Zhong Tian Yun didn’t know what kind of treasure it was, but he wanted it for himself. Especially after seeing the fight between the two. Whatever it was, it would make him stronger if he figured out how to use it.

’Maybe I can replace my heart with that heart...’

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard Alderman cursing.

"Damn you, monster!!!"

He didn’t know how to interpret that. There were two interpretations: Tang Shaoyang was a monster because it took so much from Alderman to kill, or Tang Shaoyang was a monster because he was still alive. Considering the situation, it might be the former. What was left of Tang Shaoyang was that treasure, a beating heart.

Zhong Tian Yun continued to get closer, but it didn’t take long for him to stop again. He noticed something bizarre happening around the heart. Veins and flesh started to form around the heart.

He was bewildered by the situation and didn’t dare to come closer. Who knew what kind of power that heart had, so it was better for him to keep a safe distance.

In the following ten seconds, bones started to form. It started from the ribcage into a whole frame. By this time, the beating heart was covered in fresh flesh.

Zhong Tian Yun was caught off guard by the bizarre scene and didn’t know what to do. His eyes widened in surprise when he realized what had happened.

The beating heart was not a treasure. It was Tang Shaoyang’s heart, and he was still alive. This was the process of body reconstruction, and soon, Tang Shaoyang would come back alive.

"WHY ARE YOU DOZING OFF LIKE A FOOL!? KILL HIM! DESTROY HIS HEART!!!"

Alderman sensed the approaching presence and shouted on top of his lungs. He recognized the Murim Alliance Leader. This was a golden chance to kill Tang Shaoyang. He didn’t understand why the man stayed still, especially when they worked together to kill Tang Shaoyang before.

The Alliance Leader snapped out, and Alderman confirmed his guess that Tang Shaoyang was still alive. Based on the instruction, he must destroy the heart to kill Tang Shaoyang.

He hesitated for a moment, afraid that it might be a trap set up by Alderman. Alderman was currently weakened, and he believed he could get rid of the outsider with a few attacks. Knowing that, the outsider wanted to set up a trap to get rid of him.

"FINISH HIM BEFORE HE REGAINS CONTROL OVER HIS BODY, YOU IDIOT! ONCE HE REGAINED HIS BODY, YOU ARE HIS NEXT TARGET!!!"

Zhong Tian Yun snapped at the thought of fighting Tang Shaoyang. He lost his confidence after witnessing the fight. This might be a trap, but if this was not a trap, this was his only chance to kill Tang Shaoyang.

The hesitation disappeared from his heart as his figure blurred as he drew his sword out. He arrived in front of the regenerating body with his swords pointing at the chest. The golden energy swirled at the tip of the sword, creating pressure and a deadly aura.

In that moment, a translucent black scale formed, and the reconstructed body was inside the shell. The Alliance Leader was surprised, but he reacted quickly by pouring more energy into his sword. The swirling golden energy on his sword became thicker and quicker as the tip of the sword met with the shell.

Zhong Tian Yun could feel it with his hand that he was hitting something extremely hard. If not for the extra power he put in at the last moment, his sword might have bounced off. But thanks to his timely reaction, his sword pierced through the shell.

There was around an eight-centimeter gap between the inner shell and the body. He thought he would be able to get to the heart with this strike. However, his sword came to a stop when the tip of his sword touched the tip of the newly regenerated flesh.

He tried to push it further, but it was to no avail. No matter how much strength and internal energy he put into his sword, it won’t budge. His sword was stuck in the tortoise shell. He could not even pull it out.

He raised his left hand. The golden energy swirled on his palm. He intended to destroy the shell with this strike, aiming close to where his sword was. He believed the spot near his sword was more fragile than the other because his sword managed to pierce it.

But then the tortoise shell disappeared before his palm could hit it. He lost his balance as his sword suddenly unstuck, his body gravitating forward. He didn’t know what happened, but this was a chance. As he was about to push his sword further, a force hit his chest.

*** ***

Tang Shaoyang watched, cracking his neck as he watched the Alliance Leader’s body flying. It was a hasty Heaven Shattering Palm, but it should be enough to stop Zhong Tian Yun from interfering with his job.

Then he looked at his hand, clenching and opening it. He had gone through a strange experience where he lost his body, but he remained conscious. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

When that magma exploded on his face, he accepted his death. But he remained calm because of Seven Souls. He would come back and kill Alderman before the news about his skill spread. However, something weird happened during the explosion.

His heart was intact, and he was alive in a weird state where he was just a consciousness. He could see the aftermath of the explosion and also Zhong Tian Yun, who tried to sneak to get his heart.

That was right, he could even tell that Zhong Tian Yun wanted to take his heart as if it were a treasure. It wasn’t until the Alderman interfered. He then sensed the Sword God’s killing intent. While he didn’t have a physical body, he surprisingly remained the same in terms of sense. Not just killing intent, he could feel the high temperature around him during his strange state.

Tang Shaoyang was about to get a new set of clothes until he realized that he was still covered in the black scales. Only then was his attention on the exhausted Alderman.

"This is riskier than I expected..." He muttered by himself, talking to himself as he approached the floating Alderman.

The former Executive Administrator didn’t even attempt to flee. He knew it was impossible to escape from Tang Shaoyang and seemed to accept his loss, his impending doom.

Tang Shaoyang approached Alderman, standing right before the half-dead man.

"Bring me back to the Administrator..." The half-dead man weakly said.

Alderman accepted his loss, but he didn’t accept his death. He knew he could not escape from Tang Shaoyang, so he thought of returning to the Administrator as a prisoner. At least, he got to keep his life despite the humiliation.

Tang Shaoyang chuckled, realizing what Alderman planned, "It seems you misunderstand something, but I will be generous and explain it to you. They sent me to kill you, not to capture you alive. I am not going to make things complicated for myself."

It was a hassle to bring the criminal back to the Administrator. There was a procedure, and he had to make a report as well. Ira could not help him write the report and handle the procedure since she was not him and was not taking the mission.

"You will get extra credits for bringing me back alive..."

Tang Shaoyang almost took the bait. His fight with Alderman gave him a realization that what he needed was not a new type of power, but to hone his skill mastery with what he had instead. So he wasn’t really in need of extra credits right now.

He took out his battle-axe and was about to carry out the execution until he sensed a fierce and massive energy from above. He looked up and saw that the sky was split open. Through that gap, a flying ship came out.