Chapter 295
Chapter 295: The Crazy and Foolish Cowed by the Crass
Translator: Myriea_ActiasLuna Editor: Nou
Li Ying had always given the impression of someone crazy and foolish—someone who was filled with evil energy and extremely difficult to deal with—but truthfully speaking, he was neither. From the moment he was born, Li Ying had fought against his eight other brothers both openly and in secret using everything he could until he became the sole survivor and crowned prince to the throne. He was extremely clever and calm, and although he had an aura of ruthlessness around him, he’d been learning how to control this aura ever since he was born; how could it genuinely affect his thoughts?
However, the Ghost Kingdom’s unique traditions were incredibly hard to believe, and the methods they used for certain things made others think they were a gathering of a bunch of madmen. Although he didn’t like to admit it to himself, Li Ying knew he had the appearance of a madman as well, but he was also clever enough to realize long ago that pretending to be a mad fool was quite beneficial for him. Everyone would keep several steps out of his path, and even the so-called hidden royalty of Jambu—the Huangfu clan—held themselves back whenever they met him; he was the only one who could dare to casually pick at his ears and freely touch the breasts of his concubines right in front of the Huangfu clan.
And yet, the crazy and foolish Li Ying was forced back into his original shape by Fang Xing. This Snowy Mountain disciple who’d once been a servant was simply too ruthless and crass, and all that absolute power left Li Ying with no other choice but to reconsider how he should handle this. This Snowy Mountain person really seemed like he wanted to fight to the death with him, but Li Ying didn’t really dare to do so—it was simply not worth it.
These distinguished young elites would often have control over powers far more advanced than their age, and even those still in early Foundation Stage would have enough ability to cause late-Foundation Stage cultivators some concern. The problem was that in order to show such battle prowess, a price would often have to be paid, and something like “running completely out of Qi” was the least that could happen.
Li Ying could feel how dangerous Fang Xing’s battle prowess was; he knew even if he used the secret spells of the Ghost Kingdom, his chances of winning would still only be fifty-fifty. Furthermore, If he did win, he would be completely out of strength and unable to fight for a couple of days afterwards, and it just so happened there were plenty of people who viewed him as an enemy. Even when looking only at the immediate area, just how many people around this basin had he offended? If he used up all his strength, who could tell how many people would come to beat him down like a drowning mutt?
With these concerns in mind, Li Ying had no desire to genuinely fight Fang Xing to the death. Killing his Ghost flunky would have been fine, but Fang Xing just had to kill his Ghost general right in front of him as well. He’d needed to vent after witnessing such a thing, but in the end it was nothing more than that—he’d simply been venting his anger. Under normal circumstances, wouldn’t they simply exchange a few blows and—after seeing neither could do much to the other—say a few mean words before calling it off? This bastard was clearly the one who’d caused the most damage, so why did he look as though he was willing to fight to the death? Simply put, Li Ying had truly chanced upon misfortune.
The two forces of gold and black gradually moved around Fang Xing, his viciousness not diminishing for even a moment. “Explain it all clearly! Why did your imp make a face at me? Hurry and speak!” Fang Xing yelled towards Li Ying with growing severity, unwilling to let the matter pass.
No matter how reluctant Li Ying was, he still wasn’t willing to show he was the one at a disadvantage. “You’ve already killed them, what does it matter?”
“Dead…. Hmph, then I’ll let that go!” Fang Xing’s expression darkened. “But your Ghost general too, why did he attack me? Explain that to me!”
Li Ying clenched his teeth. “Isn’t he also dead?”
“Bullsh*t!” Fang Xing yelled. “You think being dead is enough?”
Li Ying had nearly gone mad by now and was loudly gritting his teeth. “What exactly do you want, then?”
Fang Xing sneered. “I want you to remember you’ve already greatly offended me!”
Li Ying was taken a bit aback at first, but a strange sensation began to rise up—this was rather refreshing! If it had been anyone else, they would have eagerly tried to smooth things over; this was the first time in all his life someone openly stated they held a grudge against him. Even still, Li Ying saw this as a great chance to bring this to an end and he instantly called back without expression, “Good. Once all of this has settled, we’ll make sure the matter is cleared!”
“If you dare, don’t run away, else I’ll come chasing you to your Ghost Kingdom to send you on another cycle of reincarnation!” Fang Xing yelled while pointing towards Li Ying, his voice filled with arrogance and aggression.
Li Ying trembled in rage—no one had ever insulted him like this before! It was so much he nearly wanted to fight this bastard immediately, but when he recalled how willing Fang Xing was to fight to the death, he could only clench his teeth and endure. When it came to something like fighting with one’s life on the line, the more one lost their head, the more disadvantaged they’d become. Li Ying was someone who’d always played the role of a mad fool and forced others to retreat, but after meeting this Snowy Mountain disciple today, it was Li Ying who was temporarily forced to retreat instead. In his mind, he vowed that if he found the chance, he’d leave this bastard in a state even worse than death.
