Chapter 36 - 36 33 Who is More Ruthless

36: Chapter 33: Who is More Ruthless 36: Chapter 33: Who is More Ruthless A commotion suddenly erupted, and True Qi surged like a wild torrent, as the dark-skinned youth and his party brazenly struck out. Their fierce punches and palm strikes all aimed directly at Ye Xuan. “Step back a bit.” Facing the siege of the dark-skinned youth and the others, Ye Xuan showed no sign of panic, instead he looked towards Nangong Yao and the others, signaling for them to move back. The dark-skinned youth’s eyes quickly darkened upon seeing this; the kid was outrageously arrogant. However, he soon realized his mistake. As he watched his comrades being effortlessly sent flying by Ye Xuan, rolling on the ground and wailing, it came to his turn, and without even lasting a round, he too was captured alive by Ye Xuan. “How is this possible? Which family’s Princely Heir are you?” The dark-skinned youth’s face bore an expression of disbelief. Among the pricely heirs in this hunting ground, there were definitely no more than a handful who could subdue him in one move, and he recognized all of them. How could Ye Xuan have captured him with a single stroke? “Asking so many questions is useless, hand over the Demon Cores you’ve obtained.” Ye Xuan lazily placed the knife against the dark-skinned youth’s neck. “I won’t hand them over, do you really dare to kill me?” Sёarch* The Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The dark-skinned youth shook his head, not believing Ye Xuan would dare harm him. After all, they were all legitimate offspring of major families and naturally, none can be easily killed. “Really not handing them over?” A tinge of mockery appeared at the corner of Ye Xuan’s mouth, causing the dark-skinned youth to feel unsettled; still, he refused to yield and would not hand them over. “Yaoer, turn your head away.” Under the somewhat perplexed gazes of those around, Ye Xuan suddenly turned and instructed Nangong Yao, who, without much thought, turned away. Pfft! Right after Nangong Yao turned away, Ye Xuan’s knife moved; a flash of the blade and the dark-skinned youth suddenly felt a cool breeze between his legs, only then realizing his trousers had fallen, and Ye Xuan’s knife tip was now pressed against his underwear, just a slight scrape away from unimaginable consequences. “What are you trying to do?” The dark-skinned youth’s face paled dramatically. Under such circumstances, anyone would likely be thrown into a panic—if Ye Xuan’s hand trembled, this could spell the end of his life. “Do what? I just want you to think carefully. If you don’t hand over the Demon Core, you might not be a man in the future,” Ye Xuan said with a smile. At this moment, Ye Ba, Meng Hao, and others also looked at the dark-skinned youth with malicious intent, chuckling to themselves. No wonder Ye Xuan had asked Nangong Yao to turn away; indeed, this scene was not suitable for a young lady. But Ye Xuan’s move was really ruthless… “Kid, you’re from a noble family too, how can you use such a shameless trick?” The dark-skinned youth’s face was slightly ugly as he continued to struggle. However, Ye Xuan was no longer willing to entertain him, speaking indifferently: “Enough talk. I’ll count to three, and if you’re still undecided, I’ll make the decision for you. One, two…” “Wait!” The dark-skinned youth’s face underwent a drastic change, seeing Ye Xuan about to strike and out of fear, he hastily stopped Ye Xuan. “Kid, you’re ruthless!” Biting his teeth in reluctance, the dark-skinned youth took out a brocaded box from his chest and threw it to Ye Xuan. “That’s more like it.” Only then did Ye Xuan smile, opening the brocade box to check its contents. Inside, there were indeed more than a dozen Demon Beast Cores, among which three or four were Second Rank Demon Beast Cores. Although they were all from Early Stage Second Rank Demon Beasts, this haul was still larger than what they had gained along the way. “Thanks, we’re leaving.” While the dark-skinned youth painfully watched on, Ye Xuan pocketed the brocaded box. He then flashed a radiant smile at the dark-skinned youth, who could only respond with a smile, daring not to show the slightest dissatisfaction. After calling out to the few people behind him, he casually stepped over the four lying on the ground and continued towards the depths of the jungle, leaving the dark-skinned youth and his five men, with faces filled with egg pain, not expecting to have kicked such a hard iron plate just after they made their move. Now all their efforts had gone down the drain. … After encountering the dark-skinned youth and his five companions who had blocked the way, Ye Xuan’s group subsequently ran into two more unlucky teams who intended to take action against them, only to end up benefiting Ye Xuan, making his purse swiftly bulge. Strolling leisurely along, but the gain in Demon Cores was faster than the painstaking effort of hunting Demon Beasts. This made Ye Xuan couldn’t help but sigh; no wonder so many people were thinking of hitting others’ fortunes—this method was indeed quite good. Along the way, they encountered some rampaging Demon Beasts, the highest of which were merely Second Rank Early Stage. Clearly, they posed no threat to him, and there was no need for him to take action as Nangong Yao alone could easily handle them. The little girl’s growth in actual combat had the likes of Ye Ba marvelling; now, apart from Ye Xuan, who was the undoubted core of the