Chapter 182: Mo Yi, Breakthrough

Boss.

Hmm. This form of address, Zhang Cheng found it much more comfortable to hear.

Zhang Cheng helped the Shattered Star Demon up; since the other was a male demon, Zhang Cheng placed his hand on the other's sturdy arm, but discovered he couldn't even grasp the other's wrist.

"How about you introduce yourself?" Zhang Cheng looked at the Shattered Star Demon.

The other responded with a sound, then said:

"My name is Mo Yi, I come from the Demon Star System, race Demon, rank Shattered Star."

"Mo Yi..."

Zhang Cheng pinched his chin, thought for a while,

"Hmm, to me, this name is simply flawless."

"It's both pleasant-sounding and easy to remember."

A glint of light flashed in Mo Yi's eyes.

In his gaze toward Zhang Cheng, besides respect for his master, there was added a feeling of kindred spirit sharing similar interests.

I knew it!

I, Mo Yi, am not a naming failure!

My name, it's really pleasant-sounding!

Thinking this, it turned and glared at the Mysterious Judge.

Hmph!

The damned Mysterious Judge, earlier said my name wasn't pleasant-sounding!

Now you've been slapped in the face, right!

Mysterious Judge: "……"

Really speechless, they're six of one, half a dozen of the other.

They really can chat together.

Is Zhang Cheng good at naming?

Good my ass!

He could even come up with such a straightforward name as the Horror Summoner Association.

Expect him to name things?

Go dream about it!

After the little interlude, Zhang Cheng continued to ask:

"By the way, Mo Yi, do you still remember your past?"

"Are your previous memories still there?"

Mo Yi shook his head, "Sorry, boss, before I became the guard of Gate Zero, I had already lost my previous memories."

"After that, my memories are just the boring days of guarding Gate Zero."

Zhang Cheng thought, and indeed, if he had memories, he wouldn't have become the guard of Gate Zero.

At this moment,

The Mysterious Judge said, "Mo Yi, I met him when I was wandering the universe, on a certain abandoned planet."

"At that time, his breath was weak, his body shattered, he was just a breath away from death."

"It was my timely intervention that saved him."

While saying these.

The Mysterious Judge crossed his arms, his tone seeming somewhat dissatisfied.

Hmph!

He is a lifesaver!

"Thank you for your help; if needed in the future, I will go through fire and water, blades and boiling oil, sparing no effort!"

Mo Yi bowed his fists to the Mysterious Judge in thanks, suddenly remembering something, he added,

"The precondition is that I need to obtain my boss Zhang Cheng's consent."

Mysterious Judge: "……"

Fine, fine, fine!

Just after acknowledging a new master, you forgot your lifesaver, right?

Indeed it is.

Feelings have grown thin.

"By the way, take this; when I first met you, you kept gripping it tightly in your hand."

The Mysterious Judge handed Mo Yi a necklace, a black moon pendant, which seemed to be missing a part.

"This is……"

Mo Yi received it, his expression solemn; he held the moon pendant in his palms, his inner feelings surging.

Zhang Cheng placed his hand on his shoulder, "Did you remember anything?"

"No."

Mo Yi shook his head, both hands trembling, "But this thing, I can feel it's extremely important to me; I absolutely cannot lose it!"

"Can I keep it myself, boss?"

Zhang Cheng nodded, smiling, said: "Of course you can, this is your own thing."

"Don't treat yourself as my slave; you are a free life, with your own independent soul and freedom of action."

"Don't ask me this kind of thing again next time, understood?"

After hearing these words.

Mo Yi felt a surge of emotion within.

As a demon, though it had lost its memories, through its treatment it had also learned a great deal of information about demons.

Some demons formed master-servant contracts with other creatures, selling themselves into slavery when driven to a dead end, treated no better than livestock!

Yet Zhang Cheng's words just now,

were completely unlike what a master would say to a slave.

It was more like an equal conversation.

This feeling was deeply comforting.

"Thank you, Boss!" Mo Yi said gratefully.

……

Fallen Star.

Fallen Cathedral.

Inside the solemn and majestic great cathedral.

the Desire Cult Leader knelt in the center like a sinner.

Behind him stood cultists clad entirely in black robes.

Before him towered three powerful figures, their bodies seemingly veiled in mist, their faces indistinct and unfathomably mysterious.

They were the Desire Pope's three great confidants!

Each one was a powerful Fallen-rank.

And above the three great confidants, upon the supreme throne, sat a mysterious figure clad in a blood-red robe.

He wore a pure black mask, revealing only a pair of deep, enigmatic eyes, dazzling as the stars.

A powerful majesty radiated from him; even just sitting there, everyone present could feel his immense power.

It was a soul-shaking sensation.

One that made people not dare to look him in the eye at all!

"The trial begins!"

The Desire Pope suddenly spoke, his voice steady, like an ancient bell echoing far and wide.

As if the moment those words left his mouth, the entire Desire Star trembled.

At his command.

From among the three great confidants.

the Star Praiser stepped before the Desire Cult Leader.

Tentacles extended from its back, firmly binding the Desire Cult Leader's four limbs and hoisting him into the air, spread-eagled in the shape of a large character.

"Sinner, Desire Cult Leader!"

"Charges: deceiving superiors, insubordination, defying imperial authority."

