"Boom!"
The monster burst apart, spewing black blood in all directions. Zhu Qing soared into the air, a giant fiery figure appearing behind him, bowing forward.
Suddenly, the firelight covered the sky, blocking all the black blood.
The enemies were all wiped out, and the team members' faces lit up with excitement. They breathed a sigh of relief, and many of them collapsed on the ground, panting heavily.
Looking at Luo Yu standing not far away, their eyes were filled with complexity—shame, surprise, and more than anything, gratitude.
"Hahaha, Brother Xia, if it weren't for you today, we might have fallen to these monsters," Yuan Guangyi said with a laugh.
'When needed, Brother Xia; when not, Little Xia' Luo Yu shook his head, his face remaining as calm as ever. While others felt they'd narrowly escaped death, he was always unflustered as an old dog.
"Er..." Yuan Guangyi was bluntly rebuffed, his expression turning awkward, but he still bowed and said, "Regardless, we really owe you one this time. Ning Province Martial Arts University is in your debt."
Of the team members who were poisoned just now, five were from their team. If Luo Yu hadn't taken action, whether they could have escaped was uncertain—and those five were likely to die right here.
"Brother Xia, your healing abilities are truly miraculous, so amazing," Zhu Qing gushed unabashedly as if he wasn't the person who had doubted Luo Yu's abilities at the start.
Cao Ritian also nodded in agreement.
"To perform wide-range group healing to such an effect, in all my life, I have only seen Brother Xia accomplish such a feat," he said.
"This healing technique is unmatched in the world, truly impressive," Pan Ren couldn't help but exclaim.
Luo Yu rolled his eyes.
He thought to himself, no way, have you all started seeing me as just a support?
I haven't even shown my fighting capabilities, and you've all knelt already?
Waving his hand, he replied, "Just a trivial healing technique, hardly worth mentioning."
"Hardly worth mentioning?"
Cao Ritian nearly choked.
The terrifying healing ability he'd demonstrated was witnessed by all present. If that's hardly worth mentioning, then what about other support martial artists—shouldn't they just faint in the bathroom?
Showing off, this guy must be showing off, probably laughing on the inside.
Turns out, it wasn't him who was best at showing off, but this guy.
"I nominate Brother Xia as the strongest show-off, no, the strongest support martial artist," he proclaimed.
Luo Yu didn't want to speak and ignored him.
"Brother Xia, how did you figure out that the food was poisoned, and that those two people were in the coffins?" Zhu Qing couldn't help but ask.
Luo Yu answered a question with a question.
"Are you wearing red underwear for the Lunar New Year?"
"What do you mean?" Zhu Qing scratched his head.
"Otherwise, why would you wear red boxers?" Luo Yu's mouth curved into a smirk.
"Damn it!"
Zhu Qing quickly looked down at his crotch, but his clothes were intact, revealing nothing.
Shocked, he looked up at Luo Yu.
"How... how did you know?"
Then, quickly catching on, he said, "You couldn't possibly have X-ray vision, could you?"
Luo Yu turned to look at the snickering Song Bida and said, "What are you laughing at? Like wearing boxers with an elephant trunk is something to be proud of?"
Song Bida was suddenly struck dumb, as if hit by lightning.
Many of them instinctively covered their crotches in that moment, their expressions changing rapidly.
Luo Yu shook his head.
"Don't worry, I've no interest in watching your three-centimeter 'little bugs,'" he said.
Ignoring the insult, the crowd erupted into exclamations upon realizing Luo Yu indeed had X-ray vision.
"No wonder they appointed you as the team leader," Cao Ritian commented with a mix of nods and sighs, "Such X-ray vision paired with unprecedented healing powers makes you top-tier support in the Secret Realm."
"Indeed, too powerful," Zhu Qing agreed, nodding.
"Brother Xia, even if some of us are a bit stronger in combat, your special abilities make you much rarer than us mere fighters," Pan Ren said.
"Yes," the others chimed in with nods.
Cao Ritian declared, "Everyone, from now on, we protect Brother Xia at all costs. We cannot let him suffer any harm."
"Er... I don't need protection," Luo Yu said.
"No, you do!" Cao Ritian insisted fervently, already treating Luo Yu as a precious treasure.
He walked toward the coffins, looking at the two people inside.
"It's baffling why two people, who were supposedly defending Jiang City, ended up here."
"Could this Secret Realm really have something to do with the disaster that befell Jiang City?"
"You're asking me? I have no idea either," Luo Yu shrugged. He was now curious about the matter himself.
"It's a pity they're both already dead, otherwise we could have interrogated them," Cao Ritian sighed repeatedly, finding the mastermind behind the scenes was not important, what mattered was that as People of Great Xia, everyone was filled with hatred towards the mastermind, wanting to bring them to justice.
