Chapter 399: Chapter 387: He is Him, I am Me (Please Subscribe)
"Sorry."
Shi Tao shook his head and said calmly, "I never said I would let you all leave here."
"You!"
The three of them showed despair and anger on their faces upon hearing this.
"Shi Tao! You’re going too far! We’ve told you everything you wanted to know. Up to this point, you still won’t let us go?"
"You’ve killed who you needed to kill, and we’ve apologized. What more do you want? Do you have to drive us to a dead end for you to be satisfied?"
"Don’t make yourself sound so innocent."
Shi Tao interrupted him and asked rhetorically, "Just think, if I didn’t have enough strength, would you have apologized to me? Probably not, right?"
The three of them were at a loss for words.
Indeed, if it weren’t for this battle, they wouldn’t have known Shi Tao’s true strength and wouldn’t have taken him seriously.
In other words, if they hadn’t obtained the information about the masked person, even with Shi Tao present, it wouldn’t have mattered.
At that time, it was hard to say how many people in the Martial Arts Association would have died.
"Right."
Shi Tao sighed softly, "I’ll give you a chance to end yourselves. Of course, you can also come and fight me. It’s up to you."
"Let’s fight him!" someone shouted. "We’re trapped here with no way out, so we might as well fight to the death."
"That’s right, even if we die, we must take a piece out of him!"
"Let’s go together!"
Hu Yuan and the other two gritted their teeth.
At this point, begging for mercy was too humiliating.
A moment later, three lifeless bodies lay on the ground, their eyes filled with unwillingness and despair.
The gap in strength between the two sides was simply too great.
Even if they used all their might, they couldn’t inflict any injury on Shi Tao.
Shi Tao, with his hands clasped behind his back, slowly turned to look at Xiang Long, who was sitting on the ground. "City Lord Xiang, do you have any last words?"
"Please, don’t kill me."
Xiang Long’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he said in a hurried voice, "If you spare me, I am willing to give up the position of Jiulong City Lord."
A hint of disappointment flashed in Shi Tao’s eyes.
"Is that all?"
"You think that’s not enough? Of course, you’re the President of the Jiangnan Sub-district Martial Arts Association. Your appetite is surely big."
Xiang Long muttered to himself, then suddenly his eyes lit up, "Chairman Shi, besides the position of Jiulong City Lord, I am also willing to join the Jiangnan Sub-district Martial Arts Association and follow you alone."
"No need."
A strong look of disgust appeared in Shi Tao’s eyes.
He hadn’t expected Xiang Long to be such a spineless person, even worse than his subordinates.
"Chairman Shi, you can’t kill me!"
Xiang Long shouted hysterically.
His superpower was Dragon-man Transformation, a noble ability far superior to those of common Awakens! Given enough time, he could transform into a Giant Dragon! How could he die here, so ashamed and suffocated?
A sharp pain struck.
It felt as though his internal organs were shattered.
"How could it be..."
Xiang Long spat blood, filled with intense unwillingness, and fell backwards.
"Sigh."
Shi Tao looked at the corpses scattered everywhere and let out a long sigh.
If it hadn’t been absolutely necessary, he wouldn’t want to draw his blade against his comrades.
Of course, he considered these Awakened as comrades, but whether the Awakened viewed ordinary people, let alone Martial Artists, as comrades was unknown.
"There are still some people at the Anshan City Awakened Association, what a pity."
He shook his head.
Xiang Long and his group invaded the Martial Artists Association to kill people. As the President, from any perspective, killing them posed no problem.
Even if those three S-Class Awakened came, he dared to stand by his actions.
But now, facing the people at Anshan City Awakened Association, he couldn’t make a move. He had to wait until he was in the wild, and even then, he had to ensure his actions weren’t witnessed.
Otherwise, if exposed, the Jiangnan Sub-district Martial Arts Association might face utter destruction.
"Let’s wait here and hope they come over in half an hour."
After finishing, Shi Tao waved his hand and disappeared from the space.
In the Martial Arts Association.
Sun Wei and others stared intently at the small cube in the middle, their eyes wide open with tension.
If the President and those people from Jiulong City were really inside...
So much time had passed. The President, could he be okay?
Suddenly, a figure appeared out of thin air in the field.
Everyone felt dazed for a moment, and then exclamations rose like a tide.
"President!"
"President! It’s the President!"
"My God! The President is out! Wonderful, the President is okay!"
Shi Tao reached out, put the small cube into his sleeve, and looked at everyone, his tone gentle, "I made you all worry."
