Arson

Having made his choice among the three options, Xiao Ming stopped wasting time. Soul Power emerged from his brow center and spread out before him in preparation.

He silently recited in his mind, "Choose six hundred thousand gold coins."

At once, piles of gold coins resembling small mountains appeared out of thin air before Xiao Ming. Under the faint moonlight, the coins radiated a dazzling brilliance, and the dim room seemed to be illuminated as brightly as day for an instant.

Fortunately, Xiao Ming had prepared in advance. Supporting them with Soul Power, he began stuffing the coins into his Na Ring the instant they appeared. Thanks to his previous experience, he easily stored every coin before him, his movements practiced and smooth.

The golden glow in the room only appeared for an instant before it disappeared.

Xiao Ming's room was located on the second floor of the inn, and outside the rear window lay several small courtyards belonging to the inn.

At that moment, a Strong Man dressed in a fitted yellow outfit rubbed his eyes and looked up at the window of Xiao Ming's room, confusion appearing on his face.

"Did I see that wrong? That shouldn't be possible. Just now, I clearly..."

"Ding Lao'er, why are you standing around here muttering to yourself? Didn't Eldest Brother tell you to notify Scarface and the others that it was time to act? Aren't you afraid of being discovered while lingering in this courtyard? I'm telling you, if you alarm these fat sheep, Eldest Brother definitely won't let you off easily. He might get angry and capture you to sell along with them. I'm telling you, the Blood Sect is the one trading with us this time. They love strong, sturdy men like you. Don't let them suck you dry, hehehe."

A gaunt figure silently appeared from the northern side of the courtyard.

Hearing those words, Ding Lao'er dismissed the thought in his mind and turned around with an unpleasant expression.

Staring at the gaunt figure, he said mockingly, "You're one to talk. You're speaking so loudly, as if you're afraid others won't hear you. When the time comes, let's see whether Eldest Brother captures you or me."

"Capture me?" In response to Ding Lao'er's retort, the Gaunt Man revealed a sinister smile, as though he had heard a joke.

Seeing his expression, Ding Lao'er frowned, losing interest. He could not be bothered to say more to this man who picked fights with him every other day.

If this fellow had not been somewhat useful, and if Boss had not stopped him, Ding Lao'er would have beaten him to death long ago.

Ding Lao'er thought to himself. After letting out a cold snort, he clasped his hands behind his back and headed toward the inn's main hall.

The Gaunt Man remained where he was for a while. He had only deliberately picked a fight just now.

The two had never gotten along. Whenever he found an opportunity, he enjoyed making Ding Lao'er uncomfortable, even though the other man was stronger than him.

That was his pleasure in life. Besides, it was not as though he had never killed someone of a higher realm. In the Black Corner Region, scenes of higher-realm cultivators being overturned by those of lower realms played out every day. In any case, he was not afraid of Ding Lao'er at all.

What a pity. If he could really sell this fellow to the Blood Sect, that would be wonderful. He truly wanted to see what this bull-like brute would look like after becoming skin and bones.

But he also knew that was impossible. Most of the people in the inn had been drugged with Muscle-softening Powder. This medicine was colorless and odorless, making it difficult to detect. It could leave even Dou Shi weak all over and unable to muster Dou Qi. Even if they discovered the scheme of him and the others, they would not be able to escape.

Wanting Ding Lao'er to be punished through this was undoubtedly wishful thinking.

That was also why the Gaunt Man had not bothered lowering his voice just now and had spoken so recklessly.

The Gaunt Man shook his head regretfully, then grew excited again.

"There are quite a few fat sheep this time. Added to those people from daytime, the money I've saved should be enough. Then I can go... hehehe."

His voice grew quieter as he continued, and in the end, he let out a lewd laugh before also entering the inn's main hall.

Second-floor window.

Xiao Ming stood beside the window and listened through the gap, hearing every word of their conversation.

"So this was the matter mentioned in the simulator. It seems my guess during the day was indeed correct. This is a black inn. Fortunately, I didn't eat any of this inn's food or touch their tableware. Otherwise, I would have had to waste a Detoxification Pill."

