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This chapter is graphic so reader discretion is advised.
The man screamed in pain, as he glanced for a split second at his severed arm.
Within the next few seconds, he grabbed his severed arm that still held the cleaver, instantly getting as far away from Rui as possible.
Although he was not someone with great talent and power, he had experience when it came to killing and battle, so he knew that the young man in front of him was not ordinary.
Just one look at the sword he was holding could tell he was of some noble lineage.
The man's mind raced as he came up with solutions to his current problem. But Rui didn't let him think.
Although Rui found the scene abhorrent, his mind was currently at full focus. Instead of vomiting his guts out, he had to first conclude the situation.
Since he had to find more information about the current situation, he had to first incapacitate him, anything else came afterwards.
The light source had long fallen into the floor, making it harder for the man to see.
Thanks to the Elixir of sight, Rui had no issue seeing in the dark.
Since the man was a second rank rune master, although he was still at its initial stages due to his horrible talent, having his arm cut off wasn't something that would render him unable to move or even kill him.
Using runic energy, the man stopped the bleeding and chanted an incantation.
Witnessing this scene Rui frowned and decided to use the [Sun cutter's] ability, [Dimensional slash], along with his [bloodline suppression] skill.
Since his bloodline had gotten purer, the suppression skill had also strengthened, resulting in a paralysis like effect for a few seconds. However, a few seconds in a life or death situation were more than enough.
Using the modified [beginning sword] martial art, he cut thrice in a majestic motion.
If Rui had witnessed his status, he would have seen his combat power skyrocket to 20030, due to the use of such skills.
Of course, he couldn't maintain such a state for long, as each and every single one of his actions required immense amounts of runic energy for his current self. Plus he wasn't even using their full power, just enough so that he could wield them.
The mans eyes opened wide, as formless waves came hurling at him.
Trying his best to parry with his weapon, which in itself was a armament that he had gotten after killing a rune master, he failed miserably, as the armament chipped and almost got destroyed in the process.
He felt immense pain throughout his entire body, not fully knowing what was damaged.
Looking down, he found that all his limbs were severed and he was unable to do anything.
Rui looked at him with a cold gaze, shoving all his severed limbs on the side and sealing his wounds with runic energy.
Rui frowned as soon as he saw his body parts covered in blood, the smell making him want to puke.
The man scowled, but he understood that this youth wanted him alive, to extract information.
Rui began extracting all the information he could get from him, at the same time using Yue and the system to ascertain the lies and truth's hidden in his speech.
Thankfully the man sporadically spoke everything he knew, as if his life was the most important thing to him.
Although he was an evil practitioner, his current circumstances were new to him. He had butchered and killed countless individuals, mainly mortals.
He was someone who enjoyed killing and had joined a bandit den to further enhance his killing, getting rewarded for it.
The place there were at was an abandoned dungeon of a fallen noble clan that was located far from the capital. It would take Rui more than eight hours to return home.
The bandit den had over a few dozen individuals, mainly cultivators of the second stage and below.
The mans current task was to wait for an all out attack against a family located not so far from here.
Hearing this caused Rui to frown.
"Who is your strongest individual, is he your leader?"
He asked with his now knife shaped [sun cutter], poking at the mans neck.
"Y-yes! Th-third rank rune master! As for his actual stage, I don't know since I'm just at the bottom rung of the den…"
Hearing the leaders cultivation stage, Rui couldn't help but be taken aback.
Someone of the third rank was countless times more powerful than an individual of the second rank. After all, it took a long period of consistent cultivation to reach the third rank.
Although reaching the second rank was relatively easy to reach within a year, for talented individuals that is, reaching the third rank took more than ten years for those same talented individuals.
Time was of the essence when it came to cultivation. The more time and resources one had, the greater the result
Compared to the current Rui, that person was at least a hundred times stronger.
Hearing more than enough from the man, Rui pierced his knife on his neck, ending his life in an instant.
This was a person not worth leaving alive, even at his current situation. He was a serial killer that enjoyed each and every single one of his actions. He was no longer human, but a beast.
Rui felt no remorse of what he had done, but he couldn't stop his hands from shaking. After all, this was the first time he had killed someone in both of his lives.
The blood covering the floor, as well as the mans severed limbs didn't help with the situation.
Being unable to hold back his disgust any longer, Rui vomited his guts out, the smell of blood irritating him further.
Not wanting to attract any more attention than he already had, he asked the system for assistance.
"System, is there any way for me to conceal and destroy the evidence left behind?"
╓ Positive, there are multiple items in the system store that can complete this action. ╖
"What are the most appropriate and affordable ones for my current situation?"
╓ 'Greater decomposition powder' and 'Elixir of return'. The use of both of them will make the situation undetectable for a short period of time. ╖
"Great, purchase them both."
