It would seem that Salleh wasn’t quite satisfied with the level of strength Qin Lie had displayed, but for some reason he decided to change his mind.
His reaction confused Qin Lie a little.
Can you bring me to your homeland if the chance arises?
Salleh asked suddenly.
You mean Spirit Realm?
Qin Lie’s face changed slightly.
Salleh nodded in response.
Qin Lie didn’t reply immediately. He thought for a moment before answering,
You guys… aren’t planning to invade Spirit Realm, are you?
Oh no, you misunderstood me.
Salleh let out an odd laugh before continuing,
We know that the God Race once suffered a huge loss in Spirit Realm, and we’re not nearly stupid enough to put ourselves in the same bind. Unlike the God Race, we love to cooperate with other races, especially when they have a huge population.
What do you mean?
Qin Lie asked in surprise.
I’ve heard that the races of Spirit Realm are eternally locked in a state of war. That also means that a lot of corpses are produced everyday, am I right?
Salleh asked excitedly.
That is correct,
Qin Lie answered.
To the Bone Race, these corpses are wonderful materials. If we have an ample supply of corpses, we can refine many bone servants and corpse servants, and cultivate our bloodline secret arts.
Salleh obviously looked excited.
However, it takes a race with great reproductive abilities to produce so many corpses in a short time. In this regard, the Spirit Race, Soul Race, and God Race are absolutely inferior to the human race.
You can seek out the Abyss Devils, can’t you?
Qin Lie asked.
The Abyss Devils are too strong, and they never leave the Abyss. Also, they’re pretty difficult to work together with,
Salleh explained.
Qin Lie asked with an inscrutable expression.
So, you want the corpses of the races of Spirit Realm. But… what can your race give us in exchange? If we’re cooperating, it can’t just be a one-sided exchange, right?
While he was saying this, he started suspecting the Corpse Progenitor’s true intentions.
Did Hua Zang collude with the Bone Race?
According to Salleh, the Corpse Progenitor had wandered to the Bone Race’s homeland and made an agreement with his father, the chief.
The Corpse Progenitor had picked up many bizarre secret arts from the Bone Race… He might even have learned his heretical corpse refinement art from the Bone Race.
In return, the Corpse Progenitor had promised to maintain a friendly relationship with the Bone Race.
But what exactly did he mean by
friendly relationship
? Did he mean to supply the Bone Race with the corpses found in Spirit Realm so that they could refine them into useful servants or cultivate their bloodline secret arts?
Moreover, assuming that the Corpse Progenitor hadn’t perished back then, would he have built a channel that connected Spirit Realm and the Bone Race’s homeland?
If that was true, would the Bone Race have invaded Spirit Realm with a huge army?
Thoughts flashed through his mind quickly. He couldn’t help but feel suspicious towards the Corpse Progenitor.
After engaging Salleh in battle, Qin Lie had ascertained that Wu Sha and Liu Yang’s assessment of Salleh’s strength was true. Salleh really was stronger than Gan Xing and Nan Qi.
Despite possessing the Eight-eyed Demon Spirit’s bloodline ability Star Door, he still couldn’t summon his soul servants into this Origin World.
But Salleh had easily brought in his bone dragons.
If he hadn’t had an array of trump cards such as the Spirits of Void and Chaos, the Eight-eyed Demon Spirit’s and the Abyss Devil’s bloodline abilities, he wasn’t sure if he could even get close to Salleh. That was why he was certain that Salleh was stronger than every God Race clansman present, including Xuan Luo of the Profound Ice Family.
Using Salleh as a baseline, the Bone Race was probably powerful enough to sweep through the entire Spirit Realm if Hua Zang, the Corpse Progenitor, had given them access to Spirit Realm, right?
Many years had passed since their initial agreement, true, but who could say that Salleh, the son of the Bone Race’s chief wasn’t harboring such thoughts? What if he was planning to connect the two worlds and invade Spirit Realm just like the God Race?
Qin Lie had no choice but to treat this matter seriously.
The Bone Race rules over a vast realm that produces all kinds of rare spirit materials; the kind that makes even the God Race and Spirit Race envious.
Salleh’s eyes were proud when he spoke of his homeland.
I’m planning to trade with Spirit Realm, is what I’m saying. You can exchange for spirit materials that only we produce with your own spirit materials and corpses. It’ll be an equal exchange, of course.
