"System, will I receive experience points for Gaya's kills as well?"
[Yes, the host will gain experience points from the kills made by the host's subordinates.]
"How many points do I need to heal her?"
[You require 3,000 points to repair her meridians and 20,000 points to restore her previous cultivation level. The system recommends the host to consider healing her when the subordinate reaches at least 75% loyalty level.]
"I understand System. Now, tell me her original cultivation level, before they crippled her."
[Her original cultivation level was Core Formation stage, level 7.]
"Wow! She was a prodigy? Now I understand why she acts so arrogantly and overbearingly. Never mind, for now, I'll continue giving her the pills to maintain control and increase her loyalty."
Exiting the system, he raised his hands, causing the large silver bead to split into four smaller fist-sized pills. Hart witnessed this scene and began to tremble, especially when he saw the exceptionally pure pills.
"90% purity! Holy shit!" Gaya exclaimed, and the Elders, Sect Leader Claire, and Hart felt as though they had been struck by lightning. The first two had never seen pills concocted by a 5-star Alchemist, but Gaya had consumed many of them to enhance her cultivation, considering she was a princess.
"Impossible!" Hart mumbled, stumbling back clumsily, as three pills floated into the Sect Leader's hand, and one drifted toward Hart.
At this moment, the three Elders fell into a stunned silence. Although they hadn't encountered pills of this purity before, they recognized the superior quality of the pills in Claire's possession. The pills exuded an incredibly sweet fragrance and auras of archaic energy.
The Elders began to murmur behind him, "Is he a 5-star Alchemist?"
They were left in a state of disbelief. The entire continent boasted only a handful of 5-star Alchemists, and locating them was no easy feat. Even if they were lucky enough to find one, their services came at a hefty price. Previously, they had merely regarded Michael as a genius, but now they saw him as a youth blessed by the gods themselves.
If he could attain this level of skill at such a young age, it meant that his future accomplishments would be immeasurable. Not only did he cultivate at an astonishing speed, but he was also a 5-star Alchemist! How had he acquired such knowledge?
Unable to contain their astonishment, they turned their gaze from Michael to Gaya, hoping she might provide some insight into his origins. However, Gaya merely shrugged in response.
"Don't look at me; I had no idea he was a 5-star Alchemist."
"But you're his friend, aren't you?" Elder Mark inquired.
In truth, they were not alone in their astonishment. Even Gaya found herself completely stunned. Alchemy was no walk in the park, presenting an entirely different challenge compared to cultivation. She had believed that Michael's extraordinary cultivation speed was due to a unique body type, but now she realized he harbored more secrets than she had ever imagined.
"The bastard kept this a secret."
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 200 badass points.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 200 badass points.]
…
Once again, several "ding" sounds resonated inside Michael's head.
"Puny little two-star Alchemist... look, this is how a pill is concocted by me, a 5-star Alchemist," Michael declared with a smirk, slowly advancing towards Hart, instilling terror in him.
With each step Michael took, Hart retreated in shock and despair. The three elders, on the other hand, were left in a state of astonishment, yet their minds began to leap with joy. They no longer needed to rely on Hart's services. Ghost could serve as his replacement and perhaps even provide his services free of charge, reducing the costs incurred when concocting heart-healing pills for Elder Sandra. Sunrise Sect now had not only the number one genius of the younger generation as their disciple but also a 5-star Alchemist. It seemed too good to be true.
Without wasting a moment, Gaya seized one of the pills from Claire's hands and closely examined it. After a brief inspection, she turned to the Elders and Claire.
"Yes, this pill is 90% pure, I'm sure of it."
"No!" Hart seethed, glaring at Michael with eyes brimming with hatred.
"I never expected you to truly be capable of Alchemy. You all deceived me by concealing the fact that you had an Alchemist!"
"You should have considered that before accepting the challenge," Michael retorted, his voice laced with disdain.
"Now, I'm going to make you pay for your insults, just as I promised—painfully." Michael had no intention of letting Hart off the hook after enduring his repeated insults. Hart's earlier actions were not easily forgivable in his eyes.
"Hahaha," suddenly, Hart halted his backward retreat and burst into maniacal laughter.
"Don't get ahead of yourself! I don't know what stunt you just pulled with those pills, but I know you can't kill me. You're just a Body Refining cultivator, while I'm at the damn Body Strengthening stage. I can crush you! GUARDS!"
Hart stood there, anticipating his guards to rush in at any moment, wearing a wicked smile on his face.
However, no one entered the hall despite Hart's repeated shouts.
"GUARDS!"
