Chapter 440: Let Me Defend Myself

Five sharp gazes suddenly fixed on Xu Xiaoshou.

Almost everyone, except Fu Zhi and Qiu Xuan, had questioning expressions on their faces.

Despite the doubt, as the person directly involved, Xu Xiaoshou still had the right to speak.

He spoke, and they had to listen.

"The situation is as follows..."

Xu Xiaoshou organized the new story in his mind and quickly continued:

"Because the Zhang family holds a grudge against me, back at Tian Sang Ling Gong, that Zhang Xinxiong guy tried to kill me and kept targeting me. I had no choice but to defend myself."

"As the saying goes, when the young ones are eliminated, the old ones appear."

"Not long after I left Tian Sang Ling Gong, I ran into a Wangzuo-level assassin."

At this point, he looked at Qiu Xuan and Liu Jing.

"You two should know that before the giant axe fell from the sky on the City Lord's Mansion that day, there was a Wangzuo battle near the Dan Tower."

"I'm right, aren't I?"

The Yin Yang Guardians nodded in agreement.

Honestly, they still hadn't figured out what that Wangzuo battle was truly about.

The only certainty was that anyone who dared to fight in Tian Sang City had to be punished.

But in the end, that scruffy uncle called in a terrifying ally who split the City Lord's protective array in half with a single axe.

That was why the array, which still hadn't been fully repaired today, could be shattered by Xu Xiaoshou's explosion attack, which didn't even reach the Zhan Dao level.

"What happened that day?" Liu Jing asked.

If she remembered correctly, Xu Xiaoshou had been unconscious in a sack behind that scruffy uncle that day.

Could this really be related to him?

"I'm not hiding anything from you all," Xu Xiaoshou sighed and said. "That Wangzuo assassin, named Hong Gou, was sent by Zhang Taiying to kill me."

"A Wangzuo trying to kill you?" Qiu Xuan was shocked. "How did you survive?"

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at him, calmly spreading his hands, signaling for them to stay calm.

"Zhang Taiying is dead now, isn't he?"

This rhetorical question left everyone speechless.

Qiu Xuan felt his face twitch as he looked at the young man in front of him, who was only at the peak of the Yuan Court, and wanted to call him arrogant and slap him. But the facts were undeniable—he had nothing to say.

Shou Ye furrowed his brow.

Others might not see it, but he had come from the "White Clothes" and vaguely sensed that Xu Xiaoshou's way of speaking was hinting at something.

The guy seemed calm on the surface, but every word subtly guided the conversation, maintaining control.

Anyone who tried to interrupt was met with a direct counter.

Not only was it logical, but it also subconsciously planted the idea that "Zhang Taiying, like Hong Gou, wanted to kill me, Xu Xiaoshou."

"Coincidence?" Shou Ye wondered, feeling uneasy.

This kid was too mature, almost unnaturally so.

Was this level of interrogation technique something a young person his age could learn?

Or was everything he said actually true?

What Xu Xiaoshou "perceived" was Shou Ye's expression.

Seeing the information panel show "under suspicion," he knew his way of expressing himself was working.

Aside from Fu Zhi and Shou Ye, he wasn't really afraid of the others.

As for the former two, what he cared about most was how they would handle things.

With their seasoned experience, lying from the start would be suicide.

So, Xu Xiaoshou started by telling the truth.

As for the hints... he saw them as just second nature now.

This was no technique—it was pure instinctual rebuttal!

When it came to speaking truth or lies with eyes wide open, who in the room could match him?

"Is what he said true?" Fu Zhi looked at Qiu Xuan and Liu Jing.

Liu Jing shook her head slightly, let out a disdainful cold laugh, but secretly replied through voice transmission: "It might not be false."

Shou Ye received the same feedback and felt even more unsettled.

If they let Xu Xiaoshou continue, who knew what kind of story he could spin?

But they couldn't stop him...

The procedures had to be followed!

"Shou Ye predecessor hasn't seen the situation back then, so you might not believe my words," Xu Xiaoshou said seriously, looking at him. "That's fine; I'll get to the main point now."

"Hmph!" Shou Ye snorted. "Enough talk—remember what I said earlier, or I'll twist your head off!"