"President, what about those people from Jiulong City?" someone gathered the courage to ask. The President didn’t seem very approachable, but from his previous actions, he didn’t appear to be difficult to contact.
"Don’t worry."
Shi Tao said, "They’re all dead. The bodies are in another place. I will hand them over to the Awakened Association when we return."
Upon hearing this, everyone showed deep shock and admiration.
As expected of the President!
He killed six enemies alone without suffering any injuries!
Of course, he might be injured, but with their skill level, they couldn’t tell.
Even so, it didn’t change the fact that the President was powerful!
"President..." Sun Wei was about to say something when Shi Tao raised his hand, interrupting him. He scanned the room and said, "You are all members of the Jiangnan Sub-district Martial Arts Association. As the President, ensuring your safety is my duty. There’s nothing more to say. Besides..."
He glanced at the corpse on the ground and gently shook his head. "If I had come earlier, perhaps this wouldn’t have happened."
"Sigh, President, it’s not your fault. You arrived just in time."
"Yes, President, if you hadn’t appeared just now, not only him, but many of us would have been killed by those people!"
"These Awakened are simply too detestable! They rely on their superpowers and disregard our lives!"
"You’re right! One day, I’ll become strong and trample these Awakened underfoot!"
"Cough, cough!" Coughing came from beside them.
"Why are you coughing? We’re all on the same side. Is there anything we can’t say?" The man from earlier was displeased.
Shi Tao gave him a glance and reminded, "Mind your words."
"Yes."
The man then lowered his head.
"Give him a proper burial. If he has family, the association will take care of them."
"Yes, President!" Sun Wei quickly nodded. He would have done so even without Shi Tao’s instruction.
"Good."
Shi Tao gazed around, "If there is nothing else, let’s disperse. By the way, if any more Awakened come, don’t be impulsive. Inform me directly."
Upon hearing this, everyone showed a hint of joy.
Could it be?
The President plans to stay here for a while?
Really?
This is the President!
Indeed, the President must be worried that killing these people could bring retaliation, so he’s doing this!
"Chairman Sun, come with me. I have something to ask you," Shi Tao said, turning his gaze to Sun Wei.
The latter felt a surge of pressure and hurriedly nodded.
"Gao Shan, go inform the others that everything is settled."
"Yes, President." Gao Shan replied quickly.
Watching Shi Tao and their President enter the meeting room, Gao Shan let out a long breath and couldn’t help but exclaim, "As expected of the President, such a strong aura. Just one look and I felt immense pressure."
"Who doesn’t,"
Xu Jie responded in agreement.
"Alright," he patted Gao Shan’s shoulder, "The President just gave you a task. Don’t forget? Go notify them. I’ll handle the rest here."
"Alright."
Gao Shan turned and walked out.
In the meeting room.
Sun Wei quickly took out tea leaves and brewed a cup of tea for Shi Tao, then stood there, at a loss.
Understandably so.
The last time he met Shi Tao, it was over a video call, and the atmosphere wasn’t great.
Now, it was face-to-face.
"Sit, no need to be so formal."
Shi Tao pointed to the seat opposite him.
"Yes, President."
Sun Wei cautiously sat, only letting half of his butt touch the seat.
"Have you broken through to the Meridian Refining Realm?"
Shi Tao glanced at him and spoke calmly.
"Yes, thanks to Brother Chen."
Sun Wei sat upright and explained, "Because of the previous incidents, Brother Chen felt guilty and used a piece of Cloud Jade Fruit to help me clear my meridians, making me a Meridian Refining Martial Artist."
"I see."
A hint of surprise flashed in Shi Tao’s eyes.
Helping someone clear their meridians wasn’t easy and could easily go wrong.
At the headquarters, apart from himself and Elder Wang, almost no one else dared to attempt it.
"Regarding the previous incidents, you suffered an undeserved calamity. I’m here to compensate you. How about this, before I leave, I’ll also help clear your meridians."
"Ah?"
Sun Wei opened his mouth wide, filled with joy.
But he quickly reacted, waving his hands, "President, you’re too kind. Brother Chen helped clear my meridians, and I’m already very grateful. How could I be greedy and..."
"Chen Fan helping you is his matter. My help is the headquarters’ compensation. There’s no conflict." Shi Tao stated.
"Yes, yes."
Seeing this, Sun Wei had no choice but to accept.
He was both happy and anxious.
The atmosphere in the meeting room grew quiet.
"President, Brother Chen is out. Should I call him to inform him you’re here?"