Cheng Shi was, of course, alive.
Or rather, the authority "Vitality" had its pride. Even if its defenses were breached, there was no way it would fall at the hands of a re mortal.
Of course, as always, before the fight began, Cheng Shi had no idea what trump cards Xiao Qi was hiding. So he hadn't dared bet everything on "Vitality" alone. Steady as ever, he'd already prepared his "immortality" contingency while running for his life.
Don't forget: he was currently a Clown — a [Deceit] priest with Lie Like Yesterday!
And as luck would have it, in the previous trial, he'd deceived a certain squinty-eyed teammate. And so...
"Lie like yesterday, mock today.
Yesterday I deceived a [Death] believer, so today...
I am a [Death] believer."
An off-the-books top sales agent, temporarily promoted to full-ti!
When the universe's cetery beca his ho — what, you actually want to send
ho!?
Well, I refuse! Because a rebellious clown never takes his final bow easily.
The Gravekeeper gave Cheng Shi his ultimate safety net, allowing him to execute his plan the mont Xiao Qi fired that decisive arrow. And that plan had a na...
Kill the Heart!
As in "killing the person, destroying their heart" — the heart being the spirit, the will, the conviction.
So that arrow wasn't sothing Cheng Shi couldn't dodge. Well, no, let's stop lying — he genuinely couldn't dodge it...
But evasion was never the point. Because when that arrow left Xiao Qi's bow, Cheng Shi had never intended to dodge. He charged straight into it!
From deliberately dropping the container to feigning trap-laying, from dispatching the Envoy to faking the wise man's imprisonnt — everything up to this mont had been preparation, all for the purpose of taking this one arrow at the perfect ti.
Cheng Shi had never known what Xiao Qi's killing blow would be. He only knew that when Xiao Qi used it, his response wouldn't be evasion but a headlong collision!
So Cheng Shi didn't dodge. Instead, he straightened his chest and t it head-on, letting the arrow — infused with past betrayal, present obsession, and imagined future — pierce clean through his heart.
In that instant, a heart that hadn't so much as ached at childhood betrayal genuinely spasd with pain for a single beat.
Then Cheng Shi lay flat and took it.
The dense arrow fire had been no joke. In a ga watched by gods, so arrows carried effects ordinary ones didn't. A single hit could kill outright, let alone hundreds or thousands.
But no matter how different they were, under "Vitality"'s contempt, all were equal.
In truth, he had Xiao Qi's own caution to thank. If not for that half-hour of low-frequency "corpse whipping," Cheng Shi's "Vitality" might not have restored him so quickly.
And the mont Cheng Shi reopened his eyes, the tide of battle shifted entirely. Toward sothing far more brutal.
Don't misunderstand. "Brutal" here didn't an Cheng Shi had launched a fiercer counterattack. Rather, he'd been subjected to even more inhumane "abuse."
When Du Qiyu saw that Xiao Shi could survive even this, he didn't pull back for self-preservation. Instead, he raced against the clock to press his advantage, continuing to hamr Cheng Shi's immobile body with everything he had.
He knew that if he missed this mont, he'd never get another chance to hunt this unkillable cockroach of a friend.
So the dense arrow rain fell once more, pinning Cheng Shi — who'd barely managed to lift his head — back to the ground.
Countless arrows shattered the shafts already embedded in his flesh and burrowed in anew. But no matter how many arrows accumulated, Cheng Shi's eyes remained open, and the smile on his face never faded.
"No, this is impossible!"
'He's just a Clown who rged with a Fate Weaver. What gives him the right to survive like an unkillable Gravekeeper!?'
'This is impossible!'
Not until Du Qiyu's ntal energy was so depleted that he was forced to cease fire did Cheng Shi — for the umpteenth ti — pluck the arrows from around his mouth. He stretched that inhuman, ruined grin and clicked his tongue:
"Tsk. Your archery's decent. But compared to Qin Xin, it's a step behind.
Your valor passes muster. But next to Hu Wei, you're short on bandit swagger.
As for your deception, heh, now that's the interesting part. Those crude lies could fool the oblivious at best. And for this, He pulled you into [Void]'s camp?
Can you give
an answer, Beast Tar?
Oh right, you have a na. What was it again.
Du... Qi-yu? 'Cheated-jade?'
You certainly did deceive an uncut jade. Co to think of it, I should thank you when I picked up that promising prospect. Your 'inspiration' put Cheng Shi on the path of [Deceit]. In that sense, you actually deserve so credit.
Hmm. Looked at that way, Him giving you a head start is perfectly fair."
Cheng Shi monologued to himself while yanking arrows from his body by the handful. Blood gushed non-stop, soaking the earth beneath him a deep crimson, yet his movents suffered no impairnt — growing more fluid by the second.
This scene, seen through Du Qiyu's eyes, was as though Cheng Shi had a secret blood reserve of infinite capacity stashed inside his body. He'd never heard of any tool or talent that could withstand such devastating injuries while regenerating this fast.
But that wasn't the main thing. The main thing was: what the hell did those words an?
Judging by the tone, the person before him didn't sound like Xiao Shi at all!
Though his ntal energy was running low, the [Corruption] container kept Du Qiyu's mind online. His first instinct was that Cheng Shi was bluffing to deceive him. But when he saw what Cheng Shi produced next, that assumption imdiately disintegrated.
Cheng Shi was a master of timing. Especially the timing of a lie.
Deceit was never a performance accomplished by silver tongue alone. In specific contexts, yes, words could be powerfully persuasive. But most of the ti, words were hollow. What truly fooled people wasn't the liar's mouth — it was the victim's eyes.
You had to let the target see what he was willing to believe. Only then could you brazenly declare: the truth before your eyes is a lie you'll never see through.
What Cheng Shi produced was nothing other than a container.
A [Prosperity] container!
The instant this gnarled-wood hourglass appeared in Cheng Shi's hand, the terrifying [Prosperity] aura it emitted jolted Du Qiyu so hard he froze, his mind snapping to the emotion-absorbing tool in his own hand.
He was no fool. In that mont, pieces were clicking into place.
But Cheng Shi didn't let Xiao Qi's train of thought wander freely. This was the most critical mont for steering the other's mind. He had to use the most heart-shaking thod possible to redefine this battle between two players, telling this ignorant Beast Tar:
The one who'd been playing opposite him was never a player. It was a god. A supre Servant God!
So at this crucial juncture, Cheng Shi produced yet another container. The [Ti] container!
And as the two containers floated and orbited around his left and right hands, he shook his head with deep disappointnt:
"I chose from among several containers and selected the [Corruption] one — the one best suited to you — just to see the ceiling of your potential and the depth of your faith. But now it seems...
You fall far, far short.
Beast Tar, you've lost your chance. Return the container. I have my next candidate to test."
By now, Du Qiyu's brain had completely seized up. Though he felt no fear, confusion saturated his exhausted mind.
Looking at the two dazzlingly brilliant containers in Cheng Shi's hands, then at the one in his own, Du Qiyu didn't even ask who Cheng Shi was first. Instead, he blurted with desperate urgency:
"What is... a container?"
And the mont Cheng Shi heard the man ask about the container instead of his identity, he knew: the mirage had dazzled the eyes. This ga...
Was won!
...
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