"Two breaths!" Huang Mao's voice continued to echo throughout the hall.

Everyone thought this person was crazy, watching him with interest, waiting to see how he would handle the situation when three breaths had passed.@@novelbin@@

Xue Wuqing secretly gathered his strength, ready to unleash a thunderous attack to kill this person if he made any move.

Li Wei also watched with a cold smile. He had seen many reckless people like this before. If he dared to make a move, Li Wei would seize the opportunity to kill him and curry favor with the Fire Cloud Sect.

"No need to count, three breaths have passed. Let's see how you kill me!" Liao Qingfeng shouted loudly.

All eyes were fixed on this moment.

Huang Mao said, "Since you wish to die, I'll grant your wish!"

As Huang Mao's voice fell, a miserable, piercing scream echoed in the hall the next moment!

Everyone's gaze froze at this moment, unblinking!

They clearly saw Liao Qingfeng's body inexplicably burst into flames, and within seconds, he was turned into a human torch.

No one saw how he caught fire. Huang Mao didn't use any martial arts, not even a single movement, yet Liao Qingfeng spontaneously combusted in front of everyone, burning into a human torch!

"What!" Gu Sha stared at the scene in shock. He had initially been disdainful, thinking the man was courting death, but now he realized how wrong he was!

Li Wei, Vulture, Gu Sha, and everyone present were all horrified.

In the flames, Liao Qingfeng's figure twisted, screaming in agony.

"Uncle Xue! Save me! Save me!"

Xue Wuqing quickly stepped forward, placing his hands on Liao Qingfeng's body, infusing True Qi to cleanse him from the inside out, but the flames couldn't be extinguished.

The flames seemed to have triggered a protective artifact on Liao Qingfeng's body, which emitted a light shield around him, but it was of no use.

Xiao Long sneered inwardly. The ghost fire seed wasn't a martial art but a soul technique, ignited from the soul, burning from the inside out. Once triggered, it would burn down to the person's marrow, consuming their entire body and even their soul.

Unless a powerful being with immense soul strength intervened, this fire was inescapable.

Even in the two-star or three-star empires, soul techniques were extremely rare due to their harsh cultivation conditions, requiring the practitioner to have an exceptionally strong soul, making it countless times more difficult than martial arts. In Tianfeng Kingdom, soul techniques were legendary, unheard of.

Liao Qingfeng rolled on the ground, screaming, his face twisted into a mess, his skin cracking inch by inch. Neither protective True Qi, protective artifacts, nor Xue Wuqing's help had any effect.

For the first time in his life, Liao Qingfeng felt despair!

All along, he had trampled on others like ants, destroying anyone he disliked. No one had ever dared to harm him, let alone kill him!

Now, karma had come full circle, and he finally tasted the feeling of being trampled.

The screams grew fainter.

Eventually, Liao Qingfeng's voice abruptly stopped, the flames extinguished, and his body was reduced to a pile of blackened charcoal, his soul utterly destroyed, dead beyond dead.

Silence!

The hall was utterly silent, everyone staring blankly at the scene, their eyes filled with tension, shock, confusion, fear... a myriad of complex emotions filled the hall.

The scene that had just unfolded was deeply imprinted in people's minds—a person at the first level of the Qi Condensing Realm had turned Liao Qingfeng into charcoal right under Xue Wuqing's nose!

And throughout, he hadn't even lifted a finger.

This method was simply terrifying!

Su Ya felt a chill in her heart, grateful she hadn't done anything to offend Lord Xiao, or she would have met a similarly tragic end.

"Do you realize what you've just done?" Xue Wuqing stared at Huang Mao, his voice chillingly cold.

"Killed an ant, nothing worth mentioning."

Huang Mao's tone was icy, but inside he was smug. Scared now, aren't you? The boss's methods are beyond your imagination!

Yet his expression remained unchanged, maintaining an enigmatic demeanor.

"Heh, what a bold claim about ants. Perhaps you don't know who the real ants are in Fire Cloud City!"

As Xue Wuqing's words fell, a fierce wind rose around him, his robes billowing without wind, and the terrifying aura of the tenth level of the Qi Condensing Realm erupted fully.

People nearby hurriedly backed away to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

Li Wei's face turned pale with fear. Liao Qingfeng had been killed in the auction house, right under his nose. If the Fire Cloud Sect blamed him, he'd be the first to suffer.

As for Huang Mao, despite having some tricks, he couldn't stir up much trouble. Li Wei already considered him a dead man, thinking it better to capture him and offer him to the Fire Cloud Sect as an apology.

"How dare you kill in the auction house! Lawless, do you think Qianlong Bank is easy to bully?" Li Wei stomped his foot, and the giant formation beneath the auction house activated. A massive True Qi barrier enveloped Huang Mao like a giant cage, instantly forming and trapping him inside.

"Elder Xue, this person killed in the auction house. By rights, I, Li Wei, should execute him personally, but considering the young master died at his hands, I'll hand this villain over to the Fire Cloud Sect for disposal." Li Wei bowed to Xue Wuqing, eager to please.

This action made many secretly curse him for being shameless, but no one dared to voice it.

Trapped in the True Qi cage, Huang Mao remained unperturbed, staring at Li Wei and slowly asking, "May I ask, what are the rules of Qianlong Bank?"

"Killing should be punished by death, that's the rule!" Li Wei declared proudly.

"Heh! Then when he attacked me just now, if I hadn't dodged in time, I'd be a corpse. May I ask, where were the rules of Qianlong Bank then?"

Huang Mao's gaze pierced through, and his words left Li Wei speechless.

People listened and cast disdainful glances at Li Wei. Some things were clear in their hearts, but being publicly called out was another matter entirely.

Li Wei's old face turned beet red.

"Heh! To curry favor with the Fire Cloud Sect, Qianlong Bank doesn't act against those who try to kill me but instead captures me to offer as a tribute, revealing their ugly side. Everyone, if one day the Fire Cloud Sect kills you at an auction, and Qianlong Bank not only doesn't stop them but captures you to hand over to the Fire Cloud Sect, what will you do?"

"If they can do this to me today, they can do it to you tomorrow. If they can't even guarantee our safety, what use is this auction house? Might as well tear it down!"

Huang Mao's words awakened the crowd, and everyone looked at Li Wei with questioning eyes.

Under the chaos, everyone felt insecure, and Li Wei had undoubtedly angered the crowd.

Faced with so many hostile gazes, Li Wei shivered and quickly bowed, "Rest assured, everyone, Qianlong Bank has always been fair and will never favor one side."

These words made everyone shake their heads and sneer, even Li Wei himself couldn't maintain his composure, his face alternating between green and white, unable to refute.

Li Wei's reputation was utterly ruined.

At this point, Li Wei glared at Huang Mao angrily, "What a sharp-tongued rascal, you will die today. Trapped by the Qianlong Formation, let's see how you escape!"

However, in the next moment, Huang Mao swiftly struck, pinpointing several weak spots in the cage. The True Qi cage immediately became shaky, like a wooden frame about to collapse.

Then Huang Mao struck with his palm, and with a loud crash, the True Qi cage instantly crumbled.

"Petty tricks, and you dare boast in front of me! The Qianlong Formation is nothing!"

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