Explosions rang out continuously like firecrackers.

  Xia Li was already unsteady on his feet. Some of those who'd chased him to the rooftop had even fallen off.

  But they were all cultivators with some level of strength, or at least had substantial modifications—falling wouldn't kill them.

  So Xia Li ignored them and instead channeled his spiritual energy fully, pulling together all those he'd knocked unconscious.

  "Save me!"

  Suddenly, a cry for help came from the building's edge. Xia Li turned to look and found a small, frail girl—no spiritual energy fluctuations in her body at all. An ordinary person!

  She hadn't attacked him before.

  But couldn't rule out that she would next.

  No...

  She probably definitely would.

  But Xia Li saved her anyway.

  As he'd said, tonight was destined to be a boring night where no one died. He would counter despicableness with nobility.

  Just as she was about to fall, Xia Li grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

  But the girl immediately opened her mouth and spat something at Xia Li's face.

  Xia Li had anticipated this—spiritual energy formed a shield that blocked whatever hit his face. But when he looked clearly, it seemed to be just ordinary saliva.

  Not good!

  Xia Li sensed trouble.

  Pain struck his back!

  He immediately withdrew, reaching behind to his back and forcibly pulling out a serrated dagger.

  【Heart struck】

  【Open laceration of right atrium】

  【Cardiac reinforcement mesh stanching blood, has replaced damaged cardiac muscle function】

  【Please rest!】

  Heaven Chip began reporting injuries.

  Beside the girl Xia Li had pulled up now stood another girl who looked considerably older. She'd been hiding for a long time.

  They were likely twin sisters. Their eyes held a gleam of triumph as they looked at Xia Li.

  【Neurotoxin detected!】

  【Carotid filter operating...】

  【Adrenal regulator operating...】

  The implanted prosthetics in Xia Li's body, coordinated by Heaven Chip, minimized this lethal ambush's danger.

  The twins decisively jumped off the building.

  Xia Li was speechless. He seemed to hear countless people mocking him while praising those two girls.

  The next moment.

  The building, having lost its support points, collapsed at an angle.

  Xia Li leaped to the crowd he'd knocked out, directly activated his G-Field shield, then controlled their descent together with his own.

  After landing...

  Xia Li was about to release his divine thought to scan the surroundings.

  He felt a hand land on his shoulder. He immediately looked back.

  It was an old woman he'd knocked unconscious earlier. She must have been faking unconsciousness, waiting for an opportunity!

  The old woman had retreated far away now, and her arm was missing...

  No!

  It was on his shoulder—gripping tightly!

  Xia Li immediately realized what was happening. Rather than using spiritual energy to protect himself, he first retreated from his position.

  Because too many unconscious people surrounded him.

  An explosion boomed.

  Xia Li's backward leap hadn't even landed when the explosion occurred mid-air. The old woman revealed wild joy at the sight.

  "Haha!"

  "I can go back..."

  "Go back!"

  But the broadcast didn't announce Xia Li's challenge failure.

  When the explosion's flames were doused by rain, Xia Li's right half of his body and right side of his face were bloody and mangled. The cheekbone was bare white bone directly exposed.

  But Xia Li was still standing.

  The broadcast sounded again:

  "Peasants never know how to appreciate kindness."

  "See that, audience? This is what happens when you pity peasants! They won't thank you—they'll do everything to devour you, eat you clean!"

  The broadcast host was inciting emotions and hatred. Many felt Xia Li wasn't worth it. Even Corporate Union's people thought the peasants went too far.

  Xia Li might be foolish, but he was admirably foolish. Those peasants really didn't know what was good for them.

  Even if these peasants won and could return, they wouldn't let them go!

  Because Xia Li's behavior was too distinctive—a behavior they'd never seen. Xia Li drew attention, the only one worth illuminating under the spotlights.

  Xia Li was tonight's big star!

  Xia Li was gasping...

  The sensation of flesh sliding off his face was strange, nauseating...

  His right eye could no longer see.

  If he'd ignored those unconscious people and immediately covered his body with spiritual energy, the explosion from that junk prosthetic would've caused only minor injuries at most.

  Enduring intense pain, he opened his mouth and swallowed several pills.

  Actually, his current wounds looked worse than they were. With spiritual energy and regeneration fluid, the lost flesh could be restored in a day at most.

  But his right eye wouldn't come back.

  He'd lost another part of his body...

  Only by reaching Soul Transformation and beyond—that realm of reconstructing the golden body—could he reclaim all the flesh he'd lost.

  From the darkness, from the collapsed building's ruins.

  More people emerged.

  They wouldn't give Xia Li much time to catch his breath—they had to kill Xia Li while he was wounded.

  Xia Li raised his blade to fight again. His appearance now carried a fearsome killing intent compared to before, as if every slash would kill—yet every strike stopped short of actually killing.

  The audience cheered, roared, urged Xia Li to kill.

  The broadcast sounded again:

  "Just now, after the split, our challenger received over 100,000 spirit stones in tips from the audience!"

  "He's made it to number ninety-eight on the Sudden Riches List!"

  "A legend is born!!"

  The broadcast host shouted. Fireworks were set off above the glittering city in the distance.

  Sudden riches—the opportunity everyone in New Tokyo most desired. Those who made the Sudden Riches List were legends who'd earned massive spirit stones in a short time.

  Existences that countless people had to look up to.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Xia Li could no longer hear what the broadcast was saying clearly.

