Chapter 117: On How to Make Pride Feel Fear

"You don't know how to build a house?"

A mocking sneer crossed the man's face.

"I thought you lot were just a bunch of bugs. Now it seems you're not even fit to be called that."

"Even bugs know how to build houses! And they do a decent job of it, too!"

With that, he stood and grabbed the severed finger resting over his ear. In an instant, it stretched into a long, fleshy staff.

"Since you've chosen to fight, who's up?"

He let out a cold laugh. "But only one of you can stay inside the house to fight me. Those are the rules."

"If you're eager to die, you still have to wait your turn."

As his voice fell, Chen Nian turned to Old Master Liu.

"Did you run into this guy the last time you came through here?"

Old Master Liu shook his head.

He had been a little angry earlier, but now he saw there was no point. This guy was a total psychopath.

"When I was here last, there was an old lady about my age. She said her toll was just that we not disturb her painting."

"In fact, the toll for a lot of people around here is just that you leave them alone."

As Old Master Liu finished speaking, the man in the black plaid shirt sneered.

"You mean that old hag? I killed her, of course. Four parts of her body became part of these walls."

"You might not know this, but I used to be the Twenty-Third Li Chief."

"But I was too foolish back then. I didn't realize that if my position was set too far inside, I'd never get enough materials to build the greatest house in the world."

"Now that my position is further out, I finally get to enjoy the perks."

"I get disturbed constantly, but it doesn't matter. Once I kill them all, they naturally can't talk anymore."

"Honestly, you should feel honored. This building of mine follows the optimal proportions..."

"..."

"Did you understand?"

The man lowered the blueprint in his hand. He had just spent a solid seven or eight minutes detailing his magnificent design concepts, hoping the fools sitting across from him could comprehend them. Even if they grasped a mere fraction, it would benefit them for a lifetime.

But...

"A six," Old Master Liu said.

"Seven," Chen Nian said.

"Bomb with threes," Yan Jing said, throwing down four cards.

"You're using a bomb on a seven?!" Old Master Liu complained. He and Yan Jing were the peasants, and Chen Nian was the landlord.

"Don't panic, just watch my big airplane—"

"What are you doing?!!!"

A furious roar erupted behind them. They turned to see the man in a complete rage. Veins bulged on his forehead as he swung his severed-finger staff, the air whistling around it.

"If you want to die, then hurry up!!!"

Yan Jing looked back at the group.

"Who's up?"

"I... I... I'll do it...!"

Mantou took the lead, throwing her small hand into the air with a fiercely resolute expression on her little face.

Yan Jing nodded.

"Alright, then I'll take this one."

"Eh...?"

Before Mantou could react, Old Master Liu grabbed her by the scooter helmet and carried her out the door.

"Finish him off quickly and come back out. We've got ground to cover."

Old Master Liu tossed the remark over his shoulder.

The rest of them walked out the door.

By now, the man standing across from him had been pushed to the absolute breaking point of his fury.

He had always thought of himself as arrogant enough, but now he realized that compared to these people, he had been holding back!

These damn bugs hadn't taken him seriously at all!!!

With that thought, he looked at Yan Jing and gave a cruel smile.

He was going to vent every ounce of his burning rage onto the man before him. That way, when those bugs finally came back inside, he could thoroughly enjoy the looks of sheer horror on their faces.

Thinking of this, he readied the long staff in his hands.

But...

"Twenty-Third Li Chief, Mo Chou. Your specialty is architecture, and your tier is Senior First Tier, on the verge of the Second Tier. Aside from the First Tier abilities of the Pride System, you're also skilled with a long staff. The staff in your hands drips blood when swung, and that blood is highly corrosive. Am I right?"

Yan Jing spoke slowly. The more he said, the wider the man's eyes opened.

"How... how do you know that?"

"Are you a fan of mine?!" he asked, a sudden note of pleasant surprise in his voice.

"I'm your successor."

The Thorn Spear materialized in Yan Jing's grasp. After the Fear Tree ascended to black-purple quality, the spear's appearance had also changed.

The thorns had multiplied, coiling tightly around the shaft to give the originally slender weapon a weightier look, though its balance in his hands remained completely unaffected.

