The Transaction of Dorothea

Seeing this, Jiang Cisui stared blankly. So Xu Mu had recognized long ago that the other person was fake, which was why he had attacked.

Zhong Ci also relaxed slightly, and her admiration for Xu Mu grew even stronger.

[Affection +5]

A glimmer flashed through Lin Ruoshi’s eyes as well. As expected of Xu Mu—he was incredible.

[Affection +10]

On the other side, Li Hongdou quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought Xu Mu was going to kill Yun Yao, but it turned out the person before them had been created by the formation.

Chen Xuan, standing beside her with his arms folded, pondered the matter. “Strange! When I fought him just now, I couldn’t sense that he was a formation construct. He even bled.”

Li Hongdou nodded inwardly. That was indeed true. She had also seen Yun Yao bleed just now. Could it be that this arena allowed people to trade places?

“I forfeit!”

Rael clutched the wound at his waist. Although he had already taken a pill, the bleeding still had not stopped.

If he continued fighting Xu Mu, he was confident he could deal with him, but there would still be a certain amount of risk.

It would be better to rest for a while and wait for the wound to stop bleeding.

“I forfeit too… Sigh!”

Tian Yunchu stomped her feet angrily, and thunder rolled along with her temper.

How could she have thought of teaming up with Rael? Xu Mu was clearly so formidable.

Still, Rael had been the one to choose her, and she had no right to refuse.

“Xu Mu, if you could do it all over again, would you still…”

Before Tian Yunchu could finish speaking, she followed Rael back to the exit where they had come from.

At the same time, Yun Yao’s figure also reappeared.

“Hahahaha! You won! Who will you choose? There are quite a few beautiful women around you.”

The armored old man on the viewing platform laughed as he spoke to Xu Mu.

“I choose him!”

Xu Mu turned around and pointed at Chen Xuan first. Of course, he was currently wearing his own appearance.

Buzz!

Chen Xuan’s figure appeared beside Xu Mu.

“Brother Mu, with so many beautiful girls around, you chose me instead. You don’t have some special preference, do you?”

Chen Xuan spoke with a grin.

“Cut the nonsense. It’s simply because you’re stronger.”

Xu Mu took out the red sword, golden runes shimmering across its surface.

He pressed it against Chen Xuan’s arm and slowly drove it inward.

Crack!

The dark-red formation wrapped around Chen Xuan shattered instantly, revealing his true appearance.

Xu Mu immediately raised his head and looked toward the armored old man high above.

The old man had not paid the slightest attention. Instead, he continued, “Who’s next? Begin!”

Seeing this, Xu Mu guessed that the other party was merely a person generated by the formation’s design. He was neither a real person nor someone who had lodged his soul inside the construct.

Otherwise, the old man would never have remained completely unmoved after witnessing this.

Yun Yao was gazing up from below the arena, his eyes fixed on Chen Xuan. So the one who had defeated him just now had not been Xu Mu after all.

Seven or eight seconds passed, yet no one stepped onto the arena. Everyone present had seen Xu Mu defeat Rael.

Although they knew Xu Mu had likely relied on a surprise attack using a mental cultivation technique, they still did not dare to go up.

Just then, a blonde woman in a long dress voluntarily stepped onto the arena.

It was none other than Dorothea of the Holy Light Clan.

At that moment, she was grouped with Jiang Cisui and Wang Fugui.

There was no helping it. Jiang Cisui and Wang Fugui could only follow her up.

“Xu Mu, I know who you are. I originally thought the Black Moon Clan had offered you an excessive reward, but now it seems you really are worth the price.”

Dorothea brushed back her golden hair and smiled openly, without covering her mouth in the uniquely Eastern manner.

“Brother Mu, she…”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Xu Mu first sensed them to make sure all three people before him were real, then observed them with the Divine Eye.

