CHAPTER 334
Dignity
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"Master! Watch your back!"
Su Cheng heard the warning clearly. Dodging the blade with a sidestep, he executed a mid-air crescent slash, striking forward with his sword!
But at that very moment, the system's enhancement period had also concluded.
[System, what benefit do you gain from my death?]
[Ding~ System 13.0.4 will remain by the host's side indefinitely.]
【I said I would save everyone, including you.】
[Ding~ The System is a personified entity. Please refrain from harboring bizarre notions. The System is not some brainless, big-breasted masochistic nymphomaniac.]
【Damn it, I didn't mean it like that…】
【Ding~ 500,000 System Points deducted. Medium-intensity temporary enhancement activated. Time remaining: 02:59:58. Current System Points: -372,695.】
【Thanks. I'll make good on my word.】
【Ding~ System 13.0.4 reminder: You are in debt. Please repay within seven business days.】
【Ding~ Failure to repay system points promptly will result in service suspension and random negative status effects.】
With a single sword sweep, Su Cheng surveyed the cleared wilderness before him, feeling much more at ease. Now they had nowhere to hide.
Gazing up at the thirteen figures drifting in the sky, Su Cheng pursed his lips in resignation. They had indeed pursued them.
【System, I'm kinda curious—what do you look like?】
【Ding~ The system does not currently support facial customization.】
【What if it really is some brainless bimbo or whatever? That'd be pretty entertaining, right?】
The system seemed annoyed, but Su Cheng didn't mind. This thing couldn't function without him anyway—he'd just have to coax it along.
Besides, if what the system said was true—that it would die if he did—
He'd long sensed it—this system clearly possessed emotions. Yet some of its words were so cryptic, as if it felt someone's gaze upon it.
But when he said he'd save everyone, he never joked. If possible, he'd try to save this system that had always been by his side.
Of course, regardless of whether it was a big-breasted, brainless masochistic nympho…
"How dare you stare at me?"
Su Cheng narrowed his eyes slightly. Thirteen figures drifted in the air, their jet-black armor treated with a matte finish to blend into the black mist. Only thirteen pairs of golden eyes flickered faintly within the darkness.
"The Heavy Armored Guard Squad of the Qinglong Pass, Captain Lingyue, reporting to Your Highness."
The woman slowly lifted the hem of her skirt armor, mimicking a curtsy as if to humiliate Su Cheng, now reduced to a cripple.
She was the sole woman in the squad, yet her strength appeared utterly formidable.
"Hmph. Royal Army? Which king? Wielding blades against me is treason. How dare you still call yourselves the Royal Army?"
"Your Excellency, you are unaware. I am here on orders to eliminate the traitor."
Su Cheng waited for the longsword to charge its energy. Damn it, this 500,000-grade body enhancement just couldn't compare to a million-grade one!
"Doing something like this, you don't seriously think you'll walk away alive, do you?"
"Your Excellency, let's make this dignified. We know you're stalling for time. It's pointless."
In an instant, the thirteen men, moving with seamless coordination, launched forward. As arrows flew from unknown directions, Su Cheng sidestepped them, and the battle erupted!
There was no time for hesitation. While the enemy fielded thirteen, Su Cheng wasn't alone either!
Xu Zhanfeng, Yu Lan, and Dongfang Jue shielded Ye Qinghan behind them, while Cheng Liang and Shangguan Rou joined the fray.
Ye Qinghan hadn't anticipated this turn of events. She'd intended to intercept the incoming projectile, but it was too late…
"Su Cheng! Who are they?"
With such odds, it meant each of them was facing two opponents!
And clearly, the strength of each of these opponents was not to be underestimated!
Even Cheng Liang was struggling to keep up!
Compared to cultivators, this pack-like squad demonstrated far more coordinated teamwork and orderly assaults. Cheng Liang's sword formation couldn't even touch them. Only Yu Lan and Su Cheng could barely hold their ground; even Xu Zhanfeng was struggling!
They showed no interest in prolonged combat, leaving no opportunity for direct confrontation!
One slashed with a blade, another delivered a kick, and occasionally, some projectile weaponry would fly in!
It became clear that Su Cheng's individual strength was useless—he couldn't protect everyone.
Whenever he tried to pin one down and finish it off, either Ye Qinghan or Dongfang Jue would get into trouble, forcing him to rush back to protect his master's direct disciple!
"Hmm~ Master, it's quite lively over here~"
Li Shiyao pretended to have circled back, though she'd actually been standing nearby the entire time, not moving a muscle…
Truthfully, when that blade flew toward Master, she’d wanted to intervene too—but she couldn’t outpace the teleportation mirror.
"Shiyao, take your senior and junior sisters away from here!"
"Why?"
"Your senior sister is injured! This place is too dangerous. Get them out of here!"
Li Shiyao tilted her head, still wearing the Chaos Bell, and walked toward the center of the battlefield.
Her defenses were maxed out. Unless ambushed, she truly had little to fear!
Unless it was someone like Sister Xiang or Sister Liu, she truly wasn't afraid.
With a dazed expression, she crouched beside Ye Qinghan, pressing her small hand against the wounded abdomen and began healing him.
He had been observing for quite some time. It seemed those people were using his senior sister to pin down his master.
Still, it wasn't working. The wounds inflicted by the white blades couldn't be stopped with immortal techniques, and the master's immortal medicine had only limited effect. Though slight improvements were visible, if this continued, the senior sister might die right here.
Kneeling beside his senior sister, seemingly oblivious to his master's cries nearby, golden light enveloped the two of them.
"Shiyao, you shouldn't have… come back…"
"Senior Sister, in your condition, must you still scold Shiyu~"
Ye Qinghan's hand rested on her lower abdomen, her face deathly pale. This time, she truly looked as if she might breathe her last at any moment.
"This place… is dangerous… Listen… Hurry away."
Li Shiyu pouted, her face full of disobedience~
"If Senior Sister wants to scold Shiyu, she'll have to get up first, won't she?"
"You…"
Li Shiyu sighed, hesitating as if resigned to her fate. But only for a moment—then she tore open her collar.
Ye Qinghan was her senior sister after all. If it were anyone else, Li Shiyu truly wouldn't have the heart to do this.
This was a divine medicine even their master couldn't bear to consume—a potion capable of pulling someone back from the gates of death.
The Second Matriarch retrieved the fragrant, warm jade bottle from the First Matriarch's possession. The bottle was inlaid with silver carvings, making it exceptionally beautiful.
Through the crystal-clear vessel, the divine medicine within was clearly visible.
Golden light radiated from the elixir, piercing through the jade-like bottle and streaming through the silver-inlaid carvings, dazzlingly brilliant. It was clearly a rare, supreme elixir.
She knew her senior sister possessed some too, and she understood just how precious this substance was. After all, her senior sister hadn't yet reached the point where she couldn't even lift it with her bare hands.
Even if she were sold into slavery, it would likely not be enough to purchase this elixir capable of granting a second life.
Even if she were to serve as a furnace vessel for two lifetimes, she doubted she could trade away the bottle that held the medicine.
If it were hers, she doubted she could part with it either—she'd rather die than use it…
But she felt her senior sister was more precious than the elixir. She had few good friends, and even fewer who were willing to be her friend.
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