"Who told you they're dead?"
Luo Yu rolled his eyes, raised his hand to stimulate Spiritual Power, and two streams of Spiritual Power transformed into green droplets flew out, dropping into the foreheads of the two people.
Suddenly, over a hundred Martial Artist team members surrounded the area.
Bai Xiao'e's delicate body showed no reaction, Xue Can coughed, his arm flailing wildly as he yelled, "Bai Xiao'e, don't kill me, don't kill me!"
"Ah!!!!"
"Please, spare me!"
Upon hearing this, Cao Ritian and the others' expressions changed, and they immediately approached the coffin, restraining the wildly struggling Xue Can and shouted:
"Xue Can, calm down."
"You're safe now."
Xue Can opened his eyes, which were filled with cowardice and fear, and asked, "Who are you, what kind of people are you?"
"You must be careful of Bai Xiao'e; she is the Devil!"
"Calm down, we're here to save you, tell us what happened before," Cao Ritian gripped Xue Can's shoulder and pressed for answers.
"It was Bai Xiao'e, for some reason, she slaughtered the entire Jiang City."
Everyone's expressions changed dramatically, and they immediately avoided the coffin containing Bai Xiao'e as if it were a snake or scorpion.
"Ah!!!"
Xue Can clutched his head in agony, tearing at his hair, struggling with all his might as Third Grade Spiritual Power erupted wildly.
Upon seeing this, Zhu Qing and others immediately leaped in to help, assisting Cao Ritian in restraining Xue Can, trying their best not to hurt him.
"With us here, you will surely be safe, tell us what happened quickly."
After much consolation, Xue Can finally calmed down.
"What exactly happened?" Cao Ritian asked anxiously.
"This is a secret, I will only tell the leaders among you," Xue Can's gaze still appeared very vacant, filled with terror and fear.
"Alright."
Cao Ritian and a few others immediately dispersed the crowd and leaned in to listen closely.
Xue Can started, "The secret is..."
"Boom!"
Suddenly, Xue Can's expression twisted, and from his hand, he launched three black spikes that pierced directly into the chests of Cao Ritian, Zhu Qing, and Pan Ren.
The three of them spat blood and were sent flying, their faces covered with a layer of black aura, as Xue Can's black hair flowed wildly. He stood up from the coffin with a sinister, cold smile on his lips.
"Three fools."
"The secret is that I'm going to kill you all."
Cao Ritian, clutching his chest, yelled furiously, "You're not Xue Can, who the hell are you?"
"Could it be that you're the mastermind behind Jiang City's downfall?"
"Tsk tsk, there's a road to heaven yet you chose not to take it, there's no door to hell yet you barged in," Xue Can licked his tongue: "None of you will leave alive today, no one can escape."
"Damn it, playing me for a fool!" Zhu Qing, hair standing on end with rage, was about to fight back, but as soon as he channeled his Spiritual Power, he collapsed to the ground, his body convulsing uncontrollably.
Xue Can sneered: "Give up, with the Corpse Bone Spikes in you, don't even think about harnessing Spiritual Power ever again, just die quietly."
"Who would have thought that Xue Can's flesh would be coveted and taken over by a foul creature," Luo Yu said as he walked out from behind. He had sensed something was off the moment Xue Can had revived, so out of caution, he stayed back.
Because he had suddenly remembered something—the previous time, Xue Can had been too weak to even get out of bed, yet he quickly became lively and participated in the Jiang City battle, obviously, something was fishy.
He had to be on guard just in case.
And as expected, there was indeed a problem.
"Foul creature? Who are you calling a foul creature?" Xue Can immediately glared at Luo Yu: "I thought it's someone else, turns out it's the kid hated by his original form."
"Well then, as a favor, I might as well help him by killing you off," Xue Can bragged.
Luo Yu, with a smile still on his face, asked, "I want to ask one thing, was it you who massacred Jiang City?"
"It was me who did it, what of it?" Xue Can laughed smugly: "Being used as nourishment for me is an honor for those damned lowlifes who deserve to die."
"What?"
Cao Ritian and the others' hearts raced, their complexions undergoing a sharp change.
While filled with hatred, they were also filled with fear, for the behind-the-scenes mastermind who had caused the Jiang City tragedy was said to have at least First Grade strength.
The hundred team members also began to panic, not expecting such a terrifying entity hidden among them.
Hearing the response, the smile on Luo Yu's face slowly faded, replaced by an indescribable coldness, gloom.
His gaze fell on Xue Can's face, and he said word by word:
"Repeat what you just said, once more."