Demonic King of the Metropolis - Chapter 104 - Reunion of Thoughts

“What if I say no?” Tang Jie’s cold voice carried a killing intent and an unyielding stubbornness.

Chen Nan saw the murderous aura slowly gathering in Tang Jie’s hands and sneered. “Still talking tough on the brink of death.” Standing firm again, he channeled his true qi into his hands, preparing to finish Tang Jie with a single strike.

“If you’re so eager to die, then I’ll grant your wish right now!” The moment Chen Nan finished speaking, his palm wind slashed through the air. Tang Jie took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and made another attempt to mobilize the true qi within his body, only to feel a sudden shock in his heart.

“What?! How is this possible?” Chen Nan exclaimed in disbelief, watching Tang Jie vanish before his eyes. Just as he was about to look around to locate him, an icy, murderous force came from behind. He spun around and quickly mobilized his qi for defense but failed to evade in time. The force of the strike pushed him back several dozen meters.

“You…” Chen Nan stared at Tang Jie, now standing behind him with a cold and sharp demeanor, unable to believe that his opponent had just dramatically increased his true qi.

“Hmph! I guess I should thank you for this!” Tang Jie sneered as he looked at Chen Nan, though inwardly he was pleasantly surprised. Over the past few days, he had struggled to find a way to reenter the Heaven-Man Realm, unable to identify the root of his difficulty. Just now, Chen Nan’s palm wind had sent his true qi into chaotic turbulence, making his dantian feel as if it were ablaze-he was certain his life would end at Chen Nan’s hands this time. Yet, fueled by a last shred of hope, he had meticulously gathered his remaining true qi, unexpectedly succeeding with an additional revelation.

His inner strength had grown, seemingly exceeding its previous capacity. However, the true qi within him felt notably unstable, which prompted his immediate retaliation.

Could it be that he had not only returned to the Heaven-Man Realm from the Innate Great Perfection realm but even advanced further? Yet why did the true qi feel so different, almost unsettling, compared to when he had last achieved the Heaven-Man Realm?

“Even so, you’re no match for me,” Chen Nan said defiantly. Deep down, though, he couldn’t ignore the fact that Tang Jie’s power had surged significantly-so much so that he was barely able to fend him off. Still, Chen Nan convinced himself that it was merely a one-off surge; once Tang Jie exhausted this sudden outburst, his strength would revert to its previous level.

“Then try me! Enough with the nonsense!” Tang Jie could feel the true qi within his body once again losing control. Hastily gathering it, he launched an attack at Chen Nan. This time, Chen Nan was ready and managed to dodge successfully. Tang Jie swiftly pursued him, moving rapidly while launching strike after strike, each one sharper than the last. His relentless offense left Chen Nan on the back foot, barely able to dodge, let alone counterattack.

Could his inner strength already have surpassed mine? Chen Nan thought to himself, narrowly escaping Tang Jie’s relentless assault. A hint of doubt appeared in his eyes. If Tang Jie had indeed found a way to advance to the Heaven-Man Realm-or even beyond to a higher realm-in such a short time, then Chen Nan might really stand no chance against him.

As of now, this wasn’t the ancient martial arts tournament, but if his assumptions were correct, Tang Jie’s rise in power could spell his defeat. Chen Nan hesitated, feeling a growing apprehension as the icy killing intent on Tang Jie’s face intensified.

“What’s wrong? Is it your turn to feel fear?” Tang Jie forced the words through gritted teeth. Ignoring everything else, he channeled every ounce of true qi in his body, pooling it into his palms. He hadn’t even made a move yet, but Chen Nan could already sense the overwhelming power, even stirring the air around them.

Fixing his gaze firmly on Chen Nan, Tang Jie unleashed all his strength and charged forward. At the last moment, Chen Nan made an unexpected decision. He spun around, stepped on a nearby wall, and vaulted off it, leaping several meters away to safety.

“Hmph! Consider yourself lucky. But don’t think for a second that you’ll make it to the ancient martial arts tournament without trouble. Watch your back-we’ll be seeing each other very soon.” With those parting words, Chen Nan’s figure disappeared from sight. Tang Jie glanced behind him-two of Chen Nan’s henchmen, who he had just defeated, had also vanished without a trace.

Finally, Tang Jie exhaled deeply, his body feeling like a deflated balloon. He leaned against a wall, utterly drained, and took a long moment to catch his breath before his strength returned to normal.

After a few minutes, Tang Jie decided to head to the station. He needed to get to H City as quickly as possible to find Wang Qianya’s family. They were all ancient martial artists, and perhaps they could help him understand the strange changes happening in his body.

With this thought in mind, Tang Jie picked up his pace toward the station. After purchasing a ticket, he received a call from Wang Qianya. He told her his estimated arrival time, and she promised to come pick him up.

Only after boarding the bus to H City did Tang Jie finally feel his nerves relax. As the vehicle hummed along the road, exhaustion washed over him, and before long, he drifted into a deep sleep.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he felt someone shaking him in his dream. Tang Jie woke up, and the first thing he saw was Wang Qianya’s smiling face. It turned out he had slept all the way to the final destination, and Wang Qianya had boarded the bus to find him.

It was only then that Tang Jie realized he was the last passenger left on the bus.

“I was so scared you might’ve gotten into trouble halfway here!” Wang Qianya scolded playfully, her tone carrying a hint of concern as she looked at Tang Jie, who was still groggy from sleep.

