Beast released a terrifying cry as its body trembled violently with rage. Watching its partner die without any resistance brought both fear and anger cloud it's mind as it struggled to stand on its four legs.
lol blackie on the other hand just jumped wildly in excitement.
This was its first time assisting in battle and it believed it did extremely well.
Meanwhile, the victor Xue Chang just stood there silently.
Although hidden by the mask, one could tell his current expression would be a somber one.
"Xue Chang, I know it is rough killing a human. But sometimes there are things you must do for the greater good." Yong Heng tried to console Xue Chang, but to his surprised Xue Chang just shook his head.
"It's not that, something is wrong. When I crushed her heart, it felt weird. As if I was squeezing air.
The reason Xue Chang was in such an odd state was because he felt that something was off. His victory didn't feel like so to him, instead he felt as if there was something he was missing.
The cries of the Asura and the roars of Beast began to drown out into the background as Xue Chang kept his gaze onto his hands.
Suddenly, clarity filled his eyes. In a single swift motion, Xue Chang reached out in front of him as he released gold and silver light from his body. Suddenly twenty arms shot out from the back and grabbed at thin air.
Cracks formed around Xue Chang as his arms began to pull at the air.
With a single roar, his arms ripped the air around him completely shattering everything in sight.
Only to Succubus suddenly standing there in front of his with a knife just inches away from his throat. The only thing keeping her from moving forward the his outstretched arm which luckily grabbed onto her wrist.
A cold sweat trickled down Xue Chang shoulder as he sighed to himself in amazement.
The power of an Asura was miraculous. Although he wasn't sure at first, Xue Chang assumed that with enough effort he could use the arms to disrupt any illusions around him.
This was based on the idea that if Asuras could break through space, then they could use a similar type of power to disrupt an area covered in an illusion.
It was like breaking a fake space.
And while he was nowhere near strong enough to break through space yet, to disrupt a fake space wasn't impossible for Xue Chang.
But this didn't calm him down whatsoever.
The fact that he was caught in another illusion proved one thing.
Succubus succeeded in absorbing the pill.
Not only that, but her soul strength now reached the level where he could barely tell what was what.
"But it's not right, there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Although she outclasses her old powers by a large margin, her body can't handle it for long. At this rate it'll dissipate into the air. Not only that but she can't seem to control the illusions anymore, everything is now just an effect of her subconscious."
Immediately, Xue Chang saw the crux of the issue and was able to recognize the best course of action.
Xue Chang grunted as he brought the arms down to pummel Succubus to the ground.
But as soon as he took action, the scene in front of him faded into black.
"Her body is reacting to the environment and releases illusions at a whim, although she is not currently capable of rational thought, she is much more dangerous than before."
Yong Heng warned of the dangers to Xue Chang while keeping an eye on the scene. If he had even a fraction of his old strength then it wouldn't be an issue to get rid of the illusion with just a flick of his finger.
Unfortunately, all he could do in his current state was watch from Xue Chang's point of view.
Xue Chang didn't even pause as his arms ripped apart the illusion once more.
With just a second to reaction, he quickly flung his head back and watched as a knife slid across the air in front of him.
The blade slid across his mask, causing it to shatter on impact. Revealing Xue Chang's appearance for them to see.
His young childish face entered into the gazes of Succubus and Beast.
They were surprised by what they saw. And what came next shocked then even further.
"Dammit, guess I don't need to hide it anymore." His tall lanky body shrank down ad his bones and muscles corrected themselves.
Even with his disproportionate body, Xue Chang knew that his facial appearance was still the exact same.
If Succubus was able to sneak into the city again and find out the truth about him, she wouldn't even need to take care of him herself.
A child with the power he held would be brought under investigation. And all that investigation led back to one answer.
"An Eternal Ascender." Even with her mind being a jumbled mess from the pill, this title still rattled her to the bones.
The antithesis of the Heavenly Fates. A being with an Immortal body cursed with a limited lifespan due to mysterious reasons.
That description by itself shocked her enough, yet what frightened her even more was his strength. She had never heard of an Eternal Ascender being so powerful.
"What are you?"
Xue Chang didn't bother answering Succubus' question.
If he was fighting for those who were killed by her before, then it was different now.
Now he was fighting for his own survival.
Xue Chang told Lil Blackie to deal with Beast. Although Beast was heavily injured, he was now much more on guard than before. And while Lil Blackie held some mysterious abilities, he was still just a weak pup overall.
But all he needed was a distraction. Just long enough for him to deal with Succubus.
The pup yipped happily as it charged toward Beast again.
The two began their brawl in the background as Xue Chang faced forward with a menacing glare.
The arms behind him lashed out wildly as they all flew toward Succubus. The young woman stretched out her arms and covered the area in an illusion as she rushed backwards with a sly grin on her face.
"An eternal ascender is quite a rare thing! A perfect specimen like you will attract many experts over in order to experiment on your body. YONG HENG! Although you've ruined our plans before, it seems now your luck has ran out. If I can escape and spread the news then I'll win!"
Succubus already realized she couldn't beat him.
The strange arms surrounding his body kept destroying any illusions she brought down, meanwhile his physical prowess was far greater than hers.
But now she had a method to beat him, one where she wouldn't even need to lift a finger to do it!
