Chapter 396: Battle on Mars – Chen Ye vs. Director General
Next—
The Director General asked Chen Ye quite a few other questions.
For example, his views on the Reincarnation Bureau, and what he thought about continuing to apply national laws within the bureau...
Chen Ye answered patiently, then couldn't help but ask, "Director, did you call me over this late just to discuss these things?"
Han Li smiled and deflected, "Chen Ye, how about we spar a little?"
"Spar?"
Chen Ye was taken aback, then replied, "Director, you must be joking. With my level of strength, how could I possibly be your opponent?"
Han Li shook his head and said gently, "Not with your flame ability. I mean your real strength—let's have a match using that."
As soon as the words fell—
A sharp light flashed through Chen Ye's eyes.
"Director, could you be a bit clearer?"
"Clearer?"
Han Li tilted his head in thought, then said, "Yesterday, in the xianxia instance world, I encountered a foreign demon named Qin Muyin. Does that help clarify things?"
Upon hearing the name Qin Muyin, Chen Ye could no longer keep calm—his expression changed.
In the next moment—
His entire aura transformed, becoming extremely dangerous,
like a demon king awakening.
His eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Even someone as strong as Han Li was momentarily unsettled by the killing aura.
"Director, I want to know—Qin Muyin… is she still alive?" Chen Ye asked coldly.
Han Li knew—
If he said Qin Muyin was dead, the man before him would likely land a punch straight away.
Truth be told, he was rather tempted to test that.
But in the end, his rational mind overcame the suicidal urge.
He smiled and said, "Chen Ye, don't be anxious. Your beloved is fine—she's currently a guest at my sect."
Earlier, when he'd frightened Qin Muyin by saying he would use her as bait to trap Chen Ye, she'd become very anxious and even begged to die.
Now, with Chen Ye revealing such intense killing intent at just the mention of her name...
Han Li concluded that the two of them must have an unusual relationship.
Chen Ye, hearing this, was briefly stunned.
He didn't bother to correct Han Li's misunderstanding about his relationship with Qin Muyin—he was only surprised: "Qin Muyin is still alive?"
Han Li chuckled. "I wasn't sure before if you were the same Chen Ye from Blue Star. But after seeing your reaction to Qin Muyin, I'm now certain—you're the one wanted by the Lord God's Space."
Chen Ye frowned and asked warily, "So, Director, are you planning to capture me for the bounty?"
Han Li shook his head. "If that were my intention, what awaited you tonight would've been a trap."
Chen Ye was surprised and asked, "Then what exactly are you planning, Director? Please speak plainly."
Han Li considered for a moment, then said, "I once sent people to infiltrate Blue Star, and gathered a lot of information. For example, your bonded heroic talent is the Bald Demon King Saitama, correct?"
At this point, there was no longer any need to hide it.
Chen Ye nodded and admitted it.
"Although, it seems your beloved doesn't know this yet," Han Li added with a smile. "Don't worry, I haven't told her. In your world, your secret remains yours alone."
Chen Ye had no interest in explaining his relationship with Qin Muyin right now.
What mattered most was her current safety and Han Li's attitude.
"The Bald Demon King's talent… Even in the Lord God's Space, it's considered heaven-defying."
Han Li sighed, then said, "Since you possess Saitama's talent, I'm sure you'll soon become as unbeatable as he is. I'd rather not offend someone destined for invincibility—so, Chen Ye, I want to cooperate with you."
"Cooperate?" Chen Ye asked with a low voice. "In what way?"
Han Li said, "Though I don't know how you managed to arrive on Earth while avoiding the Lord God's detection... your mission must be to eliminate reincarnators, right?"
Chen Ye thought for a moment, then nodded.
Han Li followed up, "Is there a specific number required?"
"No," Chen Ye replied directly. "But the more I kill, the greater the reward."
At that, Han Li seemed to realize something. "No wonder... During the last martial arts tournament, you intentionally 'messed up' and ended up killing so many reincarnators..."
