Xu Yuan had no idea how much trouble his actions had caused the Martial Suppression Department. After returning home, he temporarily put the God Worship Cult out of his mind and started calling out in the [Leeks] group.
It was time to auction off next week's challenge slot.
Although Lin Yuan's words had put him in a tight spot, he still had to try.
What if everyone still thought they could beat him to a pulp?
Besides, judging by Jiang Yong's attitude, he really might offer a high price.
[Xu Yuan: @everyone, type 1 if you're here. Call the others if they aren't.]
[Xu Yuan: Those of you who got someone to add you this afternoon, pay the entry fee. Anyone who hasn't paid in three minutes gets kicked.]
[Yang Xiaoyu: I fucking paid last time!]
Xu Yuan sneered and sent a screenshot of their earlier group conversation.
He had warned them not to leave. Anyone who left and rejoined had to pay again.
[Yang Xiaoyu: Fuck!]
Soon, a stream of transfers appeared in the group.
Xu Yuan accepted them one by one, growing more confident.
Judging by everyone's enthusiasm, he probably wouldn't have to worry about this auction either.
But this would likely be the last one. If they still couldn't beat Xu Yuan in next week's challenge matches, they probably wouldn't fall for it again.
So he had to fleece them hard this time!
[Xu Yuan: Fatty, get your alt ready. Bid the price up hard for me!]
[Fatty: Don't worry, Brother Yuan. I get it!]
Seeing those words, "I get it," made Xu Yuan a little nervous.
[Xu Yuan: You don't need to get anything. Just follow my instructions.]
Returning to the group, Xu Yuan was about to ask everyone to type 1 again when that fellow named Wang Yuan from last time popped up again.
[Wang Yuan: Actually, you don't need to buy the challenge slot. Haven't you noticed? As long as you get onto the arena first, you get to choose your opponent!]
Xu Yuan ground his teeth. This fucker again.
[Xu Yuan: The arena's right there. You're not the only one who can get up there.]
[Xu Yuan: Believe me, if those students from the E-grade cultivation rooms had gone up today and said they wanted to challenge me, a bunch of people would've immediately jumped up after them. The final choice would still have been mine!]
[Xu Yuan: All right, it's late. Let's stop wasting time and get started!]
The moment he sent that message, Jiang Yong's followed.
[Jiang Yong: Twenty thousand!]
Everyone else: "..."
What the hell were they even supposed to bid now?
Xu Yuan was taken aback too. A Yong seemed even more carried away than he had imagined.
In that case, all he could do was thank his bro.
[Xu Yuan: Fatty, bid twenty-five thousand!]
He certainly wouldn't feel guilty about singling Jiang Yong out for fleecing, because Jiang Yong was buying this slot specifically to beat him up.
Fleecing someone like that was downright delightful, okay?
[Zhao Zhipeng: Twenty-five thousand!]
[Jiang Yong: Thirty thousand!]
There wasn't a single unnecessary word. It was easy to imagine just how explosive Jiang Yong's state of mind was right now!
Everyone else had fallen completely silent.
Never mind whether they had enough money to keep bidding-even if they did and were willing to spend it, they couldn't really interfere now, or Jiang Yong would definitely hold a grudge.
[Xu Yuan: Thirty-five thousand. Keep bidding!]
Xu Yuan sent Fatty a private message.
[Zhao Zhipeng: Thirty-five thousand!]
[Jiang Yong: Forty thousand!]
[Zhao Zhipeng: Forty-five thousand!]
[Jiang Yong: Fifty thousand!]
[Jiang Yong: Xu Yuan, don't push it!]
Hmm?
Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow. Had he noticed?
If he noticed and still kept bidding, did he have so much money it was burning his hands?
Xu Yuan couldn't be bothered to guess what Jiang Yong was thinking. Fifty thousand was enough to satisfy him.
[Xu Yuan: Sold.]
Soon, Jiang Yong's transfer arrived, along with another message.
[Jiang Yong: You planted that Zhao Zhipeng to drive up the price, didn't you?]
[Xu Yuan: Hahaha, of course not. You're overthinking it.]
[Jiang Yong: Whatever. Consider the extra thirty thousand an advance payment for your injury medicine!]
[Jiang Yong: I'll definitely reach Skin Tempering Sixth Stage within three days. Remember to have a dose of second-tier divine elixir ready next Saturday!]
The implication was that he would go hard on Xu Yuan in next week's challenge match.
Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes. He really was furious now.
But weren't you the ones who treated me like a fat sheep first?
What, now that you've lost out, you're blaming me for not obediently letting you slaughter me like a fat sheep?
Still, with Xu Yuan's maturity, he naturally wouldn't trade threats with the other party. He simply replied calmly:
[Xu Yuan: For the money's sake, I won't hold it against you this time. Young man, you'd besst behave yourself.]