I see…
Qin Lie rubbed his chin while answering.
I’m fine with it if it’s a fair trade, but I must remind you that I won’t accept a one-sided exchange!
We are not like the God Race! You can ask around if you don’t trust me!
Salleh replied unhappily.
Qin Lie nodded.
I will.
He was still doubting Salleh’s true intentions.
Let’s leave it at this. For now, my clansmen and I cannot leave your side, so we may as well give you a bit more time.
Salleh said indifferently.
We can try engaging those Abyss Devils in battle once at least half of the remaining three God Race families show up.
I will find them,
Qin Lie agreed.
The green light in Salleh’s eyes slowly vanished after they had come to an agreement.
His figure became completely hidden in darkness.
Now that his eyes weren’t glowing like a Darklight Stone, they could no longer see each other.
Let us return,
Salleh said.
Mn.
The duo started walking back to the crowd along the way they came.
Meanwhile, the Bone Race and Winged Race were conversing in soft voices as they waited.
The Bone Race clansmen looked perfectly at ease.
—They had full confidence in Salleh’s strength.
For many years, the younger son of the chief, Salleh had drawn many elders’ attention with his powerful bloodline and talent.
Salleh had never looked close to being defeated despite fighting peers from the Spirit Race and God Race. In fact, he was the victor most of the time.
Before they knew it, Salleh had become the hero in every young Bone Race clansman’s heart.
They didn’t believe that Salleh would lose to a nobody like Qin Lie.
Similarly, the Winged Race thought that Qin Lie would be crushed like an ant.
Even the God Race didn’t believe that Qin Lie could win. They were all smiling bitterly amongst themselves.
Gan Xing and Nan Qi had fought against Salleh before, so they knew just how powerful he really was. Wu Sha and Liu Yang had also been hunted by Salleh in the past, so it was an understatement to say that his mere presence put them under enormous pressure.
Qin Lie… will probably lose horribly, won’t he.
Wu Sha thought to herself as a bitter a smile passed through her lips. She subconsciously shot a glance toward Liu Yang.
She knew that Liu Yang held special feelings for Qin Lie…
Liu Yang clearly looked troubled and frustrated as well. She occasionally sighed to herself under the Darklight Stone’s dim light.
Don’t worry, that Salleh guy is a principled person. He’s not one to go overboard.
Wu Sha sighed internally before she tried to console Liu Yang in a carefree tone.
He owes Qin Lie a favor because Qin Lie helped him find a lot of his clansmen. He might be wounded, but there’s no way Qin Lie would come under serious harm. Just relax.
Her words made it clear that she didn’t look kindly on Qin Lie’s chances though.
We can’t see their fight or hear any noises from here. That means they’re quite some distance away from us. A long time has passed, but they haven’t returned yet from their fight. I’m worried that…
Liu Yang gave Wu Sha a forced smile.
Wu Sha was just about to reply when she looked up and smiled slightly.
There they are.
Liu Yang hurriedly look upward.
The Bone Race and Winged Race clansmen heard the footsteps as well. They hurriedly looked towards the origin of the noise.
Qin Lie and Salleh gradually emerged from the darkness.
The crowd stared at them closely, but found no serious wounds on either combatants.
It confused them—what was the final result of the battle?
My lord!
My lord!
The Bone Race clansmen rushed towards Salleh, urgent to know the result of the battle.
We’re staying. For now, we will wait for the rest of the God Race to arrive,
Salleh said.
The Bone Race clansmen grew unhappy when they heard this.
My lord! You couldn’t have… lost, can you?
That’s not possible!
My lord!
The Bone Race clansmen exclaimed in disbelief.
How could I lose?
Salleh snorted coldly before looking at Qin Lie.
However, he is stronger than Gan Xing and Nan Qi. With him around, we should be able to deal with the high rank Abyss Devil from the Eight Purgatories.
My lord! Did he actually fight you to a standstill?
another Bone Race clansman asked.
Salleh hesitated for a moment before deciding to give Qin Lie face so that Qin Lie would be more inclined to bring him to Spirit Realm in the future. He answered impatiently,
You could say that.
When the Bone Race, Wu Sha, and Liu Yang heard this, they couldn’t help but stare at Qin Lie in surprise.
It was as if it was a great achievement just to claim a draw from Salleh already.
The Winged Race was suddenly looking at Qin Lie with respect as well.
They seemed to know just how scary Salleh really was.
