The only choice for a stray dog! A devil's contract from hell!

"Help me?"

Ye Xuan felt as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.

He forced his pain-wracked body to let out a series of hoarse, crazed laughs.

"Haha... Hahahaha!"

"You? A woman I threw away like trash, a waste whose Martial Dao Heart was destroyed by someone else—what makes you think you can help me?"

His voice was filled with undisguised disdain and contempt.

In his eyes, the current Li Xuan'er was in an even more pathetic state than he was!

At least he had once been glorious, standing upon that stage under the gaze of thousands!

And Li Xuan'er?

From beginning to end, she was nothing more than a pathetic clown who clung to men!

"What makes me think so?"

The eerie smile on Li Xuan'er's face didn't change in the slightest.

She slowly reached out, her five fair and slender fingers gently opening in front of Ye Xuan.

Buzz—

A wisp of black energy, dark as ink and thick as oil, slowly rose from her palm, radiating a heart-palpitating aura of corruption and misfortune.

The moment this energy appeared, the temperature in the entire hospital room seemed to drop several degrees!

The air was filled with a decaying, evil scent.

"This... what is this?!"

Ye Xuan's laughter stopped abruptly. He stared fixedly at the black mist, and for the first time, a look of horror appeared on his face!

From that energy, he felt an extremely evil, extremely overbearing, and extremely... crazed power!

The Blood-Burning Dragon Transformation Art burned one's life Origin and Luck.

But this black mist gave him the feeling that it was... devouring the Soul!

"You..." Ye Xuan looked at Li Xuan'er in disbelief, "You... how could you..."

"Surprised, aren't you?"

Li Xuan'er withdrew her palm, and the wisp of black mist vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.

The smile on her face became increasingly playful.

"Ye Xuan, did you think you were the only one in this world to have a fortuitous encounter? Did you think you were the only son of destiny chosen by the heavens?"

She leaned down, bringing her lips close to Ye Xuan's ear.

In a voice like a devil's whisper that only the two of them could hear, she softly said, "While you were burning yourself on that stage like a clown for that so-called championship..."

"I had already... found the true path to the Peak."

"A shortcut that requires no talent, no resources, and not even any effort. All it requires is... for you to offer up your Soul!"

Boom!

Every word Li Xuan'er spoke was like a heavy hammer, ruthlessly smashing against Ye Xuan's already collapsed mental defenses!

He was completely stunned!

He had always thought that after being abandoned by him and then crippled by Lin Yuan, Li Xuan'er would be like a heap of mud, spending the rest of her life in some dark corner.

He never would have imagined!

This person, who was the greatest waste in his eyes, had actually obtained an unknown power!

A power even more evil and powerful than his own!

Why?!

Why!!!

A surge of jealousy and resentment, stronger than any he had felt before, gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake!

"Do you see?"

Li Xuan'er straightened her body, looking down at his face which was contorted with jealousy.

"This is the confidence I have to help you."

She paused, her voice filled with ultimate temptation.

"I know you hate Lin Yuan and wish you could grind his bones to ash."

"I feel the same way."

"We can cooperate. I can share a portion of this power with you. It can repair your shattered Meridians and allow you to return to your Peak in the shortest time possible! You might even become stronger than before!"

"When that time comes, if we join forces, even Lin Yuan... might not be impossible to kill!"

Kill Lin Yuan!

These three words were like a clap of thunder, exploding in Ye Xuan's mind!

In his eyes, which had become deathly still from despair, the flames of madness instantly reignited!

Revenge!

He wanted revenge more than anything in his dreams!

But... he glanced at Li Xuan'er, and the last shred of reason in his heart kept him on guard.

"And the price? There's no such thing as a free lunch. What do you want?"

Ye Xuan's voice was as raspy as two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together.

"Smart."

Li Xuan'er nodded approvingly.

"My request is very simple."

She extended a finger and lightly tapped Ye Xuan's chest over his heart.

"I want your... loyalty."

"From now on, you, Ye Xuan, will be Li Xuan'er's dog. If I tell you to bite someone, you bite them. Whatever I tell you to do, you do it."

"Are you willing?"

Humiliation!

An unprecedented humiliation!

To let him—the former favored child of heaven and the future martial arts champion—be a dog for the woman he looked down on most?!

"In your dreams!"

Ye Xuan roared out without even thinking!

"Is that so?"

Li Xuan'er wasn't surprised at all; the curve of her lips became even colder.

"It seems you still haven't recognized your situation."

"Do you think you still have any room to choose?"

"Right now, your reputation is in tatters, and the Huangfu Family has long since treated you as a discarded pawn. You are just a street rat that everyone wants to beat!"

"Without me, for the rest of your life, you can only lie on this hospital bed and slowly rot away like a waste in endless regret and pain!"

"Meanwhile, Lin Yuan, who trampled you underfoot, will live a better and more glorious life! He will enjoy everything that should have belonged to you! The championship, the glory, and... Gu Ningxue!"

"And you can only watch helplessly!"

"No—!!!"

Every word Li Xuan'er said was like a knife, accurately stabbing into his most painful spots!

Ye Xuan let out a beast-like roar; he could not accept it! He absolutely could not accept such a future!

"Well? Have you decided?"

Li Xuan'er's voice was like a life-claiming curse.

"Will you choose to be a waste who isn't even as good as a dog for the rest of your life, or... be a mad dog capable of taking revenge personally?"

"The choice is in your hands."

The entire ward fell into a deathly silence.

Only Ye Xuan's heavy and suppressed breathing remained.

Time passed, minute by minute.

The expression on Ye Xuan's face was shifting wildly.

Struggle, resentment, anger, hatred... finally, all emotions settled into one—

A complete, irrevocable madness!

He slowly raised his head.

Those blood-red eyes stared fixedly at Li Xuan'er.

Word by word, he squeezed the answer from between his teeth.

"Fine..."

"I... a-gree... to... it!"

When Ye Xuan's hoarse voice fell in the silent ward,

A heartfelt, victor-like smile finally appeared on Li Xuan'er's pale and numb face.

She knew she had bet correctly.

For a man like Ye Xuan, who was arrogant to the bone and completely blinded by hatred, dignity was far less important than revenge.

"Very good."

Li Xuan'er nodded with satisfaction.

"From now on, you are mine."

She wasted no more time and stepped forward, pulling Ye Xuan up from the hospital bed to support him.

"This place isn't safe for long. People from the Martial Alliance will soon come to 'talk' with you. We must leave immediately."

Ye Xuan did not resist.

Like a puppet whose Soul had been extracted, he allowed Li Xuan'er to support him as they walked out of the hospital room filled with humiliation and despair, step by step.

The night was as deep as ink.

Two figures, each harboring their own schemes and both twisted by hatred, quietly avoided all surveillance and guards to leave the hospital.

They were like two ghosts merging into the darkness.

They completely disappeared into the night of Yan Capital.