“Hahaha, who do we have here? It’s the fat sheep from Yuehua Sect! The Saint has ordered that any Yuehua Sect disciple we see must be killed, with a hefty reward to boot. Why bother fighting? Let’s kill this fat sheep and claim the prize!”
Someone burst into laughter.
The others grinned menacingly.
It seemed they saw themselves as wolves and Ling Xiao as the fat sheep.
“You, what’s your name?” one of the Tianwang Sect disciples shouted.
“Ling Xiao!” he replied loudly, a playful smile on his face.
“Well, well, a big fat sheep! The Saint said this kid must not reach the Martial Arts Festival finals alive. Whoever kills him gets the same reward as the festival’s top prize!”
Hearing Ling Xiao’s name, the warriors, already grinning, practically salivated.
“Hold on. The Saint wants this kid dead. Doesn’t that mean he’s got some skills?”
“Skills? Nonsense. Yuehua Sect is the weakest of the twelve sects. How strong can he be? Their disciples flee too fast, using secret scrolls to escape the moment things go south. We can’t even catch them. But this kid doesn’t seem to plan on running.”
“Exactly. Yuehua Sect, big deal. Kill him!”
“If you lot won’t move, I’ll take the first shot!”
“Wait, we Tianwang Sect spotted him first!”
“Rubbish, it was our Xuanhuo Sect!”
…
Arguments erupted over who would kill Ling Xiao, as if he were truly a fat sheep, not a person, let alone a warrior.
“Stop bickering. You’ll all die!” a voice suddenly called from behind Ling Xiao, and then something terrifying happened.
A black wind surged through the passage, rushing into the crowd like a ferocious beast, devouring lives.
“Ah! Aaaah…”
From the first scream, in mere moments, the black wind turned nearly half the warriors into gnawed bones.
On closer inspection, the black wind wasn’t wind at all but winged black ants, so tiny they were nearly invisible to the naked eye.
“Truly ruthless and vicious, striking without mercy, with incredible strength!” Ling Xiao thought.
The attack had enveloped him too, but the black wind dissipated upon touching him.
The black ants feared fire most, and Ling Xiao was cloaked in an invisible layer of hellfire, untouchable to them.
Still, he couldn’t help but marvel at the black wind’s power. Among the dead were warriors with fifty percent Half-Step Heavenly Venerate strength, yet they couldn’t survive a moment in the black wind.
It was utterly terrifying.
“Damn, it’s Feng Yaorao from Tianlong Academy!”
“Why is this woman so brutal?”
“Who knows? Run! She’s too strong, and her methods are ruthless. Stay, and you’ll be bones!”
Though those present were prodigies of their sects, they had no intention of resisting Feng Yaorao. They turned and fled down other paths, heedless of potential dangers, knowing anything was better than facing her head-on.
In the previous preliminary round, eighty percent of deaths and eliminations were caused by madmen like these among the warriors.
This time would likely be no different.
Few died from traps, formations, or beasts.
The real threat came from within the group.
Li Youdao, Tang Jiu, Feng Yaorao, and others were ruthless.
Even those not naturally cruel would slaughter for treasures.
By now, in the preliminary round, warriors like Yan Liehuo, Ya Qianxue, Blue Fatty, and Luo Tianyu had blood on their hands.
Nearly all the top hundred in the Martial Arts Festival had killed, some even their own sect mates.
The passage, once bustling with battle, fell silent in an instant. Only Ling Xiao calmly looked behind him.
A captivating, enchanting figure glided in. It was indeed Feng Yaorao.
Some of the warriors must have seen her before, or they wouldn’t have guessed her identity.
Feng Yaorao ignored the corpses on the ground, looking at Ling Xiao with slight surprise. “You’re not dead?”
In her eyes, Ling Xiao was just a twenty percent Half-Step Heavenly Venerate, far beneath her.
The gap between each percentage of Half-Step Heavenly Venerate strength was vast, greater than the gaps in the nine realms before the Mortal Realm.
A twenty percent Half-Step Heavenly Venerate could be two or three times stronger than a ten percent one.
Feng Yaorao was an eighty percent Half-Step Heavenly Venerate, Ling Xiao only twenty percent.
A six-level gap, roughly a twenty-fold difference in strength.
Yet Ling Xiao survived, baffling her.
She couldn’t understand.
That gap applied to ordinary warriors. Ling Xiao was too unique.
Possessing the Ancient Hell Dragon Martial Soul and the mysterious, fearsome Mountain and River Martial Soul, he had cultivated powerful Jade-Grade Entry-Level martial arts.
The gap between him and Feng Yaorao was negligible.
He naturally feared her not.
“Why should I die?” Ling Xiao smiled lightly. “There are so many things in the True Demon Forbidden Land that interest me. Dying now would mean missing out.”
“Heh, you’re quite confident. Pity your strength is lacking. Didn’t you hear me outside? I kill every Yuehua Sect disciple I meet!” Feng Yaorao smiled faintly, her tone playful and disdainful, casually toying with her hair, showing no concern for a sneak attack from Ling Xiao.
She truly didn’t take him seriously.
“Have you killed any Yuehua Sect disciples?” Ling Xiao asked suddenly.
“I’d like to, but sadly, you’re the first I’ve met. Your sect mates either flee or use secret scrolls the moment they see me. I haven’t even had a chance to test my skills,” Feng Yaorao sighed.
“Then you’re lucky. Otherwise, you’d be splattered with blood by now,” Ling Xiao said calmly.
“Oh?” Feng Yaorao’s face showed surprise.
She had displayed her eighty percent Half-Step Heavenly Venerate strength, which he couldn’t miss, yet he remained calm, even brimming with confidence.
Was this bravado?
Overconfidence?
Or did he truly have the strength to challenge her?
It was hard to say, but there was a simpler way.
If she couldn’t guess, she’d act. One move, and she’d know if he was strong or weak.
