Pressure.
Hei He felt unprecedented pressure, something he had not felt from the Emperor Capital or Qiu Li.
Yet the ordinary figure before him was able to make him feel this pressure.
"Chen Xia," Hei He uttered only these two words.
The formal disciples beside him had already started trembling in their hearts, especially those in the same batch as Chen Xia. At this time they lowered their heads, not even daring to look at Chen Xia.
"Fight if you want, otherwise never come again," Chen Xia spoke flatly, reaching to pick his ear. Neither his words nor actions took these formal disciples seriously.
The spectating preparatory disciples were even more confused, asking each other questions. Some had seen Chen Xia before, but did not know his background.
Could he be some hidden expert?
Why would such an expert stand up for Liu Qing? Could there be some unknown inside story?
Hei He seemed to know. He asked, "How many spirit stones did you take from them?"
"Two thousand," Chen Xia answered frankly.
"Three thousand," Hei He held up three fingers and said heavily, "We can give you three thousand, as long as you don't get involved in this matter."
Liu Qing's heart skipped a beat. What she feared most seemed to be happening. After all, Chen Xia did not look like a good person.
"You want to give three thousand..." Chen Xia chuckled. "I want two thousand too."
Hei He frowned deeply, "What do you mean?"
"I'll take it all," Chen Xia answered plainly, as if it was a matter of course.
He pointed his finger at the ground, "This is the preparatory disciple area. I'm a preparatory disciple. I haven't even started collecting protection fees yet, and you've taken it all?"
Chen Xia raised his eyebrows and continued asking, "Then where am I supposed to earn money?"
Hei He was silent for a long while, before responding, "We can cooperate. The Law Elder can have a good talk with you."
"I already said it," Chen Xia crossed his arms. "Seventy for me, thirty for you. But you don't agree, right?"
Hei He furrowed his brows tightly, "Let's stop with the jokes. We have so many people here..."
"You didn't understand me?" Chen Xia's tone rose slightly, showing impatience.
"This is the preparatory disciple area. I'm a preparatory disciple. If there's any exploitation to be done, it should be done by me. Giving you thirty percent is already a huge concession. Still not satisfied?"
"How can you guys be so greedy? You take thirty percent, I only take seventy percent."
He even made himself out to be the victim.
Hei He did not speak, pressing his lips together. His gaze shifted between Liu Qing and Chen Xia as he finally let out a sigh.
"I really don't want you as an enemy, but I have no choice."
Chen Xia repeated, "As I said, fight if you want to fight, otherwise never come again."
Hei He's golden black robe fluttered. His whole body suddenly expanded, as if great wings had emerged behind him, dark and vast, blotting out the sun.
This was the first move.
Before the spectating disciples could exclaim at Hei He's imposing manner,
The second move.
It was as if a shadow flashed, unclear, stretched out like an elongated shadow.
The third move.
Hei He's figure disappeared, vanishing abruptly from where he stood, gone without a trace.
Three and a half moves.
A loud boom rang out between heaven and earth. Gale winds began howling, space itself trembling from the tear. The people could not even lift their heads.
The fourth move.
Everything stopped.
Chen Xia was pinching Hei He's head in one hand, like carrying a chick. His expression was nonchalant.
The preparatory disciples who realized what happened watched in horror, their mouths agape and bodies trembling. They had not imagined this outcome at all.
Three moves!
Hei He had only lasted three moves!
A Peak of the Ocean stage cultivator was defeated so easily, like a joke.
The preparatory disciples were silent, because if they went up, they would be even more of a joke.
Everyone capable of speech was quiet.
Liu Qing's delicate body shook uncontrollably as she recalled Chen Xia's relatively polite manner when sending her away earlier.
Beside them, Li Yang stared blankly, seemingly lost in thought.
This had likely delivered quite a shock to her mind.
However, the most miserable was still Hei He, now gripped in Chen Xia's hand. Overwhelming strength suppressed him, not even leaving room to struggle.
He hadn't even realized what happened to make him lose. He only remembered his head suffering tremendous force, losing consciousness for an instant, before finding himself in Chen Xia's grasp.
Chen Xia did not torment him further. With a flip of his arm he tossed Hei He out. At the same time he called to the formal disciple holding the suona horn, "Start playing."
"Oh...okay!" The formal disciple hurriedly acknowledged, then played a few notes on the suona.
This was the victor's music.
Hei He sat numbly on the ground for a while, likely contemplating life. After a bit he stood up and cupped his fists towards Chen Xia, "Thank you for showing mercy."
"No need to thank me," Chen Xia responded politely. He could not kill now, due to the restrictions of the dark rings.
So he had not used much strength, worried that he might outright kill Hei He. Fortunately Hei He was tougher than expected and understood reason.
Hei He left silently without looking back. Having lost, he no longer had the qualifications to negotiate conditions.
The remaining formal disciples did not dare meet Chen Xia's gaze, also wanting to leave.
"You don't need to come collect from the preparatory disciples anymore. If you want money, come to me. I'll take it all," Chen Xia called to the formal disciples. Then he turned to ask the group of preparatory disciples, "You guys don't have any objections, right?"
The preparatory disciples did not dare object, hurriedly shaking their heads. They had heard Pan Dadao's promotion before and were hesitating.
Now having personally witnessed this, their hesitation was gone.
Wow, he really is that fierce!
"Then get ready to pay up. I won't say how much for now, but you have to at least pay something," Chen Xia said flatly.
The preparatory disciples only dared to nod.
Chen Xia was now completely opposed to the Fourth Law Elder. There was no hope of reconciliation. If you want to send someone to fight, then do it.
After the fight, everything goes to you.
If it really came down to it, the Fourth Law Elder could come fight in person too. Chen Xia was not afraid at all.
Now in the Peak of the Ocean stage, he had defeated the six-layered Ocean stage Qiu Li. He should at least be able to fight the eight or nine-layered Law Elder to a draw.
If you wanted to send someone even stronger, Chen Xia could also call over Fishing Old Man.
It was still the same phrase.
Great Emperor, do you still want to live?
This was also one of Chen Xia's hidden trump cards, along with the body clone cultivating outside the Death Star, and the strand of divine soul in his little world.
Liu Qing stood to the side, hands clenched, and nodded to Chen Xia, "Thank you, thank you!"
"No need for thanks," Chen Xia tidied his robes. "I'll do the job after taking the money."
He spoke very plainly. His retreating figure did not fluctuate.
The wind was gentle and the clouds light.
The swaying figure seemed extremely ordinary, yet was the most dazzling existence within the Vast Heaven Sword Sea.
The newborn calf starved to death because it could not drink milk on an empty stomach.
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
