With Lin Yong breaking free and joining Lin Hao and the others in battle, everyone's fighting spirit instantly soared. Morale surged, and the battle swiftly became a one-sided rout.
"Kid, no matter where you came from, what connection you have to them, or what benefits they gave you, I'd advise you to leave now. Otherwise, you'll have to see whether the brothers behind me agree."
Looking at the many disciples coming to support him, Xu Shu suddenly felt that Ming Hao was nothing special. They had sixty or seventy men, after all, and his confidence swelled.
A scornful smile curled Ming Hao's lips as he said:
"Hand over your stipend resources right now, and I'll leave you a way out alive. Otherwise, you'll end up just like them."
As he spoke, Ming Hao pointed at the dozen or so disciples lying on the ground, wailing in agony, his expression openly provocative.
"You little brat! You refuse the toast only to drink the penalty wine. You're asking to die! Brothers, get him!" Xu Shu's face darkened instantly, and he roared in fury.
"Kid, take this..."
"Kid, kneel and beg now, and we might still spare your life..."
"Hehehe, what a tender little brother. Your big sister almost can't bear to hurt you..."
The crowd charged him all at once, shouting one thing after another as though Ming Hao's defeat were already certain.
Ming Hao's lips lifted slightly. Without a trace of fear, he lunged forward.
By then, a large crowd of spectators had already gathered nearby, all declaring that Ming Hao could not possibly win.
"I bet ten lower-grade spirit stones he lasts ten seconds."
A man with a few injuries on his face shouted.
"I'll put up ten lower-grade spirit stones too. I bet he can hold out for a minute."
Another disciple, whose facial injuries were no less severe, immediately followed.
Seeing this, everyone began placing bets.
"Twenty lower-grade spirit stones says thirty seconds."
"Thirty lower-grade spirit stones says two minutes."
"I bet..."
A faint glow spread over Ming Hao's body-the Ninefold Body Refining Art. He shot into the crowd like an arrow, instantly sending five or six men flying.
At the sight, the disciples swarmed around him, launching attack after attack at Ming Hao. The scene descended into utter chaos.
Ming Hao deftly used the Ethereal Movement Technique, dodging numerous attacks with Ethereal Steps and taking down several isolated disciples with swift counterattacks.
The others also began using Ethereal Steps to try to halt his movements. Very soon, however, they discovered that,
Ming Hao's Ethereal Steps had already reached major mastery. Only a handful could keep up, while most were left trailing behind.
Five or six disciples hemmed Ming Hao in, preventing him from moving freely and giving the disciples behind them time to close in, forming a ring several layers deep.
"Little brother, you're pretty strong. If you become mine..."
A fairly attractive female disciple said with a hand over her smiling mouth.
Before she could finish, however, Ming Hao struck straight at her abdomen. She instantly raised both hands to block, but the tremendous impact still sent her flying, knocking a path through the crowd along with her.
Ignoring the pursuit behind him, Ming Hao chased straight after her. When she tried to kick him, he caught her ankle and swung her hard, turning her into a human weapon.
Every swing flattened another small fry. Seeing the woman in his hands, his opponents all held back, afraid to attack with their full strength.
That gave Ming Hao room to work. The woman was already spitting mouthful after mouthful of blood, and whenever she tried to speak, gusts of wind rushed into her mouth, leaving her unable to utter a word.
Among the crowd, Xu Shu and three disciples hid off to one side, patiently waiting for an opening in Ming Hao's defenses so they could settle everything with a single strike.
After the battle had continued for a while, Ming Hao's aura had weakened considerably. As he swung the woman at another female disciple again,
Xu Shu and the other three seized the opening and attacked instantly, knocking Ming Hao to the ground and raising clouds of dust. The four rushed in after him, followed closely by several other stronger disciples.
The female disciple was finally freed. Her face filled with lingering terror, she struggled to climb off the other female disciple.
"That bastard deserves a thousand cuts. He's dead this time," she muttered. After steadying her breathing slightly, she joined the others surrounding him.
The disciples stared at the roiling dust before them, none daring to step forward to help. They all waited quietly for the outcome.
Among the spectators outside, the first few disciples who had placed bets looked livid. Damn it, who knew this kid could fight so well? Three minutes have passed, and he still hasn't gone down.
Fortunately, they had not wagered much. Otherwise, their hearts would have bled dry.
Meanwhile, Lin Yong, Lin Hao, and the others had already beaten their opponents into scurrying away with their hands over their heads, leaving them utterly unable to fight back.
Seeing so many disciples surrounding Ming Hao alone instead of coming to their aid, some lost heart. Quite a few immediately pretended to be overwhelmed, falling down and playing dead.
Another minute passed, and the dust in the arena gradually dispersed. Suddenly, footsteps sounded, and two blurry figures appeared. Everyone held their breath, not daring to make a sound.
As the dust cleared completely, Ming Hao's figure slowly emerged. His left hand was still clamped around someone's throat-Xu Shu's.
Once the disciples saw clearly, they all cried out in shock.
"Impossible..."
Ming Hao casually tossed Xu Shu aside like a piece of garbage. He walked up to the woman who was still standing there in a daze and said with some surprise,
"Oh, senior sister, you can really take a beating. You're still alive and kicking! Your junior brother is impressed."
With that, he kicked her flying, then unleashed a brutal assault, sending an Inner Disciple flying with each kick. Hardly any could withstand even one.
The disciples jolted in shock, snapped out of their daze, and scattered in flight. But it was all futile. Ming Hao's Ethereal Steps flashed ceaselessly beneath his feet as he caught up to them one by one and knocked each to the ground with a single blow.
Before long, he had thoroughly beaten fifty or sixty people into submission. He turned to help Lin Yong and the others, only to discover that just seven or eight opponents remained, getting mobbed by Lin Hao and over thirty others. There was no need for him to help at all.
Ming Hao rubbed his chin, turned back, and went around robbing every disciple of their entire stipend.
The elders had placed special formations on the Monthly Stipend Pouches. They could not be put into a Storage Ring that day and could only be carried in something like a storage bag.
Aside from their stipends, other possessions could not be seized indiscriminately, or the disciples would fight to the death and draw the law enforcement personnel over.
Before long, he had collected over two hundred Monthly Stipend Pouches. Seventy or eighty belonged to these disciples, while the other hundred-plus had been stolen from other disciples.
Ming Hao hefted the sackful of Monthly Stipend Pouches, then put it into his storage bag, tied it to his waist, and swept his gaze over the disciples still watching.
In a flash, Ming Hao arrived beside the disciples who had been betting earlier. One disciple had won the whole pot and was clutching a heap of lower-grade spirit stones, busily stuffing them into a bag.
Ming Hao grabbed him by the neck and put on what he considered a very friendly smile.
"You're betting on me, but you won't give me a share? That's not very nice, is it?!"
The disciple's expression froze, but he quickly turned ingratiating.
"Junior brother, I was just packing everything up to bring it over to you. I didn't expect you to come here yourself!"
"Oh? In that case, I won't stand on ceremony."
He promptly snatched the bag away.
Only the disciple remained, looking as though he had nothing left to live for.
Seeing this, the other disciples scattered and hurried away, terrified that Ming Hao would turn around and rob them too.