Quick Kill

But whether he had been born from the Origin Stone or not, the changes left behind on these ores were worth examining.

Xu Huo kept his mental space confined to the area around him as he began selecting ores.

"Are those stones any good?" Ding Wei and Zhao Jiahua came over to take a look. They had traded in ore before and had a basic understanding of its quality. Zhao Jiahua even took out a testing tool, but after checking a few pieces, he lost interest.

Seeing that Xu Huo had no plans to leave just yet, Shangguan Xi and the others simply rested where they were and had something to eat.

"Bro, did you already know Brother Xu?" Zhao Jiahua asked Shangguan Xi.

Shangguan Xi glanced at him lazily. "What do you mean, 'Brother Xu'? He's forty."

"You can't tell." Zhao Jiahua's doubtful gaze shifted between him and Xu Huo. "Brother Xu doesn't seem like a player who just reached C-rank."

"Geniuses are naturally different from ordinary people." Shangguan Xi patted his shoulder, sounding rather smug. "Don't get discouraged. Maybe by the time you're forty, you'll be this good too."

Zhao Jiahua couldn't think of a thing to say. He knocked Shangguan Xi's hand away and simply sat a little farther off.

"He's an idiot. Why bother talking to him?" Because of their earlier grudge, Ding Wei had taken plenty of verbal abuse from Shangguan Xi along the way. "You have to hand it to him—a grown man who can run his mouth this much is something else."

Shangguan Xi stuffed the rest of his bread into his mouth in a few bites, then immediately retorted, "What's that supposed to mean? Sexist much?"

Ding Wei managed a strained smile. "I'm complimenting you. Whether it's a man or a woman,