Chapter 80: After the Equipment Drop, Luo Zhidong Called Me Junior Brother

So punctual? Zhang Chu was left stunned. It seemed the system had no intention of letting him get blown to pieces by the high-energy tank; at the critical moment, it absorbed the mind power pearl’s energy and broke through to three stars.

But the energy from the mind power pearl had far exceeded his expectations.

If he fished every day at the Spirit Realm’s Fishing Platform, he’d reach the rank of Spirit Realm practitioner in less than half a month!

“Congratulations, host, for unlocking the second form of Passive Devouring. Would you like to learn about it now?”

Before Zhang Chu could even feel excited, the system’s voice sounded again.

“Learn your damn self!”

“Can’t you see I’m being targeted right now?”

Zhang Chu had no desire to learn about the second form of Passive Devouring at this moment. If that shell was fired his way, he’d be lucky to survive as little more than a pile of scrap.

“Director, I believe in Teacher Xiao Chu. There must be some sort of misunderstanding!”

Zhang Xueying quickly tried to cover for him.

Luo Zhidong was caught in a dilemma. Zhang Chu was a talent he’d personally recruited from Canglong Mountain, recommended by that mysterious figure himself. By rights, he should be standing up for him. But the accusation of being a traitor from the Divine Fall Alliance was too serious. Even Fan Tianlei, who had always supported Zhang Chu, had to cautiously mobilize the high-energy armored tank in case the Divine Fall Alliance tried to rescue him.

“Director, better to kill the wrong person than let the real traitor go.”

At that moment, Qiao Changnian drew close and whispered.

Damn it! Zhang Chu wasn’t deaf. He’d thought Qiao Changnian was a sensible man; now it seemed he was just another fool. This wasn’t some feudal dynasty—why play the ‘better to kill the wrong person’ game?

“Director, Chief Zhang, I know Zhang Chu well.”

“He went from an ALS patient to a two-star dual-force warrior in less than two months. Who but the Divine Fall Alliance could make that happen?”

Because of Zhang Xueying’s presence, Zhang Chu held back for the moment. With his skills, as long as the Martial Administration Bureau didn’t intervene, he could still make a run for it.

But Su Mingyue’s words felt like a hammer slamming him down: “Su Mingyue, you ungrateful wretch—I risked my life to save you, and now you stab me in the back?”

“I can testify!”

Fang Danan also stepped forward, speaking solemnly, “Director Fan, Director Luo, I nearly got killed by this guy Zhang Chu.”

Fan Dayong and Chen Long exchanged glances. They remembered the scene when Fang Danan was pinned by a gravity suppressor just the other day, and quickly moved closer to Fan Tianlei. “Dad, yesterday we happened to see Fang Danan being suppressed by a gravity device—not something our bureau uses.”

At these words, the atmosphere tensed immediately. Only Zhang Xueying frowned deeply, muttering, “Impossible. I believe Teacher Xiao Chu isn’t that kind of person!”

“Damn, you two really are a pair of snakes!”

Zhang Chu felt utterly speechless. Even if it wasn’t true, with Su Mingyue and Fang Danan singing the same tune, it became the truth.

“Not in the mood to deal with you people.” Right now, Zhang Chu had no patience for explanations—he couldn’t have cleared things up anyway.

With this time, he might as well devour the core, sell the star beast’s corpse, and advance to four stars.

He was looking forward to the second form of Passive Devouring.

Besides, if the Martial Administration Bureau and the Martial Arts Research Institute were so blind, he had no intention of telling them who Fang Danan and Su Mingyue really were. Let them do as they pleased. His cultivation was for his own sake, not to serve anyone else!

In the end, what goes around comes around. If they remained blind, reality would eventually gouge their eyes out.

As for Su Mingyue... Zhang Chu still had a spicy photo set of her on his phone. If it came to it, he’d post it on the forum and let her become infamous. A woman like her deserved to be shamed by the masses!

He raised his middle finger at Fang Danan and Su Mingyue and turned to leave.

“Fire!”

