The Effect Remains After Unequipping - Chapter 40

Chapter 40 – Please, Spare Me! I’ll Do Anything!
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Translation by: Weebsread👹
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“Do it, Hu Wanshan! Now! Use everything you’ve got—kill him! Kill him!”
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Hu Xin’s voice pierced the courtyard, shrill and desperate, her once-smug expression twisted by terror.
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But Hu Wanshan’s face was blank, untouched by the panic swirling around him. At the sound of her order, something inside him shifted.
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A guttural, bestial snarl ripped from his throat. His mountainous body began to glow—crimson sparks flickering beneath his skin like embers catching flame. The red light swelled, heat radiating outward until the air itself seemed to bake and shimmer, the entire courtyard suffocating beneath his presence.
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And then, impossibly, the colossus began to shrink.
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This was the ultimate move of the Swine-Elephant Body—the forbidden technique: Burning Elephant.
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By igniting the specialized fat cultivated over a lifetime, Hu Wanshan could unleash a torrent of Qi and Blood, breaking past his natural limits. The price was ruinous: when the technique ended, his cultivation would collapse, his bones and muscles left crippled, perhaps forever.
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Yet in this moment, his strength surged. An ordinary Martial Artist at Blood and Marrow Stage Perfection could wield triple their usual might with this power.
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“Kill!”
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With a roar, Hu Wanshan’s newly-shrunken form shot forward, shattering the flagstones beneath his feet. He was like a blazing meteor, a burning juggernaut barreling toward Mu Yang.
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A single arm, backed by over thirty thousand jin of force, swept down. The air howled with the force, a thunderclap of violence.
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Mu Yang did not move. He stood there, eyes steady, watching the oncoming strike.
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Only when that massive palm was nearly upon him did he act—a sudden step, a hand raised, fingers splayed open.
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“Bang!!”
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To Hu Xin’s desperate gaze, giant palm met Mu Yang’s own, the sound deafening. But the outcome she’d imagined—Mu Yang sent flying, crushed like an insect—never came.
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That force, enough to shatter a city wall, failed to make Mu Yang even step back. Instead, Hu Wanshan’s berserk Qi and Blood faltered, his enormous hand ensnared in Mu Yang’s iron grip, unable to move.
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“That’s it? That’s all you’ve got?”
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Mu Yang’s voice was flat, as if he’d just stopped a tantruming fat housecat, not a rampaging monster.
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To Hu Xin, he even sounded disappointed.
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“No! No, that’s impossible! How could you catch Hu Wanshan’s strike? It’s a lie! All of it’s a lie! You can’t fool me!”
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She shrieked, panic rising. “Hu Wanshan, what are you doing? Move! Kill him!”
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But no matter how she screamed, Hu Wanshan could not break free. Mu Yang’s grip was absolute.
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Instead, Mu Yang’s other hand rose, fingers clenched into a fist, knuckles gleaming cold and sharp. The fist sliced through the air and crashed into Hu Wanshan’s shrunken Swine Hide.
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“BOOM!!!”
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Armor that could withstand the Yu Ling Broadblade split like rotten cloth beneath Mu Yang’s punch. Fat and blood exploded outward, spattering the courtyard.
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Hu Wanshan’s massive body convulsed, a strangled choke caught in his throat as he fought to resist.
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Mu Yang didn’t give him the chance.
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A second punch. A third. A fourth...
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Again and again, Mu Yang’s fists hammered down, each blow tearing new holes through Hu Wanshan’s flesh. With every strike, the giant’s resistance weakened, his berserk Qi and Blood draining away.
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His monstrous form shrank at a terrifying pace, blood and shredded meat raining down, splattering the stones and broken furniture.
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Within a few breaths, the once-fearsome Hu Wanshan was reduced to scattered chunks—his remains merging with the blood-soaked courtyard.
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Only then did Mu Yang exhale and flick the gore from his hands. He stood atop crimson stone, turning to face Hu Xin, who stared at him in blank, stupefied horror.
