Ning Zu opened his eyes, an unreadable, almost vacant expression lingering on his face.
He blinked once, taking in his surroundings.
The room he found himself in was enormous, the air heavy with a solemn, almost suffocating atmosphere.
Kneeling on the cold stone floor before him were multiple figures, both Gu Masters and ordinary mortals, bound and trembling.
Their hands were tied behind their backs, knees raw from being pressed to the hard ground.
His eyes drifted to one side of the room, where a massive wall made of transparent glass loomed.
Behind it, most of the elders of the Xiong Clan stood, their pristine white robes unblemished, a stark contrast to the grisly scene before them.
Every one of them was there, except for the academy Elder was refining Gu right now.
Some of the elders wore thin smiles, eyes glinting with anticipation, while others maintained impassive faces, masking whatever emotions simmered beneath.
Among the elders stood his father who was looking at him intensely, but Ning Zu didn't spare him his gaze for a second.
His father didn't accept what was happening, but he had no say in the matter.
Since the revelation that his son possessed the dreaded Molten Bloodlusty Soul, his father had faced unending pressure from rival factions within the clan. Suppressed politically by both the Wei faction and the Clan Leader's faction, his father's voice no longer carried weight.
Ning Zu's mother was also present, though her normally composed demeanor had cracked. Her lips trembled, and tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but she clenched her jaw, forcing herself to remain strong. Prestige demanded as much, and she could not afford to appear weak.
Elder Wei stepped forward. With a casual gesture, he activated a voice-amplifying Gu, his words echoing sharply throughout the chamber.
"Ning Zu," Elder Wei commanded, his voice calm yet laden with authority, "pick up the axe beside you and execute the prisoners."
Ning Zu's gaze shifted downward to where an axe lay on the ground. The weapon gleamed menacingly, its edge sharpened only recently.
Slowly, he bent to retrieve it, the metal cold and heavy in his hands.
Instead of walking toward the prisoners, he suddenly turned and charged at Elder Wei, swinging the axe at the transparent glass.
The blade clanged uselessly against the barrier, not even leaving a scratch. The glass had been fortified with every protective measure the elders could muster.
Elder Wei barely flinched. "You cannot harm us," he said, sounding almost bored. "Now, listen well."
He leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "You have the Molten Bloodlusty Soul. A curse, yes, but also a blessing in disguise," he explained, each word carefully chosen. He gestured toward the bound prisoners. "Kill them, and I promise you more, you won't understand now, but after you will get a taste of killing, and see the endless opportunities of the power you were born with, you won't stop even if you want to."
From behind the glass, Elder Zi watched Ning Zu with a mixture of hope and desperation, silently praying the boy would resist.
But Ning Zu did not spare him or anyone else a glance. He turned and approached the prisoners.
He examined them one by one. Their faces were twisted in expressions of pure, unfiltered rage.
Their eyes had rolled back, leaving only whites visible. They radiated fury, their bodies trembling as though barely containing their hatred.
Ning Zu knew this was Elder Wei's doing, a vile manipulation. The elder had read from an ancient book he bought that the Molten Bloodlusty soul that Ning Zu possesses would grow even stronger and produce more benefits if it killed someone with intense negative emotions.
Among the prisoners, Ning Zu's gaze settled on a man whose face seemed hauntingly familiar.
Recognition struck. It was the old Gu Master he had fought while inhabiting the Bai Clan man's body, and the one he used to strike a deal with the Gu Yu ancestor.
The man looked beaten and broken, acting like he's clinging to life, that he didn't have anymore.
The man was already dead, his appearance a mere ruse. A small, mirthless smile curled Ning Zu's lips.
Without hesitation, Ning Zu swung the axe, butchering the prisoners one by one. Gasps echoed from behind the glass.
His mother covered her mouth, horrified, while his father remained silent, eyes dark with resignation. Ning Zu kept killing, the smile never leaving his face. As each life was snuffed out, a swirling mass of red and black energy seeped from the corpses, entering his soul.
The sensation was intoxicating. The energy coursed through him, mending his fractured soul foundation, leaving him feeling euphoric.
It felt better than any potent drug, intensifying with every murder.
His eyes grew darker, the hatred and fury from his victims feeding his soul. Each surge of power made him crave more.
Elder Wei watched with evident satisfaction, but a commotion suddenly drew his attention. A
rank 2 Gu Master knocked urgently on the door. The interruption made Elder Wei scowl.
"What is it?" Elder Wei snapped.
"I must speak with you, esteemed elder, it's about your grandchild" the Gu Master insisted, glancing nervously at the ongoing carnage.
Elder Wei waved him off, irritation plain on his face. "Later. Can't you see I'm occupied?"
"But Elder, it's—" the Gu Master started, only to be cut off.
"Go away!" Elder Wei barked. Reluctantly, the Gu Master withdrew, not daring to speak any longer.
