“It's over. Ryan Ling's techniques are freaky, his strength is off the charts, and he can rip Victor Orochi apart bare-handed, but he's still too young. What a waste!”
“No need to feel bad. Youngsters have to pay for being cocky and arrogant. Who told him to look down on Masao Tokugawa and Sword King Miyamoto, Japan’s absolute top dogs? Those two aren’t some pretty-boy ninja like Victor Orochi—they’re at the very peak of Sub-Saint power, the tier just below Saint King!”
“Exactly. Ryan was way too full of himself. Still, for a Chinese teenager to wipe out all of Chiba Shrine and take down two Japanese Sub-Saints—those feats alone will leave Japan reeling. I bet they won’t dare mess with Huaxia for years after this!”
......
All the surrounding experts stared at Ryan’s so-called ‘tragic state’ and sighed—clearly, to them, he’d been totally crushed, and in the most brutal way imaginable.
“Captain, get going—now! I’ll hold them off!” Ethan Yong shoved Sophia Long behind him, determined to protect her even if it meant dying in Japan. His job was to get Sophia home safe, no matter what.
“Surround the whole Huaxia Dragon Group—don’t let a single one escape! I’ll blood-sacrifice all of them for Victor Orochi today!” Masao Tokugawa snarled, teeth gritted. Even though he and Victor used to bicker nonstop, their bond ran deep. Just thinking about Victor’s death made Masao’s nose sting with grief.
"Understood!" The Tokugawa Clan’s fighters had been lurking, and at their patriarch’s command, they surged straight at the Huaxia Dragon Group.
If Ryan hadn’t crashed the party earlier, the Huaxia Dragon Group would’ve already been wiped out. Now, the Japanese side was even less likely to show mercy.
"Protect the captain—fall back, now!" Ethan Yong shouted, his voice raw and desperate.
But Sophia Long flat-out refused to leave. Tears streamed down her face as she stared at Ryan Ling, dead certain he wasn’t finished yet. She didn’t care that she was smack in the middle of danger—she just screamed at the top of her lungs: "Ryan! If you’re a man, you better live! I forbid you to die!"
"Heh, you’re pretty devoted, but no matter how loud you yell, that guy’s not coming back. Since you want him so bad, maybe I’ll just send you to join him!" Sword King Miyamoto grinned, unleashing a slash of sword qi straight at Sophia Long!
"Protect the captain!" Ethan Yong didn’t hesitate—he threw himself in front of Sophia Long. Brave as he was, it didn’t matter; against Sword King Miyamoto’s Sub-Saint sword qi, Ethan didn’t stand a chance. If that sword qi so much as grazed him, he was dead meat.
But Ethan Yong didn’t flinch. He’d already put life and death behind him.
"Not dead yet?" Miyamoto scoffed, his sword qi wrapping tighter and tighter around Ethan Yong.
Ethan Yong had lost all hope; his eyes slid shut.
But right then, a long roar split the sky—the deadly sword qi crumbled away instantly!
"Impossible!" Miyamoto froze, eyes wide in disbelief.
And then, something even weirder happened—Ryan Ling, who’d been squashed flat, suddenly twisted and puffed back up with a bang, like someone blowing up a balloon. Masao Tokugawa and Sword King Miyamoto were so stunned, they almost spat blood.
"What the hell is he, man or monster?" Masao Tokugawa shivered as Ryan Ling suddenly turned the tables, his body swelling into a towering powerhouse.