This Is Way Too Inflated

"Ha ha ha..."

Xu Shan's voice rang through the stockade, and everyone saw him flying high in the air.

"Spirit Profound Realm?" Ma Hongyun stared at Xu Shan in shock.

Xu Shan hovered in the air. "Ma Hongyun, I admit that I poisoned and killed Big Brother. I also admit that I coveted Big Brother's treasures. But the facts have proven that I was right. I've now broken through to the Spirit Profound Realm! Ha ha ha..."

Everyone in the stockade heard his words. The villagers who had originally believed him were struck as if by lightning, frozen on the spot.

Ma Hongyun roared angrily, "Bastard, don't get cocky! My lord is still here!"

"To hell with this so-called lord! Isn't he just a Spirit Profound expert? Now I am too! If I want to run, can he stop me?" Xu Shan said with utter arrogance.

After breaking through to the Spirit Profound Realm, he had become swollen with pride—swollen beyond measure.

But Zhou Hao was not in the Spirit Profound Realm. He was in the Spiritual Awareness Realm. And even if he had been in the Spirit Profound Realm, he was not someone Xu Shan, who had only just broken through, could compare to.

After showing off, Xu Shan immediately wanted to flee. Though he claimed he was not afraid of Zhou Hao, he was still quite panicked inside.

However, having just broken through, he was unfamiliar with flying through the air. After flying for a while, he plunged headfirst downward and crashed into the ground.

He quickly flew up again, only to find that Zhou Hao had somehow already been waiting above him.

The moment Xu Shan saw Zhou Hao, he immediately fled, not forgetting to turn back and sneer as he ran.

"So you're the..."

Zhou Hao had already caught up to him and drove a fist straight into his face.

Xu Shan's voice came to an abrupt halt. His body fell in a straight line into the stockade, smashing a huge pit into the ground.

The villagers surged over and gathered around the pit.

Zhou Hao patted his hands and slowly descended from the air.

Seeing him come down, the villagers all stepped aside and made room for him.

Zhou Hao looked into the pit. Xu Shan crawled out of it in a miserable state, but when he saw Zhou Hao looking down at him from the edge, he was so frightened that he shrank back in at once.

"Come out." Zhou Hao's voice was calm and unruffled.

Xu Shan shuddered all over involuntarily, then awkwardly crawled back out.

Zhou Hao asked, "How did you dare provoke me?"

"I... I didn't dare." Xu Shan had truly lost his nerve this time.

He had thought that once he broke through to the Spirit Profound Realm, he would no longer fear Zhou Hao. Yet reality proved that he feared him even more now, because he understood the gap between himself and Zhou Hao far more clearly.

Ma Hongyun came over as well. He first respectfully greeted Zhou Hao, then immediately began cursing Xu Shan viciously.

Xu Shan no longer had any of the arrogance he had shown after his breakthrough. He had just personally admitted to poisoning Shi Po to death, and no one believed him anymore.

He suddenly felt that what he had done just now was truly idiotic.

"I'll fucking kill you!" Ma Hongyun could no longer hold back. He drew his blade and wanted to chop Xu Shan down.

"Wait. Let him explain the whole matter first. After that, you can deal with him however you want," Zhou Hao said.

Although the murderer had been confirmed beyond doubt, they still needed to know how and why it had happened.

The moment Ma Hongyun heard Zhou Hao speak, he immediately nodded ingratiatingly. "Yes, my lord."

Then, when he turned to Xu Shan, his expression changed in an instant. He kicked Xu Shan and roared, "Explain the whole thing clearly!"

"Why should I explain? I'm going to die anyway. What difference does it make whether I say it or not? Ha ha ha..." Xu Shan laughed madly.

Zhou Hao spoke calmly. "If you talk, you can die easily. If you don't, you can only be tortured to death. I'll start by breaking your fingers one by one. Once your fingers are done, I'll break your hands. After the left hand comes the right. Once your hands are gone, I'll break your feet. Once your feet are gone, I'll slice your body with blade after blade. Don't worry, you won't die that easily. Then I'll use salt to dress your wounds. Tsk... that feeling will make you instantly wide awake."

He had merely described the process Murong had used to torture Wu Tianming while she was possessed by demons. He did not actually dare do such a thing.

But merely hearing it was terrifying enough. Xu Shan trembled violently from fright.

Ma Hongyun, listening from the side, felt his scalp go numb. He looked at Zhou Hao in horror. He had never expected Zhou Hao to be so ruthless. One truly could not judge a person by appearance!

