Nor Underestimate

The flames burned fiercely.

Amidst the scorching air, a giant tree slowly tilted and smashed into the ground with a bang, and the splashing sparks caused even more chaos.

The Eight-Legged Spider leader let out a sharp screech that practically pierced human eardrums.

This was its territory, its home, and now it was burned clean. Everything before its eyes made it extremely furious.

Unlike ordinary Eight-Legged Spiders, it was not afraid of flames, and its spider silk had also undergone a qualitative improvement, completely unafraid of burning.

The culprit was right before its eyes, and it wanted to pour all its rage onto these two people!

Zi Di had already been trapped by the spider web, and she only possessed Black Iron aura, so she was not worth worrying about.

The only one of concern was Zhen Jin.

The aura of this youth—the Eight-Legged Spider leader could not quite gauge it either.

The Eight-Legged Spider leader cast all its killing intent over Zhen Jin's body.

The spider silk it shot toward Zhen Jin grew increasingly numerous.

At first, only the spear and the youth's hands were bound by the spider silk, but soon layers upon layers of spider silk wrapped around Zhen Jin's entire body, even beginning to cover his ears and nose.

If at this moment, there had been a dagger to cut the spider silk, Zhen Jin could have broken free from such a predicament.

But there was none!

Huang Zao had possessed the chance to throw the dagger over, but he had not!

Therefore, Zhen Jin had plunged into a desperate situation.

A sharp weapon was the key to breaking free at this moment.

Or if that longsword from earlier had been in Zhen Jin's hands, facing such a situation, resolving it would have been very easy.

Even without the longsword, a scimitar would have done.

In short, anything other than a battle spear.

Zhen Jin exerted sudden force within the spider web; he had not given up yet!

Although his strength had increased, it was still far from reaching the limit of what the spider web could bear, failing to break free.

The result of the attempt made Zhen Jin feel a trace of despair.

If he could not break free with all his might, then there was basically no hope. Thrashing around wildly would only make the spider silk bind him tighter and tighter, just like sinking into quicksand; valueless attempts would only make death arrive faster.

Zhen Jin remained motionless, his thoughts flashing rapidly, attempting to find a brilliant method to break free.

Layers of spider silk enveloped him, and looking at the youth who seemed to have resigned himself to his fate, the Eight-Legged Spider leader deliberately leaned close to the youth's face. On the upper end of the ferocious mouthparts, there were a dozen or so eyeballs piled densely together.

The spider eyeballs all stared at Zhen Jin, its mouthparts opening and closing slightly, emitting squeaking sounds as if the spider leader were sneering at Zhen Jin!

It wanted to thoroughly ravage this youth, it wanted to pierce him through and let his blood drain dry; at the same time, it also wanted to inject spider venom into Zhen Jin's body, watching the venom erode him, watching the youth begin to rot bit by bit from the inside out, and finally it would suck down the youth who had rotted into a puddle entirely, without leaving a single bit, filling them all into its belly.

This was the consequence of offending it!

Zhen Jin did not struggle, gritting his teeth and forced to lock gazes with the spider leader.

The two sides were face-to-face, so close the distance was only a few steps.

The spider leader raised its foremost two feelers, the slender tips of the feelers sharp as spears or swords, easily piercing through the spider web.

Immediately afterward, Zhen Jin groaned softly, feeling the two feelers act like daggers as they attempted to pierce inward from his back.

The chain mail played its role, resisting these two feelers.

Such an obstruction only further infuriated the spider leader.

It yanked the spider silk fiercely, instantly shortening the distance between Zhen Jin and itself until the width between their eyes was practically only a palm's breadth.

Screech—!

The spider leader's mouthparts opened wide, and a strong wave of acidic, putrid stench sprayed onto Zhen Jin's face.

At the same time, a large amount of green, viscous liquid, like drool, flowed out from its mouthparts.

Zhen Jin widened his eyes, almost thinking the spider leader was going to devour his head in one bite!

But the next moment, the spider leader slightly relaxed its strength again, its mouthparts pulling back as it shook its head and waggled its tail at Zhen Jin.

Zhen Jin actually saw a playful and tyrannical smile on the spider's face.

A wave of icy coldness pierced his heart, and he immediately understood: the spider before him purely wanted to terrify him, torture him, groom him slowly, and let him fully experience the pain. To hear his screams and wails, to watch him struggle and step into death step by step, inch by inch!

