Chapter 300 - 291: How Many Do You Think I’m Worth?

Chapter 300: Chapter 291: How Many Do You Think I’m Worth?

"You let us in on purpose?"

The woman heard the man in the military uniform, jolting as if from a dream, her expression dazed.

"Of course I did, my little fool..."

The man in the military uniform seemed to enjoy the expression on the woman’s face. A smile played on his lips as he said slowly and deliberately, "With your half-baked skills from just six months of training, my men spotted you the moment you came in.

If I hadn’t wanted to play with you, do you really think you could have made it this far?"

The woman’s face was pale, her lips trembled, and she collapsed to the floor, stunned speechless.

Just then, the man in the military uniform rose from his tiger-skin Taishi Chair and walked slowly toward the woman.

"He was willing to risk his life to seek revenge with you. He must be your lover..."

The man in the military uniform glanced at the thick-browed young man leaning against the wall, then spoke casually to the woman, "How about this? You spend the night with me, and we’ll let him watch from the side.

If you serve me well, I might consider letting you both go..."

As soon as the words were spoken, the heavily injured, thick-browed young man’s entire body tensed.

"Shameless... scoundrel!"

He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, glaring furiously at the man.

Then he turned to the woman beside him, his eyes filled with tension, awkwardness, and panic.

"Xiaofu, Xiaofu, you can’t agree to it... That bastard... scum..."

The woman, who had been dazed, suddenly found her unfocused gaze sharpening.

"Are you serious?"

She looked at the approaching man in the military uniform with a serious expression.

"Of course."

The man in the military uniform smiled and nodded.

"Fine!"

Hearing her answer, the thick-browed young man sitting against the wall let out a howl like a wounded beast and squeezed his eyes shut in anguish.

But at that very moment, the woman who had just agreed to his terms suddenly pulled a small, delicate-looking pistol from behind her back. Aiming it at the man who was drawing ever closer, she screamed, her pretty face contorted with rage, "Go to hell, you animal! Bastard!!"

BANG!—

With the sound of the gunshot, the man in the military uniform, who was not far away, suddenly vanished into a blur.

BANG! BANG! BANG!—

The woman repeatedly pulled the trigger, the sound of gunshots echoing throughout the hall.

Just as she emptied the pistol—WHOOSH—

The man in the military uniform, who had previously vanished, reappeared like a ghost in front of the woman. A hideous hand, wreathed in faint black mist and vaguely resembling a bird’s talon, seized her by the neck, lifting her clean off the ground.

The man’s eyes were now as red as rubies. Dense black veins bulged on his arms and cheeks, and a few black feathers drifted down gently in the air behind him.

"You see, I show the slightest opening... and you fall for it again."

The man in the military uniform, now radiating a fiendish aura, chuckled mockingly. The woman, caught by the throat, had a look of utter despair on her face.

Just then, someone ran in from outside the hall and reported, "Grand Marshal, Jin the Third has brought someone back to see you.

He says he has something extremely urgent to report!"

’Wasn’t Jin the Third out arresting someone? What could be so urgent?’

The man in the military uniform frowned. The unnatural features on his face and hands slowly receded, but he still replied coolly, "Let him in.

And have the physician hurry over. We can’t have this fellow dying..."

With that, the man in the military uniform tossed aside the woman, who looked as if her soul had been ripped from her body in that instant. He glanced at the thick-browed young man by the wall and turned back toward his grand marshal’s chair.

Before long, the physician carrying his medical kit and Jin the Third arrived at the same time.

The physician went straight to the injured young man, but Jin the Third kept his head down, his gaze shifty, and said nothing.

The man in the military uniform lounged on his Taishi Chair, his posture casual as he observed the person Jin the Third had brought in—a young man, handsome and impeccably dressed, looking every bit the pampered Young Master of a noble house.

"Jin the Third..."

"Don’t ask him. Ask me."

The man in the military uniform had just started to speak when he was cut off.

"I told him to bring me here."

The noble-looking young man looked over, his expression calm. "You’re Chen You?"

As his voice fell, Jin the Third, who was standing in the hall, suddenly scrambled forward desperately, shouting in terror, "Grand Marshal! Save me!

This man... this man is a Martial Artist, a very powerful one... AHHHH!!—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Jin the Third suddenly began to scream horribly.

He started rolling frantically on the ground, his hands clawing wildly at his own body, leaving bloody scratches everywhere, as if countless invisible venomous insects were burrowing through him.

Jin the Third wailed in utter agony for a while, and finally...

SPLAT!

His entire body exploded into a cloud of scarlet mist, from which a thick stench of rot and a sickeningly sweet, coppery smell began to spread.

Jin the Third’s sudden, violent death caused the atmosphere in the hall to turn instantly solemn.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look.

At the head of the hall, the man in the military uniform slowly rose from the tiger-skin Taishi Chair, his body framed by the blue grand marshal’s banner behind him.

He expressionlessly swept his gaze over Jin the Third’s remains, then looked down at the handsome young man in the yuebai-colored long gown. A smile slowly bloomed across his face.

"Excellent, excellent.

I thought having a Tongxuan Realm Martial Artist deliver himself to my doorstep was already a pleasant surprise.

I never expected..."