team, Nangong Yao had become the main attacker, her efficiency increasing by the day. This created a growing sense of distance among the three of them. As time passed, Ye Xuan and his team gradually delved deeper into this hunting ground forest. Most of the people they encountered at this point were quite capable, as traversing the countless dangers to arrive here was no easy feat without some skill. On their journey, they had collected as many as fourteen Second Rank Early Stage Demon Beast Cores and even more First Rank Demon Cores, no fewer than fifty. However, when it came to scoring later, the quantity of Second Rank Demon Cores would likely be key because, according to the rules, one Second Rank Early Stage Demon Beast Core was equivalent to ten First Rank Pinnacle Demon Beast Cores, or twenty First Rank Later Stage Demon Beast Cores. Conversely, a Second Rank Middle Stage Demon Beast Core was equivalent to ten Second Rank Early Stage Demon Beast Cores, encouraging everyone to hunt High Rank Demon Beasts, as killing numerous Low Rank Demon Beasts was not as profitable as killing Second Grade ones. In the blink of an eye, half a day had passed since they started their hunt. Now, with the fierce sun suspended overhead, the forest was, inevitably, somewhat stuffy and hot. “Let’s rest here for a bit.” Considering there wasn’t much distance left to cover, Ye Xuan allowed everyone to take a short break. After half a day of continuous hunting and fighting, people were bound to be tired. Ye Xuan closed his eyes slightly but, just moments later, he furrowed his brows, feeling a sense of unrest, “Why is it so quiet around here?” The forest had been filled with beastly roars throughout their journey, but now, not only were the roars absent, but even the sounds of birds were gone, making the silence somewhat unnerving. Rustle… Pushing his hearing to the limit, Ye Xuan heard a slight sound coming from the bushes. After taking several steps forward and looking in the direction of the noise, even though he saw nothing, a faint Demon Energy began to spread through the forest. However, just as Ye Xuan’s gaze drew back, two pairs of green eyes suddenly appeared out of the bushes. Swoosh! Like a gust of wind, a dark figure burst out of the bushes and pounced on Ye Xuan as swiftly as a storm, kicking up dry branches, leaves, and dust. “Hmm?” Ye Xuan had keen senses, and though he hadn’t detected anything at first, he became alert the moment the dark figure attacked. Instinctively dodging, he threw a punch at the shadow. Bang! The sound of the collision echoed, and Ye Xuan’s figure leaped onto a large tree, where his gaze settled on the dark figure, and he finally saw what it was. Before him was a strange black tiger with two heads, surrounded by very solid Demon Energy. Its eyes glowed green with murderous intent. “A Second Rank Middle Stage Demon Beast, Two-headed Demon Tiger!” Ye Xuan’s expression shifted slightly. No wonder it was so silent around here—the nearby area must be the territory of the Two-headed Demon Tiger. Other Demon Beasts, knowing that such a creature lurked here, would not dare to step foot in this region. “It’s lucky to encounter a Second Rank Middle Stage Demon Beast here.” Ordinary people would be terrified at the sight of the Two-headed Demon Tiger, but a glint of delight appeared on Ye Xuan’s face. So far, he had collected many Second Rank Early Stage Demon Beast Cores, but he had not one of the Middle Stage, and they hadn’t come across any either. It was probably rare for such a Demon Beast to exist in this vast hunting ground, so encountering one was down to luck. However, the Two-headed Demon Tiger was cunning enough to ambush, its intelligence clearly not low. If others encountered it, it would be a nightmare rather than good fortune. Roar! Failing its sneak attack on Ye Xuan, the Two-headed Demon Tiger’s fierce gaze intensified. It crouched and sprang lightning-fast toward the large tree where Ye Xuan was, stirring a gust of foul Demon Wind. Naturally, this commotion alerted the others. Nangong Yao and the rest were about to help when Ye Xuan stopped them, “This Two-headed Demon Tiger is formidable. Don’t interfere, lest you get hurt. It could backfire.” Hearing this, they refrained from acting. What Ye Xuan said made sense; more people didn’t necessarily make things better, sometimes it could hinder. Crack! The attack of the Two-headed Demon Tiger was extremely fierce; a tree was torn apart by one swipe of its claw. At the same time, Ye Xuan had drawn his Star-cutting Saber and with a flash of the blade in midair, sparks flickered, striking the forehead of one of the tiger’s heads. Sizzle… The Saber’s light mingled with lightning, charring the Tiger’s forehead instantly. It howled in pain as its claws ferociously reached for Ye Xuan, aiming to shred him to pieces. Ye Xuan, with his splendid footwork, quickly stepped on the broken trunk, leaping up as the wood beneath him was torn to pieces. Seizing this moment, he landed another lightning-laden saber slash on the tiger’s back, leaving a bloody wound. “Who would’ve thought that even a creature as strong as the Two-headed Demon Tiger would be reduced to merely taking hits from Ye Xuan?” Meng Hao couldn’t help but exclaim, recalling a time in the Panlong Mountains when facing Jing Tian, who was at the First Grade Martial Master Realm, he had exhausted himself completely to win. Yet in just a short two or three months, Ye Xuan’s strength had grown so fearsome.