74: Chapter 74 I Want Your Ten Arms

Wang Lin tapped his fingers lightly on the tabletop: "Because of the temple's ranking system?"

Captain Huo Xiao nodded. "Correct. Every time a temple opens, the entry level is restricted based on its scale."

"Some temples only allow people below LV3 to enter, some only allow those above LV5, and some even only allow LV9s."

"The higher the level, the more advanced the treasures inside, and the higher the grade of the forbidden artifacts."

"No one is certain what the level restriction for this temple is,"

"So every major faction brings experts ranging from LV1 to LV9, just to ensure they can enter the moment it opens."

"Regardless of what the level restriction is, they can send the appropriate person."

Wang Lin's brows furrowed slightly.

You cannot enter a temple just because you want to; it has its own rules.

If you meet the rules, you can enter; if you don't, even if you are LV9, you can only watch from the outside.

And those major factions have long since calculated all possibilities.

No matter what conditions the temple sets, they can send someone in at the first opportunity.

Captain Huo Xiao's voice lowered. "And for us at Dark Blade, the highest level is me, LV7."

"If it's a temple for LV7 and above, then let alone Young Master Wang, even I cannot enter."

"But as long as I can enter, I am confident that once inside, I will have the ability to protect myself in front of those major factions, and I will be able to bring something out."

"But the question is, what happens after I bring it out?"

Captain Huo Xiao continued, "If I really bring out something good, like a forbidden artifact,"

"Then the moment I leave the temple, I will become a target for everyone."

"Those people won't kill me; they won't dirty their own hands."

"They will only smile and say to me: 'Commander Huo, we are willing to buy the item in your hands at a high price.'"

He smiled, a cold smile, but filled mostly with helplessness.

"Can I say no? I cannot."

"Because if I dare to say no, Dark Blade will disappear from the camp the next day."

"Not wiped out, but slowly squeezed to death."

"Missions stolen, resources cut off, members poached, and in the end, I'll be left as a commander with no troops."

"Then they will come to find me again with a smile: 'Commander Huo, can you sell it now?'"

Wang Lin's fingers stopped on the tabletop.

Before, he thought Captain Huo Xiao was a calculating businessman, an ambitious person who would stop at nothing for profit.

But now he heard something else.

A kind of helplessness—having to survive in the cracks, having to bow one's head, having to bend one's waist, and having to greet others with a smile.

Captain Huo Xiao looked at Wang Lin's expression and suddenly smiled:

"But Young Master Wang is different."

"You are a reserve member of the Twelve Zodiacs."

"If you bring anything out of the temple, no one will dare to touch you."

"Because behind you is the Twelve Zodiacs."

"I am certain that the person leading the Twelve Zodiacs this time must be someone above LV9."

"With an expert of that level overseeing things, who would dare touch you?"

Wang Lin recalled what Xing Tian had said.

"If you obtain a forbidden artifact inside, the Twelve Zodiacs will purchase it at ten times the market price."

Ten times. What a grand gesture!

It wasn't because they were generous, but because they wanted to tell everyone: do not touch things belonging to the Twelve Zodiacs.

And now, he was "one of the Twelve Zodiacs."

This label was a protective amulet, but also a shackle.

It protected him, but also restricted him.

Wang Lin put down his teacup, raised his head, and looked at Captain Huo Xiao.

"Commander Huo, do you mean for me to act as your white glove?"

Captain Huo Xiao smiled and said, "Young Master Wang can understand it that way too."

"Whether it's a white glove or a shield, it's all fine."

"Anyway, that's the meaning."

Wang Lin thought for a moment: "The Twelve Zodiacs' rule is: except for forbidden artifacts, everything else belongs to the individual."

"But forbidden artifacts must be sold to the Twelve Zodiacs. That is the rule."

Captain Huo Xiao nodded: "I know. If I obtain a forbidden artifact, I will of course sell it to the Twelve Zodiacs."

"In this way, the spearheads of other factions will be aimed at the Twelve Zodiacs, not me."

"On the contrary, the Twelve Zodiacs will even protect me."

"After all, I am their 'client,' and a client who has had their forbidden artifact stolen doesn't sound good when word gets out."

"Perhaps I could even use this to become an insider of the Twelve Zodiacs."

Wang Lin looked at him without speaking.

Captain Huo Xiao's calculations were very precise.

He knew he couldn't handle a forbidden artifact, so he voluntarily gave it up.

"Then what benefit do I get?"

"What benefit does Young Master Wang want? As long as Dark Blade has it, anything is fine."

"Cores, potions, weapons, intelligence, manpower..."

"If Young Master Wang speaks, I will absolutely not haggle."

Wang Lin did not answer immediately, seemingly in deep thought.

A moment later, he raised his head: "I want ten of your arms."

As soon as these words were spoken, not only was Captain Huo Xiao shocked, but Su Wan to the side was also shocked.

She suddenly raised her head, looking at Wang Lin, her eyes full of disbelief.

She remembered that the last time the Commander returned from Mr. Chen Long, he had lost ten arms.

This time, he wants ten arms again? And it's for Mr. Chen Long's son?

Do you both, father and son, like other people's arms so much?

Captain Huo Xiao was only stunned for a moment, then a smile piled back onto his face.

"Ten arms, for me at LV7, are nothing."

"Since Young Master Wang wants them, then I will give them to you."

Su Wan's hands clenched tightly under the table.

Since when had her proud Dark Blade become so humble?

Captain Huo Xiao stood up.

He raised his right hand, fingers together, his palm like a blade.

His right palm descended, cutting into his left arm.

There was no sound.

New flesh began to grow from the severed end.

Granulations emerged from the bone, like spring grass, thin and dense, emerging in waves.

Captain Huo Xiao looked down at the severed arm on the floor, bent down to pick it up, and placed it on the table.

Then he raised his right hand and cut again.

The second one; blood surged out, granulations emerged, and the arm grew back.

The third, the fourth, the fifth.

Su Wan turned her head away, not daring to look.

Her eyes were red, but she did not cry.

She was not sad for Captain Huo Xiao, but sad for her own weakness.

Their Commander was always like this, using his own dignity to exchange for Dark Blade's growth step by step.

When they were weak, she could understand.

But now the Commander was already LV7, someone who could be said to walk sideways in the camp.

She didn't expect him to still have to suffer humiliation in front of an LV3 kid.

She dared not watch; she dared not face Captain Huo Xiao.

She blamed herself for not being able to help the Commander.

The sixth, the seventh, the eighth, the ninth.

Each one was severed at the shoulder, each one regenerated, and each one was slower, more painful, and more physically draining than the last.

The tenth, the tenth arm fell to the floor.

It was picked up by the Commander and placed on the table.

"Young Master Wang, do you think this is acceptable?"

Wang Lin looked at him without speaking.

His gaze shifted from Captain Huo Xiao's face to the ten arms on the table.

He licked his lips, then opened his mouth...