Name: Dorothea

Identity: Sixth Captain of the Holy Domain Knights of the Holy Light Clan

Affection: 1

Destiny Level: 5 (Maximum Level: 10)

Xu Mu nodded inwardly. A woman who could fool around so recklessly with someone like Zidian definitely was not the female lead.

“Your bodyguard couldn’t even defeat me. What makes you think you can?”

Xu Mu drew his sword and asked indifferently.

“I came up here to make a deal with you. If I don’t fight, my bodyguard’s side will lose twice within ten seconds.”

Dorothea smiled and moved closer to Xu Mu.

“What deal?”

“My side will voluntarily forfeit, but you have to choose me, then choose Rael afterward—he’s my bodyguard. The few of us can form a team. That way, we’ll definitely be able to leave alive.”

As she spoke, Dorothea had already come up beside Xu Mu. “With us protecting you, those who wish to harm you will keep far away.”

Xu Mu checked the filial piety value this woman had toward him. It was -2.

He did not even need to check to know that this woman was no good.

If she could use her own body as a bargaining chip, what could she possibly be unwilling to betray?

“Beautiful, I’d really like to accept your proposal, but I have several people close to me here. I have to bring them over first before I can help you.”

Xu Mu tactfully refused. “We’re still strangers for now. I’m sure you can understand, right?”

“Can’t I cut in line?”

Dorothea smiled as she approached Xu Mu until only a dozen centimeters separated them. Then she gently blew a breath toward him, doing her best to appear seductive.

“Don’t do that. You’re giving off such a strong pick-me vibe.”

Xu Mu took several steps backward.

“What?”

Dorothea frowned slightly.

“Oh, my Brother Mu has a bit of an allergy.”

Chen Xuan chuckled from the side.

“Hehe, I think he’s allergic to beautiful women.”

Dorothea ran a finger across her thick lips.

“Brother Xu Mu, you don’t have to save us first. You can save Senior Hongdou first.”

Jiang Cisui spoke to Xu Mu.

“I know.”

Xu Mu nodded, then drew his sword. “Are you planning to forfeit automatically, or do you want to fight me?”

“I’m not fighting. I still need to conserve my strength.”

Jiang Cisui voluntarily surrendered.

“Since Senior Brother has surrendered, I’ll definitely surrender too.”

Wang Fugui followed suit.

Dorothea did not attack either. Seeing Xu Mu’s inexperienced, chaste-man appearance, she figured she might still be able to make use of him in the future.

In the end, all three surrendered, and Xu Mu’s group gained another victory.

This time, just as Jiang Cisui had said earlier, Xu Mu invited Li Hongdou over.

[Affection +10]

The moment Li Hongdou appeared, she complained unhappily, “Xu Mu, you should have chosen someone else first, like Ruoshi.”

“I know. She’ll be next time.”

Xu Mu still knew which matters were more important. His top priority right now was obviously to bring the female lead up.

Suddenly, his body stiffened. The surrounding scene vanished, and he found himself in a black space.

It was pitch-black all around, and he could not see anything.

Xu Mu immediately pressed a hand against the ground. It seemed that this time, the arena had switched him out.

“As expected, it’s hidden here. The more impregnable the outside is, the more obvious the formation core inside will be.”

Xu Mu tightened his grip on the sword and began channeling his power into it.

Meanwhile, on the arena, Chen Xuan suddenly looked toward Xu Mu. He could clearly sense that something was wrong with him.

“Brother Mu.”

Chen Xuan called out softly, then immediately sent a voice transmission. When he received no response, he shouted, “Senior, get out of the way!”

Whoosh!

The sword in the Xu Mu before them suddenly thrust toward Li Hongdou’s chest.

Li Hongdou had no time to react. She could only instinctively retreat, but even so, the sword still pierced into her.

She hadn’t expected it either. Xu Mu had been talking just a second ago, but the next, he had been replaced by someone else.

Rumble!

Just then, the arena platform suddenly began to shake violently.