The man in the military uniform stared at the young man before him, a brilliant smile spreading as he spoke slowly, "That an even greater gift was waiting for me.

This is truly a double blessing."

"A Tongxuan Realm Martial Artist... Among the Yingjing powers backing you, how many ordinary people is one worth?" the handsome young man suddenly asked.

The man in the military uniform’s eyes flickered, but he didn’t evade the question. He just chuckled and answered, "Ten."

Having said that, he abruptly vanished.

Almost simultaneously, a transparent ripple, tinged with a glassy halo, spread through the air in front of the handsome young man below.

Chen You, clad in his Blue Gold Military Uniform, suddenly appeared before the young man.

The unnatural features had reappeared on Chen You. Black veins surfaced on his face and hands, and his palms showed signs of transforming into talons.

’He really does have the capital to be arrogant.’

Seeing his strike fail, Chen You’s eyes narrowed. He sneered, and in the next second, he once again vanished into a blur.

A series of sharp, air-rending whistles echoed through the hall. Gradually, it was as if numerous figures in Blue Gold Military Uniforms had appeared, attacking the handsome young man in the center from all directions at once.

Yet, in the face of such a terrifying, storm-like assault, not the slightest ripple of emotion stirred in the young man’s eyes.

He simply stood there with a serene expression, as large and small glassy halos continuously rippled out from around his body...

This scene left the thick-browed young man, who was having his wounds treated not far away, completely stunned.

"A Gratitude... a Gratitude Master?"

He wasn’t sure, because a master of the Gratitude Sensing Realm was the pinnacle of power he had ever witnessed in person.

At that moment, the afterimages in the hall suddenly vanished completely.

"A little interesting..."

Chen You reappeared, his face grim. This time, there was a faint trace of apprehension in his eyes.

But soon, that apprehension was replaced by a surging tide of cruelty and coldness.

"I’d like to see for myself just how powerful Jin the Third claimed you were."

Chen You let out a fiendish smile and then stopped holding back.

His eyes instantly turned an enchanting Chi-red. On his face, neck, and hands, great patches of dense black veins bulged violently, squirming like countless twisted little snakes beneath his skin.

The most terrifying part was his right hand. The entire palm suddenly elongated and deformed, knuckles twisting and fingernails growing wildly into hooks... bit by bit, it transformed into an exaggerated, ferocious bird’s talon.

From his forearm up, black feathers pierced through his skin, covering his entire arm in a messy, grotesque layer...

A dense, Demon Fiend aura instantly erupted, sweeping across the entire hall.

"Heart-Piercer—Die!"

His features twisted by the drastic transformation, Chen You wore a savage expression. His demonic talon whistled through the air with a terrifying shriek as he clawed at the young man’s chest!

"Watch...!"

Not far away, the pupils of the thick-browed young man sitting against the wall constricted. He subconsciously started to shout a warning.

But before he could get the warning out, what happened next made the rest of his words catch in his throat.

The mysterious young man, who had a clear and noble air about him, suddenly saw his aura shift from light to dark.

Thick plumes of dark, murky smoke billowed from his body, like a miasma or a nether frost rising from beneath the earth... In the blink of an eye, it filled the entire hall.

"Just die!!"

The savage sneer on Chen You’s contorted face, frozen in his attacking posture, suddenly solidified.

"Urk..."

He found his ferocious, demonic talon frozen in mid-air.

Suspended within the dense, dark, murky smoke.

It was as if it had struck an incredibly thick, invisible wall. No matter how he struggled, he couldn’t advance another inch.

HUMMM—

A faint ripple gently spread out, passing through Chen You’s body.

In that instant, an indescribable, terrifying pressure descended upon him!

Like a great mountain falling from the sky, it crashed down on him!

CRACK!

His knees gave way, and he dropped straight down, kneeling.

His knees smashed into the stone floor, creating two spiderweb-like cracks as stone fragments flew!

Chen You was dumbfounded.

He knelt on the ground, his face a mask of utter disbelief.

The pressure grew stronger and more terrifying...

It became so immense that he had to retract his demonic talon and use both hands to support himself on the floor, just to keep from being crushed flat against it.

CRACKLE... CRACKLE... CRACKLE...

Beneath the terrifying pressure, someone took a step forward, stopping in front of him.

Chen You’s face was deathly pale and drenched in sweat. He used all his strength, trying to push himself up.

He slowly, painstakingly, lifted his head, wanting to get a clear look at the person standing before him—

But alas, he couldn’t.

He only heard a calm, flat voice from above.

"A Tongxuan Realm Martial Artist is worth ten ordinary people."

"So, as for me..."

"How many am I worth?"

「Meanwhile, in a corner of the hall.」

The physician, who had dropped his medical kit and was cowering in the corner with his head in his hands; the thick-browed young man, his wounds only half-bandaged; and the woman, who had been utterly despondent but whose eyes were now wide with shock.

All three were witnessing a scene they would never forget for the rest of their lives—

A young man, wreathed in dark, murky miasma and shrouded in foot-high black flames, stood in the center of the hall with a placid expression.

And at his feet, the once incomparably arrogant Grand Marshal Chen was now in a most "humble and respectful" posture, kneeling with his forehead touching the ground... like a devout believer prostrating himself in worship.

...