Chapter 147: Fearing to Hurt His Self-Esteem

To say he almost spat a mouthful of blood would be an understatement; the blood had actually already reached Zhang Ning's mouth, but refusing to show any weakness in front of this scumbag, he forcefully swallowed it back down.

By this point, Zhang Ning had already realized that the Spatial Dao comprehended by this Zhang Guanlan was truly extraordinary. The name of the technique sounded quite humorous, probably originating from Journey to the West.

Originally, Zhang Ning indeed had no way to counter it, but let us not forget that Zhang Ning had just received a storage bag from the Nether Space Demonic Venerable Xing Qiluo, which contained hundreds of daggers imbued with Spatial Dao energy!

Zhang Ning immediately took out one dagger to tear open space, and a second one was already nocked like an arrow on a bowstring. He planned to make a second attempt if the first failed, chaining them together one after another until he tore through Zhang Guanlan's "One Hundred and Eight Thousand Leagues!"

However, the moment Zhang Ning slashed forward, he distinctly felt that the distance between him and Zhang Guanlan had not shortened by even a fraction of a millimeter.

……How could this be?

Observing the expression on Zhang Ning's face, Zhang Guanlan smiled. "Is that stuff from Uncle Xing? Naturally, whatever he gives won't be subpar. But don't forget, we are both transmigrators; how could we possibly lose to the natives? Especially since they are so deeply entangled! In a situation like this, how could I not guard against him interfering in the matters between me and Master? Using this, you could probably defeat any other Zhang Ning from any parallel world, but you simply cannot defeat me, who practice the Spatial Dao!"

"I… I couldn't read your bottom line; I lost this time," Zhang Ning said calmly.

Zhang Guanlan raised an eyebrow. "I know myself; your eyes certainly don't look like they've conceded defeat. Tell me, what about the 'but'?"

Zhang Ning finally realized where that strangely familiar feeling he had experienced upon seeing Zhang Guanlan raise his eyebrow came from. It was clearly Master's habitual gesture. For Zhang Guanlan to perform it so naturally undoubtedly meant that in the course of spending even more time with Master than Zhang Ning, he had grown far more accustomed to each other's existence. This once again pierced Zhang Ning's heart.

"But… you know me, and I know you! I know what I look like when I'm just putting up a bold front, and I know that if I genuinely had full confidence, I wouldn't waste words with an enemy! Therefore, that move just now was actually your limit, wasn't it? You temporarily have no follow-up techniques, and I am not without a chance of winning!"

Zhang Guanlan's expression darkened. "Oh? Since that is the case, why haven't you counterattacked yet?"

Consumed by fury on the inside, Zhang Ning maintained an utterly calm exterior. "I just want to ask you, at a time like this, have you ever felt even a sliver of regret?"

Zhang Guanlan froze. Yet, looking at his complex expression, Zhang Ning had no desire to find out what unavoidable grievances or tragic past lay behind this bastard.

Zhang Ning did not actually care whether this Zhang Guanlan regretted his actions or not. What was done was done—what use was regret? He asked that question… merely to make him lose focus!

Seeing Zhang Guanlan stunned, Zhang Ning, who had been prepared all along, instantly hurled out that absolute escape talisman—one he hadn't even been willing to use in the Azure Realm when facing the crisis of having his "mysterious powerhouse" facade stripped away! Immediately, the restriction Zhang Guanlan had set upon him was effortlessly torn apart like a fragile sheet of paper.

That was an item Zhang Ning had spent millions of attention value points to redeem, the highest-tier item currently available capable of escaping almost any desperate or perilous situation. The mall's supplementary manual even boasted that using this talisman could allow one to escape even the destruction of certain minor worlds. Zhang Ning did not know whether that claim was true or false, but if not now, when?!

Facing this situation, Zhang Ning knew he had bet correctly; this Zhang Guanlan had zero means to counter this talisman!

Having broken free, Zhang Ning did not hesitate for a second, slashing his blade directly at Zhang Guanlan!

Before Zhang Guanlan could react in time, he was struck squarely by Zhang Ning. Clearly delivering a heavy blow, Zhang Ning caused a crimson line to instantly erupt from Zhang Guanlan's shoulder down to his waist. Yet, through some unknown method, the wound that should have kept bleeding was instantly stanched, and he raised his hand to deal with Zhang Ning.

However, the primary purpose of Zhang Ning's previous strike had not been to defeat Zhang Guanlan, especially since Zhang Ning's perceptive eyes had already instantly discerned that Zhang Guanlan was already nursing prior injuries.

Still, he had no energy to spare for this scumbag. The Elven Tear in his hand was instantly channeled to its absolute limit, pushing it to the verge of breaking down entirely. The resulting effect was breathtaking: the trees and foliage in the surrounding garden suddenly grew at a mad pace, almost instantly entangling Zhang Guanlan, whereupon Zhang Ning rapidly deployed two trapping formations.

Thanks to Master's unreserved teachings over these past few days, the arrays Zhang Ning casually tossed down now would require a considerable amount of time to brute-force, even if Zhang Guanlan's subordinates rushed over immediately and had zero understanding of how the formations worked.

Thus, the tables were turned, and it was Zhang Guanlan who was left helpless. Zhang Ning looked at him with an extremely cold gaze, almost wishing he could execute this rebellious disciple with his own hands for Master's sake.

Fortunately, Zhang Ning still retained a shred of sanity, knowing that several of this little tyrant's capable subordinates might be lurking nearby, and he had to seize the moment.

Zhang Ning had previously been puzzled as to why this garden had been managed by Zhang Guanlan to be as airtight as an iron bucket; he had originally thought Zhang Guanlan was guarding against some external enemy, but now he understood—this fucking place was living proof of a gilded cage!

Zhang Ning's series of actions were as swift as a gust of wind, every step as smooth and precise as divine assistance. Only then did Zhang Guanlan snap back to reality. Seeing Zhang Ning's decisive back as he turned away, he roared in panic, "Wait, wait, wait! You win! You win! What do you want? Attention value? Did you know that attention value can be transferred? The attention value of parallel-world versions of ourselves who use the same system can be transferred!"

"I'll transfer all my attention value to you, okay? Or I concede, I can apologize to you! You win! My method of interfering with the progress of this world was indeed problematic; let's talk about it, alright?"

Zhang Ning did not turn around, nor did his voice carry any of the smugness of a victor. Instead, he coldly retorted, "Are you scared? Do you even know what it is you're actually afraid of?!"

"I, I know…" At this moment, Zhang Guanlan's expression could practically be described as terrified. The tyrant who held absolute power of life and death in this minor world was displaying such a fragile side. He practically pleaded, "Don't interfere in our affairs, okay? Don't… don't let go of Master, don't return his freedom to him, I don't want to never see him again… You don't know anything, you have no idea at all… The arguments you have with Master are completely different from the ones I have with him! What right do you have to butt into our business?" As he spoke, Zhang Guanlan's expression twisted back into ferocity; his mental state was truly worrisome.

As for Zhang Ning, facing either Zhang Guanlan's previous entreaties or his current threats, he remained completely indifferent. He said, "Because you did wrong, brother, so I'm sorry. Not only am I going to rescue him, but if he's willing… I'm taking him away with me, too!"