After smacking the head clean off that city guard captain,
The charred figure—the one suspected to be a Demon Sect Elder—didn't immediately charge Zhao Xuan and the others again.
Instead, he wobbled in place twice.
"Huff… Huff…"
After taking two heavy breaths, he resumed his charge.
Anyone with eyes could tell—
He was seriously injured.
At once, Zhao Xuan and the others' eyes lit up.
They glanced at each other—
and what they saw reflected in one another's faces was the same burning, reckless intent.
Zhao Xuan and his companions—
every one of them was a prodigy from the academies of Nanjiang.
And what are geniuses, if not bold, ambitious, and utterly fearless?
So—when a group of such people found themselves with even a sliver of a chance to kill a high-tier powerhouse—
What would they do?
Almost instantly—
their gazes changed.
Predatory.
Feral.
Like a starving pack of hyenas spotting a wounded lion on the savannah.
At that same moment,
The charred man seemed to sense something wrong.
He looked up instinctively—
and met the burning, bloodthirsty stares of Zhao Xuan's group.
At once, rage exploded from within him.
"Rebel… rebel… REBEL! A bunch of Third and Fourth Tiers—and you dare to see me as prey?"
A sneer of scorn twisted his face.
But Zhao Xuan and the others had already made their decision.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
The roars rang out in unison.
Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!
They launched forward with Soru, surrounding the Demon Sect Elder.
"You little insects—this! Is! Suicide!!!"
Fury burned in the man's voice.
He was a Tier-7 Lord!
Normally—
not even Tier-6 Grandmasters dared breathe too loudly before him.
And now—
a bunch of Third and Fourth Tiers wanted to gang up on him?
Unforgivable!
Just as his rage peaked,
a blade-wielding figure was already upon him.
Fatty Fu, transformed into the eight-bladed Asura swordsman, roared:
"Eight-Blade Style—Peerless Hell!"
Eight flashing blades fell like a roaring meat grinder.
The charred man drew a deep breath, tightened his muscles, and threw a punch.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Metal clashed with metal.
The eight blades were blasted away by raw force.
The punch continued forward—
straight toward Fatty Fu's face.
But at that instant—
BOOM!
WHOOSH!
Attacks came from all sides.
The charred man didn't even dodge.
He took a deep breath, muscles locking tight—
Iron Body activated.
The next moment, countless attacks slammed into him.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A shockwave burst out, flinging everyone back.
Clearly, his mastery of Iron Body was far beyond ordinary.
He had even developed derivative techniques from it.
"A bunch of overconfident gnats!"
The charred man grinned savagely, stepping toward the fallen Fatty Fu.
But—
"Hah! Hah! Hah!"
The others rushed back again, surrounding him.
He still didn't dodge.
Once more, Iron Body flared.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The next wave of attacks struck—and the next instant, everyone was blasted back again.
"Those with ranged abilities, use them!"
Zhao Xuan's eyes flashed as he shouted.
At once—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Everyone switched tactics.
Sword aura, elemental powers, ranged fruit abilities—all hurled at the charred man in a roaring storm.
Meanwhile, Zhao Xuan took the opportunity to drag Fatty Fu out of harm's way.
The Demon Sect Elder's defense was indeed terrifying—
but his wounds were severe, and his stamina nearly gone.
Though most attacks failed to pierce his Iron Body,
he was burning through what little energy he had left.
Each round of attacks made his body sway more and more.
Zhao Xuan and the others didn't stop.
They kept their distance, circling him, pelting him relentlessly.
Zhao Xuan couldn't help muttering:
"Feels like raiding a short-legged boss in a game…"
And just like that—
The "raid" continued.
Round after round.
Until finally—
The Demon Sect Elder stumbled backward, collapsing heavily onto the ground.
"Damn… you damn… damn insects…"
He glared weakly at them, fury still burning in his dimming eyes.
"Still got enough breath to curse? Keep firing! Don't stop!"
At Zhao Xuan's command,
Everyone unleashed another barrage.
"You… damn… brat!!!"
The Demon Sect Elder fixed his blood-red eyes on Zhao Xuan—
the one who had saved Fatty Fu, the one who had led the counterattack—
and roared hoarsely.
But his voice was drowned beneath another storm of attacks.
Blood splattered.
The blackened skin tore open in red streaks.
They didn't stop.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
"I'll kill you all!!!"
"You filthy little worms!!!"
The Demon Sect Elder's screams grew weaker and weaker.
After four or five rounds of bombardment,
his body was covered in gashes,
his once-blackened skin now dyed crimson.
He was no longer a "charred man,"
but a man of blood.
Eventually, he fell silent, lying limp on the ground.
Only the faint rasp of curses escaped his lips.
And then—
nothing.
"D-did we kill him?"
"Seems like it…"
"We really killed a Seventh Tier? We killed a Seventh Tier!!!"
Cheers erupted.
Some sat right where they stood, panting heavily, grinning with disbelief.
"Don't celebrate yet!" Zhao Xuan barked.
"That guy's a high-tier powerhouse. What if he's faking it?"
Everyone froze.
"Just in case, let's hit him a few more times."
After a moment's hesitation,
Everyone nodded grimly.
"Good call, Zhao!"
"Can't be too careful!"
"But… we're exhausted…"
Wang Defa, the Momo Fruit user, frowned.
"No problem!" Zhao Xuan grinned, summoning an entire crate of low-grade Energy Fluid from his relic space.
