"I will help you to get far within the true Iron Body Forging Sect and you, in return, will do everything in your power to destroy that boy. Nod if you understand."
****
Gang Heng madly nodded. He nodded for all the times he never nodded before. He nodded for anyone who was unable to nod themselves.
Heck! He nodded for all the nods that were never nodded.
There weren't many people who knew who or what the Di Ming were, but he did to some extent, and what he knew terrified him.
Even though he was merely an outer sect elder, he was an outer sect elder of the Iron Body Forging Sect. Its long history stretched back thousands of years. Yet, not even a goliath at this level would easily offend an existence like a Di Ming.
"Good stuff, young one." The Di Ming smiled that same creepy smile as he referred to the outer sect elder the same way he did Long Di.
Obviously, the difference in age between them didn't hold a candle when compared to his own, so there were no qualms for him there.
Gang Heng wanted to speak, evident by his stuttering lips, but he didn't dare to without the permission of the ruler of his life and death.
"Be calm when you speak to me. Go on," was all the Di Ming advised before it gave the stage to Gang Heng.
"L-Lord Di M-Ming sir, we, uhm, we—"
One of the Di Ming's nails danced precariously around Gang Heng's neck. "My apologies, young one. You see, I get quite bored when nothing productive is taking place and I am quite deadly when it comes to killing time and other things. Might I implore you to hurry along? I am quite busy"
The Di Ming's meaning was quite clear. Even though it perfectly understood Gang Heng's fear, the latter's inability to speak clearly was beginning to grate on its nerves, especially when it was he who wished to say something.
Gang Heng took deep breaths and tried his best to push his fear to the back of his mind. "Lord Di Ming, I just wanted to let you know that all the seats within the Iron Body Sect are filled. Disregarding the fact that I am no match for the two lowest level seats, even those two seats don't wield that much power in the sect, to begin with."
"Oh?" The Di Ming looked at Gang Heng with a modicum of interest. "So you are aware of the power makeup regarding the seats themselves? Not many people are privy to this bit of information, not even within the inner sect. Looks like you had grand ambitions yourself."
When Gang Heng heard the Di Ming's words, he didn't even think of refusing its claim. One reason was because he was scared, and the other was because it was true.
If anyone else asked him if he wished to take one of the seats for himself, he would never admit it even if they beat him to death.
After all, the competition was so fierce within the Iron Body Forging Sect that a small character like him wasn't enough to kick up any waves.
This was why he liked to use the Iron Body Forging Sect's name whenever he came out; to feel like a bigshot.
However, he knew that if others became aware of his intention towards the seats, there would be no shortage of enemies coming to destroy him, and he was hardly at the top of the power struggle.
As a result, he made sure to collect information on the internal power structure of the inner sect so he could grab hold of any opportunity that came his way. But… could this Di Ming truly be it?
The Di Ming's smile widened a bit more and released a bit of shocking news. "You needn't worry about vacancies. Your Bronze Seat is already dead."
"Wha—" When Gang Heng heard this, his eyes widened in shock and he nearly shouted in surprise, but when he saw the Di Ming's eyes narrow, he covered his mouth and controlled himself.
"Haha, my Lord must be joking. How could one of the pillars of the Iron Body Forging Sect fall so easily?"
"Do I look like someone who likes to joke around?"
Gang Heng stared at the Di Ming's creepy smile and said nothing more.
After a moment of silence, the Di Ming continued. "Your Bronze Seat is truly dead and I suspect the sect is already aware of this, but they are most likely not aware of who it was that did it. His counterpart, the Copper seat, will most likely mobilise to investigate, but it will take time. I will have you rise through the ranks to attain the Bronze Seat and beyond. Your goal, however, will be to destroy that child."
Gang Heng was too shocked for words. Sure the Bronze Seat's strength was at the bottom of the barrel compared to the other seats, even his counterpart the copper seat was stronger than him, but that person's strength was at a level where no one else in this backwater region should be able to pose a threat to him.
"The person who killed him, it couldn't be—"
"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to," the Di Ming replied. "I am aware that the Bronze Seat brought you and that child out here under the guise of the relic, but there was another reason for it, but you needn't know what it was, for it will not benefit you in any way."
A single thought came to mind when Gang Heng heard this, "You mean—"
"Here," the Di Ming took out another pill and offered it to Gang Heng, which he warily took. It was similar to the one the Di Ming gave him before, but this was a bit different.
"Go on now," the Di Ming didn't say anything further, not even about the pill he just gave him. "Ignore everything else and focus on his destruction. If you fail, well… I don't have to tell you what will happen."
The Di Ming's grin did the impossible and widened even more. It did poorly to hide the cruelty that lay so close below the surface.
Cold sweat washed Gang Heng's back when he saw this before he got up.
He was about to limp back when he realised that the wounds were gone! He was understandably shocked that his injuries had already healed.
He used his spiritual sense to inspect his inner body and found that his internal injuries were healed as well.
"What did I ea—" He was about to ask the Di Ming another question when he realised that he was all alone, the only company to his presence were the rocks and boulders that peppered this desolate region and a black pill.
It was the only evidence that what just happened did happen.
Well, that and the fact he was still naked, but that was a story for another time.
It didn't take long before he started on his way. Worry wracked his nerves when he thought about the punishment he would suffer when he returned, but after a while, he became quite relaxed when he thought about it.
He had a Di Ming behind him now. The entire sect wouldn't dare to offend a single one of these existences, who could stop his rise?
He looked at the black pill in his hand, and a smile made its way across his face.
His steps became more spirited and confident as he continued. Before long, he was nought but a dot on the horizon from where he was.
Sometime later, the air distorted and the Di Ming appeared once more as it stared in the direction Gang Heng headed to.
It didn't take long before it started walking in another direction. The Di Ming's lanky features made it seem as if it was bereft of any muscle. It wasn't a demon really, but a race all its own that had nearly faded into obscurity, but here it was, walking the lands in defiance of the hope that it existed only in legends.
Before long, it came to a cliff that oversaw a massive expanse of land. Its milky white eyes settled on another figure who was making his way back to where he came from. "I wonder how far you'll be able to go."
A lonely wind had its voice drift off into oblivion. It looked to the skies and closed its eyes before taking a deep breath.
"I can smell blood on the wind this generation. Don't make it be spilt in vain young one, and most of all… don't fail me."
Whoosh…
The air distorted and the Di Ming eventually disappeared, returning silence to these barren plains once more.