Chapter 238 – Prepared to Pay the Price

“Clan Chief!”

At this moment, countless people exclaimed in shock.

Even the six Upper-Rank Professionals couldn’t help but change their expressions when they saw Mo Leng being blasted from mid-air and crashing violently into the ground.

Meanwhile, the figure who had punched Mo Leng away had already returned to the motorcycle. Riding the vehicle before everyone’s eyes, it descended from the sky with a thunderous roar, kicking up billowing dust along the way before finally coming to a stop before Little Hai’er, who was bathed in soaring blood Qi and undergoing evolution.

“Quite the runners, aren’t you?”

A man’s voice slowly rang out.

“Come on, try running again.”

Though devoid of anger, the voice sent a slight tremor through everyone present, reaching all their ears.

Immediately, the Mo Family members looked up with both shock and fury, their gazes turning toward the motorcycle’s rider.

At this sight, everyone froze in astonishment.

Because they saw two excessively young faces.

The slightly childish features, clearly not even twenty years old—faces of students who hadn’t yet graduated from the Academy—left many utterly stunned.

Especially since many recognized one of the two individuals.

“Xu Qianqian!”

“The Young Miss of the Xu Family?”

“It’s actually her?”

The crowd erupted into murmurs.

Only the female attendant who had previously assisted Mo Leng trembled slightly upon seeing Xu Qianqian and fell into silence.

As for the Upper-Rank Professionals, they found it utterly absurd.

How could it be two such young kids?

Was it really one of them who had just sent the Clan Chief flying?

This…

The Upper-Rank Professionals found it extremely hard to believe, momentarily frozen in place.

But no matter how unbelievable it seemed, the arrivals were undoubtedly Su Ming and Xu Qianqian.

The two had already dismounted from the Dragon Gall motorcycle one after another, their eyes scanning the surroundings.

Xu Qianqian glanced at Little Hai’er bathed in the soaring blood Qi behind her, then looked at the numerous Mo Family members around them, finally locking her gaze on one person.

It was precisely that female attendant.

Su Ming, in contrast to Xu Qianqian, first scanned everyone present before turning to look at Little Hai’er behind him.

Seeing Little Hai’er immersed in the towering blood Qi, seemingly in great pain, Su Ming’s brow tightened into a deep frown.

“She’s actually evolving?”

Like everyone present, Su Ming had never witnessed a Phantom Demon’s evolution scene.

But that didn’t prevent him from recognizing the situation.

He understood Little Hai’er’s condition far better than most. While others might not know why Little Hai’er had suddenly begun evolving, Su Ming could easily guess the reason.

After all, it was Su Ming who had provided Little Hai’er with her Red Agate stones, and this mermaid girl had always stayed by Su Ming’s side. Currently, no one understood Little Hai’er’s situation better than Su Ming.

Therefore, Su Ming immediately realized the dangerous state Little Hai’er was now in.

However, this state seemed temporarily under control.

Su Ming could feel that, at this very moment, the Spirit Power within his body was draining at an astonishing rate, being absorbed by Little Hai’er behind him.

No, to be more precise, Su Ming’s Spirit Power was being absorbed by the Spirit Power spear within Little Hai’er’s heart.The binding spear constructed through the [Demon Binding] spell formula inherently draws a certain amount of Spirit Power from the Sorcerer over time and during its activation to sustain its existence and function.

Based on this characteristic, the [Demon Binding] spell formula currently embedded in Little Hai’er’s heart appeared to be drawing substantial Spirit Power from Su Ming, using it to suppress her demonic energy and Bloodline power, alleviating her pain and preventing her from bodily explosion.

To be honest, Su Ming hadn’t anticipated that the [Demon Binding] technique could produce such an effect.

This was likely an unforeseen variation even by the spell’s original creator.

Su Ming could roughly deduce why this phenomenon occurred.

“Since [Demon Binding]’s primary function involves draining blood from the Phantom Demon’s heart region—causing pain and weakness while rapidly neutralizing resistance—it stands to reason that during a Bloodline evolution running wild and out of control, the technique rooted in the heart (the core regulator of blood circulation) would react directly to the Phantom Demon’s Bloodline. To maintain its own existence, it began demanding Spirit Power from me, the Sorcerer, correct?”

Had [Demon Binding] lacked this blood-draining capability, it wouldn’t have responded to the Phantom Demon’s Bloodline evolution.

Had it not been anchored in the heart—so intimately connected to blood—it similarly couldn’t have achieved control and suppression over the Phantom Demon’s Bloodline.

Combined with [Demon Binding]’s inherent trait of drawing Spirit Power from the Sorcerer to sustain itself, along with the fact that if the target’s power vastly exceeds the Sorcerer’s, it could erase the [Demon Binding] spell formula in the heart—under Little Hai’er’s current evolution, the spiritual spear in her heart wouldn’t have been immediately stimulated to react so swiftly.

This was the [Demon Binding] spell formula’s coping mechanism to preserve its own existence, preventing the surging Bloodline power during evolution from erasing it.

Fortunately, this very coping mechanism inadvertently helped Little Hai’er, allowing the young girl to catch her breath amidst the uncontrollable Bloodline power.

Though it resulted from an unexpected chain reaction, one had to admit it was a fortunate turn of events.

