Elsewhere, the battle between the wizard and the robot caused such a massive commotion that, as time went on, more and more groups gathered to watch from a distance.
Having wised up, Yu Xian knew that drawing too much attention would invite inexplicable attacks, so he simply stayed put at the spot where Feiliqi had tried to snipe him and watched the show from there.
Truth be told, although Feiliqi was not particularly strong, his eye for terrain was truly exceptional.
The vantage point he had picked was perched on a cliff, surrounded by dense foliage. Two sheltering boulders blocked them from view while leaving just enough of a gap between them to observe the battlefield.
Yu Xian and Little Nora sat tucked between the rocks, enjoying the show while having a bite to eat.
Little Nora did most of the eating, while Yu Xian held a cup of tea, sipping it as he studied the robot. He realized that the machine was not a purely silicon-based lifeform, but rather a cyborg.
The modifications had been so thorough that not a single human trait was visible on the outside. Only when the cyborg was wounded in the clash against the wizard and blood seeped from a few seams was its true nature exposed.
Across the myriad worlds, each realm possessed its own unique civilization and systems.
Evidently, when technological development reached its later stages, it was just as terrifyingly potent. The energy inside this cyborg seemed virtually bottomless. Though its explosive burst was not quite on par with the wizard's, its stamina clearly gave it the upper hand.
Yu Xian estimated that the victor would be decided soon.
Just then, a spear suddenly streaked through the air. In the blink of an eye, it punched straight through the cyborg's chest. Before the wizard could even react, several burly men clad in scaly body armor flew in from the distance. The bearded man in the lead roared, "Surrender the Forbidden Fruit and we will spare your life!"
"Spartans, I have no Forbidden Fruit on me! This was just a personal grudge!" the wizard cried out to clarify, hovering midair as he watched the Spartan Warriors approach.
The Spartans, however, paid no heed to his explanation. The bearded leader reached out, and the spear that had impaled the cyborg flew right back into his grasp. Leveling the weapon at the wizard, he bellowed, "You have only two choices: hand over the Forbidden Fruit, or die!"
Domineering and utterly unreasonable!
That was Yu Xian's first impression of these Spartans. Still, he glanced at the spear in the warrior's hand and chose to keep watching.
Even though this Spartan Warrior had a combat power of only 1, the spear in his hands was a Star Divine Artifact.
Yu Xian surmised that the spear likely belonged to the Spartan King. Assuming the Spartan King possessed a combat power of 900, he would have at least eight Star Divine Artifacts, so entrusting one to a subordinate was hardly out of the question.
That way, should the subordinate be killed, the king could instantly teleport over via the artifact.
Only now did Yu Xian understand why the Spartan Warriors could throw their weight around in a lawless land without fearing assassination or having their mouths silenced.
"I told you, I don't have the Forbidden Fruit!" the wizard said, swallowing his rage under forced restraint.
If he were not wary of the Star Divine Artifact in the bearded man's hands, he would have blasted him with a giant fireball long ago. Why else would he endure such humiliation?
"Then you have chosen death!"
The bearded man let out a roar and hurled the spear straight at the wizard with crisp precision.
Yet the wizard was prepared. With a warp of his body, he blinked several kilometers away. "Spartan dogs," he sneered. "The day I ascend will be the doom of your Sparta! Hmph!"
With that, he flickered across space several times and vanished.
Clearly, he possessed spatial ability. Had he not been determined to settle the score with the cyborg, he would have fled long ago.
Flushed red with fury, the bearded man bellowed and led the other Spartan Warriors in swift pursuit along the wizard's path of escape.
Well, that was the end of the show.
Both Yu Xian and Little Nora felt a twinge of lingering regret. Just then, however, the figures who had also been hiding nearby revealed themselves one after another, darting at high speed toward the ground from various directions.
They were clearly after whatever the cyborg had left behind.
"Big Brother, aren't we going to grab a piece of the pie?" Little Nora asked eagerly, clutching a dinosaur leg as its eyes hungrily tracked the scavengers divvying up the cyborg's spoils.
Yu Xian shook his head. "No. If those Spartan Warriors double back, things could get messy."
Although he doubted the Spartans had the wits to pull that off, it was better to keep a low profile just in case. Heaven only knew if the Spartan King might suddenly show up.
He hadn't appeared against the wizard, but perhaps that was only because the wizard hadn't been strong enough to warrant it.
Against a powerhouse with a combat power exceeding 900, Yu Xian remained extremely wary. He preferred caution over taking needless risks.
"Let's go," Yu Xian said, rising to his feet and addressing Little Nora.
Yet the moment they turned to leave, a burly, masked man strode slowly out from the distant woods. The pair of massive bull horns atop his head gave both of them an intense sense of deja vu.
Yu Xian narrowed his eyes. Every attempt at appraisal failed. Immediately after, one of his eyeballs turned green.
Through the eye of Zhenwo Changjing, he finally glimpsed a trace of the Ghost-Faced Man's true nature. The mask on the man's face was a Star Divine Artifact, which meant he was also a Star Rank powerhouse.
"So strange..."
As the Ghost-Faced Man drew nearer, he suddenly looked at Yu Xian and spoke.
Stopping just two meters away, he crossed his arms, trembling all over as he stared at Yu Xian. Finally, he said with mounting agitation, "It really is strange... The moment I see you, I feel an overwhelming urge to pledge my loyalty. Who... who are you?"
"Because I am your master!" Yu Xian replied, looking at the mask. The more he looked, the more familiar it became. With a stir in his heart, he offered a smile.
The Ghost-Faced Man tilted his head back toward the sky, rolling his neck this way and that as he muttered to himself, "Master? How strange... Why does hearing those words bring me such pleasure?"
"Pleasure, is it? Excellent. It seems you already understand your place. Now, as your master, I command you: drink this!" A red glint flashed in Yu Xian's eyes as he issued the order.
As he spoke, a single drop of blood emitting a faint red glow appeared in his hand.
The Ghost-Faced Man licked his lips as he stared at the blood. His body seemed to resist, yet under the influence of the mask's persona, he yearned to obey Yu Xian's command and swallow that single droplet.
"I can't drink it... I can't drink it... I can't drink it..."
"I want to drink it... I want to drink it... I want to drink it..."
The Ghost-Faced Man's head leaned closer and closer toward Yu Xian's hand, trembling with ever-increasing violence.
Abruptly, he slapped his mask, and its appearance began to shift. Yu Xian reacted just as swiftly, flicking his finger to send the droplet of blood flying straight into the Ghost-Faced Man's mouth.
Primordial Pure Blood carried the same properties as Final Origin Blood, but its efficacy was a hundred times more potent.
Even so, whether it could truly control a Star Rank powerhouse remained uncertain. After all, this was a living powerhouse—not a dead corpse in need of resurrection.
Chapter 214