Come, Let's Play a Game

With a "creak."

The door in the artificial hill was opened.

Xu Dalong led the way in front with a face full of eager attentiveness, then stopped before Ye Chen and pointed at him. "Third Young Master, this stupid brat is that Ye Chen."

After saying that, Xu Dalong barked at Ye Chen, "The Third Young Master is before you. Why aren't you hurrying to pay your respects?"

Ye Chen remained seated cross-legged on the ground, eyes lowered to his nose, nose aligned with his heart, and said blandly, "What Third Young Master, Fifth Young Master? I don't know him."

After saying that, Ye Chen continued sitting there, his expression as normal as ever.

To him, so what if the person before him was a child of a Long-lived aristocratic family? He was confident that with Qing'er by his side, his future was boundless, and he would surely surpass everyone from ancient times to the present!

A mere aristocratic-family scion was not worth him standing up for! "Impudent!"

Xu Dalong flew into a rage at once, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to teach Ye Chen a lesson.

"Enough. You may leave."

Chen Zhixing glanced at Xu Dalong, and after Xu Dalong left, Chen Zhixing's gaze swept across Ye Chen's face, then landed on that Rusty Ancient Sword.

He slowly narrowed his eyes.

"Longevity Sword Qing Zhi?" Chen Zhixing said.

In an instant, Ye Chen, who had still been able to keep his face calm, instantly changed expression.

He shot to his feet with a "teng" and looked at Chen Zhixing in shock and suspicion. "What did you just say?"

Chen Zhixing did not reply. Instead, the light in his eyes flickered slightly.

Memories of the plot from the "Great Cultivation" game in his previous life immediately surged up.

If he remembered correctly, in one of the nine main storylines of that game in his previous life, one Destined Protagonist had originally been nothing but trash. As a result, he stumbled into the Ancient Ruins and obtained the Divine Sword Qingzhi; after that, once he met wind and clouds, he transformed into a dragon. With guidance from the sword spirit within the Divine Sword Qingzhi, he rose in the Cultivation World from then on, and finally attained the position of Sword God! For Chen Zhixing, who had opened a god's-eye view in his previous life, he knew very clearly in his heart.

In truth, this Destined Protagonist was very weak. The one who was truly strong was the Longevity Sword Spirit within that Divine Sword Qingzhi!

Back then, many classic quotes about this Longevity Sword Spirit had been widely circulated.

Where is your home? Point me in the direction. I'll only strike once.

Qing'er is invincible; the protagonist can do whatever.

The protagonist can be scrubbed clean, but Qing'er must live!

From this, one could see just how powerful and popular this Longevity Sword Spirit was! "In other words, this guy is the Destined Protagonist?"

Chen Zhixing's eyes shifted, and he looked again at Ye Chen, whose face was full of shock and uncertainty.

When Ye Chen saw Chen Zhixing's gaze fall on him again, he immediately snorted coldly. "I don't care who you are, nor do I care how you learned news of Qing'er. I'll give you two choices."

"If you leave quickly now, I can pretend nothing happened just now. Otherwise, you are walking the path to death!"

"The path to death?"

Chen Zhixing laughed. It seemed this guy really was that Destined Protagonist, no mistake.

With a "swish," he closed the White Folding Fan in his hand. His long, clear eyes slowly narrowed, and he said with a smile that was not quite a smile, "Then I'll also give you a choice. Hand over this ancient sword, and I'll let you leave. How about it?"

As soon as these words fell, Ye Chen immediately flew into a rage. "You dare set your sights on Qing'er? You're courting death!"

Bang bang bang! The Shackles on his hands and feet all snapped apart.

Ye Chen shouted, "Qing'er, attack!"

Whoosh! That ancient sword instantly soared into the air, releasing terrifying sword qi.

Sword qi crisscrossed the entire hall!

Dense cracks instantly split open across the bluestone walls of the entire prison cell! "Die!"

Ye Chen reached out and pressed down hard.