The pressure on the chain mail grew greater and greater until it finally reached the limit; the chain mail could no longer hold out, pierced through by the spider's sharp feelers.

The latter smoothly stabbed into Zhen Jin's flesh and skin.

The youth first felt a chill, followed by the onslaught of agony.

Beyond the intense pain, there was also unmitigated terror.

Zhen Jin could clearly sense the subsequent path of those two feelers. After they pierced the outermost layer of flesh and skin, one feeler continued deeper at a very slow speed, beginning to endanger the youth's internal organs. Meanwhile, the other encountered an obstruction, hitting a rib.

The spider leader continued exerting force, and Zhen Jin's ribs only obstructed it slightly before snapping apart.

"Ah!" Pain washed over him, and Zhen Jin could not help but let out a low roar, his handsome features distorting in an instant.

The flames continued to burn, the firelight reflecting on Zhen Jin's face, making the youth at this moment look as ferocious as a devil.

The spider leader quietly appreciated it, the dozen-odd eyeballs perfectly mirroring the youth's expression at this moment. But what disappointed the spider leader somewhat was that it did not perceive any emotion of cowardice or entreaty from Zhen Jin—only rage and hatred!

The fire burning within Zhen Jin's heart burned even more fiercely than the surrounding forest fire.

"Ah-ah-ah!" Under the spider leader's torture, he let out successive low roars.

His head felt as though it was about to split open, and a brand-new memory abruptly surfaced.

The Martial Arts Arena was surrounded by people.

The duel in the Martial Arts Arena had also reached its conclusion.

"Truly worthy of being a former major southern aristocrat!" A youth was forced into a corner.

He carried injuries upon his body, some wounds deep enough to reveal bone, looking extremely wretched.

It was Temple Knight Qing Kui.

His opponent was a middle-aged man with a pair of slender mustaches, completely unscathed. He slightly raised his head, leisurely and with composure, walking toward Qing Kui as if taking a stroll.

Zhen Jin discovered that he was among the watching crowd, nervously looking at the two people in the arena.

His gaze was primarily focused on the middle-aged man.

Because this man was his father, the Hundred Needles Clan Leader!

And beside Zhen Jin, many Temple Knight colleagues were also crowding around; they were all familiar faces.

"Qing Kui, if you can't cut it, just admit defeat!"

"The opponent is too strong, you are still too young, and defeat is not shameful."

"Think about how you still have a younger sister, Qing Kui, don't be stubborn."

The young Temple Knights were all shouting.

Qing Kui's sister was also outside the arena, and at this moment her face was pale without a shred of color, her delicate body trembling like a pitiful little flower in a violent storm.

Qing Kui took a deep breath, swaying as he straightened his body, mustering all his strength to lift the longsword in his hand and once again face the Hundred Needles Clan Leader.

"Alas!" A heavy sigh escaped the crowd.

"This duel was proactively proposed by Qing Kui; getting a guy like him to actively admit defeat is simply harder than dragging a giant dragon backward."

"What can be done about this?"

"Even if Qing Kui voluntarily admits defeat, we still have to see if the Hundred Needles Clan Leader is willing to let him go."

"That's right, Qing Kui's father and grandfather both died in that battle, both dying at the hands of the Bai Zhen Family. The two families harbor too deep a hatred."

Qing Kui shouted aloud, launching another useless charge.

The Hundred Needles Clan Leader easily dodged, lightly agitating the thrusting sword in his hand to send Qing Kui's longsword spinning away.

Clang.

The longsword flew into mid-air, then fell to the ground, its sharp blade biting into the marble and planting itself behind Qing Kui.

The contrast in strength was extremely stark.

Qing Kui's sister could no longer bear it, pleading with the knight elder presiding over the duel in the arena: "Captain Uncle, I beg you, look at our two families' many years of affection, I beg you to make a move and save my brother."

This knight elder was none other than the captain of the Temple Knight Fifth Regiment.

He let out a cold snort, his expression displeased: "This is a sacred duel between knights! Fair and just, absolutely without partiality!"

He looked toward Qing Kui's sister, his gaze fierce: "I already attempted to rescue your brother, but as a member of my Fifth Regiment, he wouldn't even listen to the words of me, his captain, stubbornly insisting on challenging the Hundred Needles Clan Leader."