Xu Xiaoshou ducked his head with a "heh heh."

He knew the first wave of pressure had passed, and this group had accepted it.

What came next would be easier.

"After Hong Gou died, I'm no gentleman, so I had to return the favor somehow, right?"

"But he was just a hired killer, so my target shifted to Zhang Taiying."

"Wait!" Qiu Xuan suddenly interrupted Xu Xiaoshou.

"You said Hong Gou died?"

"That guy was a killer from 'Three Incense Sticks'—I know him."

"Even a Wangzuo might get a one-hit kill if they catch him off guard, so how did you survive?"

Xu Xiaoshou looked at him puzzled. "That uncle saved me, of course!"

Qiu Xuan's lips curled into a sly smile, as if he'd caught him.

"Uncle?"

"Such an intimate term—what's your relationship with that guy?"

In their follow-up investigation, that scruffy swordsman who appeared that day had an astonishing level of strength.

With just Houtian cultivation, he had suppressed both Qiu Xuan and Liu Jing.

Add to that the mysterious person who swung the axe and shattered the City Lord's protective array without a trace.

The City Lord's Mansion already had some suspicions about their origins.

Was Xu Xiaoshou one of theirs?

"My goodness, calling him uncle is intimate?" Xu Xiaoshou was immediately displeased. "Don't sling mud at me—I have nothing to do with that guy. He went after the City Lord's Mansion on his own; it wasn't my idea or something I could control!"

"Heh, nothing to do with him? Then why did he save you?" Qiu Xuan sneered.

At once, everyone spotted the flaw in Xu Xiaoshou's story.

Shou Ye gave him an approving smile.

He hadn't seen the events that day, but from this exchange, he already had a basic impression.

Xu Xiaoshou was lying!

As long as he was lying, the rest of his statements would fall apart on their own!

"Saved me..." Faced with the group's predatory stares, Xu Xiaoshou remained unfazed.

He spread his hands helplessly and said, "How would I know why he saved me? To be honest with you, before I ran into Hong Gou, I accidentally bumped into him on the road."

"Looking back, maybe at that moment, he already saw that death was coming for me and wanted to save my life."

Qiu Xuan found it absurd.

"How could some terrifying expert randomly decide to save you? At least make your story believable."

"Do you think we're three-year-olds you can fool?"

Xu Xiaoshou got serious this time.

He stared straight at Qiu Xuan and said slowly, "I really don't understand why he saved me, but things like this might seem out of place if they happened to you, but for me, they could be perfectly normal."

The five of them were stunned.

They saw Xu Xiaoshou suddenly clasp his hands behind his back, gazing at the moon with a melancholic expression.

"I remember back at Tian Sang Ling Gong, I became a Xiantian body too early because I was overly talented, and that led to big trouble when a powerful figure took notice."

"I also remember when Tian Sang Ling Gong was attacked, I accidentally exposed my Xiantian Sword Intent because I was too talented, and the leader of the attackers abandoned their original goal just to go after me!"

"And during the White Grotto spot competition at the City Lord's Mansion, I exposed my Ling Array skills too soon because I was exceptionally talented, and someone tried to force that red jade stone on me..."

As Xu Xiaoshou spoke, his gaze suddenly fixed on Shou Ye.

Shou Ye's already dark face lengthened even more.

"Cursed, passive value: 1."

"Cough, I won't say more. By now, you should all get it..."

Xu Xiaoshou showed a shy, embarrassed smile.

"Being too talented just means you attract too much attention, like bees to flowers."

"Maybe you'll never experience the joy of running into a patron on the road, but you also can't imagine how painful it is when there are too many patrons!"

"I basically..."

Xu Xiaoshou stopped mid-sentence.

Looking at the five faces before him, all darkened like ink and radiating endless curse energy, he swallowed the rest: "I basically have no choice."

Was that over the top?

They wouldn't hit me, would they...?

"Xu Xiaoshou!"

A suppressed, gritted-teeth voice rang out.

Xu Xiaoshou quickly glanced at Shou Ye and said in a panic, "Wait, aren't you the one who told me to explain?"

Pointing at Qiu Xuan, he continued, "I'm explaining now—what are you going to do? I'm the victim here; you can't hit people!"

