Completely Give Up

"Uncle Jian, come, let's have a drink!"

A lone moon hung in the depths of the sky, while the chill wind made the patches of greenery curl slightly.

Inside a small pavilion atop a mountain in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, three figures raised their cups and drank together.

For this farewell banquet, they had tacitly agreed not to use Soul Power.

For Soul Masters of their level, this was the only way to experience what it felt like to get drunk.

At this moment, Ning Fengzhi, the sect master, seemed to have poor alcohol tolerance and had already drunk himself into a flush-cheeked state.

Even his words had unconsciously taken on a hint of drunkenness.

"Come, Uncle Jian. Fengzhi will offer you another cup. May you get what you wish for on this journey."

"Good!"

Though Chen Xin had not drunk as much as Ning Fengzhi, there was clearly a trace of intoxication in his eyes as well.

He reached for the wine jug, intending to refill the empty cup before him.

But no matter how many times he tilted it, not a drop of wine came out.

"It's empty? What a disappointment!"

Chen Xin had completely lost his usual cool demeanor. Seeing that the jug was empty, he viciously smashed it to the ground.

With a sharp crack, the ceramic jar shattered into countless fragments that scattered across the ground.

Seeing this, Ning Fengzhi lowered his head slightly, his clouded eyes suddenly flashing with an unusual glint.

"Uncle Jian, such a small matter isn't worth getting angry over. Come, Fengzhi still has wine. Drink as much as you like!"

As he spoke, the storage ring on Ning Fengzhi's hand flashed, and an identical wine jar appeared in his grasp.

"Come, Uncle Jian, I'll fill your cup!"

Ning Fengzhi swayed as he stood. As he bent to pour the wine, his drunken movements caused quite a bit of it to spill out.

"Come, Uncle Bone, Uncle Jian, let's empty this cup!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the three raised their cups together. The wine gleaming beneath the moonlight flowed smoothly down their throats and into their bodies.

"Fine wine!"

Chen Xin praised it enthusiastically, lifted the jar, poured himself another cup, and drained it in one go.

"Why have you stopped drinking? There's still wine here. Keep drinking!"

"No. We've already finished ours. This jar... was specially reserved for you."

As Chen Xin drank alone, Ning Fengzhi spoke in a calm voice, his words sounding especially baffling.

Then, he took out a handkerchief and wiped his wine-soaked hands before slowly rising to his feet. There was no trace of drunkenness left on his face.

"Uncle Bone, do it!"

As the wine-soaked handkerchief fell to the ground, Ning Fengzhi gave a light command devoid of any emotion.

"Yes!"

The moment those words fell, Gu Rong swiftly rose and stepped forward without the slightest hesitation.

A flash of resentment crossed his eyes. One hand formed into a claw as he decisively struck at Chen Xin's throat.

"Hm? Gu Rong? What are you trying to do?!"

Chen Xin, who had only just snapped awake, sobered by more than half in an instant.

Seeing the bone claw already within reach, he immediately flipped nimbly backward and retreated to the edge of the pavilion.

"Oh? You managed to dodge that? It seems Uncle Jian's luck is quite good."

Ning Fengzhi slowly walked to Gu Rong's side. Faced with Chen Xin's disbelieving gaze, his expression remained calm.

"Ning! Fengzhi! You want to kill me?!"

The fury in Chen Xin's eyes seemed ready to erupt as he stared fixedly at Ning Fengzhi, as though demanding an explanation.

"That's right. You want to go to the Star-Plucking Tower, and sooner or later, I will have a battle with them. I cannot let you return to them."

"The best solution I could think of was to keep you here forever. Only then might my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect have a chance of escaping this calamity."

Ning Fengzhi's tone was utterly frank, as though he did not believe he had done anything wrong.

Either way, there would be losses, but at least this way, their loss would not become the other side's gain and widen the gap between them and the Star-Plucking Tower even further.

"I told you! I would mediate the relationship between both sides with Tower Master Qin! Why..."

Chen Xin looked utterly unlike his usual self. His hair hung loose over his shoulders, and he was like an enraged lion driven completely into a corner.

"Enough. Don't waste your breath. Reconciliation between us is impossible."

Before Chen Xin could finish, Ning Fengzhi cut him off. It was clear that he no longer wished to delay this any further.

"The time is about right. The drug should be taking effect. You can feel it too, can't you?"

"I put something in that final jar of wine. Though its effect on a Titled Douluo is limited..."

"But I estimate that for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, you won't be able to use your Soul Power."

"So there's no need to struggle. Uncle Bone, give him a quick death."

"Gu Rong?"

Watching Gu Rong, his body encircled by white bones, walk toward him, Chen Xin's expression suddenly seemed to calm completely.

"Are you going to kill me too?"

"Fengzhi has shown me kindness. Without him, I wouldn't have come this far."

"Besides... you went too far!"

As he spoke, Gu Rong suddenly raised the hand that only had half a palm left, his eyes brimming with venomous hatred.

"My hand ended up like this because of him. How could you expect me to accept you joining his Star-Plucking Tower?"

As he spoke, Gu Rong steadily closed in on Chen Xin.

By the time he finished speaking, Chen Xin had nowhere left to retreat.

"Enough. Go in peace. Only the two of us will know of your death."

"Your prestige will be enough to protect the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect for a few more years. By then, we'll already have found a new way out."

"Haha, hahahaha!!!"

"Good! You all want to kill me? Very good indeed!"

Under Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong's uncertain, startled gazes, Chen Xin suddenly burst into loud laughter.

His laughter was filled with desolation.

Hearing that laughter, Ning Fengzhi, who had been so confident in his plans, suddenly felt an inexplicable unease rise within him.

"Uncle Bone!"

Gu Rong immediately understood. Raising both hands, he caused bone spikes to erupt from the ground and shoot straight at Chen Xin.

"You... have disappointed me too deeply!"

The light in Chen Xin's eyes dimmed completely.

The next moment, he flicked his hand, and the Seven Kill Sword appeared in his palm.

At the same time, under Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong's disbelieving gazes, nine Spirit Rings as dazzling as suns slowly rose into the air.

"Impossible!!! Didn't you already drink the medicine? How can you still summon your martial soul???"

Ning Fengzhi's expression was as terrified as could be.

He had clearly watched Chen Xin drink the wine himself. How could he be completely unaffected now?

"Surprised?"

Chen Xin's tone had become incomparably cold, his quiet voice especially calm.

"Ning Fengzhi, I watched you grow up. Did you really think your little schemes could fool me?"

"You knew all along... then why..."

Ning Fengzhi's expression froze at once as he stared blankly at Chen Xin and asked.

"Because I wanted to see whether you could truly bring yourself to do something like this, so that I could... give up completely!"