Chapter 138 You Stay
For ability users, Liu Yang no longer cared to dig any deeper.
He himself was the number one ranked powerhouse on the Heaven Ranking, and according to Taozi, the previous number one, Yamagata, had only cleared up to the tenth floor of the Monolith trial.
Meanwhile, he had cleared the one-hundredth floor, and that hadn't even scratched his upper limit.
That meant, aside from himself, every other ability user out there was absolute combat trash.
Liu Yang even figured that with his current strength, he could probably steamroll every single ability user on the planet combined.
Because of that, ability users were long off his radar. What he really wanted to know about were the heavy hitters outside his usual scope-the ones he knew next to nothing about.
Like the martial artist families of the Divine Dragon Empire and the ninja clans of the Little Sun Empire.
As for whether the White Eagle Empire, the Savage Bear Empire, and other global powers had hidden cards up their sleeves, Liu Yang couldn't say for sure.
Being legacy superpowers, though, they were bound to have a few tricks left.
Tong Bingjie gave a slight nod and spoke up:
"Alright. I'll tell you everything I know about the martial artist families. They've always existed in the shadows of the Divine Dragon Empire, completely out of reach for ordinary people.
Martial artists are vastly superior to ability users. Back in peacetime, they never showed their faces to the public. Compared to regular citizens, they might as well be living in another dimension. And unlike ability users, they can't enter the Monolith trials.
Now that the apocalypse is here, though, these reclusive masters are stepping out to restore order.
Behind our Hidden Dragon Organization stands the martial artist Ye Family!"
Liu Yang raised an eyebrow. "The Ye Family? Just how powerful are they?"
Tong Bingjie shook her head. "I don't know the full extent of their power, but I've heard their influence is so deep and tangled that it spans the entire Divine Dragon Empire.
Word is, even the wealthiest publicly recognized billionaire in the empire isn't even worth a stray dog to a martial artist family. They could wipe them out with a flick of the wrist. True wealth and real resources have always been in the hands of the martial artists."
"The richest man alive can be snuffed out with a finger?" Liu Yang was mildly surprised, though not exactly shocked.
A public billionaire is just someone with cash, completely lacking real power.
Any bodyguard you can simply buy with a paycheck is never going to be top-tier.
So even in peacetime, a tycoon didn't carry true weight when compared to people with actual authority.
Liu Yang pressed further. "What about their strength? Have you ever seen a martial artist in action?"
Tong Bingjie nodded. "I've only ever seen apprentice martial artists. Even an apprentice's combat power rivals an Earth Ranking ability user. They don't use supernatural abilities; they use devastating martial techniques."
"Apprentice level matches an Earth Ranking user?" That actually caught Liu Yang's interest. He asked, "What ranks are above apprentice?"
Tong Bingjie explained, "Martial artists are tiered into Apprentice, Formal, Advanced, Elite, Master, and Grandmaster.
I've only ever witnessed apprentices, but rumor has it that a Formal martial artist already outclasses a Heaven Ranking ability user...
And the higher tiers-Advanced, Master, and Grandmaster-possess strength that defies imagination."
Liu Yang narrowed his eyes. Hearing that pushed his surprise a bit higher.
Heaven Ranking was supposed to be the ceiling for ordinary ability users, yet that was barely enough to match an entry-level Formal martial artist?
If that was the case, Advanced martial artists and above could probably turn Heaven Ranking elites into pink mist with a single strike.
No wonder Tong Bingjie had looked down on standard ability users compared to martial artists.
Then again, he wasn't your run-of-the-mill Heaven Ranking user.
In fact, he could casually one-shot any other Heaven Ranking combatant out there.
Realizing the sheer scale of these martial families sparked a fresh sense of urgency in Liu Yang's chest.
While his current abilities made him virtually invincible against regular ability users, he wasn't quite at that untouchable level against ancient martial clans yet.
And if the ninja clans of the Little Sun Empire were anything like the martial families of the Divine Dragon Empire, they likely operated on a similar tier.
That meant his timetable for wiping out the Little Sun Empire might need a brief pause. Though, waiting another month or two would do the trick.
In two months, he could rack up sixty more kills, easily doubling his power output!
By then, even a Grandmaster martial artist would get crushed under one of his hands.
After all, his system didn't have a ceiling.
Martial cultivation always hit a dead end eventually.
Tong Bingjie's earlier comparison of ability users to lottery winners didn't apply to him at all.
Sure, other ability users were just flash-in-the-pan lucky winners, but Liu Yang was sitting right on top of a printing press!
As long as women kept expanding his lineage, his power would scale infinitely-just like printing endless cash.
What did a martial family even have to compete with that?
With all his questions answered, Liu Yang looked straight at Tong Bingjie. "Alright, I've heard enough. You can head out now. Lin Xue'er, you stay behind."
As soon as those words dropped, a startled, nervous voice echoed from thin air. "Huh? Me stay? Wh... what am I staying for?!"
Up until now, Lin Xue'er hadn't made a peep, acting like an invisible little mascot.
She'd blended in so well she was basically furniture.
She never imagined that at the very last second, Liu Yang would kick Sister Tong out and tell her to stay. What was he planning to do?
Surely he wasn't thinking about that kind of thing, right?!
I...
I don't want to!
I've never even had a boyfriend!
Liu Yang smirked. "What for? To do what needs to be done, obviously. You girls volunteered to be my women-you weren't just playing games, were you? My methods for dealing with liars are exceptionally thorough. Or is the Hidden Dragon Organization just full of bluffers?"
"We... we are not! Don't you dare lump Hidden Dragon into this! Staying is staying, what's the big deal! Sister Tong, get out of here!" Lin Xue'er's defiant voice snapped from empty space.
Tong Bingjie offered an encouraging nod. "Xue'er, hang in there! Just bear with it for a few minutes and it'll be over! I'll be rooting for you in spirit!"
With that, she turned and walked out the door.
Liu Yang turned his attention toward the empty space, a playful grin plastered across his face. "Let's see how much of a trick disappearing act you can pull once we get started!"
Since Lin Xue'er was currently using her stealth ability, she was completely stark naked, which meant Liu Yang didn't even have to bother with the undressing phase.
The second his arm wrapped around her slender waist, he felt her entire body violently jolt. Even so, she stubbornly bit out:
"Do your worst! I'm not scared of you! Let's see just how amazing you actually are!"
---
Out in the hallway.
The moment Tong Bingjie stepped through the door, she found a dozen women lined up against the wall, ears practically pressed to the wood to catch the action inside.
Seeing her pop out instead, they all blinked in awkward silence.
He Yushi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why'd you come out? What gives, weren't you two in there together?"
Tong Bingjie scoffed. "Together with what? A hot-headed young guy can only go so hard-give it a few minutes and he'll tap out!"
The surrounding women burst into amused giggles. "Right, right, sure he will! Don't run off just yet-hang back with us and listen to how your little invisible friend is begging for mercy in a second!"
"Is he really that intense?" Tong Bingjie asked, looking skeptical.
Zhao Lina chuckled softly. "Words won't convince you. Just listen for yourself in a minute. Hehe, try not to faint from shock!"
He Yushi joined in with a wicked grin. "Hehe, time to watch her shake helplessly under Liu Yang's level-sixteen hurricane gale!!"