Was that a smile?!
Kui Bing's heart nearly stopped beating at that moment.
He smiled.
He really smiled.
He was tempted!
A surge of wild, ecstatic electricity shot from Kui Bing's tailbone to the crown of his head.
He'd bet right!
He'd bet right!
A rogue cultivator was still a rogue cultivator. No matter how powerful, he couldn't resist the allure of an ancient race's deep resources.
Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow.
Heavenly One Divine Water.
Top-tier cultivation techniques.
The status of an honored guest.
These were all bargaining chips he couldn't refuse.
The trembling in Kui Bing's body gradually subsided.
The fear in his eyes was replaced by a light called hope.
As long as he brought him back to the clan, everything would be over.
The Old Ancestors would take care of everything.
The opportunities he possessed would eventually belong to the Water Origin Spirit Race.
They'd belong to me, Kui Bing!
"Senior... you..."
Kui Bing was about to say something to cement this hard-won "success."
But the curve of Shen Fan's lips disappeared.
It vanished so quickly that Kui Bing thought he'd imagined it.
In its place was a near-total calm.
No greed.
No interest.
Not even the indifferent, as-if-watching-a-show attitude from before.
It was amusement.
The kind of amusement one felt when looking at a clown!
The wild joy in Kui Bing's heart froze instantly.
A chill, deeper and purer than before, erupted from the depths of his soul.
Something was wrong.
Completely wrong!
He understood now.
That hadn't been a smile of interest.
It was... pity.
The pity one felt watching a clown perform with all his might onstage, knowing the curtain was about to fall.
"No..."
The word caught in Kui Bing's throat.
He wanted to run.
He wanted to beg for mercy.