[4000 Ѻ has been used to purchase 'Greater decomposition powder' and 'Elixir of return']
[Item 'Greater decomposition powder' and 'Elixir of return' have been deposited to your inventory]
Just like before, after hearing the system prompt Rui instantly took out the items and used his skills on them.
[Greater Decomposition powder]
[An item generated based on the cultivation world "Tian Kong".
Created with hundreds of poisons, made to hide any corpse or living matter.]
[Elixir of return]
[An item generated based on the cultivation world "Atlas".
It uses Ether energy as its catalyst.
Returns an area into a previous state, up to an hour ago.]
Looking at the effects of both items, Rui took a deep breath. They were great, especially the 'Elixir of return', having a cheat like ability.
It seemed like the cultivation world "atlas" had unique elixirs when it came to alchemy.
Sprinkling the powder and emptying the elixir, Rui returned the room to its previous state with the man now completely gone, no trace of his existence being there, except for his cleaver.
Rui stored the damage cleaver, since it was an armament. Although it was extremely weak compared to [sun cutter] it was an armament that he could give to Liliang.
Since the amount of time it took for Rui to fight and kill the man didn't exceed ten minutes, the area was still silent, despite the mans screaming.
Rui felt that even his fellow bandits didn't want him near, so they ordered him to get as far away as possible from them.
Just as he was about to leave the area however, he witnessed the paste that was the rat gurgle and boil, creating unholy sounds.
Stepping back from the mush of a corpse, he witnessed the rat returning to the state it was an hour ago, alive and breathing.
Taken aback by the power of the 'Elixir of return' he couldn't help but wander of its other uses.
Running out of time however, he had to first ascertain his situation.
Thankfully this situation put Rui at an advantage, using the time he was snooping around to recover his lost runic energy.
He had his [Understanding] and [Analysis] skills active all the time, making sure he missed out no details. He was worried if Liliang was here as well.
Using the map function, he was able to more easily navigate the area. Since he was located in a dungeon, there would at most be two exits.
Liliang awoke with a searing headache. Unlike Rui who was hung upside down, Liliang found himself tied up on a chair.
He didn't know where he was, but thanks to the candle in front of him, he was able to see.
Rotating his runic energy once, the membrane tying him up broke as he got freed from the chair without making any noise.
Since he was in a situation where he didn't know anything, he couldn't help but worry.
He grabbed the candle in front of him and illuminated the area.
Moss covered the walls and spider webs lined every corner. Rusty iron bars were in front of him.
"A prison, no a dungeon."
Liliang came to a conclusion immediately.
Unlike Rui, Liliang was someone who had gone through worse circumstances in the past, so he was quite level headed about his current condition.
Since so far he wasn't harmed but rather just tied up for a prolonged period of time, he could assume that he was in no immediate danger.
Taking a deep breath, he blew the candle, completely shutting off the light.
His runic energy started boiling, as he directed it towards his eyes.
This was one of Xiong Liliangs abilities after learning the [War God Manual].
The [War God Manual] was a cultivation method that he found inside the academy and was the technique that got him to the second stage of rune masters.
Of course he didn't find it by himself, he got it with the assistance of the librarian, who from time to time would help out students.
It was an earth grade cultivation method that enhanced each and every single one of his senses, essentially unlocking a sixth sense.
He was currently using the [War God Manual] to enhance his vision, giving him the ability to see in this darkness for a period of time.
Since the manual itself wasn't of a high grade and had many problems with it, he could only enhance up to two senses at the moment and only for a short period of time.
Just like Rui, he explored the area making as little sound as possible.
However, unlike Rui he didn't encounter anyone for a long time.
When he exited his cell, he found an empty cell area. Sneaking aimlessly through the hallways, he didn't find anything of significant interest.
After snooping around for an hour, the enhancement to his sight wore off, so he had to let his eyes recover.
His eyes stung, but he could still use his other senses to protect himself.
This time he enhanced his hearing, making sure to capture any sound while keeping his eyes shut.
He navigated with only his hearing and sense of touch, making sure he didn't go into circles.
Suddenly, the ground changed. He could feel the tile shape had changed.
Opening his eyes, he enhanced them once more and found another cell area, however it was not empty this time.
The cells were full of women and children, however none of them made any sound, as if they were already dead.
With his enhanced hearing he could hear sobbing sounds in the background. He was sure that some of the people here were still alive, while others had long become corpses.
Just as he was about to close to one of the cells, he heard footsteps approach in the distance and quickly hid himself.
After a while of waiting, he saw two men arrive to the area holding lanterns.
The both wore worn out clothes and held booze in their hands. One was bald while the other barely had hair on his head. They both sported a goatee and had hairy toned bodies.
Both of them held buckets in their hands with what could be described as 'animal feed', heading to each cell and feeding the women and children.
The food given to the children was better than the one given to the women, but still, it wasn't food humans were supposed to consume.
Liliang looked at what the women were being served and almost puked on the spot.
