Chapter 239: Return! Students: Please show respect to Zhao Ge!

Chapter 239: Return! Students: Please show respect to Zhao Ge!

"Dark Blood Path!"

Blackbeard roared, and a large amount of black substance emanated from his body.

This black substance didn't resemble energy or gas; it was eerie!

The black substance quickly spread, and in the blink of an eye, everything around them turned black, like a black ocean.

Zhao Zheng was instantly enveloped by the black substance.

"Hehe! This is the Devil Fruit ability I obtained by killing Captain Saeki, the world's strongest ability—the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi!"

"Vice Admiral Zhao Zheng, your ability is to replicate Whitebeard's Quake Fruit ability, isn't it? But in front of me, all abilities are useless..."

Blackbeard hadn't finished speaking.

The Zhao Zheng in front of him suddenly disappeared.

"Whoosh!"

A sound of tearing through the air came from behind his head.

Blackbeard was shocked.

But before he could react, it was already too late.

Thump!

A palm pierced through Blackbeard's back, grabbing his spine.

The pain was so intense that Blackbeard almost fainted, unable to even scream.

"Blackbeard, you talk too much!"

As Zhao Zheng's cold words fell, a powerful force transmitted from his hand.

"Ahhhh!"

Blackbeard finally let out a desperate scream.

He could feel his spine being pulled out of his body...

The next moment—

"Sizzle!"

Blackbeard's spine was directly pulled out by Zhao Zheng.

The scene was incredibly bloody!

Zhao Zheng respected Whitebeard and chose not to use his speed to bully him, instead opting for a power-based confrontation.

However, when it came to Blackbeard, whom he disliked, Zhao Zheng didn't feel so generous.

After all, this guy had always been unscrupulous, and Zhao Zheng wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine by not following the usual patterns.

Blackbeard's Devil Fruit ability was indeed formidable, capable of suppressing other Devil Fruit abilities.

But so what?

Zhao Zheng had made it this far, and it wasn't because of the Quake Fruit ability.

In the face of Zhao Zheng's strength, Blackbeard's actions were nothing but a joke.

Although Blackbeard had many backup plans, like his subordinates lying in ambush at other locations, they had already become meaningless at this point.

Because—

Zhao Zheng had instantly killed him.

When they saw Blackbeard's spine being pulled out by Zhao Zheng, 'Rain of Hiri', who was hiding in the shadows, immediately cursed in anger and stormed off.

The other few who had escaped from Impel Down did the same.

However, Blackbeard also had a few loyal subordinates.

This guy had considerable strength, but his speed was too slow.

Zhao Zheng easily dodged the attack and pressed down on his head, pushing it into the ground.

"Smack!"

Zhao Zheng's strength was overwhelming; even without using the Quake Fruit, he could effortlessly kill experts of this caliber.

"Bang!"

In the distance, a gunshot rang out.

A bullet flew from the Naval Headquarters building, aimed at Zhao Zheng.

Zhao Zheng didn't even bother to dodge; he let the bullet hit his shoulder, and as expected, it had no effect.

The shooter was Blackbeard's other subordinate, the sniper 'Van Oka'!

Almost at the moment Van Oka pulled the trigger, he regretted his action.

He felt like he was courting death.

How could a top-tier monster of the world be threatened by his mere gun?

And indeed, it was true.

Zhao Zheng was not only unharmed but quickly charged towards Van Oka.

Although Van Oka chose to retreat promptly, he hadn't even taken two steps before Zhao Zheng flew over and instantly killed him!

...

In just two breaths, Blackbeard and his two capable subordinates were annihilated by Zhao Zheng.

It was too cruel!

The other two subordinates, 'Poison Q' and 'Rafert', were so terrified that they didn't dare move a muscle.

The other Navy personnel, witnessing this ruthless display by Zhao Zheng, looked at him with newfound reverence.

Even Akainu's gaze towards Zhao Zheng held a hint of wariness.

Zhao Zheng, however, didn't care in the slightest.

After all, he was here just to make a brief appearance, not to stay for long, so he didn't worry about others' opinions of him.

Hence, his style was entirely carefree.

...

Time passed.

Suddenly, a soldier reported that they had spotted the Four Emperors' 'Red Hair's' ship rapidly approaching the Naval Headquarters.

Upon hearing this news, Warlord Admiral Sengoku's expression turned grave.

Not long after, a ship approached the shore of the plaza.

