Chapter 159: Neither side accepts threats

"You are very strong, but you aren't qualified to keep me here." This Mechanical-type Apostle glanced with apprehension at the Son of Heaven who had returned, as well as the Ghost Grudge Infants circling in from the surroundings.

Chu Chu Danqing sat on the war chariot, silently drawing closer without replying.

"Our Mechanical-type and your Summoning-type actually have quite a few things in common."

"You are able to possess summoned objects that exceed your own rank, and we, possessing suitable materials, can also manufacture similar mechanical creations."

"My suggestion is that you let me leave; it is better than both of us suffering." The other party spoke, revealing his true objective.

Hearing this, Chu Chu Danqing did not consider it a threat; instead, he felt the other party was bluffing.

This caused the Mechanical-type Apostle's expression to turn serious, and without the slightest hesitation, he directly revealed his trump card.

From his storage space, he took out a cube that bloomed with blue radiance like a gemstone.

The Son of Heaven immediately blocked the path in front of Chu Chu Danqing. As a Celestial Spirit, it sensed just how terrifying the energy contained within it was.

"I can't explain the principles to you, but it can be thought of as the Arc Reactor on Tony Stark's chest."

"As fellow countrymen, I think you should understand what the consequences would be if this thing were to explode," the other party said calmly.

This was his Fine-tier energy equipment, supplying the energy required for all his mechanical creations.

He was also afraid Chu Chu Danqing wouldn't understand, so he specifically chose a case to explain it to Chu Chu Danqing.

Chu Chu Danqing immediately ordered Da Bao and all summoned objects to stop.

While the output efficiency and cleanliness of energy-type items might not necessarily be great, Chu Chu Danqing had seen enough to know how terrifying it would be if this thing exploded.

Once an explosion occurred, the surrounding area would inevitably suffer heavy casualties.

He and Da Bao could be taken out of the blast radius by the Son of Heaven, but the nearby commoners would certainly die.

"I can let you go, but do you think it's appropriate for you to just leave like this?" Chu Chu Danqing said.

He intended to pacify the other party first.

With the other party holding such a weapon of mass destruction, if he really let him leave, he would certainly retaliate later.

"Want money? Not a cent." This Mechanical-type Apostle sneered: "If you want my life, we can die together."

Compared to Chu Chu Danqing, whose summoned objects originated from summoning-type equipment—meaning he suffered little loss as long as his allies and permanent summoned objects didn't die—this Mechanical-type Apostle was different.

His mechanical creations were all manufactured by himself, relying on technology formed from basic knowledge.

The resources for the Summoning-type in cultivation were real gold and silver, and the creations made by the Mechanical-type were also real gold and silver; the two burned money in different directions.

Therefore, the other party having lost so many mechanical creations, especially that suit of armor, was a heavy loss.

Now, if he were asked to take anything else out, he might not even be able to pass the assessment.

Chu Chu Danqing asked the Son of Heaven with his eyes; with the foundation of command, the tacit understanding formed by eye contact and body language was already enough for simple communication.

He wanted to ask if they could complete the kill before the other party triggered the explosion.

The Son of Heaven gave a response, indicating it could.

Since they had already offended each other and could not reconcile, it was natural to cut the weeds and dig up the roots.

"How about it? Have you considered it?" The Mechanical-type Apostle's tone carried impatience, but in reality, he was stalling for time.

He was waiting for a skill to finish casting.

This Fine-tier energy equipment was not his true trump card; if a Mechanic's trump card was just an energy device, where would he get the confidence to undertake an A-rank difficulty assessment?

"Fine, you go." Chu Chu Danqing gave his reply; at the same time, the Son of Heaven was also gathering power.

"No, you should be the one to back out first." The Mechanical-type Apostle hadn't expected his threat to actually work.

"Alright." Chu Chu Danqing agreed, and the Charioteer Armored Soldier drove the war chariot in reverse.

The next moment, the Son of Heaven struck suddenly, a displacement move quickly closing the distance, and golden light instantly severed the other party's right hand.

However, the other party seemed to have anticipated this, his expression not changing much.

The ripples in front of him combined into a mechanical weapon, and a violent laser surged out from it.

A massive Imperial Edict emerged from within the Son of Heaven's body, and the text personally written by the Heavenly Emperor contained within it blocked the laser firmly.

Furthermore, it used its own powerful strength to forcibly push the laser back.

However, there was a price; dense cracks appeared on the Imperial Edict.

After all, its quality had been sealed, and it was currently only Fine-tier.

This Mechanical-type Apostle's trump card was naturally also Fine-tier; with equal quality, the fact that the other party was prepared and could block and push it back was already quite impressive.

The Imperial Edict shattered with a boom, and the laser dissipated shortly after.

Besides this, the Son of Heaven's mana also dropped to zero.

Fortunately, the Son of Heaven was not a purely magic-type summoned object; at this moment, it had already closed the distance, and before the other party could react, it had already severed his neck with golden light.

The battle ended, and Chu Chu Danqing breathed a sigh of relief.

The other party was not an apostle from a major power; there were no marks, locking-type revenge items, brands, or mechanisms on his body.

This was good news, indicating that Chu Chu Danqing didn't need to worry about being hunted down later.

As for the fact that the one who killed him was the Son of Heaven, and the target was also locked onto the Son of Heaven? There was no such convenient loophole to exploit.

If the Summoning-type were a niche and unpopular system, such a situation might indeed occur, but the fact was that these types of mechanisms all had screening and judgment.

They would only lock onto the Summoner themselves, not the subordinate summoned objects.

The Son of Heaven picked up the energy-type equipment from the severed hand and handed it to Chu Chu Danqing upon returning.

