"Little man, you are correct. Even among the worst of tyrants, one would be hard-pressed to find someone willing to harm his children," staring the squad captain straight in the eyes, Huan Yi said. And instantly overwhelmed by the Demon Child's gaze, the squad captain ignored the disrespect of being referred to as 'little man' by a boy young enough to be his grandson's grandson—closing his eyes to avoid direct contact.
"It's truly uncommon. So uncommon in fact that it begs a serious question. Zi Shou…are you really Zi Xian's son?" Huan Yi asked in a curious tone, adding emphasis to each word of the question.
Stunned by Huan Yi's words, Zi Shou was at a loss, blanking out momentarily.
"Bullshit! If the seventh prince isn't His Majesty's son, whose son is he? We should have known that fiends were trying to sow dissent! Men, capture these scoundrels and bring them to His Majesty for interrogation!" Alarmed by Huan Yi's words, and not wanting to give the Demon Child an opportunity to put more malignant thoughts in Zi Shou's mind, the squad captain took action, leading his men in a direct charge at the demonic pair.
At first, Taotie wanted to handle the five. But before she could make her move...
'Taotie…' Huan Yi's voice boomed in her mind.
'Yes master?'
'I am hungry,' Huan Yi said, and stepped forward, leisurely walking at his assailants.
Understanding that her master wanted to handle this personally, Taotie bowed and stepped back.
With each step that Huan Yi took, the men's perception of reality got distorted, as if all facets of existence were getting challenged, twisted by that boy's presence. The sense of urgency in the five peaked, and without hesitation, they dished out their strongest moves:
The Blazing Tiger Release.
Seventeen burning tigers took shape around the five men. Three for each standard guard, and five around their squad captain. Instantly, the five men became balls of searing orange flames, gigantic fire claw marks curving around their forms as they dived into Huan Yi for a one-shot finish—at least, this was how they expected things to play out.
Scarlet light flashed in the Demon Child's right eye, loud growling sounds boomed across the scene, blasting the four guards' eardrums as if gigantic monstrous beasts had appeared at their left and right, growling right into their ears.
Loud munching sounds followed, and before any of the four men could make sense of the situation, their arms had been cleanly bitten off.
Then came the legs, the thighs, half the torso, the gory munching happening so fast that the men didn't have time to register the pain before only their heads remained.
The four heads dropped onto the ground, followed by their squad leader who crashed where Huan Yi was supposed to be.
No Huan Yi awaited there, and suddenly surrounded by four heads whose torn necks showed savage bite marks, the 225-year-old squad captain was scared out of his wits.
"Here…" Huan Yi gently tapped the squad leader's right shoulder, making him realize that once again, the boy was standing right there, as if he'd just momentarily vanished from existence.
Worse, this time around, Huan Yi had blood dripping from his lips, as if the invisible monstrous beasts that had chewed the four royal guards to death were none other than him.
The burning flames and tigers summoned by the squad leader's martial skill vanished as well—leaving him entirely defenseless.
"Little man, you are…not a good snack," Huan Yi said, scarlet light again flashed in his right eye. The loud growling sound echoed once more, followed by sinister chewing noise as the squad leader's legs were cleanly bitten off.
Known as the Eye of Limitless Slaughter, Huan Yi's red eye enabled him to summon the Beasts of Annihilation, creatures that came straight from the infernal world hidden inside the Manuscript of Forbidden Secrets. Each of these beasts possessed tyrannical fleshly bodies, enabling them to effortlessly stomp the majority of Yin Dynasty's experts.
As if that wasn't terrifying enough, these creatures also shared their jaws and stomachs with Huan Yi, meaning that whenever the Beasts of Annihilation were feasting on his enemies, Huan Yi was feasting on them as well.
"Argh—argh—aaaargh!" The squad captain howled in grief, rolling his legless body on the ground.
"Shush…" In a move that looked slow to the eye, yet occurred so fast that Dharma Body realm humans couldn't evade, Huan Yi put one hand on the squad leader's lips, silencing him with a gentle voice.
He then made a gentle push, and to Zi Shou's horror, the squad captain, a pillar of the royal family, exploded into a mist of blood. Huan Yi took in a deep breath, absorbing the blood mist.
"If this is an elder-level powerhouse of the Yin Dynasty, I'm afraid this place doesn't have over three quality snacks to offer me. Shame," Huan Yi said, then turned towards Zi Shou, instantly bridging the distance between the two.
'Master, you've eaten primordial gods. Your definition of a 'good snack' isn't something that the Yin Dynasty can provide.' Thinking that her master was so bored that he started trolling, Taotie shook her head.
Now focused on Zi Shou, Huan Yi didn't react to Taotie's comment. But shocked numb by the horrifying scene he'd just witnessed, Zi Shou trembled like a feather in a thunderstorm, lowering his head to avoid eye contact.
Or so he tried to. Huan Yi didn't allow it, casually lifting Zi Shou's face by the chin and forcing the Yin prince to face his dreadful eyes.
"Look me in the eyes, little man. You are alone against the world, and if left unattended, will not survive the next five minutes. Now, you have two choices:
One, accept my help and survive.
Two, reject me and die." Making the situation clear, Huan Yi leaned forward, keeping his blood-stained face only one inch away from Zi Shou.
"Now, little man, which one will it be?" Huan Yi asked.
There was a magnetism to his voice, a seductive, commanding, and overpowering appeal that, despite his appearance of a 12-years old, gave him the aura of an irresistible deity.
Faced with the options of death in disgrace or survival in sketchy hands, Zi Shou felt trapped between two toxic roads.
"Can…can you help me clear my name?"
"Not only can I help you clear your name, but I can also help you gain what you really came to Linzi for." Huan Yi directly replied, causing Zi Shou's eyes to stretch impossibly.
"Of course, my help has a price. The more of it you want, the bigger the price you will have to pay. Now, little man, what will you choose?" Huan Yi reiterated the question. At that time, the auras of several experts, including over a dozen Path Seekers and several Dharma Bodies, appeared in the vicinity, instantly destroying the last bits of Zi Shou's reluctance.
"Please…senior please help me!" Left without recourse, Zi Shou surrendered his fate to Huan Yi, causing the Demon Child's lips to curl into a radiant smile.
"But of course, Your Highness. After all, you are the king I have chosen to serve," Huan Yi said, subsequently bursting into laughter. The Karmic Dissociation kicked in, enabling the three to vanish without a trace.