"Red-Haired Shanks!" Warlord Admiral Sengoku asked in a stern voice, "What are you doing here? Are you also planning to declare war on Naval Headquarters?"

At this moment, Red-Haired Shanks was dumbfounded.

He never imagined that by arriving slightly later, the war between the Whitebeard Pirates and Naval Headquarters had already concluded.

He had received news that the Navy's Admiral Kaname Tengen seemed to have met with an accident, and he was concerned for the Navy... but never did he expect that the Whitebeard Pirates would be utterly defeated.

Not only did Whitebeard perish, but the entire Whitebeard Pirates crew was also captured.

When did the Navy become so formidable?

Or perhaps, had Whitebeard truly aged and lost his fighting spirit?

Confronted with Warlord Admiral Sengoku's interrogation, Red-Haired Shanks was at a loss for words for a moment.

Before coming, he had even prepared his lines, such as, "Give me some face, and stop the war!"

But now, it was useless.

After some thought, Red-Haired Shanks could only say, "I came to collect Whitebeard's body, Warlord Admiral Sengoku. Whitebeard was a legendary figure, and he never committed any evil deeds. He deserves respect. I hope you will hand over Whitebeard's body to me, and I will ensure a proper burial."

If anyone else dared to speak to Warlord Admiral Sengoku like this, he would undoubtedly consider them an enemy.

But Red-Haired Shanks was different! As the Warlord Admiral, Sengoku had some knowledge of Red-Haired Shanks's background.

The man before him could casually visit the World Government and even have conversations with the Five Elders, who always gave him face... In short, his background was mysterious.

Additionally, the strength of the Red-Haired Pirates was also formidable, with numerous powerful individuals.

Considering all these factors, Warlord Admiral Sengoku ultimately decided to give face and agree to Red-Haired Shanks's request.

This left Zhao Zheng, who had been watching the spectacle from the sidelines, somewhat disappointed.

He had hoped to witness an epic scene! He even wished that Sengoku would refuse and consider Red-Haired Shanks an enemy, giving him a chance to test the strength of the Red-Haired Pirates.

Unfortunately, none of it went as he had hoped.

...

Several hours later, the sky darkened.

As the mission time came to an end, all the surviving Extraordinary Beings vanished from their original locations and returned to the Blue Star.

Blue Star.

Due to the time difference, the Western Continent was currently in the middle of the night.

In a certain country, within a grand estate, numerous elites and dignitaries chatted and waited for something.

"They should be back soon, right?"

"Yes, there's just one more minute left."

"I hope they bring good news this time."

"Mr. Morgan, with such thorough preparation, success is inevitable."

"It's a pity about that woman; it would have been better if she were on our side."

"I wonder what expressions those idiots in the Flame Nation will have when they learn of Song Haitang's death."

Their confident demeanor suggested that someone's fate was sealed.

After a while, the time to leave the 15th Spiritual Realm arrived! However, the surroundings remained quiet, and not a single person appeared.

"This..."

Someone began to worry, "I'd like to ask everyone, has there ever been a similar situation before? Like, when the time in the Spiritual Realm ended, but some Extraordinary Beings returned even later?"

No one answered him.

After a long time, an Extraordinary Being finally spoke up, his face grim, "That's impossible. After the Spiritual Realm mission time is up, all surviving Extraordinary Beings will return immediately. If someone hasn't returned, there's only one possibility..."

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces turned somber.

However, some still refused to give up hope.

After waiting for another five minutes without any signs of activity, they finally accepted that something significant had happened! Yet, it was hard for them to believe.

"What's going on? Why hasn't a single person returned?"

"Could they have all died in the Spiritual Realm?"

"The Spiritual Realm wouldn't arbitrarily detain Extraordinary Beings; there's only one possibility!"

"How is this possible? We prepared so much; how could this happen?"

"We gathered over ten thousand people! Are they all dead? Not a single survivor?!"

"What about Song? Did that woman return?"

"Go and investigate! I want to know what exactly happened in the 15th Spiritual Realm!"

...

Meanwhile, in the Flame Nation.

At Beijing University.

The teachers and leaders of Beijing University were delighted to see Ma Jun and the others safely return.

"It's wonderful to see you all return safely," one leader said with a smile. "I heard that the foreign countries had made significant preparations to target Song Haitang. Did you encounter any trouble?"

No one answered.

