Gray-Haired Man stood quietly next to Zhao Wuji. The ominous gray mist at the tip of Bone Tail Scorpion Hook was so close to Zhao Wuji's temple that he could feel the temperature of his skin.
His blurred face turned to Huo Wushuang. Although his expression could not be clearly seen, his eyes were cold and focused, as if he were observing the prey caught in Spider Web and measuring when to deliver the fatal blow.
Due to the intense consumption of Soul Power and his mind, Huo Wushuang's Blazing Earth Dragon real body could no longer maintain its strength and slowly faded away, revealing his original human form.
His face was pale, his mouth was bloodshot, his chest was heaving violently, his red eyes were staring at Gray-Haired Man and Zhao Wuji, who was on the line of life and death beside him. The remaining Soul Power in his body was as angry and unwilling as a candle in the wind, gnawing at his heart like a poisonous snake.
In this suffocating silence, Gray-Haired Man spoke again. His voice was still low and hoarse, but his speech was neither fast nor slow, with a calmness that understood everything, as if he was stating a simple fact:
"For a 90,000-year-old Soul Ring, even with his current accumulation and the 'gift' of the remaining soul of Earth Dragon Lizard, it will take at least two or three days to fully absorb and stabilize his realm."
He tilted his head slightly and seemed to glance at the surging but still chaotic Soul Power fluctuations around Zhao Wuji.
"And you," his eyes turned back to Huo Wushuang, that gaze seemed to be able to Penetration Huo Wushuang's strong body, seeing the almost depleted Soul Power in his body and the shaky physical condition, "It seems that you are almost unable to survive this first day, right? How much fighting strength can you still have after Soul Power has been exhausted? How long can you last?"
Every word was like a cold awl, precisely stabbing Huo Wushuang's most painful wound. Yes, he could not hold on any longer. Not only was his body at its limit, but it was also on the verge of mental collapse. The tragic situation of Feng Xiaotian and all his companions was vivid in his mind, and now he might even kill Zhao Wuji if he even tried to fight to the death.
"You should have sensed it," Gray-Haired Man continued, with a calm tone, but with an unquestionable certainty, "I am not a human being, although I hide it well, but with your keenness Titled Douluo, can you more or less catch a clue?"
Huo Wushuang's pupils suddenly shrank, his teeth clenched, but he didn't refute. Yes, he sensed the breath of... Soul Beast.
"Between Soul Beast," Gray-Haired Man's voice seemed to have an almost imperceptible and strange rhythm, as if it carried some ancient law, "But there are not so many twists and turns. We follow simpler and more direct laws - the law of the jungle, equal exchange, or... pure plunder."
He paused for a moment and the gray light at the tip of the scorpion hook seemed to flow slightly with his words.
"Your companions and those Soul Douluo can barely be considered snacks." He seemed to be commenting on the food, without any wavering in his tone, "However, you...Flame Dragon Douluo your dragon Spirit Empire is more to my taste."
Huo Wushuang All the muscles in his body tensed instantly, and a chill shot from his spine to the top of his head. He understood the naked covetousness in the other party's words.
"So, how about this," Gray-Haired Man put forward the condition, his tone as calm as if he was discussing the weather, "You, give up your resistance and let me... absorb it."
"In exchange," he raised his other normal human palm and pointed at Zhao Wuji, whose Soul Power fluctuations were getting more and more violent next to him, "I will protect him. During the time when he absorbs Soul Ring and breaks through Titled Douluo, I promise not to kill him."
He paused for a moment, as if giving Huo Wushuang time to digest the proposal, and then added a crucial sentence, which completely blocked Huo Wushuang's other thoughts:
"Of course, it's just this time. When he completes his breakthrough or fails, the next time we meet again will depend on his own destiny."
He tilted his head slightly, and the gaze under his blurred face seemed to have a cold, almost cruel "sincerity", firmly locked on Huo Wushuang's violently trembling pupils.
"As for you, Flame Dragon Douluo, what do you think?"
Without waiting for Huo Wushuang to answer, or in other words, he had no intention of giving Huo Wushuang a choice, the scorpion hook moved an imperceptible distance closer to Zhao Wuji's temple. The gray light almost touched Zhao Wuji's parched skin.
"By the way, just a friendly reminder," Gray-Haired Man said the last and most heart-wrenching sentence in his hoarse voice, "You seem... it seems you can only accept it."
"If you don't accept it," his tone suddenly turned cold, with an unquestionable declaration of death, "Both of you will die now."
"He," Scorpion Tail moved slightly and pointed at Zhao Wuji, "Will 'disappear' as silently as your previous companions."
"And you," his gaze was like a physical ice pick, piercing Huo Wushuang, "I will be happy to 'taste' it myself with a little effort."
After the words fell, the crypt fell into complete silence. There was only the sound of Soul Power surging on Zhao Wuji's body, and the heavy and trembling breathing of Huo Wushuang.
This is a choice without a choice.
Use everything you have - life, Soul Power, soul, everything - to exchange Zhao Wuji for an uncertain, just "not dead this time" opportunity.
And to refuse would be a worthless death for both of them.
Huo Wushuang's eyes moved back and forth between Gray-Haired Man's blurred face, that fatal gray light, and Zhao Wuji's face that was slightly distorted by pain and breakthrough.
He seemed to be able to see Feng Xiaotian's shocked and puzzled look at the end, to see the tragic scene of other companions disappearing silently, to see the past scenes of fighting side by side with Zhao Wuji and everyone...
In the end, all the pictures were fixed on the cruel reality in front of us.
He opened his mouth, and there was a whooshing sound in his throat, but he couldn't say a word. The hand that was clenched in a fist, with nails dug into the palm of his hand and dripping with blood, finally let go, little by little.
The red light in his eyes slowly dimmed like burnt ashes. His straight spine seemed to have had all support taken away, and he stooped slightly.
He raised his head, looked at Gray-Haired Man, and pulled out a desperate smile that was uglier than crying, and his voice was as hoarse as an old bellows:
"You... talk... keep your words?"
Gray-Haired Man looked at him quietly, and there seemed to be no emotional fluctuations under the blurred face. Only the Scorpion Tail hanging next to Zhao Wuji's temple slightly moved back and took an inch.
"Of course." He said lightly, "Soul Beast's 'deal' is sometimes more worthy of... 'belief' than the oaths of you humans."
"Then," he stretched out his normal human palm, palm upward, and made a "please" gesture towards Huo Wushuang. His movements were elegant but cold.
"Relax, don't resist. Let me, well...'absorb' you."