Strip me of my armor? I'll summon the Emperor in a flash!

Chapter 9 Shadow Realm Base
"Ding! The Shadow Stone has been completely corrupted!"

"Dark Wood Armor stats boosted!"

"Dark Emperor Ultimate Progress Unlocked 10%!"

The system notification echoed in his mind as Li Yan looked down at the completely transformed Wood Shadow Stone in his palm.

The once jade-like stone is now completely black, its surface covered with vein-like purple patterns, and the light flickering at its core is like a ghostly fire in the abyss.

"absorb."

He suddenly clenched his five fingers, and the Wood Shadow Stone burst forth with a blinding black light.

A torrent of gray energy surged into the body along the meridians in the arm, and strange patterns of wood-like texture appeared on the skin wherever it passed.

Li Yan's pupils turned completely dark purple, his hair moved without wind, and the fallen leaves within three meters of him suddenly floated in mid-air before turning into dust.

"Fuck-"

Black arcs of electricity danced across his body, and the earth beneath his feet began to crack, with countless tender shoots emerging from the fissures—only to wither and carbonize the moment they grew.

Li Yan closed his eyes and felt the new power surging within his body. The vitality of the wood element and the destructive power of the dark energy merged perfectly, forming an unprecedented power.

"Soon."

"I'll soon have everything I need!"

The moment he opened his eyes, two beams of purple light pierced the night like sharp swords.

"What are you yelling about in the middle of the night?!"

A cool, clear female voice broke the silence.

Under the moonlight, Bing'er leaned against a withered tree, her black leather jacket outlining her graceful curves.

She twirled a silver dagger between her fingers, the cold light reflecting off its blade onto her pretty face, which held a mocking expression.

Li Yan's energy slowly receded, and withered leaves began to fall again: "I'm very angry today."

"Let me guess~" Bing'er approached with cat-like steps, her high heels crunching through the fallen leaves, "Was she tricked by that old fox, the Realm King? Or did the negotiations fall apart?"

Her red lips almost touched Li Yan's earlobe, her breath carrying a faint minty scent: "Or... you didn't get anything at all, and instead got tricked by that old bastard, the Realm King?"

Hearing Bing'er's guess, Li Yan's expression grew even more somber, his voice colder than polar ice: "Lead the way, or die."

This was the first time in so many years that he had been tricked so thoroughly!

King Kai is doomed this time!
Upon hearing this, Bing'er's red lips curved into a bewitching smile.

Her slender fingers gently traced her lips, her tongue flicking out to lick the corner of her mouth, a dangerous yet alluring light gleaming in her eyes: "That's more like it. The person I, Bing'er, have set my sights on isn't someone that just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can bully."

As she spoke, she took out a black communicator from her waist and tapped it twice with her fingertips: "Speaking of which, that good-for-nothing Ugly General just sent a message urging me to return to the base immediately."

On the communicator's dark blue screen, a line of glaring red text was flashing.

Upon hearing this, Li Yan burst into laughter, the sound echoing in the open space and startling several roosting crows.

"Hahaha, this saves us trouble!" A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. "They probably never dreamed that their most trusted Bing'er would bring back a ferocious tiger that would devour its prey!"

Upon hearing this, Bing'er frowned slightly, her slender fingers unconsciously clenching the hem of her clothes: "You must be careful once you go inside."

She lowered her voice, her tone unusually grave, "That old bastard King of the Realm is nothing to fear, but the five Shadow Guardians..." At this point, she couldn't help but shudder, "Their strength is unfathomable."

Moonlight streamed through the broken windowpane, casting dappled shadows on her delicate face.

Although she knew Li Yan was powerful, whenever she thought of those five ferocious figures and the suffocating sense of oppression they exuded, she couldn't help but worry about Li Yan.

Li Yan noticed her slightly trembling fingertips and reached out to hold her cold hand: "Don't worry."

Those two simple words inexplicably reassured Bing'er.

She looked up and met Li Yan's determined gaze, seeing the fighting spirit burning in his eyes, like an inextinguishable flame in the darkness.

"Even if I can't beat them, do you think I can't run away?" Li Yan's lips curled into an arrogant smile as his fingertips lightly caressed the belt around his waist.

Under the moonlight, Li Yan stood there, "With my strength, even if all five of them came at me together, they wouldn't be able to stop me!"

He raised his hand and condensed a ball of dark blue energy, which danced in his palm and illuminated his sharply defined profile.

The energy fluctuations caused the surrounding gravel to tremble slightly, and the air was filled with the smell of ozone.

Bing'er looked at his confident appearance and pursed her red lips slightly.

