What Jun Changxiao thought was to provide Su Xiaomo with a showing-off stage to shine brilliantly in the Taixuan Sacred Sect outer sect disciples’ training, thereby gaining recognition from above.
In fact.
Su Xiaomo had his own complete plan.
First, his pretended strength at Taixuan Sacred Sect was just entering Wushi. Winning first place in the Yunling Mountain Range training wasn’t realistic, so he decided to take the tragic route.
What was the tragic route?
It meant artificially creating trouble for Sun Yingquan and Xia Shuiyun, then at the critical moment stepping forward himself to help them bear the damage, pretending to be heavily injured and exit.
The plan was perfect, reality was cruel.
Purple Zilin Demon King saw his kinsmen being killed and immediately lost control of his emotions, directly assembling the tens of thousands of fierce beasts inside to form a beast tide that attacked the Taixuan Sacred Sect outer sect disciples.
At this time, Su Xiaomo definitely couldn’t step forward, after all his cultivation was only Wushi. If he could survive the beast tide, that would definitely raise questions.
However.
Even more desperate.
Old Niu transformed into his original body and upon appearing injured and drove away Elder Sun, leaving only a group of outer sect disciples trembling.
In this situation, even if he unleashed his Wuwang cultivation, he might not be able to handle it!
The plan and script were all chaotic, difficulty increased N levels. Su Xiaomo simply couldn’t perform anymore!
Calling Purple Hall Master and Old Niu unqualified actors was already quite mild.
To put it bluntly.
A bunch of pig teammates!
However, no matter how wrong the script, how difficult the play, ultimately it still had to be performed!
Su Xiaomo stood up, both arms hanging down, swaying unsteadily, “If… if you want to kill, kill me. Don’t… don’t harm my senior brother…”
He now not only had to continue the tragic route, but also had to think of ways to delay time.
As a top-tier sect, they should have already received news that outer sect disciples encountered beast herd attacks and should have already sent experts to aid, right?
Yes.
Already received.
However, from the sect to Yunling Mountain Range required some time.
“Gousheng…”
Sun Yingquan, heavily injured on the ground, was stunned.
He never expected that Junior Brother Su would perform so manly in this situation. In contrast, he and other fellow disciples were scared out of their wits.
“Bang!”
Old Niu slapped over again.
“Boom!”
Su Xiaomo crashed heavily into the stone wall, using spiritual energy to force blood from his body. Staggering to his feet, his disheveled hair revealed eyes flashing with determination, “These two slaps… can they trade for my senior brother’s two lives?”
“Junior Brother Su…”
The Taixuan Sacred Sect outer sect disciples were all dumbfounded.
“Keke keke.”
Old Niu laughed strangely, “Kid, you’re quite resilient. Fine, let’s play a game. Withstand one of my slaps, spare one person’s life.”
Fortunately, this old brother could follow the script. Otherwise, the play really couldn’t be performed.
“Huff—”
Su Xiaomo took a deep breath. Because it pulled his injuries, his face immediately contorted.
“Come… come on…”
A qualified undercover agent’s every action, every gesture must be at the level of a Best Actor.
The Taixuan Sacred Sect disciples had already determined from his superb acting that he was barely holding on, that he was using his life to delay time.
“Boom!”
Old Niu struck another slap.
Su Xiaomo flew out magnificently, then fell to the ground, one foot twitching slightly.
“…”
Old Niu thought secretly, “Acts so realistically!”
Though it looked like he used a lot of force, in reality it was just so-so. Even a Wutu wouldn’t feel pain.
“Wah!”
Su Xiaomo forced out another mouthful of blood, then staggered to his feet.
Sun Yingquan and Xia Shuiyun were both dumbfounded. After being bombarded multiple times in succession, clearly already heavily injured, why could he still stand up?
“Heh.”
Old Niu said with surprise, “You little Wushi are really quite resistant to beating. Looks like I need to use a bit more force.”
This sentence told the Taixuan Sacred Sect disciples that he hadn’t been serious about killing, giving an explanation for why Su Xiaomo could withstand multiple attacks.
“Old Niu.”
Su Xiaomo transmitted, “Strike harder, the kind that breaks bones!”
Always standing up like a roly-poly, there would definitely be flaws. If they were going to play, play to the extreme.
“Huff!”
The fist bombarded over.
“Bang—”
“Crack!”
The sound of ribs breaking came. Su Xiaomo flew out and crashed to the ground with a boom.
“Junior Brother Su!”
Sun Yingquan pressed down his injuries and roared with clenched fists.
At that moment, grief appeared in the eyes of the Taixuan Sacred Sect disciples. After all, Su Gousheng was doing this for everyone, which was why he was being trampled by spirit beasts!
“Evil beast!”
Sun Yingquan roared, “If… if you have the guts, come at me. Don’t hurt my junior brother…”
Though this guy was somewhat arrogant, at this time he was also stimulated by Su Xiaomo’s iron-clad performance to reveal his manly blood.
As for those other disciples, they also showed expressions of facing death without fear.
“Don’t rush.”
Old Niu smiled coldly, “Soon it’ll be your turn…”
He stopped abruptly, because Su Xiaomo struggled to his feet in a half-kneeling position, one hand supporting the ground, one hand covering his chest. Blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. His voice was weak as a mosquito, “I… I haven’t… fallen yet…”
“Old Niu!”
“Come step on me a few times!”
He could only gamble now that Taixuan Sacred Sect experts would hurry with reinforcements. All he could do was delay time as much as possible.
“Understood!”
Old Niu walked over and said coldly, “Looks like I was too merciful, letting you live until now!”
He raised his foot and stepped down.
