Chapter 312

Chapter 312: Keep Betting! (4000 words)

Xu Ming felt these two people approach him, and couldn’t help but sigh in his heart.

At the beginning, the reason Xu Ming made this bet with Shixin was because she was too pure, and he couldn’t resist teasing her a little.

But who would have thought that once he teased her, it was like overturning her entire worldview.

Now, if he won everything, it would be quite an impact on Shixin. But it seemed that even if he didn’t want to win, he had to. Zeng Rong held a poisoned dagger, aimed at Xu Ming’s heart, and stabbed down. The dagger gleamed coldly!

“Alas, Amitabha.”

Shixin sighed, recited a Buddhist chant, and golden light continuously gathered in front of Xu Ming, forming a golden shield that blocked the poisoned dagger.

“Clang!”

A crisp sound rang out as Zeng Rong’s dagger was directly deflected away.

Zeng Rong staggered back several steps from the shock.

Xu Ming and Shixin both opened their eyes.

Originally, Wang Mingshan and others hadn’t slept. After seeing the assassination fail, all four of them burst into action, taking advantage of Xu Ming’s unpreparedness to attempt a strong kill.

However, the sword qi radiating from around Xu Ming slammed them against the wall, causing all four to spit out a mouthful of blood.

Xu Ming slowly got up from the ground, brushed off the dust from his clothes, and held a longsword in his hand: “Sigh, you guys and I have no grudges or enmity. I truly don’t know why you want to kill me?”

“Hehe, naturally, someone wants to buy your life. The life of a Zhuangyuan is incredibly valuable!”

Zeng Rong got up from the ground, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Since his plan had been exposed, then let it be exposed. It doesn’t matter. Since that’s the case, they could only settle things by strength now! “Who wants to buy my life?” Xu Ming furrowed his brows.

Previously, Mo Zhu’er had mentioned that within the Wu Kingdom, someone wanted to buy his life.

It turned out that after failing so many times, not only did they not take a break, but they directly sent people into the Rootless Mystic Realm to kill him.

This person’s authority in the Wu Kingdom was definitely not low.

And those with such authority…

In Xu Ming’s mind, there was already a vague range of suspects, just unable to pinpoint one specific person.

“There’s no need for the Zhuangyuan to know.” Zeng Rong smirked, “The Zhuangyuan just needs to hand over his head to us!”

With that, Zeng Rong instantly appeared before Xu Ming.

Xu Ming shook his head; since they wouldn’t say, he’d make them talk with his sword.

Xu Ming casually swung his longsword, releasing a wave of sword qi that Zeng Rong dodged. The sword qi struck the cave wall.

The entire cave trembled continuously.

“Hmm?”

Xu Ming glanced down and saw his shadow swinging a sword at him.

Xu Ming sidestepped, another slash hitting the stone wall.

“This is somewhat interesting.”

Xu Ming had never seen a spell that could control someone’s shadow before. Moreover, the strike his shadow just executed carried nearly seventy percent of his own power.

Had it not been for the numerous life-and-death experiences he’d undergone from childhood, he might have really fallen victim to that strike.

Just as his shadow was about to swing again, Xu Ming stepped on it directly, then lunged forward with a punch, which landed heavily on Wang Mingshan’s body.

“Boom!”

Wang Mingshan was hammered into the wall by Xu Ming, sinking deep into it, leaving an indentation as if he couldn’t be pried out.

At this point, the entire mountain cave was shedding rocks more severely, nearing collapse.

Xu Ming grabbed Shixin’s hand and flew out of the cave, then swung his sword backward.

Under Xu Ming’s sword strike, the cave entrance collapsed rapidly, with a massive boulder falling toward them.

Bai Zhan thrust out a punch, shattering the boulder into pieces.

Zeng Rong and the other four also escaped.

Xu Ming never expected to defeat them so easily, and besides, he currently didn’t intend to eliminate them.

Xu Ming flung Shixin away like a hammer thrower, then engaged in a fierce battle with Zeng Rong and the others.

In Shixin’s eyes, Xu Ming was like a ferocious beast, using both fists and sword. Every move he made was grand and unrestrained, not giving anyone a moment to breathe.