The teachers finally noticed that the students who had returned from the Spiritual Realm looked somewhat disturbed.

Everyone, including Ma Jun, was silent, as if they had suffered a tremendous mental blow.

"What's wrong with you all?" Ma Jun's teacher asked anxiously, "Did you not do well on the test?"

No one knew how to respond to this question.

Finally, Ma Jun sighed, "Teacher, I've found out why, no matter how hard I try, I always lose to Song Haitang."

"Oh? What's the reason?" The teacher asked curiously.

Ma Jun thought for a moment, then clenched his teeth in anger, "Song Haitang... lacks martial morality!"

The teachers and leaders present were all taken aback by this statement.

...

Zhenwu University.

Upon seeing Song Haitang and the others return safely, Ms. Shen and Old Chu were delighted.

"Welcome back, students!" Ms. Shen exclaimed.

She knew very well the extent of the commotion caused by the foreign countries targeting Song Haitang.

Unfortunately, Song Haitang refused to listen to any advice.

During the hour of waiting, Ms. Shen felt like each day was a year.

Thankfully, Song Haitang returned safely.

Ms. Shen's heart could finally settle back into her stomach.

But soon, she noticed something amiss.

Song Haitang's team seemed fine, with Wang Fei and Chen Kai both looking cheerful, indicating a successful mission.

However, Jiang Hebin and the others were acting strangely! Their gazes were fixed on Song Haitang's team, filled with unconcealed reverence and admiration.

What was going on?

According to Ms. Shen's understanding, most of these people, including Jiang Hebin, were proud and arrogant. Even though they admired Song Haitang, they still maintained some pride and self-respect.

At that moment, Jiang Hebin and the others suddenly approached Song Haitang.

No!

To be precise, they approached Zhao Zheng.

"Zhao Ge, please take care of me from now on!"

"Zhao Ge, if I've ever said anything wrong, please don't hold it against me..."

"Zhao Ge..."

Ms. Shen was stunned.

What had happened to these guys? Why were they suddenly so respectful towards Zhao Zheng?

Even Song Haitang didn't receive such treatment! Not only was Ms. Shen surprised, but Old Chu and another teacher were also dumbfounded.

"What's going on with you all?" Ms. Shen couldn't help but ask.

She looked at Zhao Zheng and questioned, "Zhao Zheng, why are they so afraid of you? What did you do in the Spirit Realm?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hebin and the others' faces changed instantly.

"Teacher, please don't talk nonsense!"

"Yes! Please show some respect to Zhao Ge! Don't call him by name!"

Ms. Shen was dumbfounded.

She never expected her students to speak to her like that.

"Have you all lost your minds?" She asked.

Ms. Shen turned to Song Haitang and asked, "Haitang, what happened to them in the Spirit Realm?"

In response, Song Haitang merely smiled and looked at Zhao Zheng.

As for Wang Fei and Chen Kai, they had been trying hard to suppress their laughter...

Zhao Zheng felt a headache coming on.

He said directly, "I'm going back to the dorm. You guys explain for me!"

Jiang Hebin quickly replied, "Sure, Zhao Ge. Take your time. If you need any errands or messages delivered, just let me know..."

At this moment, Jiang Hebin didn't show the slightest bit of arrogance; he was acting like a complete sycophant.

Ms. Shen was left questioning her life choices.

...

After returning to the dorm, Zhao Zheng thought for a moment and called Song Shang.

"Zhao Zheng, you're back?" Song Shang's cheerful voice came through the phone, "Those foreigners wanted to make a big move. Did they cause you any trouble?"

The commotion abroad was significant, and Song Shang had naturally received the news.

However, he wasn't the least bit worried about his daughter's safety.

He not only knew Zhao Zheng's true strength but also his plan, which never intended to let his daughter go to the battlefield!

Song Shang was extremely satisfied with Zhao Zheng's arrangements.

He now almost considered Zhao Zheng as his son-in-law.

"There were some minor setbacks, but I handled them," Zhao Zheng said.

"Oh?" Song Shang's interest was piqued. "What did they do?"

Zhao Zheng didn't answer but said, "Uncle Song, this matter is not simple..."

He recounted the events briefly and then continued, "Haitang suspects that this Spirit Realm incident was a perfect conspiracy, and someone from our side was involved. I think so too."

After listening to Zhao Zheng's explanation, Song Shang's expression on the other end of the phone turned extremely serious and angry!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end