Confronting Lin Tiannan?

Temporary Skill Point: Golden item, inferior quality. Used on skills below Grade B, it can raise the skill by one tier for 2 minutes. 11 uses remaining. Can be exchanged for 1000 points.

Upon seeing the golden glow, Gao Xu held his breath, but when the attributes of the Temporary Skill Point were truly revealed, he couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and frustration.

It was undeniable that the Temporary Skill Point was an extremely precious item, but one shouldn't forget that he didn't even possess a single active skill yet; how could he possibly talk about upgrading a skill tier?

After organizing his gains, Gao Xu hurried to the stone chamber entrance. The group and the rescued maidens were already waiting for him, and even the young mistress of the Lin family stood quietly without showing any signs of impatience.

Gao Xu apologized to everyone, then looked at the maidens who were weeping with joy and smiled slightly: "Everyone, I am truly happy for your choice. If you hear idle gossip after returning home, please recall the life-and-death decision you made just now; all difficulties and obstacles will then seem like nothing."

The nature of snakes is inherently lecherous. These girls had been abducted by the Snake Demon for at least several months. Upon returning, it was inevitable that some would spread rumors that they had been defiled by the monsters. In this era that placed such heavy importance on reputation, the pressure they would face might be unimaginably heavy!

The meaning behind Gao Xu's words was quickly understood by everyone. The maidens, led by Xuehui, became even more grateful to him, and even the look in Lin Yueru's eyes changed, shimmering with a strange brilliance. However, the newcomers were somewhat dismissive, thinking that completing the mission was enough—why bother with such unnecessary concerns?

Counting his previous life, Gao Xu had been reincarnated in the various worlds of the Space for several years. In his heart, he had long treated the characters in the plot as flesh-and-blood people. Many reincarnators thought that by having foresight, they could manipulate plot characters in the palm of their hands or treat them as mere data created by the Space, only to eventually reap the consequences of their own actions.

Regarding the newcomers, Gao Xu did not show the slightest intention of offering guidance, because he knew that his current status was also that of a newcomer. If he were to pour out all his so-called experience, others would not only ignore him but secretly mock him as an idiot—why bother?

With the presence of the young mistress of the Lin family, although most of the team consisted of the wounded and weak women with no strength to truss a chicken, everyone felt no fear, all believing that the path ahead would be smooth sailing.

During the conversation, Gao Xu learned that his previous guess was indeed correct: Xuehui was the cousin Xiaohui that Dongmei had mentioned. As long as she was escorted back to Lin Family Fort, the side quest would be completed. This not only concerned Dongmei's favorability, but the side quest could also improve the final clearance evaluation; the benefits were quite substantial.

Just as Gao Xu thought there would be a period of peace, the anxious voice of Su Mei suddenly came to his ears: "Big Brother, come quickly! Father and Mother are in danger!"

Gao Xu stopped in his tracks, a battle raging within his heart. The escort mission had already begun; if he returned to the cave as Su Mei requested, it would be equivalent to abandoning two major optional tasks and one side quest, a severe loss. But if he didn't go back, without the little fox demon Su Mei, who had helped him so much, this breakthrough would never have been so easy, and he wouldn't have been able to emerge unscathed. For the sake of mere rewards, was he to become an ungrateful person?

If it were the style of other reincarnators, they would certainly ignore Su Mei, who had lost her utility. But Gao Xu remembered the little girl's cute smiling face and ultimately couldn't bear to see her embark on the path of revenge from the plot due to the death of her parents. He gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

Seeing Gao Xu turning back, the newcomers were first confused, then showed expressions of sudden realization. Could it be that Gao Xu wanted to hunt down the heavily injured Snake Demon and Fox Demon? That appetite was truly huge!

Everyone tried to dissuade him, but seeing Gao Xu's insistence, they said no more. Only Lin Yueru watched his back, her eyes showing a thoughtful look.

Following the trail left by the Snake Demon, Gao Xu soon found the location of the family of three, and the scene that entered his eyes made his heart sink.

Along the way, he had imagined several possibilities, the worst of which was that Lin Tiannan had found the Snake Demon and Fox Demon again!

Although the previous dialogue between the Snake Demon and Fox Demon revealed that Lin Tiannan was entangled by the Nine-Headed Snake, Lin Yueru had been led away by Gao Xu. Perhaps she had met her father on the way, and with father and daughter joining forces, those small snake demons would certainly be no match. Thus, the factor that Lin Tiannan would not appear in the inherent plot had been artificially changed by Gao Xu. He only hoped he wasn't lifting a rock to drop it on his own feet now.

Facing the Snake Demon and Fox Demon, who were collapsed on the ground and had no combat power to speak of, Lin Tiannan stood with his hands behind his back, seemingly disdaining to use force, and said indifferently: "Evil deeds will eventually lead to one's own destruction. You have harmed so many lives; have you ever thought about today? Now, disperse your demonic power and end your own lives! I do not wish to personally kill two demons who have lost the ability to resist."

