Chapter 455: Talking About Money Hurts Feelings

After waiting for over ten seconds, a person slowly emerged from the woods. Dressed in combat gear, with two swords slung across his back, he had a thin build, narrow cold eyes, and a face covered in an aura of frost. Compared to their encounter in the offline competition, Orochimaru appeared much thinner, yet his presence was far more intense, radiating a chilling aura that made one’s heart tremble. His gaze was cold, filled with vigilance and seriousness.

“Meeting again.”

Orochimaru’s first words were calm, with less murderous intent and more composure and steadiness.

“Yes, meeting again.”

Kai Xin’s lips twitched slightly in a faint smile.

Their tones were gentle. If not for what had happened earlier, or if someone unfamiliar with them passed by, they might have thought they were friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time.

“I’ve been sent to kill you.”

Orochimaru spoke again, his voice icy.

Kai Xin looked at him indifferently. After five months, the arrogant demeanor that had made him boast about bringing shame to Nanhua University in the offline arena was gone. His presence had become more steady, as if he had become much more restrained and mature.

Although Orochimaru remained ruthless in his actions in the martial world, his appearance before him still surprised Kai Xin: Orochimaru was a cautious person. Though extremely cruel and vicious, based on what Kai Xin knew of him, he should have disappeared the moment he realized Kai Xin had seen through his scheme, instead of showing up and seeking another opportunity to ambush him.

To appear face-to-face like this—was it because he couldn’t withstand Kai Xin’s provocation?

“You know you can’t kill me.”

Kai Xin crossed his arms, holding his sword.

A complex expression flashed in his eyes. After hesitating for a few seconds, Orochimaru said, “Actually, I have a question. The trap I set earlier was very hidden. I thought I had been extremely careful and left no clues. How did you detect it?”

“Do you think I’d tell you?”

Kai Xin replied indifferently to Orochimaru’s question.

Orochimaru nodded silently.

“That’s right. If it were me, I wouldn’t reveal my secrets either. But these past few months, everything about you has been extremely mysterious. In less than half a year, not only have you overtaken me, but you’ve also ranked first on the Masters List and third on the Dragon List. You’re recognized throughout the martial world as a top expert on par with the Emperor and Zhou Yu… I thought that top experts like you would have an extraordinary breadth of mind.”

“Trying to provoke me is useless…” Kai Xin’s tone turned cold: “I’ve never thought of myself as someone with a broad mind. You were sent by the two elders of Xuanming to kill me, right?”
“As expected of the number one expert—your mind is truly sharp; you even figured that out.”
Orochimaru’s gaze flickered briefly.
“But you know you can’t kill me.”
Kai Xin suddenly hesitated—time had diluted everything, and the name Orochimaru was almost erased from his memory.
Moreover, although Orochimaru had once provoked outrage at Nanhua University, he hadn’t attacked anyone from Nanhua lately. There was no need to persist over old grievances. If Orochimaru had changed, he didn’t want to unnecessarily create such an enemy.
“I understand. With my current strength, I can’t kill you, but this mission is related to whether I can obtain the ‘Xuanming Divine Palm’…” Orochimaru spoke the truth with a complex expression: “I can’t resist my master’s orders.”
Master?
Kai Xin’s gaze sharpened as he stared at Orochimaru, his expression filled with deep thought.
Suddenly, it seemed he understood something.
He gave Orochimaru a deep look, silently put on his golden armor, gripped his Guardian Sword tightly, and carefully scanned the surroundings.
Following a heretical sect was different from joining a legitimate sect!
Legitimate sect disciples had choices when faced with their sect’s missions; even if they abandoned or failed the mission, they would only lose some reputation.
But heretical disciples were different, especially those ruthless evil cultivators!
Most of these evil masters were arrogant and self-serving, commanding their disciples harshly and imposing tasks forcefully. Those who disobeyed would be killed with a single palm strike.
In the martial world, many players who joined evil sects had similar experiences. Every time they accepted a mission, their master would gaze at them fiercely. Any slight misstep could result in being half-killed with a palm strike. If they were new and not close to their master, they were often killed outright.
Hearing Orochimaru refer to the two elders of Xuanming as his masters, Kai Xin immediately understood that Orochimaru was probably forced into this situation, forced to set a trap here to steal the personal items of the young princess from the Ruyang Royal Mansion for the two elders of Xuanming.
“Enough nonsense.”
Lu Zhangke’s voice came from behind Orochimaru, his tone sinister and brimming with murderous intent: “Kid, if you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being alone. You left the group of the six major sects and traveled alone.”

“Oh, Senior Lu, so confident that you can capture me?” Seeing Lu Zhangke appear and already fully dressed, Kai Xin remained calm and unhurried. “It seems Senior has forgotten… back at Wan’an Temple, you failed to keep me, proving that I still have the ability to protect myself. If I happen to escape again this time and carelessly deliver those items to the Ruyang Royal Mansion, I wonder how Senior Lu will handle that! In my opinion… it’s best for Senior to take your precious disciple and leave now. Otherwise, if something really goes wrong, you’ll regret it deeply.”

Lu Zhangke’s expression changed!

Orochimaru stood silently beside him. He didn’t know why Lu Zhangke wanted to kill Kai Xin, but from what Kai Xin had said, he could somewhat sense something and remained silent.

“Take on ten of my attacks!”

Lu Zhangke’s gaze flickered for a moment. After pondering for a few seconds, he said, “If you can take on ten of my attacks without dying, I, Lu Zhangke, will never bother you again.”

“Senior Lu, are you taking advantage of my youth or my ignorance? Even if I survive your ten attacks, I’ll still lose half my life. By then, won’t you spare me any more? Do you really think everyone is as intelligent as ‘Old Man Crane Pen’?” Kai Xin sneered mockingly.

Old Man Crane Pen loved wine and was reckless—far inferior to the shrewd Lu Zhangke. Lu Zhangke had both strength and intelligence. If he really followed his words and let Kai Xin land ten blows from the Mysterious Dark Divine Palm, Kai Xin might not die but would freeze to death and be unable to escape. Seeing that he couldn’t deceive Kai Xin, Lu Zhangke’s expression darkened immediately…

“Then what do you want in exchange for returning those items?” With those words, he was clearly showing some flexibility.

A master of the Wuwei Realm compromising in front of a player in the Life and Death Realm made Orochimaru realize even more that Kai Xin was extraordinary—seemingly undetectable by any traps. He thought his earlier words hadn’t been in vain.

Hearing this, Kai Xin smiled and stretched out his sentence, “Those items are useless to me anyway. Returning them to Senior Lu is no problem, but…” His tone shifted at this point. “Senior Lu, shouldn’t you offer something in return?”

“Name your price!”

Lu Zhangke raised his cold face.

“Talking about money hurts feelings! I don’t want anything else—just the Heaven-Defying Sword that ended up in Princess Zhao Min’s hands.” A charming, hearty smile appeared on Kai Xin’s face.

A gentle breeze blew between Lu Zhangke and Kai Xin.