Fear of Taotie's Death

Taotie?

Feng Jiu suddenly turned into a monster, giving Du Ge a start. What the hell was that?

Could an Advanced Skill really produce a divine beast?

Almost everyone fighting in the courtyard stopped. Whether or not they were affected by Fear of the Delicate, they all stared at the Taotie in horror.

This time, no proof was needed. Everyone believed that Feng Qi and the others really were Heavenly Demons. When had humans ever been able to turn into monsters?

The instant Wang San saw the Taotie, he spun around and ran, darting into the crowd like a gust of wind.

The Taotie pursued him without pause.

Wang San was ranked second in the Simulation Field, and his attributes were no slouch. He ran like the wind.

But after turning into a Taotie, Feng Jiu was just as fast, if not faster. And unlike Wang San, who weaved around the crowd, he charged straight through. Everyone he hit suffered broken bones, as if he really were the ferocious beast Taotie.

In the blink of an eye, he was right behind Wang San. He opened his jaws and lunged for Wang San's head.

Seeing Wang San in danger, Du Ge reacted at once. He thrust his sword toward the Taotie's rear, launching a Backstab.

Pfft!

In an instant,

Du Ge was right behind the Taotie, his sword, more than a meter long, buried all the way in its backside.

Everyone who witnessed the scene shuddered involuntarily.

Du Ge had no choice. It wasn't that he didn't want to stab somewhere else; the Taotie wasn't like a human. Its entire rear was covered in scales, and this was its only weak point. His combat instincts had guided him straight to the opening.

Ying!

The Taotie threw back its head and let out a babyish scream. Abandoning Wang San, who had been within its jaws, it spun around and swiped at Du Ge.

Du Ge retreated sharply, pulling his sword out of the Taotie's backside.

Ying!

Another scream.

The Taotie had completely forgotten its previous prey. Its eyes blazed as it lunged at Du Ge, clawing and biting. Blood dripped steadily from its rear.

Du Ge dodged several times, then seized an opening and swept his sword at its neck.

Clang!

Sparks flew. The sword's edge chipped, but the Taotie was unharmed.

At first, the Taotie panicked when the sword struck. Then delight appeared in its eyes. It roared and brought a claw down on Du Ge.

Du Ge dodged and tried to circle behind it, hoping to keep attacking its weak point. Having learned its lesson, the Taotie wouldn't let him. It followed Du Ge as fast as it could, turning in circles and keeping its head aimed at him.

After becoming a Taotie, Feng Jiu could just about keep up with Du Ge's speed. The man and beast ran circles around the courtyard, leaving two blurred afterimages.

Realizing he couldn't get through the Taotie's defenses, Du Ge couldn't help shouting, "Wang San!"

Wang San came to his senses, rubbed his head in lingering fear, and hurriedly called out, "My beloved Taotie, didn't you want to eat me? Come on, I'll let you! You were chasing me just now, so why are you running circles around someone else now..."

Fear of the Delicate could affect any living creature.

As soon as Wang San spoke, the Taotie jolted. It abandoned Du Ge and charged out of the courtyard.

The beast's instincts told it only to flee from the monster that frightened it.

Thrust!

Once it turned its back, it had no chance against Du Ge.

Pfft!

The sword struck its soft spot once more.

This time, even though it was in pain, Fear of the Delicate kept the Taotie from turning around to fight Du Ge. It screamed as it sprinted forward.

Du Ge stayed close behind, thrusting again and again.

Seeing the Taotie flee, Wang San hurried after them. He had to stay nearby.

Otherwise, Fear of the Delicate would stop working.

Seeing the two of them give chase, Feng Zhong, left alone, followed without hesitation, sword in hand.

His attributes had improved, but he had caused too little of a stir. Even at ninth place in the Simulation Field, he was no match for these martial artists. And he still had no attack skills.

If the men Feng Qi had coerced turned on him, he'd be the first one they killed.

A gentleman did not stand beneath a tottering wall. Now that his identity and Keyword had been exposed, his only option was to cling to Du Ge's powerful leg.

In the blink of an eye,

the three men and the beast had rushed out of the courtyard and onto the street.

With Wang San no longer suppressing them, the others regained their senses.

The sudden appearance of a ferocious beast had overturned everything they knew about the world.

Han Zuo looked at Gao Yong and hesitated before saying, "Daoist Gao, how about you let us go?"

"Don't run. Join Feng Qi instead!" Gao Yong looked at Han Zuo and the others. Suddenly, he seemed to lose interest in fighting. He sheathed his sword and urged them, "You're no match for him. Opposing him means certain death. Surrender, and you might have a chance to live. With the Taotie appearing, the world really has changed."

With that,

Gao Yong ignored Han Zuo and the others, leaped onto the courtyard wall, and looked outside. Compared with the Iron Palm Sect, he was more concerned about what would happen to the Taotie.

Ding Wanjie, Nie Nong, and Xia Mingliang climbed onto the wall after him.

Han Zuo and the others exchanged glances. In the end, they didn't take the chance to escape.