"No, please, let my father and mother go! Please!" The little fox Su Mei was spreading her arms wide, shielding her parents like a mother hen protecting her chicks, pleading mournfully.

"Blood debts must be paid in blood; it is only natural!" Lin Tiannan shook his head slightly and pointed at Su Mei, "You have not yet committed evil; it is not too late to retreat now. If you remain obsessed and refuse to repent, then do not blame me for cutting the weeds and pulling up the roots, lest you harbor hatred and harm the innocent in the future!"

"No!!!" Su Mei was trembling with fear, but her feet remained rooted to the spot, her tear-filled eyes staring fixedly at Lin Tiannan.

Seeing this, Gao Xu sighed inwardly, glanced at the few items he had just obtained from Tang Mei'er's treasure chest, showed a look of determination on his face, and stepped forward.

As soon as Gao Xu appeared, he instantly became the focus of both sides. Su Mei looked as if she had seen a lifeline and burst into tears, while Lin Tiannan's expression softened slightly, nodding at him in acknowledgment.

Did Lin Tiannan hear about me from Lin Yueru? Gao Xu felt a little strange about the attitude Lin Tiannan displayed. He had originally thought that in the eyes of this Southern Martial Arts Alliance Leader, he should be no different from a passerby, but he hadn't expected to have some status. Since Lin Tiannan had a favorable impression of him, he might as well try to see if he could resolve the grudge.

But Gao Xu clearly overestimated his own weight. Before he could even speak, just by standing a little closer to Su Mei's side, Lin Tiannan's face darkened, and he shouted with a hint of anger: "Boy, why haven't you moved to eliminate the demons? What are you waiting for?"

Lin Tiannan's words caused the Snake Demon and Fox Demon to show expressions of vigilance. Su Mei stopped crying, first looking at Gao Xu in astonishment, shaking her head as if in disbelief, but then she grabbed his sleeve, looking at him pitifully.

"Little girl, I'm going to suffer a huge loss because of you. But who told us to have such high compatibility and hit it off at first sight~" Gao Xu smiled freely, drew the newly acquired Flying Rainbow Sword, and took a stance, "I hope the Fort Master can retract his order, otherwise this humble one will have no choice but to offend you!"

Compatibility is another factor in the interaction between reincarnators and plot characters. Unlike digitized favorability, to put it bluntly, it is a matter of whether the first impression is pleasing or not, which cannot be influenced or changed by acquired items or actions.

Some people hit it off immediately upon meeting, sharing similar interests or even falling in love at first sight; while others, despite never having met, quickly develop mutual disgust, friction, and avoidance. This is perhaps the fate destined in the dark.

If the compatibility is high, even if the plot character is from an opposing faction, they can be won over; conversely, no matter how high the favorability is, there is always a possibility of a falling out.

Reincarnators with high Charisma can perceive their compatibility with plot characters through specific methods. Just like when Gao Xu first met Su Mei, he decided to borrow the power of this little fox precisely because the high compatibility gave Gao Xu confidence.

Now, it was time to pay it back!

"You, you are really going to fight me for the sake of a few monsters? You have disappointed me too..." Lin Tiannan seemed to find Gao Xu's choice unbelievable, his eyes wide with anger as he continued to reprimand him, but Gao Xu had already swung his sword to attack, adhering to the principle of striking first.

Gao Xu knew that he was by no means a match for Lin Tiannan, but the first two main missions had been completed, and the third, regarding points, could be reached at any time. Therefore, as long as he wasn't killed in one hit and could delay for some time to let Su Mei's family escape, he would be able to return to the Space, and his life should not be in danger.

In that case, although he would have fewer gains, he would have no regrets in his first plot world. Being able to face the upcoming challenges with a brand-new mindset, wasn't that a fortunate thing?

Once he had made up his mind, Gao Xu never dragged his feet. Facing the Southern Martial Arts Alliance Leader, he dared not show the slightest slack. His sword strike toward the chest was fierce and peerless. Although it lacked the bonus of skills, it vaguely carried the essence of the Five Heavenly Blaze Swords—that was the sword-wielding insight carved into his marrow. No matter which life it was, he would never forget it in the slightest.

Of course, no matter how strong this strike was, in Gao Xu's estimation, it could at most buy two or three seconds of buffer time in Lin Tiannan's hands. He only hoped that Su Mei's family would still have the strength to escape!

But something unexpected happened. Seeing the Flying Rainbow Sword approaching, Lin Tiannan did not dodge or evade, nor did he draw his own Dragon Spring Sword to meet the enemy. He just stared into Gao Xu's eyes, revealing a mysterious smile.

Puff!

The sound of the blade entering flesh rang out. Gao Xu's face twitched, revealing a wry smile; he had already roughly guessed what had happened.

"Benefactor, you did not let Mei'er down!" Sure enough, the charming voice of the fox demon sounded from behind, her tone sounding spirited and full of energy, with no sign of being heavily injured or dying at all. "We express our deepest apologies for our rude test!"