"Compromise?"
Mu Chen froze for a moment, subconsciously repeating the word. In response, he heard Wu Yue’s triumphant laughter.
"Hahaha... You know what’s good for you, kid. Since you’ve decided to compromise, go ahead and hand over the Thunder Armor Secret Technique and your own Secret Technique. If your attitude is cooperative, I won’t mind letting you and the two women behind you pass this assessment."
"Pfft..."
Finally, Ye Shuangshuang couldn’t hold it in any longer. A laugh like a songbird’s melody escaped her lips. However, upon seeing the hundred-odd Emperors glaring at them like hungry tigers, she quickly clamped her mouth shut. But even though the sound had stopped, the amusement in her eyes was impossible to hide.
’Is this guy a complete moron?’
Even Lei Gui, listening to Wu Yue’s words from below, couldn’t stop the corner of his mouth from twitching. He had mostly given up hope. However, when he saw the burning gazes of the others, his spirits, which had just plummeted, immediately soared. ’Even if a single Emperor isn’t Mu Chen’s match,’ he thought, ’a hundred of them can definitely grind him into paste!’
Mu Chen rubbed his nose, looking somewhat exasperated. Given his personality, he wouldn’t have handed over the Storage Ring even if it *didn’t* contain the Thunder Armor Secret Technique, let alone the fact that it held a rare Thunder Attribute Secret Technique. After all, on the Extreme Martial Continent, profit trumped all else. Promises made by someone trying to profit off you were, more often than not, complete bullshit.
And this Wu Yue was spouting bullshit.
"Um... Wu Yue, is it? Before I hand over the Secret Technique, I have a question. I was wondering if you could help me out."
Mu Chen’s expression was utterly sincere and his words were quite mild. Hearing this, Wu Yue was overcome with satisfaction, and for a moment believed it was due to an explosion of his own personal aura and charisma. He smiled and nodded. "Of course, no problem. And I’ll give you this, you know how to act. Go on, ask."
"My question is actually very simple. I just want to know why... Holy Tomb Mountain would allow a moron like you to enter?"
The moment he asked, everyone from Ye Shuangshuang to the Basic Level members of the Outer Mountain froze. A heartbeat later, they erupted into howls of laughter they couldn’t suppress. This reaction alone made Mu Chen realize something: Long Xiaotian had been right. Even in an environment where martial arts were revered above all, Holy Tomb Mountain was an anomaly. Here, you didn’t have to fear a powerful expert, so long as they weren’t from your own faction.
"..."
Stunned silent for a long moment, Wu Yue finally processed what Mu Chen had said. His face turned livid. He recalled his own words from just moments before—’you know how to act’—and his face burned as if he’d been brutally slapped!
"You! Good! Good! Very good! Since you’ve made your decision, there’s nothing more to say. Today, I, Wu Yue, make this declaration: whoever kills this kid gets the Secret Technique! I, Wu Yue, swear I won’t try to snatch it. If I go back on my word, you can report me directly to the Holy Punishment Field!"
"Hm?"
The Basic Level members of the Outer Mountain all faltered upon hearing this. Normally, no one would have believed Wu Yue. But at the mention of the Holy Punishment Field, everyone—aside from Mu Chen and his two companions—shuddered, their faces betraying a deep-seated fear.
"Hmph. You said it yourself. If you go back on your word, we’ll be seeing you at the Holy Punishment Field for sure," one of the Outer Mountain members snorted.
But as he spoke, excitement flashed in everyone else’s eyes. To them, Mu Chen had just become the most coveted treasure imaginable.