Chapter 1194: Beneath the Half-Mountain

In the mountains on the other side.

Chen Ling withdrew his gaze from the distant Wushan Town and checked the time on his phone...

"Give up." Fu Kun, who was tied up like a zongzi, said miserably. "His Majesty won't come... We are just subjects. Why would a subject in danger cause the Emperor to go on a personal expedition?

If you want to kill me, just kill me and give me a quick end!"

Chen Ling snapped his flip phone shut with a click.

"You're wrong."

Chen Ling turned his head, his gaze drifting toward a certain direction amidst the hazy clouds. "...He's here."

Fu Kun was stunned and looked up at the rain clouds.

He saw a shadow flash through them, and then the rain clouds in the middle were stirred and rotated by the airflow. Under the gloomy vortex clouds, a figure was outlined from the brushstrokes and slowly drifted down.

"Your... Your Majesty?" Fu Kun was stunned in place when he saw the figure.

He hadn't expected Ying Fu to actually come.

Ying Fu's face was as gloomy as the rain clouds. His sharp eyes first swept over the miserable Fu Kun, then stared fixedly at Chen Ling. His robes billowed in the wind and rain under his imperial might, and his imperial dominance swept out!

"Chen Ling, I didn't intend to kill you today, yet you insist on seeking death?"

Overnight, Ying Fu's sense of oppression had soared again. Although he hadn't broken through the seventh-rank barrier, both his imperial might and mental strength had improved significantly... It seemed that last night's palace examination had allowed him to feed back into himself while acquiring a large number of subjects.

Chen Ling's clothes billowed under the imperial pressure, but his gaze was calm. His figure was rooted in place like a mountain, completely unaffected by Ying Fu.

"I said, if you dare to touch certain people... I will fight you to the end." Chen Ling said coldly.

Ying Fu's brows furrowed subconsciously, as if he were thinking and recalling.

"Your Majesty, you don't need to worry about me!" Fu Kun said immediately. "He might have set a trap nearby... Your Majesty, please don't fall for it!"

Ying Fu snorted coldly.

"A trap? I'd like to see what other tricks you have up your sleeve?"

After the improvement from last night's palace examination, Ying Fu's strength had leaped forward. Facing Chen Ling, who was only at the fifth rank, he naturally couldn't be afraid. Moreover, it was Chen Ling who had kidnapped his subordinate to provoke him first, so it was impossible for him to just leave like this.

Ying Fu pointed at the rain clouds, and purple lightning suddenly swam within them like a dragon in a pool, suddenly flying out and charging straight at Chen Ling's face like a purple spear!

Chen Ling hadn't seen this ability before; it was likely something Ying Fu had just acquired from a subject last night. He didn't hesitate to transform into red paper and scatter into the air, flashing hundreds of meters away the next moment!

Boom—!!

The purple spear slammed into the earth, and dense arcs of electricity instantly covered most of the mountain peak.

"You can't escape." Ying Fu raised his hand again, and the arcs of electricity all over the mountain instantly gathered like a large net, sealing off Chen Ling's surroundings from all directions and wrapping toward the center!

Feeling the airtight killing intent, Chen Ling gave up on continuing to dodge, and a domain opened directly beneath his feet!

【Tribunal】!

As Chen Ling pulled the trigger, the electric net was forcibly torn open, and a deafening roar resounded through the sky.

Fortunately, Chen Ling had specifically chosen a location far away from Wushan Town. Fighting Ying Fu here wouldn't affect the town or attract too much attention. With a flicker of his figure, he disappeared from the gap.

Ying Fu's gaze swept over the surroundings, as if searching for Chen Ling's position. The next moment, as if he had sensed something, he stomped his foot on the ground, and amidst the intertwining arcs of electricity, a golden spear was reshaped from the ground!

Clang—!!

The spear collided fiercely with the bone-carving knife, and dazzling sparks splashed in the air!

Chen Ling's bright red opera robe danced in the wind. He stood behind Ying Fu like a ghost, holding the knife, his voice extremely low:

"Where is Shen Nan?"

"Shen Nan?" Ying Fu remembered the name on the list and snorted coldly. "How would I know where he is?"

"You didn't make a move on him last night?"

"Why should I tell you what I did?"

Thud—!!!

The struggle between the two directly shattered the mountain ground beneath their feet inch by inch. Under the terrifying shockwaves, the two figures were bounced apart!

Chen Ling looked at Ying Fu, who was holding the spear, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes...

Having dealt with Ying Fu so many times, Chen Ling could be considered to have some understanding of him. Judging from Ying Fu's reaction just now, he didn't seem to have gone to find Shen Nan last night... In that case, Shen Nan's disappearance had nothing to do with Ying Fu?

Then the only possibility left was...

Chen Ling's peripheral vision looked toward the Half-Mountain Hotel.

……

The red "error" sign kept flashing on the screen. Inside the dull elevator, Sun Bumian's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

"Where is this going?" Sun Bumian turned to look at the staff member beside him. "Aren't we having the meeting at the Half-Mountain Hotel?"

"Yes, Mr. Sun, but it's in the basement of the hotel."

"Basement?"

Sun Bumian's eyes behind his small round sunglasses narrowed. "This isn't as simple as a basement anymore, is it? The depth of this descent... I reckon the entire mountain has been hollowed out."

"Mr. Sun, Director Sun will explain the specific reasons at the conference. Please be patient."

The elevator stopped slowly. As the doors on both sides opened, a dim stone corridor appeared before Sun Bumian.

Even though the guests had all arrived, no one was seen in the stone corridor. Everything was empty, and only at the end of the corridor could bursts of conversation be heard faintly.

"Mr. Sun, the meeting room is ahead. Please." The staff member stepped out of the elevator and made a respectful "please" gesture.

But Sun Bumian didn't leave the elevator.

His eyes reflected the dim stone corridor as he spoke slowly:

"I want to see Sun Zhongliang."

"Mr. Sun, Director Sun will be here soon. Please wait in the meeting room first..."

"I said, I want to see Sun Zhongliang right now." Sun Bumian interrupted him directly. "Otherwise, I'm going back to the United States right now."

As Sun Bumian spoke, he pressed the 1st-floor button of the elevator, but soon he discovered that no matter how he pressed the button to go to the 1st floor, there was no response... It was as if this were just a one-way elevator to the underground.

The staff member said helplessly, "Mr. Sun, please don't be willful... At such a critical juncture, can we cooperate a little?"

Sun Bumian's face grew gloomier. He glanced coldly at the staff member and stepped out of the elevator.

Threads of colorful flames drifted from Sun Bumian's temples. The lion head pendant on his wrist began to bloom with a faint light, and the aura of the seventh rank swept out!

Under the pressure of the seventh rank, the staff member's face turned deathly pale. He couldn't stop Sun Bumian at all and was knocked to the side with a light bump...

"If you won't bring him to see me, then I'll go find him myself."

"Today... he must give me an explanation!"