I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense

Chapter 776: Chapter 777 Just Teasing You Guys
 

“You… were you just acting all along?”

The Crown Prince was so furious that his Three Corpses Spirits nearly jumped out; his mind became unstable, almost sliced by the encroaching Metal Slaughter’s Qi.

“Hmm?”

“When have I ever acted? Little brother has always been telling the truth, but alas, not a single one of you believed me. Facts have proven that everyone present is indeed trash!”

“Everyone here is a young talent of the Great Flame Dynasty, and you, big brother, are even the Princely Heir. How could you be so easily deceived by appearances? One needs to look into the soul to see the essence of things. Today, little brother has given you all a free lesson, no need for gratitude. With the Sword Sect trial imminent, it is all part of what I should do!”

Li Xiaobai waved his hand with a merry laugh, then turned and left.

“Scoundrel!”

“A mere waste from a branch family dares to insult me, the Princely Heir!”

“I want you dead!”

At this moment, the Crown Prince felt his lungs were about to burst with anger. He had thought Li Xiaobai would certainly die and had even prepared harsh words, yet in the end, was the latter playing him like this?

So you’ve been acting from the very beginning?

He felt his dignity trampled on, his self-esteem severely insulted.

The group of cultivator disciples behind him were also staring in disbelief.

So it turns out that the Eighteenth Prince had been acting all along, playing with them!

It was laughable that they hadn’t realized it, even thinking he was truly on the brink, and took delight in his misfortune. Now, they were the ones trapped in the Metal Slaughter’s Qi, unable to move an inch.

“Damn it, how could the old Eighteenth do this!”

“I will definitely report this to father once we return!”

The cultivators at this moment were all stunned, their eyes filled with anger and helplessness. They could not escape the Metal Slaughter’s Qi and could only wait for the Crown Prince to shut down the Formation.

Li Xiaobai, at this moment, was in a very good mood, never expecting the Crown Prince to be foolish enough to bare his fangs at him, tearing away the last layer of pretense.

With that, the two sides had completely torn their facades. The Crown Prince was ruthless and cunning, pressing step by step for his death. It was just a pity that this Formation, which was meant to temper Human Immortals, could not harm him.

He stepped into the third layer of the Formation.

The surrounding environment underwent a drastic transformation; flowers, grass, and trees all vanished, and both the sky and the ground turned into mirrors, with an endless expanse of silvery-white space in every direction.

A dark figure appeared ahead, outwardly identical to Li Xiaobai.

“Is this my hypothetical enemy? To defeat him is to surpass myself?”

Li Xiaobai touched his nose, muttering to himself.

The pitch-black figure ahead also touched its nose, mimicking his action exactly.

“Interesting.”

Li Xiaobai moved again, and the shadow in front did likewise. He understood that the so-called self-surpassing was the shadow’s ability to replicate his movements exactly, coupled with both having the cultivation level of the Human Immortal Realm, making it quite challenging to deal with.

However, this contraption was ineffective against him.

With a casual motion, he drew a longsword and cleaved several streaks of sword qi forward, which met with a few sword qi released by the shadowy figure. However, they instantly crumbled to dust under the overwhelming power of the Demon-Sealing Sword Qi.

“Ha, this is the sword qi birthed from the Demon Sealing Sword Evocation, something no mere formation can replicate,”

Li Xiaobai said, and with another thunderous slash, he cut the shadowy figure into pieces, reducing it to ashes.

…

Half an hour later.

One by one, the cultivators emerged from the Formation, and upon seeing Li Xiaobai sitting idly on a small hill, they were livid with rage, their eyes nearly shooting fire. If looks could kill, Li Xiaobai would have been slain hundreds of times over.

Given the nature of his recent actions, they even strongly suspected that Li Xiaobai was the one causing trouble in the dark.

“Li Eighteen, you must give an explanation for today’s events. Why provoke us and deceive us with this plot?”

“What sort of schemes are you concealing? If you cannot give a satisfactory answer, we have reason to believe that you are the one attacking us in the shadows!”

The Seventh Prince and Ninth Prince stepped forward from the crowd and spoke to Li Xiaobai with a cold tone.

“Li Eighteen, speak up. We can understand a mischievous nature, but what you did today is too much. Sometimes, when you make a mistake, there is a price to pay, even if you are the Princely Heir of the Great Yan Dynasty!”

The Crown Prince stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes full of icy coldness. At this moment, he had no desire to feign politeness, making no effort to hide his murderous intent and rage.

“What does this have to do with me? The invitation card was sent by you, big brother; the Formation was created by you; the decision to have various passageways compete was also proposed by you. How can it be that now the blame has fallen on me?”

“We simply performed too excellently. Could it be that you all lack even the slightest degree of magnanimity expected of young talents?”

Li Xiaobai, resting his chin on his hand, spoke lightly.

“Silver-tongued devil!”

“No matter how eloquent you may be, you cannot escape today’s disaster. Seize him!”

The Crown Prince roared furiously, and his vital energy churned once again, his footing unstable as he almost stumbled.

Yet this time, no cultivator spoke up; all remained silent.

Li Xiaobai’s words struck a chord with them. Indeed, the day’s entire itinerary had been arranged by the Crown Prince; all the plans were orchestrated by him alone. Could it be that the Crown Prince and the Eighteenth Princely Heir were conspiring together to set up this predicament to entrap them?

“Look, big brother, no one is paying you any heed. All of this is mere speculation on your part. If you ask me, perhaps those few were killed by yourself. You gathered all the young talents in the city with the intent of eliminating those cultivators unfavorable to you!”

“No wonder you were so kind to share the Formation with everyone—it was all part of your calculation!”

Li Xiaobai said indifferently.

The surrounding cultivators’ gazes shifted; they had similar thoughts. Today’s affair was a gathering organized by the Crown Prince. With cultivators murdered inside his Formation, even if it was done by Li Xiaobai, the Crown Prince must have had a hand in it too.

“You’re spouting nonsense! I have devoted myself to the welfare of the Great Flame Dynasty, how could I possibly be the sinister and petty person you describe?”

“Li Eighteen, to think you would slander me so, I’ve truly misjudged you!”

A flicker of panic crossed the Crown Prince’s face, and the ambiguous stance of the surrounding cultivators instinctively elicited in him a strong sense of crisis. His primary goal today was to win hearts and minds, followed by eliminating Li Xiaobai.

Yet now, not only was Li Xiaobai unharmed, but he had also turned him against the group of young talents. If he lost the people’s favor here, it would be much harder for him to gain their support in the future.