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A SYSTEM TIP flashed before his eyes:
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If you can’t find the book by its title, try searching the author’s name. Maybe it was just renamed!
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His gaze was calm, but Hu Xin felt killing intent wash over her, cold as the depths of a winter lake. She could barely breathe.
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“Thud—”
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Her legs buckled, sending her crashing to the ground. She trembled so violently she could hardly stay upright, all thought of escape vanishing as she watched the blood-drenched Mu Yang walk slowly toward her.
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Never in her life had she been so afraid. No, it was more than fear—she’d never witnessed such utter annihilation, a scene so horrifying it made her soul want to flee.
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“Don’t... don’t kill me, please, I’m begging you, don’t kill me...”
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Tears crept into her voice, her pale, lovely face twisted in desperate pleading.
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“I shouldn’t have tried to hurt you. I’ll give you all the Hu Family’s wealth, I can help you control all the servants—anything you want!”
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“Just spare me! I’ll do anything! I can be your concubine, your pet, whatever you want! Order me, I’ll obey—please, I’m begging you!”
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Mu Yang stopped right in front of her, looking down with a chilling smile curling his lips.
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“Oh? Anything at all?”
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Hope flickered in Hu Xin’s eyes. She scrambled upright, nodding frantically. “Yes, yes! I’ll do anything—anything you want!”
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She even reached for the ties of her red dress, so eager to prove herself she began tearing at her own clothes.
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But then—
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“Splurt!!”
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A bloodstained hand punched straight through her chest, fingers closing around her heart.
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Hu Xin stared, uncomprehending, as Mu Yang grinned, his teeth flashing white.
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“Since you insist... I’ll take your body, then.”
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With a savage squeeze, he crushed her heart like a water balloon.
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......
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【Ding! Host has slain a Third Rank Fox Demon. Equipment ‘demon cultivation’ now meets Permanent Effect Condition. Equipment Permanently Solidified!】
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【Ding! Host has slain a Third Rank Fox Demon. Equipment ‘Hundred-Year Ginseng’ now meets Permanent Effect Condition. Equipment Permanently Solidified!】
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【Ding! Host has slain a Third Rank Fox Demon. Equipment ...】
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【Current Available Equipment Slots: 4】
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......
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“So, only two lives after all? Guess you’re not that special.”
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Noting the notifications on his Status Panel, Mu Yang tossed Hu Xin’s corpse aside, murmuring to himself.
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He’d thought she might have nine lives, or at least seven or eight. But no—she was finished after the second round.
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All that effort, and it ended so quickly.
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“What a waste of good wine and food. Didn’t even get a bite.”
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Mu Yang glanced at the shattered redwood table and the chaos all around, shook his head, and looked away.
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He walked into the master bedroom, grabbed a clean cloth, and wiped the blood from his body. His eyes drifted to what was left of Hu Xin—no longer human, her corpse had reverted to its Fox Demon form.
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A translucent Status Panel shimmered into view.
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......
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【Equipable Item: Fox Demon corpse (Intact)】
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【Grade: Third Rank】
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【Equipment Effect:
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① Strengthen Divine Soul (White): Slight increase to soul power (full-spectrum boost to mental strength, resistance to psychic attacks, and neural reaction speed).
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② Qi and Blood Infusion (Blue): Substantial increase to total Qi and Blood.
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③ Malevolent Heart (Blue): Can implant hypnotic suggestions in those of weak will, gradually eroding their minds until they become soulless Puppets. Ineffective on those with strong souls or unbreakable will.
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④ Shared Heart, Traded Fate (Purple): By sacrificing another piece of Permanently Solidified equipment of the same grade, condense a surrogate heart to block one fatal blow and restore the user to peak condition. (After Martial Cultivation increases, must reforge the surrogate heart. Maximum number of surrogate hearts equals current Martial Cultivation level; current cap: 3)】
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【Permanent Effect Condition: Equip this item for seventy days, or slay any Third Rank or higher Demon Beast while equipped.】
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......