"Calm down."

"Calm down!"

At the critical moment, Fu Zhi was the most reliable.

He immediately stepped in to calm the group who had been mocked.

"Xu Xiaoshou is infuriating!" Qiu Xuan transmitted.

The five in front suddenly formed a secret discussion group, exchanging thoughts in a few words.

"Yeah, this guy is full of nonsense; nothing he says is reliable," Liu Jing echoed, having a poor impression of Xu Xiaoshou.

The other three fell silent.

Seeing that even Shou Ye, who usually opposed Xu Xiaoshou, wasn't speaking, the Yin Yang Guardians were secretly shocked.

After a moment of thought, Feng Ma finally spoke up.

"Maybe he's not lying."

"Ha?" The Yin Yang Guardians turned to him in surprise.

"You weren't in the banquet hall, so you don't know this kid's real capabilities..." Feng Ma felt uneasy saying this.

"But if it weren't for this young man here, I never would have imagined..."

"The legendary Zongshi body, the ancient sword cultivator's Jian Zong, techniques that can instantly kill a Zongshi, plus alchemy skills with destructive power surpassing everything mentioned—"

"All combined in one person!"

With a click, the Yin Yang Guardians and Fu Zhi were petrified on the spot.

"What do you mean?" They stared at Xu Xiaoshou, their mouths hanging open in disbelief.

"Questioned, passive value: 3."

Feng Ma shook his head and sighed: "Exactly what you think is the most impossible—that's what I mean."

"Not afraid to tell you, what he said earlier was actually too modest."

"He's not just a Xiantian body or Xiantian Sword Intent."

"Maybe to avoid you not believing him, but in those areas, he's already reached the Zongshi level."

The three felt their jaws nearly drop from Feng Ma's words.

This boastful, self-satisfied, arrogant Xu Xiaoshou...

And you're saying he was being too modest?

"Questioned, passive value: 3."

Shou Ye patted Feng Ma on the shoulder and added helplessly, "You left early, so you missed what came after."

"This guy, truthfully, should also add the title of Ling Array Zongshi, and possibly even Ling Array Great Zongshi."

At that, the Yin Yang Guardians couldn't stand anymore.

Their bodies staggered, nearly collapsing on the spot.

Are you kidding?

Could all of this really be cultivated by one person?

Even starting from the womb in a past life, no one would progress that fast!

Once they knew the truth, the Yin Yang Guardians looked at Xu Xiaoshou's cultivation, which had just barely broken through to the peak of the Yuan Court, and suddenly felt relieved.

It made sense.

This Yuan Court level was actually progressing quickly!

Even if he were Houtian or completely without cultivation, it would leave more time to study all those miscellaneous paths.

"So..."

"This might all be true what Xu Xiaoshou said. That scruffy swordsman probably just saw his sword dao talent and wanted to help, maybe build some good karma."

"In case he could take him under his wing later?"

Qiu Xuan stammered.

Shou Ye said nothing.

Though he didn't want to admit it, honestly, when he saw Xu Xiaoshou reveal his talents back then... in those moments, hadn't he thought about pulling him into the Red Clothes team?

More than once!

"He's not lying," Fu Zhi nodded, concluding the discussion.

He wanted to add: "You're wrong; this Xu Xiaoshou is actually a successor from the Taixu World, mastering something like 'Textile Technique' at the same level as 'Tianji Technique.'"

But forget it.

Seeing how the others were already on the verge of breaking, Fu Zhi silently swallowed his bitterness.

Someone had to bear more.

Let me take these critical hits in secret so you all don't have to.

Who asked me to be your City Lord?

In the end, I have to shoulder it all alone...

"Go on," Shou Ye said, turning back to Xu Xiaoshou, his face still stern.

But at this point, even he didn't realize that, after a series of unrelated buildup, Xu Xiaoshou had already laid a solid foundation of trust.

Even if he subjectively thought Xu Xiaoshou might lie, deep down, it was just self-deception.

"Questioned, passive value: 4."

"Admired, passive value: 3."

The information panel finally stopped updating.

Xu Xiaoshou steadied his mind, knowing the most crucial test was coming.

If he didn't handle what came next well, all his earlier efforts would be for nothing.

