Three days after the tournament, the recruitment session is in full swing. The elders and I worked day and night to settle administration. Over 1,000 applications came in.
There's a week left until the assessment. One week... I can use this time to get rid of Xie Mo.
A crop fully harvested has no value to it.
----------------
"... I will kill him..." The old Patriarch of the Profound Poison sect, Xia Wenyan, says.
The young master of the sect was Wenyan's only son. Due to erectile dysfunction and work, Wenyan is rarely intimate with his wife and the young master was the jade of the family.
Shao Hui took advantage of that rage. "I understand your grudge to a certain extent, do not worry. I will help you."
"I won't let him have a quick death. I want him to feel the constant suffering my son felt ten thousandfold, I want him to feel the grief of losing a family before cutting off his fingers one by one."
"Alright, we can do that. But first, the residence-"
"Do you take me for a fool?" Wenyan suddenly says. "I want revenge but I won't ignite my sect's extinction."
Shao Hui glares at him.
...
Shao Hui sighs. "Your resolve is too weak, is your love for your late son worth only so much?"
"Bastard-"
"Calm down, Patriarch Xia, I have what you seek," I say, appearing from the corner of the room.
!
"Patriarch Wang? How did you..." Says Shao Hui.
You led me here underground.
"Now, let's not sweat the small details. I have what you seek, the location of a group of people that Xie Mo cares deeply about."
The Patriarch's eyes widen. "Mortals?"
I nod.
Wenyan smirks. "What is the Patriarch suggesting?" He says.
Wenyan is listening to me? A moment ago he was retaliating against Shao Hui.
"I will take care of Xie Mo and bring him to the village, you or your disciple can 'visit' beforehand," I say.
As we discuss playing with mortal's life, Shao Hui glares at both of us.
...
"I understand."
I give Wenyan the location and we go about our ways, leaving Shao Hui behind.
Shao Hui clicks his tongue. "In the end, all of them are the same."
----------------
"What's wrong?" Mei Li asks Xie Mo.
Xie Mo gulps. He is drenched sweating. "I...have a bad feeling...?"
"Bad feeling? Is that how you feel about me?" says a young and beautiful girl with long black and messy hair standing at the doorway, behind her is a smaller child.
"Yan Yu..." Xie Mo mumbles.
Yan Yu stares at Xie Mo and notices his dark eye bags and small physique.
"Xie Mo, are you..." Yan Yu sighs. "This is why I told you not to offend someone of such importance. Look what happened."
"Don't nag at me, I understand it very well..." says Xie Mo.
Yan Yu smirks. "Heh, I remember how arrogant you were. Saying that a mere lower realm cannot stop you."
"Enough." Says Mei Li.
...
"Where's Cheng Fan and Su Wen?" Xie Mo asks. He hasn't seen them in months.
"Cheng Fan? I don't know, that guy disappeared. As for Su Wen, that bastard betrayed you and went to apply for admission to the Heavenly Divine Dragon sect."
"I don't blame him." Says Xie Mo.
...
The selfish demeanour is gone, leaving behind only a frightened and wanted man.
The young child walks to Xie Mo and nudges him. "Brother, please be happy."
...
Xie Mo forces a smile.
"Oh wow, the entire party is here," I say.
?!
"P-Patriarch Wang?!" Mei Li exclaims.
Xie Mo trembles and unconsciously back off. "W-Wang Ji..." Xie Mo mumbles.
None of them felt my presence in the doorway. Even when upfront, it feels like thin air.
"Grandma!" Mei Li exclaims. "What did you-"
"Shut up brat! How long do you want Xie Mo to leech off us? He is a notorious criminal! What will everyone think of us if word goes out!" The elderly behind me says.
None of Mei Li's guards stopped me, it was the opposite.
I smile. Yu Yan throws a glance at Xie Mo before going back to me. "You can take Xie Mo, I am not in cahoots with him." She says.
"What do you mean? You are from the village Xie Mo frequently visited right?" I say.
"Eh?"
I snap and two Nascent Soul martial artists that Shao Hui hired walk into the cabin to apprehend Xie Mo, Yan Yu, and the young child.
"W-Wait what are you doing? Why are you taking them along!?" Says Xie Mo.
"Now now, any friends of yours are potential enemies of mine," I say.
Yan Yu shivers when she hears that. "I-I would never dare to go against the Patriarch!" She says. "A-At least the child-".
"No," I reply.
The young girl looks like Yan Yu, are they siblings?
