Abundant Martial Arts Virtue

The hourglass on the dining table had its last few grains of sand.

About 5 minutes left.

Wu Xiaode laid down his knife and fork, contently wiped his mouth, then picked up his red wine and took another sip.

"One last question."

"Please ask," said the old man with the white wig.

"What is the development strategy of Molten Fire Castle?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"That's a great question," the elder smiled and raised his glass, "our goal has always been to kill more creatures and capture their souls."

"Some of these souls are kept as slaves, some are used as food, and we cannot keep those endowed with Merit for fear that fate would bring us disaster."

"Therefore, we send souls with too much Merit for reincarnation."

"Adhering to this strategy, we aim to grow strong during the Pangu Era and create new glories."

Wu Xiaode earnestly finished listening and clapped his hands together.

"Thank you for your explanation, I am honored to have reached a strategic partnership with you."

He said with heartfelt sincerity.

The elder put down his wine glass and snapped his fingers.

Immediately, several ghosts stepped forward and placed two contracts on the table.

Wu Xiaode opened the contract and began to sign.

The elder also signed his name on another copy of the contract.

The two men exchanged smiles, stood up, shook hands, and exchanged contracts.

Flashes of light began to appear around them.

Flowers.

Applause.

Thunderous applause.

Someone excitedly shouted, "Long live the Castle!"

Rows of ice crystal characters emerged in the Void:

"You have reached a strategic partnership with Molten Fire Castle."

"The powerful souls you attract for investment will be exclusively authorized for use by Molten Fire Castle."

"The task of capturing powerful souls will be undertaken by the honored Castle."

"This contract is now established."

All the characters gathered.

"So—when do we start?" the elder said with a smile.

Wu Xiaode looked into the Void, and lines of ice crystal characters rapidly appeared before him:

"The task 'Divine's Gift' has reached a milestone."

"The powerful Mysterious life 'Lord of Radiance' will soon be transported before you to fulfill the prearranged battle for Life and Death."

"Defeat your opponent to receive the corresponding reward, or immediately lose the Heavenly Realm Skin."

"—Prove you deserve to survive!"

Wu Xiaode's gaze became profound.

In reality, after such a big runaround, the nine Sequences merely wanted to use this task to take the Heavenly Realm Skin from him.

To slaughter humans, they were competent.

But to strip away the skin, it seemed they had no other means besides this one.

That's why there were 24 hours, each hour challenging with another powerful Mysterious life.

—A war of attrition.

Human energy is limited; regaining full Power in just one hour is simply impossible.

Unless one spends a fortune in Gold.

However, not only was there a war of attrition, but they also allowed Mysterious lives an early advantage, preventing oneself from killing monsters to enhance the skin.

All paths were blocked.

Any other person would immediately feel the despair in this situation.

But the one facing this predicament wasn't just anybody.

It was me.

They didn't know what I used to do.

Strictly speaking, they didn't know what titles I had won in the future.

"I have one final request," Wu Xiaode said.

"What is it?" the elder asked.

"It's too hot here, I would like to get some fresh air when we fight later," Wu Xiaode said.

"That's easy to arrange. Just walk out of the courtyard, and there's a swimming pool outside. Servants, move the wine there and prepare everything nicely," the elder said.

A few ghost servants took their orders and left.

The remaining ghosts, including the elder himself, all looked at Wu Xiaode with anticipation.

"Let's begin then," Wu Xiaode stretched out his hand, turned to the surrounding ghosts, and asked, "Who has spare fireworks tubes?"

A skeleton servant spread his hands and said in a deep tone:

"Three different styles, black for the Death Butterfly Swarm, white for the Floating Ghosts, and multicolored for Seven-colored flowers."

"These were prepared especially for today's signing ceremony."

Wu Xiaode picked a multicolored fireworks tube.

"Pay attention, you have to twist here," the skeleton servant reminded him, pointing at the bottom of the tube.

"Here? Got it," said Wu Xiaode.

On the dining table.

The last grain of sand in the hourglass fell through.

Instantly, the Void opened.

A man clad in heavy armor, wearing a dark mask, and nearly two meters tall, stepped out.

—A Mysterious existence, the Lord of Radiance!

He carried a massive metal flail which dragged deep grooves into the ground.

"Surprise!"

Wu Xiaode twisted open the fireworks tube.

Whoosh—

Lavish, colorful fireworks burst forth across the courtyard filled with powerful ghosts.

The Lord of Radiance, who came ready to kill, was about to act but was distracted by the fireworks and environment.

Ghosts are lurking all around, fireworks covering the skies.

—No one could ignore such a drastic environmental change.

"Have fun with it."

Wu Xiaode tossed the used fireworks tube to the elder standing beside him and turned to walk out of the courtyard.

The swimming pool over there has been prepared.