  He was focused solely on fighting.

  Among his enemies appeared Foundation Establishment late-stage cultivators who'd been lurking, the true powerhouses of this no-tax zone.

  Every move Xia Li made began receiving commentary and sales pitches from the broadcast.

  Xia Li leaped with blade in hand. Lightning suddenly burst from the blade, electricity spreading like silk through the rain. But Xia Li only struck the ground, dispersing thunder to make nearby people convulse and collapse.

  "Thunder Cutter! It's Thunder Cutter! Using Thunder Cutter sword art in this weather greatly increases the damage radius..."

  "Heavens! He precisely controlled the force—he only stunned them!"

  "That's Yagyu-ryū: Thousand Shadows, which can..."

  "Yagyu Industries tipped 50,000 spirit stones!"

  "Our challenger rises to number ninety-one on the Sudden Riches List!"

  "The legend continues!"

  "Silver Star Group has increased the reward amount—winning peasants can now receive 30,000 spirit stones!"

  "Work hard, peasants!"

  "Become tonight's legend!"

  The host's infectious words continuously stirred up the attackers' ferocity.

  Combat grew increasingly brutal.

  Xia Li began running low on strength and blood. His spiritual energy was severely depleted. When blocking, he now needed both hands to brace the blade.

  But bracing with palms against the blade meant the edge faced himself, cutting his own hands.

  In New Tokyo's major casinos, tens of millions to billions of spirit stones began flowing, betting on this event's final outcome.

  Excitement, fervor, cheering—so much that even in the no-tax zone, Xia Li heard the distant city's cheers.

  Why?

  Why, even like this, did he still become a performer?

  What should have been a boring ending—why did it make them even more frenzied?

  "Three..."

  "Two..."

  "One..."

  The broadcast began counting down. Just as a blade was about to cleave into his skull and Xia Li prepared to counter, someone suddenly descended from the sky.

  And directly restrained the attacker before Xia Li.

  "Match over!"

  The one who'd descended announced the match's end. Xia Li had won; the peasants were no longer allowed to attack.

  But the bankrupts around ignored this, continuing to attack Xia Li. This caused more people to rapidly emerge from the darkness.

  They wore matching uniforms, raised guns and began bloodily executing the attackers with spirit bullets.

  "Stop!!"

  Xia Li shouted. What was the point of showing mercy? Wasn't it so that tonight no one would die? That was what would slap Corporate Union in the face!

  The match was clearly over—why were they still killing?

  The broadcast quickly gave Xia Li the answer.

  "The peasants in the no-tax zone all bet on themselves to win and borrowed from Silver Star Group..."

  "Unfortunately, the peasants lost."

  "The result of borrowing after bankruptcy—becoming Silver Star Group's assets."

  "Silver Star Group has decided to honor the audience's wishes..."

  "Cheer, audience!"

  "These peasants were so cruel to our big star—they don't deserve to live!"

  "May blood honor virtue!"

  The slaughter began.

  That old woman knelt begging for mercy and was shot in the head.

  Those twin sisters hugged each other crying and were directly beheaded by Corporate Union's people.

  Everyone who had attacked him would not survive!

  He'd given them a chance to live. He'd rather be injured than kill.

  But they'd bet their lives on loans to turn their fortunes around, incurring even more debt, accelerating toward death.

  If he'd killed from the start, shown his ferocity, perhaps these people would've feared, would've hidden—perhaps the death toll wouldn't have been this high.

  He'd created the perfect dramatic effect.

  His mercy meant tonight no one survived!

  "Heh... hehe..."

  Xia Li was utterly self-deprecating now. He collapsed exhausted in the rain. Water slid down his face like silent weeping.

  Gunfire, begging, roaring continued endlessly.

  Not far away, someone looked at him before dying.

  "Why... didn't you kill us!"

  "Why... not kill!"

  "I was scared of you... I didn't dare come..."

  "Was this your trap? Your performance?"

  That person charged furiously at Xia Li, seemingly trying to self-destruct, but was met only by a bullet that blew his head off.

  His pride in refusing to be a performer had made him the most popular performer.

  That pride doubled his value.

  【You've received 20 spirit stones...】

  【You've received 15 spirit stones...】

  【You've received 5 spirit stones...】

  People kept tipping him, applauding his performance tonight. He was the best performer.

  Who said Corporate Union didn't value virtue?

  It was just that virtue rarely fetched a high price.

  Tonight, Xia Li's virtue sold for a high price—its value had been reanchored.

  Thus the morally bankrupt peasants had to give their lives to further raise that value.

  Tonight.

  Silver Star Group earned a reputation for executing the immoral. Yagyu Industries sold hundreds of thousands of sword art copies.

  Even Lingguang Tech made quite a profit.

  And Xia Li had become suddenly rich overnight, earning more spirit stones than he had on the other side. Robbing a Treasure Pavilion Master had only netted him just over 100,000 spirit stones.

  His account now showed over 200,000 deposited—in Earth's standard spirit stone units—and still increasing!

  This was Corporate Union.

  Every day people died; every day people got rich.

  Only those truly desperate to turn their fortunes around were toyed with by fate until death.

  Xia Li fainted...

  But didn't close his eyes.

  Open, staring!

  His unfocused pupils filled with rage.

  A product that didn't want to be a product was the most valuable product.

  That pride in refusing to become merchandise held the highest value as merchandise.