Absolute Destiny Game.

Chapter 523 Iron-Blooded Tough Guy
Explain? Explain your ass! Xiao Jie cursed inwardly, "Are you just taking advantage of me because I'm mute and can't speak?"
This old bastard really came to arrest me too!

He suppressed his anger, pointed to his mouth, and waved his hand forcefully to indicate that he could not speak.

"Oh?" The old man feigned sudden realization, slapping his forehead. "So that's how it is. You're mute, no wonder you can't explain yourself. How about this? I ate half a chicken of yours, so I'm indebted to you for it. If you trust me, come with me, and I'll speak up for you with these martial arts practitioners and clear your name."

Xiao Jie scoffed inwardly. Believe you? I'd never believe a ghost like you!
Instead of putting down his knife, he raised the blade, pointing it straight ahead, exuding a chilling murderous aura, demonstrating his stance through his actions.

"Hmph! Stubborn fool!" The old man's amiable expression vanished instantly, replaced by coldness and disappointment. "It seems I've misjudged him today! Fellow martial artists, this man is vicious and stubborn. Let's unite and capture this fiend!"

Before he could finish speaking, more than a dozen martial arts heroes pounced on him like wolves and tigers! The flashing blades and shadows instantly engulfed Xiao Jie.

"Good timing!" Xiao Jie's killing intent was already set in, and he no longer held back.

Spinning Slash! His body followed the blade, sweeping out in a spinning motion. With two clangs, he deflected several swords, spears, and lances that were attacking him. He then plunged into the encirclement of a spearman, the final spin of the spinning slash perfectly grazing the man's throat.

The gunman collapsed, clutching his bleeding throat.

Everyone was astonished. This person was so young, and he didn't even seem to have any internal energy, yet his swordsmanship was so superb. It was truly amazing.

Xiao Jie instantly found his rhythm in the face of life and death. Killing in real life is indeed different from killing in the game. It's incredibly satisfying.

Cut in two with a single stroke! Another unfortunate swordsman was cleaved to the ground.

The crowd attacked from all sides again, with swords, spears, and daggers thrusting and slashing at each other. Xiao Jie wielded his steel blade, creating a dazzling curtain of light!

He effortlessly executed moves from memory, relying on his superhuman fighting instincts and exquisite swordsmanship to break through the encirclement.

*Thud! Thud!* Blood splattered as the two men at the forefront screamed and fell to the ground. One had his throat pierced, and the other had his chest ripped open!
However, the enemy had a large number of people, including many skilled fighters, and Xiao Jie soon had several bloody marks on his body.

But this pain only fueled his ferocity. The feeling of fighting to the death made him more excited than ever before, and he fought fiercely.

*Thud!* Another swordsman was beheaded with a single blow.

With a casual backhand slash, he forcefully parried three steel blades that were coming at him. Just as his old strength was exhausted and no new strength had been generated, the old man who had been watching coldly made his move! His figure blurred, as fast as a ghost, and the inconspicuous wooden stick in his hand seemed to come alive, bringing with it a sharp whistling sound!

"Ugh——!"

The shadow of the staff fell like a mountain, descending upon him! Xiao Jie's pupils constricted sharply, and he quickly blocked with his sword!

"Clang!" The blade and staff clashed, sparks flying! An overwhelming force surged through the blade, numbing Xiao Jie's tiger's mouth and causing excruciating pain in his arm, making it almost impossible for him to hold the knife! He was horrified: This old man's strength is incredible—no, it's his internal energy!
Before he could catch his breath, the second blow struck his vulnerable ribs like a viper's tongue! Xiao Jie gritted his teeth and twisted his body, narrowly deflecting the blow with the back of his blade. But a glint flashed in the old man's eyes; he had already realized that although the moves contained in Xiao Jie's swordsmanship were incredibly exquisite, they lacked any foundation in internal energy—merely superficial!