Dark thorns wove together to form a grip right where his hands rested. Rows of sharp barbs spiraled upward to blossom at the spearhead, with pitch-black flowers blooming upon every long spike. Surprisingly, the Power of the White Stone had also followed Yan Jing into the Inner World, transforming into vines similar to the thorns and unfurling lustrous white flowers.

As Yan Jing lightly swung the Black and White Dual-Colored Long Spear, petals drifted down from the air. One of them landed on the man standing across from him.

Instantly, his pupils contracted sharply, as if he had just witnessed something utterly terrifying. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. Although this state lasted for a mere half-second, sometimes a half-second was enough to change everything.

This was the Fear Thorn's new ability. When swung, petals of fear would fall from the sky, forcing an opponent to recall their deepest terrors the moment they made contact.

"You're perfect practice material."

The long spear in Yan Jing's hand sliced through the air, leaving behind a dark residual streak of light. He took a massive stride forward, closing the distance in a flash.

Only then did the man scramble to raise his own staff in defense.

Spear and staff clashed, sending ripples of weird energy expanding outward in every direction.

But... in that very same split second, the fleshy staff was cleanly severed in two!!!

The man spat out a mouthful of blood and stumbled backward, staring at Yan Jing in sheer horror.

He hadn't expected to be unable to withstand even a single strike from this opponent.

It was as if the Yan Jing standing before him had completely surpassed the realm of the First Tier.

Meanwhile, Yan Jing kept a loose grip on his spear, lightly tapping the tip against the floor as he slowly advanced, his eyes utterly calm.

Miserable screams echoed from the exact point where the spear tip met the ground.

"Click—"

The sound of a camera shutter rang out abruptly amidst the screaming.

Fear instantly filled the entire room...

A few minutes later, Yan Jing opened the door.

The others filed back into the room to find the man slumped in the corner. There were five bloody holes in his body: one between his eyebrows, one between his legs, one in his waist, and two more between the ribs on either side of his chest.

His eyes were wide open. Even in death, the terror in his gaze hadn't seemed to dissipate. His face was twisted into such a grotesque expression that just looking at it made everyone feel a trace of inexplicable horror.

"Kid... did you get stronger?"

Old Master Liu frowned, looking at Yan Jing with uncertainty.

"A person's always got to make progress,"

Yan Jing replied. He reached down to pick up his unfinished hand of cards from the floor.

"My big airplane of three tens and three jacks—"

"Hold on, don't change the subject!"

Old Master Liu's interest was piqued. He stared closely at the dead man's expression and spoke in puzzlement.

"How did you do it?"

"Even if these guys from Solitude Lane die, they shouldn't have an expression like this."

"Then what kind of expression would they have?"

Chen Nian asked.

"Defiant!"

The Old Man said, "Unless you beat them in their own area of expertise, they'll refuse to concede even in death. They'll just think you used brute force."

"But this guy... why does he look so... terrified?"

Yan Jing looked at the confused faces of the group. He sighed and told the truth.

"He really refused to concede, so I told him his work was extremely ugly."

"And then?"

Old Master Liu prompted.

"I told him that not only was it uniquely ugly, but it was spectacularly ugly."

"And then?"

"He still wouldn't concede, so I told him I was going to take his work outside and show it to everyone, just to let others say how ugly his architecture was."

"And then?"

"Then he smiled and said that other people would definitely say it looked beautiful. So I told him I'd pay people to say his works were ugly."

"And then?"

"Then he said that only proved his work was truly good, and he laughed even harder."

"And then?"

"Then I had no choice but to admit his work was the absolute best."

Yan Jing let out a sigh.

"But you still haven't explained why he's so terrified,"

Chen Nian pointed out. By now, even he was getting curious.

"Like I said, his work really is the best."

Yan Jing sighed again.

"But from now on, this work belongs to me."

"After he dies, everyone will know that this masterpiece is mine. For generations to come, no one will ever remember his name. Slowly but surely, I'll become known as the greatest architect in the world."

"And then he ended up like this."

True pride shouldn't crave the validation of others. In the end, his mastery just wasn't deep enough.