Over the past year, She Mei had gone to great lengths to advance her cultivation, and she was well aware—if she died now, all her efforts would be for nothing.
She couldn’t accept such an outcome!
Yet Ling Xiao’s icy gaze filled her with unease. This boy was unlike the typical Moonlight Sect disciple, he truly might kill her without hesitation.
It seemed her only option was to use the surrounding crowd to pressure him.
“Ling Xiao, we were wrong to privately place the Beast King Palace seal on the manor gate. You’ve already killed my Junior Brother Zhang and Senior Brother Hai, and torn down our seal, surely you’re satisfied now? I’ve never had any personal grudge against you, there’s no need to bully a weak woman like me, is there?”
Her words were clever.
And with her deliberately pitiful appearance, the onlookers cast sympathetic glances her way.
If they weren’t wary of Ling Xiao’s strength, some might have intervened on her behalf.
“Come on, Brother Ling, she’s just a weak woman, no need to be so ruthless, right?”
“Yeah, Brother Ling, you’ve already killed two Beast King Palace disciples. If you keep killing, you might provoke their retaliation.”
“Brother Ling, just have her apologise, that should be enough.”
For a moment, many self-proclaimed righteous people pleaded on She Mei’s behalf.
They didn’t dare confront Ling Xiao, but pleading was within their courage.
A smug smile curled at She Mei’s lips.
In her view, faced with the crowd’s righteous indignation, Ling Xiao wouldn’t dare risk their wrath.
“Anyone who wants to die can keep pleading for her!”
Ling Xiao’s voice was soft, yet thick with killing intent, as the black iron shard in his Mountain and River World trembled, infusing his aura with overwhelming murderous energy.
Soon, no one dared speak.
Ling Xiao nodded in satisfaction, then turned to She Mei, saying coldly, “Weak woman? Hmph! That’s rich. If my strength were slightly less just now, I’d be the one lying on the ground, wouldn’t I? You didn’t think of yourself as a weak woman when you attacked, so playing pitiful now is useless!”
“Then what do you want?”
She Mei panicked. She hadn’t expected to face such a madman. With thousands watching, he dared defy the crowd.
She retreated, trembling as she asked.
“Your death!”
Ling Xiao advanced, speaking with cold indifference.
He never killed innocents, but if someone tried to kill him, he’d show no mercy.
Since he’d already offended Beast King Palace, why worry about the consequences of killing She Mei?
He had no intention of leaving a threat to harm his family and friends.
Hearing Ling Xiao’s chilling words, She Mei’s face grew even paler. If it were just losing her cultivation, she could accept it, as she could cultivate again quickly.
But death meant losing everything.
Her hard-earned progress to this point wasn’t easy, she couldn’t die!
Absolutely not!
“I’ll cripple my own cultivation and never cross paths with you again, isn’t that enough?”
She Mei shouted.
“No! The moment you tried to kill me, your fate was sealed—death!”
Ling Xiao’s voice was calm but carried an undeniable authority.
She Mei’s face turned from pale to flushed.
It was the flush of rage.
Gritting her teeth, she shouted, “Ling Xiao! You’ll regret this! You’ll definitely regret this! Even if it costs me everything, I’ll make you die!”
With that, she hurled a flare into the sky.
The colourful flare exploded, visible from a hundred miles away.
Ling Xiao frowned slightly, knowing she was summoning help.
“Hahaha! Hahahaha! Ling Xiao, you’re done for!”
She Mei laughed maniacally, “You forced me! If you’d spared me, I wouldn’t have done this.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll kill you first. Your helpers might not bother with a corpse, right?”
As Ling Xiao prepared to act, his brows furrowed, and he drifted backward.
A red light shot from the sky.
Boom~~
A loud crash, the red light landed where Ling Xiao had stood, leaving a deep crater in the ground.
Swoosh, swoosh~~
Two more sounds followed.
Boom, boom~~
A blue light and a white light landed, both with ferocious momentum, clearly not ordinary figures.
The crowd, fearing involvement, cleared a large space for Ling Xiao and the newcomers.
They were just spectators, and though some felt sympathy for She Mei, they wouldn’t risk their lives for her.
The three who landed weren’t Beast King Palace disciples, nor from any of the twelve sects.
But they shared one trait: immense strength.
In the secular world, they were absolute overlords.
“Hahaha, She Mei, I told you you’d need that distress flare someday. So, about that promise you made?”
The first to arrive, a man in his fifties or sixties in a red robe, with fiery red hair, looked imposing.
Upon arrival, like the other two, he ignored Ling Xiao, gazing at She Mei with delight.
A flicker of disgust crossed She Mei’s face but quickly vanished.
“Indeed, Chief Tu. Mei’er is in trouble today, someone wants my life. If Chief Tu can kill him, I’ll join your Skeleton Stronghold as your lady, or may heaven and earth destroy me!”
She gritted her teeth, swearing a venomous oath.
“Hahaha, no problem, no problem! I said before, if you become my lady, anyone who touches a hair on your head, I’ll slaughter their entire family!”
Chief Tu laughed heartily, visibly excited.
“Master Lin, Lord Bai, the same goes for you two. Whoever kills him today, I’ll marry!”
She Mei added.
“You two better not compete with me, or I’ll kill your families too!”
Chief Tu was domineering, almost unreasonable.
“Hmph, Tu, you’re a peak Mortal Realm Third Layer master, but so are we. Why should we listen to you?”
Master Lin snorted, “Mei’er made it clear: whoever kills her enemy gets to marry her. If you want us to back off, you’d better offer something worthwhile.”
“Exactly, Tu. You think I’m scared of you? Without a good enough incentive, expecting us to give up is a joke!”
Lord Bai showed no weakness, his powerful aura surging, ready to fight Tu if they disagreed.
