Chapter 678: Kill Him, If You Can't Then Beat Him to Death

"I wasn't teasing you."

Xu Xiaoshou calmly watched the crowd of beast-like contestants behind Xiao Wanfeng, their eyes instantly turning red.

"You must be teasing me!"

Xiao Wanfeng struggled to prop himself up, still catching his breath, and now his hand holding the tea tray trembled even more due to that person's shocking words.

"This young master never jests with people." Xu Xiaoshou replied with only a smile.

"You do!" Xiao Wanfeng felt as if the person standing before him had turned into a demon.

"They've arrived."

At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou changed the subject, pointing behind Xiao Wanfeng to indicate there was no time left for chit-chat.

"Waah—"

Xiao Wanfeng let out a strange cry, bursting with energy the instant Xu Xiaoshou spoke. He flipped into the air, narrowly avoiding a sharp spike protruding from the ground.

"Don't spill the tea; this young master wants to drink it." Xu Xiaoshou pointed at the item in Xiao Wanfeng's hands.

After a brief thought, he reached out and took the teacup, leaving only the tray for Xiao Wanfeng.

He gained a new appreciation for this guy's quick reflexes but merely smiled as he watched Xiao Wanfeng dodge and weave under the onslaught of multicolored Ling Yuan, completely unable to fight back.

Some things... Xu Xiaoshou thought approvingly to himself.

Xiao Wanfeng's agility was truly astonishing.

He wasn't using any Ling Ji at all, but it was as if he had eyes in the back of his head, his whole body transforming into a flexible sword.

But this sword was a bit odd.

Other swords desperately thrust into enemies' weaknesses, trying to draw blood.

Xiao Wanfeng's sword desperately squeezed through the gaps in his opponents' attacks, seizing every sliver of opportunity for survival.

"Xu Shao, what did I ever do to offend you!"

Xiao Wanfeng cried out while dodging, but he was too afraid of tears blurring his vision to let them fall.

He was too exhausted to complain anymore and couldn't even muster extra words.

What Xu Shao said was casual and breezy.

But the people behind him were acting as if they feared Xu Shao might go back on his word, unleashing powerful attacks that drowned out the instigator's voice.

They were all thinking of claiming his head for the reward!

Like most people, Xiao Wanfeng initially didn't believe Xu Shao really wanted him dead.

He thought it was just the wicked hobby of a wealthy young master; as long as he saw Xiao Wanfeng in a pathetic state, he might show mercy and take back his earlier words.

But in the midst of fleeing for his life, Xiao Wanfeng glanced back and saw Xu Shao hovering in the air with his sword, sipping tea leisurely and watching him dart left and right with great interest.

"You're freaking toxic!" Xiao Wanfeng was truly desperate.

He realized Xu Shao wasn't joking—he really wanted to kill him!

But why?

He had only joined Tian Shang First Tower less than a day ago and hadn't even poisoned the tea.

Xu Shao, why treat your own person like this?

He clearly...

He clearly wasn't like that with Xiao Xin Ge!

"Die!"

"Da Yuan Long Zhan!"

"Xiao Feng Xi Yu, Qing Sheng Wu Ying!"

"Ge Luo Zui Jian!"

"Di Ci Di Ci Di Ci, I ci I ci I ci..."

A series of frenzied shouts accompanied bizarrely named Ling Ji.

From the day he was born, Xiao Wanfeng had never dared to provoke enemies of this caliber.

But now, the group chasing him from behind was like a nightmare.

How crowded was it?

—Even some melee warriors who couldn't squeeze into the first wave were starting to throw swords and people from the outskirts!

"Mad mad mad!"

Xiao Wanfeng gritted his teeth, tempted to hurl the tea tray into the faces of the crowd behind him, but he didn't dare—it was Xu Shao's thing, and it was said to be extremely valuable...

"How did I end up so pathetic!" Xiao Wanfeng's heart felt like it was melting into bitterness.

"Di Ci Di Ci Di Ci, I ci I ci I ci..."

That damn fatty with the ground spikes was attacking again.

But the path ahead was blocked by ice walls, storms, and thunder, with no way through.

Both sides were walls of people armed with weapons, making it impossible to break out.

In his despair, Xiao Wanfeng instinctively spun around and kicked off the ground, lying back and twisting through the legs of the people behind him.

"This is my way out!" Xiao Wanfeng saw it clearly.

