NOVGO.NET Chapter 217: The Taste of Defeat
Chapter 217: The Taste of Defeat
Qin Xian’s gaze darkened as he pieced together the final clue. Zhou Nan’s insistence on shaking hands, his eerily similar actions at the Divine Revelation Monolith auction, his persistence in reaching for a handshake—it all pointed to one thing.
The handshake was a necessary condition for Zhou Nan to copy another’s abilities. In mere moments, Qin Xian had deduced everything.
Across from him, Zhou Nan stood frozen, his expression dark and twisted with disbelief.
He figured it out? How? And more importantly—when did he start suspecting me?
Zhou Nan gritted his teeth, frustration and regret filling every inch of his body. He had been so close. Just fifteen more seconds and he would have successfully copied Qin Xian’s SSS-tier Holy Knight profession.R
The replication process had already begun when their hands touched—if he had just held out a little longer, it would have been his.
But he had no choice.
The moment Qin Xian activated the Golden Sword Domain, it became clear—he would not survive another fifteen seconds. If he had stayed, he would have died instantly.
So he had been forced to flee. And now… he had nothing to show for it.
He clenched his fists in frustration, his mind racing. Why? How? His talent worked silently, without the slightest trace. How did Qin Xian know?
“You…” Zhou Nan’s voice was tight with disbelief. “How did you figure it out?”
Qin Xian smiled, slow and amused. “Your talent? Oh, I didn’t detect it at all. I had no idea you could copy abilities—it’s truly a terrifying power, one that works completely unnoticed… quite remarkable, actually.” His eyes gleamed with something close to hunger.
Zhou Nan’s breath hitched.
This didn’t make sense. If Qin Xian hadn’t figured it out, then why attack him?
“Then why?!” Zhou Nan snapped, his voice edged with desperation.
Qin Xian’s smirk widened, his expression filled with mockery. “Why?” His tone was light, almost casual, as if the answer should have been obvious. “Because I wanted to.”
Zhou Nan’s body went rigid.
“From the very beginning,” Qin Xian continued lazily, “I always intended to kill you. No reason. No grudge. No justification.”
Zhou Nan staggered. His mind refused to process the words.
No reason? No grudge?
“You’re telling me… you just felt like it?” His hands trembled at his sides.
He had spent so much time and effort scheming, analyzing every detail, crafting the perfect persona, playing his cards flawlessly—only to be met with this?
It was as if he had spent years preparing for an elite interview at a prestigious company, only to be rejected because he stepped in with the wrong foot first.
What kind of bullshit was this!?
Zhou Nan’s face twisted in anger, disbelief, and sheer indignation. His stomach churned as if he had been forced to swallow filth.
“This bastard… this absolute lunatic! He wants to kill me for no reason!?” For a brief moment, Zhou Nan glanced at the severed head of Yun Tianlu, lying abandoned on the ground.
That dead man had been his ticket to success, the proof of his worth.
Now? It was nothing.
He had not only killed Yun Tianlu, but he had also hand-delivered himself into Qin Xian’s trap, like an idiot.
Zhou Nan’s breath came ragged and uneven. He could feel his life force draining, his mana reserves depleted, and his strongest skills still on cooldown. He had intentionally not healed himself, believing it would make him appear more pitiful to gain Qin Xian’s trust.
Now that same decision had placed him in the most vulnerable state possible.
And Qin Xian? He had no interest in wasting time. With a chilling calmness, he raised his sword.
“Zhou Nan cannot be allowed to live.”
“A man who can steal professions, growing stronger with every battle…”
“If he’s already this strong now, then what will he become in the future?”
“No. He must die. Now.”
Divine power surged through Qin Xian’s holy blade, flooding the battlefield with golden light. A divine judgment descended from the heavens, an unstoppable force that filled the sky, blotting out everything else.
Zhou Nan gritted his teeth, forcing himself to move, “If I die here, it’s all over!”
His form flickered—his body morphed, shifting from an assassin’s shadowy presence into something else entirely. His aura transformed, and an overwhelming burst of arcane power filled the battlefield.
[Stellar Salvation]—SS-tier Archmage skill.
A massive river of starlight appeared before him, luminous and infinite, severing space itself.
For a moment, it seemed like Qin Xian was an eternity away, his overwhelming attack unable to reach through the vast expanse of stars. The divine sword’s energy began to weaken, its power scattering into the cosmos.
Qin Xian’s eyes narrowed, “Interesting.”
Then, without hesitation, he unleashed even greater force.
The sacred sword exploded with divine radiance, shattering the river of stars. Space collapsed, unraveling in golden threads.
Zhou Nan had nowhere to run. His face contorted in rage. He roared as he shifted again. One profession after another—Shadowmaster, Archmage, Battle Saint—but none of it mattered.
“It’s useless! No matter how many professions I switch to… Qin Xian’s power is simply overwhelming!”
He wasn’t just strong—his very existence was a glitch in the system.
Zhou Nan had copied dozens of professions, and yet, Qin Xian wasn’t even breaking a sweat. And worst of all—Zhou Nan was exhausted.
His health was critically low. His mana was gone. His strongest abilities were all on cooldown.
Regret stabbed through him.
“I should have waited. I shouldn’t have been so reckless.”
“I should have built myself up first—grown stronger, waited for the right time, come back when I was truly ready!”
But it was too late for regrets now.
BOOM!
A final explosion of divine energy shattered the earth beneath them. The very ground split apart, sending debris flying in all directions.
When the dust settled, Zhou Nan lay motionless—his body crushed beneath Qin Xian’s divine sword.
His form was mangled and broken, his limbs shaking with agony, his breath barely audible.
If not for Qin Xian’s deliberate decision to spare him, Zhou Nan would have already been dead.
Qin Xian stepped forward, standing over the fallen, helpless figure of Zhou Nan.
“A talent like yours…What a shame. If only you had been smarter.” He smirked, lifting his sword once more.
Because now, Zhou Nan’s true worth could finally be extracted.