Swoosh ….
One golden shine, one bloody shine, both flew back to their respective areas.
This result left the surrounding cultivators extremely surprised. Considering the pair’s temperaments, everyone had expected—and hoped—the two would fight until someone was dead or heavily wounded even after the opportunity appeared. This would have naturally given the surrounding cultivators an advantage, and they were disappointed the two stopped partway. Of course, not a single person was willing to reveal such thoughts.
The empty space surrounding Fang Xing where not a single person dared to get close became slightly larger. Fang Xing might have been someone who’d left Hahn Longzi unable to speak, but now he was also a freak who was able to fight the Ghost Kingdom’s prince without falling behind. Who dared to provoke someone like this?
“Shixiong Fang, thank you, Shixiong Fang….” All the Wanluo disciples came up to show their appreciation for Fang Xing and worship him like a god. Compared to Leng Ziyan who’d been left in such a sorry state by one of Li Ying’s generals, how impressive was Uncle Fang who’d rushed at and bashed Li Ying himself? His existence truly was godlike in their eyes. If they’d followed this kind of Foundation Stage shixiong, they probably wouldn’t have been left behind by Prince Chu Huang and would’ve been able to go deeper inside the Mysterious Domain where the legendary Spirit Stage opportunities could be found.
These Wanluo disciples had planned on trying the opportunity here and leaving regardless of the outcome, but now they were starting to reconsider. They were wondering whether or not they should follow Fang Xing from now on to go deeper into the Mysterious Domain to find even more fortune.
Fang Xing smirked and stopped the group of Wanluo disciples before they bowed to him. “Hehe, don’t bow to me so quickly! I do approve of that old bastard Wanluo being my shifu, but I don’t approve of you being my shidi!”
Everyone was surprised by this and looked to each other with blank stares, uncertain what he meant. Someone’s mind moved quickly and he began to mournfully beg towards Fang Xing, “Shixiong Fang, is it because you’re upset at us for not coming to greet you earlier? Or are you angry at us for being so childish as to offend you before? Please, please have mercy and forgive us this time! Back at the Wanluo Court, we really didn’t know that… we really didn’t know how mighty you are, and just then, it was Shixiong Leng— Leng Ziyan who prevented us from coming to bow to you….”
Once he began, the others followed suit. “Yes, Shixiong Fang, you are a merciful man! Please forgive us this time!”
“This shidi finally understands everything; I am willing to do anything for Shixiong Fang and follow your orders….”
“Within this Mysterious Domain, everything I find will be given to Shixiong to allocate….”
In a short moment, everyone from back to front began to show venerating expressions while flattering him.
Fang Xing, on the other hand, became impatient at such a display and began to sneer. “Are you sure? The young master of the Huangfu clan has actually set up a bounty for my capture….”
With that single sentence, all the Wanluo disciples suddenly became quiet and looked at each other without being able to respond. They weren’t stupid; even their toes could tell which was more threatening between the young master of the Huangfu clan and the prince of Ghost Kingdom. Although this Shixiong Fang might not have been disadvantaged after a few rounds with the Ghost Kingdom’s prince, what would happen when he met with the Huangfu clan’s young master…?
Such a reaction had been well within Fang Xing’s expectations and he let out a cold laugh. “I won’t hide anything from you since I’m an honest and frank person. I never wanted to save you group of bastards, I only did what I did then because that Ghost Kingdom’s imp made a face at me and made me angry. But for Wanluo’s sake, it’s not impossible if you guys want my protection. You just have to pay the price!”
“Wha— what price?” someone stuttered with obvious concern.
Fang Xing stuck out his hand and folded two fingers inward while leaving three standing. “Thirty percent!” His gaze swept across the Wanluo disciples before he started coldly laughing once more. “I can guarantee no one will dare to annoy you before you enter this place of opportunity, and I can also ensure you will be sent inside at the fastest speed. The condition, however, is that I will take thirty percent of what you find inside. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, now is it?”
The disciples were all quiet and uncertain, and they looked at each other with clear hesitation. This caused Fang Xing to become even more annoyed and he directly sneered at them before continuing, “To tell you the truth, thirty percent is already the lowest price your grandpa has ever asked for in his life. Do you really think I care enough about you bastards to let you keep seventy percent? That seventy percent is my way of paying back that old bastard Wanluo; you should consider yourselves very lucky!”
The Wanluo disciples all showed a bit of awkwardness and lowered their heads without speaking. Fang Xing simply pulled out his wine gourd, took a gulp of spirit wine, and let out a cold laugh. “One more thing, that Curse of the Blood Baby from that ghost kid is nothing for your little grandpa. I have a way to resolve it….”
In mere moments, let alone the Wanluo disciples, all the other cultivators who’d been contaminated by the curse also began to glance over.