Although she worried about Beast's wellbeing, she knew what was important and what was not.
If they didn't succeed in their task now, then the leader wouldn't let them live.
For the sake of her revenge, she needed to survive.
Disappearing into the forest, Succubus began to fade away as her illusions kept covering up her trail.
But how could Xue Chang allow her to get away?
"You've been using your illusions to control the field this entire time, well it's my turn now!"
Xue Chang clapped his hands together as ripples of power erupted from his body.
Above all his martial arts, above his unbelievably powerful body, and above his unique spells; Xue Chang still had on trick under his sleeve.
"Suppress!" The trees trembled as a wave of energy gushed down from the sky.
Pressure suddenly pressed down onto Succubus as she felt her body be forced to the ground.
Xue Chang's Asuran arms surrounded Succubus with great vigor, keeping her from using anymore of her illusive abilities.
As they wrapped themselves around her body, Xue Chang slowly gazed at her with glowing eyes. This time he was sure that he got the original body and not some sort of illusion.
Although the battle ended without much effort in his part, Xue Chang knew that his soul was still being restrained by her soul attack. He would need a period of time to recuperate after all of this was over, but he believed that this was well worth the sacrifice.
Dragging her toward him with his arms, Xue Chang stared at her, "Who are you? What is your purpose here?"
Succubus just coldly glared at Xue Chang and spit at him, "It's only you Yong Heng! If only you didn't exist then we wouldn't have so many issues. What are you, where did an eternal ascender like you even come from! I've never heard of you before, how is this possible!?"
Succubus was angry. Indignant.
She couldn't understand what went wrong. Where did it all go wrong?
She kept hurling insults at him as her body flailed around wildly.
But as Xue Chang continued to watch her struggle, his gaze became colder and filled with animosity.
Seeing the gaze he looked at her with, Succubus understood something.
"Who did I kill to make you so angry?"
This time it was Xue Chang who didn't respond.
"You know Yong Heng. Whatever hatred you feel, whatever I did to make you so angry, it is nothing compared for what is to come. This is just the beginning, I won't come out of this alive but you will die! I'll damn you and that bastard. I hope you all burn in hell!"
It was clear that Succubus had no plans on revealing anything substantial.
Signing calmly to himself, Xue Chang closed his eyes as once more his palm reached forward and dug out her heart.
Although this was a gruesome death, physical contact was the best way to assure the validity of his actions.
He was positive now, the heart in his palm felt right. This really was her true body.
Succubus silently watched as the child in front her her ripped out her heart.
As the hole in her chest squirted with blood and other fluids, Succubus' gaze reached the sky as a single man appeared within her mind.
As she dwindled away toward death, she thought back to the good days back when she was just a foolish girl who looked forward to marrying the man she loved.
Back to the days before his family murdered hers in cold blood.
To the days before the betrayal, before he crippled her.
"If there is an afterlife, please let me just be happy for once…"
Xue Chang ignored her whispers as he dropped her body onto the ground.
He had another animal to deal with.
________
Hours passed since Xue Chang fought against Succubus and Beast. Both of their corpses lied in the ruins of the village.
A single man in what looked to be a shaggy cloak with a scarf wrapped around his neck approached the area without a single expression on his face.
"The irony of our lives. We started this through the death and destruction of the people around us, and now here you are just another body added along to the list."
The man gaze at his two partners with a sigh as something began vibrate within his coat.
As he unwrapped the fabric covering his body, a odd jade token with a crown carved into its surface could be seen.
With the jade in his hand, the vibrations stopped as a voice could be heard coming from the object.
"Hello old friend."
"Master, it is rare for you to contact me." The man silently bowed to himself. Although he knew his master could not witness his appearance, the reverence he felt still caused him to bow even in the presence of just his voice.
"How goes your progress?"
Leader quickly summarized the events that occurred in the last few years. From start to finish he didn't dare to leave out a single detail.
"Although Succubus and Beast were killed, I can now confirm something from the remains of the battle. Yong Heng, although powerful, is nowhere near strong enough to stop what is coming. If I had a little more time-"
"One month."
"I'm sorry master?" Leader paused in his words for a second as the voice from the jade spoke.
"The daughter of the Xue Family branch within that city, her existence is an issue. It might attract the attention of the Immortal Radiance sect. I heard news that one of the disciples has a close connection to that family. While news takes a long time to reach the sect, it's been nearly seven years. If travel time is taken into account, then the disciple may be able to return to that backwater city within three months. I want you to finish everything by one. In one month I hope you can complete your task."
Leader paused for a second to listen the voice before responding.
"Although I might have to speed up some things, I can do it. I'll finish the task within one month master!"
The voice praised him lightly as he said, "Once you are done, then I can promise you. You will achieve the core forging stage. There is not just the possibility, I promise you will succeed."
Leader didn't respond as he got onto his knees and bowed to the token. Although he couldn't see Leader, the master gave a satisfied grunt as his voice faded away.
With his master leaving him to do what he needed to do, Leader lowered himself down to Succubus and gently closed her eyes shut.
"Although you failed your mission, you still served a great purpose in the end."
Leader smiled lightly to himself as he reached out with a strange orb in his hand.
"A soul strengthened by the soul condensing pill. With this, all the pieces of the puzzle are finally together."