Talented Martial Hero
Chapter 887 In Exchange For A Life

Darren's body turned crimson as he activated the holy emperor's power. A circle of seven-coloredhaloes appeared with his figure standing dead center. His appearance was that of a deity.

The Misty Emperor fell to the ground, wincing in pain from his injuries.

Darren approached him step by step. It was as if a bright and blood-red star was approaching theMisty Emperor. His eyes burned at the sight.

"You!"

The Misty Emperor's face twisted in pain.

Just a few months back, he had almost killed the fiercest black monkey, Barnes the Holy, with theSpace-Time Collapse Skill. Now, he couldn't believe that a human boy managed to destroy thispowerful skill.

"Please, let me go."

As he was at death's door, the Misty Emperor relented.

"Let you go? What was it again that you were trying to do to me just now?" Darren retorted coldly.His eyes were sharply fixed on the Misty Emperor.

It was obvious that the Misty Emperor had just tried to kill him.

"I didn't really want to kill you! It was a bluff. I simply wanted to gauge your power," the MistyEmperor explained hastily. His voice was beginning to stagger.

"Haha," Darren sneered. "Alright, let's say you don't want to kill me. Instead, you just want tocapture and torment my soul, right?"

The Misty Emperor knew there was no convincing Darren at this point. He pondered for a moment,as his life was at stake. Finally, he asked plainly, "What should I do for you to release me? I will giveyou anything you want, just spare me, please!"

"Sorry, I don't need anything from the likes of you.”

Darren raised a clench fist and punched straight into the Misty Emperor's chest. He bore a hole intothe dying man's body. One could almost see his rapidly beating heart inside.

"Please don't kill me, Darren! Have mercy!" The Misty Emperor screamed. His voice began to crack,as the fear of death welled up inside of him.

"If you spare me, I can give you the holy emperor's corpse and tell you how to resurrect it. Youalready have the dark-spirit crystals, so this will be easy for you. Then, you'll have a genuineemperor for a guard! Isn't that great? You could take over the world with that kind of power," theMisty Emperor said in a trembling voice.

Darren withdrew his hand, slowly. The Misty Emperor winced again from the pain, but a glimmer ofhope seemed to appear in his eyes.

Darren was slowly getting convinced. If he had a genuine emperor for a guard, then he couldhandle the first fiend ancestor assuming it would escape one day. The first fiend ancestor wastrapped for so many years it couldn't possibly be at full strength when it escaped.

Darren knew this was for the good of the human race.

"How can I be sure you'll keep your word?"

The Misty Emperor was bargaining for his life, after all. He would be willing to do anything to live.Once he was out of harm's way, he could easily change his mind on the bargain

"I swear on my life that I will keep my word. I always keep my promises,” the Misty Emperorpleaded.

Darren huffed in reply. He wasn't so dumb as to believe the Misty Emperor that easily.

"Okay, then summon the black-armored man first,” Darren ordered.

"Why? What do you need him here for?" the Misty Emperor asked, confused.

"What was that?" Darren's bloodlust burst through.

"I'm losing my patience with your questions. I'll kill you right here if you don't do what I say!""Okay, okay.” The Misty Emperor gulped. He did as he was told and sent for the black-armored manthrough his spiritual sense.

The black-armored man was doubtful of the summoning, but nonetheless followed the MistyEmperor's orders. He flew in their direction with haste.

"You didn’t ask anyone else to come here, did you? You should know that even if you did call forhelp, they won't be able to help you!" Darren roared. The space surrounding them rumbled at hisvoice.

"No, of course not! I only have a soul connection with this four-tribulation junior holy warrior, so Ican only contact the black-armored man. Aside from that, this forbidden domain does not allow forme to send spiritual sense messages to anybody else,” the Misty Emperor explained in full earnest."Good," Darren replied.

Half an hour later, a man in fully black armor arrived.

The moment he landed, he was shocked to see the Misty Emperor, bloody and beaten.

"It's... Darren, he..." The black-armored man was left speechless from the shock of what he wasseeing.

"Yes. I defeated him,” Darren said with a triumphant smile. His expression quickly went cold as heshot his glare back at the Misty Emperor. His voice roared once again. "Activate your Soul ControlSkill and release your control from this man, right this instant!"