"Stop! Wait-"
The grandma stops Mei Li and pulls her back.
"Listen to me! You are being tricked by that bastard!" The elderly say.
"What do you know?!"
"Do you want to offend Patriarch Wang?! You will not survive!"
Mei Li struggles more and refuses to listen.
I appear in front of Mei Li with my finger touching her forehead, a drop of blood flows from the small wound caused by my fingernails.
!
"Patriarch! Please accept our apology and quench your anger. She is ignorant." The elderly say.
Mei Li falls back, trembling.
I nod and left the residence.
...
"I am saying this for your good. Do not make enemies with him, he is abnormal. Even with a higher cultivation base, I couldn't react to Wang Ji..."
Mei Li glares at the ground with hands clenched.
The martial artists carry our captives and we arrive in the village, the hometown of Ji Qiang.
Xie Mo's eyes widen. "How do you know this village? What do you want to do with them?!"
"You will find out soon."
Patriarch Xia and his sect are stationed in the village, gathering everyone.
He throws a glance at me and nods. The practitioners throw Xie Mo to the ground in front of the many villagers.
"P-Patriarch, is there anything we can do for you?" Says an elder of the village.
I smile at him. "Xie Mo have offended me and threatened to destroy my entire sect. Every single one of you is related to him, you know what I am referring to."
!!!!!!!!!!!!
The villager's face turns pale.
"No! No! We do not have any relationship with him! Please! This is a misunderstanding-"
The elder's head was sent flying as blood splatters in a crescent.
!!!
"N-NOOOO!!!" Yan Yu screams in grief.
"S-Stop it! Stop it!!!" Xie Mo shouts, he attempts to leap at me but the practitioners hold him down.
I swing the blood off Azrim. Xie Mo is making a wonderful expression.
The practitioner released Yan Yu and she runs to the headless corpse.
"Please believe us! We will do whatever you say and tell you anything, please spare us!" A man who drops and begs on the floor says.
"Do whatever you want to me!! Leave them alone!" Says Xie Mo.
"Oh? It sounded like he cares a lot about all of you, you guys must be connected in some ways." I say.
!
"No-"
One slash through the village cuts every village and infrastructure into pieces.
"Ah...no...no...ARGH!!!!"
Xie Mo breaks free and limps to the corpses.
He walks to the corpses and falls to his knees.
"Why...why..."
...
It is the first time I see Xie Mo, someone so strong-willed, cry in pain, truly an amazing sight.
Haha...
-----------------
Xie Mo has lost his will to live.
-10,500 fate values.
+10,500,000 points.
Protection has been dropped.
Kill order active.
------------------
I smirk. "Do you want to do the honours?" I ask Patriarch Xia.
"Why...if you want to kill me, you could have just done so...why are you...involving innocent people..." Xie Mo mumbles with rivers of tears.
Wenyan shakes his head. "No, the honours are yours."
I walk towards Xie Mo on his knees and smirk wider. "What's wrong? Weren't you very confident?"
"..."
Xie Mo stays there motionless, powerless, his face contorted into despair.
"AHH!!!" Xie Mo jumps at me with his fist up. I simply slap him away and he collides through the rubble of ruins.
He lays on some crushed stones. Starting at the sky, reality crashed onto him.
"There is no way I can take my revenge. Most likely, Wang Ji will kill me too." Xie Mo mumbles.
...
He decided to reverse the flow of Qi in his body, it hurts, but it doesn't matter anymore. Veins pop out of his body as Xie Mo spits out blood. In his final moments, Xie Mo wondered if this was the will of Dao and heaven. After everything he has done to protect, this is what he received.
How cruel... Xie Mo thought. Heaven gave him hope just to take it away.
No... It was his arrogance, underestimating the lower realm. It is Karma.
His hatred for his fiance and "friend" that betrayed him in the upper realm burns vigorously but a burning fire surrounded by water can only do so much.
In the Murim, where the laws of the jungle apply, Justice belongs to the strong. Even a paragon has to commit sins to survive.
How foolish to think righteousness is a path befitting him. No...he was blind to recognise the devil incarnate.
Those were Xie Mo's final thoughts. Xie Mo was a mere bug to "Wang Ji", one that can be killed whenever "Wang Ji" feels like it.
I sigh when I walk to his dead body. "What a pity, the fun ended too quickly."
Shao Hui glares at everyone. His clenched fist drips blood with his gritted teeth. But Shao Hui must bear with it, he cannot do anything but gaze at fellow innocent mortals slaughtered like ants by cultivators.