Chapter 42

Diploxblood City is the first city one encounters after entering the Blood Mountain Range.

On the first day of the opening of the Southern Barbarian Nether Region, most of the cultivators who managed to survive and exit the Gray Nightmare Zone rushed towards Diploxblood City.

As the only gate to Diploxblood City, it was now crowded with a large number of cultivators.

Li Huai chose to fight here, undoubtedly blocking everyone's path. However, no one cared at the moment. Humans have a common trait of loving to watch a spectacle, and cultivators are no exception. They all stood far away, arms crossed, watching from the sidelines.

As Li Huai drew his sword, the imposing and awe-inspiring sword momentum instantly drew admiring glances from all. Everyone believed that under this sword, the three Red Leaf Academy disciples, who were clearly already scared stiff, would surely be splattered with blood.

Some people even showed a look of not wanting to watch.

Buzz!

At this moment, a sound like a dragon's roar suddenly rang out. A black shadow leaped into the battle, and the long sword in his hand swept out like the Milky Way from the heavens.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

A series of dense, drum-like sounds echoed around, and then everyone saw that the myriad sword beams Li Huai had unleashed were all shattered and vanished without a trace. In front of Lu Shaocong and the other two, a tall and imposing young man had suddenly appeared.

"Damn, the originally sure-to-kill sword was completely blocked. This is going to be a good show!"

"Hey, why is it Chen Xi, this unlucky star? When did he become so powerful?"

"Powerful? This unlucky star is courting death! Li Huai is the eldest son of the Li family, the first major clan in Songyan City. Since breaking through three months ago, he has already reached the Purple Mansion realm. To be able to come to the Southern Barbarian Nether Region, he must have taken something like a Yuan Sealing Pill. Even so, he can definitely slaughter most cultivators at the peak of the Innate realm. What else could the unlucky star be doing but courting death?"

...

"What is he doing?"

Listening to the discussions around him, Duanmu Ze frowned and looked at Chen Xi in the arena, his tone filled with sarcasm: "Rushing in foolishly to save people, does he think that with our protection, he can act recklessly?"

Du Qingxi did not speak; she was also very puzzled.

"Chen Xi has a warm heart, a righteous spirit, and makes delicious food. Making such a friend will make one happy for a lifetime." Song Lin, who had been in a half-asleep state, was now fully awake, his eyes bright as he looked at Chen Xi, giving a heartfelt praise.

Upon hearing this, Du Qingxi and Duanmu Ze were both stunned, falling into silence.

Is he overestimating his own abilities? But, if he asks himself, why is he doing this?

When everyone divides their interpersonal relationships based on interests and strength, having someone who is willing to risk everything for a friend, is this not a fortunate thing?

Chen Xi was completely unaware that his actions would have such a profound impact on Du Qingxi and Duanmu Ze.

He was now fully prepared for battle, with no time to pay attention to his surroundings.

Lu Shaocong and the other two had already withdrawn from the battle. They were genuinely grateful to Chen Xi for saving their lives again. They knew that staying in the arena would only distract Chen Xi and be detrimental to the fight.

However, the three of them had already decided that if Chen Xi were to meet with misfortune, they would risk their lives to stand in front of Chen Xi, determined to give him a chance to survive. Because Chen Xi was worth it!

"I was originally thinking about how to catch you to vent my anger for Miss Su, but now you've come to me, giving me a big surprise."

Li Huai, with his long hair flowing over his shoulders, looked coldly at Chen Xi as if he were a dead object. He raised his sword, pointing it at Chen Xi from a distance, "The sword is called Songwen, a rank-ascending magical treasure. Do you dare to fight me?"

With these few words, Li Huai's pride and arrogance were fully expressed, drawing cheers from the crowd.

"Fight!"

Someone in the crowd shouted loudly.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

The passion of the surrounding cultivators was instantly ignited, and they all shouted out, their voices reaching the clouds, drawing the attention of cultivators from afar. Unable to resist their curiosity, they all rushed over.

"What's there to be afraid of?" Chen Xi took a deep breath and said coldly.

As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding sounds instantly disappeared, leaving only the whistling wind. A heavy and tense atmosphere quietly spread around, the tension palpable!

The confrontational gazes of both sides were filled with hostility, making all the onlookers even more excited. Their eyes were fixed on the two people in the arena, not blinking, for fear of missing any detail.

Li Huai is the eldest son of the Li family, with outstanding talent and excellent bone structure. At a young age, he has already advanced to the Purple Mansion realm, making him one of the leading figures among the young generation in Songyan City. Although Chen Xi is not favored by most people, it is not a significant issue. What everyone is most looking forward to is Li Huai's performance.

The Purple Mansion realm!

Most of the people present have strength at the Innate realm level. They are undoubtedly curious about the combat techniques of Purple Mansion realm cultivators. They know that this is an excellent learning opportunity, something they rarely get to see.

