Chapter 56: Class Game (Twenty-Two)

Although it was obvious, those words undoubtedly had a deterrent effect. Some participants who had entered hell wore extremely ugly expressions on their faces.

Although Yun Xueqing was forced to eat this thing now, they couldn’t help but worry that after this group of Weirds forced him, the next one to be persecuted would be themselves.

Yun Xueqing’s face remained indifferent, calm and unruffled, as if nothing could shake his mind: “Since it’s meat, I’m afraid I have no fortune to enjoy it… I have a close relative who died recently, so I must wear mourning clothes for three years and abstain from meat and fish for a month.”

If a relative had truly died, there was indeed such a custom: one had to observe mourning for three years without marrying or taking a wife, and refrain from eating meat for a short period.

According to the related customs, eating meat during the mourning period was equivalent to eating the relative’s flesh, preventing their soul from resting in peace.

But the Crown Prince clearly didn’t buy into that and had no intention of letting him off so easily: “If you’re observing mourning, then why are you able to marry this palace?”

Yun Xueqing looked at him, his gaze calm: “Naturally because the relative I lost is…”

You.

He didn’t finish his words, but it scared the surrounding people, their expressions turning ugly.

Even some Weirds halted their Weirdification, their faces twisting: “How dare you curse the Crown Prince!”

Yun Xueqing didn’t speak, his expression remaining indifferent, as if he hadn’t heard the words at all.

Seeing the crowd growing agitated, someone at the table suddenly clapped and said, “Young Master Yun’s integrity is admirable.”

The one who spoke was naturally Li Chiyu, who hadn’t said a word for a long time—the Second Prince played by Li Yulin.

His expression was gloomy, but at this moment, he forced a smile: “This Ginseng Fruit was offered by Su Mingxi, Young Master Su, for all of us to share. For Eldest Brother to want it all for himself is too domineering.”

Although the Weirds wanted to see Yun Xueqing make a fool of himself and borrow the chance to kill him, their desire to snatch the Ginseng Fruit was real.

The Ginseng Fruit emanated thick Weird energy; eating it would surely boost one’s Weird Power.

For Weirds, it was a great tonic, yet they had to share a portion with humans—it felt like a terrible waste.

Already, many Weirds began to turn: “That’s right, that’s right. In my opinion, we should all share this Ginseng Fruit and avoid anyone refusing.”

The Crown Prince’s face turned rather unpleasant.

He had thought the Second Prince, who had been sitting silently, planned to watch the show from the sidelines. He hadn’t expected him to step out at this moment and pull something like this—it was a naked slap to his face.

But now that the crowd had sided with him, no matter what the Crown Prince said, it would be useless and would only lose him the support of those present.

Having resolved this crisis, Yun Xueqing showed no sign of relief on his face.

The Crown Prince casually waved his hand, seemingly agreeing with the Second Prince’s words. The starving Weirds immediately pounced to feast.

The Weirds that had already revealed their Weirdified forms and were preparing to lunge at Yun Xueqing now turned their targets to the Ginseng Fruit on the table.

The Ginseng Fruit, which looked exactly like a human, was instantly torn into fragments by the Weirds. Blood and flesh sprayed out amid the blood, staining the golden floor. Some Weirds smacked their lips after eating, their sharp teeth still stained with red blood threads.

It was an extremely bloody and brutal scene, but Yun Xueqing had no interest in watching and boredly withdrew his gaze.

However, he then heard Su Mingxi, who had been silent until now, shake his folded fan: “Are you all satisfied with the meal, everyone?”

The sated Weirds had illusioned back to their original human forms and nodded in satisfaction: “Not bad.”

Su Mingxi smiled, closing the blank fan: “This upper body of the Ginseng Fruit is indeed a good thing, but it won’t extend your lifespan or increase your years.”

Some immediately thought they’d been tricked and flew into a rage: “So it really was a scam! Completely useless.”

At most, the meat had tasted a bit fresher, but it was no different from ordinary human flesh, and they felt no enhancement in their Weird Power.

Faced with the group’s accusations, Su Mingxi remained unhurried, casually tapping the fan against his palm: “Does everyone know what meat I served you?”

Someone, annoyed by his teasing, spoke bluntly: “Didn’t you say it before? Of course it’s human meat!”

With it shaped like that, if it wasn’t human meat, could it be pork or beef?

Su Mingxi shook his head with a smile: “Half right, but not just any human… it was Merfolk.”

The crowd and the horde of Weirds were instantly shocked.

Ordinary humans were easy to find, but the legendary Merfolk were not.

Legend had it that Merfolk communed with the heavens, spoke with gods, and served under the Dragon God. They had just eaten Merfolk flesh?

Weirds didn’t only consume humans; they devoured anything with Weird Power to grow stronger, including their own kind. Most lacked reason—it stemmed from their innate greed and plundering.

A Merfolk’s tail was a great tonic. For Weirds, eating it greatly boosted Weird Power and extended lifespan. Even for Oracles, consuming a tail linked to the Dragon God could elevate their Spirit Energy by a whole level.