But fantasies are beautiful.

In his fantasy, this was the only escape route, yet reality changes in an instant.

Because one person was jostled by the crowd and stumbled, bumping into another's shoulder, that person's sword pierced the back of yet another.

The stabbed one faltered, and two guys pushing forward from the side collided, swinging their blades ahead.

The burly man in front was a Xian Tian expert after all, sensing something wrong, he ducked down and spotted a youth crawling under his legs?

"Smack!"

The man struck like lightning, grabbing Xiao Wanfeng's foot.

The nerves in his ankle weren't particularly sensitive, but the heat from the other's sweaty hand transmitted a clear sensation to his brain.

The scent of death... Xiao Wanfeng froze, realizing his miscalculation—he was caught.

And under this heavy reward, being caught meant only one thing.

He squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

Xiao Wanfeng wanted to draw the wooden sword from his back.

But unluckily, the sword was pinned under him against the ground.

And above his head were more legs; clearly, he couldn't draw it.

In the end, Xiao Wanfeng gave up resisting.

He was just a Hou Tian; what could he do against a Xian Tian?

"Xu Shao, I curse you to never have a good—"

Just as the curse was about to take effect, a golden light point fell from the sky into the crowd.

The next second.

"Boom—"

An explosion roared.

Xiao Wanfeng snapped his eyes open and saw people flying everywhere like scattered flowers from heaven.

These guys had been ferocious moments ago, but now, under the blast of that golden light point, their protective Ling Yuan was shattered, blood and saliva spraying through the air.

"Xu, Xu Shao?"

Xiao Wanfeng looked up at the inverted Xu Shao floating in the air, unable to tell if his expression was a smile or something else.

He sprang up abruptly, and the upside-down world finally righted itself.

Still shaken, Xiao Wanfeng finally noticed the faint golden glow around Xu Shao's body and on his fingers.

Was it with this move that he blasted away the crowd trying to pile on him?

"What does he want?"

At that moment, Xiao Wanfeng's emotions were a mix of flavors; he had no idea what was really going on in this unpredictable Xu Shao's mind.

If he wanted Xiao Wanfeng dead, why go to such lengths?

If he wanted to save him, why set up this massive bounty hunt?

"Clap, clap, clap!"

Xu Xiaoshou, standing in mid-air, applauded approvingly three times. Then, under the puzzled gazes of everyone around, he turned to Xiao Wanfeng and said, "Impressive, you actually held out for seventeen seconds!"

Xiao Wanfeng: ???

Veins bulged on his forehead instantly, and an unnamed fury ignited in his heart. His almond eyes sharpened in a flash.

The sword intent in his gaze seemed to solidify, virtually slashing that baffling person to pieces countless times in his mind.

"Seventeen seconds, yeah!"

Xu Xiaoshou looked at Xiao Wanfeng's furious face and asked curiously, "As a mortal, enduring seventeen seconds surrounded by dozens of Xian Tian experts—don't you think that's something to be happy about?"

"This is... something to be happy about?"

Xiao Wanfeng's head throbbed violently. He raised his hand as if to smash the tray down hard, but in the next second, reason returned, and he caught it with his other hand.

It looked like he was asking, "This is something to be happy about?" while tracing a small half-ellipse in the air with the tray.

"Isn't it sad, then?" Xu Xiaoshou tilted his head and countered.

Xiao Wanfeng was stumped.

In your eyes, Xu Shao, are things in this world only 'happy' or 'sad'?

Can't it be something that makes you want to cry but you can't?

Can't it just be inexplicable?

And more importantly, it's not about whether this can be defined as 'happy'—what are you really up to, Xu Shao?!

"Not sad, then it's happy, right?"

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled cheerfully and waved his hand dismissively. "Take a break; we'll continue shortly."

Thud—

Xiao Wanfeng's body swayed at the words, his legs going weak again.

"Continue... shortly?"

He licked his dry lips, at a loss for words.

You're a demon, aren't you!

What the hell do you want?

The people nearby, hearing this, instinctively prepared to charge at Xiao Wanfeng like hungry wolves.

But Xu Xiaoshou suddenly turned his head, his face full of cold intent.

"A bunch of useless trash—can't even take down one mortal, and you still dare to stand on this stage?"

With a casual flick, golden light points in "Zha Lie Zi Tai" flew out one by one, homing in like guided missiles and exploding precisely on every contestant who had just fought.

