Hero Saves the Beauty

Liu Ding smiled without getting angry and said leisurely, "So after adding two hundred gold coins, every part of this Snow Rhino belongs entirely to me now. I can do whatever I want with it?"

"Of course. Even its shit is yours," a mercenary suddenly joked, winking.

"Oh, is that so? Thanks." Liu Ding bent down and reached into the Snow Rhino's belly, pulling out the small oilcloth bundle. He gave it a shake and smiled. "I only want this oilpaper package. You can take the shit and trade it for drinking money."

"This..." The two mercenaries were instantly dumbfounded. Many people used all sorts of strange methods to hide martial skills, pills, and other treasures for fear of being robbed. Looking at the small oilcloth bundle, it had most likely been stuffed directly into the Snow Rhino's mouth. No wonder they had hunted this Snow Rhino so easily—it had already been subdued by someone.

Just as Liu Ding turned around, one of the mercenaries suddenly shouted, "Stop!"

The corner of his mouth curved upward. With a slight gesture from him, the two market guards following nearby immediately stepped forward and blocked the two mercenaries, who were trying to go back on their word. "A deal is a deal. Do you not want to make a living here anymore?"

Having bought the beast blood and Gallstone Crystal he wanted, picked up a bargain, and shaken off his "followers," Liu Ding was in an excellent mood as he whistled his way off.

When he saw Zhi'er lingering at a jewelry stall near the end of the street, Liu Ding remembered that although she had taken human form, she did not have a single piece of jewelry on her. That was rather shabby, so his gaze fell upon the jewelry stall as well.

"Young master, looking to buy a necklace for your beloved?" The stall owner was an old, crafty merchant. Seeing Liu Ding's gaze linger for several moments on a natural necklace, he immediately picked it up. "This is a Pomegranate Crystal Necklace. Not only is it beautiful, but it can also calm the mind and nourish one's vital energy. Just one thousand gold coins."

"Fine, wrap it up." Liu Ding did not want to haggle over a gift for Zhi'er. He even felt that one thousand gold coins was a little cheap, but he was out of money.

"Who are you? Let go of me!"

Just as the stall owner was wrapping it up, Zhi'er's startled cry came from the end of the street. A man in yellow had grabbed her little hand.

"Stop! Let go of that girl!" Liu Ding realized that what he had shouted sounded far too much like something from another world, so he rushed over. Before he even arrived, he lunged forward and threw a killing punch.

Boom!

The man in yellow swung a fist back at him, meeting his attack head-on. Yet before their fists collided, a wave of pale yellow soul energy erupted from the yellow-clad man's fist. Liu Ding was sent tumbling backward, rolling several times before hitting the ground and spraying out a mouthful of hot blood.

"What? Trying to play the hero and save the beauty?" The man in yellow sneered, looking down at Liu Ding with chilling indifference.

"Brother Liu Ding!" Zhi'er cried out as she struggled.

"Oh?" The man in yellow froze. Seeing the condemning looks all around him, he reluctantly released Zhi'er. She immediately rushed to Liu Ding's side, carefully helping him up and wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with her snow-white sleeve.

He could project soul energy—was he already a Law Soul Warrior? Although he could sense the yellow-clad man's strength, Liu Ding was not afraid in the slightest. He stared at him fiercely.

Amid the standoff, Liu Chengwen hurried over with a patrol squad and shouted, "Who dares cause trouble in the Liu Clan market? Behave yourselves and surrender at once, or be killed without mercy!"

"You dare arrest me?" the man in yellow said coldly, his gray, murky eyes meeting Liu Chengwen's.

Though this man was not very old, seeming to be only in his early twenties, his gray eyes carried an eerie air. Liu Chengwen was stunned and cried out, "Stone Heart Eyes? You're Shi Zhongyu, the Stone Clan's eldest young master?"

This god of slaughter was an extraordinary figure of the Stone Clan, one of Chixian's four great families. He possessed the terrifying Stone Heart Eyes, which could see whether crystal ore lay hidden within mines. The Stone Clan had risen through mining crystal ore, so Shi Zhongyu, who possessed Stone Heart Eyes, was the Stone Clan's

cherished genius descendant.

"Young Master Ding, what should we do..." Liu Chengwen felt a wave of bitterness in his heart as he looked toward Liu Ding.