"The cooperation I'm suggesting is simple," Han Li continued. "I hope you can focus on foreign reincarnators. As for those within the country—as long as they're not committing crimes, please don't kill indiscriminately. What do you think?"
Chen Ye nodded without hesitation. "No problem."
After all, he was an Earth native. And the Xia Kingdom was his homeland—his own relatives lived here. There was no way he would let the country descend into chaos.
Of course, he wasn't going to say all that to the Director General.
For all he knew, Han Li might still think he wasn't from Earth...
Seeing how readily Chen Ye agreed, Han Li grinned. "Pleasure working with you, Chen Ye. I'll keep your identity a secret, and as for Miss Qin Muyin—I'll release her shortly."
Chen Ye asked curiously, "Director, aren't you worried I'll go back on my word?"
Han Li shook his head and replied, "I believe you won't. Since you joined the Reincarnation Bureau, everything you've done this past year proves you're not like those inhuman beasts. Besides, your Blue Star and our Earth are quite similar—you're also a black-haired, black-eyed Xia Kingdom native. Strictly speaking, we're practically kin."
Chen Ye: "…"
Han Li's words left Chen Ye momentarily speechless.
Then, Han Li asked, "By the way, to avoid detection by the Lord God's Space and make it here, you must've crossed over via soul transfer, right? Based on the timeline, you've been here less than two years. How strong are you now?"
"Not sure exactly, haven't tested," Chen Ye replied honestly. "But I doubt this planet could withstand a serious punch from me."
Hiss—
Hearing that, Han Li couldn't help but suck in a breath.
He could destroy Earth too—
But definitely not with a single punch!
"As expected of the Bald Demon King's talent!"
Han Li sighed again, then said, "That works out well. I actually have a small favor to ask."
Chen Ye asked calmly, "What kind of favor?"
"It's like this—if I don't kill your beloved, I'll be marked as having failed my mission by the Lord God's Space. The penalty this time is either losing 10,000 Reincarnation Coins or thirty years of lifespan."
Han Li explained, "I don't have 10,000 coins, so I'd have to lose lifespan... And lifespan is precious. I really don't want to age thirty years all at once. So, I want to ask for your help. Come to my world and help me deal with a late-stage Divine Transformation cultivator."
"In his sect's territory, there's a Red Spirit Fruit Tree. It bears fruit once every ten years, and the fruits are just about to ripen. One fruit grants ten years of lifespan. The tree produces ten fruits per cycle… If we succeed, we split them fifty-fifty. What do you say?"
Chen Ye thought for a moment, then asked, "Who gets the fifty?"
Han Li was momentarily stunned.
"Just kidding..." Chen Ye said. "So, I can enter your xianxia world?"
"Of course you can!"
Han Li said, "That world now belongs entirely to me—it's my personal instance world. Other than myself, I can bring people in and out. Even ordinary people can be taken inside."
Then, Han Li revealed another secret: "In fact, many of the disciples in my sect are Earthlings—third-generation disciples."
Chen Ye was a little surprised.
However, he still had reservations about Han Li's proposal for help.
What if all of this was a trap set specifically for him?
You can never be too careful!
Chen Ye wasn't naïve enough to trust someone completely after just a few words.
Even though the Director General sounded sincere, he wouldn't lower his guard.
"Director, can I take some time to think about it?"
Han Li understood that Chen Ye wouldn't trust him so easily, and replied, "Of course. Just try not to take too long. I have only nine days left on my mission. It would be best to settle this before then, so I won't have to grow old."
Chen Ye asked with some confusion, "Director, according to those novels, cultivators in the Divine Transformation stage usually have extremely long lifespans, don't they? Often over a thousand years…"
"I'm different," Han Li explained. "I'm a reincarnator. My current cultivation realm was advanced through Reincarnation Coins, not through my own cultivation. Although this method is convenient and fast, it results in me being different from other cultivators. My actual lifespan still hasn't left the scope of an ordinary human's."
He sighed. "That's one of the downsides of being a reincarnator."
Chen Ye nodded. "Alright, I understand."
He believed Han Li wasn't lying—because there were plenty of reincarnators out there.