"Where was I?"

"Oh, right—Zhang Taiying sent an assassin to kill me, didn't he?"

Xu Xiaoshou paused, letting them gather their thoughts, then dove into the topic: "I'm not the type to just take it lying down, so I decided to kill him too."

The group nearly had their backs snapped again by Xu Xiaoshou's casual tone.

A mere Xiantian plotting against a Wangzuo?

But thinking back to their earlier discussion...

Well, it made sense, it made sense...

Qiu Xuan stared at the sky, his eyes a bit dazed.

He had clashed with Zhang Taiying a few times and never gained the upper hand.

And yet, Zhang Taiying had died just like that...

"Hmm, he deserved it, he deserved it..."

Seeing how they could now easily accept the idea of him killing a Wangzuo, Xu Xiaoshou knew the moment was right.

He built on the momentum, straightening his posture slightly.

Under the moonlight, he looked even more ethereal.

"Zhang Taiying wanted to kill me, and I wanted to kill him."

"So, not afraid to tell you, for this action, I had made preparations."

"My purpose in coming to the City Lord's Mansion wasn't for the White Grotto spots—it was purely to end Zhang Taiying here!"

Shou Ye was suddenly dumbfounded.

You're not here for the White Grotto spots, but you ended up taking over a dozen?

Realizing he was digressing, Shou Ye shook his head and said seriously, "The power of a Wangzuo isn't something one person can withstand, even if you have many talents now..."

"Touching the Dao and stepping through its gate are completely different."

"Besides, Zhang Taiying wasn't just any ordinary Wangzuo—you definitely couldn't have killed him."

"So, in the end, you used the power of the ghost beast!"

Shou Ye stated it firmly.

"Who says that?" Xu Xiaoshou shot back directly.

"Who says the gap between 'touching the Dao' and 'stepping through its gate' is that big?"

"Do you really think I couldn't hurt a Wangzuo?"

Shou Ye was stunned.

He suddenly recalled Xu Xiaoshou's furnace explosion.

Even with Shi Ti and his double domains, they almost couldn't hold back that wave of attack.

That was just a trial run.

If it hadn't been interrupted, who knows what "adding two slices of meat" might have done—the City Lord's Mansion would have been in even worse shape.

Yeah!

For others, the difference between the "Dao" and its "entry" might be vast, but for Xu Xiaoshou, it probably wasn't much.

Qiu Xuan subconsciously wanted to mock him, but seeing Shou Ye, Feng Ma, and Fu Zhi silently, he chose to keep quiet.

"How did you kill him?" Shou Ye asked.

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.

He glanced at Fu Zhi and said, "This, Fu Zhi predecessor can vouch for me."

"I know you still have questions in your mind, but you're just giving me face by not asking."

Fu Zhi was taken aback and immediately understood.

"Why did you come to the flower sea back then?" he blurted out.

Xu Xiaoshou nodded: "Yes, that's the question. I came to the flower sea because I targeted the massive nested Ling Array here, which you, Fu Zhi predecessor, set up over several years."

"Though I couldn't use it directly, with a slight modification, I could seal some things."

Liu Jing closed her eyes in pain.

She knew Xu Xiaoshou wasn't lying about this.

The explosion in the flower sea that day was heard throughout the City Lord's Mansion.

Shou Ye looked at Fu Zhi and asked, "Is that true?"

"Yes," Fu Zhi replied, not realizing he had been subtly pulled away from the group by Xu Xiaoshou.

He earnestly provided the testimony: "Back then, when Xu Xiaoshou came to the flower sea, I was suspicious and wanted to take him out."

"But in the end, thanks to his... explosive guidance, I managed to escape from the flower sea."

Everyone was stunned.

Guidance?

That word choice...

Shou Ye was deeply shocked.

Guidance in Ling Array dao from Fu Zhi?

It seemed he had still underestimated Xu Xiaoshou's Ling Array prowess!

Without overthinking, it turned out Xu Xiaoshou had been plotting against the Wangzuo-level Zhang Taiying from the start.

Shocked.

But, it made sense.

They had to let this slide.

Shou Ye pressed on: "You said you used the Ling Array to seal something—what was it?"