That ancient sword immediately stabbed viciously toward Chen Zhixing! Ding—! A crisp sound rang out.

Chen Zhixing casually swept the folding fan in his hand, instantly sending that ancient sword flying hard away. Its tip stabbed half a foot diagonally into the ground, and the sword hilt shook wildly.

"Ye... Ye Chen, this person's cultivation is profound. At the very least, he's in the Spirit Wandering Realm!"

"I've only just awakened. I'm not his match."

"Run, quickly."

A tired female voice rang out in Ye Chen's mind.

Ye Chen was instantly stunned. He had never expected that Qing'er, who had never failed before, would actually be no match for a half-grown youth.

He reacted swiftly, picked up Divine Sword Qingzhi, stamped his right foot hard on the ground, and instantly shot into the sky, preparing to flee.

"Did I allow you to leave?"

Chen Zhixing narrowed his long, slender eyes and smiled faintly.

"Innate One Qi Hand!"

Rumble—!!

In an instant, a Golden Giant Hand condensed out of thin air and came crashing down!

The Golden Giant Hand was enormous, so massive that the clear palm lines in its center could even be seen.

The moment the giant hand pressed down from above, it was like it blotted out the sky and covered the sun, directly sealing off every inch of space around him.

Ye Chen's expression changed. He had no time to react at all; he only managed to lift his head and look up before the Golden Giant Hand had already filled his entire field of vision and slammed down heavily!

Boom!!! The earth split open, bricks and stones flew, and wood splinters scattered everywhere.

His entire body was smashed viciously into the ground by that great hand, and the moment he opened his mouth, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

He still wanted to move, but the great hand had already swiftly lifted again, then came slapping down once more.

Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang!!! One muffled impact after another rang out, and even the earth kept trembling.

After the great hand dispersed, the entire prison cell had become a shocking sight, shattered into pieces.

Ye Chen lay limp on the ground like a puddle of rotten mud, more than half the bones in his body broken.

Beside him, that Rusty Ancient Sword had likewise dimmed to the extreme, letting out a low, mournful cry.

Chen Zhixing walked forward step by step, bent down, grabbed Ye Chen by his disheveled hair, and lifted half his body off the ground.

The next moment.

He brought Ye Chen's head up before his own mouth and smiled faintly.

"Come on. Let's play a game now."

"Either you hand this sword over to me, then tell me where you obtained it."

"I'll let you leave, and I'll also give you a top-tier cultivation method that can at least take you straight into the Spirit Wandering Realm, along with ten Beautiful Concubines and Enchanting Consorts, and one Spirit Wandering Weapon."

"Or."

Chen Zhixing said softly, "You choose to die rather than yield. Then I'll crush your bones one by one, peel off your human skin, and hang it by the city wall to dry in the wind, leaving it for birds to peck and ants to gnaw."

"I'd like to see whether your bones are harder, or the torture implements our Ziwei's Chen Clan specially uses to torment people are harder."

"Believe me. I can absolutely make it so that even dying easily becomes difficult for you."

His words fell.

Chen Zhixing let go, allowing Ye Chen to crash straight down onto the ground.

"Come on, I'll give you ten breaths. Tell me your answer."

In an instant.

Ye Chen, lying facedown on the ground, had an intense look of struggle surge across his face.

"Ten."

"Nine."

"Eight."

"..."

Seeing that Chen Zhixing truly had begun counting the time, the struggle on Ye Chen's face was instantly and rapidly replaced by terror.

"Ye Chen, don't believe him. This man is ruthless and vicious, absolutely no good sort! As long as you tell him about those Ruins, he'll definitely kill you at once!"

"If you don't tell him, he won't kill you for the time being instead! That way, there will still be a thread of Life Force!"

The ancient sword trembled, and that exhausted female voice kept ringing out inside Ye Chen's mind.

In an instant, Ye Chen's original terror transformed back into struggle.

"Mm? Communicating, are you?"

Chen Zhixing's eyes gradually narrowed as he looked toward Divine Sword Qingzhi.