From now on, as long as Su Ming continuously supplied Spirit Power without actively cutting off [Demon Binding]’s absorption, the spell formula within Little Hai’er would endlessly release Spirit Power, struggling against the rampaging power inside her to maintain its own existence.

Only with the out-of-control power suppressed could Little Hai’er gradually master this force and safely navigate through this evolution.

Understanding this, Su Ming quietly sighed in relief, setting aside his worries for Little Hai’er as he turned his attention back to the Mo Family.

The Mo Family members had already surrounded Su Ming and Xu Qianqian, their eyes filled with hostility.

“Boom!”

The next moment, another dull thud echoed.

Mo Leng pushed aside the rubble covering him, his entire body radiating a startling Aura as he slowly emerged from the dust, stepping before Su Ming and Xu Qianqian.

His expression was icy, his eyes brimming with Killing Intent. His gaze first lingered on Xu Qianqian before shifting to Su Ming.

“…I know you.”Mo Leng spoke in a deep voice.

“You are Su Ming, a student Sorcerer whom Xu Qianqian has suddenly been in close contact with over the past few months. Though you come from an ordinary family, you are acquainted with Yun Langyue of the Yun Family Estate. On two separate occasions, you asked Yun Langyue to dispatch powerful individuals to help Xu Qianqian overcome difficulties. Am I correct?”

This Family Head of the Mo Family, one of the high-ranking councilors in Longyao City, who had previously collaborated with 『Sin』 to plot the Phantom Demon Cub incident—indirectly facilitating the meeting and mutual understanding between Su Ming and Xu Qianqian—was surprisingly well-informed about Su Ming’s background.

It seemed that ever since Xu Qianqian disrupted his plans, leading to the failure of the operation at Huaming District Warehouse Street, he had conducted a thorough investigation into Xu Qianqian, thereby noticing Su Ming’s presence.

Coupled with the fact that a traitor had tipped off Mo Leng, it was hardly surprising that he would recognize Su Ming, who frequently interacted with Xu Qianqian.

However…

“It’s unbelievable that someone like you—a student widely regarded as merely clinging to the coattails of the Young Miss of the Xu Family and the Young Miss of the Yun Family—could be hiding such depths.”

Recalling the earlier exchange of blows and being sent flying by an overwhelming force, Mo Leng clenched his throbbing arm while staring intently at Su Ming.

“A student Sorcerer? From an ordinary family?”

“What nonsense is this?”

“The power you just displayed clearly reaches the level of an Upper-Rank Hunter, even surpassing my own strength by a margin!”

“Someone like you—a student Sorcerer? A Mortal from an ordinary family?”

“Who are you trying to fool?”

Mo Leng’s Aura surged dramatically.

“Speak! Who are you!?”

This icy roar made the atmosphere on the scene unbearably heavy and oppressive, and the gazes of the surrounding Mo Family members toward Su Ming shifted entirely.

Including the silent female attendant, whose eyes now held an inscrutable and deeply complex expression as she looked at Su Ming.

As for the Upper-Rank Professionals, they were both shocked and furious, with a hint of envy simmering beneath the surface.

A person so young, yet an Upper-Rank Hunter hiding such profound strength?

Was this some kind of joke?

Clearly not.

At the very least, Su Ming, bathed in so many scrutinizing gazes, stepped forward without a trace of fear.

“Who I am is actually not important at all.”

This was the first time Su Ming had revealed his true strength while showing his real face.

But, as he said, it didn’t matter.

What mattered was…

“You’ve touched what’s mine and schemed against me.”

Su Ming looked directly at Mo Leng and smiled emotionlessly.

“In that case, you should be prepared to pay the price, shouldn’t you?”

His casual tone ignited the already heavy and oppressive atmosphere.

“You want me to pay the price?” Mo Leng sneered repeatedly. “Do you think you can do it?”

The surrounding Mo Family members and the group of Upper-Rank Professionals simultaneously took a cold step forward, subtly encircling Su Ming.

In response, Su Ming had only one thing to say.

“Shall we try?”

Su Ming grinned.

“Then let’s try.”

Killing Intent surged in Mo Leng’s eyes as he immediately gave the order.

“Attack!”

As soon as the words fell, the six Upper-Rank Professionals of the Mo Family sprang into action.

They abruptly lunged, attacking in unison from their encircling positions, rushing toward Su Ming’s location as the sounds of tearing air echoed one after another.Faced with Su Ming, an excessively young powerhouse, these Upper-Rank Professionals—whether out of unwillingness to underestimate him or driven by jealousy to mercilessly eliminate him—launched a coordinated assault without hesitation, holding nothing back.

Among them, the four elders of the Mo Family radiated the most intense Killing Intent.

They would never allow such an unnaturally young individual, whose potential was terrifyingly astonishing, to become a threat to the Mo Family.

Thus, they intended to ruthlessly crush Su Ming and eradicate this hidden danger to their Family.

Little did they know, Su Ming welcomed this very outcome.

“Boom!”

As the sound of Qi explosion erupted from Su Ming’s right hand, an eerie blue light blazed like flames.

“Silver Arm: One Percent: Punch!”

His right fist, carrying terrifying force, shot straight forward.

In an instant, heaven and earth shook.

(End of Chapter)