CHAPTER 181 - SENIOR HAN WU

“Flowing Fire Shield, Summon Wyverns, Golden Bell, Void Barrier!” The Diamond adventurer stopped holding back and unleashed his trump cards. He activated every protective skill he had, including the spatial barrier he’d used against them earlier.

Han Wu chuckled and charged effortlessly through the flames. In a blink, he swapped places with one of the wyverns. With a powerful swing of his greatsword, he shattered the supposed impenetrable spatial barrier. Stepping through the gap, he brought his greatsword crashing down on the Diamond adventurer.

The Golden Bell’s elasticity absorbed much of the strike’s force, but the adventurer’s panic grew as the greatsword slowly pressed deeper into the bell’s surface.

He had fought and won many battles climbing to Diamond rank, but never had he felt such raw fear. While others said fear of death grows with age, this adventurer seemed to fear it more as he grew stronger. He refused to die now. He had earned enough wealth and wanted to enjoy it. Dying here would be a waste.

Desperation crept in as he begged for mercy. “Let me go. I will hand over all of the Shadow Alliance’s tokens to you.”

Han Wu sneered. “I can take them myself after I kill you.”

“I have money too! I will give you everything. I have a lot of Diamond materials and even a Diamond Title Scroll!” The adventurer offered all he had to save his life.

Han Wu paused at the mention of the Diamond Title Scroll. He already had several Diamond titles, but he didn’t mind picking up another. Each one carried tremendous potential, and even if he couldn’t use it himself, he could always hand it off to someone else later.

“I want it. Now.”

The adventurer had been planning to bargain for his life, but the moment the edge of the Genocider greatsword brushed his skin, he gave up. He was clearly weaker, and any negotiation would be pointless. Surrendering everything was his only chance to survive.

He used his title to manipulate space, opening a small rift in the air. A flood of precious materials spilled out, piling up until they formed a small hill. Han Wu glanced at the mound and saw that all the items were exquisite Diamond materials.

“Can I leave now?” the adventurer asked weakly, staring at the pile with a heavy heart. After all, it was his entire life’s savings.

Han Wu ignored him and severed his head without hesitation. “Did I ever promise to let you go?”

Unfortunately, the adventurer could no longer hear the words. Lady Mei stared in disbelief at the scene, convinced she must have swallowed some hallucinogenic or fallen under an illusion spell. She had never seen a Gold adventurer defeat someone two ranks higher!

She snapped out of her daze when Han Wu called her over. Hurriedly, she stepped forward and addressed him with newfound respect. “Senior Han Wu, this little one is ready to listen.”

After witnessing Han Wu’s overwhelming strength, she couldn’t help but regret her earlier attempt to flirt with him. What if he decided to force himself on her? But then she reconsidered. Sleeping with someone powerful enough to kill a Diamond adventurer didn’t sound so bad. In fact, if not for his strength, she would have been the one trying to force things.

“Split the tokens in half and pick ten materials you want. I’ll take the rest,” Han Wu said. He coughed lightly, grabbed the two Diamond Title Scrolls from the pile, and tucked them into his personal space.

“You’re really giving them to me?” Lady Mei stared at him, clearly shocked. She hadn’t contributed anything to the fight, so it made sense for him to keep the loot.

Han Wu waved his hand. “You’re my teammate. You deserve a share.”

Lady Mei was elated. She needed Diamond materials to complete the title that the Merchant Alliance had given to her. Without delay, she selected what she required and obtained a new Diamond title, further strengthening herself. Still, she held back, unwilling to appear greedy. After all, Han Wu had killed a Diamond adventurer with ease. Killing a Platinum adventurer like her would be a simple matter.

“Done? Then the rest is mine,” Han Wu said, tossing the remaining items into his personal space while splitting half the tokens with her. Thanks to this haul, the Merchant Alliance gained 124 points, nearly guaranteeing a spot in the top four.

However, it was still too soon to celebrate. This was only the second day of the contest, and time was quickly slipping away. Han Wu and Lady Mei turned and sprinted back to the spot where their group had agreed to meet.

They waited there until Saurman and Xiong Zhan returned safely. Judging by their injuries, the two had fared worse than Han Wu and Lady Mei. They had likely clashed with other contestants or run into particularly vicious monsters.

As soon as Xiong Zhan saw that Han Wu was unscathed, he scoffed, assuming he had done nothing. “Useless brat. I knew you’d just slow us down.”

Lady Mei saw a chance to repay Han Wu. She stood up, placed her hands on her hips, and scolded Xiong Zhan. “You brainless oaf. Don’t throw around accusations without proof. This senior isn’t someone you can afford to offend.”

“Senior?” Saurman was confused. As the oldest among them, he couldn’t wrap his head around Han Wu being called that.

“Of course,” Lady Mei said with a bright smile. “Seniority goes to the strongest, doesn’t it?”

Xiong Zhan laughed scornfully. “Strongest? He’s just some useless trash at the Gold rank.”

“Idiotic bear. If you keep slandering him, I won’t forgive you,” Lady Mei snapped, clearly offended. Though usually soft-spoken and coquettish, she was far from harmless when angered.

Xiong Zhan wanted to argue, but Saurman placed a hand on his shoulder and motioned for silence. “We are all on the same team. There’s no need to fight among ourselves. Strength matters less in this contest than who can collect the most tokens. This competition is not only between the factions of Myriad City but also between us.”

At that moment, Xiong Zhan found an opening to challenge Han Wu. He reached into a small pouch at his waist and revealed what he had gathered. Tokens of various ranks filled the pouch, except for Platinum and Diamond, totaling 40 points. “Look at this. These are the tokens both of us have earned. Think you can gather more than that?”

Han Wu remained still. Lady Mei stepped forward, grabbed the pouch, and counted the tokens inside. Then she laughed mockingly. “Only 40 points? How foolish. I will show you real power today.”

She pulled out her own pouch and spilled its contents onto the ground. Except for Diamond tokens, she had every rank, adding up to 84 points.

“How is this possible?” Xiong Zhan muttered in disbelief. For two relentless days, he and Saurman had fought monsters and other contestants, narrowly escaping death countless times, yet only earned 40 points.

Meanwhile, Lady Mei had scored 84 points, even with Han Wu dragging her down. She had more than twice their total. But the truth was clear, and Xiong Zhan could only spit out bitter words. “You bastard. Count yourself lucky to be teamed with her.”

Lady Mei glanced at Han Wu, worried he was angry. When she saw his calm expression, she sighed and turned back to scold Xiong Zhan. “You brute. How could you accuse your senior like that? He was the one who gathered the tokens with ease while I was the one slowing him down. In fact, he split his tokens evenly with me.”

Saurman nearly stumbled in shock. “You split the tokens? Does that mean you have another 84 points?”

Han Wu opened his personal space, and tokens spilled out. Among them, a single Diamond token gleamed with dazzling brilliance.