Chapter 221: So You've Experienced It Now

Tang Luo just brought Li Huan and the others out of the palace in this manner, under the watchful eyes of many guards, walking out with a swagger.

Interestingly, until they left, Rudolf did not appear.

But Tang Luo could feel a gaze falling on him, which eventually faded away slowly.

Although Rudolf did not show himself, he was observing in the dark.

I don't know what he's thinking; probably it's that traditional demon lord's routine, liking to send his subordinates for the hero to level up?

By taking these people away from Rudolf's clutches, Tang Luo gained some merit power.

Whether these people have ulterior motives or not, under Rudolf's hands, their lives would have no guarantee, undoubtedly being in extreme danger.

Tang Luo's action can also be counted as a merit.

But merit power is scarce, better than nothing, proving that these few people's moral level is not high.

"We're not leaving?"

Greysi looked at Tang Luo and asked.

After leaving the palace, Tang Luo headed straight to his original residence, and Greysi thought he was planning to tidy up and leave Taosente first—at least leave the capital first.

Unexpectedly, Tang Luo threw Li Huan onto the ground and was about to go back to sleep.

"Leave where? I still have to go to work tomorrow." Tang Luo said, "I still have to go make something to eat for Snow White Vivian tomorrow."

"Work?"

"Yes, I am a royal swordsmanship instructor." Tang Luo said, "Earning a salary for work, one must have contractual spirit."

"... We just escaped from the palace, do we still have to go back?" Greysi expressed incomprehension.

"The poor monk will stay behind." Tang Luo said, very Buddhist, "Everything is up to the benefactor's own decision; the poor monk will not interfere."

He would not ask Li Huan and the others to leave, or to stay.

"Alright." Greysi said, "Then... I'll stay behind to be the master's assistant?"

"As you wish." Tang Luo said, walking into the bedroom and closing the door.

Greysi looked at the two people lying on the ground, let out a meaningless sigh, and walked to sit on the sofa.

Soon after, she also fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Greysi woke up and saw Li Huan, who had wanted her to find Tang Xuanzang to save people, staring angrily at the white-haired man sitting in front of her, leisurely drinking tea.

Greysi recalled last night's events and also sensed something was off.

Last night, Li Huan's behavior was too strange.

And this white-haired monk Tang Xuanzang's behavior was even stranger—one unwilling to be saved, one insisting on saving people.

If Li Huan later realized this was a trap and didn't want to drag everyone down, even if Greysi were beaten to death, she wouldn't believe it.

On the contrary, Rudolf's words, his deliberate strange behavior of letting things slide, Greysi somewhat understood.

Perhaps this Tang Xuanzang had caught his eye, becoming an interesting strong opponent he planned to "slowly savor."

"Brother-in-law, if you're grateful, no need to say it—find a girlfriend early, start a family and career, I, as the elder brother—" Tang Luo said to Li Huan with a smile.

"Don't call me brother-in-law!" Li Huan said, "How did you knock me out, and what happened afterward?"

He didn't know what had happened after last night.

How exactly did Tang Xuanzang bypass the contract's power to strike him and knock him out?

And how did they escape from the palace?

Now, listening to the outside sounds, it seems not noisy—could it be that they detoured around Rudolf and sneaked out secretly?

Li Huan almost became a hundred thousand angry whys.

"Then... seek pleasure?" Tang Luo said.

"I am not Li Xuanhuan! It's just my fate!" Li Huan shouted angrily.

Whether one likes Li Xuanhuan or not, as a normal man, for oneself "becoming" Li Xuanhuan, one would certainly decline politely.

"You just won't do." Tang Luo said, "As a fate-holder, shouldn't you strive to approach the life of the original fate-holder, using various methods to become strong quickly? Look, my fate is the holy monk Xuanzang; I strive to be a good person, doing good deeds daily, helping old grandmothers cross the road, saving you all out."

"With you rejecting your fate like this, how do you expect to become strong?"

Li Huan only had one "pah" word to express his inner thoughts.

But he didn't dare, as the other's half-smile expression told Li Huan that if he dared to pah, he would dare to strike.

By then, his face would look bad—whether in meaning or literally, it wouldn't look good.

"Your questions, go ask Greysi." Tang Luo stood up, "I have to go to work now; you guys can leave or stay as fate dictates."

After saying that, he no longer paid attention to Li Huan and left the residence.

Li Huan then looked at Greysi: "What exactly happened after I passed out?" As for the other Luo Bu, he was seriously injured and still unconscious now.

That stiff tone made Greysi somewhat displeased, but she still recounted everything that happened last night in full detail.

Li Huan's expression kept changing.

He sensed a hint, that Rudolf that proud king, probably had developed a strong interest in Tang Xuanzang.

Like a fruit farmer seeing promising fruit, excitedly waiting for harvest.

To Li Huan, this was undoubtedly good news.

The clash of strong ones gave him a chance to fish in troubled waters—Li Huan had to admit, whether Rudolf or Tang Xuanzang, both were strong ones he could not currently reach.

He could only seek survival in the gap between the two.

