novelraw Chapter 580: First Slay One's Own Comfort, Then Slaughter the World Until the City Runs Red!
Chapter 580: First Slay One's Own Comfort, Then Slaughter the World Until the City Runs Red!
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Those words sounded especially interesting in Lu Ding’s ears!
They carried multiple meanings, and he dissected them one by one.
“We, the Zhan family, promise we will do our best, but whether we can produce it… I can’t guarantee…”
Lu Ding wasn’t the kind to force others into impossible situations.
He was simply a little curious: if Zhan Yuanliang couldn’t guarantee it, how could Zhan Tingzhou be so confident?
And he was overly eager.
Hmm... no time to waste, I should hurry back and check on him.
Lu Ding set down his teacup. “If that’s the case, then thank you, Head of the Zhan family. I’ll have someone deliver payment afterward.”
The moment Zhan Yuanliang heard Lu Ding say he would still pay, he hurriedly waved his hand in refusal. “No need, no need, Grand Duke Lu, you can’t do that—it’s inappropriate, inappropriate… We of the Zhan family should be the ones thanking you;
we should give you a reward.”“How could I let you spend money?”
“There’s nothing you need to pay for. You do the work, I give the money. Saving your daughter is my duty. As for any reward, the Zhan family has paid its taxes for many years already.”
Principled!!
At this moment, Zhan Yuanliang finally understood what set this special envoy Lu Ding apart from other White Ridge 749 investigators!
If it had been someone else…
They would have practically wanted to flay the Zhan family layer by layer.
Zhan Yuanliang folded his arms and turned his head. “Grand Duke Lu is principled! But the Zhan family…”
He really didn’t want to accept payment, but before he could finish his sentence—
Zhan Tingzhou tugged his sleeve and continued, “Grand Duke Lu, let the reward go. I only ask that you let me join the 749.”
A 749 investigator carried real value outside;
it was an iron rice bowl, not something anyone could become on a whim.
But in New City…
Those with power and wealth didn’t take this position seriously. Even if someone wanted to try it for fun, it could be bought.
Yet afterward they would be gossiped about, called pathetic—like a rich second-generation kid buying a stint with the city enforcement and being mocked for it.
A thing nobody wanted even if given for free, and Zhan Tingzhou was rushing to accept it.
This puzzled his father.
“Has my son also seen the breadth of Grand Duke Lu’s vision? Is he trying to invest early?”
If that were used to explain Zhan Tingzhou’s actions, it would only be partly true.
Zhan Tingzhou simply didn’t want to make things hard for Lu Ding.
He intended to kill and adjust the colors;
if he did the killings as a private individual, it would be illegal and he would conflict with Lu Ding.
So he needed an identity—become a 749 investigator to slay the wicked.
Also, by joining the 749, he could discreetly provide some reborn memories to Lu Ding, helping Lu Ding seize opportunities.
After all, Lu Ding’s previous life wasn’t in Great Han—Ji Continent is too far away;
he likely didn’t know much.
This was also his way of repaying Lu Ding.
One more reason: after New City’s reforms, Great Han’s growth speed would become terrifyingly fast. Clinging to this thigh early would make future endeavors much easier.
Not to mention, years later Great Han intended to capture billions of demonic criminals as foundation, a million strong as base, lift up one hundred thousand peerless prodigies—using extraordinary phenomena to dazzle the heavens, illuminate the path to ascension, and push the nation toward First Circle in a historic grand move.
Such a brilliant, glorious era!
Having been reborn into this life, Zhan Tingzhou was determined to take part, to compete with the heroes of the world and thrust his sword toward the heavens!
Bai Hemen, Huangfu Lingyun, Nomin, An Wuyang, Qing Jiu Si, Zhuge Cijing…
One name after another flashed through Zhan Tingzhou’s mind;
dim silhouettes rose like pillars across the sky in his vision.
In his last life, until his death, he never saw the day Great Han made its move. In this life, he vowed he would!!!
