He Chongxu's voice reverberated through the void.
As if he were a celestial being, standing amidst the clouds, issuing divine pronouncements to the myriad beings below.
The giant immortal crane, which had been flapping its wings, suddenly let out a cry upon hearing He Chongxu's command.
In the next second, the immortal crane spread its wings and took flight.
It soared higher and higher, further and further.
As if about to break free from this world.
Yet, strangely, although the immortal crane flew upwards, it never left the sight of the crowd.
This meant the immortal crane was still within the venue!
It hadn't truly ascended to the heavens!
And as the immortal crane flew, even more bizarre events followed.
A cold, luminous moon appeared in the sky above the venue!
The moon and the immortal crane intertwined, creating a breathtaking scene akin to a traditional Chinese landscape painting.
However, no one appreciated this painting, as everyone sensed an ominous turn of events!
The coldness, previously dispelled by Ying Chen, began to descend again!
And drops of something resembling snowflakes started to appear in the sky.
Initially, they were the size of soybeans, but later grew to the size of fingernails.
When a mournful crane cry echoed from the void, they instantly transformed into heavy, falling snow!
It swirled and scattered, blanketing the sky.
The entire sky was obscured by the snow, with only the faint glow of the moon filtering through, and nothing else could be seen!
"What's happening?"
"It's not even winter, why is it snowing?"
"It wouldn't matter if it wasn't winter, but the moon is high in the sky, yet it's snowing heavily! This defies all logic!"
"Cold, so cold... I feel as if my entire body is submerged in icy water, a piercing chill. Ah, what is this? No, this snow is wrong! Help me, someone save me!"
A sharp cry erupted from the crowd.
A guest's arm had been touched by a snowflake, and they expected it to immediately melt into water.
To their surprise, the snowflake acted like a brand. Instead of melting, it left a clear, visible mark on the guest's skin!
The mark was bluish-black, surrounded by a chilling Yin energy. The skin in that area appeared to have died, leaving no option but to cut it out entirely!
"So... terrifying! These are symptoms of Level 4 frostbite! The skin, muscles, and even bones are frozen. If not treated promptly, it will lead to dry gangrene! It will result in a lifelong disability!"
A guest who had graduated in medicine exclaimed, observing the symptoms of the distressed person.
This statement sent a wave of panic through everyone present.
Instantly, everyone removed their clothes and covered their heads with them.
Trying their best to avoid contact with the snowflakes.
But the snow was too dense and abundant. Could their clothes shield them for long?
Not to mention, the snowflakes landing on their clothes instantly froze the fabric into ice threads.
With a little more snow, these ice threads would be unable to bear the weight of the snowflakes and would snap!
At that point, everyone would inevitably be exposed to the snowflakes, suffering severe frostbite!
"He Chongxu is so ruthless! He's using us as leverage to threaten others!"
"Hateful! He Chongxu's actions make it impossible to tell who is an ally!"
The people present seethed with resentment, cursing him aloud.
He Chongxu, however, remained deaf to their curses. A smug smile played on his lips as he gazed at Ying Chen.
"Now, let's see who else you can protect!"
"Don't you pride yourself on being a benevolent person? Keep it up! Save them!"
"You can save them if you sacrifice yourself. Why don't you?"
"By abandoning them, they might even start to resent you in their hearts... they might be cursing you right now: 'Why won't he sacrifice himself to save us?'"
"Hahahaha, that feeling of the farmer and the snake, it must be unpleasant, right?"
He Chongxu laughed up at the sky and asked.
It was as if he had experienced something that made him harbor such deep hatred for betrayal.
Because he had been rained on, he wanted to tear down everyone else's umbrellas.
Ying Chen stood his ground, his expression unreadable.
The heavy snow fell upon Ying Chen, but before it could touch his skin, it was automatically shattered and pulverized.
It was as if Ying Chen was protected by an invisible shield.
Indeed, upon witnessing this, some of the guests' eyes flared with resentment.
Since Ying Chen could protect himself, it meant he had the ability to save them as well.
Yet, Ying Chen chose not to intervene, leaving them in peril, proving that he was no different from He Chongxu!
One was a despicable villain who hid nothing, the other a hypocrite who feigned virtue!
The ugliness of human nature was laid bare at this moment.
When charity becomes the norm, one day when you cease to be charitable, gratitude turns into hatred.
In this regard, He Chongxu had unfortunately predicted correctly.
However, while He Chongxu correctly predicted the nature of the people present, he failed to predict Ying Chen's.
Ying Chen looked at He Chongxu with a mocking gaze and retorted, "When did I ever say I was a benevolent person?"
"When did I ever promise to protect them?"
"Times change, and time flies. Everyone dies. Dying now or dying later makes no difference. Conversely, allowing them to avoid decades of detours should be a cause for gratitude."
Hearing Ying Chen's words, He Chongxu was stunned.
The guests present were also dumbfounded.
If they could speak, they would have shouted, "Listen to yourselves! If early death and late death are the same, why don't you go die?"
What they didn't expect was that something even more astonishing awaited He Chongxu and the guests.
After speaking, Ying Chen looked at the guests.
Then, with a snap of his fingers, Ying Chen snapped his fingers.
In the next instant, the falling snow seemed to freeze in mid-air, coming to a standstill!
Then, Ying Chen snapped his fingers again, and the snow resumed its descent, its speed even accelerating!
Some of the clothes they held over their heads began to crackle, as if they would soon buckle under the weight of the snow and break completely!
This terrified the guests present.
Ying Chen, unhurriedly, said, "You've seen that I do have the ability to protect you. But let's return to the previous question: why should I protect you?"
"To make you accustomed to it, to believe it's an entitled gift?"
"I'm sorry, but just because some of you harbored resentment towards me earlier, that's impossible."
"Therefore, I've come up with a win-win solution. You provide the funds, I provide the effort, and we'll work together to overcome this ordeal. As for the price, I'm not as greedy as some people, so let's say one hundred million each!"
With a whoosh!
The expressions of the guests present changed instantly.
He Chongxu was also rendered speechless by the shock for a long time.
Simultaneously, he was furious.
What did he mean by "not as greedy as some people"?
Have some decency!
He had only demanded ten billion from Huo Sheng, Li Fengcheng, and the Liao family each, which sounded like a high unit price, but the total was only forty billion!
Ying Chen, on the other hand, at one hundred million per person, had a lower unit price.
But there were over a hundred guests present!
That added up to over a hundred billion!
This was outrageous...
The more He Chongxu thought about it, the angrier he became.
He had worked so hard to earn forty billion, and Ying Chen was casually making 2.5 times that amount?
Most importantly, Ying Chen's hundred billion was earned with He Chongxu's help!
If He Chongxu hadn't unleashed the "Tian Yue He Xue," Ying Chen wouldn't have had the opportunity to earn this money!
"Thank you!"
While He Chongxu was sulking, Ying Chen had already sent him a word of thanks.
This made He Chongxu's expression even more grim, his chest about to explode with anger!