“Bang!”
“Bang!”
“Bang!”
He trampled frantically.
“Junior Brother Su…”
If Sun Yingquan weren’t injured, at this time even risking death he would rush over.
“Bang bang bang!”
Old Niu trampled Su Xiaomo to his heart’s content.
The huddled Taixuan Sacred Sect outer sect disciples all watched with furious eyes.
“Still not coming…”
In the crowd, though Xia Shuiyun always maintained a cold appearance, her heart was extremely anxious.
“Whoosh!”
“Whoosh!”
“Whoosh!”
Suddenly, in the distant firmament, hundreds of flowing lights were racing over at extreme speed, the aura emanating in the sky very powerful!
“Old Niu.”
Purple Zilin Demon King transmitted, “We can withdraw.”
“Let’s go.”
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
In an instant, Old Niu and other spirit beasts retreated.
The tens of thousands of fierce beasts surrounding the Taixuan Sacred Sect outer sect disciples also scattered like birds and beasts.
As soon as they disappeared, Taixuan Sacred Sect experts successively landed. These people’s strength was all at Imperial level. If they fought with Purple Zilin Demon King, it would surely shake heaven and earth.
“Are you all alright?”
The leading middle-aged man inquired.
“Elder Shen!”
Xia Shuiyun quickly pointed toward Su Xiaomo lying in the distance covered in wounds, “Junior Brother Su is heavily injured and needs immediate treatment!”
Woman.
So you’re not cold after all.
Su Xiaomo very contentedly fainted.
Though the difficulty of the play increased considerably, he gambled correctly. Taixuan Sacred Sect was quite fast in rescue.
…
When the pretend-unconscious Su Xiaomo woke up, he was already lying in a Taixuan Sacred Sect sickbed.
“Junior Brother Su!”
Sun Yingquan, his wrist wrapped in bandages, quickly stood up, “You finally woke up!”
“Senior Brother Sun…”
Su Xiaomo said, “Where… where is this place?”
Sun Yingquan knew he’d been unconscious and didn’t understand what happened afterward, so he quickly explained.
“Is that so… everyone’s safe…” Su Xiaomo smiled with difficulty, “That… that’s wonderful.”
Sun Yingquan said, “Junior Brother Su stepped forward in the face of danger, delaying time for everyone and avoiding more fellow disciples dying. Senior Brother is deeply moved!”
“This… this is what I should… cough cough…”
Su Xiaomo didn’t continue because he needed to pretend his injuries were very severe.
Life is like a play, depends entirely on acting skills.
Sun Yingquan quickly said, “Don’t speak, focus on healing your injuries first.”
“Slap.”
Xia Shuiyun appeared in the sickroom and placed a pill bottle on the table, saying indifferently, “This is Clear Heart Ice Skin Pill, can quickly restore injuries.”
After saying this, she turned and left.
“This…”
Sun Yingquan was dumbfounded.
Clear Heart Ice Skin Pill was the sect’s high-grade healing medicine, extremely difficult to obtain. This woman actually took out a whole bottle!
…
In the great hall.
Over ten Taixuan Sacred Sect elders were conversing.
The topic was: why would spirit beasts comparable to Imperial level and fierce beast herds appear in the outer Yunling Mountain Range for no reason?
Elder Shen speculated, “The altar side previously sent news that Purple Zilin Demon King has broken the seal. Could it be this guy causing trouble?”
“That’s a possibility.”
“Looks like if we don’t quickly find that demon creature, it’s a threat to our Taixuan Sacred Sect and even the entire continent.”
“Finding is necessary, but it belongs to the altar side’s business. We don’t need to stick our necks out.”
“The disciple called Su Gousheng is alright, isn’t he?”
“Though injured severely, treatment was timely. He’s now out of danger.”
“To still step forward for fellow disciples and delay time in a life-or-death situation, this courage is rare and valuable. This old one believes he must be properly rewarded.” Elder Sun said.
Nearby Elder Xia said, “Shuiyun told me the process. At that time all outer sect disciples were terrified. Only he dared stand out. He should be used as an example.”
The authoritative Third Elder was silent briefly, then said, “Since this training was interrupted by the beast herd, let Su Gousheng take first place and reward him with five hundred merit points.”
Everyone had no objections.
If not for Su Gousheng risking his life to stand out and successfully delay time, the several hundred disciples would have all died long ago. Giving him merit points was well-deserved.
…
“Junior Brother Su!”
Sun Yingquan came to the sickroom excitedly, “In view of your performance in Yunling Mountain Range, the elder council decided to reward you with five hundred merit points.”
Su Xiaomo was dumbfounded.
In the plan, going to Yunling Mountain Range for training this time he wouldn’t fight or compete, only needed to play the tragic character and gain the goodwill of two disciples with elder backing. He never thought he’d gain such high merit points!
Being able to receive a reward was naturally because of Purple Zilin Demon King.
However, that guy was currently standing in the Spirit Beast Hall with his head lowered alongside Old Niu, being scolded by Sect Master Jun.
“You two big shots!”
“This seat told you to help Su Xiaomo show off and provide him an opportunity to shine brilliantly. Not to launch a beast herd attack, not for you to show off!”
“Taixuan Sacred Sect sent so many Imperial-level experts to aid. If there had been a mishap and the disciple’s identity was exposed, you’d bear the blame even in ten thousand deaths!”
Purple Zilin Demon King said quietly, “It’s not that serious, right?”
“Whoosh!”
Jun Changxiao sat down to drink tea and said, “Since the matter wasn’t handled smoothly, this month’s three meals a day are reduced to two, middle-grade beast core quantity halved.”
“Ah?”