Zhou Hao suddenly shouted, "Are you going to talk or not?"

Xu Shan trembled all over in terror and nodded repeatedly. "I'll... I'll talk. I'll talk."

Zhou Hao smiled in satisfaction. It was best if Xu Shan was willing to confess honestly. It would even save him a Truth Serum Pill. Still, he had rather wanted to test the pill's effects.

So that he could be mentally prepared when Murong fed him a Truth Serum Pill in the future.

But since Xu Shan was willing to confess on his own, there was no need to waste it. That was money!

Seeing Xu Shan dawdling, Ma Hongyun kicked him again and shouted, "Hurry up and talk!"

Xu Shan nodded repeatedly, then began his account.

This matter had to begin with the Tomb of Opportunities. Xu Shan and Shi Po had gone out on business, and on their way back, they happened to encounter a Level Three Tomb of Opportunities opening.

Since they had come across such an opportunity, Shi Po and the others naturally would not let it pass. They entered without the slightest hesitation.

The moment they entered, the Tomb of Opportunities randomly separated them. After some time, they emerged from it.

Xu Shan asked Shi Po what he had obtained. Shi Po said that he had received a Mysterious Grade Low Rank Pill to Break Limits, which could allow him to break through to the Mystic Body Realm.

Afterward, Shi Po asked Xu Shan what he had obtained. Xu Shan said that he had gotten an ordinary weapon, nothing useful.

In truth, he had lied. What he had obtained was not an ordinary weapon, but a bottle of poison called Three Hour Powder. Anyone poisoned by it would suffer a fatal outbreak three hours later.

When Xu Shan obtained the poison, he had already entertained thoughts of killing Shi Po. For all these years, he had had enough of this life of merely collecting protection fees. He wanted to return to robbery, because they could earn far more that way.

And to return to the life of bandits, Shi Po first had to be eliminated. After all, Shi Po had been the first to establish the practice of collecting protection fees.

Xu Shan, who had originally been hesitating, instantly firmed up his resolve when he learned that Shi Po had obtained a Mysterious Grade Low Rank Pill to Break Limits.

He wanted to kill Shi Po, seize the Pill to Break Limits, and conveniently restore the stockade to its bandit ways.

Later, while Xu Shan and Shi Po were drinking, Xu Shan secretly slipped the poison into Shi Po's wine.

After Shi Po drank it, the poison would flare up and kill him three hours later.

During that time, Xu Shan deliberately had Heizi bring over dishes, all so that he could frame Heizi afterward.

After Shi Po died from the poison, Xu Shan secretly avoided everyone and went to Shi Po's room, where he took the Pill to Break Limits from Shi Po's Ring of Holding.

Then he threatened Heizi, claiming that he had captured his mother, and showed him a lock of hair.

The moment Heizi saw it, his defenses shattered. He had always been an honest and filial man, and he was not particularly sharp-minded. Seeing that the hair looked extremely similar to his mother's, he could only agree to cooperate with Xu Shan.

In fact, Xu Shan had gotten that hair from an old woman outside. It looked very much like Heizi's mother's hair. He had never kidnapped Heizi's mother at all.

Afterward, Heizi was framed and killed by Xu Shan. Then Xu Shan began acting, saying that he would risk his life against Tiger Fiend Stockade to avenge Big Brother. It had all been an act.

As for where the Pill to Break Limits had been hidden, it had actually been inside Xu Shan's stomach all along, wrapped in a special substance.

Because there had been so much going on these past few days, he had been unable to refine it. It was only after he was locked in the dungeon that he found the time.

After refining it, he directly broke through from the Mystic Extreme Triple Stage to the Spirit Profound Second Stage. The Pill to Break Limits was even more effective than he had imagined, which made him a little swollen with pride.

After that, Zhou Hao beat him until he doubted his entire life.

After hearing the whole story, Zhou Hao fell silent for a moment. How should he put it?

Xu Shan was neither particularly clever nor particularly stupid. His plan had not been flawless either. It was only because the people of the stockade believed too deeply in the false image he had presented that few had suspected him.

Zhou Hao shrugged. Today had also taught him a lesson: one could know a person's face, but not their heart. Especially those who looked honest and simple—sometimes they could be more ruthless than anyone.

He looked at Ma Hongyun. "Handle it yourself. I won't interfere."

Ma Hongyun and the villagers immediately swarmed forward, each kicking and stomping Xu Shan until he was kicked to death alive.

Xu Shan had not expected to die in such a way. What happened to dying easily?