She had been secretly observing these events and had personally witnessed Li Yan's brutal treatment of the mutant beasts.

“However,” Li Yan suddenly stopped smiling, his eyes becoming sharp as knives, “if they can really summon the Shadow Emperor, then it’s worth a serious battle for me.”

He clenched his fist, his knuckles making a crisp sound, and the faint phantom of a dark imperial armor appeared around him, radiating a suffocating pressure.

Bing'er unconsciously took a half step back, her hair flying wildly in the invisible energy field.

She took a deep breath and tucked a stray strand of silver hair behind her ear: "I believe you."

Her slender fingers gently tugged at Li Yan's sleeve. "But promise me, don't be stubborn."

"Don't worry." Li Yan gently rubbed the top of her head, feeling a silky touch on his fingertips.

When the two arrived at the entrance to the Shadow Realm Base, Li Yan finally understood why the Shadow Realm Base was hidden so deeply and was so hard to find.

The entrance to the Shadow Realm base is hidden in a secluded place, where spatial perception is distorted by a special energy field.

Even with Bing'er's guidance, it took Li Yan a full ten minutes to find the correct spatial node.

"It's really well hidden." Li Yan squinted at the seemingly ordinary rock wall in front of him.

Under the vision of energy, the surface of the rock wall is covered with spiderweb-like energy patterns, forming an exquisite illusion array.

Bing'er took an obsidian pendant from her neck and pressed it against a spot on the rock wall.

In an instant, the rocks rippled like water, revealing a deep tunnel.

The walls on both sides of the tunnel are inlaid with glowing purple crystals, casting eerie light and shadow.

"Follow my footsteps closely." Bing'er lowered her voice and nimbly moved through the intricate passages.

"This is really convoluted..." Li Yan sighed.

This place is so winding and twisty; I wonder who found this shabby spot.

"boom!"

"boom--!"

The deafening explosion echoed through the deep tunnel, debris rained down, and the entire underground base trembled.

Immediately afterwards, a cold yet familiar voice pierced through the darkness—

"You can't escape!"

Li Yan and Bing'er stopped in their tracks at the same time, their pupils shrinking slightly.

"Xi Zhao's voice!" Bing'er exclaimed softly, her fingers unconsciously clenching.

A cold glint flashed in Li Yan's eyes. Without saying a word, he moved like a ghost towards the source of the sound.

Bing'er followed closely behind, and the two ran quickly through the intricate tunnels, the air thick with an increasingly strong stench of blood.

Inside the dimly lit cave, the rock walls were riddled with cracks, and the floor was littered with broken stones and mottled bloodstains. A yellow figure was slammed into the rock wall, causing debris to shatter and dust to billow up.

"Old man, hand over the Earth Shadow Stone!" Xi Zhao's voice was as cold as a knife. He slowly withdrew his fist, and the energy fluctuations of the Snow Mastiff Armor still lingered on the arm armor.

Even though Xi Zhao was injured, he still had no major problems dealing with this kind of old man's armor.

"Cough cough." Shadow Tyrant struggled to his feet from the pile of rubble. The Earth Tiger Armor he summoned was visibly staggering, clearly on the verge of its limit.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and grinned maliciously, "Want the Earth Shadow Stone? Dream on! I'll destroy it rather than let you succeed!"

"You're courting death!" Xi Zhao's eyes flashed with killing intent, and he suddenly charged forward. His furious fist, clad in the Snow Mastiff Armor, tore through the air, aiming straight for Ying Ba's throat!
Shadow Master gritted his teeth and raised his arms to block, but—

"Bang!!"

Sparks flew as the old Earth Tiger Armor's arms could not stop him, and he was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground and rolling several times before finally coming to a stop.

Earth Tiger Armor disintegrates!

Yingba coughed up blood, holding Tuyingshi tightly in his arms.

"It's over." Xi Zhao looked down at him and reached for the earthen shadow stone.

Shadow King struggled to get up, but found that his body was no longer under his control.

He stared intently at Xi Zhao, his eyes filled with resentment: "You...don't even think about it."

Without further ado, Xi Zhao reached out and grabbed at the Earth Shadow Stone.

Just as he was about to take the Earth Shadow Stone into his hands.

At the critical moment

A figure suddenly appeared in front of Xi Zhao and grabbed his outstretched arm.

"What?!" Xi Zhao's pupils shrank as he looked at the arm that suddenly appeared, and he looked up sharply.

"How is this possible?" Looking up at the newcomer, Xi Zhao stared in disbelief at the dark imperial armor.

I can't believe Li Yan is here!
"Isn't it a bit too much to bully a seriously injured old man?" Li Yan sneered, his dark imperial armor covering his body, and the terrifying pressure made the air in the entire cave thicken.