"Drink up! Recharge before the next round!"
Everyone: "????"
But exhaustion won out over doubt.
Soon, they were all gulping down the recovery fluid.
And moments later—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A fresh wave of sword aura, magma blasts, and energy beams crashed down on the corpse.
Before long, the body was utterly mangled.
"Alright… that should do it."
"Yeah, he's definitely dead this time."
Zhao Xuan stared for a long moment, then nodded slowly.
"Looks dead enough. But nobody goes near him. Wait for President Jiang and the others to arrive."
"Zhao, isn't that too cautious?" Fatty Fu asked. "He's a lump of meat now!"
"Even a one-in-a-thousand chance is too much," Zhao Xuan said flatly.
"If he's still alive, and one of us walks up, we'll lose someone for sure."
"..."
Fatty Fu caught the look in Zhao Xuan's eye.
A flicker of understanding passed between them.
"Right! Zhao's right!" Fatty Fu said quickly. "We'll wait for the elders!"
Everyone agreed at once.
The night grew silent again.
Then—
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
A mad, ragged laughter suddenly erupted.
Everyone's hearts leapt.
The "corpse" had opened its eyes—blood-red and full of hate.
"You little… insects…" he rasped.
"I… I'm a Tier-7 Lord… and I'm dying here… to the likes of you…"
His voice faded.
His body trembled.
And then—
Silence.
But even in death,
his eyes still glared at Zhao Xuan.
The group stood frozen.
Finally, Fatty Fu whispered, "This time… he's really dead, right?"
Everyone turned to Zhao Xuan.
He frowned.
No system chime.
Which meant—
no kill credit.
He wasn't dead yet.
He was still pretending.
And Zhao Xuan could tell—
the person the Elder hated most in this world right now…
was him.
If Zhao Xuan hadn't interfered, the Elder would've long since escaped using Fatty Fu as leverage.
Zhao Xuan sighed softly.
"Still alive," he murmured.
The group stiffened.
Fatty Fu swallowed. "Y-you mean… he's still not dead!?"
Zhao Xuan smiled faintly. "Who knows? But a man who can fake death once can fake it twice. He's a Tier-7 Lord—how could a few Tier Threes and Fours finish him so easily?"
Fatty Fu met his gaze, then nodded. "Makes sense. So what now?"
Zhao Xuan thought for a moment, then said, "I'll go check. If he moves, I'll run."
As he turned, he winked at Fatty Fu.
Fatty Fu instantly caught on.
"Zhao! That's too dangerous!" he barked. "Let's wait for Elder Jiang!"
"Yeah, too risky!"
"He's still a Seventh Tier!"
Everyone chimed in.
"Relax, I won't get too close," Zhao Xuan said, stepping forward.
Tap… tap… tap…
His footsteps echoed.
A few meters later, he suddenly stopped, turned, and called out:
"You guys were right. Maybe he is faking it again. We'd better hit him a few more times—just to be safe."
"Zhao's right!"
"Yeah, hit him again!"
Another barrage flew out.
The Elder's mangled body twitched under the fresh rain of blows.
A sword aura even sliced off one of his ears.
Still, he didn't move.
Zhao Xuan exhaled softly.
Old bastard's got nerves of steel.
He stepped closer again—
then stopped once more.
"Still not feeling safe," he muttered. "Let's wait for the elders."
Fatty Fu snorted loudly. "Come on, Zhao! He's a lump of meat! He's dead! Look at him!"
"…True," Zhao Xuan nodded thoughtfully—and walked a few more steps closer.
Then stopped.
Again.
"Zhao, what now!?"
"I… still don't feel right," Zhao Xuan said gravely. "He's weak, sure—but he's still a Tier-7. What if he's just waiting to strike?"
Fatty Fu threw his arms wide. "Zhao! You'll never advance if you're this timid! A strong heart makes a strong cultivator!"
"..."
Zhao Xuan hesitated.
Fatty Fu then added, "How about some more Energy Fluid? We'll hit him a few more rounds. That should ease your mind, right?"
Zhao Xuan's eyes narrowed—
Then he grinned.
"Good idea."
He tossed over another crate.
They drank.
And once again—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Another devastating volley.
This time, the Elder's other ear was sliced off.
His body was now nothing but mangled meat.
"Zhao, he's gotta be dead now, right?"
"Yeah… probably."
Zhao Xuan started forward again.
Stopped.
"Fatty," he said quietly, "one last favor. His eyes are still open, staring at me. It's… unnerving. Can you shoot them out with your sword aura?"
Before the words even finished—
"ENOUGH!!!"
The Demon Sect Elder suddenly roared, his aura flaring once more.
"You little brat!" he snarled, eyes burning. "You knew! You knew I wasn't dead, didn't you!?"
Zhao Xuan grinned, baring his teeth.
"Yup."
The Elder froze.
Then blood welled up his throat—
"PUH!!!"
A mouthful of blood splattered onto the ground.
"I… hahaha… I, Ye Fan, Elder of the Demon Sect… Tier-7 Lord… wielder of the Flame-Flame Fruit… defeated… toyed with… by a mere Tier Four brat…"
He laughed madly—then coughed violently.
His breath quickened—
then stopped altogether.
Just like that, the Demon Sect's Tier-7 Elder—
was literally angry to death.
And at that exact moment—
a familiar chime echoed in Zhao Xuan's ears.
System Notification:
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