Chapter 31 (2/2)
There were gasps from the crowd, “He intends to destroy Ye Shaochong’s Spiritual Meridian!”
Just then, two young men in white rushed out from the midst of the thronging onlookers, “No more, Junior Brother! Stay your hand!”
Xiao Chen glowered at the two, noticing that they were followers of Zhuo Wuhen. Coldly, he growled, “What is this? Are you here to beg mercy for him?”
“No! Please listen to me, Junior Brother. You can hew at his limbs and sever his arms, but you must never destroy his Spiritual Meridian lest you will be branded as one of the dark side!”
“I see…” Xiao Chen rose to his feet. The black aura that was swirling over his forehead was no more, and his eyes had returned to normal. He threw a look at Princes Qi and Yan and barked, “Beat him to his death! I will revive him when he is close to death! Let the beating continue when he is revived!”
Without further encouragement, the two princes dashed forward and began pummeling Ye Shaochong. Recovering slowly after being fed some elixirs, Prince Zhao too got to his feet and scurried over, giving Ye Shaochong more than a dozen slaps on his cheeks, “You insolent dog! Not even my father, the king, had ever beaten me! Also, you even slapped my face!” He continued landing blows on Ye Shaochong’s face.
Before long, Ye Shaochong fainted from the abuse, his life hanging on a thread. Xiao Chen cast the unconscious Ye Shaochong a sharp glare and flicked an elixir into his mouth with his fingers, “Continue!”
The brutal spectacle stunned everyone present. This was simply too appalling! That was Ye Shaochong! The kingpin of the entire southern side of the Sunset Peak!
There he stood, Xiao Chen, so stern and overbearing that Ye Shaochong’s merry men could not dare move. Minutes passed and the beatings began to slow down; the princes were exhausted from the exertion. They sat on the ground, breathing hard. Despite his face bloodied and mangled, Ye Shaochong whimpered, “F-find… f-find my brother…” He had barely finished and he blacked out for good.
A few young men bolted forward and carried Ye Shaochong off. Strong winds continued billowing as the grass was damp and moist with all the blood that came from him.
From within the crowd of onlookers, some began to bleat and whine with fear, “He is finished. Ye Fei will be coming out any moment now when his solitary training is complete. By now, he should be at Lv 5 Qi Refining Realm…”
Xiao Chen stepped towards the crowd. His voice thundered, “Listen well! From this day forth, this area in the center is my domain! Anyone who angers me will not be able to escape my wrath!”
The crowd swiftly sundered and everyone quickly left, fearful of spending another moment in the central region. Whispers could be heard warning some of the junior disciples, “This person has a strong murderous aura! Anger him not if you may!”
The three princes walked up to Xiao Chen. Prince Zhao was the first to speak. He said quietly, “Err… Senior Brother Xiao… You looked very cruel and frightening just now…”
Xiao Chen heaved a long and heavy breath, wondering to himself as well, “Why was I so overcame with such a strong lust for blood? I have never encountered such before. Moreover, the Mystic Diabolic Enchantment had roused on its own…”
“Let us go now. We shall linger no more today.”
Then again, this was hardly the first time that blood was spilled at the Sky-gazing Gorge. There have been numerous conflicts years ago between the northern and southern gangs of the Sunset Peak that have resulted in severed limbs and maiming. Still, no Elders would intervene unless lives were lost or any disciples’ Spiritual Meridians were destroyed.
That night, Xiao Chen rolled on his bed. He could not sleep as the scenes from the incidents in the day replayed in his mind again and again. “Why have I became so cruel?” He asked himself.
Cruelty and malice would creep into his heart sometimes ever since he inadvertently found the Mystic Diabolic Enchantment in the ancient catacombs of the Xiao Family. Many times he had tried to forget about the cultivation method, still, he could not; as if the learnings of the accursed skill had been etched deep into his mind.
He woke up the next morning, sweating profusely from a terrible nightmare. In his dreams, he saw a man sharing his exact appearance, wielding a demonic halberd. Evil aura in the form of black fumes circled and coiled around him like a serpent as he inflicted carnage and destruction upon the Mystic Cyan Sect!
“M-master!”
“Are you up, Young Master?” Lil Ruo’s voice came from the outside, “You are still not yet an Inner Disciple, Young Master. You do not have a Master yet.”
Beads of cold sweat covered his haggard face. Wiping off the sweat he muttered, “So it is only a dream, eh…”
He did not go to the Sky-gazing Gorge at day. The entire day he seemed troubled and daze for the nightmare that he encountered in the night seemed so true to him as if it was a true memory. He could see the halls collapsing into ruin and the peaks of the mountains that the stronghold of the Mystic Cyan Sect crumbled into despair. All his fellow disciples were sprawled on the ground, lying dead in pools of blood, bloodied and cleaved; even his own Master was…
“What’s wrong with you today, Young Master? You even held your chopsticks upside-down…”
Xiao Chen awoke from his stupor and feigned a smile, “It’s all right. Ah, yes. What day is it, Lil Ruo?” He had been so busy with his training and meditation that he had not kept track of the dates. He had been here for almost a month.
“It is the twenty-six of April today. Heh heh. We have been here for a month without knowing it, Young Master,” said Lil Ruo, giggling.
Xiao Chen nodded. It was the end of the month. There was an errand that he must complete today.