Chapter 223: A Malevolent Treasure

“What beautiful lyrics! I never imagined Brother Xiao’s literary talent could be so extraordinary.” After softly reciting the lyrics Xiao Xie had sung twice, Yue’er admired him even more.

Duanmu Rong, who stood beside Yue’er, silently nodded in agreement. Even she could find no fault with verses capable of being sung through the ages. In fact, she felt a trace of envy. From now on, whenever this song was mentioned, people would think not only of Xiao Xie, its author, but also of the Snow Maiden it described.

“What ‘beauty capable of toppling cities’? What ‘beauty capable of toppling kingdoms’? I didn’t understand a single line!” Tianming, who was being held by Big Hammer, scratched his head as he looked at everyone’s astonished expressions.

Hearing this, Shaoyu slapped his forehead and said helplessly, “Don’t ever say you know me again. This is utterly humiliating. Such beautiful lyrics, and you didn’t understand a single sentence!”

“Sister, did you memorize the lyrics our young master sang? Once we return, make sure the people under our command spread this song throughout the world, so that everyone will know of our young master’s literary brilliance!” Murong Huang said proudly to Murong Feng.

“I know. I memorized them long ago.” As she spoke, Murong Feng affectionately patted Murong Huang’s little head.

The Snow Maiden walked gracefully toward the center of the field. Everyone’s eyes focused on her, and perhaps because they had heard Xiao Xie’s song, they felt that she looked even more beautiful than before.

When Big Hammer saw the Snow Maiden walking toward him, he swiftly shoved Tianming behind his back. Once she reached him, he asked with a broad grin, “Snow Maiden, why have you returned so soon?”

“We idle people cannot compare with Brother Tie, who is busy every moment of every day.” The Snow Maiden gave the somewhat flustered Big Hammer a faint smile.

“Uh…” Big Hammer rubbed his head awkwardly. “Those little matters of mine are hardly worth mentioning.”

“Brother Tie, you have improved more and more. Your mastery of the Thunder God Fist has truly reached perfection!”

“This… Hahaha…” Big Hammer’s weathered face flushed red, and he hurriedly explained, “I was only fooling around with this young fellow. I knew exactly how much force to use.”

“You’re lying! Who wanted to play with you?” Tianming struggled desperately. At last, he wrapped his arms around Big Hammer’s waist and stuck his head out from behind him.

“Hm? Don’t talk nonsense!” Startled, Big Hammer reached out with his huge hand, seized Tianming by the head, and tried to force him back behind him.

“Hey, hey! What are you doing? Ouch! That hurts, that hurts!” Seeing that the Snow Maiden was there to support him, Tianming immediately began howling. “The big brute is trying to kill me to silence me!”

“Hehehe…” Big Hammer stuffed Tianming behind him while grinning at the Snow Maiden. But before long, his expression suddenly stiffened, and he immediately yanked his hand back out.

It turned out that Tianming had clamped his teeth firmly onto Big Hammer’s finger and was hanging from his arm. No matter how fiercely Big Hammer shook it, Tianming refused to let go.

“Brother Tie, let him go,” the Snow Maiden said.

“Hmph!” Big Hammer gave his arm one powerful shake, and Tianming obligingly opened his mouth and dropped to the ground.

“It’s all thanks to Sister Snow Maiden upholding justice that you didn’t get your way, you villain.” Tianming glared fiercely at Big Hammer before turning to the Snow Maiden with a radiant smile. “Hehe… Thanks!”

“I had Big Hammer spare you because you are a guest of the Mohist School. In the future, do not ambush people from behind again. If I catch you doing it once more…” The Snow Maiden took several steps forward until she stood before Tianming. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she smiled. “If you use your left hand to attack someone, I will chop off your left hand. If you use your right hand, I will chop off your right hand. If you use your feet, I will break your legs. And if you think up some wicked scheme, I will carve out your heart.”

“You… You’re not joking, are you?” Tianming swallowed and stammered. He had thought she was a kind older sister. How had she suddenly turned into a terrifying demoness?

The Snow Maiden merely smiled without answering, but that expression made Tianming feel an even deeper chill down his back.