Cough! Liu Ding spat out another mouthful of blood. Supported by Zhi'er's little hand, he stood up and saw the bruised redness where her hand had been gripped. Rage filled his chest. Zhi'er was his weak spot. How could he swallow this insult after she had been harassed in broad daylight? He held out his hand to Liu Chengwen. "Uncle Cheng Wen, please give me a Black Tortoise Soul Forging Pill."

Shi Zhongyu snorted contemptuously. "I thought you had some arrogant backing. You're only a Four-Vessel Martial Apprentice. Even if you swallowed ten Black Tortoise Soul Forging Pills, I could still crush you into pulp."

Liu Ding was the clan leader's grandson, so Liu Chengwen naturally would not let him take such a risk. Instead of giving Liu Ding a Black Tortoise Soul Forging Pill, he took out a Cauldron King Soul Forging Pill and swallowed it with gritted teeth. At the same time, he shouted, "Liu Clan disciples, heed my command! Take the Soul Forging Pills at once and defend the clan's honor!"

"Yes!" The Liu Clan guard squad behind him roared like tigers and wolves, each taking out Soul Forging Pills of varying grades.

Shi Zhongyu's expression changed drastically. The Liu Clan might not have any Law Soul Warriors, but their Soul Forging Pills were terrifying. Once refined, a single pill could instantly raise one's realm by one to three levels. Liu Chengwen was already in the Seven Cauldrons Martial Apprentice Realm. After refining one pill, he would rise at least to the equivalent of a first-stage Law Soul Warrior. And there was also the fierce guard squad behind him.

Liu Chengwen let out a surging beastly roar. His entire body underwent a savage transformation, and soul energy erupted above his head, coiling like a vortex. At a glance, he had instantly risen to the realm of a Law Soul Warrior.

Primordial Power erupted. This was the Liu Clan's unique secret technique for instantly raising one's realm.

At the same time, the guards swallowed their Soul Forging Pills one after another. Every one of their realms soared, Primordial Power shrouding their bodies as their ferocious auras surged. They only awaited a single command from Liu Chengwen before fighting Shi Zhongyu, already a first-stage Law Soul Warrior, to the death.

"How dare you!" Shi Zhongyu's face twitched. His legs trembled faintly as he rasped out the words.

"Kneel and apologize to our Miss Zhi!" Now that he was riding a tiger and unable to dismount, Liu Chengwen could not afford to lose momentum.

"You are challenging my Stone Clan!" Shi Zhongyu still tried to resist stubbornly.

Clang! Liu Chengwen drew his sword, metal ringing sharply. "Once battle begins, it will not end until death!"

"You win." Shi Zhongyu's legs went weak, and he was about to kneel.

At that moment, a shout came from the distance. "Stop."

Two figures swept over at incredible speed. One of them reached out and caught Shi Zhongyu before he could collapse, saying, "Young Master Shi, you have been frightened."

The person before them was none other than Liu Ji, the Liu Clan's greatest genius. Shi Zhongyu straightened his back and immediately stood firm.

The other was Nie Zhengxu. He sternly berated Liu Chengwen, "You dared to provoke a conflict with the Stone Clan without authorization? Can you bear this responsibility?"

Liu Chengwen refused to accept it. "Shi Zhongyu acted outrageously. He harassed Miss Zhi on Liu Clan territory and even injured Young Master Ding. How could the Liu Clan show weakness?"

"Is that so? Are you sure it was not this idiot trying to show off?" Nie Zhengxu turned and secretly winked at Shi Zhongyu. "Young Master Shi, what exactly happened?"

Shi Zhongyu immediately understood and argued, "Elder Nie, this is a misunderstanding. Miss Liu Zhi nearly fell just now, and I presumptuously reached out to steady her. I did not expect this Liu Clan brother to attack me without asking what happened. I was forced to defend myself, which was why I injured him."

"Oh, so that was it." Nie Zhengxu looked coldly at Liu Chengwen. "So your brain filled with water, and you wanted to seize the chance to curry favor with the clan leader's foolish grandson? You intended to gang up on the Stone Clan's eldest young master, bullying the few with the many and provoking a conflict between the clans?"

Those words were truly shameless—shameless to the extreme.