Ch. 1416 - Burned Alive, Xiao Anshan’s Challenge

Xu Zimo’s eyes were deep and calm.

“Stop deceiving yourself,” Spectral Prince snorted coldly. “If you could really kill them, why didn’t your fire work before?”

“It didn’t kill them just now because the flames weren’t strong enough,” Xu Zimo replied evenly. “It burned their bodies, but not the death energy clinging to them. That’s why they could keep reviving.”

He raised his hand. In his palm, the Flame of Zhurong bloomed like a lotus. The scorching flames burned quietly, yet their mere presence was enough to dissolve the surrounding void.

When the flame appeared, many members of the Fire God Race instinctively felt fear. The Flame of Zhurong was too powerful, it suppressed the flames within their own bodies the instant it emerged.

“Who is he? He’s clearly not one of us, yet his flame is that strong!”

“How does that fire compare to the Solar Flame from the Radiant Court?” someone asked.

“It’s hard to say. They haven’t clashed head-on, but I’d guess they’re about equal.”

As the crowd murmured, Xu Zimo sneered softly.

The Solar Flame was impressive, but before the Flame of Zhurong, it was nothing but trash.

The Flame of Zhurong was the origin of all flames. Xu Zimo wasn’t yet sure whether the fire god Zhurong was directly connected to the Inferno Crucible Heaven, but one thing was certain, where there was fire, there was a link.

“Then try it,” Spectral Prince said with a twisted grin. “Let’s see if your fire is stronger, or my Ghost-Devouring Death Insects.”

He was full of confidence in his insects. They had once swept across countless battlefields, emperors had fallen to them.

Xu Zimo waved his hand, and a sea of fire surged up before him. The endless blaze rolled like an ocean, the Flame of Zhurong rising high above it.

From among the spectators, a sudden scream pierced the air.

“Ah! My eyes, my eyes are burning!”

Everyone turned in shock. The man had merely stared at the flames for a few seconds before the heat alone scorched his sight, blinding him instantly.

Even Spectral Prince began to feel fear. Sweat drenched his forehead, his throat was dry, but he forced himself to stay focused, controlling the death bugs as they rushed toward Xu Zimo.

A crackling sound filled the air.

Before the bugs even reached the flames, they spontaneously combusted.

When the sea of fire enveloped them, the Ghost-Devouring Death Bugs vanished completely.

“Revive! Revive, damn you!” Spectral Prince shouted anxiously.

But this time, the bugs were truly gone, burned into nothing.

“H-how… how is that possible?” Spectral Prince collapsed to the ground. “You must have used some demonic trick! My bugs are immortal, they can’t die!”

“Don’t you realize how pathetic you look right now?” Xu Zimo said coolly. “So this is the so-called prodigy of the Spectral Valley? Pathetic.”

He let the Flame of Zhurong fall from his hand.

Spectral Prince tried to flee, but it was too late.

The flames consumed him.

“Aaaahhh!” His screams echoed chillingly.

His entire body became a figure of fire, writhing on the stage, standing up, falling again, over and over.

The fire burned for a long time. Xu Zimo controlled it precisely, enough to make the man feel every ounce of agony, but not enough to let him die too quickly.

Spectral Prince lunged toward him, face twisted in torment. “Kill me! Please, kill me!”

“You like torturing others, don’t you?” Xu Zimo asked. “Now you can feel what it’s like yourself.”

“Those worms were insects! Torturing them was a mercy!” Spectral Prince howled. His mind was gone.

“Maybe so,” Xu Zimo said with a faint smile. “But to me, you’re the insect. So my torment is your honor.”

The crowd fell silent.

The packed arena was so quiet that even a pin drop could be heard.

At last, after what felt like an eternity, Spectral Prince was burned alive.

“How brutal,” someone whispered.

“Spectral Prince was vicious all his life, but today he met someone even crueler.”

“That man is terrifying. I doubt even Xiao Anshan could beat him.”

The tide of opinion had shifted.

Xu Zimo had defeated the second-ranked Spectral Prince, now, only one opponent stood before him.

Xiao Anshan.

Xu Zimo walked calmly down from the stage.

The crowd instinctively stepped aside, giving him a wide path.

Zhang Hengzhi smiled faintly. He knew Xu Zimo had avenged him. With his strength, Xu Zimo could have killed Spectral Prince instantly, yet he’d chosen to draw it out.

“Feeling better now?” Shangguan Xian asked with a grin.

“To meet two true friends in one life… that’s my fortune,” Zhang Hengzhi said quietly.

“Your methods were too cruel,” a voice spoke from behind.

Xu Zimo turned slowly.

Xiao Anshan stood there, calm and composed.

“Even if Spectral Prince deserved death, you shouldn’t have tortured and mutilated him like that,” Xiao Anshan said. “Such actions defy the laws of heaven.”

Xu Zimo looked at him as if watching a fool. Then he chuckled twice and said nothing.

“Sir,” Xiao Anshan continued solemnly, “I will defeat you on the stage, fair and square.”

“Oh?” Xu Zimo waved lazily. “And what are you trying to say?”

“I just want you to understand, life deserves respect. No matter whose it is, it should never be toyed with,” Xiao Anshan replied earnestly.

“You’re this naive, and yet you became the Chaos Fire God Realm’s heir?” Xu Zimo laughed. “I suppose it’s because of your Primordial Flame God-King Physique. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be spouting these self-righteous speeches.”

“What do you mean by that?” Xiao Anshan frowned.

“To me, good and evil don’t matter,” Xu Zimo said with a grin. “Whether it’s cruelty or kindness, I follow only one rule.”

“And that is?” Xiao Anshan asked.

“I do what I damn well please,” Xu Zimo said with a wide smile. “Don’t preach to me about morals, you’ve lived too sheltered a life.”

As Xu Zimo walked away, completely dismissive of him, Xiao Anshan’s fists clenched tightly.

He stood in silence for a long time before finally exhaling slowly.

“Only the final victor,” he murmured, “has the right to lecture others.”

When the day’s matches ended, the sky had already darkened.

Everyone returned to their lodgings. In the inn’s main hall, Bian Wenzhou was already waiting.

“Today, Young Master Xu, you truly amazed the entire Chaos Fire God Realm,” Bian said with a smile. “I just checked, the Myriad Flame Tower now lists you and Xiao Anshan side by side at number one.”

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