"Ugh!"
With a muffled groan, Neps collapsed to the ground forever and closed his eyes.
Zhao Xuan had actually thought for a while about whether he should kill Neps or not.
It wasn't that Zhao Xuan truly feared Neps's three Ninth-Rank Emperor relatives.
Zhao Xuan had a very clear understanding of his own strength.
He admitted it.
With his current power, at most he could contend with an Eighth-Rank peak expert. If he truly encountered a Ninth-Rank Emperor, he would absolutely not be a match.
But—
He had confidence.
Absolute confidence.
He was certain that after leaving the Life City Ruins, his strength would surge dramatically again.
He was sure he would grow so quickly that those furious Eighth-Rank and Ninth-Rank experts on the sea wouldn't even be able to catch up before he advanced further.
Why?
Because—
Once he took all the Life Energy resources these people had gathered over the past three days, combined with the vast resources he already possessed, he could completely reforge his skull seven or eight times in one go.
Seven or eight times.
What did that mean?
Every time he reforged his organs, he gained 200 Constitution.
But reforging the skull was directly related to advancing from Rank Six to Rank Seven.
And according to Zhao Xuan's earlier calculations, completely tempering the skull once required 750 billion Life Energy.
Seven hundred and fifty billion.
Not 7,500.
750,000,000,000.
Reforging organs cost only 50 billion and already gave 200 Constitution.
So what would 750 billion for the skull bring?
The benefits would be terrifying.
That was why Zhao Xuan had been so arrogant earlier.
So swollen with confidence.
Even harboring the thought of humiliating Neps before killing him.
So why did Zhao Xuan ultimately decide to kill him anyway?
The reason was simple.
He calmed down.
All those web novels Zhao Xuan had read in his previous life had taught him one lesson:
When you act, act decisively.
If you don't uproot the weed, it will grow back with the spring wind.
Originally, Zhao Xuan planned to let these people leave, let them run crying to their powerful elders, and then grow stronger through future battles against them.
But now—
He changed his mind.
They still had to die.
Why wait for enemies to come to him?
If he wanted combat proficiency, why not go to their homes and kill them himself?
Why be passive?
Why not be proactive?
One word apart—passive and proactive—
But completely different outcomes.
Whoever holds the initiative has already won half the battle.
Those forced into passivity are often doomed to fail.
"Kill."
Zhao Xuan raised his head and looked around at the remaining people.
Meeting his icy gaze, seeing that cold expression—
A terrible premonition rose in the hearts of the remaining thirty-six people.
Fear.
Pure fear.
"Tap. Tap. Tap."
Zhao Xuan's footsteps sounded.
He walked to the second person lying on the ground.
Under everyone's horrified gaze, Zhao Xuan bent down, picked up the spatial relic heart that man had placed on the ground.
Then—
BOOM!
One punch.
"Pop!"
The man's head exploded like a watermelon.
Red blood and white matter splattered everywhere.
Everyone froze.
Before they could react—
Pop!
Another head burst open.
"D-damn it!!!"
The survivors' faces changed drastically.
Ignoring their pain, they struggled to their feet and fled in all directions.
But—
How could severely injured people outrun Zhao Xuan?
No—
Even if they were uninjured, they still couldn't.
Boom! Pop!
Boom! Pop!
One head after another exploded.
Blood filled the air.
A blonde western girl stumbled and fell.
When she struggled up—
Zhao Xuan was already behind her like a ghost.
"N-no… Zhao Xuan… you said… you said if we handed everything over, you would spare us! You can't go back on your word!"
She screamed.
Zhao Xuan's face remained cold.
"Oh? Did I?"
He suddenly showed a cruel smile.
"I think I said… there was a possibility I would spare you."
"Remember—only a possibility. Not a guarantee."
BOOM!
"Pop!"
Blood sprayed again.
One after another.
Within half a minute—
All thirty-six were dead.
Zhao Xuan then spent nearly two minutes collecting all the spatial relic hearts scattered across the ground.
"What a bunch of trash. Killing you took half a minute. Cleaning up your loot took almost two."
He muttered.
At that moment—
Creak—
The three days were up.
The city gates opened.
Zhao Xuan picked up the final relic heart and walked out of Life City.
After he left—
Silence fell.
Half a minute later—
Figures began rushing toward the gate from within the city.
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