Now, not only the Weirds but even the Oracles participating in the banquet, polluted as they were, began to stir with eagerness.

The crowd trembled with excitement as Su Mingxi continued unhurriedly: “What you all ate was the upper body of a Merfolk I captured from the deep sea. But the truly efficacious part is the Merfolk’s lower body.”

All of a Merfolk’s Weird Power was stored in its fish tail. The upper body retained human features and had no Weird Power fluctuations.

One of the Crown Prince’s attendants shouted: “Hurry up and present the lower body Merfolk tail.”

Su Mingxi smiled: “I don’t have such a thing here.”

“Who are you trying to fool? You used this to host the Qionglin Banquet—how could you not show us the true face of this Ginseng Fruit?”

Faced with the crowd’s demands, Su Mingxi explained: “Merfolk are ferocious. I truly didn’t capture it. It abandoned its tail and escaped in the end.”

Not only Merfolk abandoned tails to survive; some mammals, like geckos, did the same.

But while geckos discarded their tails, Merfolk discarded their upper bodies.

All of a Merfolk’s Weird Power was concentrated in the lower body. As long as the lower body remained, it could revive again.

Yun Xueqing had zero interest in eating Merfolk, even though its tail could enhance his Spirit Energy.

He kept staring at Su Mingxi, sensing a faint strangeness about him.

They had entered this Qionglin Banquet without sensing killing intent. Where was the real killing intent?

Lost in observation, Yun Xueqing fully attuned his senses and detected a faint, if-any, fishy water smell.

The watery fishiness inevitably evoked underwater creatures. The Water Ghost he had encountered at the pond last time still lingered fresh in his memory.

Here they were discussing Merfolk—those ferocious and vengeful creatures. Would they truly not come for revenge?

Yet the crowd paid no mind, single-mindedly fixated on devouring a Merfolk tail.

As Yun Xueqing pondered, he heard Su Mingxi say: “I have no leads on this Merfolk’s tail, but at this banquet, I did find a substitute equivalent to a Merfolk tail. Eating it would provide the same great tonic effect.”

Yun Xueqing suddenly looked up, meeting Su Mingxi’s intense gaze directed their way.

Because of the prolonged stability, he had let his guard down, forgetting his nature as sacrificial bait!

Thrown into a crowd, Weirds would target him first—he was a great tonic!

Yun Xueqing kept his face impassive, but under the table, he quietly drew the Calamity Blade from his Storage Space. He waited only for the other to say something he shouldn’t, then he would strike first and seize the initiative.

He heard Su Mingxi’s eyes brim with deep malice: “Among us, a more precious food than Merfolk has slipped in.”

“What is it!”

“What? Su Mingxi, tell us quickly!”

The crowd could hardly wait.

Su Mingxi curled his lips and suddenly pointed ahead: “Him—he carries the aura of the Dragon Girl. He might be a descendant of the Dragon Girl!”

The one he pointed at wasn’t Yun Xueqing, but Fu Wuxuan beside him.

Fu Wuxuan hadn’t expected the finger to turn on him suddenly. He kept a grim face and said nothing.

Yun Xueqing suddenly recalled the previous hell layer, where the other had displayed a fish tail. In this layer, the tail had vanished.

He had thought it was because his identity here was human, but now it seemed he had overthought it.

Perhaps it hadn’t vanished; the tail had just been hidden.

Yun Xueqing wanted to help cover for Fu Wuxuan when Su Mingxi revealed a malicious smile and blew a puff of black qi at him.

Fu Wuxuan, still seated, couldn’t help but twitch his legs. Beneath the brocade robe, they transformed into a thick, long fish tail!

Many challengers present knew Fu Wuxuan had turned into a fish tail due to Weird infection—it was a sign of his Weirdification, not too rare.

But the other Weirds didn’t know. They stared fixedly at Fu Wuxuan, greedy smiles spreading across their faces, like they were eyeing a fresh, plump piece of meat ready to devour.

They wouldn’t listen to explanations anymore. The exposed tail was proof enough.

Their faces uniformly twisted into eerie grins as they surged toward Fu Wuxuan!

There were at least dozens of them, all revealing their true forms—dense, pitch-black masses bent on devouring him whole!

Yun Xueqing had no time for anything else. He unsheathed the Calamity Blade and slashed down, felling the oncoming Weirds one by one.

But there were too many, all swarming at once. He couldn’t kill them all in time.

Some Weirds were powerful, easily dodging Yun Xueqing’s attacks and countering.

Yun Xueqing swung his blade numbly, his arm growing numb, wounds multiplying across his body. Blood sprayed around them, black and red mingling indistinguishably.

Fu Wuxuan couldn’t use his Oracle powers, nor revert his legs. He could only be shielded behind Yun Xueqing.

Yun Xueqing’s stamina was nearly spent, yet Weirds kept lunging, intent on devouring him.

Wounds covered his body, blood and sweat mixing on his head, pasting over his eyes.

In this dire moment, his mind grew even calmer. Yun Xueqing’s heart turned ice-cold as he pondered a breakthrough.

Mid-swing, he glimpsed Su Mingxi nearby.