165 Chapter 164: Absolute Zero (2/2)
I turned to look at them, rising to my feet and breaking the ice that covered me. Calmly sheathing my Azure Lotus Sword, I shrugged.
”Run where?”
”That's…”
”They know where my family is. They'll hunt me down. I'll put my family in danger.”
”Even so…” Lian Rou protested. I shook my head.
”Instead of running away, I'm going to destroy their injustice and unfair judgements.”
As if responding to my will, the area stretching about a radius of twenty meters away from me became filled with cold, biting wind, an icy will that sealed even the heavens and earth in ice. The pinnacle of Nine-Tailed Frost Fox Formula, Absolute Zero.
”Eh?!”
”Snow? It's snowing!””
”He…he's causing the world itself to change! Just with that technique alone!”
Jaws dropped and people screamed as they watched the countless white snowflakes fall down under the bright, hot sun, and onto their shoulders and skin. The frost felt very cold and very real, convincing them beyond a doubt that this wasn't an illusion.
”To cause a natural phemonenon with a martial arts technique…to actually cause the weather to change and snow just from using Absolute Zero…this is the first time I've seen such a martial artist…” Elder Zhao marveled.
”Oi, I know you're an ice user, but don't try to act cool!” Tong Xue snapped. ”This isn't the time to be acting cool!”
”Uh…won't he be giving us the cold shoulder if you snap at him?” Pang Feng asked somewhat uncertainly.
I glared at them frostily. ”Making cold jokes is supposed to be my job! Don't push it, or I'll stop you guys cold!”
”Can you stop making puns and get the hell out of here?!” Tang Qi Hong cried. I shook my head and indicated Elder Zhao and the gathering Blood Blades.
”Nope. It's too late.”
The martial artists had gathered around me, as if they were supposed to capture me, but right now they were momentarily distracted by the falling snowflakes under the blazing hot sun, mesmerized expressions on their faces. A lot of them actually stretched their hands out to touch these falling snowflakes to confirm that they weren't dreaming.
One of them snapped out of his stupor and turned to Elder Zhao.
”Elder Zhao?”
Elder Zhao shook his head and gestured for him to be silent. He studied me, his expression unreadable for the moment, and then answered calmly, ”Unless he attempts to run away, you don't have to do anything.”
The person nodded and fell back into silence.
Raising his voice, Elder Zhao continued.
”Even so, Fei Wu is one of our own, and he just saved the sect from annihilation. Anyone who moves against him will personally answer to me.”
He had seen Liang Shao Yang pull out the Terminator Profound Bomb, and was prepared to explain everything personally to the Great Elders and Sect Leader. Sect Leader Zi would be more willing to listen to him, but the Great Elders would pose a bit of a headache, being the hypocritical, unfair bastards that they were.
Elder Cheng Ping also arrived shortly, and he moved beside Elder Zhao to whisper to him.
”Sect Leader and the six Great Elders will be arriving shortly.”
”I'm surprised they haven't arrived already,” Elder Zhao replied dryly. ”Well, it should be fine. As long as Fei Wu stays here, we'll think of something. Hopefully Sect Leader will help us speak to the Great Elders.”
”You have my word on that.”
”…Father!”
Tang Qi Hong almost fell over when Sect Leader Zi spoke up. No one had noticed his arrival, and none of us knew how long he and his wife, Zi Da Ji, had been standing there. They might even have been there from the beginning, but…
”Mother, too!”
”That's a great use of the Nine-Tailed Frost Fox Formula. This child certainly is gifted.” Zi Da Ji was nodding in approval, a smile spreading across her face. She turned to her husband. ”I don't care what the Great Elders say. I'll fight them if I have to. They will not be getting this child's head.”
”I feel the same way,” Sect Leader Zi agreed coolly. ”This boy will become a main pillar of the sect in the future, even more so than that ungrateful Liang Shao Yang.”
