203: negotiation

“No!”

Facing this scene, Shen Xi’s eyes were bloodshot.

Eighteen Martial Dao Five Realms experts were coming for his parents.

This feeling of powerlessness made him despair.

With his current strength, let alone facing eighteen Martial Dao Five Realms experts, he wouldn’t even be a match in a one-on-one situation.

But could he hide?

Those were his parents!

In his previous life, Shen Xi was an orphan and had never experienced parental love.

Now that he was reborn in this life, how could he allow anyone to take away his happiness!

“Stop! I’m the one you’re looking for, don’t lay a hand on my parents!”

Shen Xi stepped forward, trying to stop these experts.

“No longer scurrying around like a rat in the street?”

“Shen Xi, hand over the treasure obtained from the Tower of the Heavens, and we’ll spare your life!”

“Foolish. Cut the grass, pull the roots. Letting him live will only cause us more trouble.”

“That’s right, he’s the only one in thousands of years to pass the Tower of the Heavens’ test. His future achievements are unimaginable. Wouldn’t letting him live just leave us with trouble?”

“Shen Xi, kneel and hand over the Tower of the Heavens’ treasure. I’ll leave you with a complete corpse and promise to spare your parents.”

The eighteen experts spoke one after another, their tones full of disdain.

Even if Shen Xi was a Genius, even if his Aptitude far surpassed the descendants of these experts, he had not yet risen. To these experts, he was ultimately just an ant.

Treating ants, they naturally acted superior and could judge them as they pleased.

In a few words, they had already decided Shen Xi’s life and death.

“You all! Deserve to die!”

Shen Xi roared through gritted teeth, his eyes red and bloodshot.

He hated this group of experts who treated other people’s lives as insignificant, casually deciding life and death.

He hated himself even more for his low strength, which led to him being cornered at his doorstep by these people.

But was this a dead end?

Perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope!

Shen Xi keenly grasped the key. He stared at the crowd, concealing his inner anger, and said, “You traveled thousands of miles to Twenty-first City, isn’t it all for the Tower of the Heavens’ treasure?”

“The treasure has already been hidden by me in a safe place. If I die, you’ll never get it.”

“If you have the guts, come at me!”

This was Shen Xi’s only method.

He could only negotiate by exploiting these experts’ greed for the treasure.

After all, his strength was inferior to theirs; this was his only bargaining chip.

“Are you threatening us?”

“An ant dares to threaten a Dragon? Don’t forget, your life and death are in our hands.”

“Hand over the treasure, otherwise, I’ll kill your entire family.”

“You don’t want your friends and family to die because of you, do you?”

The experts spoke up, trying to threaten Shen Xi with his most cherished friends and family.

“Even if I hand it over, can you really spare my family?”

Shen Xi remained unmoved, responding with a sneer.

Making a deal with the devil ultimately leads to a miserable death.

He didn’t believe that these experts, who regarded human lives as grass, would truly keep their word and spare his friends and family.

Handing over the treasure meant death; not handing it over also meant death. Why not take a gamble?

Moreover, with the treasure in his hands, he still had the right to negotiate. If the treasure was handed over, he would lose his last trump card.

Shen Xi now needed to act ruthless, to pretend he didn’t care about his family. Only then, when the experts couldn’t fathom his thoughts, could he possibly gain the upper hand.

And facts proved that Shen Xi’s approach was correct.

When these experts saw his resolute expression, they were all momentarily stunned.

They couldn’t figure out Shen Xi’s thoughts.

What if he truly didn’t care about his family’s lives?

One must know that in the Martial Artist world, even the most beloved friends and family could turn against each other under the temptation of treasure. What if Shen Xi, to protect the treasure, disregarded his family’s lives?

Keeping Shen Xi’s family alive still offered a chance to manipulate him. If they truly killed them, and he completely gave up, then all hope would be lost.

Of course, some experts were not convinced.

“Shen Xi, do you think you can keep the treasure? We can certainly torture you. I don’t believe you’re so tough that you won’t talk.”

“That’s right, we have plenty of ways to force you to comply. If you don’t believe us, you can try.”

“You can’t protect this treasure with your ability. You might as well hand it over honestly.”

“Our patience is limited. Don’t force us to completely break ties.”

Some experts’ attitudes remained tough, unwilling to compromise just like that.

Hearing this, Shen Xi burst into laughter.

His first step of the plan had succeeded.

At least some of the experts began to hesitate, and once they hesitated, it was the beginning of him taking control.

“What are you laughing at?”

“No matter how brightly you laugh, it won’t change this certain death situation.”

“My patience is running thin. If I turn hostile, can you withstand my wrath?”

These experts threatened again.

Upon hearing this, Shen Xi shook his head, his eyes full of disdain: “Haven’t we already turned hostile? Otherwise, what are you doing? Playing house? You’re already blocking my doorstep, and you still expect me to be polite to you?”

“Also, regarding what you said about torture, I actually agree. I might not be able to endure it; at most, I’d hold out until even a honey trap makes me give in.”

“However, are you sure I’ll comply obediently?”

As his voice fell, Shen Xi’s entire aura began to surge wildly.

This was not an aura surge brought about by a Realm Breakthrough, but an unreasonable increase.

Self-detonation!

The eighteen experts immediately reacted, understanding what Shen Xi was doing.

This was a Martial Artist’s final, and certain death, method.

Mobilizing all of one’s Origin Qi, impacting one’s Meridians, and finally, like a bomb, instantly detonating the entire area.

Although, with Shen Xi’s current Realm, self-detonation couldn’t threaten the lives of the experts present, not even causing minor injuries.

But once he self-detonated, Shen Xi would certainly die.

And if Shen Xi died, the treasure of the Tower of the Heavens would truly be lost without a trace.

This was the main reason why the experts’ expressions changed drastically.

The treasure had not yet been acquired, and Shen Xi could not die now.

“Stop!”

“Bastard, what are you trying to do?”

“Stop him!”

The experts roared, trying to stop Shen Xi, but everything happened too suddenly. Shen Xi had also maintained a safe distance, so the experts couldn’t stop him from self-detonating at all.

Everything was under control!