Gu Ning took out a few Fire Element Gems and handed them to Huohuo, who looked a little drained.
Huohuo passed the two items she had obtained to Gu Ning and happily munched on the Fire Element Gems.
Gu Ning stowed away the two items without inspecting them, his expression cold and serious—dealing with He Chuansinei came first.
That bastard… really running around like a headless chicken, desperate to die.
Gu Ning had Little Blue surface, and he stepped back onto the ship. Although the vessel was damaged, he wasn't overly concerned—after this battle, he'd definitely need to upgrade the ship again.
Walking forward, Gu Ning first bent down to pick up the purple-grade item, then turned his gaze toward He Chuansinei.
The crowd fell completely silent. Even though they had contributed to the battle and the purple-grade item rightfully involved their effort, none of them dared utter a word at this moment.
Huohuo's earlier display had utterly terrified them!
He Chuansinei looked at Gu Ning with a dark, uneasy expression, his eyes full of fear.
The moment he saw Huohuo transform earlier, he had sensed things were turning bad and tried to slip away—only to be intercepted by Licole and Bai Xue.
Even James had subtly blocked his retreat.
Of course, James did that to gain favor with Gu Ning. By now, James fully understood he was no match for Gu Ning—they weren't even on the same level.
If he could use this chance to build rapport with Gu Ning, why wouldn't he? After all, he had no personal ties to He Chuansinei.
Bai Xue and Licole's intentions were different from James'. They were already aligned with Gu Ning as allies. Though even they were a bit shocked by Gu Ning's endless hidden cards…
But beneath the shock was delight—they were now loosely tied to Gu Ning's side. Following him would undoubtedly bring them great benefits.
So when they saw He Chuansinei attempting to flee, they immediately blocked his path without hesitation.
An opportunity to deepen relations like this—it would be foolish to let it slip by.
He Chuansinei knew he had completely offended Gu Ning; this situation couldn't end well for him.
But he wasn't willing to die. As long as there was a sliver of hope, he wouldn't give up.
Forcing a calm expression, he said, "Gu Ning, I admit I made a mistake earlier and put you in danger. I'm willing to compensate you for that."
He deliberately downplayed his actions as a "mistake," then offered compensation, all in hopes of earning Gu Ning's forgiveness.
But Gu Ning wasn't about to let him off the hook. Even if it truly had been a simple mistake, Gu Ning still had no intention of sparing him.
"Oh? Then kneel, kowtow nine times, and hand over all your gains from this battle. Maybe I'll forgive you." Gu Ning replied with a playful smile.
He Chuansinei's face darkened at those words. Kowtowing he could accept—his pride meant little to him.
But surrendering all his items? That was hard to stomach.
Still, he said nothing further. He clearly understood that he was no match for Gu Ning.
Without protest, he dropped to his knees and slammed his forehead to the ground nine times with loud thuds.
Then he stood up and said, "I've kowtowed, but I didn't gain anything this time—I've been on the run constantly."
"However, I can offer one of my previous treasures as compensation."
With that, a card appeared in his hand, which he tossed toward Gu Ning.
Gu Ning inspected the card:
Item Quality Enhancement Card (Blue):Use to upgrade the quality of an item. Extremely low success rate when used on items above blue grade.
Gu Ning was surprised—this was actually quite valuable. Though only blue grade, it was still an excellent item for most people.
He pocketed it but had no intention of letting He Chuansinei off. More importantly, the guy still wasn't being honest—he hadn't handed over a single core. Did he take Gu Ning for a fool?
"You're not being honest, He Chuansinei," Gu Ning said coldly. "If you won't hand it over, I'll just take it myself."
He Chuansinei's face turned ugly as he protested, "Gu Ning, I've already knelt and kowtowed. I even gave you a treasure. Yet you still won't let me go? Aren't you afraid the others will turn against you for this?"
Gu Ning chuckled at the remark.
He swept his gaze across the crowd—none of them moved. Even the Demon Domain lords stood silently.
"I'm going to kill him. Any objections?" Gu Ning asked casually.
Dead silence.
Not a single voice spoke up.
Regardless of whether He Chuansinei had offended Gu Ning first, Gu Ning's current strength alone was enough to silence any complaints.
Besides, everyone remembered how He Chuansinei had tried to manipulate them earlier to target Licole and Bai Xue. Now, he was attempting the same tactic again.
Thinking of how dangerously close they'd come to being used as pawns, many of them broke into cold sweat.
Had Gu Ning not calmly explained the situation and instead chosen to attack, they'd have been doomed.
Anger boiled in the crowd as they glared at He Chuansinei.
This bastard… absolute scum!
"Boss! We have no objections!" someone shouted.
"Yeah, Boss, everyone saw he tried to harm you first!"
"That's right, we can all testify—He Chuansinei is a despicable snake!"
"Boss, finish him off already! I can't stand looking at that disgusting face another second!"
The crowd burst into chatter, cursing He Chuansinei, urging Gu Ning to end him. Judging by their tone, if they were strong enough, they'd handle it themselves.
Gu Ning smirked inwardly—he hadn't expected such a situation.
If I strike now, I'm eliminating a menace for the people, fulfilling the will of the heavens. And taking all his items won't be excessive at all, right?
After all, we can't let good people lose hope—otherwise, who'd bother being good in the future?
Gu Ning gazed at He Chuansinei with a faint smile.
He Chuansinei's face turned green—he hadn't expected things to spiral so far out of his control. How had he managed to enrage everyone?
Gu Ning didn't give him another chance to speak. With a wave of his hand, he ordered, "Finish him."
Windsor, Xia Rui, and the others immediately launched their attacks.
He Chuansinei hadn't anticipated Gu Ning would act so decisively. Caught off guard, he was quickly restrained.
Then Xia Rui's golden rain fell—civilians around him perished in large numbers.
His only remaining hero was slain by Huohuo's fireball.
In the blink of an eye, He Chuansinei was left all alone.
Before he could beg for mercy, Windsor's light arrow pierced through him, ending his life.
Looking at the surviving civilians struggling in the water, Gu Ning spoke coldly, "If you want to follow me, swim over here yourself."
The moment the words left his mouth, every surviving person rushed desperately toward Gu Ning's ship.