His tone made it clear. If the Great Elders still favored Liang Shao Yang even after he tried to blow up the sect…
Wait, didn't mean that Sect Leader Zi and Sect Lady Da Ji had been here from the beginning, or at least from when Liang Shao Yang waved his Terminator Profound Bomb about?
”The Blood Blades will protect him!” Elder Cheng vowed. ”Like Zhao Shi says, he's one of ours! I don't care what the Great Elders say!”
Tang Qi Hong relaxed a little when she saw that her adopted parents were here. Shortly after, she was joined by Zi Xiao Ji and her two bodyguards.
”Sister Qi Hong, what happened? We saw that it was snowing, so we came over…”
”I thought it was a Spirit Artifact,” Zhao Shi remarked as she gave me an impressed look. ”I didn't expect it to be Fei Wu.”
”Ha ha ha!” Da Ge guffawed. ”That kid is always full of surprises!”
”Well…” Tong Xue quickly filled them in on what happened. As he did so, even Pang Yun came over, and when she saw the state of her brother, she nearly flipped out. Thankfully, Tong Xue's first aid and the Spirit Pills were having an effect and Pang Feng was slowly recovering.
Then the six Great Elders arrived. The fiery rage in their eyes (well, half of them) was so intense that it almost scorched anyone who looked into them.
They could hardly believe that Liang Shao Yang was dead. The future successor that they had chosen, nurtured, invested so many resources in, the genius who triggered a reaction from the Spirit Engraved Pillars, the one who held the potential for a promising future for Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, killed just like that before he had the chance to blossom and flourish!
They couldn't forgive me for ruining the sect's prospects.
”Zhao Shi! Cheng Ping! What are you still standing there for?!” the fifth Great Elder yelled. ”Capture Fei Wu immediately and escort him to the Fire Prison Cliff! Execute him with the Divine Lava Flames!”
First Elder Hai Mo and many of the elders also followed, but they didn't say it, understanding the rage of the Great Elders. The six old men looked as if they were about to topple over and die from rage. Well, half of them, anyway. A few of them looked more bemused than furious.
”Great Elders, please wait…” Elder Zhao knelt on one knee and bowed his head deeply. Following his example, I also knelt down and bowed. I wasn't going to let my superior humble himself on his own. ”Fei Wu had no choice. If he didn't kill Liang Shao Yang, the sect would have been destroyed. You should listen to the circumstances…”
”That's right!” Cheng Ping also knelt. ”He's one of our most valuable assets in Blood Blades! Don't let your anger rule over your heart! Please consider this matter in a justful way!”
”Please, Great Elders!” Tang Qi Hong, Lian Rou, Tong Xue, Pang Feng and the overwhelming majority of Blood Blades also pleaded.
”Are you disobeying me?!” the Great Elder bellowed.
”No. They are obeying me.”
”S…Sect Leader!”
The Great Elders trembled when Zi Shou De finally stepped out and spoke up. They were so caught up in their fury that they didn't realize his presence.
”No one is to touch Fei Wu. He is the hero who saved our sect.” Sect Leader Zi Shou De stared sternly at the trembling Great Elders. Well, half of them, anyway. Luo Zhi Chang and a couple of the other Great Elders looked more amused than frightened or angry. ”The successor that you guys pushed, Liang Shao Yang, almost destroyed the sect with his own hands today. If Fei Wu did not stop him and his Terminator Profound Bomb, the whole sect would have been obliterated.” He raised his voice. ”This is the true character of the candidate you were pushing to be our future sect leader. Is this the future you really envision? Self-destruction at the hands of a tyrant? I have been tolerating Liang Shao Yang's toxic behavior because you promised that you would reform him and guide him along the right path, but what happened? Not only did you fail to deliver on that promise, the sect almost got annihilated by the one who was supposed to lead us in future. Is this your idea of a glorious future for the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect? A demise at the hands of a vicious ruler?”
”T…that's…” the fifth Great Elder spluttered, and then he slumped down. ”But…but even so, their statuses are different! One is just a mere Blood Blade, the other is the future sect leader…!”