"So it's just an empty shell! Give me your grip!" The old man sneered, and the third strike followed immediately. It was no longer fancy, just a plain and unremarkable strike straight to the heart of the enemy—it was the "Azure Dragon Probing the Sea" technique! The tip of the staff was imbued with powerful internal force, and it struck Xiao Jie's blade with perfect precision!
"Om-!"

An unparalleled shockwave suddenly erupted! Xiao Jie felt a scorching current surge into his arm's meridians, as if struck by lightning, instantly paralyzing his entire arm! He could no longer hold the steel knife, which flew out of his hand and landed with a loud thud on the rocky beach by the stream. At the same time, the remaining force from the staff slammed into his chest, specifically the Tanzhong acupoint!
"Pfft!" Xiao Jie's vision went black, his blood surged, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashed heavily to the ground, and completely lost consciousness.

"I'm not going to die like this..." This thought popped into his mind the moment he lost consciousness.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Xiao Jie was awakened by the biting cold and the heavy chains.

He struggled to open his heavy eyelids, and his vision remained blurred for a while before gradually clearing.

not dead?

He looked around in surprise and delight, but his heart sank immediately.

At this moment, he was in a dark and damp stone cell, the walls covered with water droplets, exuding a strong smell of mildew and blood. His wrists and ankles were firmly locked with cold iron chains as thick as a child's arm, the other ends of which were deeply embedded in the solid stone wall.

By the dim light of the flickering torches on the wall, he could see his surroundings: piles of straw lay scattered in the corner, emitting a putrid stench; the walls and floor were covered with dark brown, indelible stains, the bloodstains that had seeped into the stone over the years.

Even more chilling were the torture instruments laid out around: several branding irons stuck into a red-hot charcoal brazier; a leather whip covered in barbs soaking in a bucket of salt water; grotesque clamps and finger-crushing devices scattered on the ground; and an iron chair covered in spikes gleaming coldly in the firelight—this was clearly the torture chamber of the state prison! Xiao Jie felt a chill run down his spine. Damn it! This is no way, this is going to kill me!

A sense of foreboding rose in his heart; he roughly knew what was about to happen to him.

The heavy prison door was pushed open with a bang, and several burly, fierce-looking jailers walked in, reeking of alcohol and sweat. The leader, a burly jailer with a face full of scars, walked up to Xiao Jie, who was hanging by chains and barely standing, and patted his face with a sinister grin.

"Kid, you're awake? Not feeling well, are you?" He leaned closer, his breath reeking of alcohol. "Hurry up and tell me! You're that Shadow Swordsman 'Drunken Sword Immortal,' aren't you?"

Xiao Jie struggled to lift his head, watching the other person's performance with a blank expression.

Another tall, thin jailer chimed in menacingly, his voice like an owl's: "Let me make you understand, kid, whether you're the 'Drunken Sword Immortal' or not is completely irrelevant. What matters is that three thousand taels of silver as a bounty!"
"If you know what's good for you, just sign and admit it, and we brothers will take pity on you and give you a quick death, settling things off with one cut! Otherwise..." He drawled, picking up a leather whip stained with dark red blood and weighing it in his hand, "Heh heh, this is just an appetizer, you'll get what's coming to you!"

A chill ran through Xiao Jie, followed by a surge of absurd anger and helplessness. Just as I thought, just as I thought…

This kind of unfortunate situation—being framed and unable to defend oneself—is likely to become more and more common in the future. This damn system!
"Will you talk or not! Will you talk or not!" Seeing that he was silent, the burly jailer suddenly punched Xiao Jie hard in the stomach!

"Ugh!" Xiao Jie's body suddenly arched, the excruciating pain making his vision go black and his stomach churning, but he bit his lip tightly, not making a sound, only a suppressed hoarse sound came from his throat.

"Damn, you've got some tough bones!" The jailer shook his sore hand, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. Another jailer couldn't help but give a thumbs up, his tone tinged with feigned "admiration," "Not bad! You're a rare tough guy, got guts! In all my years in prison, I've rarely seen anyone as resilient as you!"