Shixin had fought with many people before and wasn’t unfamiliar with hardship.

But she had never seen such a fighting style.

The opponent was fusing boxing techniques with sword techniques.

However, in Xu Ming’s view, Wang Mingshan’s shadow-controlling spell was indeed troublesome. Fortunately, Xu Ming quickly found the key to counterbalance it.

Wang Mingshan needed to use his own shadow to control others’ shadows.

As long as his shadow wasn’t connected to Wang Mingshan’s shadow, there would be no problem.

Grasping this crucial point, Xu Ming kept a close eye on Wang Mingshan’s every move.

Whenever Wang Mingshan’s shadow approached Xu Ming, Xu Ming immediately moved away, giving Wang Mingshan no opportunity at all.

Bai Zhan’s spell was also quite intriguing.

He could absorb a large amount of spiritual energy into his body, causing his body to swell continuously, smoke rising, becoming increasingly robust, allowing each movement to unleash tremendous power.

Although he wasn’t a martial artist, he used martial arts techniques, just substituting true qi with spiritual energy.

It seemed perfect; possessing the killing power of a martial artist while being a cultivator with a long lifespan.

But reality wasn’t like that.

Martial artists are called martial artists because they don’t believe in heaven and earth, only in themselves.

Cultivators absorb external spiritual energy, but martial artists rely entirely on themselves to generate true qi.

In other words, martial artists treat their bodies as small worlds.

The difference between the two meant that Bai Zhan’s punches and kicks lacked the oppressive force and killing power of a martial artist of the same level, and his body was far inferior to that of a martial artist of the same level.

He was merely imitating.

“Boom!”

Xu Ming thrust out a punch, meeting Bai Zhan’s punch head-on.

A windstorm swept out directly.

“Ahh!”

Bai Zhan’s cry of pain echoed.

The arm Bai Zhan used to clash with Xu Ming was directly rendered useless.

Xu Ming spun around, slashing his sword, striking Xu Sheng’s body. Xu Sheng was startled and quickly chanted a spell, turning himself into stone.

The stone Xu Sheng was shattered into pieces by Xu Ming’s sword.

However, these stones kept condensing and reorganizing, reforming into human shape.

“Your skills are indeed interesting.”

Xu Ming stood with his sword before the four, reminiscing about their spells earlier.

Regardless of the rank of these spells, each was very peculiar, something he had never seen before.

The four stood up, staring at Xu Ming.

They had anticipated that this Zhuangyuan would be difficult to deal with and were mentally prepared, considering he ranked second on the Azurecloud List.

What they hadn’t expected was how difficult this Zhuangyuan was.

“If the Zhuangyuan wishes to learn, we can teach you,” Zeng Rong chuckled.

“No need,” Xu Ming shook his head, “I only trust my fists and sword.”

With that, Xu Ming swung his sword again towards the four.

The four immediately focused, quickly dodging the sword.

Zeng Rong transformed into a shadow and disappeared from Xu Ming’s sight, Xu Sheng raised his hands, stones gathering above his head, Bai Zhan’s fists collided, his body turning crimson, while behind Wang Mingshan, his shadow gradually separated, forming a giant shadow monster.

Looking at these four, Xu Ming clearly understood.

These four were about to unleash their ultimate moves.

To be honest, their ultimate moves were indeed quite intimidating.

Xu Ming felt that without the trials he endured that year and without gaining those opportunities, fighting them would have been tough, and he might have already been subdued.

But after surviving that year’s life-and-death ordeal, these four seemed like amateurs before Xu Ming.

Dealing with them was simply a matter of one sword stroke.

So Xu Ming just swung his sword.

This single sword stroke split Wang Mingshan’s shadow monster into two.

This single sword stroke dispersed the tiger-shaped energy Bai Zhan unleashed.

This single sword stroke shattered the meteor Xu Sheng hurled.

This single sword stroke sent Zeng Rong, lurking in the dark seeking an opportunity to assassinate, flying several meters away.

Standing not far away, Shixin watched Xu Ming in surprise.

Shixin had never seen anyone among her peers wield such a sharp and clean sword.