"They're not coming, you asshole," Gaya declared, stepping forward to stand beside Michael and casually toying with the knife he had given her. When Hart noticed the blade, his heart skipped a beat as he observed fresh bloodstains on it.
"What have you done?!"
"A seductive smile and a few flirty lines. That's all it took to make your guards drink my special tea, hehehehe." The small vial Michael had given her before he began concocting pills contained the remaining paralyzing potion from his system storage.
Due to his responsive shield, he didn't need to fear anyone under the level of Body Strengthening stage 2. However, those guards were at level 3 and 4, posing a potential threat to Michael in direct combat. So, Michael utilized Gaya to paralyze them and eliminate them effortlessly.
"Why did you kill one of the guards?" Michael questioned Gaya, temporarily ignoring Hart.
"That bastard got a little too touchy, so I stabbed him in the face after paralyzing him. Now, I call dibs on killing this asshole." Gaya's expression darkened as she directed her attention back to Hart.
"No, he's mine," Michael declared, conjuring bolts of lightning. The Elders stood dumbstruck, especially at Gaya's actions and her intent to kill Hart, given that she was just a mortal girl.
"Ahhhhh!" Hart screamed and attempted to cast a spell, but a powerful gust of wind sent him flying outside.
"Ghost, wait!"
Sect Leader Claire hurriedly stepped forward, trying to halt Michael from killing Hart.
"See ya, human!" Gaya laughed and dashed outside with unbridled excitement, determined to take Hart down before he could regain his composure and cast another spell.
"Don't come crying to me when he kicks your ass," Michael called after Gaya, chuckling at her fervor to end Hart.
"Ghost, let him go, don't kill him."
"No, Sect Leader Claire. If he doesn't kill Hart now, he'll return to his kingdom and bring reinforcements for revenge," Elder Miles stated, and Michael nodded in agreement with a smile.
"Elder Miles is right. Besides, I told him that I would kill him if he failed, Sect Leader. I must keep my word," Michael asserted, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an Alchemist to deal with." With those words, he dashed outside to confront Hart before he could escape Gaya, who lacked the ability to cast spells.
"What? Let's see you cast spells now, hahaha." When Michael emerged outside, Hart lay on the ground like a statue, and Gaya was laughing while kicking him maniacally.
"What did you do to me?!"
"What happened to him?" The elders and Claire looked confused, observing the guards and Hart in their rigid state. Upon noticing the green ooze on Gaya's blade, Michael realized that she had coated it with paralyzing poison and used it to cut Hart, effectively paralyzing him.
"Stop playing with the prey," Michael chided.
"RELEASE ME!"
"Ignitia." While advancing toward Hart, Michael sent several bolts of lightning at the guards, instantly killing them.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for killing a Body Strengthening stage, level 3 cultivator. The reward is 15,000 experience points as well as 200 Badass points.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for killing a Body Strengthening stage, level 4 cultivator. The reward is 20,000 experience points as well as 200 Badass points.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for killing a Body Strengthening stage, level 3 cultivator. The reward is 15,000 experience points as well as 200 Badass points.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 200 badass points.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 200 badass points.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 200 badass points.]
"Nooooooooo!" The anger in Hart's eyes disappeared, and fear clutched his heart after seeing the charred bodies of his powerful guards.
"You called me a retard, an idiot, and trash. Do I look anything like that to you?"
Bzzzzhhh!
The electric humming produced by the lightning bolts around his fingers struck fear into Hart's heart. Then, soon after, Gaya twitched her nose and saw a wet circle forming under Hart.
"Human, I think he peed, hehehe," her laughter fueled Hart's fear and embarrassment as Michael crouched in front of him. He then ran his finger across Hart's face.
"Diddle diddle, we are so..." The intensity of the lightning bolts increased as Hart felt his face burning.
"Ahhhhhhh!" Hart's scream echoed through the mountains, and then it was abruptly stopped.
[Ding! Congrats to the host for killing a Body Strengthening stage, level 2 cultivator. The reward is 15,000 experience points as well as 300 Badass points.]
"Eh? He's dead? So quickly?" Gaya kicked Hart's body and said. The reason for Hart's death was not because of the lightning bolts but overwhelming agony and fear, which made his heart stop.
Looking at the scene, the Elders and Claire trembled in fear. The charming, cool youngster had seemed like a devil just a second ago. He didn't just kill Hart; he actually tortured him to death. What terrified them even more was the fact that he seemed to neither enjoy nor regret killing Hart. Instead, he appeared to be cool and calm when killing people. This indicated one thing to them: he had killed so many people that killing had become as natural to him as breathing.