Chapter 109: I Dare to Offer, Do You Dare to Accept?

“Repeat what you just said?” Ling Xiao’s sudden question stunned everyone into silence, and the atmosphere instantly grew tense once more.

The elder who had spoken earlier cleared his throat lightly and said, “Young Lord Ling, I meant to count the spirit crystals found at Humen as belonging to your Guigu Sect.”

Ling Xiao gently placed Mu Yiren into Gu Mingyan’s arms, clasped his hands behind his back, and cast a cold glance at the elder. “Since when have the possessions of Guigu been for you to distribute?”

The elder snorted coldly. “What do you mean by that, Young Lord Ling? Are you saying you want to keep all these spirit crystals to yourself?”

“Enough noise!” Ling Xiao raised his hand and delivered a palm strike. The elder’s pupils constricted as he hastily summoned his energy to block, but Ling Xiao’s strike moved in an eerie arc before landing squarely on his face.

“Smack!” The crisp, resounding slap left a bright red mark swelling across the elder’s cheek.

The elder’s disciples immediately shouted, “You—Ling Xiao, you’re going too far!”

Ling Xiao toyed with the jade finger ring on his hand, his expression indifferent. “What’s all the yelling about? There’s no respect or etiquette in front of me. I’m just teaching him a lesson. I was kind enough not to kill him.”

“You—!” The crowd glared at Ling Xiao with blazing eyes.

“So what exactly do you intend to do?” someone asked cautiously.

Ling Xiao paused briefly, hands still clasped behind his back, face cold and expressionless. “There are seven sects present here today. Naturally, the spoils should be shared among us.”

A collective breath of relief swept through the crowd.

“However!” Ling Xiao’s next words immediately tightened the atmosphere again. “These spirit crystals were found on Guigu’s territory! How they are divided is my decision alone.”

Frowns appeared as the others ventured, “Then... Young Lord Ling, how do you plan to divide them?”

“Simple! As the host, Guigu takes ninety percent. The remaining ten percent is split among the other six sects.”

At once, the room erupted.

“You—! That’s an outrageous demand!”

“You take all the meat and don’t even leave us a sip of broth?”

“There’s not just one sect here. Besides Guigu, there are six others! If you push us too far, don’t be surprised if Guigu ends up empty-handed!”

Ling Xiao gave them a disdainful glance and snorted softly. “What if I gave all the spirit crystals to you? Would you dare accept them?”

“Why wouldn’t we? You’re just relying on the fact this is Jiangzhou! But so what? Guigu is still a hundred thousand li away! Even if you bring reinforcements, it won’t be anytime soon. By then, we’ll have taken the crystals and returned to our mountains! What are you afraid of?”

“In that case, enough talk. Let’s settle this with action! Winner takes all; the losers keep their lives.”

The words silenced the crowd instantly.

It’s easy to shout with words—who doesn’t dare? But when it comes to fighting, it’s skill and life on the line! Who would truly dare?

Watching the scheming crowd below, Ling Xiao sneered in contempt. “A bunch of cowards. With such little courage, you dare to fight for prey at the tiger’s mouth? Laughable.”

He paused, eyes growing colder. “I’ve changed my mind. Guigu will take all the crystals here. The rest of you, leave.”

A gasp of shock filled the hall.

Gu Mingyan slapped her forehead. “I knew it. Bringing this guy here means Guigu takes all the spirit crystals—but there will definitely be bloodshed!”

“This guy doesn’t have the words ‘yield’ or ‘back down’ in his dictionary!”

The others, no longer able to tolerate such arrogance, fixed their eyes on Ling Xiao with murderous intent, as if wishing to tear him limb from limb.

“Ling Xiao, don’t think we’re afraid of you! If it comes to a fight, the outcome is far from certain!”

“Enough noise!” Ling Xiao cast a contemptuous glance and slashed out a sword light with a raised hand, instantly beheading his opponent.

Blood splattered across the ground, staining the dried branches and fallen leaves, igniting the fury of the others beyond endurance.

“Ling Xiao! You’re going too far! Since you show no mercy, don’t blame us for being ruthless! Kill him!”

“Ling Xiao, you brat, let’s see how you end up! Without Guigu’s reinforcements, this time next year will be your death anniversary!”

“A bunch of trash—I alone am enough!”

Facing the onslaught of hundreds of martial cultivators, Ling Xiao showed no fear. He stepped forward and unleashed a single punch.

Bang!

The disciple at the forefront was blasted into a bloody mist by Ling Xiao’s strike.

Several others surged forward, but Ling Xiao kept one hand behind his back and wielded his other hand, enveloped in energy, to slash repeatedly.

Each sword strike, an invisible energy blade, reaped one or multiple lives.

Those sect disciples who had moments ago been shouting to bury Ling Xiao now found themselves staring in horror at his terrifying power.

Ling Xiao’s strength was overwhelming—almost monstrous.

Despite the gathering of over six hundred martial saints and masters—dozens at the peak level—all were crushed beneath Ling Xiao’s might as effortlessly as a mantis trying to stop a chariot. How terrifying was this?

To ordinary people, martial cultivators were already godlike—one could slay hundreds, even thousands.

But Ling Xiao was far more dreadful; he could slaughter hundreds, thousands of martial cultivators indiscriminately, crushing all regardless of strength.

Such terrifying power was surely at least equal to the pinnacle of the tenth stage of Martial Saint.

Otherwise, not a single one among the five or six hundred present would have touched even a corner of his clothing.

Far away, those from Humen who had already left trembled at the sight.

“This is terrifying! This kid is not human!” An elder from Humen wiped cold sweat from his brow and smiled with relief.

“Good thing we didn’t insist on saving face earlier, or we’d be done for now!”

“This guy is not to be provoked! Once we return, the mountain gate will be closed for a year. No one is allowed to go out! We must wait until after this Hundred Sect Contest to act!”

“Yes!” the others agreed in unison, feeling not resentment but relief.

To be enemies of Ling Xiao was a death sentence.

Below, the disciples were now terrified. Ling Xiao was like a grim reaper crawling out of hell, allowing no room or hope.

A casual wave of his right hand sent energy blades slicing through their defenses, killing them mercilessly.

In less than a minute, he had wiped out two-thirds of the six hundred cultivators. The remaining few no longer had the courage to fight.

“Run... Run! Get out of here!”

“Retreat! Stop fighting! This guy’s not human—he’s a monster! Don’t fight him! You’ll die!”