【No. 7 Clean Energy Reaction Core】

【Type: Equipment · Energy】

【Quality: Fine】

【Durability: 100/100】

【Mana +10000】

【Clean Energy (Passive): Adapts to 90% of technology-side creations】

【Efficiency Boost (Passive): 72 hours of full-load operation】

【Strong Nuclear Reaction (Passive): 10 million Watts/second】

【Energy Siphon (Active): Absorbs dissipated energy and converts it into reserve energy; conversion rate: 12%/minute; limit: 300% of energy chamber capacity】

【Equipment Requirement: Mechanical Foundation LV. 5, Energy Foundation LV. 5, Material Foundation LV. 5, possess Excellent-tier or higher technology-side inheritance skill】

Chu Chu Danqing took one look and casually threw it into his storage space; he couldn't use this thing at all.

He couldn't even obtain the mana increase from equipping it.

It was meant to be used as an energy source; without the corresponding mechanical creation, it was basically equivalent to trash.

As for using it as a bomb? He would have to know how to use it first.

Chu Chu Danqing couldn't even fix a mobile phone; how could he possibly know how to use it as a bomb?

Did he really think the equipment requirements were just there for show?

Fortunately, this thing wouldn't be hard to sell.

The number of technology-side apostles was not small; biological, mechanical, psionic, etc., all belonged to the technology side.

And there were quite a few powerhouses among them.

It was just that this Mechanical-type Apostle happened to run into Chu Chu Danqing; otherwise, his strength was indeed quite good.

The individual was strong, and the mechanical creations were not weak either.

After the battle between the two sides, the Qinglong Society headquarters was directly reduced to ruins.

Seven Huangjin Huang Jinlishi died, thirty-two Ghost Grudge Infants died, the Son of Heaven's Imperial Edict was damaged, and its mana returned to zero.

The loss wasn't large; he could just cancel and re-summon them.

Secondly, Chu Chu Danqing's mana was also in a precarious state.

With the Five Elements Spirit Array plus the maintenance of summoned objects during wartime, his mana plummeted like a cliff.

Especially the Five Elements Spirits; every attack consumed 10 points of his mana, and with five attacking simultaneously, that was 50 points per second.

"Running out of blue again." After Da Bao twisted off the head of the Qinglong Society leader, Chu Chu Danqing couldn't help but helplessly rub his forehead.

Human greed knows no bounds; having powerful summoned objects meant needing mana.

"Let's go, to the Provincial Governor's Mansion." Chu Chu Danqing put away the three heads and canceled the Son of Heaven.

Because of the Son of Heaven's disappearance, the three remaining Huangjin Huang Jinlishi also vanished.

Without the Imperial Edict and mana, the Son of Heaven's strength was greatly reduced; it would be fine once re-summoned.

Now, the protection of the Ghost Grudge Infant and Ghost Gui Yuanmu was sufficient.

The war chariot sped all the way to the Provincial Governor's Mansion, and Chu Chu Danqing arranged for three Ghost Grudge Infants, letting each carry a head to sneak into the mansion as a warning.

With the cover of night, the Ghost Grudge Infants were naturally like gods helping them, climbing over the wall and entering inside.

"This matter is highly likely impossible to hide."

"However, the more aggressive I am, the less they will dare to tear off the mask." Chu Chu Danqing actually knew that no matter how the aftermath at the port and the Qinglong Society was handled, the clues and traces could not be completely cleaned up.

It was precisely because of this that the upper echelons of Linyuan City would be wary of Chu Chu Danqing.

They had large families and businesses, while Chu Chu Danqing was one person—if he was full, the whole family was full.

After about ten minutes, chaos erupted within the Provincial Governor's Mansion.

The infiltration of the Ghost Grudge Infants had been discovered.

No matter what, it was a Provincial Governor's Mansion; the security forces within the residence were naturally not to be underestimated.

"Dead." The Ghost Gui Yuanmu's voice was not pleasant to hear, and she continued: "Mission accomplished."

Hearing that the mission was accomplished, Chu Chu Danqing felt a sense of relief: "There is still some time before dawn; let's deal with Qing Hu Jian together."

"The one who acted was an Apostle, wearing casual clothes," the Ghost Gui Yuanmu said after floating to Chu Chu Danqing's side.

"That makes sense." Chu Chu Danqing was not surprised; as the highest official of Linyuan City, it was standard procedure for Apostles to want to borrow his influence.

Chu Chu Danqing guessed that the other party's assessment mission was highly likely related to Linyuan City.

"Never mind him for now; mana is insufficient," Chu Chu Danqing said.

If he wanted a guaranteed win, there was a way, of course—just pay-to-win.

However, if he were to wipe out the Provincial Governor's Mansion as well, he feared that in two days, the Great Shuo would send troops to suppress the rebellion.

Qiao Qiao Huaiyuan's death occurred during smuggling, so the possibility of it being publicized was not high.

After all, this matter involved the Empress Dowager and would affect the reputation of the Imperial Family.

Chu Chu Danqing killing his way into the Provincial Governor's Mansion now was a provocation to the entire Great Shuo; the nature of the two was different.

After speaking, he took out the Life-Taking Doll and directly located Qing Hu Jian's position.

"In the north of the city, let's go." After obtaining the location, Chu Chu Danqing pointed the way for the Charioteer Armored Soldier.

"Highly likely she is healing; strike while she is down!" How could Chu Chu Danqing not understand the principle of beating a drowning dog?

Chu Chu Danqing seized the time to recover mana; Qing Hu Jian's strength was highly likely on par with the Mechanical-type Apostle.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 160 =====