"Hmph, how old is he, and how much strength does he have? How much practical combat experience does he possess? He hasn't even completely successfully cultivated the Qing family's signature battle qi, Bronze Armor, yet he actually dares to challenge the Hundred Needles Clan Leader."

"Is this knightly bravery and fearlessness? This is having one's mind addled by the notion of revenge, it is sheer foolishness!"

"Therefore, you've seen it too. The Hundred Needles Clan Leader employed the battle technique Thousand Needles Burst once, completely destroying your older brother's Bronze Armor."

"Thousand Needles Burst is the advancement of the Bai Zhen Family's signature battle technique Hundred Needles Wind, a move that can only be used by those with Gold-level cultivation. The empire knights who have died under this move number in the hundreds, if not a thousand. Even back then, I fell under this very move, having my heart pierced by the Bai Zhen Family's thrusting sword!"

"Your older brother Qing Kui did not abide by the creed of the Temple Knights; he abandoned bravery and violated endurance. This is him seeking his own destruction!"

"As the contemporary head of the Qing family, he must bear the consequences for his own recklessness. This is the price he ought to pay—even if that price is his life."

The Old Captain's merciless words left Qing Kui's sister completely powerless, causing her to instantly collapse and sit on the ground, covering her face and weeping.

The indignant young knights around them also fell silent due to the Old Captain's reprimand.

Only, their teeth clenched tighter, and their fists gripped harder.

The Hundred Needles Clan Leader glanced deeply at the Old Captain, once again closing in on Qing Kui. He said in an arrogant tone: "Clan Leader Qing Kui, what ability do you still intend to use for resistance? Do you still have battle qi?"

"Then, with my next move, I shall take your life." The Hundred Needles Clan Leader slowly raised his thrusting sword, the tip pointing vertically upward, practically touching the tip of his own nose.

"This will be the final act of your life. Therefore, open your eyes wide and watch carefully."

"Rest assured, using Thousand Needles Burst to kill you would be elevating you far too much; you are far inferior to your father and grandfather, and Hundred Needles Wind is most suitable to give you a burial."

"If you manage to survive this move by luck, then what harm is there in me sparing your little life?"

Finishing his words, the thrusting sword in the Hundred Needles Clan Leader's hand abruptly transformed into a dazzling flurry of sword shadows.

Qing Kui roared with rage, having waited precisely for this moment.

The battle qi remaining within his body was urged out by him all at once, and amidst flashing blue light, it faintly formed the spear of a charging knight.

Boom!

The two sides collided, then brushed past one another.

An arm was sent flying into mid-air, spraying a flurry of fresh blood before dropping outside the arena.

The hand of that arm was still grasping a thrusting sword.

That was the sword-holding hand of the Hundred Needles Clan Leader!

The entire audience was shocked.

A dead silence reigned.

With a thud, Qing Kui collapsed onto the ground, unmoving.

As for the Hundred Needles Clan Leader, he used his left hand to clutch the wound severed almost level with his shoulder, his expression turning ugly to the extreme.

"Fa—Father!" Zhen Jin let out an exclamation, his voice trembling violently.

The Old Captain walked into the arena at this time, standing between the Hundred Needles Clan Leader and Qing Kui to separate the two.

His brows deeply furrowed, he stared at the middle-aged aristocrat with the severed arm with an extremely solemn expression: "Hundred Needles Clan Leader, words spoken during a duel are sacred oaths. The duel between you two has already ended."

The middle-aged man's pupils constricted as he stared fixedly at the unconscious Qing Kui, biting his teeth and letting his wound bleed continuously, his face filled with shock, rage, and hatred.

After a long while, he finally nodded slowly, and carrying a dense gloom and unwillingness, he staggered down the martial arts platform.

"Father!" Zhen Jin ran over in a sprint, supporting the Hundred Needles Clan Leader.

Cheers erupted like thunder all around; Qing Kui's sister wept tears of joy, the young Temple Knights shook their arms and shouted, and many passersby cried out in disbelief.

The middle-aged man glanced around, taking the surrounding scene into his eyes, yet his expression had already returned to calm: "My son, lift your head and look at me. Tell me, what is our family motto?"

"One must neither overestimate people nor underestimate people." Zhen Jin forced his head up, his tone carrying a sob.

"Very good, remember it, remember it firmly!" The Hundred Needles Clan Leader gritted his teeth and said fiercely.