167: This is what a man should be like

Blue Star.

Fallen Zone.

Zhu Xiaoling cast a Spell, and the surrounding sunlight was tinged with a layer of holy power, incinerating the dense swarms of demonic spiders on the spot.

The four simps stood in four directions, constantly using Skills to strangle the "spiders that slipped through the net" that charged in, not allowing them to harm the goddess in the center in the slightest.

"Tan Zhu, move!"

Hearing the goddess's voice, Tan Zhu knew Zhu Xiaoling was about to unleash her "Solar Tide" Skill. He hurriedly used his "Savage Charge" Skill, smashing a distant demonic spider into a bloody pulp.

As he turned his head, billowing fire elements indeed surged like ocean waves, washing away the demonic spiders on his side and reducing them to ashes.

"Good thing I ran fast, but my armor is dirty again, sigh..."

"Huh, did gear drop?"

Just as Tan Zhu was about to run over, he noticed two black dots nearby suddenly expanding.

One was a handsome young man with a confident and determined gaze that hid a trace of wildness; the other was a small fish less than three centimeters long.

"What's that?"

"A pet? A contracted beast? An ornament?"

"Wait, that person looks so familiar... it's Xu Le!"

Tan Zhu was instantly dumbfounded.

The one who had beaten all the university Genius rookies into submission;

The brilliant rising star who had colluded with evil gods and seized the top spot in the Xiaoyao Realm's "Hope Cup" tournament;

The underworld expert who had forcibly entered the Planning Department and assassinated the "Anti-Evil Hero" Tang Zhi;

And even the Evil Path tycoon who had annihilated the entire Tang Family.

No one viewed him as a young expert anymore; many even regarded him as the world's number one expert.

Now that this Evil Path tycoon was right before his eyes, Tan Zhu felt his throat go dry and his neck tighten. Even though that face was pleasant to look at, he couldn't utter a single word.

The others also noticed Xu Le.

Zhu Xiaoling stared at Xu Le's face with great interest, then looked at the Thousand-Year Fish that appeared and disappeared before him, and smiled.

"You're quite good-looking, and that little fish is to my liking as well. Come over here by my side."

"Huh?" The four were shocked. Suddenly remembering that Zhu Xiaoling never liked wasting time on the news, they had a realization: The goddess... the goddess couldn't possibly not recognize Xu Le, right?

The four didn't dare make a sound, only desperately unleashing Skills to keep the surrounding demonic spiders at the front line, terrified that they might accidentally disturb Xu Le.

Xu Le looked at Zhu Xiaoling curiously. "Are you talking to me?"

"Heh, what a turn-off."

Zhu Xiaoling snorted coldly. She had originally found Xu Le pleasing to the eye and thought he had been willing to waste a precious contract slot on a cute but useless pet just to pursue her, which was why she was prepared to speak a few words to him.

She hadn't expected him to act like he didn't know her. She had to admit, this kind of routine was a total waste of that face.

Indeed, not everyone was like her—blessed with both beauty and brains.

Xu Le looked at the overwhelming swarm of demonic spiders and suddenly felt they looked quite charming.

"Blue Star, I'm back!"

Seeing Xu Le suddenly turn his head to a 45-degree angle with a smirk, Zhu Xiaoling's heart skipped a beat despite herself.

"Ahem, bring your little fish over. I'll allow you to chat with me for half... an hour."

???

Xu Le was bewildered.

They were speaking Great Zhou official language, but why couldn't he understand some of it? Could it be a side effect of the Void Realm?

"You're being a real turn-off now. Before I get angry, give me the little fish, and I'll allow you to chat with me for ten... twenty, thirty, forty, fifty minutes."

Xu Le glanced at the group of four who were sweating profusely while desperately killing demonic spiders, and suddenly realized she had mistaken him for a simp.

"No thanks! I have things to do."

Xu Le refused, his consciousness sinking into the Contract Space.

He found that the Thousand-Year Fish wasn't with Nine Phoenix and the other contracted beasts, but was instead hiding far away, swimming in a clear spring.

"Little fishy, you just escaped from the Xiaoyao Realm only to soak in spring water again. Isn't that just like being in prison? Come out, I'll take you to the Ninth District to play."

The Thousand-Year Fish blew a bubble and responded lazily.

"Contractor, please adjust your attitude and call me Great Emperor."

"In the Xiaoyao Realm, I was momentarily careless and forced to soak in the spring; here, I'm soaking in it of my own accord. Are these two the same?"

Before experiencing the little fish's speed, Xu Le thought it was fine for young people to fly more, but ten times the speed of sound was too alluring. He really didn't want to run across the map like an idiot, so he began to entice it with words.

"Outside the Ninth District, there's a Zhuo River. The water is clear and hasn't been affected by Demonic Qi Contamination, and there are many little fish inside, both male and female, super beautiful—I guarantee you've never seen them before."

"Are there many?" The Thousand-Year Fish's voice was still lazy, but it finally showed a bit of interest.

"Tons!"

"Give me a number."

Xu Le: "..."

He gave the Thousand-Year Fish a strange look. He didn't expect this little guy to act so sophisticated while being so promiscuous. He thought for a moment and gave an estimated number.

"One hundred thousand."

"How many can I have?"

"One hundred!"

Xu Le thought to himself, *I'll work this salted fish to death. You're my contracted beast, yet you negotiate terms every time I want you to do something.*

"Pah! Are you trying to brush off a beggar?!"

The Thousand-Year Fish spat a mouthful of water at Xu Le. The water had no offensive power; as for the insult, that was a matter of perspective.

"I'll be damned!"

Xu Le was so angry he wanted to hit the fish, and he blurted out the largest number he could accept.

"At most three thousand, provided you catch them yourself, and you can't catch the big ones."

The fish in the Zhuo River were a source of food for the Ninth District; catching too many would affect the food balance.

"Deal!"

The Thousand-Year Fish wagged its tail happily and flew out of the Contract Space.

Xu Le snapped back to reality and saw Zhu Xiaoling's expression getting uglier and uglier.

"Finally back with us?"

Psycho.

Xu Le didn't say it, but the meaning in his eyes was clear as he looked at the Thousand-Year Fish.

"I... I'm going to kill you!"

Zhu Xiaoling's face turned red with anger.

The four simps were startled and all spoke up to explain.

Xu Le also knew Zhu Xiaoling was just talking out of anger; though she spoke fiercely and cast her Skills rapidly and violently, none were aimed at him.

A flash of disappointment crossed the Thousand-Year Fish's eyes—another rental fee lost. It carried Xu Le and flicked its tail, instantly appearing three kilometers away.

Zhu Xiaoling stammered: "A... an immortal?"

Tan Zhu shook his head: "No, it's Xu Le. He has appeared again."

There were hundreds of people named Xu Le in Great Zhou, but only one that everyone remembered.

Zhu Xiaoling was dazed: "So it was him, no wonder..."

Tan Zhu watched everything, feeling as if something was about to shatter. He looked up at the azure sky, a thought flashing through his mind: "A great man should be thus."

...Imperial Palace.

After hearing Ma Zhongjun's report, Emperor's face was as dark as water.

"The big scourge hasn't been dealt with yet, and now a little scourge has popped up."

"Forget it, the top priority is Liu Rufeng's Ascension Ceremony in half a month."

"Social scum, they all deserve to die!"

...Unknown location.

Heavenly Secret Star suddenly had a premonition and immediately sent a message to Heavenly Leader Star.

[Xu Le has returned to Blue Star. In ten minutes, he will be near Moshui Shoal in the middle reaches of the Zhuo River.]