"Are you the spirit of this forest?"
There was a certain tone of fear and respect in Sect Master Lu Meng's tone. Ever since he was young, he had heard stories from his father that spirits of nature should never be disturbed. And if one was unlucky enough to disturb and enrage a spirit, then one will forever be stuck in the forest, with only their death serving as freedom.
The playfulness and laughter of the little girl only solidified Sect Master Lu Meng's deduction. The little girl in front of them was a spirit. He was not much of a superstitious person, but how else can he explain the sense of fear he was feeling?
"N-no, Sect Master. He is-"
"Silence!"
Li Zhao appeared from the wave of disciples to explain to the sect master, but he was shut down before he can even do so.
"Only I will speak from now on", Sect Master Lu Meng had a nervous tone on his voice, "Angering a spirit is the last thing we want in this situation."
On the other hand, the golden-haired child, was trembling with his hand covering his mouth.
"W-what did we do!?", Sect Master Lu Meng panicked, "Please! We did not intend to trespass in your territory!"
Once again, the golden-haired child's trembling became even stronger. As soon as Sect Master Lu Meng noticed this, he shut his mouth. Maybe the spirit was annoyed by his talking, he thought.
They stayed like this in silence for a while, with the disciples looking at each other, as if asking what in the world is going on.
It took a while before Viel calmed down. He was trying his best not to laugh with what the bald man was saying to him.
Viel released a huge breath, ending the silence that filled the air. Viel then floated up.
Sect Master Lu Meng and the others could not help but close their eyes as a bright light suddenly emitted from Viel. Sect Master Lu Meng blinked his eyes a couple of times before he could recover his sight, but the scene in front of him did not make him feel any better.
The golden-haired girl was now floating in the air, with wings seemingly made of light protruding on her back. Sect Master Lu Meng exclaimed, he was now sure of it, the child is the spirit of the forest. All of his hair was standing on ends as he felt a sense of fear he has never felt before.
The pressure on him was so heavy that he wanted to puke, the only reason why he did not do so was because the spirit might be appalled by his action.
"Yes, little child. I am the spirit of this forest…wooooo", Viel said in a very serious tone while waving his fingers in the air.
Lu Meng quickly kneeled down as soon as he heard this.
"W-what!? Who are you trying to-"
"Inner disciple Li Zhao, what are you doing? Kneel!"
Li Zhao who was confused as to what was happening shouted, but he was interrupted by sect master Lu Meng who pulled him to the ground.
"He is not a spirit, sect master", Li Zhao whispered.
But the only reply he got was the Sect Master's fist, causing him to fall flat on his butt.
"What are you all doing!? Kneel!", Sect Master Lu Meng then shouted to his hundreds of disciples. They were still confused, but still, they kneeled due to the order of their sect master. Unlike Sect Master Lu Meng, most of the disciples do not feel any sort of heavy pressure from the so-called spirit.
Their senses were too weak to even feel the weird aura that was emitting from Viel. Only Sect Master Lu Meng, whose senses have been honed in countless death battles felt the ominous pressure in the air, with Viel being the center of it all.
"One of you have offended me greatly"
Finally, the so-called spirit of the forest spoke again. "Kill him, and I will not hurt any of you"
As soon as Li Zhao heard this, he slowly backed away. Crawling and trying his best to stay quiet.
"It is that guy that is crawling away like a crab!"
But before Li Zhao can even disappear into the wave of disciples, he was isolated by Viel. Quickly, the surrounding disciples dissipated, trying to avoid the direction where the spirit was pointing to. It was as if they made a circle, with Li Zhao being in the center.
Sect Master Lu Meng, who saw Li Zhao's awkward position, could only furrow his brows. "Why is it always you?", the Sect Master said.
"I-it's not me. I did not do anything!", Li Zhao quickly pleaded.
"I believe his name was Li Zhao!"
But it seems that he had no escape, as the so-called spirit even called him by name. Hearing this, the Sect Master could only click his tongue.
"Oh great spirit, please forgive him!", Sect Master Lu Meng said. Li Zhao might have brought trouble, but still, he was a disciple of the Azure Fist sect. For him to kill a disciple because he feared the spirit in front of him will bring shame to his predecessors.
"T-that's right, we can't kill our brother!", some of the disciples chimed in. Shouting that they will never forsake a comrade.
Li Zhao, who heard these cheers, could not help but be touched. He thought that with the way things were developing, his death was set in stone. But it seems his brothers will not give him up easily. With this, Li Zhao had the courage to stand up as he bowed towards his brothers.
"I see. The bald mister here made me laugh, so I offered you mercy"
Suddenly, the grass beneath where the so-called spirit was floating started to wither. Sect Master Lu Meng could not help but step back as the pressure he felt became even stronger, to the point that he could no longer prevent himself from puking.
And as soon as he puked, the pressure stopped.
