Chapter 1808: You, You Are Not Cut Out for This

"Why..."

"Why can I still not grasp it??"

Li Laide’s eyes were bloodshot. He let out a low roar and made a forceful grabbing motion in the air, actually ripping the head right off a cultist, with blood spraying out like a geyser!

*Splatter—*

Drops of blood bloomed on his British-style trench coat and splashed onto his chiseled features. He breathed heavily, his deep blue eyes filled with nothing but resentment and anger.

Beyond the spray of blood, Chen Ling watched this scene calmly, his eyes narrowing slightly.

He said nothing.

But Chen Ling’s silence only further provoked Li Laide. He clenched his fists tightly, his gaze as wild as an out-of-control beast.

Even without looking back, countless expressions of Chen Ling flashed through his mind in that instant. In those scarlet eyes, there might already be disappointment, regret, indifference, or even contempt for his hopeless stupidity...

Li Laide didn't dare to look back. He was like a failing student desperate to prove himself, yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't do anything right. He was afraid that if he looked back, Chen Ling’s gaze would shatter the final line of defense in his heart.

Li Laide frantically repeated the act of stealing. Elegance and reason had vanished at this moment, leaving only an absolute madness for stealing the Red Star Willpower!

One hundred and fifty, one hundred and seventy, two hundred, two hundred and thirty...

Li Laide no longer remembered how many cultists he had killed. He seemed to have turned into a heartless killing beast. Just as he was about to reach the next cultist, a voice sounded from behind him:

"Enough."

Li Laide’s body jolted violently.

He froze in place, his heartbeat seemingly stopping... At this moment, all his madness vanished. He stood rigid, waiting for Chen Ling’s next words...

After a long while, Chen Ling slowly finished the sentence, "...It's time to eat."

Li Laide’s chapped lips pressed together silently.

As Chen Ling took a step and vanished from the prison, Li Laide slowly lowered his pale face in the dead, dim silence... He had never felt "defeat" so vividly.

Since he was a child, he had been a genius in the eyes of others—whether it was his memory or his intelligence, he was always at the top of his class... If not for that, he wouldn't have received so much malice from his classmates.

After stepping onto the Path of the Thief God, he grew at an astonishing speed. His pride and his elegance were rooted in his absolute self-confidence... It was precisely because of this that defeat was so hard for him to accept.

The Requiem—he couldn't even get the tone right, and that was one thing; now, even the "stealing of Red Star Willpower," for which Chen Ling had such high hopes, was something he couldn't do.

Although Li Laide didn't say it, he realized that Chen Ling had gone to great lengths to root out the Crimson Heaven Cult just so he could learn how to steal Red Star Willpower. He could feel Chen Ling’s expectations for him in this matter... After all, that was why Chen Ling had taken him as a disciple in the first place.

But now, he had killed half the cultists and hadn't even reached the threshold.

Li Laide felt as if there were a volcano about to erupt in his heart. Under the intense resentment and anger, he could barely maintain his human form...

He suppressed this fire deep in his heart, took a forced deep breath, and also took a step forward.

It was time to eat.

……

Ten minutes later.

Ning Ruyu, Luan Mei, Wenren You, and Mojiao looked at the silent Chen Ling and Li Laide at the dining table, exchanging glances...

The atmosphere at the table today seemed exceptionally oppressive.

"Little Junior Brother, have some fish," Ning Ruyu said, placing a piece of meat into Chen Ling’s bowl.

"Thank you, Senior Brother," Chen Ling smiled, popped the meat into his mouth, and began to chew slowly.

"Junior Nephew, you should eat more too," Mojiao said, picking up some vegetables and putting them into Li Laide’s bowl.

Li Laide held his chopsticks in silence. Seeing Mojiao put food in his bowl, he seemed to finally snap out of it. He whispered a "Thank you, Senior Uncle," then lowered his head, appearing to have turned back into a statue.

*Tap, tap—*

Amidst the oppressive dullness, Chen Ling’s chopsticks tapped lightly on the table.

Li Laide jolted awake, and then he heard Chen Ling’s indifferent voice, "Your Senior Uncle gave you food, why aren't you eating?"

Only then did Li Laide move his chopsticks, mechanically lowering his head to finish the vegetables, then slowly feeding himself rice, his mind completely elsewhere.

Oh no,

Did something really happen?

The senior brothers and sisters exchanged glances, seeing the gravity in each other's eyes.

Even the Clown, who had finished eating early and was playing by himself, sensed that the atmosphere was wrong. He tilted his head to think for a while, then picked up two stones from the ground and ran *pitter-patter* between Chen Ling and Li Laide.

"Eeya! Eeya-eeya!"

He stretched out both hands, palms open, revealing two round stones... They were gifts for the two of them.

Chen Ling smiled as he took the stone and patted the Clown’s head: "Thank you, Senior Brother."

"Thank you, Fifth Senior Uncle."

Li Laide also replied politely.

Chen Ling put the stone in his pocket and stood up. "I'm finished. Senior brothers and sisters, take your time."

He turned and walked out of the house.

Li Laide couldn't sit still either. He put down his chopsticks without a word and followed Chen Ling out...

Watching the two of them leave one after another, Luan Mei finally couldn't hold it in. She frowned and said, "What should we do... should we go and mediate?"

"...No need," Ning Ruyu shook his head, looking at the direction they left with a complex expression.

"Trust Little Junior Brother."

……

Li Laide left the Third Senior Brother’s house and headed straight in a certain direction.

"Where are you going?" Chen Ling’s voice suddenly sounded.

Li Laide turned back and saw the figure in the theatrical robe standing in the night, watching him from afar... Those ruby-like eyes were as deep as an abyss.

"Going back to practice," Li Laide took a deep breath. "I... I definitely can do it."

Chen Ling’s eyes narrowed into long, slender arcs; under the starry night, they looked like two scarlet crescent moons.

He just watched Li Laide like that, and after a long while, he slowly spoke...

"Forget it..."

"You are not cut out for this."

These six words fell into Li Laide’s ears like a thunderclap. His brain went blank, and he stood frozen in place like a statue.

The final line of psychological defense he had been desperately maintaining was completely torn apart by this light sentence. The volcano filled with resentment, anger, and dissatisfaction that he had been suppressing in his heart seemed to be ignited in an instant!

He glared at Chen Ling, his body trembling, and asked through gritted teeth:

"What... did you say??"

……

……

Everyone, 29, along with 39, 19, and 09, as well as Ji Qianming, Lin Qiye, and Chen Ling, wish you all...

A Happy New Year~~~