"Boom boom boom boom boom..."

The arena was shaken by the thunderous blasts and golden light, with limbs and flesh flying everywhere as dozens of people were cleared out in chaos.

The scene fell silent.

No one expected that Xu Shao's conditions included a seventeen-second limit for the chase.

They were even more stunned that, as fellow Xian Tian experts, some couldn't even catch a mortal without Ling Yuan right away.

And someone could blast dozens of people with a flick of his fingers!

"Is he a Xian Tian?"

Finally, contestants and audience alike voiced the same question at once.

That golden light was too eye-catching.

Xu Xiaoshou, enveloped in golden light points, looked like a war god descended, commanding awe just by floating there.

"Is that an explosion attribute?"

"What are those golden light points? Is this a Ling Ji that a Xian Tian expert can master? Does anyone know Xu Shao's attribute?"

"I don't know... But Xu Shao comes from a Ban Sheng family; if others can't do it, why couldn't he?"

"Isn't that normal? As a Ban Sheng heir, he should be unbeatable in his realm, clearing the field with a mere thought."

"But clearing is one thing—does he make it look so effortless? All those high-intensity explosions, and his Ling Yuan isn't depleted?"

"He's a Ban Sheng heir!"

"Screw you, a Ban Sheng heir's Xian Tian is still just Xian Tian. If he plays like this, how can a Zong Shi like me survive? I couldn't even take one of those blasts."

"You should reflect on yourself."

"The hell with that, come here—"

"Smash the ground?"

"I'll kill you!"

Below the arena, the audience was drowned in a wave of astonished discussions.

Everyone had finally witnessed Xu Shao's first real move.

But by then, most people's attention had already been drawn to Xu Shao's spectacle with Xiao Wanfeng and the Xian Tian experts.

So they didn't even see how he summoned that Ling Ji.

But the result...

One light point, one Xian Tian?

Shredded was lucky; death was the norm.

—How could a Xian Tian be this exaggerated!

"By the way, shouldn't you all wonder why Xu Shao treated his own subordinate like that earlier?"

A timid voice in the crowd raised the initial curiosity after the fight paused, but now, everyone was captivated by this "Xian Tian marvel" and paid no mind to such minor details.

In the entire venue, the only one still concerned about this was the person involved, Xiao Wanfeng.

Xiao Wanfeng walked expressionlessly to Xu Xiaoshou, who had thoughtfully landed for him since he couldn't fly. After a moment of thought, he chose to handle the question calmly: "What exactly does Xu Shao want to do?"

"What have you learned?" Xu Xiaoshou asked.

"Learned?" Xiao Wanfeng was stunned.

Was there some deeper meaning to Xu Shao's actions?

What did he want him to learn?

"Looks like you haven't realized it yet!"

Xu Xiaoshou narrowed his eyes with a smile and soared into the air, saying to the people around, "Rest time's over. You all continue; kill him, or beat him half to death, the reward still stands."

Xiao Wanfeng looked up in shock: ???

"Ah—"

"Kill kill kill!"

Among the crowd, some had been frightened by the explosions and planned to calm down.

But they were in the minority. After seeing Xu Shao enforce the "kill Xiao Wanfeng within seventeen seconds for a million Ling Jing" rule, they realized this was probably real!

If even Xu Shao followed the rules, what's wrong with me trading a head for Ling Jing?

With that mindset, the arena's beast-like contestants finally found a more enthusiastic, more motivated reason to charge at Xiao Wanfeng.

"Waah—"

Xiao Wanfeng yelled strangely, glared fiercely at Xu Shao, and turned to run.

He could only glare for a second, because any longer, and he'd be chopped to pieces by the burly men closing in.

"Learn?"

"What to learn? What does Xu Shao want me to learn?"

"Go to hell with that, learn my ass!"

Xiao Wanfeng had wanted to think it through, but once surrounded, his mind shattered, and he couldn't follow his train of thought.

"Hehe, keep figuring it out, Qian Feng..."

In mid-air, Xu Xiaoshou crossed his arms, his feet on the reverse-controlled Cang Ku, and grinned as he looked at the info panel.

"Shou Dao Chuai Ce, Bei Dong Zhi, 9999."

"Shou Dao Wei Ju, Bei Dong Zhi, 9999."

"Shou Dao Cai Yi, Bei Dong Zhi, 9999."