Tang Jie chuckled sheepishly. Seeing Wang Qianya instantly put him at ease. They hadn’t seen each other in days, and it seemed like she had completely forgotten about their previous argument. This realization filled Tang Jie with joy.

After getting off the bus, Wang Qianya led Tang Jie out of the station. Knowing that Tang Jie was arriving, Mr. and Mrs. Wang had sent a private car to pick them up.

“By the way, did Shuran agree to you coming this time?” Wang Qianya teased Tang Jie with a playful look as they settled into the car.

“Why wouldn’t she agree? I’m not her man. I’m just a bodyguard-I’m still allowed to have my personal freedom, right?” Tang Jie replied nonchalantly, exuding an air of casual indifference. However, his relaxed attitude made Wang Qianya look at him with skeptical disbelief.

“I don’t buy it. You’re lying,” Wang Qianya said, narrowing her eyes as she studied him, clearly trying to uncover evidence of a fib. Her gaze lingered and stopped quite abruptly when she noticed something near the collar of Tang Jie’s shirt.

“I’m not lying! You know me-I’d never lie,” Tang Jie said with a grin, though he secretly admitted to himself that bending the truth wasn’t beneath him. At that very moment, he noticed Wang Qianya’s expression change. Her face darkened, and she shot him a sharp glare before abruptly turning away and refusing to meet his gaze.

What’s going on? Tang Jie wondered. Just as he was about to ask, a thought struck him. He looked down at his collar and immediately spotted the red lipstick mark. His heart sank in realization.

“What’s the matter? Are you mad?” Tang Jie asked intentionally, feigning ignorance even though he knew full well what had upset her. As he spoke, he adjusted his collar and used his jacket to try to hide the incriminating lipstick mark.

“Don’t bother hiding it-I already saw it.” Wang Qianya turned back, glaring at him with an angry yet endearingly jealous expression. Her beautiful face was tinged with unmistakable displeasure.

“So, tell me: while I wasn’t around, did you and Shuran…?” She trailed off, her voice thick with suspicion.

“Did we what? Nothing happened! She said I was leaving and wanted to leave me with something to remember her by. How was I supposed to know that her idea of a ‘souvenir’ would be this?” Tang Jie quickly explained, putting on an apologetic smile. He threw out a casual excuse, knowing full well that the lipstick mark didn’t mean anything. After all, nothing had actually happened between him and Chen Shuran-it was just a harmless gesture.

“Really? You’re not lying to me?” Wang Qianya asked, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinized Tang Jie, still skeptical.

“Of course, I’m not lying! Don’t you know how much I’ve been through just to get here? I was nearly beaten to death!” Tang Jie exclaimed, hastily changing the subject. As expected, the mention of danger immediately diverted Wang Qianya’s attention from the matter of the lipstick mark.

“What happened? Who did you run into?”

With that, Tang Jie recounted his encounter with Chen Nan, explaining the danger he had faced and his suspicions about his unstable true qi. He also shared his hope of asking her parents for help in finding a way to return to the Heaven-Man Realm.

“Don’t worry. I already mentioned everything to them last time, and they promised they would do everything they could to help you,” Wang Qianya said softly, her eyes revealing a trace of concern as she looked at Tang Jie.

“Will you participate in this year’s ancient martial arts tournament?” Tang Jie nodded slightly after hearing Wang Qianya’s reply, then followed up with another question.

“I’m not sure. My parents mentioned that they want you to participate on my behalf. This time, our enemies will be attending too, and they’re worried that I might not be able to handle them,” Wang Qianya said, her expression turning serious as she looked at Tang Jie.

“You mean the Chen family, right?” Tang Jie asked. The longstanding rivalry between the Chen family and the Wang family had been well-known in the ancient martial arts world for decades.

“Yes, that’s them. By the way, didn’t you say you wanted to visit Lifedeath Cliff? When are you planning to go?” Wang Qianya asked curiously.

“I’m planning to go before the ancient martial arts tournament. Right now, my inner strength has stopped improving. If I enter the tournament like this, I’m afraid I’ll lose,” Tang Jie said, waiting to hear her response.

After a moment of thought, Wang Qianya suggested, “The tournament hasn’t started yet. While we still have time, why don’t I go with you?”

Hearing this, Tang Jie was inwardly pleased-after all, he had come early specifically to see if she would agree to join him on this trip to Lifedeath Cliff. However, he quickly realized her parents might not approve. Moreover, if she came with him and they encountered someone as powerful as Chen Nan, his current abilities wouldn’t just be insufficient to defend himself-he might not even be able to protect Wang Qianya.

“How are things going with you? Have you had any luck guiding the heaven and earth spiritual energy?” Tang Jie asked, shifting the conversation as he considered the situation.

If Wang Qianya’s abilities had surpassed his or at least reached a level comparable to his own, taking her along might actually be helpful. But if she was still at her previous level, it would probably be better to leave her behind.

“I still haven’t found the right way to guide it effectively. My parents haven’t been much help either, which is why I want to go with you. Maybe there’ll be some unexpected surprises during the trip,” Wang Qianya said with a determined look. Tang Jie understood that the “surprises” she referred to were breakthroughs in her true qi and successfully directing the heaven and earth spiritual energy to her dantian.

Half an hour later, Tang Jie and Wang Qianya arrived at the Wang family’s villa. Mr. and Mrs. Wang were already waiting for them at the entrance, and the servants had prepared an extravagant dinner. The warmth in the couple’s demeanor toward Tang Jie made it seem as though they were welcoming a future son-in-law, which left Tang Jie feeling a little embarrassed.