This feeling made Li Huan very uncomfortable. He was not uncomfortable from struggling to survive; as a god-demon walker, struggling to survive should have long been habitual.

He was uncomfortable because of Tang Luo's existence.

In past missions, they sought survival in the mission world, with the greatest danger likewise coming from the mission world.

God-demon walkers' strengths were relatively close to each other; even if hostile, it was mutual scheming with back-and-forth.

But now, there is a god-demon walker who completely abandoned them, directly facing off against BOSS-level strong ones from the mission world, king to king.

It made Li Huan, a lowly soldier, feel extremely uncomfortable—after all, they came from the same place.

How could he possibly achieve this?

Li Huan clearly knew that powerful gods and demons could crush him with a single finger.

Yet those gods and demons rarely displayed any real power in the real world, and it was also difficult for them to appear in the same mission world as Li Huan.

They seemed more like some kind of real legend, not truly tangible.

But Tang Xuanzang was too real—so real that Li Huan felt unusually stifled and deeply uncomfortable.

"I wish you would start a conflict and get killed!" Li Huan roared in his heart.

The strong are inevitably proud; Tang Xuanzang re-entering the palace was like "fruit jumping onto the face"—even if the fruit farmer initially agreed to wait, he would surely not show mercy toward fruit that had jumped onto his face.

Before him, Greysi also prayed in her heart, hoping Tang Luo would be defeated by Rudolf as soon as possible, so she could complete her mission and leave.

Well—it should count as her completing the mission, after all, even without merit, there was still hard work.

In the deep palace.

Tang Luo gazed upon the tall man on the throne, like a male lion.

He had just arrived at the palace when he was summoned here.

Rudolf, who had secretly observed the previous night, for some unknown reason, changed his mind and chose to meet Tang Luo face to face.

"You're not bad."

In the vast palace, only the two of them remained; Rudolf rose to his feet, did not descend the steps before the throne, and looked down upon Tang Luo from above.

"Thank you for the praise." Tang Luo smiled slightly.

"Indeed, you're not bad." Rudolf also laughed, saying, "At least you haven't disappointed my expectations—no, I should say you've somewhat exceeded them. It's made me rather impatient."

"Oh?" Tang Luo asked, "What do you mean?"

"I know all about your dealings with Ouliana and your secret scheming." Rudolf did not answer but countered, "Do you know why I haven't stopped you?"

"To wait for the right moment." Tang Luo said, this kind of waiting he was very familiar with.

During the Journey to the West, he often let some monsters jump around there, jumping until nearly all the relevant lures were drawn out, then either wiping them all out in one net, or engaging in a life-or-death battle.

Blood stained the sky, you die or I die!

Becoming stronger requires paying a price.

"Yes." Rudolf laughed, "You understand me. I look forward to you gradually plotting, continuously strengthening yourselves, and appearing before me when you reach your peak."

"Only then will you have the value of being defeated by me."

"Crushing a few ants can't bring any joy to my life."

"Hmm." Tang Luo nodded.

"Originally, I didn't intend to see you." Rudolf said, "But I can't help it anymore." His voice carried a hint of excitement.

"Is that so?" In contrast, Tang Luo's voice was very calm.

"Yes!" Rudolf said, "Before the main course, there should be dessert—unfortunately, there really is no dessert, so I can only have a small taste in advance, just a small bite."

"Next, I will defeat you, but I will not kill you."

"I will make you understand what failure means, and let you leave carrying the humiliation of failure. Then, I will still not interfere in any of your affairs, until you people have accumulated enough strength and appear before me once again."

"At that time, I hope you can give me a battle that truly excites me, one in which I can roar without restraint!"

"Failure makes people grow. By then, the taste of the fruit will become even sweeter."

"You, are you ready?"

Rudolf's eyes flickered with flames—named pride, named arrogance.

"Have you ever experienced failure?" Tang Luo answered off-topic.

"Hah, I'd actually like to try, but unfortunately, I am an undefeated myth." Rudolf said, "Kneel down! Go taste the flavor of humiliation!"

Saying so, he extended his hand toward Tang Luo.

A surging gravity suddenly descended upon Tang Luo; on the white jade stone slab floor beneath his feet, centered on his position, it sank downward.

Cracks appeared and spread, like a spiderweb.

"So you have now experienced it."

Tang Luo slightly raised his head, looked at Rudolf and said, then vanished from the spot.

Rudolf's eyes widened, he instinctively stepped back one step, while simultaneously throwing a forward punch.

The muffled sound of breaking air echoed in the spacious palace; even the thick city gate, which siege hammers could not break open through camaraderie, would shatter under this punch.

Tang Luo, appearing before Rudolf, raised his right hand, placed his thumb on his index finger, and flicked it.

A white airflow surged forth, his index finger striking Rudolf's fist.

"Ah!"

A piercingly miserable scream erupted from Rudolf's mouth.

His left hand, which could shatter city gates and thick city walls, in this flick, turned into scattered blood mist and bone fragments.

Blood spattered across Rudolf's proud, astonished, and terrified face.