"E-eeww", the so-called spirit covered her nose as she looked away. And after a while, she chuckled. "You are really funny, mister. For that, I will offer mercy again"
The spirit then quickly raised one of his hand, and soon, the ground trembled.
"W-what's happening!?"
A third of the disciples panicked as the ground they were stepping on started to shake.
"Jump! Dodge it!", Sect Master quickly shouted towards the disciples who were beneath the trembling ground. The disciples looked at the sect master with a confused expression, but some were about to jump.
However, it was too late. Simultaneously, huge spikes protruded from the ground at extreme speed.
And perhaps the disciples who were not fast enough to dodge were lucky, as the spikes pierced them thoroughly, killing them instantly. The disciples who where unlucky enough to dodge were pierced through different parts of their body. Some howled in pain as gravity slowly pulled them to the ground.
And just like that, in an instant, a third of their number vanished. Without even having the chance to fight back.
So, this was the power of a spirit, Sect Master Lu Meng thought.
Right now, the remaining disciples could not help but shut their mouths. At first, they had no idea why the sect master seemed so respectful towards this so-called spirit. But the scene of their brothers being pierced and mutilated in front of them woke them up from their ignorance.
This… is mercy? They thought as they looked at the brutal scene.
"Oh no, why did they move…"
The spirit once again spoke, but this time there was a certain disappointment in her voice. The spirit then sighed as she once again raised her finger. The disciples who saw this quickly jumped up even before the ground started to tremble, but to their surprise, no spikes came from beneath them.
Instead, the spikes once again appeared beneath the disciples that have already been pierced. Those who were not yet dead, were surely dead now.
The Sect Master could only gulp. The spirit was toying with them, he thought. He had not felt this kind of hopelessness before. Sure, he lost battles. But those were battles that he could retreat from. But this? They were literally in the palm of the spirit's hand.
Sect Master Lu Meng closed his eyes. Almost 200 hundred disciples, killed in front of him and he could not even do anything.
He only hoped that the spirit's anger had subside. But as soon as he thought so, the spirit spoke again.
"Now I offer you the deal again, kill the man called Li Zhao and I will not hurt any of you"
Once again, Sect Master Lu Meng's expression became that of despair. He looked at Li Zhao, whose eyes have already widened beyond normal means and his sweat filled his robes.
"I am sorry, disciple Li Zhao", the Sect Master closed his eyes as he shook his head.
"W-what? No! What is this madness!?", Li Zhao slowly backed away, "M-my brothers, please…"
Li Zhao looked towards the other disciples for help, but their expressions could only make Li Zhao back away even further. Some of them expressed fear, some furrowed their brows as they summoned their weapons, but most could not look Li Zhao in the eye.
"It's only one child! He is human! A student from the Taizhou academy!", Li Zhao pleaded to the Sect Master, "There are hundreds of us, sect master, we can defeat him!"
However, it was as if Li Zhao's words fell into deaf ears. The circle around him slowly got smaller and smaller, as if he was being swallowed.
"W-why are you doing this!? I tell you, he is not the spirit of the fore-"
Before Li Zhao can finish his words, he felt a sting on his face. Li Zhao could not see it, but someone definitely punched him.
"W-who was tha-"
Li Zhao did not have the chance to recover, as someone punched him in the stomach, causing him to kneel in pain.
"N-no…"
Li Zhao looked up towards the faces of his brothers, but all he could see were faces of desperation. The kind of eyes that one could no longer talk to. Li Zhao's whole body began to shake, as tears slowly wetted his eyes.
And once again, someone punched his face, and again… and again. Each strike harder than the last. Li Zhao's face was bruised and mangled beyond recognition. Li Zhao felt that it will only take a few more strikes, and he was gone.
But before another disciple could punch him. The Sect Master shouted, "Enough!".
The disciples quickly dispersed and made way for the approaching Sect Master. Seeing the Sect Master approaching him, Li Zhao's mangled face formed a smile, "S-sect master…"
Li Zhao smiled, but his smile quickly disappeared as soon as he heard the Sect Master's words. "Making our brother suffer in pain is not the right thing to do. Brother Li Zhao, I will end your pain."
Sect Master Lu Meng then readied his stance, with his hand pulled back and trembling, "I am truly sorry for my weakness, brother"
Li Zhao stared at the Sect Master's hand. This was it, he truly was dying here. Li Zhao's breathing turned heavy as death waved him hello. Li Zhao then turned his head towards the reason for this death, Viel.
He looked at Viel, only to see him smiling at him, waving his hand as if saying goodbye. He cursed at the gods for his fate. To be killed because of an orphaned westerner.
Wait… an orphan? Li Zhao's swelling eyes opened wide as he thought of a way to save himself. Li Zhao then opened his mouth with all the effort he could muster despite the pain. He then howled as loud as he could.
"Viel…
…I am your father!"