After sending the message, Xu Yuan tossed his phone aside, closed his eyes, and began settling down to sleep.
He had barely slept for several days straight. It was time to catch up.
As for what the people in the group talked about, or whether they left, none of it mattered anymore.
Because this business had reached its end.
Several hours after Xu Yuan fell asleep, dim streetlights stood scattered through a residential neighborhood in northern Yang City, with a bark or two occasionally ringing out in the distance.
A black-clad figure sped through the neighborhood, swiftly approaching a low, single-story house.
Reaching the roof, the black-clad figure stopped abruptly, then leaped down and landed soundlessly in front of the family's door.
The door was shut, and the black-clad figure calmly took out a key.
Had an outsider seen him, they probably would have thought the homeowner was only just returning in the middle of the night.
He unlocked the door and entered, then headed straight toward one room by the faint light filtering in from outside.
At the room's door, the black-clad figure cautiously pushed it open a crack, then blew a wisp of blue smoke inside. Only after several minutes had passed did he finally push the door open and enter.
"Luo Yaoxi, don't blame me. Blame your own bad luck for awakening a Nascent Divine Ability right under our lord's nose."
Muttering to himself, the black-clad figure approached the bed and yanked off the covers.
Yet in the faint light, the person beneath those covers was not the frail young girl he had expected, but a burly man over two meters tall!
The burly man lay on his side, propping his head on one hand as he smiled at the black-clad figure in a seductive pose.
"Damn it, you finally made your move! All these days I, Old Niu, spent waiting weren't wasted!"
"Niu Gang?!!"
The black-clad figure cried out, his wide eyes revealing boundless terror!
Without any hesitation, he turned and fled!
Niu Gang sneered. "Run? Where do you think you're going?"
As his words fell, a thunderous boom rang out. The wooden bed exploded into flying fragments, while Niu Gang's massive body shot forward, reaching the black-clad figure's back in the blink of an eye!
A fist the size of a clay pot tore through the night, smashing toward the black-clad figure's back like a heavy hammer!
Bam!
The black-clad figure's right shoulder blade instantly caved in. His entire body flew forward and slid more than ten meters across the ground!
Niu Gang followed close behind and stomped twice with two sharp cracks, snapping both of the black-clad figure's legs!
"Aaargh!!!"
A scream like a pig being slaughtered tore through the night, and windows in the neighboring homes lit up one after another!
Figures appeared behind the windows, craning their heads to look.
Niu Gang ignored them. He kicked the black-clad figure over like a torn sack, then ripped the black mask off his face.
"It's you?!!"
Niu Gang's face filled with surprise.
This man who had been preparing to attack Luo Yaoxi, a suspected God Worship Cult member, was actually Zheng Xiande, the deputy director of academic affairs at No. 3 Middle School.
"That makes sense. Only a few people at our school knew about little Luo's awakening. If you weren't from the school, you wouldn't have set your sights on her."
Niu Gang said calmly, "Talk. Who's this lord you mentioned, and what do you want with little Luo? Also, how did you become a Divine Martial Artist? Tell me, and I'll give you a quick death!"
He had been at No. 3 Middle School for over a decade and knew perfectly well that Zheng Xiande was an ordinary person. Yet the speed he had just displayed was clearly at the level of Skin Tempering Ninth Stage!
That was highly unusual!
But the moment he finished speaking, Zheng Xiande's screams abruptly stopped. Black blood then flowed from his seven orifices, and his life rapidly drained away.
"Teacher Niu, can I come out now?"
Luo Yaoxi's clear voice came from inside the house.
She had been hiding in her grandmother's bedroom all this time.
Watching Zheng Xiande's pupils gradually lose focus, Niu Gang sighed. "Come out. Look at a dead man and build up your courage."
And so, Luo Yaoxi walked out of the house.
When she saw Zheng Xiande's horrifying corpse, blood streaming from his seven orifices and both legs twisted and bent, the girl first froze abruptly, then held on for a few seconds before her vision went black and she fainted.
Niu Gang left her alone, staying nearby to wait for Luo Yaoxi to wake up on her own.
If a martial artist didn't even have the courage to look blood and death in the face, they would be nothing but a decorative vase, however talented they were.
And just as Luo Yaoxi fainted, back at Xu Yuan's home, the sleeping Xu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes!
Inside his mind, the Beast Ranking's deep, eerie voice, brimming with malice, rang out!
"Xu Yuan, extortion, blackmail, theft, robbery, attempted rape... accumulated Sin Points: 2,311. Ranked eighth on the Evil Demon Ranking. Reward: one Spirit-Binding Soul-Control Talisman..."