294: Chapter 294 I'm Giving You a Choice

The thunder blade slashed down sideways.

Enveloped in myriad flashes of lightning, like a long blade judging sins, it slashed toward that Ninth-tier Deacon.

Hiss—

The startling lightning cleaved through flesh and blood, running along the Ninth-tier Deacon's shoulder and completely splitting his body apart.

Spring-like blood gushed out, but it was scorched pitch-black by that searing thunder. The Ninth-tier Deacon's arm and half a leg were separated from his body.

"Ahhhh—"

Even as a Ninth-tier expert, it was hard to endure the pain of severed limbs, and he screamed out.

His vitality had become extremely tenacious due to his martial dao level; even with his flesh cut open, he could still survive, but he had permanently lost an arm and a lower leg.

The remaining four deacons watched this scene, involuntarily feeling a chill run through their entire bodies.

They saw it clearly: that SS-rank just now had not borrowed the origin thunder of Leichi Mountain; that was the opponent's own power!

They had originally thought the opponent was only this strong because he borrowed Leichi Mountain, but they hadn't expected his true body to actually possess such strength, which filled the deacons with vexation.

Just what kind of monster was it that they wanted to hunt?!

The bespectacled deacon gave a bitter smile. "Prodigy Shen possesses a peerless bearing. It was presumptuous of us. We ask Prodigy Shen to spare our lives."

Shen Xingchen landed steadily. "What, didn't you just say I didn't know whether I was living or dying?"

Seeing Shen Xingchen execute the method of slaying with a single thunder blade while still remaining calm and collected without changing his expression, the deacons' hearts sank even further.

Could he wield such a strike many more times?

The bespectacled deacon sighed. "Prodigy Shen, name your terms. As long as it's something I can do, I will definitely do it."

In truth, he knew the chances of Shen Xingchen letting him go were very small, but at this moment he had no other means. If he didn't grovel, he would really only be waiting for death, and he certainly didn't want to be shattered directly by thunder.

Shen Xingchen's tone was calm. "Don't overthink it. From the moment you stepped onto this mountain wearing that blood-colored robe, it was impossible for you to stay alive."

His thought right now wasn't to negotiate conditions with the opponent at all, but rather how to preserve the opponent's corpse.

Without considering Leichi Mountain and relying solely on his numerous methods, he could deal with opponents below the third level of the Ninth-tier. However, the opponent had three remaining Ninth-tier members, and two of them were at the level of above the fifth level of the Ninth-tier.

If he directly used the thunder of Leichi Mountain, it would instantly blast the bodies of the deacon-level experts into a pile of ashes. But if he didn't use the thunder of Leichi Mountain, he truly had no certainty of keeping the remaining three Ninth-tier experts.

I wonder if a corpse with only half left will have incomplete memories when spiritualizing...

Shen Xingchen muttered inwardly, never expecting that one day he would worry about not being able to leave behind an opponent's corpse because his methods were too strong.

The bespectacled deacon grew anxious. "Don't you want to know the whereabouts of your captured classmates? Let us go, and I'll tell you their location."

Shen Xingchen stepped on the head of the deacon who had lost his hands and feet with one foot. "Do you think you have the qualifications to negotiate conditions with me?"

The bespectacled deacon clenched his fists and said loudly, "I don't believe you don't care about those students' lives at all!"

Shen Xingchen gave a peculiar smile. "Tell me their whereabouts, and I'll leave you an intact corpse."

"I don't want an intact corpse, I just want to live." The bespectacled deacon's eyes were bloodshot as he said hoarsely, "Let the hundreds of ordinary followers behind me serve as our pledge of allegiance as deacons. Go ahead and slaughter them; as long as you let us few deacons leave, I will tell you the whereabouts of your classmates. Otherwise, you'll never find them."

Shen Xingchen rolled his eyes and finally spoke, "Alright, I can give you a chance to make a choice."

"What should we do?" The eyes of several deacons lit up.

The scene of their colleague being directly blasted to death by thunder just now remained in their minds, lingering persistently. They certainly didn't want to die such a miserable death.

Shen Xingchen wore a smile. "You can live, but out of the four of you deacons, only one can survive!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the scene fell into absolute silence.

The four deacons looked at Shen Xingchen's face, looking at that somewhat brilliant smile, and only felt that hidden beneath this sunny smile was a soul cold to the extreme.

Only one out of four people could live—what a vicious method this was.

It tested not only the combat power between the four of them, but even more so, their mutual trust.

That blue-haired deacon questioned, "Do you think we're that stupid? If we kill each other, won't it just benefit you in the end?"

The remaining three deacons nodded along.

Shen Xingchen smiled as he watched this scene. Although the blue-haired deacon spoke very well, everyone had their own instinct for survival.

By now, the positions of the four deacons had gradually pulled apart—clearly a sign of collapsing trust.

Shen Xingchen once again summoned a bolt of thunder in his hand.

With a loud boom, it landed right in front of the blue-haired deacon, missing him by only half a meter from splitting him into a charred corpse.

The blue-haired deacon was frightened into retreating repeatedly.

Shen Xingchen still maintained his smile. "The reason I'm playing this game with you isn't because I can't solve you, but simply because I find it fun. You better seize this well—this is my... benevolence toward you!"

The bespectacled deacon finally couldn't help asking, "How can you guarantee that you won't regret it in the end?"

He was a Ninth-tier, Level 6 expert, ranking in the top two in combat power among these four. If they fought to the death, he might not lack a chance to emerge victorious.

Shen Xingchen chuckled. "I swear on my character, what do you think?"

As he spoke, he held up four fingers, putting on a sincere appearance.

The bespectacled deacon frowned. "What binding force can your oath possibly have?"

Shen Xingchen revealed his pearly white teeth and smiled, saying, "Therefore, besides striving to be the one who wins, you also have to gamble on another proposition—the proposition of whether I even have character."

Excessive concession would only let the opponent seize his handle. Shen Xingchen truly didn't have a better method to kill the four of them while leaving behind intact corpses.

"You!" The bespectacled deacon widened his eyes.

Shen Xingchen didn't pay attention to him anymore, walking toward the thunder pool on his own, and casually said, "You may begin."

The four deacons quickly distanced themselves from each other, striking a defensive posture.

At this moment, it seemed as though even the air at this mountain peak had grown heavy. That was an internal battle among three Ninth-tier and one Eighth-tier.

Each of them displayed their respective Talent Divine Ability. In an instant, the summit flashed with four completely different halos of spiritual energy.

The blue-haired deacon: "Four-eyes, have you really lost your mind? You actually believe what that fellow surnamed Shen says?"

The bespectacled deacon: "Your strength is the weakest here, so of course you don't want an internal war. If we fight desperately, the mortality rate is one hundred percent. Now, one out of four being able to live is already not bad!"

Another deacon: "No need for more words. The SS-rank controls Leichi Mountain, and you all saw how terrifying those bolts of thunder are. I certainly don't want to be blasted to death by thunder!"

Shen Xingchen sat on the edge of the thunder origin fruit tree, watching this scene indifferently.

The Crimson Church had gathered together in the first place because of interests, and now falling apart because of interests was completely logical.

According to his observation, the one most likely to win was that deacon who had never spoken; his aura was already at Ninth-tier, Level 6, and from beginning to end he hadn't consumed too much spiritual energy.