant Rot, before receiving this moniker, most people had referred to him as the Hyena or the Vulture. Even within the Profound, he was notoriously foul, to the point where other Profound artisans refused to associate with him. There was no helping it; he was simply too repulsive. Just as the title Huinao suggested, he was an utterly rancid quagmire. Regardless of victory or defeat, once tainted by him, the stench carried for ten li against the wind. Even if one won, the disgust lingered for decades. And what he excelled at most in his life was duels between artisans. Yet compared to someone like Ye Xian, who simply steamrolled opponents head-on regardless of circumstances, he belonged to an entirely different species—they couldn't even be mentioned in the same breath. For aside from fighting a straight duel, he would do anything. He stopped at nothing, using every conceivable underhanded trick, but refused above all else to give his opponent a genuine opportunity to display their strength. For an artisan, being unscrupulous was instinct, but this man had gone so far that the means had become his only purpose. He didn't even care about the final spoils. All he sought was to savor his opponent's humiliation, rage, and utter helplessness against him... He would even deliberately spare his opponent's life solely to derive repeated amusement, letting them pursue revenge time and time again until he grew completely bored, before finally letting them die a meaningless, abject death. The Weaver, who won the match only to have her apprentice die a gruesome death; Stone Splint, left half-dead and pleading for a swift end he was denied; Xuan Ying, who held victory firmly in hand only to be backstabbed by his own student and cast into the abyss; even Zhu Yan, the very mentor who had introduced him to the Profound back then... From the Association to the Profound, and from the mortal realm to the Vortex, regardless of ally or foe, weak or strong, far too many victims had been ruined purely to provide him pleasure and allow him to savor his triumphs. Yet amidst countless wildly different tragedies, the sole constant was the outcome: the instant he showed himself before an opponent, the true victory was already firmly in his grasp! All that remained was the brutal torment and mocking of his foe. Yet now, his footsteps halted just before the Border Realm. He showed not the slightest intention of stepping inside. He merely stroked his beard, smiled genially, and looked at his opponent within the Border Realm. "May I ask if you'd still like to continue, Mr. Ji?" He asked considerately, "Are your spiritus reserves still sufficient? Is your mind sharp? Has your mental vigor waned? Has this iron body worn down too severely? "Do you need to rest for a while longer? "It's fine. Take as long as you like." "Our duel hasn't begun yet. If you want to give up, you may do so at any time." He paused for a moment and smiled: "All you need to do is bow your head and concede." Just like someone looking down upon a victim dangling at the edge of a cliff, extending a friendly helping hand, where the only price was saying "please" and "thank you." Nothing more. Yet the only response he received was silence. Enveloped in dark curses, Ji Jue remained silent, uttering not a word. He merely lifted his head without expression, looking at him with eyes brimming with doubt and contempt. *Just you?* Huinao shrugged helplessly and spread his hands. Just as expected. He merely raised his head and, with an even brighter smile, looked up toward the sky. "May I ask, can we begin?" Tianlu lowered his eyes, gazing down at the dust below. "Grandmaster!" Gustav cried out, nearly roaring in a breach of composure. "Please replace him immediately, Grandmaster! The Association hasn't run out of people yet, Grandmaster!" Tianlu did not speak, paying him no heed. He didn't even look at Ji Jue. His expression remained impassive. "Then continue," he said. At that, Huinao laughed silently, casting a mocking gaze upon Ji Jue, who was encumbered with vile curses inside the Border Realm. Yet he could not resist letting out a soft sigh. "Whether it's the Profound or the Association, the most intolerable thing is how you people put on airs and act so full of yourselves... Every single one of you walks straight into a dead end without ever turning back. "Thinking yourselves superior, with eyes set higher than the heavens, acting utterly insufferable, yet never pausing to think how laughable you truly are." Huinao stepped into the Border Realm, lamenting helplessly, "When the end finally comes and you're truly out of options, weeping bitter tears, you never reflect on the fact that you forged this outcome with your own hands. "It really is far too comical!" Ji Jue did not speak. Coldly fixing his eyes on the figure, he gave a slight curl of his finger. *Come on!* Yet Huinao didn't move. Instead, he stood where he was and leisurely unlatched his briefcase, produced a bottle from inside, and smashed it onto the ground. Instantly, the mire preserved inside the test tube began to dance like a living creature, spreading outward. The greyish-black swamp resembled some kind of spiritus polymer, squirming ceaselessly. Countless weathered bones faintly emerged from the surging mud, their hands still locked in a death grip around the creations and lifework they had once taken pride in. Denied peace even in death. Just like that, the swamp formed a perimeter around him, Immovable as a Mountain, secure as a fortress of bronze. "You might have misunderstood me. I'm not like a brave warrior who draws his blade at a moment's notice like you. I'm fierce of brow but faint of heart, cowardly as a rat. I'm always worried that things won't be guaranteed, constantly wavering and looking over my shoulder. I seek not a single point of achievement, but demand ten out of ten stability. My greatest wish is simply to live in peace while finding a few amusements not fit for polite company..." Chattering away, he pulled out a huge assortment of miscellaneous knickknacks from his robes, jumping erratically from one topic to another, rambling endlessly: "Many call me low and unscrupulous, and they're quite right. After all, what I'm best at is this sort of dog-eat-dog warfare, where everyone bares their true colors without pretense, laying bare their own baseness... Those who lose to me are usually far superior to me in skill. It's just that when it comes to being base, they cannot match half of what I am. "You see, just like right now, there's no need for me to hurry. I already hold the upper hand, my reserves are vast enough, and victory is firmly in my grasp. There's no reason whatsoever to rush in with rash probes. "The only reason I delayed entering the arena until now was merely to piece together and borrow a few things. "Just like..." *BOOM!* Purple lightning and black flame came screaming through the air, only to vanish into thin air before a single glowing lantern. Completely in vain.