Xu Xiaoshou didn't answer.

He raised his hand, stirring his Ling Yuan, and everyone jumped back in alarm.

"Uh..."

"I was just demonstrating..." Xu Xiaoshou said with an awkward smile.

"Cursed, passive value: 1."

Shou Ye narrowed his eyes, feeling his teeth ache.

Tonight's shocks to his body and mind were too many; he was seeing threats everywhere.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, they saw five compressed fire seeds slip from Xu Xiaoshou's hand.

"Just this?" Qiu Xuan laughed.

Did he think something like this could take down Zhang Taiying?

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at him without a word and silently nested the compressed fire seeds.

A hum filled the air.

The surrounding airflow surged, and after the scorching aura swelled, everyone felt the sensation from the earlier battle return.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't stop; one after another, he added more.

Double nesting!

Qiu Xuan couldn't stay still.

This guy...

He finally understood why Xu Xiaoshou had received such high praise in the banquet hall.

But even with nested fire seeds at five layers of compression, could it kill Zhang Taiying?

Not to mention whether it could hit him—that was up in the air.

"Just this?"

"Just this, and you think you can take down Zhang Taiying? Did you think he was a standing target for you to hit?"

Xu Xiaoshou sneered, firing back without hesitation.

"Now you know how Zhang Taiying died, right?"

"That's right—he had the exact same reaction as you, word for word."

"A Wangzuo didn't die by my hand; he died from underestimating his opponent and his own arrogance."

Qiu Xuan's face darkened, but he couldn't think of a way Xu Xiaoshou's method could kill a Wangzuo.

Shou Ye was the first to react.

"You mean what you sealed with the Ling Array was this thing?"

"Yes."

"How many did you seal?"

Shou Ye looked at the vast flower sea and suddenly felt a chill.

If one couldn't kill Zhang Taiying, maybe Xu Xiaoshou had overwhelmed him with numbers?

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at Qiu Xuan and flashed a bright, toothy grin.

"Not many—just one thousand and forty-eight of these."

Qiu Xuan felt a chill run down his spine.

Xu Xiaoshou said casually, "When I threw this at him, Zhang Taiying probably thought the same as you—he could just dodge it."

"Then he moved, triggering the Ling Array—just like that."

Shou Ye suddenly recalled the scene of the Ling Array exploding and felt his heart turn cold.

"So, that's when all the fire seeds you hid beforehand surfaced?" he asked in shock.

"Exactly." Xu Xiaoshou snapped his fingers, quite pleased.

The five felt their hearts go cold.

This was too horrifying!

No wonder the City Lord's Mansion had exploded like that.

It made sense, it made sense...

If it hadn't exploded, that would be unbelievable.

After the shock, Shou Ye's face turned stern again.

"Xu Xiaoshou, you know the mainland has explicit rules: any Wangzuo-level conflict that harms innocents is handled by White Clothes!"

"I know," Xu Xiaoshou said calmly, with a carefree air. "That's why I had Zhang Taiying open his domain!"

"But his was too weak—it got blown away in an instant. What could I do?"

Shou Ye was furious, his liver aching. "Then you still ended up hurting other people in the City Lord's Mansion!"

Xu Xiaoshou fell silent.

"For that, I'm truly sorry."

"But shouldn't the blame go to the deceased Zhang Taiying?"

Everyone was astonished.

What kind of logic was this?

Xu Xiaoshou exhaled, unwillingly saying, "So it's okay for Zhang Taiying to send people to kill me, but I can't fight back?"

"The mainland rules say Wangzuos can't act, but he bullied the weak with his strength—why aren't you going after him? Instead, I'm defending myself, and now you're questioning me?"

The more Xu Xiaoshou spoke, the angrier he got, directly challenging the five in front of him.

"Was I wrong?"

"The rules say Wangzuos can't act, but do they say Xiantian can't?"

"I'm not a Wangzuo—killing one, and I'm the one breaking the rules?"

"The person you should be after is the cruel Zhang Taiying, who attacked a junior with Xiantian cultivation, not me, a harmless Xiantian!"

"I didn't do anything wrong—you're the ones who are wrong!"

Xu Xiaoshou looked like he was about to cry: "I'm the most innocent one here!"