In a short span of time, miserable screams rang out one after another, and the expression of the Half-Step Invincible from the Heaven Patrol Pavilion changed again and again.
He was a Half-Step Invincible, yet he could not break out of this predicament at once.
He knew that if he could not turn the situation around, everyone would surely die. He could clearly sense where each person was, yet, strangely, he could not get close to them.
Moreover, Su Xiuyi had become elusive as a ghost and concealed all traces of his presence, making him extremely wary.
Now, according to his senses, only four of the nine supreme experts remained alive.
Even against a Half-Step Invincible, they would never have suffered such heavy losses.
Remembering how the darkened area had shaken earlier, the Half-Step Invincible steeled himself and transmitted his voice. "Number Three, Number Seven, you two, self-destruct!"
"When Number Nine activated the God-Destroying Pearl earlier, this area shook. If you two self-destruct, you'll definitely break this shadow-covered area. Once it's broken, the one still lying in wait outside will surely be able to kill him. He's concealed all his power and is killing us this way to minimize his expenditure. After your deaths, I'll make sure you receive credit and take care of your families for you."
At those words, Number Three and Number Seven trembled, their eyes filled with rage and venom.
But they knew the rules of the Heaven Patrol Pavilion. If they disobeyed, their families would suffer for it.
"Boom! Boom!"
The next moment, the two of them self-destructed.
The power of two experts at the Peak of the Sun and Moon Realm Stage self-destructing could well be imagined.
"Damn it, are you that eager to kill yourselves?"
Su Xiuyi hurriedly withdrew the "Shadow" and "Hexagram" Will Characters. He did not want them shattered.
Two terrifying blasts rang out. Su Xiuyi was somewhat battered, his upper garments almost completely destroyed and a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.
"Pfft!"
"Pfft!"
The two remaining members of the Heaven Patrol Pavilion were not as fortunate as Su Xiuyi. Both spat out large mouthfuls of blood.
Their Qi and blood churned, difficult to suppress, and the one at the Peak of the Sun and Moon Realm Stage had even lost an arm.
Blood poured from it without stopping.
"Hehehe!"
"Heh, I finally managed to hurt you. I have to admit, you really are terrifying. If you pledged your loyalty to His Majesty, your prospects would be boundless. But why be loyal to the bloodline of a dead man?"
"Do you think he's still alive? He went deep beyond the realm, and the passage back exploded. So what if his talent was peerless and he suppressed the myriad races? Beyond the realm is the true dragon's pool and tiger's den, not to mention that he provoked an incomparably powerful force there."
The old man laughed sinisterly.
"You're clever. You know to throw out some information to catch my interest and buy yourself time to suppress your Qi and blood. But do you think I'll believe everything you say?"
"The truth isn't something someone at your level could know. But I have to admit, I'm very interested in what you said. You can go on!"
Su Xiuyi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and spoke indifferently.
There was time enough now anyway. Whether the free information was true or false, knowing some of it would always let him make a few deductions.
"What do you want to know?"
"Perhaps I know."
The old man's pupils contracted, and he was somewhat shocked. He had revealed such important information, yet the other man was so calm.
"For example, there's something I find very strange. The second-place candidate back then was a member of the Demon Race, but not all of the Demon Race are mortal enemies of the human race. The Qingqiu Heavenly Fox Clan was an ally of the human race, so why did His Majesty want to kill the Heavenly Fox Clan's saintess, even at the cost of driving an allied clan to rebellion?"
At that moment, Su Xiuyi voiced the question that had puzzled him most over the years.
Back then, through every examination, from the county, academy, and prefectural examinations to the metropolitan examination, he and the Heavenly Fox Holy Maiden had met, come to know each other, and developed feelings. Yet he had never discovered her identity until the palace examination was over and they received the Sage's reward, when she was exposed under the Great Zhou Imperial Clan's fortune.
But the Heavenly Fox Holy Maiden taking second place had merely cost the human race a little face, and her clan was an ally. It was a good thing.
Yet the Great Zhou Emperor had killed the Heavenly Fox Holy Maiden's protector outright, imprisoned her, and pinned the grave crime of treason on the Heavenly Fox Clan.
He had freed the Heavenly Fox Holy Maiden partly for his own sake, and partly because if she died, the other allied clans would likely find it hard to ally with the human race in good faith again.
That would be a great calamity for the human race.
Yet his passage deep into the heavenly prison had gone terrifyingly smoothly. If someone had not helped him in secret, the Heavenly Fox Holy Maiden would not have been able to leave the prison even if he had rescued her.
Now, Su Xiuyi had voiced his greatest question.
"Was the Heavenly Fox Clan's rebellion not real, then?"
The old man's pupils contracted sharply when he heard this. Today was also the first time he had seriously considered the question, but as a member of the Heaven Patrol Pavilion, he had to believe in His Majesty's decisions without question.
"You, at your level, wouldn't know the truth either."
"Naturally, you don't. So if I keep you around, can I fatten you up and sell you for money?"
Su Xiuyi knew the other man could not tell him, and he was also on guard, for he could faintly sense that someone else was lying in wait, someone terrifying.
Now he had finally pinpointed that person and no longer needed to wait.
Clang!
The black saber left its sheath, and saber light filled the sky.
This slash was fast beyond measure, and Su Xiuyi also activated a "Escape" Will Character.
It was so fast that the two men before him had no chance to react.
Two heads flew off in an instant.
Their eyes were full of bewilderment. Why had Su Xiuyi suddenly killed them?
Su Xiuyi had to kill these two because he had always been cautious. He had asked some questions, and if he carelessly let them escape, it would leave trouble behind.
Having been through so much, Su Xiuyi feared not the ten thousand possibilities, but the one chance in ten thousand.
"Sir, if you don't make a move, I'll be leaving!"
"Are all Pseudo-Invincibles this timid?"
Su Xiuyi's Pupil of Void Breaking suddenly swept toward a large tree.
"Hm?"
"You actually managed to find me. What a surprise."
The next moment, the large tree vanished and became two Will Characters, "Wood" and "Illusion."
A figure shrouded in a black robe slowly stepped into the air, the eyes beneath the robe studying Su Xiuyi with curiosity.
"Pseudo-Invincible, if you had intervened, they probably wouldn't all have died," Su Xiuyi said with a cold laugh.
"Once one person died, the Secret Invocation of the Six Jia was useless. Why keep a few people at the Peak of the Sun and Moon Realm Stage with unsteady Qi, who were pushed up to that level, around to waste food?"
The voice from beneath the black robe was utterly cold-blooded.
"There's nothing wrong with what you said. I can't find a fault with it, anyway."
Su Xiuyi held out a finger toward the other person.
He gave a thumbs-up.
"You're not afraid of me, and you're still this confident?" Seeing Su Xiuyi's demeanor, the black-robed figure was surprised again.
Su Xiuyi smiled. "If I pissed myself, cried for my parents, called you grandpa, and acted as your grandson, would you spare me?"
"No. You must die today," the black-robed figure said, giving Su Xiuyi a surprised look.
"Then that settles it. I think I'd rather be your grandpa. Come on, grandson!" The smile vanished from Su Xiuyi's face. He grabbed the tattered clothes on his upper body and ripped them off, baring his lean, muscular torso. Black saber in hand, he walked toward the black-robed figure one step at a time.
Poor me, please give me your votes.
(End of chapter)