A huge energy wave came out from the ground as Wei Zhonglie performed his move.

Ying Zheng, who had been watching the battle intently, suddenly shouted, "Faction Leader Chen! Be careful!" He was worried that Wei Zhonglie was going to use some trick to trip up Chen Xiaobei. 

"This old fart won't have any energy to counterattack!" Chen Xiaobei said rea.s.suringly, completely unperturbed.

If Wei Zhonglie had any more moves that he could have used to hurt Chen Xiaobei, he would already have used them. He wouldn't have waited until now.

"You're trying to escape?" Chen Xiaobei looked at the situation under the ground using his Golden Gaze Fiery Eyes.

There was a very unusual underground palace under the floor of the Black Phantom Bureau.

It contained the formation that controlled the Spirit Channel and also a transportation portal.

Wei Zhonglie risked getting his left arm crippled to activate the portal to escape the battlefield, thus saving his own life.

"Arghhh…" His left arm was was badly hurt. He let out a shrill scream but a smile was present on his face. "Hey Chen! I will remember you! I will take revenge against you... ten thousand fold!"

Wei Zhonglie was only this haughty because the portal had already risen. It would be able to complete his transportation within the next minute.

"Faction Leader Chen! Kill him! If we don't nip this in the bud, it will come back and bite us!" Ying Zheng shouted in a panic.

"It's too late! Penetrate the Nine Heavens!" Chen Xiaobei then dashed to the portal.

Whoos.h.!.+

There was a bright flash of light and Wei Zhonglie vanished into thin air.

"Faction Leader Chen!" Ying Zheng was on tenterhooks. "How could you be so soft on this matter? Because you didn't kill him today... when he comes back, he will surely kill you and all the people you care about!"

"I know that…" Chen Xiaobei shook his head and asked, "But have you ever thought about what could be on the other side of the portal? Where does it lead to?"

"I…" Ying Zheng fumbled for words. "How would I know where the portal leads to and to what kind of place?"

"Wei Zhonglie was willing to forgo his left arm to open the portal and was not afraid that I would go after him! He even made it a point to announce that he was going to take revenge and challenge me later! He was trying to make me go after him! That itself is enough proof that the place on the other side of the portal is the safest place for Wei Zhonglie and the most dangerous place for me!"

"You…" Ying Zheng drew in a breath. "You mean that there is a greater danger on the other side of the portal?"

"Definitely! If I had gone after him, I would have fallen into a snare!" Chen Xiaobei said.

"That's not right! You have the 'Swallow All Four Seas' special ability. You can swallow the enemy's strength, and you also have the 'Up Against the Heaven' special ability. That would enable you to make the enemy's strength your own! You can fight whatever enemy that comes your way!" Ying Zheng looked puzzled. "I don't understand why you would fall into a snare if you did go after him? Wouldn't you have won easily?"

"Heh, if that's the case, then would I not be the most invincible person in the world?" Chen Xiaobei grinned.

The purple-gold scales and radiance gradually faded away, revealing fresh blood dripping down the corner of his lips.

His back was even worse off – his skin was cracked and his flesh was an ugly mangle of blood and tissue as if a bomb had gone off behind him.

Ying Zheng nearly flipped out. "You… You're injured? How did this happen? Wei Zhonglie did not even have the chance to fight back. How are you injured…"

"The amount of energy that Swallow All Four Seas and Up Against the Heaven can accommodate is directly proportional to my cultivation!" Chen Xiaobei explained. "I am now at the early phase of Ethereal Culture. I can only consume energy from people of the same level and discharge the same level of strength! Just now, I swallowed an Earth-G.o.d level Blade Qi, and although I've only consumed a fifth of it, it exceeded my current tolerance limit way beyond what I could handle! As you have seen, whilst I was able to fend off Wei Zhonglie, I have also sustained some pretty serious injuries myself! I was lucky that the Divine Blazing Tiger Saber was only a One-star Spiritual Instrument. Had it been two-star, I would already have exploded... like literally! If I had gone after Wei Zhonglie, I wouldn't be able to use Swallow All Four Seas and Up Against the Heaven ever again. If that's not sending myself into a snare, then what would be?"

Chen Xiaobei's tone was heavy as he took out a Taiyi Life Enhancement Pill and some other Spiritual Medicine to tend to his wounds as he spoke.

"No wonder…" Ying Zheng finally understood Chen Xiaobei's dilemma, so he quickly changed his tone and comforted him, "It's nothing! Where there is life, there is hope! Get better first, and then when that old fart comes back, we'll kill him eh!"

"Mm…" Chen Xiaobei nodded as he applied the medication to his wounds. "This battle is not a complete loss! Wei Zhonglie is by far the strongest enemy I have encountered so far! There is a silver lining. He has exposed how powerful his Earth-G.o.d instrument is – that is indeed, some valuable combat experience! The next time, if I come across another elite with an Earth-G.o.d instrument, I would know what to do!"

"Yeah…" Ying Zheng affirmed. "The combat experience recorded in the books were all armchair strategies! Only through personal experience would we be able to appreciate the essence within a battle!"

Chen Xiaobei nodded in agreement. Once he was done applying the medication, he took out some gauze to cover his wounds.

"But if you think about it, you paid quite a hefty tuition fee for this combat experience!" Ying Zheng said. "I took a total of four million, and you took one million. That's 5 million Spiritual Stones in total!"

"Yeah, five million! Swallow All Four Seas used up four million and Up Against the Heaven used up 100,000!" Chen Xiaobei said.

"Do you still have any more Spiritual Stones with you? If not, then let's make a run for it now…" Ying Zheng said, his voice trembling. "If Wei Zhonglie returns, we're going to be in a lot of trouble!"

"Heh, you're asking me if I have any more Spiritual Stones?" Chen Xiaobei chuckled. "To tell you the truth, I have another 190 million Spiritual Stones! You don't have to worry!"

When the bandages were in place, Chen Xiaobei took out a fresh, new robe and a pair of combat boots. These were gear he had obtained from the Overgrown Forest treasury where there were all sorts of styles and sizes to choose from.

"H… how many…" Ying Zheng stumbled over his words. "Did I imagine it?"

"Stay where you are!" Instead of answering his question, Chen Xiaobei darted towards the sickly-looking man and grabbed him by the nape of his neck, preventing from moving. 

"Have mercy… Sir, have mercy… Please…" The man pleaded.

Chen Xiaobei looked around at the Black Armor Guards scattered across the floor, still unconscious from the fight just now.

"Your mental strength is pretty strong eh? You didn't pa.s.s out!" Chen Xiaobei said to him.

"I saw nothing… and I heard nothing…. Please have mercy on my pathetic life…" The man cried.

"Heh, you are quite the smart fellow!" Chen Xiaobei said. "Bring me to the underground palace! Whether or not you will live would depend on whether I can take something useful back with me!"