Immediately, the expression on his face turned incredibly ferocious, like a ravenous demon ready to devour its prey: "I'll see how long you can hold out with your tough bones!" With that, he turned around with a savage grin, walked towards the red-hot charcoal brazier, and picked up a branding iron with a white-tipped tip that was sizzling loudly!

My day!

Xiao Jie cursed inwardly, "They're using a branding iron already? Shouldn't it be a gradual process, starting with light and increasing pressure? They could have used a whip or something first, let me get used to it, and then slowly upgrade."

As the branding iron drew ever closer, radiating deadly heat and the smell of burning flesh, Xiao Jie's pupils contracted in utter terror! He twisted and turned desperately, the chains rattling loudly, but he couldn't break free even an inch!
He desperately tried to lean back, but the chains held him tightly until—

“Sizzle——!!!”

Accompanied by a tooth-grinding sizzling sound and acrid white smoke, an indescribable, excruciating pain exploded from his left scapula! It felt as if molten iron had been poured into his bone marrow! Xiao Jie's body instantly stiffened like a bow, veins bulging in his neck, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets! He opened his mouth wide, but due to his muteness and extreme pain, he could only let out a silent, tearing roar! Sweat, tears, and snot instantly covered his face, which was contorted with pain.

But this is just the beginning.

The whip lashed down like a venomous snake, each strike tearing away a piece of flesh and leaving deep, bone-revealing welts. It proved that whipping did exist, but it was by no means mild.

Then came the caning, heavy clubs raining down on his joints; salt water was poured onto his bloody wounds, bringing a new wave of excruciating pain that went deep into his bones... Each fainting spell was forcibly awakened by even more intense pain, his consciousness adrift in an endless sea of ​​agony, time lost its meaning, leaving only the torment of purgatory.

"Will you talk or not? Will you talk or not!" The jailers were having a wild party, their laughter, curses, and the clanging of instruments of torture all mixed together.

Xiao Jie gritted his teeth, his lips already raw and bleeding, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth, mingling with sweat and dripping to the ground. His remaining consciousness was consumed by endless curses against that damned system and a stubborn refusal to yield. Damn system! Does it have to be this realistic?!

I can't say! I can't say! I'm not saying!

He didn't know how much time had passed when a bucket of icy, dirty water roused him from his brief unconsciousness, only to be met with another round of torture. Xiao Jie's remaining will was finally crushed. In a dizzying, excruciating pain and a feeling of darkness engulfing him, his head lolled to the side, and he completely lost consciousness, hanging like a lump of mud on the cold iron chains.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but his consciousness, like fragments sunk into the deep sea, struggled to piece itself together and rise to the surface. Xiao Jie slowly awoke again.

The first thing he felt was the cold, hard ground beneath him and the prickly texture of the straw, along with the overwhelming stench of a mixture of rancidity, blood, and excrement that almost suffocated him. He found himself no longer hanging, but lying in a slightly larger, equally dark and damp ordinary cell. A tattered, filthy straw mat lay beneath him. His entire body ached, especially the burns on his left shoulder and back; each weak breath was accompanied by excruciating pain.

He struggled to move his eyes, and his blurry vision gradually focused. Several equally dirty, withered, and scarred faces surrounded him, their eyes filled with complex emotions—numbness, curiosity, but mostly… a kind of awe as they scrutinized him.

One of the prisoners, with a scar on his face and looking like a seasoned veteran, grinned when he saw him open his eyes, revealing a toothless smile. He said in a hoarse voice, "Brother, you're awake? Tsk tsk, to survive those bastards 'Ghost's Bane' without uttering a sound... Tough! You're a real tough guy!" Several other prisoners nodded in agreement, their cloudy eyes revealing an almost instinctive admiration for the strong and tough.

Hearing this "praise," Xiao Jie felt a bitter taste in his mouth and just wanted to roll his eyes. A tough guy? I don't want to be a tough guy! I just want to live a good life. It's all you bastards and that damn system that forced me into this situation! He closed his eyes helplessly, almost too exhausted to even complain, only endless fatigue and pain remained.

(End of this chapter)