"Due to your blind arrogance, our Desire Star has lost to Dragon Nation multiple times."

"And due to your incompetence, failing to recognize Dragon Nation's true strength, you delivered false intelligence, causing our Desire Star to suffer heavy losses."

"Multiple crimes combined, your guilt is unpardonable."

"The verdict is hereby pronounced: immediate execution!"

A colossal star sword crashed down fiercely from the sky.

Like the wrathful punishment of a deity.

It struck squarely atop the Greed Cult Leader's head.

Effortlessly ending his life!

As for his corpse,

it would be discarded in the wilderness of the Greed Planet, left for other creatures to gnaw upon.

The trial thus concluded.

"Greed is supreme!"

A group of lesser demons knelt to the ground, kowtowed to the Greed Pope, then withdrew from the cathedral in an orderly fashion.

The entire process was uniform, without the slightest chaos, as though all the lesser demons had been cast from the same mold.

Their movements, posture, and footsteps were perfectly synchronized,

looking exactly like a horde of manipulated walking corpses.

The atmosphere at the scene was bizarre to the extreme!

"Your Holiness the Pope, the next attack will begin in three days."

"This time, I fear we may need you to take the field in person..."

The Star Praiser bowed his head, his tone exceedingly humble.

The Greed Pope leaned back against the throne and said slowly,

"Taking the field in person is unnecessary."

"At least for now, there is no need."

"In the next contest, all of you go together."

"Win, and you will be rewarded. Lose, and there is no need to return. Understood?"

Boom!

As soon as the words fell, an intense pressure erupted from the Greed Pope.

In an instant, the entire Greed Planet shook violently.

The earth split open into endless abysses.

The three trusted lieutenants immediately dropped to their knees, foreheads pressed tight against the ground.

"Yes!"

"We, lowly as we are, will certainly complete the mission!"

"Mm."

The pressure bearing down on the Pope of Greed only then eased somewhat.

The Star Exalter let out a breath, its emotions finally calming down.

If the Pope of Greed were truly enraged, the entire Planet of Greed would face annihilation.

But the Star Exalter had barely relaxed when—

Suddenly!

It discovered a figure standing before it, having arrived at some unknown time.

It was the Pope of Greed!

"Star Exalter, you failed this mission, didn't you?" The Pope of Greed's words carried a hidden threat.

The Star Exalter panicked and hastily begged for mercy:

"Your Holiness, please grant me one more chance."

"I will utterly destroy Dragon Nation to wash away my sins!"

It begged for mercy while kowtowing.

To survive, the Star Exalter had long cast dignity aside.

"Mm."

The Pope of Greed gave an affirmative response.

The Star Exalter's eyes lit up. "Your Holiness, you agreed? Thank you so much—"

"I never agreed!"

Before the Star Exalter could finish, the Pope of Greed immediately cut it off.

Raising a leg, it stomped down on the Star Exalter's body with titanic force like a meteor crashing down, and the Star Exalter's defense was weak to begin with.

Beneath this stomp,

its body instantly caved in.

Ultimately a bloodied hole was stomped open!

Its heart was crushed to fragments as well.

The Star Exalter, dead.

The Pope of Greed glanced dismissively at the corpse and waved at the other two trusted lieutenants.

"Dispose of this trash."

"Remember, failures come to no good end!"

The two understood implicitly.

……

Until the next attack,

seventy hours remained.

Zhang Cheng returned to Dragon Nation, and the first thing he did was lock himself in his room.

Then, with a thought,

"Demon Battle Armor!"

Tough armor unfolded from his chest, rapidly wrapping his entire body like expanding nanomaterial.

Zhang Cheng stood before a mirror, carefully examining himself in the Demon Battle Armor, growing more satisfied the more he looked.

After all, what man—

—doesn't love armor.

"Attack power, defense power, and speed have all increased tenfold!"

"Though I'm only Disaster-class now, my strength can already rival Destruction-class."

Zhang Cheng clenched his fist and was about to marvel at his rapidly soaring strength, but then remembered that Xiao Dian and the others could easily crush Fallen-class.

He immediately deflated.

Sure enough!

Still have to keep working hard!

He rummaged through his storage bag for ages.

Finally, he found the treasure for breaking through to Destruction-class.

"Destruction Fruit!"

Zhang Cheng's eyes lit up.

These treasures all came with detailed descriptions.

The moment he picked one up, an information panel would automatically pop up.

【Name: Destruction Fruit】

【Effect: Upon consumption, there is a chance to break through to Destruction-class. The higher the consumer's current level, the greater the success rate. If the level is too low, forced consumption will result in death by explosion.】

【Disaster-class consumption, success rate 0.3%; even more junior consumption, success rate 0.03%……】

【Note: It is recommended that those above Destruction-class do not consume it, unless you want to taste it.】

"A zero point three percent success rate……"

Zhang Cheng furrowed his brow slightly, "What's the difference between having it and not having it?"

"Forget it, let's try!"

Having said that,

He immediately took it.

The fruit entered his belly, and a warm current spread throughout his body.

Immediately after, a hurried shout came from outside the door.

"Boss!!"

"I've broken through!"

With a bang, Mo Yi burst in, his face flushed red with excitement.

For so many years, it had remained at the Star-Shattering level; even it couldn't remember how long.

And today,

It, Mo Yi, has broken through!