CHAPTER 360
Courage
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When two men speak to this extent, there is no turning back.
Only one of them would walk away alive.
"Let me guess—you've got quite a few men ambushing me up on that mountain, huh?"
"Tell them it's pointless. I can't beat you. If you insist on fighting, I'll call Xiao Ai to save me."
Su Cheng put on an indifferent front, with a hint of confidence, yet his eyes carefully studied Shen Rui before him.
Shen Rui was utterly speechless, almost amused by her.
"Are you serious? You think I'm afraid of her?"
"How would I know unless I try?"
"I thought you'd call that brainless love-struck fool to save you."
"That vixen would love to see me dead. It's a miracle she didn't drag him along to deal with me."
A gentle breeze swept through the mountain corridor, carrying the constant, adorable rustling sounds.
The saplings swayed slightly, stirred by the airwaves rippling from the unfurling divine power.
There was no one nearby—if there were, they were enemies.
This time, no one would disturb Su Cheng. Likewise, no one could come to her rescue.
The so-called "Xiao Ai" was merely a test—Su Cheng only wanted to gauge how much Shen Rui knew about the positioning anchor.
Judging by Shen Rui's reaction, it was clear he remained unaware.
This meant the location anchor was most likely still in this world. Su Cheng suspected it was probably in the Northern Realm.
But that was assuming she could survive getting out.
The sword formation unfolded in an instant. There was no room for hesitation now. The moment he rose, if he didn't swing his sword, death would be certain.
[Tongzi, can I borrow some more?]
[Ding~ Not possible. Repay the outstanding system points before reapplying.]
He knew it…
Now, all that's left is…
Go all out! Don't hold back!
"Shen Rui, what's our deal?"
"Are you gonna fight or what? Why all the chatter?"
"Got a rush to fight?"
"Talking sense is a bit urgent, but I'm genuinely curious—who would actually come to save you?"
"I'm not trying to stall. I just want to see if I can gently wake your sleeping heart."
"I'll smash your skull open!"
Yeah, as a traitor, who could possibly come to his rescue?
As a target of universal hatred, he was practically a rat scurrying through the streets. Those seeking his death were all his former subordinates—each wielding immense power and influence. Who among ordinary people could possibly save him?
Gripping his massive sword tighter, Su Cheng held it before him, murmuring incantations to summon a scroll-like artifact.
Watch as the vast scroll unfurled like a curtain—not Dongfang Jue’s Map of the Realm, but another immortal-grade artifact: the Embroidered Landscape Map.
The scene instantly transformed into a game-like interface. As system restrictions were lifted one by one, permissions unlocked, granting Su Cheng access to numerous treasures.
The earth transformed into boundless wilderness, where one could even smell the fragrance of grass beneath their feet.
"Xiao Ai said, when mortals slay gods, what they lack isn't strength."
"Do you still believe such nonsense?"
An ice-blue spear slowly materialized in Shen Rui's grasp. Compared to Su Cheng, he appeared ordinary, like an everyday person.
No howling winds, no crackling thunder—he possessed none of those grand displays. Frankly, they were superfluous.
Before the authority of the gods, none of that mattered.
This spear itself was authority incarnate.
"Xiao Ai said that enemies you face head-on are far easier to deal with than those on a chessboard."
"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"
"You're fairly straightforward, aren't you?"
"You know full well they're my people."
Shen Rui said this, though it sounded more like a question.
But he was right. Just by looking at the style of their armor, Su Cheng could tell which army those dozen armored warriors belonged to, and guess whose men they were.
"At least you're standing before me now, aren't you?"
"Because they don't seem to be your match."
Su Cheng smiled wryly. You can't reason with the damned. He had already given this general ample face.
As commander of the Thirteenth Legion, he deserved such treatment. Regardless, Su Cheng owed the former hero the respect he deserved.
"But unfortunately, neither are you."
For the vast majority of the children who had come here, this was their first encounter with this so-called King, this so-called Sovereign.
But they didn't care. It had nothing to do with them.
Just as the Qingyue Garrison obeyed only Gu Ai's commands, their king was Shen Rui alone.
Removing the armor-piercing arrowhead from the shaft, he replaced it with a marked one and tightened it. Su Cheng wore only light armor of low grade; a standard explosive arrow would suffice to suppress him.
But Su Cheng had no intention of taking on the entire group alone. The instant he teleported out, his divine power erupted. Utilizing the Frostblade Array, he countered the spatial suppression while simultaneously pulling Shen Rui and Su Cheng into an illusion with the Embroidered River and Mountain Scroll.
This Embroidered River and Mountain Painting was not like Dongfang Jue's River and Mountain Painting, capable of creating an environment for one-on-one combat. It was merely an illusion.
While possessing the Jiangshan Sheji Diagram might slightly improve Su Cheng's odds, the advantage would be negligible—such a scenario was fundamentally impossible.
The gap between them was not that of a child versus an adult, nor a child facing a boxing champion. This was a battle between mortals and a deity.
The odds of victory are not zero, but they approach zero infinitely.
Su Cheng dared to stand here solely because the sword in his hand could wound his opponent—there was still a sliver of hope.
【So how much can my cultivation improve?】
There was no other way. Without system points, Su Cheng could only pin his hopes on Ling Mountain—hoping the newly recruited disciples were of decent quality?
According to the system description, both expanding the sect's influence and boosting villain reputation would yield cultivation rewards.
He hadn't claimed these rewards in ages.
Judging by today's initiation ceremony, during the Ling Mountain martial arts competition, those three precious treasures had thoroughly made Lingxian Hall shine. The so-called villain reputation had certainly accumulated quite a bit!
But judging by Li Shiyao's expression, it seemed the outer sect hadn't received many disciples?
However, the system doesn't distribute rewards based on headcount; instead, it allocates them according to the quality of the disciples. That's good news.
In other words, a disciple's aptitude and innate talent also influence the system points and cultivation rewards they receive.
While disciples like Qinghan and Shiyao possess exceptional talent, yielding substantial cultivation and system point rewards, disciples with the innate gifts of the three direct disciples are exceedingly rare.
[Ding~ The Ling Mountain Apprenticeship Ceremony is still ongoing. Confirm to redeem cultivation rewards now?]
[Confirm.]
[Ding~ Apprentice Rewards: Outer Sect Disciple Chu Youwei 450,000 System Points, Outer Sect Disciple Su Muchan 20,000 System Points, Outer Sect Disciple…]
To be honest, Chu Youwei's 450,000 system points left Su Cheng feeling a bit overwhelmed by the favor…
Su Muchan's 20,000 system points were within Su Cheng's expectations, but the other disciples barely exceeded 5,000 system points each.
Was this recruitment reward determined based on their strength at the time of initiation?
Honestly, Ye Qinghan only received 2,000 system points when she joined! Li Shiyao's initiation reward was just 10,000?
But it wasn't unreasonable. Li Shiyao had only reached the Golden Core stage upon joining, and Ye Qinghan was merely at the Qi Cultivation stage when he became her disciple. Su Cheng now felt he had taken them on too early…
But with over 500,000 system points now, he wouldn't have to risk death to deal with Shen Rui…
Whoa… Wait a minute…
【Huh? Why hasn't it arrived? Where the hell is my system point reward? Why is it only 100,000? This isn't even enough to buy a damn enhancement set!】
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