At that moment, Fang Danan suddenly shouted. This was the chance he’d been waiting for. As the grandson of the former bureau chief, Fang Danan was also a section chief in the Binzhou Martial Administration Bureau, with the authority to give such orders.

“Stop!” Fan Tianlei hurried to intervene. He valued Zhang Chu and had only been making routine inquiries, never intending to actually open fire. One shell from that tank would turn anything below six stars into ashes!

Fan Dayong and Chen Long promptly kicked Fang Danan aside. “Fang Danan, you bastard, who told you to fire! If Zhang Chu dies, we’ll tear you apart!”

The three had drunk together before. They were still uncertain about Zhang Chu’s identity, but not to the point of blasting him on the spot.

Zhang Xueying darted forward, raising a shield of spiritual power to protect Zhang Chu. “Teacher Xiao Chu, run!”

Su Mingyue, watching, clenched her fists in anger. “Zhang Chu, even now, you have women protecting you—what makes you so special?”

Sensing a terrifying energy gathering behind him, Zhang Chu spun around. The high-energy armored tank was already charging its blue energy cannon. Zhang Xueying’s slender figure stood protectively before him.

This scene struck a chord deep in Zhang Chu’s heart. “Damn it, to think after being reborn, the one shielding me with her life is Zhang Xueying! How could I let her get hurt!”

In an instant, Zhang Chu pulled Zhang Xueying behind him. His powerful mental energy surged forth, radiating a formidable pressure that enveloped the high-energy tank.

Fan Tianlei, Luo Zhidong, and Qiao Changnian all felt a chilling weight, as if an invisible mountain pressed down on them.

“Three-star psychic battle technique: Gravity Domain!”

With a furious shout, Zhang Chu clapped his hands in the air. The gravity tripled, causing the tank’s treads to crack and even bending the barrel slightly to the left.

Boom!

At the same moment, the tank’s energy shell fired.

“Blazing Thirteen Swords!”

Zhang Chu drew the Blacksteel Greatsword, gathering all the power of a three-star dual-force warrior to unleash thirteen sword shadows, each colliding with the shell.

The shell exploded twenty meters away from Zhang Chu and Zhang Xueying.

The scene erupted in flying sand and sparks. Fan Tianlei and the others instinctively shut their eyes.

When the force dissipated, all eyes turned fearfully toward Zhang Chu and Zhang Xueying.

“Holy crap, this kid... He’s a monster!”

“Was that the legendary Gravity Domain battle technique?”

Zhang Chu stood guard before Zhang Xueying, his jacket shredded to rags by the blast, his body covered in small wounds. Meanwhile, Zhang Xueying stood unharmed behind him. “Zhang Chu, are you all right? Are you hurt?”

The experts, including Fan Tianlei, were dumbfounded. Gravity Domain was a rare psychic technique, seen perhaps once in a century. Even the marketplace at the Boundary Monument Hall didn’t have a way to learn it.

“Zhang Chu, how dare you damage the Martial Administration Bureau’s high-energy armored tank! You’re dead meat!” Fang Danan finally came to his senses, stunned by the scene. A two-star dual-force warrior had withstood a tank’s blow—it was as if he’d cheated death itself. But this move would surely get him killed. Fang Danan nearly laughed aloud. If Zhang Chu died, his own identity would be safe!

“Enough!”

Just then, Luo Zhidong flashed to Zhang Chu’s side, picked up a badge from the ground, and glanced at it. In that instant, Luo Zhidong’s seven-star dual-force psychic pressure surged, forcing even Fan Tianlei and the others to take a step back.

“Old Luo, what are you trying to do?” Fan Tianlei asked, wary.

“Fan Tianlei, let me make this clear—Zhang Chu is my junior brother. If your Martial Administration Bureau dares to touch him, the Martial Arts Research Institute will never let it go!”

Wait a minute!

Dazed by the explosion, Zhang Chu blinked in disbelief at Luo Zhidong, who now stood protectively before him. Wasn’t it just for showing off a piece of equipment? Luo Zhidong was now calling him junior brother?

A buzzing filled Zhang Chu’s mind; his vision went black, and he collapsed straight into Zhang Xueying’s arms...