Chapter 258 - 257: Green Rainbow Barrier

"Xiaoliu, take some men and defend the left."

"Hongyuan, you’re in charge of the right."

"Liang Er, you’re in charge of the counterattack!"

"I’ll hold the center. Xuelin, you’re in charge of..."

Brother Bin started to display his excellent command skills, directing the examinees to face Tang Yi. But before he could even finish giving his orders, the examinee named Xuelin was already brutally killed by Tang Yi.

Xuelin was even still clutching a Help Stone in his hand, but he was obliterated by Tang Yi before he even had time to crush it.

SWISH SWISH SWISH!

In the blink of an eye, Brother Bin’s group of over thirty people had already lost nearly half their number. Anyone Tang Yi got close to was completely unable to resist him. Even with Brother Bin’s meticulous arrangements and the group forming a defensive Grand Array, it was utterly useless.

Under Tang Yi’s Iron Fist, no one could withstand the blows.

Brother Bin stared at Tang Yi in horror. He never imagined Tang Yi would be this powerful, capable of fighting over thirty of them all by himself. Worse, Tang Yi had killed more than ten of them in his opening move, leaving the remaining dozen completely powerless to fight back!

If this went on, their complete annihilation was only a matter of time. All of them would die at Tang Yi’s hands.

"I’ll give them up! We’ll give them up! Whatever you want, we’ll give it to you! We just hope you’ll spare us!"

Watching the examinees in his team die one by one, Brother Bin couldn’t bear it any longer and finally relented.

If he didn’t compromise now, the dozen or so people he had left would also die at the hands of that examinee from the North District.

"Heh? Willing to hand them over now?"

Tang Yi stopped his assault and looked at Brother Bin. "Fine," he said. "I’d rather not cause any more slaughter than necessary. Hand over your Demon Beast Crystals, then crush your Help Stones and withdraw as a group. Do that, and I’ll spare your lives."

In Tang Yi’s opinion, the pittance of Experience Value from the examinees was completely irrelevant.

If he could avoid it, he would rather not engage in excessive killing.

After all, killing people was different from killing monsters. Killing too many people would numb him and strip away his humanity. Tang Yi had no desire to become a cold-blooded, emotionless killing machine.

"What? Didn’t you say you’d let us go as long as we handed over the Demon Beast Crystals?" Brother Bin froze, stunned.

"Those were the terms before. I gave you a chance, but you didn’t take it. So, the terms have changed. Now, you have to hand over the Demon Beast Crystals *and* crush your Help Stones. Only then will I spare your lives," Tang Yi said coldly.

"That’s impossible!" Brother Bin refused.

"Then you die!" Tang Yi stated bluntly.

"We’re all just examinees. Do you have to be so ruthless? You’re destroying our only hope!" Brother Bin said, his face dark with indignation.

"This is a competition. If you aren’t eliminated, then there’s a high chance the examinees from my North District will be. Therefore, you must leave. Otherwise, you die!" Tang Yi glanced at the North District examinees behind him before turning back to Brother Bin.

What Tang Yi was doing was indeed excessive and ruthless. But everyone had their own side and their own goals; there was no absolute right or wrong here.

Tang Yi was extinguishing the hopes of many examinees from the Three Major Zones, but in doing so, he was giving the examinees from the North District a much greater chance. What was so wrong about that?

So, one couldn’t blame Tang Yi for his cruelty. They were simply on opposing sides.

"Is there no other choice?" Brother Bin asked, still unable to accept it.

"None," Tang Yi said firmly.

Brother Bin thought for a moment, then his gaze sharpened as if he had made a decision. "I don’t know who you are, and I don’t know your name, but I know you’re incredibly powerful—far stronger than I am. Even so, I’m not willing to lose my chance to enter the West Mansion just like this."

"Oh? You’re all going to rush me and fight to the death? Even if the dozen or so of you attack me with everything you’ve got, I still don’t think you’d be my opponents," Tang Yi scoffed, a supremely confident smile on his face.

"No, not a fight to the death. And not everyone. Just me. I want to challenge you!"

Brother Bin said seriously, "I’m the eighth-ranked examinee from the East District. I can’t just admit defeat this easily! I challenge you. If I can withstand a single one of your moves, we’ll still give you the Demon Beast Crystals, but you have to let us go. If I can’t, the Demon Beast Crystals are yours, and we’ll crush our Help Stones and forfeit this House Entrance Examination. What do you say? Do you dare?"

"You’re in no position to negotiate with me. Your lives are in my hands."

Tang Yi said dismissively, but then his tone shifted. "However... I’ll accept your terms."

"Good! In that case, bring it on! Let me see just how powerful you really are!"

Hearing Tang Yi agree, Brother Bin was inwardly delighted. He immediately struck a pose, ready to receive the attack.

However, Tang Yi merely smiled. Without preparing any kind of technique, he began to slowly walk toward Brother Bin as if taking a leisurely stroll.

He moved at a relaxed pace, as if strolling through his own private garden, with no imposing aura whatsoever.

This sight made Brother Bin’s brows furrow deeply.

"Are you looking down on me?" Brother Bin said, displeased.

"You? You’re not worthy of my respect," Tang Yi replied coolly.

"Hmph! Your strength may be great, but don’t treat everyone like they’re worthless!" Feeling slighted, Brother Bin snorted coldly. His hands began to move with lightning speed, forming a series of complex magic techniques.

"Green Rainbow Barrier!"

Following Brother Bin’s shout, a green halo roughly the height of a man materialized before him.

The edge of this halo was engraved with profound, mystical runes. Although it was impossible to tell what they said, they looked incredibly mysterious. At the center of the halo, the image of a rhinoceros-like Demon Beast shone with a dazzling light.

Just then, with a HUMMM!, the halo and the rhinoceros image at its center enveloped Brother Bin, merging into his body.

A faint, silver light then appeared over Brother Bin’s entire body, making him look like he was forged from iron.

"That... That’s the Earth Tier Defense Martial Skill, Green Rainbow Barrier!"

"They say the Defense Power of this Martial Technique is incredible. Even when a Battle Spirit Level Martial Artist uses it, they can resist an attack from a Battle King Level Martial Artist. It’s amazing!"

"Now that Brother Bin has used this Martial Technique, that examinee from the North District can’t possibly defeat him in one move, no matter how strong he is."

"This is great! That’s Brother Bin for you! Now we have a chance to enter the West Mansion!"

"That examinee from the North District is just too strong. So what if he takes our Demon Beast Crystals? We can just work harder to kill more Demon Beasts. As long as we aren’t eliminated, we still have a chance of entering the West Mansion!"

"I see! This was all part of Brother Bin’s plan! He wanted to trick that North District examinee into a bet, then use the Green Rainbow Barrier to win and save us from being killed and eliminated!"

"Brother Bin is the best! Long live Brother Bin!"

"..."

Seeing Brother Bin use an Earth Tier Defensive Martial Technique, the examinees in his group were overjoyed, their confidence soaring.

But...

When Tang Yi saw Brother Bin cast the defensive Barrier, his expression didn’t change in the slightest. He continued his unhurried walk toward him.

Upon reaching Brother Bin, he simply extended his arm and threw a punch.