Sword wounds crisscrossed her body, and blood trickled steadily from her injuries. Despite her efforts to stem the bleeding using her energy, exhaustion was setting in. The ceaseless battle against the cultivators, all vying for the 1-star mortal artifact, was depleting her strength rapidly.
"Ah…ah…"
She knelt on the ground, panting heavily with sweat beads rolling down her forehead. She turned her head to see the cultivators' faces—some filled with fear, some with anger, and others with greed.
She kicked her feet against the ground and moved toward the group of cultivators at lightning speed. Wherever she passed, fingers, hands, and legs were cut down, falling to the ground. Each severed part made the Ronin's eyes glow even brighter.
"Why did she look more beautiful the more I looked at her?" Ronin murmured inwardly as he slowly moved toward the fighting area.
"Because you've lived in a desert and never encountered a being called a girl in your past or current life," a voice filled with mockery echoed in Ronin's mind.
"You're just jealous seeing that I'm going to obtain a beauti… Ahem, a brave ally," said Ronin with an angry expression. He couldn't bring himself to call her beautiful while looking at her terrifying face.
"Slash…"
"Ahh…."
Finally, a sword pierced her body, and she knelt on the ground, one leg supporting her weight, and her other foot gripping the earth. She covered her injury with her hand, but the bleeding didn't cease, and the ground beneath her slowly became drenched in blood.
" She is mine."
" Go away, you bastard. She is mine."
"Slash…"
One of the cultivators' heads flew and landed on the ground, rotating for a few meters before coming to a halt.
A man slowly stepped out of the crowd, pointing his finger at the cultivator's severed head on the ground. "If anyone dares to move a foot, their head will roll on the ground just like this."
"Shaik, don't be overbearing. It's all about whoever kills her first. You can't play dirty right now," shouted one of the cultivators, anger etched on his face.
"In the cultivation world, there is no fairness from the very beginning. You are all exhausted, and I'm full of energy. If any of you dare to interfere in my matter right now, you can forget about your puny lives," said Shaik, casually cleaning his fingernails.
All the cultivators turned their gaze to Brother Sa. "Why are you all looking at me? All I care about is the death of that bitch. I don't care who kills her or how she's killed. Whoever kills her will receive my 1-star mortal artifact," said Brother Sa, his expression stern.
Then, all the cultivators turned their attention to Shaik and shook their heads in defeat, slowly dispersing one by one. Shaik looked at Zhen Xia and remarked, "You're so lucky that you're dying at the hands of me, Shaik. You can die happily and celebrate in heaven once you get there."
"Shaik my ass. Who is that bullshit? I've never heard of that shit anywhere," a voice reached Shaik as he was about to attack Zhen Xia.
Shaik halted his attack and turned to face everyone, shouting, "Who is it? Who the hell dared to foul-mouth me from behind? If you've got the balls, come in front of me and say it again."
Ronin appeared beside Zhen Xia and offered her a healing pill, but she didn't accept it immediately. Instead, she raised her head, giving Ronin a peculiar look.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Here, take this healing pill if you don't want to die due to heavy bleeding," Ronin said with a helpless expression.
Reluctantly, she extended her hand to take the pill and swallowed it. "Thanks," she said, her face devoid of emotion.
"You can begin healing your injuries. I'll take care of these clowns," Ronin said calmly.
"You both bastards, don't act like I don't exist here!" Shaik shouted angrily.
Zhen Xia didn't spare a glance for Shaik. She nodded in response to Ronin's words and started tending to her injuries.
Ronin turned to face Shaik and asked in a sarcastic tone, "Who's your master? Didn't that old bastard teach you to stay silent while others were talking?"
"You dare to disrespect my master?" Shaik exclaimed.
"What, are you deaf or something? I already disrespected your foolish master," Ronin said, bursting into laughter.
Upon hearing Ronin's sarcastic words, a smile formed on Zhen Xia's lips. "He's quite close to my taste," she thought.
"You deserve death, but I'll keep your corpse intact if you kowtow right now on the ground," Shaik declared, pointing his sword at Ronin.
"Do you know what I dislike most in my life?" Ronin took a pause, then suddenly disappeared from where he was standing, reappearing beside Shaik. However, Ronin's leg was on Shaik's shoulder, and he knelt on the ground, a pained expression on his face.
With a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes, Ronin continued, "An unknown bastard telling me to kowtow."
"I… I… lost… I lost the fight. Please spare my life," Shaik's shoulder was dislocated from a simple stomp of Ronin's leg. He realized Ronin's immense power and understood that he was in deep trouble. He began to beg Ronin to escape the imminent death that loomed before him.
"What a nice 'spare your life' offer. Just answer my question, and I'll indeed spare your life," Ronin said, a sinister smile playing on his lips.
Ronin would never forgive any human in the human continent because everyone's hands were tainted with demon blood. He had to gather as much interest as possible before he collected his debts from Jin Zhao.
"Really?" Shaik eagerly asked, hope gleaming in his eyes.
"Yes," Ronin replied nonchalantly.
"Would you spare my life if I were the one under your foot?" Ronin asked. As soon as Shaik heard this question, his mind momentarily short-circuited. After a few seconds, he regained his senses and realized he couldn't keep his life to himself.
"You're coming with me to hell!" Shaik shouted, attempting to detonate his dantian with all the energy he had left. However, Ronin wouldn't let Shaik carry out his plan so easily.