Chapter 114: Endless Humiliation
Blades clashed and swords flashed in a furious dance of steel. In that instant, Qian Jin Da Cheng's swordsmanship was like a fierce wind swirling wildly, sharp and relentless. Despite his bulky frame, an inexplicable and formidable aura rose from him—an indomitable courage like a lone warrior guarding a pass against thousands!
Bang!
A young boy was kicked flying by him; the sword blade swept past the boy’s neck. The sword light sliced into a white glow; the boy’s head did not fall, but his entire body vanished—protected by a talisman and instantly transported outside.
Qian Jin did not pause. His sword pierced through the white light again, impaling another boy’s head. With another flash of white light, the boy disappeared.
With a massive palm, he gripped a boy’s throat, another white flash, then an elbow strike, another white flash, a horizontal slash, and yet another white flash!
Kill!
Kill!
Kill!
Qian Jin fought with madness, relentlessly battling these boys. If a dozen or so boys attacking him were like a pack of wolves devouring a tiger, then at this moment, he was no less than a fierce tiger plunging into a flock of sheep.
In a flash, Qian Jin had taken down seven or eight young warriors, but fresh wounds tore open on his body, blood gushing forth. Though his face was grim with lethal intent, the excessive blood loss made him pale.
Splat!
At that moment, Qian Jin was caught off guard as a sword light cut across his shoulder, opening a wound.
“Die—!”
Qian Jin roared, turning his blade backward to stab into the boy’s abdomen. White light surged again, eliminating this boy.
Splat! Splat!
In that brief moment, two more wounds appeared on Qian Jin’s back, blood spraying. He leapt forward, slashing backhand and taking down two more boys. Then he rolled and looked toward the remaining four.
Panting heavily, Qian Jin’s entire body bore four wounds, three of which were grievous. Despite his lethal expression, the severe injuries and blood loss weakened him—he could not hold on much longer. Moreover, he sensed his vital energy nearly exhausted.
“Kill—!”
Qian Jin shouted again. Lin Fan had said that in a narrow path, the brave prevail. One could lose or die, but never show cowardice!
Was this not merely a test of the Heavenly Book Academy? Even if he missed this great opportunity, so what?
He refused to believe he could not summon a crimson sky!
“Kill!”
“Kill!”
“Kill!”
Qian Jin roared repeatedly, fiercely squeezing out the last of his vital energy as he charged the four remaining boys. Though pale and blood-deprived, he exuded an astonishing aura.
Boom!
A sound of shattering echoed. Qian Jin felt his vital energy surge like a gushing spring, breaking through his limits and advancing to the late stage of the Qi Gathering realm.
Sword light flashed fiercely, like the Milky Way pouring from the heavens, a torrential waterfall pounding down, the violent sword aura drowning the four young warriors before him. Four white lights flickered, and all four vanished.
Pant, pant, pant!
Qian Jin planted his sword into the ground, breathing heavily. He looked at the five remaining early-stage Qi Vein boys and suddenly smiled.
“Haha, all your schemes—what are they worth?”
Qian Jin laughed heartily. These Qi Vein boys had gathered the strongest youths from various districts, scheming to exhaust his last strength, hoping to drag him down to ensure none of his combat power remained, making it easy to eliminate him.
But how was it now? He was still standing firm.
Cough, cough!
Suddenly, Qian Jin coughed up fresh blood. Yet he did not lower his head, nor wipe it away, nor lose his smile.
Laughing, coughing, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, he stared at the five boys opposite him.
He still had some strength left—enough to drag down two boys as sacrificial lambs—but only two strikes remained.
Though his cultivation broke through, his injuries and severe blood loss were overwhelming. Three new wounds had just opened. If he did not activate the talisman’s formation to forfeit, he wouldn’t last much longer.
“What’s there to be happy about? You’re already gravely wounded, and now three more wounds. Even without our attacks, you won’t last long!”
One of the five boys sneered, watching Qian Jin’s arrogant expression. “We’re just going to wait here, neither attacking nor letting you heal or eat. If you attack, we dodge. Let’s see how long you can hold out.”
“If your blood keeps draining at this rate, you won’t last an hour. If you do, I’ll admit defeat!”
Qian Jin’s heart sank upon hearing this. Indeed, he couldn’t hold on for much longer. This was a deadlock.
If the five boys attacked him with full force, his last two strikes might still catch a few off guard, dragging down two as sacrifices. Even if it went badly, he could still take one.
But if, as they said, they only surrounded without killing, he truly could not last; after a short while, he felt even weaker.
