Chapter 597: Suicide

Just as everyone observed, the Spirit Race creature was truly on the verge of madness.

“Even if you weren’t scared of me, there’s no need to make it so obvious! I’ve been shouting and screaming, putting all my strength into it. After so much effort, couldn’t you at least give some reaction? Look, everyone on and off the stage has collapsed, yet you’re just standing there, motionless… Isn’t that a bit disrespectful to your opponent?”

“I’m going to kill you…”

The more it thought, the angrier it became. Roaring once more, the tall Spirit Race creature gritted its teeth, spat out a mouthful of blood, its eyes turning even more crimson as its aura surged.

“Oh no, that’s the Spirit Race’s Blood-Rage Transformation method! After using it, their power doubles!”

“Blood-Rage Transformation?”

“Yes, not only are individual Spirit Race members powerful, but what’s even more terrifying is that by burning their vital essence and paying a certain price, they can enter a state of frenzy that doubles their attack power! I’ve read the History of Spirit Wars written by Master Zheng Xiao, and it mentioned this. It’s said that many master teachers have died from such attacks.”

“What do we do then?”

“I don’t know either, but… since Master Hong placed the Golden Soul Lock inside it, binding its skeletal structure, it shouldn’t be able to use its full power, even if it goes berserk!”

Seeing this massive creature start to lose control, the knowledgeable master teachers in the audience all looked worried.

If an ordinary Spirit Race member is already this terrifying, how strong would it be after going berserk?

Master Hong also gripped his weapon. If the creature dared to attack, he would undoubtedly slay it without hesitation.

As for now… he still had considerable confidence in the Golden Soul Lock. As long as it couldn’t use its true power, mere intimidation wouldn’t be a major issue. After all, this was meant to be a test of courage, so there was no need to act before seeing the outcome.

Furthermore, this was a living Spirit Race individual, captured at great cost. He intended to bring it to headquarters to receive a reward. If it were killed, it would truly lose all its value.

Boom!

Everyone was gripped by fear and anxiety. The Spirit Race creature finally gathered its strength and unleashed a ferocious roar at Zhang Xuan.

“Die…”

In its roar, the killing intent and spiritual pressure descended like thunder from the heavens. The entire circular platform groaned and creaked, seemingly unable to bear the strain.

Master teachers and cultivators in front of and behind the young man collapsed en masse, all trembling and unable to get up.

However… Zhang Xuan remained rooted to the spot, lost in thought, completely ignoring the creature’s attack.

“You…”

The Spirit Race creature was on the verge of exploding with rage. It struggled, spat out another mouthful of blood, stomped its foot, and advanced a few steps.

Although its skeletal structure was bound by the Golden Soul Lock, preventing it from fighting, it could still move. It hadn't moved before, fearing Master Hong would slay it, but now, filled with urgency and anger, it could no longer care about such concerns.

“I’m going to kill you…”

Whoosh!

Reaching Zhang Xuan, its massive head came within fifty centimeters of him, and it roared again.

From that distance earlier, it had already exerted an intense, irresistible pressure on countless people. Now, with its face practically pressed against him, it appeared even more terrifying, giving the impression that it could tear him apart at any moment.

But… Zhang Xuan still didn't move. He was still… in a daze.

“Master Zhang…”

Master Hong, not far away, couldn’t bear to watch any longer.

“What in the world is wrong with you? Even if you’re spacing out, you couldn’t be *that* completely oblivious, could you?”

“Huh?”

Hearing his name called, Zhang Xuan finally reacted.

The descriptions of the Spirit Race’s weaknesses were simply too numerous, too frightening, and too shocking for him. Even with his extensive knowledge, he couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with astonishment, unable to tear himself away.

As for the creature’s shouting and yelling… it had been doing that for a while, and he had simply assumed it was trying to scare others, paying no attention at all.

As his consciousness detached from the book, he suddenly found a hideous face right before him. Startled, he slapped it.

“Slap!”

A crisp sound echoed throughout the circular platform.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

The Spirit Race creature’s eyes widened, and it was on the verge of madness.

To unleash its spiritual pressure and rally its killing intent, it had exhausted itself to the point of spitting blood. It had even struggled to come closer, hoping to make the opponent suffer… yet, the other party was completely unharmed and had even slapped it!

“You despicable human, die!”

With a furious roar, the Spirit Race creature disregarded the Golden Soul Lock on its body and violently swung its massive fist down at the young man before it.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The wind howled.

With its skeletal structure locked, the power it could exert was purely physical, which wasn't much. However, Spirit Race members are naturally formidable; even an ordinary Transcendent Mortal 3-dan cultivator would struggle to contend with it.

“Vile beast, seeking death…”

Seeing it dare to attack, Master Hong’s eyebrows shot up. He twisted his long sword, about to strike, but before he could move, he saw Zhang Xuan sway, dodge the attack, and look over with a displeased expression.

“Who are you calling despicable? How dare you!”

With a flick of his sleeve, Zhang Xuan stood proudly, his master teacher’s robe fluttering in the wind, giving him the aura of an otherworldly expert.

“A descendant of the Spirit Race and the Dust-Armored Beast, your bloodline is impure and mixed, your power unrefined and disorganized. When you exert spiritual pressure and attacks, they are riddled with flaws, so much so that you can’t even deal with an ordinary person like me. What… right do you have to call humans despicable?”

