Chapter 80 I'm Dead
Xia Feng ignored the prince's mockery, his gaze fixed absently on the woman in the red dress.
Seeing Xia Feng's infatuated expression, the prince frowned slightly and sneered inwardly, "How dare you covet this prince's wife? You truly don't know your place."
With that thought, he dismissed Xia Feng entirely, turning instead to pick up his daughter and walk toward the dream instrument—only to freeze mid-step.
A realization struck him.
The princess's earlier words echoed in his mind: "Xia Feng, when did you arrive?"
Something was off.
Since when did the princess speak so familiarly with a stranger?
Not only had she called his name directly, but her question—"When did you come?"—sounded as if they knew each other. A creeping unease settled in the prince's chest, though he couldn't pinpoint its source.
He glanced back at the man outside the barrier, frowned in thought, then smirked coldly.
"Why not just eliminate this brat?"
If unease lingered, then removing its cause would suffice. His gaze flicked toward Li Hongdou.
Originally, his backup plan had been to plunge her into a meticulously crafted dream—one where she would witness Xia Feng's life in peril, forcing her to acknowledge her mother.
But now that Xia Feng had delivered himself to their doorstep, there was no need for such convoluted measures.
Constructing a hyper-realistic dream was no simple task. Past experiments had proven it required at least three to four hours, and too many variables could interfere.
Far simpler to seize Xia Feng now and snuff out the source of his disquiet!
The only risk was stepping beyond the Infinite Field Boundary—but it was a gamble worth taking.
No fourth-level spiritual masters lurked outside. As long as no one could kill him instantly, he was untouchable.
And Xia Feng? A mere first-level spiritual master.
After staring at the princess for a long moment, Xia Feng finally closed his eyes, his heartbeat quickening slightly.
His earlier suspicions were confirmed—he could form a contract with the princess!
When he'd first brought Mushroom inside, something had felt off. Now, returning, he had his answer.
A flood of information surged into his mind. From the chaotic whirl of data, he extracted several key details:
[※※※ Disaster Contract]
[Birthday: Today – 19 hours remaining]
[Master Recognition Status: Master Recognized (Xia Feng)]
[Link Degree: 38%...39%...40%...]
[Status (Abnormal): Imaginary Curse, Weak Life Force, Unable to Complete Birth]
None of this had appeared when he'd met the princess at the banquet. Was it because today was her birth day?
Yet one thing baffled him even more—how had he earned the princess's recognition without completing the birth ceremony? Without sufficient life force?
And when had she acknowledged him?
Had something happened that he wasn't aware of? Questions swarmed Xia Feng's mind, leaving him dazed.
Just then, movement flickered at the edge of his vision—the prince stepping beyond the boundless field.
Xia Feng jolted back to alertness, his eyes snapping toward the figure. Confusion laced his voice as he called out:
"Why did you come out?"
The prince nearly scoffed. Was this boy truly so dull-witted? Had he really been that entranced by his wife?
With a derisive sneer, the prince stomped his foot. A dark purple spiritual robe ignited around him, spiritual pressure radiating outward in rippling waves.
Purple flames erupted from the robe, coalescing into spinning arrows that hovered around him.
"Let's see how many of my strikes you can withstand, boy."
Twelve purple flame arrows hummed through the air, streaking toward Xia Feng's face—their blazing forms rapidly filling his widening pupils.
Thunder cracked across the sky as lightning flared beneath Xia Feng's feet. His figure blurred through the storm of arrows, and in an instant, he was airborne—directly above the prince's head. Gripping his sword with both hands, he brought it down in a savage arc, three crimson waves of energy slamming toward his target like a thunderous dunk!
The prince split cleanly from skull to groin.
Bang!!!
The floor shattered. The bisected body disintegrated into a shower of purple petals, drifting slowly to the ground.
Xia Feng landed and turned, expression unreadable. Not far away, a middle-aged man in an elegant crimson tuxedo stood surrounded by suspended purple petals, his face twitching with faint disbelief.
"A second-level spiritual master? With that spiritual pressure?"
[Link Degree: 54%...55%...]
Xia Feng spread his hands, smiling. "Obviously."
The prince's lips curled as he studied the young man's confident ease. "Promoted from first to second level in under a month… A rare genius, indeed. Pity you've chosen the wrong side."
"Yeah, you're right." Xia Feng's expression hardened abruptly. "So, Lord Prince—care to elaborate on the benefits of chatting with you?"
The prince's eyes narrowed. Xia Feng's stalling tactic was transparent—likely buying time for reinforcements.
No more words. A flick of his wrist.
Swish!
Xia Feng blinked. Then he looked down.
Three arrows jutted from his chest and abdomen, their tips glistening crimson.
The fallen petals—they'd regrouped into arrows behind him as he spoke, striking at point-blank range. Too close to dodge.
Yet he hadn't activated a single defensive measure.
"Distraction in battle is fatal, boy." The prince's voice was ice. Hands clasped behind his back, he strolled toward Xia Feng's crumpled form, bending to harvest the soul.
But when the soul stone glowed—nothing.
No soul.
Baffled, the prince pressed a finger to the corpse's brow. The body was real—no illusion, no elemental clone.
"What is this?"
Grimacing, he straightened and scanned the room.
"Show yourself. I know you're here."
Xia Feng's current state was… peculiar.
He'd assumed the Vermilion Bird Armor's power would eject his soul upon death, letting it reunite with his body.
Instead, death had flung him into a bizarre, 360-degree perspective—an omniscient view of the entire house. Every chair, table, instrument, even the dew clinging to surfaces… he saw it all.
He was the space itself. The air. The walls.
Invincible. Untouchable.
…And utterly incapable of touching anything else.
[Nirvana State Remaining: 4 seconds]
Fifteen seconds of godhood. Then—rebirth at a chosen point. Fail to pick one, and he'd respawn right where he died.
"Boy, I see you." The prince's sneer was a knife in the dark. "Come out."
See me? Bullshit. Xia Feng would've rolled his eyes if he still had any.
A shame he couldn't reassemble his body inside a living target. Imagine bursting out of the prince's chest—efficient, if messy.
Time ticked down.
[Link Degree: 74%...75%...]
(End of Chapter)