"Yes, of course,” sobbed the Misty Emperor. He whimpered in pain as he struggled to sit up. Usinghis arcane skill, he cut off his soul connection with the black-armored man.

The black-armored man trembled as tears began to fill his eyes. He was overcome with a sense ofrelief. He had finally attained true freedom.

His dream finally came true after hoping for so many years.

A heavy thud rang through at the sound of metal hitting the ground.

The black-armored man knelt heavily on the ground and bowed down to Darren.

"You have my utmost gratitude, Mr. Chu! I will spare no effort to assist you in your endeavors, comewhat may!"

Darren walked up to the black-armored man and stretched out his hand. "Come on, stand up. Idon't want a subordinate. I only keep the company of my friends. If you don't mind, you can be myfriend instead," he said, a kind smile on his face.

"What? Are you sure?" The man in black armor was elated. "How lucky am I to have run into youand become your friend, Darren?"

"Haha! I'm just as lucky as you are, then. What's your name?" Darren patted him on the shoulder,assuring their newfound bond.

"My name is Chaz Qiu."

"Okay then Chaz. As you can see that we have the Misty Emperor begging for his life here. He saidthat if I spare him, he'll give me the holy emperor's corpse. What do you think?"

Chaz Qiu turned around and looked at the Misty Emperor.

"Don't listen to a thing this man says, Darren. He's nasty. You'd better just kill him,” Chaz Qiu saidwith disdain. He knew the Misty Emperor all too well from being under his control for so manyyears.

"Good advice. I didn't need the holy emperor's corpse so much anyway." Darren said this to provokea reaction.

"Chaz, please take it back! I apologize for how I treated you before. Just remember that I saved youand gave you a second chance at life. That has to be enough for your forgiveness," the MistyEmperor begged. He had never imagined the tables would turn on him like this.

Deep down, he was cursing Chaz for his betrayal. His loyalty was after all, bound simply by the SoulControl Skill.

"Nonsense! The holy emperor's corpse is locked up in a five-dimensional space. There is anunbreakable chain sealing it. Did you think I didn't know?" Chaz Qiu retorted.

"Only those old bones are capable of freeing the holy emperor's corpse. But they won't listen to thelikes of you. Tell me, how were you going to get Darren the holy emperor's corpse?" Chaz Qiuadded after a few seconds.

Years of subservience had given Chaz Qiu much of the knowledge of these kinds of things.

The Misty Emperor was left speechless. He regretted letting Chaz in on so many of his secrets."There is a secret shortcut to the five-dimensional space. The chain can be unlocked with my lordtoken. You have to believe me. I wouldn't risk something as important as my life on a simple lie."The Misty Emperor was in fact, telling the truth. The holy emperor's corpse was not as important tohim as his life.

"What do you think, Darren?" Chaz Qiu asked.

"Okay, we can trust him for now. But we can't lower our guard. Watch over him for me, Chaz. Themoment he regains some of his strength, punch him really hard, but don't kill him."

This was the reason Darren had asked for Chaz to be summoned.

"Got it,"

Chaz replied. He then punched the Misty Emperor hard in the stomach. A bloody, wheezing coughescaped him. The Misty Emperor looked pitifully soaked in his own blood.

"Nice work!" Chaz had choked down the insults and humiliation for all those years. He finally hadthe chance to release all his frustrations with the Misty Emperor.

The Misty Emperor laid limp and unconscious. He was hit so hard that he could hardly open hiseyes.

"Now that's settled. What should we do next?

In the Space-Time Palace are some of the Misty Emperor's companions. They're all about his level inpower, but from what I know if they combine forces, their strength is comparable to the strongesthalf-step emperor. This is not going to be an easy feat for us,”

said Chaz Qiu, eager for Darren's opinion.

"Don't worry. I have some secret skills up my sleeve. Not even the strongest half-step emperor cankill me,” Darren replied confidently. Since the Misty Emperor had been taken care of, Darren wasabout to get out of the forbidden domain together with him and Chaz Qiu.

“Aht"

All of a sudden, a shadow creature struck through the sky and towards Darren.

"What? Is that the holy emperor's power?"

Darren's heart sank in dread upon hearing the sound.