"Li Yan?!" Xi Zhao's expression changed drastically, and he subconsciously took a half step back, but his arm, which was being held, prevented him from retreating.

He couldn't even pull it out!

Xi Zhao strained his arm, trying to break free from Li Yan's grasp.

But Li Yan's hand was like a hard pair of pliers, holding on tightly and refusing to let go!

Bing'er slowly emerged from the dark shadows, her black leather boots stepping over the broken concrete blocks, and stopped beside Li Yan.

The moonlight outlined her cold profile, and her red lips parted slightly: "Xi Zhao, stop."

Her voice was like an ice blade: "The era of the Realm King should come to an end."

Xi Zhao's snow mastiff armor gleamed slightly as his gaze swept back and forth between the two men.

Suddenly, he let out a bitter laugh: "So that's how it is." His voice, beneath the armor, trembled with metallic vibration. "Bing'er, you betrayed the Shadow Realm?"

“I’ve just seen the truth.” Bing’er took a step forward, the night wind blowing her long hair. “Come with me, the Shadow World is rotten to the core.”

Her fingertips trembled slightly—the man who had struggled in the shadows with her since childhood was now standing on the opposite side.

Xi Zhao remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh.

The snow mastiff's armor disintegrated, revealing its wounded and exhausted body.

In the end, he also chose to give up.

Or rather, he held fast to the sense of justice in his heart.

Li Yan loosened his clenched fist, and the dark energy slowly receded.

He turned and walked toward Shadow Master, who was huddled in the ruins, each step causing the rubble on the ground to tremble slightly.

Yingba struggled to raise his head, and on his wrinkled face, his cloudy eyes reflected Li Yan's figure.

Blood and froth kept spilling from the corner of his mouth: "Why...saved me?"

Li Yan knelt down on one knee, gazing at the dying old man—Ying Ba's chest was caved in, and his breathing was accompanied by the sound of liquid sloshing around, clearly indicating that his lungs had been punctured.

“The Earth Shadow Stone,” Li Yan said bluntly, his gaze fixed on Ying Ba’s tightly clutched chest. “Give it to me.”

Shadow Tyrant suddenly grinned, revealing his bloodstained teeth: "Heh, the Shadow Realm has misjudged us after all."

He trembled as he pulled the Earth Shadow Stone from his inner pouch; its yellow light seemed particularly dim after being stained with blood. "Take it," he said.

A violent cough interrupted him, "I...can't hold on any longer either."

When Li Yan accepted the crystal, the Earth Shadow Stone suddenly burst forth with dazzling light, seemingly resonating with the dark energy.

Shadow Master's body began to convulse, his pupils dilating: "Be careful...those five...they aren't them."

Before he could finish speaking, his head drooped limply.

Bing'er stepped forward, the hem of her black leather jacket brushing against Yingba's gradually cooling hand: "It's a pity he died like this."

Li Yan gripped the Earth Shadow Stone tightly, feeling the surging power of the earth within it: "You leave first."

His voice left no room for argument: "The next battlefield is not one you can enter."

Bing'er wanted to say something, but saw that Li Yan had already put his face armor back on.

A storm of dark energy began to swirl around him, even cracking the ground. She bit her lip, then finally turned and disappeared into the darkness.

Xi Zhao followed closely behind Bing'er as they walked outside.

……

Deeper

King Kai's mechanical prosthetic eye gleamed with a scarlet light in the darkness.

The hydraulic joints emitted an unstable hissing sound, and blue electric sparks occasionally flew from the broken interface of the robotic arm.

He slumped on the obsidian throne, the cracks on his metal mask appearing particularly menacing in the dim light.

"Where's Xi Zhao?!"

King Kai's synthesized voice became distorted due to system overload, accompanied by a harsh metallic scraping sound.

His remaining mechanical hand slammed down on the armrest of the throne, sending spiderweb-like cracks through the hard obsidian.

The ugly general knelt prostrate at the bottom of the steps, his forehead pressed against the cold ground.

His suit jacket was soaked with cold sweat, and his voice trembled so much it was almost inaudible: "M-Sir... Xi Zhao has gone to retrieve the Earth Shadow Stone; he should be back soon..."

"Where's Bing'er?!" A turbo-like hum emanated from the King of the Realms' mechanical chest, his anger clearly intensifying. "Why was the communication cut off?!"

A bead of cold sweat slid down the ugly general's temple.

"She said she discovered important intelligence." The ugly general's Adam's apple bobbed. "She's on her way back."

Suddenly, the entire ground shook violently!
"waste!"

(End of this chapter)