Chapter 263: The Strong Make No Distinction Between Genders

The next moment, a man in a crisp suit walked slowly into their midst, carrying a Snakewood Cane and wearing Tinted Glasses.

A gentle smile on his face, he looked at everyone present and nodded politely. "Quite lively here, isn't it?"

The newcomer was Su Mu, pretending to have stumbled upon them by chance.

His appearance drew immediate scrutiny from the crowd. Su Qing in particular stared with shining eyes. A cigarette wedged between her fingers, she rubbed her smooth chin with her other hand and clicked her tongue in amazement.

"Tsk, tsk... I never expected to see such a high-quality handsome guy among the Nightmare Apostles. Whew!"

Su Qing whistled. She casually tossed her cigarette butt onto the ground and crushed it out with her flip-flop-clad foot. Tossing her beautiful hair back, she asked, "What do they call you, handsome?"

Looking at the eccentric avatar of King Chi, Su Mu smiled faintly. The expression softened the lines of his face, adding even more charm to his already handsome features.

"Su Mu."

"Oh, your surname is Su too! I'm Su Qing. Maybe we were part of the same family five hundred years ago. Want to consider joining my team?"

"No thanks. I plan to form my own team."

Su Qing raised a slender eyebrow. She was just about to speak when Lin Nanxing cut her off.

"Friend, you want to form a team? I happen to have a Mithril Token right here. Take it and fight for the top ten. My leg is injured, so I plan to withdraw from this trial. Holding onto this Mithril Token is useless to me, so I'll just give it to you." Lin Nanxing forced a friendly facade, holding the Mithril Token up high.

"Is that so? Thank you." Su Mu revealed a perfectly measured look of pleasant surprise, then walked toward Lin Nanxing.

Lin Nanxing instantly grew excited, but he forcefully suppressed the feeling, not daring to show the slightest hint of it.

Watching from the sidelines, Zhou Hui and the others hesitated, looking as though they wanted to speak but were stopping themselves.

Su Qing watched the scene with great interest, wondering if this handsome guy could really be that naive. He actually believed such obvious lies?

However, Su Mu really did walk right up to Lin Nanxing and hold out his hand.

Such a straightforward action left Lin Nanxing momentarily stunned. Looking at the smiling Su Mu, a tiny sliver of guilt suddenly rose in his heart, though it was replaced by his sheer will to survive the very next second.

With trembling hands, he passed the Mithril Token into Su Mu's grasp.

Su Mu took it naturally and offered a polite word of thanks.

Feeling a bit ashamed, Lin Nanxing lowered his head. Without a word, he quickly used his arms to drag himself away from Su Mu.

"Handsome, you're way too quick to trust people."

Su Qing's sweet voice rang out. "He's lying to you. There's a curse on that Mithril Token, and the only way to break it is for someone to inherit the curse and die. Besides, Lin Nanxing's legs were broken by those guys."

At these words, Lin Nanxing's body stiffened, rage practically erupting from his heart. Damn bitch! When Zhou Hui was tricking me earlier, you didn't say a single word. But now that I'm tricking this pretty boy, you decide to speak up for justice! Is it just because he's better looking than me?!

With his lie exposed, he hurriedly scrambled toward a corner of the room. A silver bow lay quietly in that corner—the weapon he had dropped when Zhou Hui ambushed him earlier.

Only after snatching up the bow did he feel a tiny sliver of security.

"Don't come any closer!" Lin Nanxing aimed the bow at Su Mu, his expression tense as he shouted. "My Silver Law abilities are Eye of the Sky and Absolute Hit. Now that I have my bow in hand, if you dare come near me, I... I'll shoot!"

"Getting tricked doesn't feel very good, does it, handsome?" Su Qing offered a mischievous smile, her large, clear eyes rolling playfully. "Tell you what. As long as you agree to join my team, I'll help you give that Mithril Token back. How about it?"

Lin Nanxing's face paled drastically, and he nearly lost his grip on the bow. He had witnessed Su Qing's terrifying strength firsthand; he had absolutely no power to resist her.

"That won't be necessary. Mr. Lin simply wants to survive; he didn't do anything wrong. Besides, I'm not in the habit of taking advantage of someone's misfortune," Su Mu replied, smiling in refusal.

Everyone froze in surprise, staring at Su Mu in sheer disbelief. Where had this great saint popped out from?!

Lin Nanxing in particular looked astonished as the shame on his face deepened. Gritting his teeth as if making a monumental decision, he abruptly raised his head and yelled at Su Mu. "Mr. Su, you're a good person! I was wrong. I shouldn't have lied to you. Let's join forces! The only reason I'm in this miserable state is because of that bitch Zhou Hui! She tricked me into taking the Mithril Token and then ambushed me. Let's team up and make Zhou Hui inherit the curse!"

Zhou Hui's face froze, her body subconsciously tensing. "Mr. Su, don't listen to him. He's a cripple now. Having him inherit the curse is the best choice! If you and I start fighting and end up injured, the road ahead will be hard for both of us!"

She wasn't sure of Su Mu's true strength, but she had just heard him say he wanted to form his own team. In her mind, anyone who dared to say such a thing was generally at the Silver 3 rank. Only powerhouses at Silver 3 had the ability and qualifications to build a team.

Su Mu looked at the nervous Zhou Hui and shook his head again. "I'm also not in the habit of bullying women."

Now it was the other men's turn to get nervous. They couldn't figure out what Su Mu was thinking at all, terrified that he might truly be a highly principled saint who would target them instead.

"Handsome, I didn't expect you to be so principled. I like you even more now." Su Qing's beautiful eyes flashed with brilliant light. Today, she had finally met a man who seemingly only existed in romance novels—handsome, elegant, and principled!

"Not taking advantage of people's misfortune and not bullying women—those are exactly the traits a powerhouse should possess. Nope, I've decided. You absolutely have to join my team today!"

Su Mu didn't reply to her statement, but instead posed a question. "Excuse me, out of everyone present, who is the strongest?"

The crowd wore bizarre expressions as they turned in unison to look at the broadly smiling Su Qing.

"Wait, handsome, what do you mean by that? You aren't planning to give the Mithril Token to me, are you?" Su Qing found it somewhat amusing. It felt like an adult being provoked by a grade schooler—there was no anger at all, only amusement.

Su Mu smiled and nodded. "I believe that the truly strong shouldn't draw their blades against the weak, but rather dare to swing their swords at those stronger than them."

Su Qing maintained her casual, lackadaisical posture as she teased, "But didn't you just say you don't bully women? Doesn't that contradict what you're saying now?"

Clutching the Mithril Token, Su Mu walked step by step toward Su Qing. "It's no contradiction. The strong generally possess two traits. The first is that they won't raise a hand against a woman. The second is that... they make no distinction between genders."

Su Qing: "..."

He slowly stopped in front of Su Qing. With his tall, straight stature, he looked down slightly at her, as she was a full head shorter than him.

Su Qing was still smiling, but an indescribable hint of something else had crept into her expression. "Are you serious?"