Two Protagonists?

After absorbing the fire illusion’s blood essence, Qin Huai’s speed significantly increased.

“Brother Qin, you…” Wang Kun stuttered, his mouth agape as he stared at Qin Huai, whose wings were now aflame. He had never seen such a powerful guardian spirit item.

“It’s just a small opportunity. It’s nothing compared to Elder Wang,” Qin Huai responded, watching as Wang Kun’s energy surged, completely unlike someone who had just been in a life-or-death fight.

Just moments ago, there were over a hundred demons. Even Qin Huai himself would have to expend a lot of vitality to defeat them, yet Wang Kun seemed even stronger than before. This puzzled Qin Huai. Could it be that Wang Kun was bound by some legendary protagonist’s fate?

“My luck is indeed better. I’m already at the second-level visceral prefecture realm,” Wang Kun admitted, scratching his head shyly. “Not long ago, I caught a black-red fish king. It looked extraordinary. At that time, I was being chased by a clan Leader, so I decided to go all out and use the black-red fish king as a guardian spirit item to break through to the second level.

“Black-red fish king?” Qin Huai was left speechless. He was curious to know more but understood that details about guardian spirit items were personal. So, instead of prying, he changed the subject. “Elder Wang, you’ve been working hard for more than a month. Did you gain anything?”

“If Brother Qin hadn’t saved me, I would have died at the hands of that clan leader.” Wang Kun looked at Qin Huai with reverence. The fact that Qin Huai had single-handedly defeated two top-notch experts at the fifth-level visceral prefecture realm from the Kun Peng clan was astounding.

“Because I have refined the black-red fish king, I also received a pleasant surprise,” Wang Kun continued, his face calming a bit. “Now that I’m roaming the blood sea, I don’t have to worry about being corrupted by it.”

“Oh?” Qin Huai perked up.

“I was like a fish in the blood sea. Moreover, I had an extraordinary sensitivity towards it,” Wang Kun explained. “After I entered the blood sea, I keenly sensed the strength of the ‘energy’ in it. I swam towards the place with the strongest ‘energy’. But before I could get there, I was discovered by the clan leader.”

Wang Kun then concluded, “I think the secret of the blood sea is in the center of their territory.”

“In other words, this is no different from our previous guess,” Qin Huai surmised.

“Yes. If we want to find the secret, we can only go deep into the tiger’s den!” Wang Kun confirmed.

The two chatted as they traveled. Qin Huai, with his flaming wings, flew across the sea of blood. Beside him, Wang Kun’s strangely shaped wings flapped, keeping a pace only slightly slower than Qin Huai’s.

Despite not using his full strength, Qin Huai was still using seventy percent of it, which made Wang Kun’s ability to keep up all the more impressive.

Even the two clan leaders might not match Qin Huai’s speed. After all, he was a pure-blooded Kun Peng, and coupled with the support of the fire illusion’s blood essence, his speed far surpassed that of the Kun Peng demons.

However, to Qin Huai’s surprise, Wang Kun, standing next to him, was able to keep pace with his speed. Qin Huai found this baffling and couldn’t help glancing at Wang Kun’s peculiar wings.

Suddenly, he noted a striking resemblance between Wang Kun’s wings and his own. Aside from the size, the patterns, feathers, and the skeleton shape were identical.

Despite Wang Kun’s self-proclaimed level at the second-level visceral prefecture realm, Qin Huai couldn’t help but speculate that Wang Kun’s wings were also from a pure-blooded Kun Peng. But that seemed impossible, given that all Kun Peng clansmen in this world should have evolved into demons.

Qin Huai found himself questioning Wang Kun’s abilities. Did he have a system similar to Qin Huai’s that enabled him to collect and refine Kun Peng fragments? It might explain Wang Kun’s repeated instances of near-death “resurrection”, each time emerging stronger than before.

This intriguing possibility whirled in Qin Huai’s mind, but he was pulled out of his deep thoughts when Wang Kun asked about their plan.

“Ah?” Qin Huai blinked, then quickly laid out a bold strategy. He suggested that they use their individual abilities to divide and conquer, attracting the demons’ attention while gradually depleting their numbers.

The goal was not just slaughter but to force the demons into a desperate situation, driving them out of their core area and luring them into a trap. Then, either he or Wang Kun could enter the core and find the array core of the blood sea.

“It’s very risky…” Wang Kun wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. The plan was indeed dangerous, and he couldn’t hide his apprehension.

“What you and I did earlier, the risk wasn’t high?” Qin Huai laughed lightly. He was already dancing on the tip of a knife when he stepped onto the sea of blood.

When he made the choice to step into the blood sea, he had already let go of his fear of death. He wasn’t being noble. But if he let the current situation continue, in the near future, he, along with his family and friends, would be pulled down into the abyss by the demons and the wicked followers of the Sacred Heart Sect.

By then, they wouldn’t even have a chance to fight back and would be swallowed up by the overwhelming power. Rather than that, it was better to take a risk now.

“That’s true…” Wang Kun gave a wry smile. “Then let’s follow Brother Qin’s plan.”

“Let’s take a moment to gather ourselves before we begin.” Qin Huai murmured, “Now that two of their clan leaders have been killed, it’s about time for them to start panicking. The more they panic, the more likely they are to mess up, and the better our chances.”

“Alright.” Wang Kun nodded. The two of them settled into a cross-legged position in the air and started to recuperate.

Qin Huai quietly observed Wang Kun, who was deep in meditation. Various thoughts swirled in his head.

Regardless of Wang Kun’s past, at least for now, they were on the same team. He would first survive this test of life and death, and then he’d look into Wang Kun’s background.