"Stop."
A man in white, who happened to be behind the gates when the guards opened them, stepped forward to meet them. The guards bowed and were about to explain the child's identity when the young man interrupted them.
"Since when do you let kids act arrogantly in front of our gates? Is this how you show gratitude to Sword Cliff for taking you in as guards?" the young man berated them coldly, then glanced at Yone. "Apologize, and you may go in."
He didn't bother to mention the consequences of disobedience; he never imagined anyone would dare defy his words.
Yone sneered inwardly at the young man's arrogance. Now this is more like it. This is exactly how spoiled heroes-wanna-be should act.
He finally witnessed a scene he was familiar with and couldn't help but smile faintly.
Despite his thoughts, Yone ignored the young man's words and continued toward the gate.
He had already seen through his 5th layer of the foundation establishment and knew he posed no threat to him, which is why he dared to act this arrogantly.
'Sigh, acquiring resources is so easy if you know how to anger people,' Yone smirked as he thought about the kid's wealth.
As he walked past him, the young man grew furious, his face flushing red for a moment before he spun around and grabbed Yone's shoulder.
"Tarnishing the Sword Cliff Sect's reputation and ignoring the words of an inner disciple!" James spat coldly. "The punishment for your actions is death!"
As he spoke in anger, he unleashed the full force of his aura, revealing his power at the 5th layer of the Foundation Establishment.
"Alright," Yone said with a smirk. "I wasn't planning to kill anyone before I entered seclusion, but if you're so insistent on seeking death, so be it!"
Whoosh!
Yone's fingernails on his right hand sharpened like knives as he launched his attack. James hadn't expected the arrogant kid to strike first or offer any resistance at all.
However, he was still an inner disciple of Sword Cliff and experienced a lot of life-and-death situations, he turned and quickly sent a palm supported by Qi to meet Yone's hand attack.
Bam!
The claw, sharp as a knife, collided with the palm attack, producing a deafening sound that echoed through the surroundings.
James was stunned to find that his palm strike hadn't utterly shattered the kid's hand or knocked his head clean off.
"4th layer of the foundation establishment at your age?" James gnashed his teeth as he finally sensed the kid's cultivation.
'Damn it, I was too rushed with my actions and made a huge mistake,' James cursed inwardly as he thought about the consequences of his actions.
He acted with the same arrogance as always, bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Having had a bad day, he wanted to vent his anger on the kid whose words sounded arrogant toward his sect.
Failing to see through the kid's cultivation base, James assumed he was just a mortal seeking to join the sect and train within it.
However, he never expected that the kid could conceal his cultivation so well that even he, a cultivator of the 5th layer, couldn't detect it—even though he was a whole small realm higher.
Immediately, James retracted his palm attack as he cupped his fists in front of Yone and sincerely apologized.
" I apologize for my words and attack just now, I hope you forgive my rudeness and forget what happened tonight."
James's body could be seen trembling under the night sky.
How could he have known that a child of just seven or eight years old could possess such a deep cultivation realm?
At fourteen, he had only just reached the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment, yet here was a kid, barely starting on the path of cultivation, already just one small realm lower than him.
If James hadn't seen the kid's cultivation with his own eyes and even clashed with him just now, he would never have believed it if another person had told him if such a similar scene occurred.
'Not even those core disciples, the candidates to represent Sword Cliff Sect in the Snow Lake tournament had such frightening talent and cultivation base at such a young age.' James's back was drenched in sweat as he forced a smile, fearful that he might have offended someone he shouldn't have.
Gazing at the guards, James hardly hid the hatred in his eyes.
The guards on the side couldn't help but helplessly sigh with a disappointed look, it was as if they were saying,' We were trying to warn you but you didn't let us continue our words.'
The guards were about to interfere but hesitated on the spot.
This was a matter concerning the younger generation of the sect, and the elders such as the guards had no right to interfere. Both were cultivators and should have been fully aware of the need to bear the consequences of their own actions.
Yone answered with a knowing gaze," No worries, you aren't the first to make such a mistake."
Just when James nodded, sighing in relief for Yone's understanding, a hand grabbed his chest.
He rushed his Qi in a panic to block the sudden attack, but a sudden force messed up his control. In but an instant, the hand pierced his chest and gripped his heart.
"Didn't your master or elders ever warn you? If you're unsure of someone's origins or strength, never pick a fight—or you might forfeit your life." He then couldn't help but add mockingly, "And how can you let your guard down against someone you've just attacked?"
'Of course, that rule doesn't apply to me. Heh, heh!' Yone grinned.
James's eyes greeted Yone's evil grin, his words leaving him utterly dumbfounded.
"Y-you can't..." James was in shock.
He was an inner disciple of Sword Cliff, standing right in front of the sect's gate, yet the kid ignored all of that and attacked him.
"Save me..." James turned to the equally shocked guards and uttered.
"Die!" Yone demonic voice echoed in the guard's ears and both shouted in unison, "No!"
Unfortunately, it was too late. Yone already gouged out James's heart. Blood flowed like a fountain from his chest as he collapsed.
He never expected his arrogance would lead him to his death so early in his life...
"James!"
The guards shouted as they stumbled toward his body, their minds clouded with confusion. They were utterly speechless, unable to find the words to describe the chaos that had unfolded before them if any elders or that person came to ask about it.