The young man with the sword twitched his mouth and furrowed his brow.Looking at the empty treasure vault and the unfamiliar face before him, his expression shifted from a stunned daze to one of intense rage. With a "whoosh," he drew his sword and pointed it directly at Xu Que, angrily questioning:"Who are you? How dare you trespass into my sect's treasure vault!"
Xu Que glanced at the last Swift Escape Rune in his system inventory and calmly smiled:"Bro, you don't even know who I am, and you're already pointing your sword at me? Don't you know the one thing I hate most in life is when people point a sword... uh, at my head?"
"Ding! Congratulations, Host 'Xu Que' for successfully showing off. You have earned 1 Show-off Value."
The young man with the sword froze, confused:"I'm not pointing at your head!"
He quickly regained his composure and scolded:"Stop talking nonsense. To trespass into my sect's treasure vault is to seek death!"
As his voice fell, the young man's sword hummed, emitting a red glow and radiating fiery Yuan Qi. It shot toward Xu Que with blazing speed.
Damn! This guy's no pushover! He's way stronger than that little fairy! From his aura, he's at least in the Foundation Establishment stage! But why do all these cultivators immediately start fighting and get so ruthless?
Xu Que cursed inwardly and immediately gathered his Qi to counter the attack, but he quickly realized something was wrong.A vast surge of energy suddenly erupted within him, racing through his meridians, almost tearing his body apart, like millions of needles stabbing him. The pain caused Xu Que to shudder and collapse to the ground.
"Ah..."
Xu Que clutched his abdomen and dantian area, feeling like the spiritual energy was about to tear him apart. It was as if his body was on the verge of exploding.Why is this happening?Xu Que suddenly recalled the massive amount of pills he had consumed earlier, and his face turned pale with realization.
It's over, I'm doomed.All those pills didn't fail to work. They needed to be catalyzed by me.He hadn't even tried to circulate his Qi after taking them, but when the young man with the sword pressured him, he had no choice but to act, which ended up triggering the energy from the pills all at once.
"Bold thief! What kind of tricks are you trying to play?"Zhang Su Liang, the young man with the sword, looked suspiciously at Xu Que, who was clutching his abdomen and surrounded by dozens of empty pill bottles. His expression shifted from suspicion to shock."You... you ate all these pills?"
Xu Que no longer had the strength to respond. His face twisted as he curled up on the ground, struggling. His face was becoming more and more pale.Even though he had five spiritual roots, he couldn't process all the overwhelming energy coursing through him.
Zhang Su Liang was stunned. These pills... they were the monthly supply for the outer sect disciples! A single Gathering Yuan Pill would allow a Qi Refining disciple to cultivate for over a month.But this guy had swallowed dozens of them in one go, even the Returning Yuan Pills and Body Tempering Pills used for the Foundation Establishment stage! Was he trying to commit suicide out of guilt?
"Ding! Host 'Xu Que' has exceeded his spiritual energy limit. The body is damaged. Would you like to activate the automatic healing function? Note: The automatic healing function consumes 1 Show-off Value per hour."
A system prompt rang in Xu Que's mind. Without thinking, he responded mentally:"Activate it quickly and help me deal with this spiritual energy!"
"Ding! Automatic healing function activated successfully. 1 Show-off Value deducted."
"Ding! The 'Ancient Five Elements Art' you are practicing is only the Beginner's level, and cannot process all the spiritual energy. You must purchase the Intermediate level."
Swish!As the automatic healing function activated, Xu Que immediately felt the intense pain in his body lessen. At the same time, a glowing shopping interface popped up in front of him, showing the system's marketplace.This was the first time he had checked the system's marketplace, which listed numerous items, including a variety of magical arts and treasures.
However, when he saw the price of the Intermediate level of the "Ancient Five Elements Art," he nearly spat out blood.
"The Intermediate level costs 100 Show-off Value? Damn, why don't you just go rob someone? I've been showing off for a whole day, and I can't even afford a single magical art!" Xu Que immediately cursed angrily.
Zhang Su Liang frowned, about to speak, when Xu Que's face suddenly changed again. He let out another agonized scream.
"Ah..."The scream was so tragic it was not faked. The automatic healing function could no longer keep up with the destructive speed of the spiritual energy. He had eaten too many pills, and his mortal body simply couldn't withstand the immense pressure.
"Rather than letting you die in such pain, I'll give you a quick death!"Zhang Su Liang, feeling some sympathy, gripped his sword tightly, preparing to end Xu Que's suffering with one strike.
Xu Que, seeing this, gathered the last of his strength and gritted his teeth, saying:"Don't worry about me. Everyone must die eventually, some heavier than a mountain, some lighter than a feather. If I don't enter hell, who will?"
As his words fell, a whoosh was heard, and Xu Que vanished without a trace, seemingly having exploded into nothingness, his soul destroyed and his body not even leaving a trace.
Zhang Su Liang stood there, his mouth agape, unable to recover for a long time. It seemed he was stunned by Xu Que's dramatic words before his death.
...However, Xu Que had not died. He had simply feared that if he stayed, Zhang Su Liang would kill him with a single strike. So, he decisively crushed the Swift Escape Rune to escape, but just before leaving, he had to add one final bit of show-off.
But it wasn't very impressive. The system still rewarded him with a single Show-off Value. Compared to the 100 Show-off Value needed for the Intermediate level of the "Ancient Five Elements Art," it was nothing.
The key issue was that Xu Que had the automatic healing function still running. Every hour consumed one Show-off Value, but the spiritual energy had yet to dissipate and was only growing stronger, like potent alcohol with a kick.At this rate, it would never end.
Xu Que was teleported to a mountain stream, his back resting against a large tree. He propped himself up and summoned the Show-off System. The screen interface appeared:
"Host: Xu QueRealm: Qi Refining Stage, 10th Layer (Initial Understanding)Experience: 0/1000Show-off Value: 15Cultivation Method: 'Ancient Five Elements Art' (Beginner Level)Profession: NoneStatus: Fire Yuan Kingdom Prince ConsortCurrent Life Status: Critical…"
Looking at the last line of text, Xu Que's mouth twitched violently.Critical was never a good thing—it was like receiving a death notice in a hospital, basically a verdict of death!
"Damned system! You promised to help me show off and fly high! Hurry up and tell me if there's a solution!" Xu Que clutched his abdomen, his face filled with pain.
"Ding! System has found a solution based on your current Show-off Value and life status..."
Hearing this, Xu Que's eyes lit up with hope for his life once again.But the next moment, his world went black.
The system automatically opened the shopping interface, and there, prominently displayed, was a cultivation method called 'Self-Destruction of Meridians'!