The Taotie charged wildly through the street, making the townspeople scatter with shouts.

Du Ge followed behind it, stabbing it again and again.

He couldn't sleep easy if he let a thick-skinned beast like that escape.

The Taotie screamed and bled as it ran.

Wang San trailed them from a distance, shouting to keep the Taotie suppressed: "...You disgusting beast! Are you enjoying him stabbing you with his sword? Making such wanton noises in front of all these people..."

MMP!

Du Ge, chasing the Taotie, was speechless. You pervert, do you really have nothing decent to say?

Watching the bizarre group rush by, the onlookers were left dumbfounded. For a moment, the entire street fell silent.

The Spring Welcome House.

A petite maid stood on the second floor, watching the pitiful Taotie flee through the window as the ruthless Feng Qi chased it. She instinctively covered her backside and swallowed. Then she decided she didn't care about ranking in the Simulation Field anymore.

Staying in the Simulation Field until it ended would be just fine.

No, she should move to a city where Feng Qi wasn't.

Maintenance couldn't possibly produce an attack skill this vicious. Feng Qi's Keyword had to be something like lecherous or ruthless. Even a Keyword like that would probably only produce such an evil skill if he had done something similar before.

She absolutely couldn't stay in the same city as that pervert.

The commotion lasted only two minutes.

With its vital point badly injured, the Taotie fled frantically, then suddenly began to shrink, gradually returning to Feng Jiu's form.

Feng Jiu's clothes had burst when he became the Taotie. Once he returned to human form, he was left stark naked, his body covered in black Taotie markings. Blood welled from his rear, and he staggered as he ran.

Du Ge stopped chasing him. There was nothing wrong with attacking the Taotie's weak point, but stabbing a man's backside with a sword in the middle of the street seemed a little inhumane.

In the heat of the moment, he'd completely forgotten that Backstab could hit other places too.

When the Taotie markings grew fainter and finally disappeared from Feng Jiu's body, he could no longer hold on. He collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Du Ge held his sword at the ready, watching Feng Jiu, who was breathing his last. He didn't dare approach, worried he might unleash another ultimate move.

But he was overthinking it. Feng Jiu merely struggled to reach behind himself and touch the wound. Seeing the blood on his hand, he first looked stunned, then humiliated and furious. He struggled to lift his head and screamed, "Feng Qi, you and I are enemies for life! Don't let me find out who you are in the real world..."

"So what if you do? Do you dare tell anyone in the real world how you died?" Du Ge taunted out of habit.

Feng Jiu fell silent. He pointed at Du Ge. "You... You..."

Pfft!

A mouthful of blood sprayed from Feng Jiu's mouth. He twitched a few times, then lay on the ground with his eyes wide open, motionless. His face froze with a jumble of shame, anger, resentment, hatred, relief, and countless other emotions.

Du Ge froze. Looking at Feng Jiu's face, which seemed to show every emotion at once, he couldn't tell whether he'd been angered to death or died of humiliation.

Still,

the instant Feng Jiu died, Du Ge could clearly feel his attributes shoot up by a large amount.

He didn't know the rules of the Simulation Field, and couldn't tell whether his repeated Backstabs against the Taotie, and his protection of the people of Luyang City, had raised his attributes—or whether killing a contestant had earned him a reward from the Simulation Field...

But Du Ge guessed the latter was mostly to blame.

In battle royale games, you could usually loot an enemy after killing them. Since you couldn't loot people in the Simulation Field, giving out rewards made sense. Otherwise, there'd be no incentive to compete!

Looking at Feng Jiu dead in front of him, Du Ge knew he had only been eliminated. Still, a feeling of loss rose in his heart, as if he had really taken a life with his own hands. It felt completely different from killing an NPC in the Simulation Field.

He pursed his lips and thought, Why make a Simulation Field feel so real?

If they eliminated contestants this way, weren't they worried it might mess with their heads?

What kind of world was out there, anyway?

As Du Ge was reflecting, Wang San caught up. He looked at the dead Feng Jiu and asked cautiously, "Seventh Brother, is he dead?"

"Yeah." Du Ge nodded.

Wang San wasn't burdened with so many thoughts. He let out a long breath, looking relieved. "Damn, that was close. How could anyone have an Advanced Skill as ridiculous as turning into a Taotie? How did that guy trigger it? He almost killed me."

Sure enough,

Advanced Skills were random.

A skill like Taotie's Mark was probably rare.

Du Ge looked at Wang San and said nothing.

Feng Zhong came up beside them too. Looking at the dead Feng Jiu, he shook his head and analyzed, "It's probably a one-time skill. How long he could stay transformed must've depended on his attributes; the higher they were, the stronger the Taotie. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been only two meters tall. That guy was unlucky. If he'd just held out until the end and let his attributes grow, he could've turned into a huge, invulnerable Taotie and wiped everyone out."

"Yeah, he was really unlucky! After he gets out, he probably won't even dare tell anyone how he died in the Simulation Field..." Wang San glanced at the bloodstained sword in Du Ge's hand and quietly edged away.