And Shixin knew this was all due to Xu Ming holding back.

Otherwise, these people would all die under Xu Ming’s single sword strike.

“Pfft!”

Zeng Rong and the other four spat out blood, fell to the ground, tightly clutching their chests.

When they finally looked up, Xu Ming was already approaching them, sword in hand, step by step.

“Spare our lives! Zhuangyuan, please spare us! We’re willing to do anything!”

Zeng Rong and the others realized their lives were in Xu Ming’s hands, quickly kneeling down, incessantly bowing and begging for mercy.

Tears streamed down their faces, their bodies trembling with fear, looking utterly terrified.

It seemed as if Xu Ming was the one bullying the weak, while they were innocent victims.

Undoubtedly, these wandering cultivators weren’t skilled in cultivation, but their pleading skills were excellent. If they encountered someone soft-hearted, they might have been spared.

Indeed, these wandering cultivators often hovered between killing and being killed. When faced with death, they certainly honed their “pleading” skills.

One wonders, when some cultivators actually spared them, whether those who showed mercy still lived.

“I can spare your lives, but if you claim you’re willing to do anything, is that true? I don’t like being deceived,” Xu Ming’s sword pointed at Zeng Rong, his sharp gaze devoid of any pity.

“Truly, truly!” Hearing there was still a way out, Zeng Rong and the others became even more excited, hurriedly bowing until their foreheads bled, blood dripping onto the ground. “Even if we had ten thousand gallbladders, we wouldn’t dare deceive you, Zhuangyuan! From now on, our lives belong to you! Whatever you tell us to do, we’ll do it!”

“Then tell me, who wants to kill me?” Xu Ming asked.

“This…” Zeng Rong and the others broke out in cold sweat.

“What? Can’t say?” Xu Ming sneered, “Earlier, you were all confident, saying you’d do anything.”

“Zhuangyuan, it’s not that we don’t want to say, but we’ve been cursed. If we speak or write those names, we’ll be annihilated, turning into a pool of pus!”

“But what we can tell you, Zhuangyuan, is that the person isn’t in the capital and is a powerful and famous prince!” Wang Mingshan hastily added, “Zhuangyuan, we can only be specific to this extent. Saying more, we really fear the curse will activate.”

“Alright, I won’t push you further,” Xu Ming sheathed his sword, “I’m not someone who enjoys killing. Recently, Master Shixin has been teaching me Buddhism, telling me to be kind to others, to forgive where possible, and not to commit heavy sins of killing. I find what Master Shixin says makes sense, so recently, I’ve been cultivating my mind and reciting Buddha’s name.”

Shixin: “…”

Shixin truly didn’t understand how Xu Ming could say these things without batting an eyelid.

“So, I don’t need you to serve me like slaves. I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourselves,” Xu Ming looked at Zeng Rong and the others, “If you agree to help me obtain the Bodhi fruit, I’ll spare your lives. How does that sound?”

“Definitely, definitely! We definitely agree. Zhuangyuan is truly a living Buddha incarnate!”

Upon learning they could live, everyone was overjoyed, repeatedly bowing as if they were Xu Ming’s most sincere followers.

“Get up.” Xu Ming sheathed his sword.

“Yes, yes, yes.” Zeng Rong and the others timidly stood up.

But when they stood, the glint of malice flashed in their lowered eyes.

Xu Ming! Just wait!

We’ll see how we deal with you later! “Let’s go find a new place to stay. Don’t attract any night beasts.”

Xu Ming turned and walked into the forest.

There was much blood spilled during the fight, likely attracting night beasts. They needed to leave quickly.

However, passing by Shixin, Xu Ming quietly said, “Sorry, I won the first round. Why don’t we stop betting? Let’s call off our agreement.”

“No!”

Shixin’s gaze was resolute as she looked at Xu Ming.

Her flawless golden eyes revealed the stubbornness of a young girl.

“Keep betting!”

[Hehehe, my fever’s gone~ Today I didn’t have a fever, phew, scared me there for a moment. Looks like I don’t need an IV drip. Otherwise, during National Day when everyone’s on vacation, I’d be stuck in the hospital getting drips, that would be terrible!]