"I will have a lot of fun, but won't you stay to watch?"

The elderly figure stared intently at the Lord of Radiance, his smile stretching out the wrinkles on his face, almost failing to conceal his true form.

"It's too heart-wrenching for me to watch so many of you beating up on just one person."

Wu Xiaode said without looking back.

Even as piercing shrieks came from behind him and sharp winds blew past, with something aiming to strike Wu Xiaode and various kinds of energy lights appearing swiftly—

Wu Xiaode still did not turn back.

He walked straight out of the courtyard, arrived at the outside pool, stripped off his clothes, and with a "plop," jumped in. He swam freely through the water like a liberated fish, darting back and forth at will.

He swam two lengths of the 100-meter pool.

"Are you thirsty?"

A skeleton attendant asked from the side.

It stood with meticulous posture, holding a tray with chilled strong liquor, ready to serve Wu Xiaode at any time.

Two beautiful Dark Angels came towards him, their waists twisting as they walked.

Wu Xiaode shook his head and dived back under the water.

In the depths of the water.

Several lines of small characters popped up, one by one surfacing:

"Death Skill 'Soul Shock' has received enough sacrifices to begin evolving, estimated time:

"Five hours."

"Your battle with the Lord of Radiance is in progress, please make your move within one minute."

"Failing to act for an extended period will be judged as combat cheating, and your life will be forfeit."

One minute, huh?

Tsk, this quest conjured by the coalition of the nine sequences is indeed tough.

"Little Black dot."

"I'm here."

"We need to find a way to detach ourselves from the 'Divine Gift' sequence," Wu Xiaode said.

"In fact, as long as you do not summon it next time, you will not trigger its summoning Causality Law, and it will have no power over you," Little Black dot said.

"But it can still drive other mysterious beings to kill me," Wu Xiaode said.

"Correct, which is why you must strive to become stronger," Little Black dot said.

Wu Xiaode surfaced.

The two beautiful Dark Angels had already approached him, singing songs full of Hellish charm softly in his ears.

About fifteen minutes passed.

A Death Giant four meters tall trotted over, shaking the surface of the water with its steps and bowing its body, trying to speak in a tone as elegant and noble as possible:

"Bright Ghost, sir, he is hanging by a thread, you see—"

"What took you so long to play?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"The master hasn't killed an enemy this strong in many years and was very excited, so it took a bit more time," the Death Giant said respectfully.

Wu Xiaode got up from the water and climbed ashore.

The two Dark Angel women immediately wrapped him in a multicolored towel.

Wrapped up, Wu Xiaode walked back to the courtyard.

He saw that the so-called Lord of Radiance was already hanging in mid-air, covered in wounds, completely immobile.

His Battle Armor, weapons, treasures, and Storage ring were neatly arranged on the ground.

"Do you need anything from these?"

The elderly figure, holding a cup of blood, took a gentle sip, and asked with a face full of pleasure and satisfaction.

"As per our agreement, I won't take any spoils of war," Wu Xiaode said.

The elder smiled and waved his hand behind him.

All the ghosts cleared a path.

"As per our agreement, I leave the last breath to you, Bright Ghost," the elder said.

Wu Xiaode stepped forward slowly, standing in front of the Lord of Radiance, raising the Butterfly Soul knife—

the sheath of the knife.

—As if worried about soiling his own hands, Wu Xiaode used the sheath to slap the great Lord of Radiance, who had countless powerful subordinates, on the buttocks.

The health bar emptied.

The battle concluded with that.

Waiting not even a moment, a series of prompt runes quickly emerged:

"You have killed the Lord of Radiance."

"This battle did not adhere to the principles of fairness, did not engage in a true contest of life and death, and did not fully demonstrate your value and that of the opponent."

"There is no reward for this battle."

"The next battle will be adjusted, please wait."

Wu Xiaode let out a cold laugh.

Indeed.

Sequence Beasts descended from the Holy Realm with the purpose of aiding the turnover of mysterious life eras, not to bring hope to humanity.

So how could one expect them to treat everything with fairness?

They were coveting his Heavenly Realm Skin all along!

How should he respond?

Wu Xiaode fell silent for a moment.

Actually, no matter how he responded, it would be futile.

They were continuously pushing him towards a dead end. What could he do then?

There are still countless people in the world.

Mysterious life forms had already begun to reap the lives of the beings of this world.

At this incredibly dark moment, how should one act to be truly correct?

At a certain moment.

A spark of spirit light suddenly appeared in his mind and he couldn't help but snap his fingers loudly.

"Castle master, could you please clear the area? I'll need to use this place for about seven to eight minutes," Wu Xiaode said.

"No problem."

The elder gestured with his hand and all the ghosts retreated out.

In the courtyard.

There was only Wu Xiaode and the corpse of the Lord of Radiance left.