Chapter 126: Not Even a Scrap... Remained...

"WTF!!!"

Looking at the eight-tailed black fox looming beside the towering spire in the center of Donglin City, Jiang Lin felt as if a stampede of ten thousand alpacas were thundering through his heart.

This is what you call a villain! Now that is a real villain!

Look at that size, that presence, and that claw—one swipe felt like it would tear the heavens and shatter the earth.

In short.

Jiang Lin wanted to run.

But the problem was, he couldn't.

It wasn't just that he couldn't abandon his Senior Sister or the 1.5 million young women in the city; the System’s voice chimed in again:

[Ding...]
[Detected that the Master of the Dugu Demonic Sect is fighting to the death for the Blood Name Formation, stealing the host's spotlight. Quest triggered.]
[Main Quest—I Am the Villain Protagonist!]
[Quest Requirements: The host must slay the Master of the Dugu Demonic Sect, complete a "black-on-black" heist, steal the spotlight from the eight-tailed black fox, and make the host's name resound throughout the Wutong Continent.]
[Quest Restrictions: The number of resurrection coins used cannot exceed five. If more than five are used, the host will be reborn outside Donglin City upon the sixth resurrection and will be barred from re-entering until the event concludes. Furthermore, the duel with the eight-tailed black fox must be a solo kill; no other race may assist, or the quest will be failed.]
[Quest Rewards: 1. 50,000 Notoriety Points. 2. "Unlimited Blade Works" upgraded to Proficient. 3. One design blueprint for a 7-day training ground entry. 4. 10 Resurrection Coins (The system can exchange these 10 coins for full Notoriety points, recovery price: 30,000 points each).]
[Quest Failure: All Notoriety points will be wiped. This is likely the final mission of the Donglin City event; if failed, the entire reward list for the Donglin City event will be cleared. The reward list is as follows: ...]

The System’s voice slowly faded from Jiang Lin’s mind. To ensure he remembered the reward list, it had actually read the whole thing out loud!

Jiang Lin naturally couldn't give up on the final main quest of the Donglin City event. But what was this infuriating System thinking? A solo kill? Without any help? Was it joking? She was at the Jade Pool Realm...

Honestly, even with resurrection coins, Jiang Lin felt he couldn't simply exhaust her to death—the gap in cultivation levels was too vast. And he only had five resurrection coins. That meant including his current life, he only had five hearts left...

This was going to be painful!

"Young Master Si! Look out!"

Just as Jiang Lin was contemplating a strategy, the massive head of the eight-tailed black fox in the city center suddenly turned. A pair of glowing red eyes stared directly at him!

Looking at the giant ice dragon coiling around him, Jiang Lin realized...

Damn it, this ice dragon was too conspicuous!

"Young Master Si, run!"
"You beast, Si! Get out of here!"

Inside the house, Hu Shuang and Youyou shouted simultaneously. Even the dog, which had been shivering while clutching Hu Shuang's heel, let out a worried bark at Jiang Lin... offering its own form of consolation.

Although they didn't believe Jiang Lin’s formation could withstand the attack of that giant white fox, they knew that in their injured state, they couldn't escape. But if Young Master Si flew away from the Qian estate at full speed now, he might have a slim chance of survival.

Jiang Lin knew this too. He didn't have much confidence in that "Guard" barrier either. But if he left, the girl, the dog, the Cheng-Huang, and the little fatty behind him would have a ninety-nine percent chance of dying.

In the distance, the eight-tailed black fox had raised its massive head. Black spiritual energy gathered incessantly at its maw, gradually condensing into a small, dark sphere...

It reminded Jiang Lin of... a Tailed Beast Bomb.

Turning his back to everyone, Jiang Lin shouted, "No! I, Snake, cannot leave!"

"Young Master Si!"
"You beast, Si..."
"Woof..."

Without realizing it, the girl, the Cheng-Huang, and the dog all had teary eyes. Before them, the white-clad man stood tall and straight, stained with blood. Though his clothes were tattered and his wounds were weeping, holding his translucent longsword, he looked incredibly heroic—like a legendary warrior of the steppes.

The Chuxue sword, held firmly in Jiang Lin’s hand as they faced life and death together, let out a chime, as if in excitement.

Or perhaps... it was calling its master a shameless fraud.

The Tailed Beast Bomb condensed to the limit, laced with black lightning and faint rumbling thunder. A fox demon practicing lightning arts? That was rare.

"BOOM!"

The eight-tailed black fox dipped its head heavily, and the concentrated black sphere blasted outward. It shot toward Jiang Lin like a massive, dark pillar of destruction! It was like the sparks from the Railgun girl’s fingertips, lighting up the path to the underworld before him.

"Nine Gates of Rakshasa!"

Jiang Lin roared, plunging Chuxue into the earth.

In an instant, the courtyard ground froze, turning into a glacier. Ice flowers sprouted and bloomed, and ice trees encased in frost slowly blossomed. The house where Hu Shuang and the others were hiding was covered in a thick layer of ice crystals.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Nine massive, mysterious gates forged from ice and snow rose rapidly before Jiang Lin. Each gate was carved with a giant skull, appearing as if they were grinning—like Rakshasas demanding a soul, waiting for their prey.

"Go! My great dragon!"

At Jiang Lin’s command, the ice dragon roared toward the heavens and charged straight at the Tailed Beast Bomb.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The moment the ice dragon touched the Tailed Beast Bomb, it was shattered into pieces. The massive beam of black energy pierced through one Rakshasa ice gate after another.

"THUD!"

A deafening sound echoed across the sky. Jiang Lin used the very last Rakshasa ice gate to hold back the thick, black energy beam!

"Little Lin!"
"Jiang Lin!"

Sensing Jiang Lin’s sword intent, Lin Qingwan and Xiao Xueli, who were some distance away in Donglin City and nursing their own serious injuries, looked toward the Qian estate. Without a moment’s hesitation, they ignored their injuries and rushed toward the direction of the estate!

"Little Lin/Jiang Lin, please, you must be alright!"

On the other side, Jiang Lin had fallen to one knee, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. The last Rakshasa ice gate was now like a piece of porcelain shattered with cracks. Even the Chuxue sword showed signs of breaking, its blade beginning to wither away... but Chuxue seemed used to it. After all, it wasn't the first time it had died alongside this foolish master.

"Young Master Si!"
"You beast, Si! Don't!"

The two women behind him were still crying out his name, and Youyou had already burst into tears. Jiang Lin turned his head and gave Youyou a bright, cheerful smile.

"Miss Youyou..."
"Snake..."

Looking at the blood at the corner of Jiang Lin’s mouth and that smile before death, Youyou, whose true form was the spirit beast Cheng-Huang, was streaming with tears.

"Can you promise me one thing?"
"I promise! I promise anything, just don't die..."
"That's great... If there is a next life... please let... let me... ride... ride you just once..."

"SNAKE!"
"Young Master Si!"
"WOOF!"

The moment Jiang Lin finished speaking, the last Rakshasa ice gate was pierced through, and Jiang Lin was obliterated by the massive black energy cannon.

Not even... a speck of dust remained.