Roaring Dragon-Chapter 90: There Was No Winner in This Duel…

The crowd of spectators had originally been focused on the unique presence of Hero Xie, but some sharp-eyed viewers began noticing something strange happening to the side.

Seated nearby, Zhang Huaiyu’s expression was growing increasingly dazed, his gaze fixed on a spot in front of him.

His right hand rose and fell several times, hesitating—until at last, he reached past the edge of the Echo Drum and gently caressed something on that invisible cheek.

But clearly, obsessions were all illusions. You could see through them, but not pierce them. There was no touch to the mirage.

Zhang Huaiyu snapped out of it like waking from a dream, glancing left and right, only to realize the other four were still gritting their teeth and hanging on. A flush of embarrassment crossed his face.

“Looks like I really am a lecher... Eh?!”

Across from him, Xie Jinhuan was glaring at him with a look of deep resentment and fury, like he wanted to hack someone apart. Startled, Zhang Huaiyu stammered:

“Y-Young Master Xie, what’s the matter?”

The seductive beauty currently stirring up trouble hurried to explain:

“Young Master Xie’s heart is too upright—he’s probably seeing monsters.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

Zhang Huaiyu was stunned, but seeing no one was paying attention to him, he hurriedly slinked off to the side to spectate.

No one had expected Zhang Huaiyu to be the first one knocked out, but at the moment, no one had the mind to fuss. All eyes stayed on Xie Jinhuan.

And right now, what Xie Jinhuan was enduring was far more painful than the audience imagined.

He was staring at Steward Hou, who was lying face-down on the ground, ass pointed his way, shaking his butt like mad—and Xie Jinhuan was about to lose his damn mind.

He even considered begging the demon wife to bring back the seductress strategy instead—sure, it’d be socially fatal, but he’d take it!

All he wanted was to earn a bit of silver, maybe hold hands and dance with the ghost bride at most. He hadn’t signed up to risk his damn life!

But once she made a promise, the demon bride didn’t go back on her word. To temper his Dao heart, she’d conjured up “Shadow Lord Hou Steward,” and now the place had become a chaotic hellscape of demons dancing.

Screw this!

Xie Jinhuan was grinding his molars into dust as he slowly drew the Tiangang Mace, trying to resist the illusion’s suppression of his hand—but he was reaching the limit.

He felt that if he looked for even one more second, he’d die from sheer disgust.

Even if he won, a thousand taels of silver wouldn’t begin to cover the mental damage. He’d need the ghost bride to wash his eyes for days before he’d recover.

The others weren’t exactly having an easy time either, even if their hallucinations were slightly less insane.

The female astronomer from the Astronomical Bureau had flushed completely red, looking like a maiden in love. Who knew what she was seeing, but eventually she leaned forward with a series of kissy muah muah muah motions...

But clearly, no one was actually there.

The young Daoist nun snapped awake immediately, realized thousands of people were staring at her, and turned beet red like she’d been struck by lightning. She shot up and bolted, flying away like her life depended on it. Judging from her speed, she’d be relocating permanently—no one was likely to see her again in the capital.

Linghu Qingmo was wide-eyed and red-faced as well. Halfway through, she must’ve felt the pressure was too much to face her inner self, and forcibly broke the illusion with a Clarity Spell!

She glanced around, saw that two people had already withdrawn and no one was paying her much attention, and quietly moved off to the side. Then she turned to look at Xie Jinhuan—and froze.

“Eh? Xie Jinhuan is still—”

“Shh~ Young Master Xie is exorcising demons.”

“Huh?!”

Her embarrassment was instantly blown away. Linghu Qingmo stared in disbelief at the gritted teeth and murderous expression on Xie Jinhuan’s face, her thoughts likely along the lines of:

Are you out of your mind? You’re having a wet dream and still fighting demons?

Do you not have emotions?

If you don’t have emotions, why’d you kiss me?

Don’t tell me you care more about demon slaying than women...

Yes, yes, that’s how it should be. That’s exactly how Xie Jinhuan should be...

...

Boom boom boom...

Outside the Golden Tower, drums thundered like rolling thunder. On the platform, only two remained!

Wei Lu wanted to knock Zhang Huaiyu off and had no idea whether he’d won or not after falling into the illusion. But now, he summoned a martialist’s ruthlessness—his forehead bulged with veins, fingernails dug into his knees, and even his nose bled from the strain!

