Chapter 867
"He's the first place in the Huama City Qualification Exam in the Eastern District! His strength ranks eighth in the entire Eastern District!"
"And you dare provoke him? You're already dead, you just don't know it yet!"
"Brother Bin, just say the word! Let me go teach this brat a lesson. He dares to rob us and even threatens you. If I don't beat him until his own mother doesn't recognize him, my name isn't Xiaowu!"
The voices of the candidates rose one after another, filled with confidence and disdain.
Brother Bin narrowed his eyes slightly, then nodded.
"Xiaowu."
"You go test him first."
"If possible… teach him what happens when you provoke us."
The moment those words fell, the young man named Xiaowu lit up with excitement.
"Got it, Brother!"
He grinned widely, rolling his shoulders as if preparing for a casual spar.
"I'll make sure he regrets being born!"
With that, he strode forward toward Ryan, his expression full of arrogance.
Ryan had heard every word of their conversation clearly.
Watching Xiaowu approach him with that smug grin, Ryan only chuckled softly.
"Oh… good."
"But remember—this is your own choice."
"Don't blame me later."
As he spoke, Ryan raised his hand slightly.
A golden glow gathered at his fingertips, forming a small radiant sphere.
Then—
He pointed forward.
"Whoosh!"
A thin beam of light shot out instantly, tearing through the air with a sharp, piercing sound.
Xiaowu had barely taken a few steps.
He had not even reached Ryan.
He had not even opened his mouth to say a single taunt.
The next moment—
The beam passed straight through his forehead.
A small, clean hole appeared between his brows.
Xiaowu froze.
His eyes widened in confusion.
He didn't understand what had just happened.
He didn't even see the attack.
His consciousness began to fade before he could form a single thought.
Slowly—
His knees buckled.
His body collapsed forward and hit the ground with a dull thud.
Dead.
Silence.
Then—
"Wha—?!"
A wave of shock swept through Brother Bin's team.
Every single candidate stared at Ryan with wide eyes, their expressions filled with disbelief.
Xiaowu's strength was not weak.
Among them, he was considered above average.
Yet…
He had been killed instantly.
Before he could even get close.
Before he could even react.
That kind of power—
It was terrifying.
Before anyone could process what had just happened, Ryan spoke again.
"I gave you chances," he said coldly.
"More than once."
"But you didn't cherish them."
His eyes swept across the group.
"Candidates from the three districts have always bullied the North District, haven't they?"
"You like robbing others."
"You like forcing people to cooperate."
"You like playing by your so-called rules."
A faint smile appeared on his face, but there was no warmth in it.
"Well…"
"This time, it's your turn."
The moment his voice fell—
Ryan moved.
His figure blurred like a gust of wind, like a tiger breaking into a flock of sheep.
Before anyone could react—
He was already in front of them.
Two candidates barely had time to widen their eyes before Ryan's hands shot out.
His fingers clamped onto their necks.
A slight twist.
_Crack.___
The sound was crisp and horrifying.
Their heads tilted unnaturally.
Their eyes bulged.
Their tongues slid out.
Both died instantly.
Without even pausing—
Ryan flung their corpses into the crowd.
The sudden impact caused chaos as several candidates stumbled backward.
Through that brief opening—
Ryan stepped forward again.
He appeared beside another candidate like a phantom.
Before the man could even raise his weapon—
Ryan's palm struck his abdomen.
_Bang.___
The force was overwhelming.
The candidate's stomach caved inward instantly.
His body bent forward like a shrimp.
His eyes bulged as his mouth opened wide, vomiting violently.
Food, bile, and blood spilled out together.
A moment later—
He collapsed into the filth he had just expelled, twitching weakly before falling completely still.
Dead.
Ryan did not stop.
He moved again.
And again.
And again.
In just a few breaths—
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
People fell.
Each death came faster than the last.
Each strike was clean, precise, and fatal.
The candidates around him couldn't even react.
They wanted to.
But they couldn't.
Anyone who was approached—
Died.
Anyone who tried to flee—
Was pierced by a beam of light from a distance.
Running or standing still…
The result was the same.
Death.
Even the chance to crush the SOS stone was taken away from them.
It was too fast.
Too brutal.
Too overwhelming.
In the blink of an eye—
Ten people had died.
