The Gentleman at the End-Chapter 715 - 713

However, the crisis did not come.

Inside, the brass gateway shaped like lung lobes swung inward, revealing the massive Stone Temple Main Hall; a large number of practitioners, infected with Gu Dragons, sat cross-legged on cushions, their hands stacked in front of their chests, fingers forming circles.

Apart from the infected practitioners, there were also some patients who had not undergone Dragon Transformation; their lungs floated in the air at their chests or hung outside their bodies, all maintaining the same cross-legged posture.

William noticed at a glance that this group seemed to be practicing something, their breathing light yet rhythmic.

Most importantly, over 70% of the individuals practicing on the cushions were patients of the Silver Circle Illness, nearly a hundred in total, which was a formidable force even in the Old World.

As William and the other three arrived and the ’master’ spoke,

these people paused their meditation and cultivation and turned their heads to look towards the newcomers at the doorway.

At the same time, from deep within the hall, an ancient walking stick slowly emerged,

but only the stick was visible, not the legs that should accompany it... a withered arm covered in dead man makeup gripped the top of the stick, a purple cloak concealing the suspended body.

Without legs,

the arm connected only to a lung emitting purple smoke and an old man’s head attached to the trachea above, the cheeks adorned with dragon scale structures.

Upon close observation, one would find that this old man seemed like the conductor of an orchestra, his breathing dictating the rhythm of breath for everyone present.

As this being appeared, Lorrian, who had been pretending to be a blind patient, also slowly opened his eyes, gazing intently at this peculiar entity with his full-moon-shaped pupils.

The figure radiated no aura of infection, making it impossible to assess him by the patients’ ranks, but the breath the old man exhaled allowed Lorrian to sense an atypical threat.

Nash was also tilting his head, having killed many strong foes before, including some troublesome patients of the Silver Circle,

and he could usually gauge basic information about someone with just a glance, but he couldn’t see through this incomplete, bodyless old man in front of him; it seemed as if the conventional methods used on patients were ineffective.

Dentist Jessica instinctively stepped back; the bacteriophages in her mouth felt oppressed, as if this mysterious old man posed a threat to her physical self.

Among those present, only William was able to assess the identity of the old man, but chose not to speak it outright.

Instead, he chose to confirm with another consciousness within him.

"Yi Chen, this is!"

"You’re not wrong, William... It’s what you call a ’God,’ or someone who has gained ’Divine Status.’ However, what we see now is just an avatar for descending.

But, well~ It’s far more formidable than that Buddha Mother thing you and Catherine dealt with.

This is likely a True God, one who specializes in organ cultivation, although this avatar is quite shabby, in such a broken state, it’s hard to say whether he was beaten into this condition or if it was caused by forcibly weakening himself to come to your world."

Moreover,

the danger isn’t here; this fellow doesn’t seem to want to kill you all. The real danger lies in the center of this city. You should try communicating with this old geezer first; you might get something good out of it."

So, William began to speak directly, "Senior, we mean no offense. Your engineered tuberculosis bacteria is indeed unique, but it doesn’t suit us, so we rejected it from our bodies.

Yet, we are very interested in this place. Walking all the way here, we can be sure of one thing: You are not from our world, and what you’re doing here doesn’t seem like an invasion, but more like a selection of some sort.

Theoretically, only individuals whose lungs have undergone special changes induced by the unique combined bacteria, and who can withstand the purple river water, are qualified to come to your ’Lung Temple’ for advanced cultivation.

Your ultimate goal seems to be to select and cultivate a truly strong individual to assist in killing something located in the center of the city, isn’t that right?

The whole Independent Space, this entire city, must have been relocated by you, to suppress and seal it, yes?"

"Clever, but your speculation only scratches the surface.

Reaching this place directly proves your capabilities.

Indeed, if the ’thing’ in the city center is killed, my mission will be complete, and the helper will receive a considerable reward, including the ’True Lung’ you might have heard about, and some other things.

But judging from the current progress, it’s far from enough. After all, this is a Lower Plane of an Outer Plane, and even if infected by the plague, the potential of low-level creatures shouldn’t increase by much."

Amongst you four, two are derived from local humans, while the other two are purely pathological entities. Your arrival has raised my expectations for this Lower World, but they are still low.

Since you’re here, follow and learn the Breathing Skill together. Hopefully, your growth rate can quicken so that you can meet my standards sooner."

William scratched his head, "Well, although we’d like to learn, our time is limited.

We don’t plan to waste too much time on this trip, so could you take us to the city center for a look? Maybe we can help you solve your problem directly."

However, William’s words irritated the old man, "You’re like frogs at the bottom of a well, ignorant of the world... Do you really think that because you can fool those outside, you can solve problems above your Rank?"

William spoke nonchalantly, "We really are short on time, how about this, why don’t you test us, senior? If we’re not up to par, we’ll stop bothering you and leave immediately, how does that sound?"

"All right."

In an instant, the aura changed, a deadly and dangerous breath emanated from the old man’s lungs.

Except for Lorrian, who stood behind with his hands bound, everyone else got into position.

Nash’s arms hung loosely in front, like a living dead,

while Dentist Jessica undid her mask and loosened the fine threads sewn at the corners of her mouth, her pinpoint gaze fixed on the old man,

But William was gently touching the ring he took from the "Seven Marquis," looking back at his teammates, "Step back, a test is clearer with just one person."

Then he turned his head again, "Senior, can I take the test alone?"

But what responded to William was not words, but the old man’s action.

The old man in the purple hood took a very special directed breath, as if it was a targeted inhalation,

with a click! As his teeth clamped down, his mouth closed.

Thud— William immediately had bloodshot eyes; his knees hit the ground, and his hands clutched his throat,

In an instant, all the oxygen in his body, including that in his blood, was sucked away, which would have instantly killed an ordinary person.

The old man looked at William’s pitiful state and commented, "Humans from a Lower Plane cannot escape their basic biological structures—that’s the consequence... You don’t even know the simplest Breathing Skill, and I can easily take the source of your life. Without the ability to breathe, what will you fight with?

Let me teach you a little more lesson, young man."

The old man had only performed an ’inhale’ so far, now he ’exhaled’ the breath he had taken into his body,

Exhaling— a blade, invisible to the naked eye and extremely fast, sliced toward William’s head,

"Boss!"

Nash couldn’t help himself and tried to step forward to block it.

Boom!

A loud explosion echoed in the Stone Temple,

and Nash was kicked out forcefully, rolling down the cliffside until he reached the bottom of the mountain.

The elder inside the temple wore a look of surprise, even a shocked expression... because Nash was not sent flying by him.

William had already stood up, "I’m really sorry, old senior— Nash is my most loyal deputy, and he instinctively wanted to save me. My kick should wake him up and stop him from interrupting your test on me... Your Breathing Skill is indeed powerful, as you instantly shut down my ’Life.’ novelbuddy-cσ๓

But as long as I don’t breathe, that’s fine, right?"

William, with his face pale from the Dead Man Makeup and black tears trickling from his eyes, pulled back his side-kicked leg, his chopped body restored to whole, and while twisting his head, he walked towards the inner hall.

Suddenly, the old man raised his cane to signal a halt,

"To reach such a level, it indeed won’t be easy to kill you with that kind of death... Don’t waste your energy here, I admit I underestimated you all.

I’ll satisfy your curiosity, then, and take you to see something truly terrifying.

My wretched body owes its current state to that very thing,

and let me remind you, that even your kind of death would still be killed by that thing."

"Please lead the way, old senior."

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