336 A Battle of Life and Death
Xiao Mingyan’s earth-shattering question left everyone speechless. The expressions of the Xiao clan members were extremely ugly, especially Xiao Wuyou, whose handsome features had turned sinister.
Today was supposed to be an important turning point in his life. From then on, he would be able to sit firmly as the head of Jade City’s geniuses and become the object of everyone’s admiration and praise. But now, all of this had been destroyed by Xiao Mingyan.
Xiao Wuyou flew into a rage out of humiliation and was about to go crazy. He said without thinking, “Xiao Mingyan, I shouldn’t have been soft-hearted back then!”
These words undoubtedly confirmed his cruelty to Xiao Mingyan, and the whole audience was in an uproar, like hot water dripping into a pan of oil.
“Are you crazy, Wuyou?” Xiao Hong couldn’t help but berate him, “What nonsense are you spouting here?”
More than half of Jade City’s residents were here, and it would definitely damage Xiao Wuyou’s reputation if news of this spread.
The ruthlessness in Xiao Wuyou’s eyes was revealed at this moment.
“It doesn’t matter, Father. As long as Xiao Mingyan is dead, it doesn’t matter how bad their words are in the future. Time will erase everything. In the future, everyone will only remember that I, Xiao Wuyou, am the winner. What is Xiao Mingyan to them?”
“Xiao Mingyan, do you dare to have a life-and-death battle with me?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire place fell into dead silence again.
When A’tian heard this, a look of disbelief appeared on his face. “How can there be such a shameless person in this world? After snatching someone else’s things, he still wants to initiate a life-and-death challenge. Xiao Wuyou’s skin is way too thick.”
Ye Xuan shook his head and replied, “You don’t understand. Xiao Wuyou is now in a difficult position. No matter what he does, it’s wrong. In any case, his reputation is already in a mess, so he might as well settle everything cleanly.”
Xiao Mingyan stood on the moral high ground, and the Xiao clan had no way of turning things around because this was a fact that had been set in stone. However, in the cultivation world, strength was everything. Even if the Xiao clan’s reputation was tarnished, the comments from the outside world would not be able to hurt them.
Therefore, Xiao Wuyou decided to go all out and completely trample Xiao Mingyan into the dust. So what if people said that he was cruel and merciless? As long as the person involved died, no one would be able to cause any big waves even if they used this as an excuse.
Xiao Mingyan was a little silent. He had probably underestimated the sinister nature of the human heart. Xiao Wuyou had actually said that he would fight to the death. Xiao Wuyou must have thought that although Xiao Mingyan’s wounds had healed, his strength had not recovered yet.
“Why? Are you afraid? If that’s the case…”
“I agree.”
Everyone thought that they were hallucinating, but Xiao Mingyan actually agreed. Even Xiao Wuyou was a little surprised. Originally, he wanted to use this opportunity to make Xiao Mingyan retreat. At least, he could save a bit of his pride.
But this time, Xiao Mingyan actually agreed.
“Let’s not talk about anything else. Just in terms of courage and insight, the Xiao clan’s eldest young master is already much higher than ordinary people. He really deserves our respect.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a courageous young man. What a pity-”
The Fu clan’s clan leader sighed melancholically. His eyes were full of admiration, but he hesitated to speak. The others all understood what he meant.
Xiao Mingyan’s wounds should have healed by now, and he was still alive. However, his supreme dragon bone has been dug out, and his cultivation level has dropped drastically. If he were to face Xiao Wuyou, he would have no chance of winning.
“If I were him, I’d definitely live in seclusion and wait until I’ve fully recovered my strength. It won’t be too late to seek justice from the Xiao clan then. It’s never too late for a gentleman to take revenge ten years later.”
“As long as he’s still alive, there’s hope. Xiao Mingyan’s actions are too rash. So what if he exposed the Xiao clan in public today? It’s not worth it to lose his life for nothing.”
The clan leaders of the other clans also had the same opinion. They could already see the outcome before the competition even started, and they all revealed regretful expressions.
This hot-blooded and brave man was eventually going to shed tears in the netherworld.
However, the younger generation was different.
“Young Master Xiao is my role model. That’s how a person should be, repay kindness with kindness, and take revenge on those who have done him wrong, tit for tat. If he’s such a coward, what’s the point of living in such a sullen way?”
“It is! In the past, I always thought that Xiao Mingyan didn’t have any other strengths besides being strong. Now, I’m convinced that he’s worthy of being called a genius of Jade City!”
Even though the people around them had lowered their voices, cultivators had sharp ears and eyes, so how could they not hear them? Xiao Wuyou’s expression turned extremely ugly when he heard the discussions around him.
“All the best, Xiao Mingyan!” someone shouted. “No matter what the result is, you will always be the number one in Jade City in my heart.”
There were actually quite a few people who called out as well.
The elders had no choice but to step forward to maintain order. “This is the Xiao clan’s internal affairs. It’s a competition between them. Why are you blindly interfering? Be quiet.”
“I just can’t get over my anger at Xiao Wuyou. They are biological brothers and yet, his methods were so despicable, he even…”
He didn’t say anything too harsh in consideration of Xiao Hong’s pride, but everyone knew that the Xiao clan would be humiliated no matter who won or lost this competition.
It was still those elders who hit the nail on the head. “All of you are too young and hotheaded. What’s the use of fighting for your dignity? If you lose your life, what’s the point of fighting for your dignity?”
The other great clans sighed wistfully. If Xiao Mingyan was given a few more decades, he might really be able to catch up to Xiao Wuyou, and there was no harm in starting over again.
However, now that he had agreed to Xiao Wuyou’s life-and-death challenge, the Xiao clan would definitely nip this danger in the bud and not give him a chance to rise again and take revenge.