“Whether she’s joking or not, you’ll find out if you try,” Big Hammer said from the side, sounding almost as though he were egging Tianming on. As one of the Mohist leaders, Big Hammer naturally knew her character. She appeared gentle on the surface, but was actually quite sinister. Otherwise, he would not have been so afraid of her.

“Ugh!” Tianming stuck his tongue out at Big Hammer. He did not dare show disrespect to the Snow Maiden, but he certainly was not afraid of Big Hammer.

Seeing that the matter was over, the Snow Maiden turned and left without another word.

Out of respect for her, Big Hammer no longer quarreled with Tianming. He walked over, hoisted the bronze cauldron onto his shoulder, called out to the Mohist disciples of the Forging Division, and left as well.

“So, how was it? You saw the entire course of my victory just now, didn’t you? You must be deeply impressed by your big brother!” Shaoyu patted Tianming on the shoulder, jolting him out of his daze, and spoke with a smug expression.

…

Elsewhere, Xiao Xie stopped the Snow Maiden in front of him. He then took out a blue Ascension Token and held it out to her.

“I know you like blue, Snow Maiden, so I specially prepared this blue Ascension Token for you. I hope you will accept it.” Xiao Xie smiled.

“A blue Ascension Token? That corresponds to the sixth floor of the Ascension Tower!” Old Man Ban cried out in disbelief. It was said that every treasure above the sixth floor of the Ascension Tower was priceless. He had never imagined that Xiao Xie would hand over a token for the sixth floor to the Snow Maiden so casually. It was exactly as Xiao Xie had said: the conditions for receiving an Ascension Token depended entirely on his mood.

The Snow Maiden had initially hesitated over whether she should refuse Xiao Xie’s token. But when she saw Old Man Ban’s eyes nearly bulging from their sockets, along with the repeated signals he was giving her, she ultimately accepted it.

Thief Zhi said with some dissatisfaction, “Brother Xiao, you’re being far too partial! Rong and I received Ascension Tokens for the fourth floor, yet the Snow Maiden received one for the sixth floor!”

“I think the Snow Maiden deserves a token for the sixth floor. As for you, if not for your Lightning Flash Movement technique, you wouldn’t even have received a token for the fourth floor.” Xiao Xie glanced at Thief Zhi and spoke without mercy.

“Did you really have to put it so bluntly? That hurts!” Thief Zhi drooped his head dejectedly, but soon grew curious and asked Xiao Xie, “Brother Xiao, I heard that even Ying Zheng is only qualified to ascend to the seventh floor. So what exactly is stored on the eighth and ninth floors of the Ascension Tower?”

After Thief Zhi asked his question, everyone else revealed curious expressions as well. What sort of treasures could be found on the eighth and ninth floors, floors even Ying Zheng was not qualified to enter?

Seeing that the Snow Maiden was also looking at him curiously, Xiao Xie paused before saying, “If I told you directly, it would be far too dull. But I can tell you this: every treasure on the eighth floor is capable of stirring the entire world when brought out. As for the items on the ninth floor…”

When he reached the ninth floor, Xiao Xie suddenly fell silent.

Thief Zhi urged him anxiously, “Brother Xiao, go on! Stopping halfway through is unbearably frustrating.”

Xiao Xie’s expression turned solemn. “Whoever obtains the treasure on the ninth floor will obtain the entire world.”

“Brother Xiao, don’t joke like that. If someone could truly obtain the entire world, wouldn’t you have overthrown Ying Zheng’s rule long ago? Hehehe…” Seeing Xiao Xie’s grave expression, Thief Zhi gave an awkward laugh.

“You’re serious?” When he noticed the solemnity in Xiao Xie’s eyes, Thief Zhi asked in disbelief.

It was not only Thief Zhi. The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy for everyone present. Old Man Ban spoke up. “Young Master Xiao, if such a treasure truly exists, then bring it out at once! Overthrowing the rule of Ying Zheng, that tyrant, would be an immense blessing for the people of the Six Kingdoms.”

Xiao Xie sighed. “That treasure carries far too much killing intent. If I told you that, once released, the number of people who might die by its hand could vastly exceed the number Ying Zheng has killed—and that if it fell into the hands of a villain, the people of the entire world might be wiped out—would you still want me to retrieve it?”