Chapter 122: By Killing You, I Shall Become Stronger

“Do you wish to become stronger?”

The voice did not merely resound beside Ning Xiu’s ears. It seemed to rise from the deepest recesses of his heart as well.

Ning Xiu raised his head and looked at the statue of the Xiezhi on the altar. At that very moment, the divine beast was also staring at him with its bright yellow, slit-pupiled eyes.

Man and beast stood facing one another, while everything around them seemed to freeze in place.

Two beings who stood on utterly different levels were now gazing at each other as equals in the depths of the great hall.

The Xiezhi was waiting for Ning Xiu’s answer.

Ning Xiu looked at it, as though he wished to see through the statue and glimpse the even more distant existence behind it.

“If I say yes, are you planning to turn me into a monster like Cold Eagle?” Ning Xiu looked at the statue, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly in a mocking smile.

“Cold Eagle?” The monster on the altar paused, then glanced at the chunks of flesh on the ground and let out a sinister cackle. “No. I intend to grant you even greater power. I admire you. Would it really be difficult for me to help you leap straight beyond the Mortal Transcendence Realm?”

“Of course, when you receive the infusion of divine power, you must lower your guard completely.”

The Mortal Transcendence Realm had nine stages, and advancing through each one was as difficult as ascending to heaven. Yet the Xiezhi had just claimed that it could send Ning Xiu soaring to the summit in a single step.

The temptation was immense. It was a realm that countless people could never reach even after exhausting their entire lives.

What the Xiezhi had never expected was that Ning Xiu would reject it without the slightest hesitation.

“The ninth stage of Mortal Transcendence,” he said. “What an enticing offer. But I refuse.”

“Why?” The Xiezhi looked at Ning Xiu in bewilderment. “I can see the desire for power burning like a raging fire deep within your heart. Why would you refuse?”

“Just as I see that, in my eyes, you clearly disregard all life and embody pure evil, yet still retain that pitiful and ridiculous trace of humanity at the bottom of your heart.”

“Why?”

“Do you truly wish to be a good person, or an evil one?”

“Do you truly wish to remain weak, or do you wish to become strong?”

In this world, the weak were meant to be trampled beneath the feet of the strong. Humanity had only two choices: be trampled, or grow powerful.

That was why, in the Xiezhi’s eyes, the human before it was utterly contradictory. For a moment, even it could not see through him.

Faced with the Xiezhi’s barrage of questions, Ning Xiu slowly raised his head and answered word by word:

“No reason. I have a better way to become stronger.”

“A better way? What method could a tiny human like you possibly have?” the Xiezhi sneered.

Perhaps, from its perspective, the notion was indeed laughable.

But Ning Xiu was perfectly serious.

In his eyes, even insignificant humans could look down upon lofty gods.

“Spend money.” Ning Xiu murmured the words under his breath, then shook his head and looked at the Xiezhi. “Put it in terms you can understand: if I kill you, I’ll become stronger!”

“Foolish!”

The monster on the altar spread the pair of wings on its back and glared at Ning Xiu before roaring furiously.

In the face of its overwhelming ferocity, Ning Xiu’s expression remained unchanged.

“Stop barking in front of me. If you were capable of killing me, you would have done it already.”

“Or you could simply subdue me and continue your ritual. Wouldn’t that be more direct and convenient? The reason you have been patient enough to bargain with me is that, in your current state, you are completely unable to do anything to me.”

Ning Xiu pointed at Cold Eagle’s remains on the ground and smiled.

“In your eyes, he may have been nothing more than a tiny ant. But at this moment, you may not even be as strong as one.”

“Foolish human. You will pay the price for your arrogance!”

The Xiezhi stared coldly at Ning Xiu as boundless ferocity erupted from its body and filled the entire hall.

Roar!

A heaven-shaking roar rang out.

The statue of the Xiezhi on the altar suddenly came to life, transforming into a winged beast of terror that lunged viciously at Ning Xiu.

“Golden Bell Shield!”

Ning Xiu shouted in a low voice.

The beast formed from the statue slammed violently into the ancient golden bell surrounding him.

Clang!

A deep bell toll echoed through the hall.

Terrifying waves of force spread outward in rings, shaking cracks into the surrounding walls as rubble continuously broke loose and fell from above.

The stone used to construct the temple was Blacksteel Rock, renowned for its ironlike hardness. Yet a mere trace of the energy spilling from the clash had already caused such destruction.

“What incredible strength,” Ning Xiu thought.

The Xiezhi was, after all, a god. Although what Ning Xiu faced was merely a fragment of its divine will, it was far from as simple as he had made it sound.

If it truly were weaker than an ant, then just how powerful must the ants in this world be?

“You have not even reached the Mortal Transcendence Realm, yet you already possess your own protective divine aura. Just how many secrets are you hiding?”

The Xiezhi spread its wings and hovered in the air, staring intently at Ning Xiu.

“I would like to see just how long this protective aura of yours can shield you.”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Xiezhi unfurled its wings. Its entire body transformed into a blur as it pounced at Ning Xiu once more.

Its razor-sharp claws repeatedly swept past Ning Xiu’s body, producing a rapid series of ringing clashes like metal striking metal.

The floor, the walls, and even the entire hall began to crack without pause.

Cracks spread outward like a spiderweb.

Ning Xiu was utterly fearless. With nothing but his bare hands, he engaged the beast in close combat.

In Ning Xiu’s estimation, the Xiezhi before him was indeed stronger than Cold Eagle, but not by much.

More importantly, he had discovered that the beast could not remain away from the altar for long.

The farther it moved from the altar, and the longer it stayed away, the weaker it became.

If his Golden Bell Shield had still been at the ninth level, facing the Xiezhi now would have meant certain death.

Even though Ning Xiu had already broken through to the tenth level of the Golden Bell Shield, reaching the state of returning to simplicity, he still found it difficult to withstand the beast’s stormlike assault.

He glanced at the altar in the distance. Then, abruptly abandoning the Xiezhi, he slammed his right foot into the ground and shot toward the altar like a cannonball.

The Xiezhi tried to stop him, but it was already too late.

Ning Xiu took a single step and arrived before the altar. He raised his hand and struck with his fist.

The force of his punch transformed into a colossal golden bull that charged violently into the altar.

The altar shattered with a thunderous crash. Chunks of stone tumbled down, turning into ruins that covered the floor.

Only then did the Xiezhi reach Ning Xiu from behind.

Ning Xiu turned around and stared coldly at the Xiezhi’s body as it gradually hardened into stone. He raised his fist and hurled it forward.

The divine statue exploded, scattering countless fragments of stone across the ground.

“See? This is the method I was talking about.”

“If I kill you, I will become stronger.”

…