But under such intense temptation, his body still tilted forward unconsciously. It looked like he wanted to suck on something in front of him... but was holding back with all his might!

Xie Jinhuan looked even more terrifying. His face was pale with rage, eyes bloodshot, true qi surging wildly through him, exuding a murderous aura so intense the dancing seductress illusion fled to the side in fright!

With only two contenders left and both nearing collapse, the whole crowd grew tense.

Lin Wanyi cried out in anxiety:

“Xie Jinhuan, hold on!”

Linghu Qingmo also shouted from the side: “Xie Jinhuan, it’s all fake! Don’t be seduced by the illusion—!”

Xie Jinhuan knew it was all fake—but so what?

He was being forced to watch Steward Hou perform a seductive butt dance, getting raunchier by the second, even shaking that thing right up in his face. Who the hell could take that?

If not for the sheer sunk cost, Xie Jinhuan would’ve quit on the spot. Not one more damn second.

Even if he got the prize money in the end, it wouldn’t be worth it.

This nightmare would haunt him for the ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) rest of his life...

Fortunately, Wei Lu wasn’t under any less pressure.

Faced with a senior sticking his rear end in his face, even knowing it was illusion didn’t make it any easier to bear. Finally, at the breaking point, Wei Lu leapt backward with a grunt and dove straight into the inner river.

SPLASH—!

Cheers erupted on both sides of the river:

“Whoa...”

“Beautiful—!”

The Dan Prince’s son slammed his palm in excitement:

“I knew Brother Xie could resist the temptation! He won, he won...!”

Seeing the match settled, the seductive beauty ended the illusion to avoid driving Xie Jinhuan to a mental breakdown.

“Phew...”

Xie Jinhuan was on the verge of suffocation!

Seeing Steward Hou finally vanish and the woman reappear in front of him, he looked like he’d just crawled out of Hell.

Linghu Qingmo, watching anxiously, was overwhelmed with emotion—she nearly leapt up to hug him! But seeing Xie Jinhuan’s murderous look, she held back and asked nervously:

“Xie Jinhuan, you...”

Xie Jinhuan didn’t want to speak.

Though it had only lasted five minutes, it was the longest five minutes of his life. He felt like he’d been through a lifetime.

Even though the seductress was only moderately attractive, she now looked like a celestial fairy. And Mo Mo... Mo Mo was so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her.

Zhang Huaiyu, standing off to the side, cupped his hands and said respectfully:

“Brother Xie, your strength of will is unmatched in a thousand years. I’m deeply impressed.”

Splash—

Wei Lu emerged from the water looking much calmer. Having already bested Zhang Huaiyu, he was clearly pleased but also slightly bashful. He cupped his hands and said:

“I admit defeat. The plaque should go to Brother Xie.”

But Xie Jinhuan didn’t feel triumphant at all. All he wanted now was to rush back to Danzhou and chop Steward Hou into eight pieces for revenge!

To suffer this kind of humiliation for just a thousand taels... he felt like he’d sold his soul.

Hearing everyone offering congratulations, Xie Jinhuan cupped his hands half-heartedly:

“Thanks. I can’t... I need to calm down. Excuse me for now, apologies...”

He turned and walked toward the Golden Tower. After a few steps, he spat and growled:

“Pah! I’m so pissed off...”

The crowd could already tell how much he had suffered just now. The fact that he didn’t shatter his teeth from clenching was a testament to their toughness. No one held it against him—instead, everyone was murmuring:

“Truly worthy of his reputation. That self-control is unreal...”

“But come on, how bad could it be not being able to slay demons?”

“Eh, maybe the demon he saw was just way too outrageous. He’s young, hot-blooded—it’s normal to lose it a little...”

Amid the noisy crowd, hidden in plain clothes was Lu Qian, a centurion of the Chilin Guard, frowning deeply as he watched Xie Jinhuan walk away.

“This kid’s reaction, composure, willpower, technique—flawless. No wonder he rose to fame so fast. There’s no way we could trap him in one of our setups...”

A subordinate at his side whispered:

“He looks injured. With all this commotion, there’s no way he could sneak off to Changle Street to attack Lord Han. Should we keep watching, or report back?”

Lu Qian agreed—it was impossible for Xie Jinhuan to attempt anything on Changle Street in this state. He thought for a moment, then said:

“You go report back. I’ll keep tailing him and try to figure out his location.”

“Yes, sir...”