Xiao Ming thought calmly. A black inn appearing in the Black Corner Region was nothing surprising. It would already be impressive if two out of ten inns conducted honest business.

"However, in the simulator, I discovered their movements five hours before dawn. By then, they had already been acting for some time. Combined with what I just heard, they might be about to make their move. I absolutely can't delay until then, or most of the people in the inn will probably be dealt with by them."

It should be mentioned that using the Life Simulation was extremely fast. Although the process formed a string of words in his mind, Xiao Ming only needed an instant to understand all of its contents.

Making his choice and putting away the extracted gold coins had probably taken less than five seconds altogether.

In other words, only a short while had passed since midnight. This meant the inn still had nearly an hour before the time period when he had originally discovered them to deal with those guests.

If he allowed their plan to proceed smoothly, these inn guests might truly be wiped out in one sweep, leaving only Xiao Ming to face them alone.

Xiao Ming did not care whether these inn guests lived or died, or whether they would be sold to the Blood Sect.

It was not that he was cold-hearted. Rather, there were few good people who could survive in the Black Corner Region. Why would he feel pity for such villains?

However, these people could still be put to use. Even if the Xiao Ming in the simulator had successfully taken down this group of human traffickers, that did not mean he would not fail now.

To be safe, it was better to let those guests take the lead.

"This is for your own good, isn't it? At least you won't die without knowing why, like you did in the simulator."

Thinking of this, a smile appeared on Xiao Ming's previously calm face.

He raised his right hand, and a bewitchingly blooming pink flame emerged from the tip of his fair, tender index finger.

This was the Peach Blossom Flame Xiao Ming had obtained through the simulator, a Beast Flame produced within the rare fifth-tier wood-element magical beast, the Kui Wood Beast.

His teacher, Elder Huo, had also found a Beast Flame for him: the Azure Crystal Flame of the sixth-tier Azure Crystal Python.

Compared to the Azure Crystal Flame of that sixth-tier Azure Crystal Python, the two were of roughly similar rank.

Xiao Ming had once had Ling absorb both flames one after the other. At the time, he had thought his strength would improve greatly.

He had not expected that after Ling absorbed the flames inside his body, the energy it fed back into his Qi Cyclone would be so little.

Xiao Ming believed Ling had used that energy to nourish itself.

Because when he later tried attacking with Ling, it was no longer as weak as before. In an instant, it could melt a boulder, and its power could no longer be compared to what it had once been.

Ling's spirituality had visibly become far stronger than before.

After Ling devoured the two Beast Flames, Xiao Ming could also formally draw energy from within Ling to fight enemies.

Furthermore, the second method of cultivating the Spirit Nourishing Technique was itself an Earth Tier cultivation method. The Dou Qi stored within his body was enough that even if several Da Dou Shi of the same level surrounded and attacked him, he would not need to fear running out of Dou Qi.

Xiao Ming summoned the Peach Blossom Flame instead of the Azure Crystal Flame at this moment because, compared to the latter—

the Peach Blossom Flame was much gentler and had been easier to tame.

Naturally, in terms of flame temperature and destructive power, it was still somewhat inferior to the Azure Crystal Flame.

But it was perfect for setting the inn ablaze.

It could gently wake everyone up while avoiding flames so fierce that they might accidentally injure the "allies."

Xiao Ming swept his arm, and the pink flame lightly streaked through the air before landing on the door diagonally opposite his room.

In an instant, the pink flames spread, rapidly expanding.

Seeing this, Xiao Ming nodded in satisfaction.

He returned to the bed, picked up the black robe hanging at the headboard and draped it over himself. Dou Qi flowed within his body, and with a flicker, he had already disappeared from the room.

Thanks to Yun*Chen for two monthly passes, Deep Magic Flame and aaa xolleo for one each. Thanks to Straight Man Destined to Have No Love for the reward.

And thank you all for your Recommendation Tickets.