A quarter of an hour later, Qian Jin bit his teeth, trying to rally, but the blankness in his mind grew. Moments later, his vision blurred.
He was losing consciousness from blood loss!
“Heh heh heh...”
A mocking laugh sounded. Qian Jin forced his eyes open, but he saw seven or eight blurry figures swaying before him, their scornful grins unmistakable.
At this moment, Qian Jin’s heart was filled with humiliation and fierce unwillingness.
“How about this: I’ll count to ten. If you don’t fall, I lose. Deal?”
One of the five boys said with a sneer, watching Qian Jin stagger, nearly falling.
“I’m counting now! Listen carefully!”
“One!”
“Two!”
“Three!”
“Hey, Wang Zhuang, what comes after three? I’m not good at studying—I forgot!”
“Xu Yang, you’re so dumb. Isn’t five after three?”
“No, no, don’t listen to Wang Zhuang. After three is one!”
“Yes, yes, it’s one, one!”
“One!”
“Two!”
“...”
The five boys joked among themselves, watching Qian Jin’s body sway more and more. Their smiles grew wider, their eyes filled with disdain.
“Damn it!”
Though his consciousness waned and his vision blurred, every word they spoke rang clearly in Qian Jin’s ears. The humiliation burned within him like an erupting volcano. He wanted to stand tall but could not.
“How about this: Ten counts are too many. I’ll count to three. If you don’t fall, I’ll call you Dad from now on!” Xu Yang laughed.
Hearing this, the other four boys burst into loud laughter. One even said, “Xu Yang, aren’t you just insulting yourself? You don’t have such a bastard son! I heard it was your damn servant girl who shamelessly kneeled down to your drunk father and did that...”
“I’m not insulting myself! I was really enjoying it back then!”
Xu Yang animatedly told the others, “You don’t know, that night I was drunk, and his mother took advantage of it. Sigh, all my fault for being foolish...”
“Ah—!”
Qian Jin shouted silently in his heart, but the world darkened. The overlapping figures faded away, yet their filthy words echoed in his mind.
His heart felt as if pierced by knives. He wished he had even a shred of strength left—he didn’t care about being eliminated, as long as he could kill a few of them first.
He swore that once out of the otherworldly space, he would not rest until he had slain several of these youths!
“Fall! Fall! Fall!”
Xu Yang and the other four watched as Qian Jin finally swayed and collapsed backward, clapping and shouting excitedly.
“Look at him, falling back but still stubborn. Does he really not believe that his mother did that to me?”
As Qian Jin fell, Xu Yang shook his head and said, “Forget it, let’s send him to meet his damned mother and have her answer for this!”
“Haha, alright!”
The other four laughed. For fifty million taels of silver, they would go to great lengths—especially for that one hundred million taels.
Who said no one could be killed in the trial space?
The Qian Marquis had told them that if a fatal blow was struck, the talisman’s formation would automatically activate, sending the victim outside.
But if they seized the talisman first, placed it elsewhere, and then killed the person, that person would truly die!
If they could take Qian Jin’s talisman and kill him, he would die inside the trial space. Each of them would receive one hundred million taels of silver and a recommendation to become a trusted aide of the Twelfth Prince—this was promised by the Qian Marquis himself.
That was their goal!
They began to approach Qian Jin. Only dozens of yards away, when suddenly a girl in red appeared from afar, appearing behind Qian Jin. She crouched halfway down to support him.
Little by little, she helped Qian Jin to his feet. Being small, she could only support one of his arms over her shoulder to lift him up, then fed him several pills.
“Who are you—?!”
The five boys immediately stopped, alert. Xu Yang shouted loudly. To participate in this Heavenly Book Academy test at such a young age meant absolute talent, often backed by powerful forces. They had to be cautious.
“The one who kills you!”
The girl in red was barely eleven or twelve but possessed exceptional beauty—undoubtedly destined to be breathtaking when grown.
Yet her face was icy cold, so chilling that one glance sent a shiver down the spine.
“You had no right to harm Brother Qian, nor to insult him!”
The girl’s voice was clear and crisp. At this moment, her snowy white cheeks radiated cold murderous intent, her eyes seemingly all black with no whites showing.
“You’re looking for death—!”
Xu Yang roared, his true energy surging as he charged toward the girl.
Since she did not reveal her identity, he cared not. No matter how noble, she could not be higher than the Twelfth Prince. Killing Qian Jin meant becoming the Twelfth Prince’s trusted aide. With the Twelfth Prince’s backing, what was there to fear?