It was putrid to say the least. He didn't want to think as to what these men had put in to make it look so slimy and disgusting…
However, things didn't end with just feeding them.
The bald one of the two men suddenly spoke.
"Why do we have to feed these bitches every day? I mean at least we get some of our urges off, but still. Those kids as well, we even give them our leftovers."
Hearing his words, the other man spoke.
"That's why I say you're a fucking idiot. This is the fourth time you ask this question… The children will be sold as slaves! They are great merchandise after all. As for the women, they are for breeding and to relieve our stress. From what I heard, when the children are born they are directly given to the boss, though no one knows what he does with them."
The bald man chuckled and said in a sarcastic manner.
"I bet he has a fetish for newly-born babies and probably uses them for you know what..."
Hearing his words the other man frowned.
"Don't even joke about it. I already have to worry about a bastard like you, just imagining the boss who is a third rank rune master doing such things makes me want to puke."
Even though he said something like that, his face was stoic and even had a hint of sarcasm to it.
"Ah, I want to relieve some pent up stress. I'm using some of these bitches, I'll be done in a few minutes…"
"Don't go without me! I want to have some fun as well!"
Saying so, both of them pulled out their members as started doing unholy things.
Hearing their conversation and looking at them Liliang was repulsed even further. These people were not human, they were disgusting creatures that deserved purging.
As Liliang had a sour spot for slavery, having gone through something similar, he really hated what he was seeing.
Since the two men hadn't even entered the second rank, Liliang decided to just finish them off. The information he could gain from them was probably lesser than the info the children could give him.
The bald man used a passed out woman as his plaything, but got bored extremely quickly. Seeing that his buddy was doing his business in comfort, he decided to spice things up by getting one of the little girls.
The other man saw him and frowned, but didn't say anything.
Just as they were about to commit their unforgivable deeds, a blade ran in front of them, cutting something.
Caught by surprise, the men looked down, to see that both of their members were cut off.
They screamed in pain, but before the screams could become louder, their heads came flying off, spraying blood all over the area.
The children and women screamed in terror as the two corpses fell on the floor.
The hulking figure of Liliang who had used his war god physique slowly crept in from the shadows.
He instantly went ahead and searched their bodies, finding a few daggers and some rations, as well as the keys to the cells.
Grabbing two daggers, he stabbed their members and pierced their mouths with them.
Unlike Rui who had never killed anyone, Liliang felt nothing from his actions, as if he had done similar things in the past.
He shushed the screaming children and calmed down the women.
"I will get you out of here, but first, relay me any information about this place…"
Hearing his words, the crowd came at him with fervent gazes, trying to give him any information they knew, while some of the women desecrated the two men's bodies even further.
Thanks to his map, Rui had not lost his way in the slightest, slowly mapping out every nook and cranny of the dungeon.
He had encountered two more guards, however they were much weaker than the bandit he had first killed.
His actions this time were swift, ending their lives before they even knew what had transpired and leaving their dead bodies in an area where they wouldn't be found.
It had already been over an hour, so he had to purchase another 'Elixir of sight'.
Finally, after walking around for what seemed like forever, he found people.
He glanced at his map and saw over fifty dots light up in blue, signaling that they were rune masters, while only a few were red.
'This must be their main place.'
Thought Rui while slowly circling around.
They had no guards around, making it easy for him to sneak around the area. Thankfully the layout helped and he didn't have to directly go through them.
After all, going near a third rank rune master was not a good idea.
Having gotten away from them, he saw the layout on the other side of the dungeon. This time, he decided to step up his speed.
The dungeon was mirrored on both sides and the place the bandits were standing was the exit.
It was clear that he had to either dig his way out or distract them so that he could escape.
After half an hour of searching the other half, he finally reached the last room.
Looking at the different floor tiles, he came to the conclusion that the area was newer and constantly used.
Opening his map, he saw over a hundred red light dots and a single blue light inside that room.
Taken aback by the sheer number, Rui frowned and sneaked in.
As soon as he entered a certain perimeter, he heard the voices of children and women, confusing him even more.
"That's enough information. Thank you all…"
Suddenly he heard a familiar voice speaking.
As soon as he heard the voice, Rui rushed inside the room, being greeted by what seemed like hell.
Countless naked women and children were being uncuffed one by one by a young teen. The floor was full of blood and two heads were nailed on a wall, with what seemed like male members hanging out of their mouths.
Seeing this sight, Rui couldn't help but puke once more.
Hearing the sound, everyone turned their heads his way, Liliang being the only one happy to see him.
"Rui! Thank god… I worried how I was going to complete the rescue alone, but with you here and the information I acquired, it should be possible."
Hearing his words, Rui smiled bitterly. It seemed like Liliang had gotten information from the rescued people, while he was running around trying to map the whole area.
At least he felt better, since it was now easier to navigate the place and they were able to come up with a more solid plan.