Chapter 1070: I Just Didn't Say It

"Ahhh!"

The black flame licking Baili Jingtian's arm ate more and more of it as it spread, going from his arm to his shoulder to finish the job.

Baili Jingtian shook his arm all over the place, while not forgetting to howl at the skies. The searing pain stabbing his heart and making him break out in sweat, his face a twisted mask of his sharp features.

Yet the worst wasn't the pain, having gone through extensive training to learn to bear with extreme pain.

No matter what he tried, flicking his hand or using Yuan Qi, it would stick to him like a leech, horrifying him.

He could not snuff it out.

Another image then surfaced in his mind, that of being cooked alive, here and now.

Baili Jingtian's heart raced in terror, panicking and wailing, but nothing worked.

Seeing the black flame unaffected by anything he tried, his heart sank in despair, about to have a mental breakdown.

Regret was eating his insides for not being just a wee bit more careful, for not even noticing how the black beam of flames grazed his clothes. He would've removed the sleeve and easily dealt with the danger rather than be in so much pain.

His real regret, however, was about Zhuo Fan. The guy showcased power beyond anything he'd seen, like a Demon Archon. That made him obsessed with reading his every move to counter them, thinking that he could survive that way.

When a savage tiger was eying you as prey, you would ignore the ants gnawing at your feet.

In face of great danger, people ignore anything but the source of said danger. Alas, the wee ant turned out to carry a fatal poison as it bit him. He had fallen for it and could only wait for the poison to spread and kill him. It was no less deadly than the tiger, though way more painful.

A pity he did not immediately notice it.

That did not include the audience, who was very clear on what was happening and enjoying his plight before he even realized it.

Zhuo Fan scratched his nose amidst Baili Jingtian's incessant wailing, though he couldn't fight a smile, "I could tell by the way he dodged that it wasn't a clean one and the flames stuck to his sleeve, but I just didn't say it."

"I saw it too. It was but a spark of fire that only grew with time." Ye Lin's face shook, "I just didn't feel like sharing, seeing him so focused."

The wounded guys on the ground looked at each other then at Baili Jingtian raving around with taunting smiles.

Ouyang Changqing patted Ye Lin's shoulder, complaining theatrically, "Brother Ye, that's not right. We're all righteous cultivators here and a win only counts when done fairly. How could you keep it from him that his sleeve had something so deadly stuck to it? That's not how a righteous and honest man acts. If it were me, I would have instantly warned him of his sleeve so we could compete in a real fight!"

"You don't say. Why the silence all this time then?" Ye Lin gave him a patronizing smile.

Ouyang Changqing smiled back, looking at the rest with his head high and using a scornful tone, "Didn't I say it already? As a righteous cultivator, I should be honest, but having fought with the Crown Prince and not found him to be one of us. Zhuo Fan is a demonic cultivator, so anything goes. So in the spirit of fairness, I had to keep silent when his sleeve was struck, even signaling everyone to keep quiet as well. It wouldn't do for the audience to meddle in the fight of real experts. So we just stood and watched instead. Crown Prince, you may continue the fight, we promise to be nothing more than spectators and never interfere, ha-ha-ha..."

"Screw you! You rotten bastards, agh..."

Baili Jingtian was struggling in the air still, with the fire reaching his shoulder and the pain only growing in intensity. Nothing he tried worked in removing it.

While he was here burning alive, those fools below were having the time of their lives at his expense, cursing and mocking him.

He snapped back, but that only got them to mock him harder, finding him weak.

[You hopeless case dare raise your tone at us? He-he, go ahead, not like you have any future left by the looks of it. We'll just wait for you to burn out while you dance around like a monkey and raving, humph...]

Zhuo Fan smiled, ignoring him and returning with Chu Qingcheng to the others on the ground.

The black thunderflame didn't stop till all was ash. Even a Sword King had to be careful around it, let alone a mere Genesis Stage cultivator.

There was no point in minding a dead man walking.

Grinning evilly, Zhuo Fan ignored the cawing in his ear, walking with his wife.

Whoosh!

Just then, a sword wave flashed through the sky and Baili Jingtian's shoulder.

Whoosh~

The arm soared, engulfed in black flames. Baili Jingtian felt his right arm gone, with blood gushing out of his shoulder.

A tall man appeared next to him, pressing his acupoints and stopping the bleeding. But even that short moment of bleeding out was enough to cover half his clothes in it.

Baili Jingtian's eyes shook, jerking his head at where his right hand used to be.

The sword wave had taken it from him.

"Crown Prince, I had no choice but to do it!" The man spoke casually.

Zhuo Fan paused and frowned. He looked back and then clenched his fists.

[Beat the brat and the big guy shows up. The Crown Prince was dealt with then a Sword King had to show up.]

The others could pretty much guess who arrived to help Sword Star's crown prince.

Their mocking smiles froze and gulped hard before turning a pleading look and hopeful gaze to Zhuo Fan.

[Bro, you made light work of the crown prince, but can you handle a Sword King as well?]

Zhuo Fan took his time to breathe in and out, holding Chu Qingcheng while walking over to them without any hint of anxiety.

The man's eyes twinkled, his eyes bright.

Baili Jingtian looked at Zhuo Fan with nothing but hatred and fury. He clenched his only fist, the nails digging into his palm as he roared, "Thunder Sword King, kill him! Kill him now!"

"Crown Prince, you're hurt and we should first treat your wound!"

Baili Yulei got an idea of what happened by looking at the man below and the Crown Prince's fury. He, however, looked for an excuse not to follow the Crown Prince's order.

Baili Jingtian was unaware of the Thunder Sword King's weird attitude of not being interested in taking Zhuo Fan's head back to Patriarch and earning his reward. For some reason, the Thunder Sword King was more interested in the Crown Prince's condition.

But Baili Jingtian was beyond reason, rage having taken over his faculties, "Thunder Sword King, listen here! The Patriarch wants him dead. You have to get his head. I may not be able to do it myself, but I'm content with seeing him die!"

Baili Yulei did not move, only looked around.

Zhuo Fan ignored the threat above, walking with Chu Qingcheng to the others and taking out a vial. He opened it and let green pills fly to his friends.

"Eat it then take Qingcheng and leave."

Giving Chu Qingcheng to Shui Ruohua, Zhuo Fan spoke calmly.

Wu Qingqiu rushed to say, "But what about you..."

"Someone must keep the Sword King here."

Zhuo Fan stood and turned around with conviction. His eyes shone golden and black...