“You…”

Unexpectedly, the person before it had instantly identified its bloodline origin. The Spirit Race creature was stunned, forgetting to continue its attack.

“What’s with that ‘You’?”

With his hands clasped behind his back, Zhang Xuan slowly approached: “It’s one thing to carry a mixed-breed bloodline, but the Spirit Race inherently possesses bloodline inheritances, which you haven’t received. To grow stronger, you learned human language and cultivated human techniques, yet you call humans despicable. I want to ask you, who gave you that confidence?”

“I…” The Spirit Race creature took a step back.

“This, this… what’s happening?”

Seeing Master Zhang, who had just been in a daze, suddenly snap out of it and begin to reprimand, everyone stared wide-eyed at each other, as if they had seen a ghost.

Even Master Hong was completely bewildered… This creature wasn’t a pure-blooded Spirit Race member?

Even he, who had captured it, didn’t know; how did Master Zhang know? How could he tell that it also possessed the bloodline of a Dust-Armored Beast?

Most crucially… even as a five-star master teacher, he was unaware that the Spirit Race had inheritances, yet this fellow could explain it in detail… Could it be that Master Yang taught him?

That’s right, perhaps only Master Yang, who is eight-star or above, would know such secrets of the Spirit Race. Even though he had broken through to five-star, he hadn’t undergone the baptism of a higher-level Master Teacher Pavilion, so he still knew little about these matters.

“You were born in a mountain village in Mount Wangyuan of the Hongfeng Empire, adopted and raised by humans. Before you turned twenty, you were no different from humans except for your large stature, and you didn’t know about your unique nature. As a result, over a trivial matter, you killed a villager, were scolded by your adoptive parents, and in a fit of rage, activated the Spirit Race bloodline within you, killing them!”

Zhang Xuan looked over: “Am I correct?”

“…” The Spirit Race creature’s body trembled.

It was indeed raised by humans in a remote, poor village where the villagers were simple and life was very difficult.

Although it was physically large from a young age, its family treated it exceptionally well. Even when they were poor, they never let it go hungry or miss a meal.

It remembered once when heavy snow fell for five consecutive days, leaving no food. Its adoptive father braved the snow to hunt, returning severely injured with only a very ordinary tentacled rabbit and some common wild vegetable roots. The rabbit was small, not nearly enough for a family of several. Besides it, its adoptive parents also had a sister who was several years younger.

To prevent it from starving, almost the entire rabbit was given to it to eat, while the others only had some vegetable roots.

Thinking about it now, it still felt very pitiful.

“Though they were your adoptive parents and of a different race, they showered you with boundless love, treating you like their own child. And how did you repay them? When your bloodline activated, in a fit of rage, you slaughtered the entire village, devouring your former friends, brothers, adoptive parents, and relatives… all of them!”

Zhang Xuan’s face turned ashen, his gaze like lightning: “Not only that, but you also burned the entire village to ashes… I want to ask you, after doing all this, have you ever felt regret, or unease in your heart?”

The Spirit Race creature trembled again.

Although it had inherited the ferocity of the Spirit Race, it had, after all, grown up among humans and understood propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame. These events were like a thorn in its heart, constantly pricking at it, making it afraid to look back.

“Regret? I do feel some regret, but so what? It was them… they insulted me, saying I didn’t look human, that I was a beast. That’s why I retaliated and killed them. What fault is that?”

It gnashed its teeth and roared.

“No fault? Very well. After brutally killing your adoptive parents and destroying the village, to fill your stomach, you went to the nearest city, Xiangyang. Due to your tall and robust physique, you joined a local wealthy gentry family. They taught you cultivation techniques, provided you with rich food and fine clothes, and even found you a wife. How did you treat them in return?”

Zhang Xuan’s voice was icy: “You lusted after their young lady, raped and murdered her. To prevent exposure, you slaughtered the entire family of over seventy people. Poor old Master Yuanwai, even in death, he couldn’t believe you would do such a thing! This… I’m not wrong, am I?!”

The Spirit Race creature’s spiritual attacks and pressure contained many flaws; these flaws were precisely the matters in its heart.

It was the conflict and regret in its heart that made its mental state increasingly unstable, preventing it from exerting its strongest power.

Otherwise, if the Spirit Race creature was so terrifying, even if Master Hong was a five-star master teacher and several other master teachers combined their efforts, capturing it wouldn’t have been so easy.

“I…”

“The Master Teacher Pavilion sent people to arrest you, and you killed over thirty master teachers. Even after being captured by Master Hong, you remained unrepentant, attempting to escape and kill people to absorb their power… A hybrid like you, neither fully human nor fully beast, dares to call humans despicable? I just want to ask, what… right do you have?!”

Without waiting for it to speak, Zhang Xuan continued.

His voice was rapid, filled with interrogation, creating spiritual pressure on the listeners.

“You carry the bloodline of the Spirit Race, yet you are not acknowledged by them; you live in the human world, yet you kill your own kin and friends, reviled by countless people. I simply want to ask you, what face do you have left to live in this world?”

With a flick of his sleeve, Zhang Xuan spoke righteously, his voice carrying a unique resonance: “Commit suicide!”

The Spirit Race creature’s body swayed, its eyes empty: “Yes, what face do I have left to live?!”

It raised a hand and slapped its own forehead. Immediately after, the Spirit Race creature’s massive body swayed, then collapsed to the ground, its breathing ceased.