He wanted not only to surge forward himself, but to bring Lu Ding—his true friend—up with him, to sing triumphantly while enjoying the peak!
“You want to join the 749?”
Lu Ding was puzzled by him.
Zhan Tingzhou nodded firmly.
Lu Ding thought for a moment. It wasn’t impossible;
the lack of capable people under him was an issue, and more importantly, this person was somewhat off—odd, but not malevolently so. Simply... unusual.
Letting him join the 749 would fill a personnel gap and also let them see what exactly he was.
“All right, it’s possible, but you’ll start as an extra, a temporary worker, and work your way up by rank.”
Zhan Tingzhou didn’t hesitate. “Agreed!”
With his reborn memories, grabbing some merits would be far from difficult.
Not only could he climb higher, but as his superior, Lu Ding could rise faster too.
For example, with foresight advantages, they could strike at New City’s cancerous organizations like Wuwang and thwart the Yellow Heaven Sect’s plot.
Then?
Wealth for the brothers, promotions and raises!!
Zhan Tingzhou vaguely remembered that in his previous life the Wuwang organization’s collapse started with a massive cave-in in Xiankong Town.
So let it begin here: using my intelligence, let this be the starting point of our broad road!
Sensing the change in Zhan Tingzhou’s eyes, Lu Ding thought, “You have a lot going on in that head of yours…”
“All right. Find time to report in.”
With that, he didn’t linger—he turned and left.
Thus, the temporary worker who kills and sets fires and the Grand Duke who slays demons and protects the realm, were both in place!
Zhan Tingzhou watched Lu Ding depart.
Yes!!
This temperament—just right!
After Lu Ding and his men left the Zhan family gate,
Zhan Yuanliang finally asked his son, “Tingzhou, you…”
Zhan Tingzhou dropped to his knees, forehead smashing the blue bricks. “Father, Mother, your child is unfilial!”
This single act turned any thousand words his parents might have had into concern.
“Boy, get up. You still have a wound on your head.”
Zhan Tingzhou’s mother moved to help him up.
Zhan Yuanliang sighed slightly—my son has grown up...
But his words remained unyielding. “A son’s knees should be worth gold—why are you always kneeling like this! Don’t make a habit of it.”
“That won’t happen again.”
With that, Zhan Yuanliang left. He had to think of how to obtain the color Lu Ding requested.
His son injured his head, while he himself had not—this “Five-Colored Gleaming Black” would be the most difficult sale since the Zhan family was founded!
He had to seize every moment!
In Zhan Yuanliang’s life he had only one son and one daughter—each was his apple of the eye.
If not for Grand Duke Lu…
Zhan Yuanliang dared not imagine.
So, facing Lu Ding’s request, he could only succeed, not fail!!
Zhan Tingzhou rose and chatted with his mother and younger sister for a while before returning to his room.
Meditate! Cultivate!
Staring at his original extraordinary phenomenon.
Zhan Tingzhou’s face sank;
a ferocious glint flashed in his eyes.
To form the Five-Colored Divine Light, he had to cover and suppress his original phenomenon.
The pain involved was comparable to being cut into a thousand pieces, flayed and having tendons stripped!
“The Five-Colored Divine Light brushes away everything. Centuries of wind and rain, a lifetime adrift—reborn, I shall let the Divine Light overturn clouds and dye the world in blood, reverse the heavens and roll up the bloody winds!!!”
“It’s just flaying and tendon-stripping, a thousand cuts and ten thousand slices—yet I won’t die!”
Zhan Tingzhou formed hand seals, his jaw clenching tighter and tighter, blood seeping out.
“The bloody blade draws late from the scabbard;
cold light first pierces the clouds. First kill one’s own comforts, then slaughter the world until the city runs red!”
“Kill for me... KILL!!!!”
Puchi, puchi, puchi........
As the word “kill” fell, Zhan Tingzhou repeatedly tore open his own wounds, blood spurting out, as if being cut a thousand times—enduring the agony of slow dismemberment.