And from the moment Ryan made his move…
Only three seconds had passed.
"Everyone—!"
Brother Bin's voice finally broke through the chaos. "Form a defensive formation! Now!"
He had finally reacted.
His face had turned pale, his earlier arrogance completely gone.
In its place was shock… and fear.
From Ryan's earlier attack alone, he could already tell—
This opponent was not ordinary.
Not just strong.
But terrifyingly strong.
Stronger than him.
Stronger than the Level 4 monster they had just fought.
And that meant—
At the very least, Ryan's strength had reached the level of an Exalt.
Perhaps even higher.
Five-star Exalt… or beyond.
And yet—
Even with that realization—
Brother Bin clenched his teeth.
Retreat?
Impossible.
To be robbed by North District candidates?
If word of this spread, how would he ever face anyone again?
No.
He would fight.
He would rely on his command.
On teamwork.
On numbers.
But what he did not understand was—
In the face of absolute power…
Strategy becomes decoration.
And numbers…
Become nothing more than a larger grave.
"Primary Six, take people and hold the left flank!"
"Hongyuan, you guard the right side!"
"Liang Er, prepare to counterattack!"
"I'll stay in the center, you cover Xue—"
Brother Bin's voice cut through the chaos as he rapidly issued orders, trying to stitch together a collapsing battlefield with sheer command.
But before he could even finish—
He froze.
Xuelin… was already dead.
His body lay twisted not far away, eyes still open, one hand clutching the SOS stone that he had never managed to crush. Ryan had reached him first. Faster than fear. Faster than thought.
"Thud… thud…"
In just a blink of time, the team that had once stood strong with over thirty members had already lost nearly half its strength.
Everywhere Ryan passed, people fell.
No one could stop him.
No one could block him.
Even though Brother Bin had reorganized the formation, even though everyone had tightened their defense, even though they stood shoulder to shoulder—
It was useless.
In front of Ryan's fists, their formation was nothing more than paper.
Brother Bin's heart began to sink.
He stared at Ryan, his pupils trembling.
He had never imagined… never even considered…
That one person could crush more than thirty candidates like this.
In just a few breaths, over a dozen had already died.
The remaining dozen were barely holding on, unable to fight back at all.
If this continued—
They would all die.
One by one.
Without exception.
"I… I'll pay!"
Brother Bin suddenly shouted, his voice cracking.
"We'll pay! Whatever you want, we'll give it to you! Just… let us go!"
His pride was shattered in that moment.
Survival came first.
Ryan stopped.
His movements halted as if someone had pressed pause on a storm.
He turned his head slowly and looked at Brother Bin.
"Heh… now you're willing to pay?"
There was a faint trace of mockery in his voice.
"That works."
"I don't like unnecessary killing anyway."
"Hand over all your monster crystals."
"And then…"
His gaze sharpened.
"Crush your SOS stones. Withdraw from the exam."
"I'll spare your lives."
From Ryan's perspective, killing these candidates did not bring much benefit.
The experience points were negligible.
And more importantly—
Killing people was different from killing monsters.
Too much blood would numb the heart.
He didn't want to become a mindless butcher.
"What?"
Brother Bin's expression froze again. "You just said… if we handed over the monster crystals, you'd let us go!"
"That was before," Ryan replied calmly.
"I gave you chances. You didn't take them."
"So now the conditions have changed."
His tone turned cold.
"You hand over the crystals and withdraw."
"Or…"
"…you die."
"That's impossible!" Brother Bin snapped.
"Then die," Ryan replied without hesitation.
Brother Bin's face turned ugly.
"Everyone here is a candidate… is it really necessary to go this far? You're cutting off our future!"
Ryan glanced back at the North District candidates behind him, then returned his gaze to Brother Bin.
"This is competition. If you stay…"
"…then we lose our chance."
"So you leave."
"Or you die."
There was no anger in his voice.
Only certainty.
Different positions.
Different outcomes.
That was all.
Brother Bin fell silent.
His fists clenched.
His breathing grew heavy.
After a long moment—
He looked up again.
"I don't know who you are. I don't know your name. But I know one thing."
His eyes burned with stubborn pride.
"You're stronger than me."
"Much stronger."
"But even so…"
"I won't give up my chance to enter Western Mansion so easily."
Ryan tilted his head slightly.