He Couldn't Watch Anymore

"Ding!"

The city lord caught Ye Ningshuang's thrusting sword between just two fingers.

He still wore a smile as he said, "Don't rush. Once I finish eating these, I'll take my time savoring you!"

Ye Ningshuang strained to pull her sword back, but it didn't budge.

The city lord continued eating.

As he ate, his aura grew stronger and stronger.

Third level of meridian opening, fourth level... all the way to the ninth.

The huge mouth on the city lord's belly abruptly opened, unleashing waves of terrifying suction.

Every corpse on the ground was swept up and sucked into that mouth.

The city lord's aura began climbing again.

But just then, He Xiuyuan appeared before him in an instant and slashed at his neck.

"Clang!"

The sword struck with the sound of metal crashing against stone.

The recoil forced He Xiuyuan back.

But he had interrupted the city lord's advancement.

The city lord's expression turned furious.

"Ant, since you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish!"

As he spoke, his right arm suddenly swelled into a gigantic limb, and he reached out to grab He Xiuyuan.

"Stunning Swan!"

He Xiuyuan instantly used his movement technique to shift away, slashing out again.

This time, he released his true qi, forming a blade of sword qi.

That was the hallmark of meridian opening!

But the sword qi shattered like a bubble against the city lord's enormous arm, failing to inflict even the slightest damage.

He Xiuyuan froze.

"Crack, crack..."

Just then, the city lord's body began changing again.

He kept swelling until he stood four or five meters tall.

Blood-red patterns also covered his entire body.

Lying on the ground, Ying Huaixu couldn't help wanting to frown.

This was the boss's first phase.

But weren't its first-phase stats way too high?

When he played the game, it never stated the boss's cultivation realm, only that its stats were very high.

Of course, back then, this boss encounter was entirely scripted.

Whether the player could beat it or not, He Xiuyuan always used a secret art to forcibly boost his strength and drive the boss back during its second phase.

Now that he saw it in person, a second-level meridian opening cultivator fighting a ninth-level one really was fucking unrealistic.

Besides, Ying Huaixu had a nagging feeling that this boss's stats were who knew how many times higher than its fucking stats in the game.

He Xiuyuan's expression was grim too.

He now knew he had no chance of winning.

Unless he used that move!

He Xiuyuan hesitated...

If he had a choice, he didn't want to die either.

But in this situation...

He Xiuyuan hurried over to Ye Ningshuang, then faced the city lord and said, "I'll hold him off. Take Old Ying and get out of here. Find a chance to send word to Senior Brother Qiu!"

Ye Ningshuang shook her head. "No! If we leave, we leave together!"

He Xiuyuan said sternly, "Don't hesitate! If you keep hesitating, none of us will get out. Hurry and take Old Ying away!"

Ye Ningshuang gritted her teeth.

"All right, but you have to come back alive too!"

With that, Ye Ningshuang hoisted Ying Huaixu onto her back and rushed toward a cave opening.

Then came a heavy thud.

A huge rock flew over from behind them and completely blocked the opening.

The city lord, now transformed into a monster, chuckled.

"What made you think I would just stand here and watch you stroll out?"

"And did you really think I would let you notify Qiu Shiyi?"

He Xiuyuan flew into a rage.

"You're asking to die!"

He began activating his secret art!

But the windup took too long.

The city lord punched He Xiuyuan away, smashing him deep into the rock wall.

He Xiuyuan's eyes rolled back, and he passed out on the spot.

Ying Huaixu, who was pretending to be asleep: *???*

Ye Ningshuang felt despair creep over her too.

But as she looked at Ying Huaixu, her expression grew resolute.

"Senior Brother, I won't let him hurt you..."

She gently laid Ying Huaixu on the ground, then gripped her sword and fixed her eyes on the monstrous city lord.

"Bang!"

The next instant, Ye Ningshuang spat out a mouthful of blood and went flying backward.

A shattered chunk of rock lay against her chest.

From a distance, the city lord chuckled. "What gave you the illusion that a mere body tempering cultivator could challenge a meridian opening expert?"

With that, the city lord lumbered toward Ye Ningshuang, one heavy step at a time.

He intended to swallow her.

He had a feeling that devouring Ye Ningshuang would allow him to grow to unimaginable heights.

But...

Ying Huaixu, lying on the ground, simply couldn't watch anymore.

Wait... was this fucking right?

I was supposed to be the fucking camera. The camera!

For fuck's sake, He Xiuyuan hadn't even managed to activate his secret art.

Ye Ningshuang had been one-shotted too.

This wasn't how the story was supposed to go.

In the original story, the boss's aura was supposed to knock me out cold.

To protect his fellow disciples, He Xiuyuan would use his secret art and fight the boss for a dozen or so exchanges.

Then Lü Qingyi would descend from the sky and knock the thing flying with one swing of her sword.

It would flee in terror, and instead of chasing it, Lü Qingyi would treat Ye Ningshuang's injuries and the player's.

That was how it was supposed to go.

So what the hell was happening now?

Everyone was out cold, and I was the only one faking it?

And judging by the situation, Lü Qingyi wouldn't be here anytime soon.

Ying Huaixu even began wondering whether Lü Qingyi had come at all.

As the boss's footsteps drew closer and closer,

Ying Huaixu couldn't keep pretending.

He sat up with an utterly fed-up expression, startling the city lord into hastily backing away.

Ying Huaixu stood and looked at the city lord. "How about we negotiate? Let us rest for an hour before we fight?"

The city lord stared at Ying Huaixu in shock.

"A mere ninth-level body tempering cultivator took a hit from me without a scratch? How did you do it?"

Ying Huaixu reluctantly drew his sword, looking thoroughly displeased.

"Never mind that. What do you think of my proposal?"

The city lord narrowed his eyes.

Then he suddenly lunged, driving a punch straight at Ying Huaixu.

"So what if you survived? You're still only at the ninth level of body tempering!"

But the next instant, the city lord was dumbfounded.

Ying Huaixu swung his sword lightly, striking his fist dead-on.

An enormous force surged through the city lord, sending him staggering backward.

"What the hell?"

The city lord was stunned.

How was this possible?

Even if I'd only eaten a little, I was still a genuine ninth-level meridian opening cultivator.

A ninth-level body tempering cultivator had knocked me back?

The city lord refused to believe it.

He charged at Ying Huaixu again.

This time, he moved faster, and his fist carried even greater force.

Then: "Clang!"

He was knocked back again.

Apart from the floor shattering beneath his feet, Ying Huaixu was completely unharmed.

"Something's wrong. Something's wrong!"

The city lord abandoned close combat. He opened his mouth, gathering a mass of blood-red energy inside it, then blasted it straight at Ying Huaixu.