If Han Li were lying, Chen Ye could simply ask any of them and expose him instantly.
"Oh right. A late-stage Divine Transformation cultivator is no small threat!" Han Li suddenly proposed, "Chen Ye, how about we have a spar first? Let you get a feel for how cultivators fight?"
This time—
Chen Ye readily agreed.
"A spar is fine. But I'm worried about damaging Earth."
"It just so happens that this time of year, Mars is the closest it gets to Earth. How about we spar on Mars?" Han Li suggested.
As expected of an S-rank powerhouse.
He talked about going to Mars as if it were a casual stroll.
He didn't suggest going to the Moon, of course, because it was too close.
Any battle on it might attract the attention of other S-rank powerhouses—like Adam.
When Chen Ye heard the proposal to go to Mars,
He hesitated only briefly, then agreed: "Alright!"
With his current physical strength—over sixty thousand—he could probably survive in outer space for two or three days without issue.
In addition, his current flight speed had already reached over six hundred times the speed of sound. In space, this speed would increase tenfold!
Because there's no air resistance in outer space.
Considering the shortest distance between Mars and Earth is 54 million kilometers, at his speed, he could reach it in six to seven hours.
Han Li, being impatient by nature, saw Chen Ye agree and immediately said, "Then let's set off now! Oh, right—Saitama probably can't fly. Want me to take you there?"
Chen Ye shook his head.
Han Li looked stunned. "You can jump from Earth to Mars? That's some terrifying leg strength..."
Clearly, he had seen the Saitama anime and knew about the iconic scene where Saitama jumped from the Moon to Earth.
"Of course not!" Chen Ye smiled. "I can fly."
As soon as he said it,
Chen Ye's body slowly rose into the air.
Then—
BOOM!
A thunderous sonic boom exploded, like a missile detonating over the skies of the capital.
Chen Ye's figure shot upward like a bolt of lightning, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Han Li's eyes flashed sharply, visibly shocked.
Without delay, he summoned his flying sword and tore through the air in pursuit.
Surprisingly, he was able to follow closely behind Chen Ye.
This was clearly the Director General's true movement technique.
His previous flight to the martial arts tournament had simply been him holding back, not wanting to show off.
From this moment, the match between the two began—
...
In just one minute, Chen Ye broke through the atmosphere and entered outer space.
Then—
His speed skyrocketed, transforming into a black blur as he shot across the void.
By now, Chen Ye's speed had reached 1% of the speed of light…
That may not sound like much.
But it's light speed!
The fastest known speed in the universe!
It's said that if you reach the speed of light, the entire space-time you perceive enters a state of stillness.
Behind him, Director General Han Li was starting to fall behind.
His movement technique wasn't hindered by air resistance, so he didn't gain much of a boost in space—unlike Chen Ye.
Han Li had tested this before: back when he was only at Peak Golden Core, it took him three days to fly to Mars.
Now, with his upgraded cultivation, he estimated he could reach Mars in a day.
Originally, he thought that was the fastest speed on Earth.
Even Adam's Dance of the Void couldn't compare.
But to his surprise—
Chen Ye flew even faster.
Several times faster.
At Chen Ye's current speed, he could reach Mars in just a few hours?
What kind of concept was that??
Han Li was amazed, realizing Chen Ye might be even stronger than he'd imagined.
Still, Han Li wasn't someone who gave up easily—even if this was just a spar.
He thought, maybe Chen Ye was overexerting himself and couldn't maintain that burst for long... Plus, in outer space with no air, Han Li could survive for a long time—Chen Ye might not.
So, he kept chasing with unrelenting effort.
...
Twenty hours later—
The Director General finally entered Mars' atmosphere.
Managing to reach Mars in just twenty hours—three to four hours faster than his original estimate—proved that he had pushed himself to the absolute limit.
When he landed, a trace of fatigue showed on his face.
In contrast—
Chen Ye looked completely unaffected, as if he had been waiting here for a long time.
Moreover—
Mars' harsh climate seemed to have had no impact on him at all...
(End of Chapter)
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