"Hold on."

However, just as the battle was about to begin, a calm voice sounded from the city wall, causing dissatisfaction among the crowd. What's going on? Coming to disrupt at this moment, how rude! But when they looked up, their dissatisfaction instantly vanished.

A girl in black gauze stood on the city wall, her charming face glowing with a seductive and alluring luster under the dark red sky. She was none other than the pride of the Longyuan Su family, Su Jiao.

Beside Su Jiao stood Cang Bin, the young man known as the "Little Sword Demon," standing tall on the city wall, his eyes filled with a fierce aura. Though he did not speak a word, his domineering and fierce presence could not be ignored.

These two are core disciples of the six major families of the Southern Border's Longyuan City. In terms of status and cultivation level, they far surpass Li Huai. At this moment, even if the crowd wanted to be angry, they were helpless.

However, Su Jiao's next words reignited the enthusiasm of everyone present.

"Friend Li Huai's strength is excellent, but Friend Chen Xi's strength is also not bad. Such a highly anticipated battle would be too boring without some stakes."

Su Jiao's eyes sparkled with a smile, and without asking Chen Xi if he agreed, she raised her voice to the crowd: "What do you think of my suggestion?"

It was normal for her to say that Li Huai's strength was excellent, but saying that Chen Xi's strength was also not bad surprised most people. Although Chen Xi successfully saved Lu Shaocong and the other two from Li Huai, it was a surprise attack. In a real fight, how could he be Li Huai's match?

In a situation where the outcome was already largely determined, adding stakes was clearly unnecessary and unexpected.

But when Su Jiao suddenly asked them, these troublemakers all shouted, "Good!"

Stakes? Duanmu Ze couldn't help but laugh. This isn't a battle, it's like a martial arts competition for a marriage proposal. However, Du Qingxi, who was watching the battle, didn't find it funny at all.

With Su Jiao's casual words, Chen Xi was now in a difficult position. If he backed down now, he would be labeled as cowardly and timid, and the crowd would not accept it.

Most importantly, almost everyone knew that Chen Xi had once been engaged to Su Jiao. Although the engagement was now broken, if Chen Xi backed down to her proposal, it would be telling everyone: Look, such a coward, how can he match Miss Su? The breaking of the engagement was also a helpless move by the Su family.

"What are the stakes?" Chen Xi stared at Su Jiao on the city wall, his eyes devoid of emotion, cold and mechanical.

"Very simple. If you lose, hand over the Dongming Order, self-destruct your cultivation, and apologize to me, admitting that the breaking of our engagement is entirely your fault." As soon as Chen Xi finished speaking, Su Jiao answered crisply, as if she had already thought of this condition.

Dongming Order!

Upon hearing this, at least dozens of people in the crowd suddenly became serious, all looking at Chen Xi in the arena, their eyes filled with an indescribable greed.

Dongming Order? I didn't expect Chen Xi to have one... But this condition is too malicious. She clearly wants to humiliate Chen Xi in front of everyone!

Du Qingxi's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at Chen Xi, but his expression remained indifferent, giving no hint of his thoughts.

Chen Xi indeed had a Dongming Order, which he obtained from the dual-headed purple rhinoceros demon. He didn't know its effects, but at this moment, his attention was not on this.

When he heard the last condition proposed by Su Jiao, his mind was struck like lightning.

The scenes from when the engagement was broken resurfaced in his mind: the disdainful looks of the Su family cultivators, his grandfather's painful and tragic face, the laughter of the surrounding crowd, the fragments of the engagement document fluttering in the sky...

She is using this as a condition, willing to make me admit in front of everyone that it was all my fault?

Each word of Su Jiao's sentence was clearly heard by Chen Xi, hammering into his heart. He felt his brain explode, blood rushing to his head, and a surge of anger building up in his chest, growing stronger and stronger, so strong that every pore in his body felt like it was about to burst.

At this moment, looking at the charming girl on the city wall, Chen Xi had a strong urge to blast her to pieces!

However, his expression was abnormally calm, without a ripple, without a fluctuation, like a dead pool of water. His eyes were hollow and lifeless, showing no emotion.

If Chen Hao were here, he would understand that his brother was furious! Completely furious! Because no one knew that behind his brother's hollow eyes, there was a burning rage and a desire to kill!

After waiting silently for a long time, the crowd finally heard Chen Xi speak.

A low, resonant voice carried a force that made everyone's hearts tremble: "I accept your conditions, but I also have conditions."

"You speak. Although our engagement is broken, as long as your conditions are not too excessive, I can agree to them." Su Jiao smiled lightly, her charming face radiating infinite charm, stirring the hearts of the crowd.

"Swear a heavenly oath in public, answer my three questions truthfully, and if there is any falsehood, may you be punished by heaven." Chen Xi said each word slowly, his expression becoming even calmer, as if he were talking about something unrelated.

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