"Interesting…"
Zhao Xuan's expression turned strange as he looked at Felimon and his five companions.
What was this?
Surrender?
You're just surrendering like this?
You're supposed to be prodigies.
Seventh-Rank Venerables.
Where is your pride as geniuses?
Yet, looking at the six of them begging for mercy, Zhao Xuan felt an inexplicable surge of exhilaration in his heart.
So…
Without realizing it…
He had already grown to this extent.
Grown to the point where even a group of Seventh-Rank genius Venerables had no choice but to beg him for their lives.
The thought alone sent a wave of boundless pride rushing straight into his mind.
He could feel it.
His mastery over Conqueror's Haki had deepened.
The presence of that domineering aura in his mind had grown thicker and more solid.
If Zhao Xuan opened his status panel right now, he would see that the proficiency of his Conqueror's Haki had suddenly jumped by ten thousand points.
Coming back to his senses, Zhao Xuan looked at them again.
His gaze fell on the large pile of Life Stones and spirit herbs laid out before them.
Then, meeting their hopeful eyes, he spoke calmly.
"If I kill you, I can still take all of this."
"So why should I spare your lives?"
"Should I leave you alive so you can seek revenge later?"
"Or so you can regroup with others and come back to fight me?"
"I, Zhao Xuan, have always believed in one thing—cut the weeds and remove the roots."
"So."
"You want me to spare you? Fine."
"But you'll need to give me a better reason."
Truthfully, Zhao Xuan said this casually.
He was simply curious to see what tricks Felimon and the others could still come up with.
As his words fell, silence enveloped the area.
The faces of the six grew even paler.
Despair thickened.
"3."
Zhao Xuan began counting down.
He wasn't going to wait forever.
If this had been the old him, he would have killed them already to avoid complications.
But now—
After his massive power surge…
After confirming through that clash that he could absolutely crush the Seventh-Rank geniuses inside this city…
Zhao Xuan had become a little arrogant.
His mentality had inflated.
So, for once, instead of killing immediately, he gave them three seconds.
"2."
"1."
Just as Zhao Xuan raised his hand to strike—
Felimon suddenly seemed to think of something.
The despair on his face was replaced with sudden excitement.
"Wait! Wait! Zhao Xuan!"
"We can help you gather Life Stones!"
"You're strong, but one person's efficiency is limited!"
"The six of us, even if we're not impressive, can still hunt around two Golden Guard squads per hour!"
"Our luck may not be great, but on average each squad gives us one high-grade Life Stone and fourteen ordinary ones!"
"That's about 15 billion per squad, or 30 billion per hour!"
"After subtracting about 20 billion for recovery using Life Stones, we can still make around 130 billion per hour!"
"There are more than two days left before the city gates reopen!"
"Even accounting for rest and searching for targets, we can at least gather Life Stones worth 400 billion!"
Felimon stared at Zhao Xuan.
He took a deep breath.
"All of that—we can give to you."
"But if you kill us now… you won't get that 400 billion."
Zhao Xuan froze.
He didn't want to admit it.
But he had to.
He was tempted.
After a brief silence, Zhao Xuan suddenly smiled.
He stared deeply at Felimon, who now wore the expression of someone who had said everything and was ready for whatever fate awaited him.
"You're smart."
"I have to admit—your proposal moved me."
Relief instantly appeared on all six of their faces.
They looked like survivors of a disaster.
"But!"
Zhao Xuan continued.
"Four hundred billion is not enough."
He raised five fingers.
"Five hundred billion."
"In two days, when the city gates reopen, I'll be waiting there in advance."
"If you can't hand over resources worth five hundred billion…"
"Then don't blame me for being merciless."
"And if you think you can join up with Neps and the others—thirty, forty people together—and somehow defeat me or even kill me…"
"Then feel free to try."
After saying this, Zhao Xuan walked past them calmly.
He collected all the Life Stones and spirit herbs they had gathered over the past dozen hours into his relic space.
Then he turned and left.
In the blink of an eye, his figure disappeared from their sight.
Silence fell.
Time ticked by.
After a while, one of the girls spoke hesitantly.
"Felimon… are we really… really going to…?"
Felimon let out a long, unwilling sigh.
"What choice do we have?"
"We could reunite with Neps and the others…"
"Useless," Felimon interrupted with a helpless shake of his head.
"You all felt it just now."
"That guy's strength… I suspect it's already comparable to a high-tier Eighth-Rank King."
"Even if we unite, we might still not be his match."
"But… but…"
"There's no 'but'."
Silence returned.
All six stood there with clenched fists and dark expressions.
Their unwillingness slowly faded.
What remained—
Was resignation.
They had completely accepted their fate.
--------------------------------------------------
Read Chapters ahead: [email protected] / KaiOynx