”If you insist on going against my husband's decision, then I'll remove you from your positions of Great Elder. By force, if necessary.”
A force of heat that was even more overwhelming than my Absolute Zero chill flowed out from Sect Lady Da Ji, and the Great Elders immediately shut up. Oh gosh…her Nine-Tailed Fire Fox Formula was even more potent than my Nine-Tailed Frost Fox Formula, and I instinctively knew that was a mere fraction of her true power.
Jeez…
Anyway, I nervously raised my hand and coughed.
”Um, if I may…Liang Shao Yang isn't actually dead yet.”
”Huh?”
Everyone turned to me, bewildered. I shrugged.
”He's just frozen. Just melt him out of the ice, and he'll return with a prosthetic arm later in the series.”
”Aren't you mixing up the anime version with the original novel?” Tong Xue demanded, annoyed. ”Liang Shao Yang died in the original novel. He's certainly not coming back with a prosthetic arm in this version!”
”Really?” I dismissed my Absolute Zero and walked over to Liang Shao Yang and tapped on his frozen body. To my utmost surprise, Liang Shao Yang's frozen form shattered and crashed into the ground in countless icy fragments, causing me to jump back in fright. I gaped at his remains for a few moments, and then turned to stare at the horrified Great Elders. ”Uh…whoops?”
Yeah…Liang Shao Yang was dead for sure. There was no coming back from this.
”You…!” the sixth Great Elder spluttered in fury. Lady Zi Da Ji quickly moved in to intervene, clearing her throat.
”Anyway, a martial artist who has mastered the pinnacle of Nine-Tailed Frost Fox Formula, Absolute Zero, is in no way inferior to a blacksmith who triggered a response from the Spirit Engraved Pillars. This boy is one of the successors to the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect's ultimate martial arts, and his status, by right, should rival that of Liang Shao Yang's.”
”Furthermore, thanks to your failure to reform Liang Shao Yang,” her husband picked up on her trail. ”We almost got destroyed. If your idea of a glorious future involves getting our sect blown to hell by a psychotic leader, then you can go create your own sects. We don't want such self-destructive behavior here.”
”You may be right about that…but with Liang Shao Yang gone, then what are we supposed to do now?” the fourth Great Elder asked cautiously. Everyone (except the fifth and sixth Great Elders) stared at him as if he was an idiot.
”What do you mean what are we supposed to do now?” Sect Leader Zi asked, annoyed.
”Um, who's going to take over as the future sect leader?”
”You have a problem with my daughter taking over as future sect leader?” Sect Leader Zi retorted without hesitation.
Everyone was already aware of that. Other than the misogynistic Great Elders who had dimissed that notion and insisted on grooming a male sect leader, everyone knew of Tang Qi Hong's talent. She was just as, if not more talented than even Liang Shao Yang, triggering a response from not one, but two Spirit Engraved Pillars. In the future, she would definitely become a blacksmith and Spirit Engraver who was just as renowned as Hai Mo.
”And with Fei Wu as part of Blood Blades, who will dare challenge us in future?” Sect Lady Da Ji added with a devious smile. ”We'll not only be a blacksmith force, but a martial force to be reckoned with as well.”
”I think you're giving me far too much credit,” I muttered under my breath. ”I'm not a genius as you guys make me out to be.”
Honestly, if it wasn't for this crisis, I would never have been able to obtain Absolute Zero. Hell, I experienced nothing but failure, and I wasn't confident I could replicate Absolute Zero after this event. Not unless I went through another life and death experience…
”You give yourself far too little credit,” Sect Lady Da Ji told me. ”We've watched over you and noted your growth. You're one of the best martial artists in your generation.”
”Um…thank you.” it would be rude to continue insisting on the truth, so I decided to just thank her for the compliments.
”Even so…” the first Great Elder, Luo Zhi Chang, said heavily. ”The fact of the matter is that Fei Wu did indeed kill someone, even if it's self-defense…”
”The rules are rules,” the second Great Elder agreed. ”At least assign him some token sentence as a 'punishment'.”