Taking advantage of the brief distraction, Ning Zu made his move. He swung the axe at the old, supposedly alive Gu Master he recognized.
The strike split open the man's aperture, and from it, a Gu escaped, flying straight into Ning Zu's aperture. Though he did not absorb any negative energy from the old man, what he gained was far more valuable.
Feigning ignorance, Ning Zu continued the slaughter, his movements quickening. Each death fed his soul, amplifying his strength and heightening the pleasure coursing through him.
The hatred he absorbed condensed in his chest, a tangible weight, until it finally began to coalesce into something more.
The elders behind the glass gasped as a new Gu took shape before their eyes. It radiated an aura of a rank 3 Gu, it kept feeding on the intense hare, then it changed to rank 4 as it continued to feed on the swirling hatred.
When Ning Zu finished the last prisoner, the Gu jumped out into the air and settled inside his aperture, as though it had always belonged there.
Elder Wei's eyes sparkled with delight. The Clan Leader himself leaned forward, his voice booming with excitement. "The legendary Hatred Gu from the tale of Ren Zu!" he exclaimed.
"A treasure beyond measure! Come here, Ning Zu, and give it to me."
Ning Zu's smile vanished, replaced by a blank stare. He met the Clan Leader's gaze, unblinking.
"Do as you're told," the Clan Leader ordered, impatience creeping into his voice. "Or suffer the consequences." He said that while pointing at his father.
But Ning Zu barely registered the words. His focus was on his aperture, where three Gu lay: the rank 2 Fine Wine Worm, the rank 4 Hatred Gu, and a rank 5 Egg Storage Gu.
The egg-shaped Gu shimmered, its surface glossy. It was a one-time-use Gu, designed to hold multiple things but dissolving once opened.
Without hesitation, Ning Zu activated the Hatred Gu, feeling his essence strength skyrocket. He poured that amplified power into the Egg Storage Gu.
The egg dissolved, releasing a horde of Gu that filled his aperture. Rank 2, rank 3, rank 4, and even a few precious rank 5 Gu swirled in the space, alongside rare rank 1's.
Ning Zu's eyes gleamed as he refined the Gu using the Soul Lotus Gu's aura. Then, he faced the Clan Leader, walking toward the glass. "Do you want to see what the Hatred Gu can do?" he asked after he recognized every Gu he asked for.
The Clan Leader sneered, approaching the glass. "What could a child possibly—"
In a that moment, Ning Zu created a mortal killer move.
He combined multiple Gu: the rank 4 Blood Skull Gu and the Hatred Gu, the rank 3 Blood Moon Gu and Purification Gu, and several rank 2 Gu such as Blood Sword Gu and Blood Qi Gu, even employing some rare rank 1 human path Gu. His voice dropped to a whisper.
Mortal Killer Move—Devour Blood Kin.
The Clan Leader never saw it coming. The glass shattered, and his body was impaled, a look of smug disbelief frozen on his lifeless face.
Blood was drained from his body, his skin sagging grotesquely, until it pooled into a massive blood skull hovering over Ning Zu.
The other elders sprang into action, horrified. But Ning Zu was already prepared, making another killer move on the spot.
Mortal Killer Move—Threads of Light.
Activating speed-enhancing Gu. He moved so fast that even seasoned rank 5 lightning path Gu Masters would have struggled to track him.
With deadly precision, he cut down the elders one by one, their bodies collapsing lifelessly, betrayal and disbelief etched into their features.
As they died, a new, more potent negative energy filled Ning Zu, the thrill of betrayal amplifying his twisted pleasure.
His mother sobbed openly, and his father stepped in front of her protectively.
Ning Zu ignored them, too consumed by the euphoria coursing through him. "I am loyal only to myself," he murmured, using the killer move again and knocking his parents unconscious with care.
He had no intention of killing them, not after all the kindness they had shown him.
The blood skull above him grew after absorbing the rest of the Elders bloods, pulsing with dark energy.
Ning Zu considered his options and crafted a human path killer move. Using the blood skull as the core, amplified by the Hatred Gu, he formed a colossal spear that reminded him of the weapons Ming You had favored in his younger days.
Ning Zu expelled all of his Gu from his aperture except for his vital Gu, filling the room with a chaotic swarm of different Gu.
With the spear in his hands, Ning Zu exhaled, his breath ragged yet steady.
The weapon radiated an overwhelming aura, vibrating with raw energy that pulsed through him. He focused, driving the spear into his aperture.
The moment it entered, searing pain exploded within him, an agony so fierce it clawed at his sanity.
Yet, even as pain threatened to consume him, another feeling arose because of his cycle—pleasure, twisted and exhilarating.
The mixture of torment and ecstasy sent shivers through his body.
Blood streamed from his eyes, staining his cheeks, but Ning Zu kept smiling. His mouth twisted into a wide, maniacal grin as he endured the torture he had inflicted on himself.
The spear shattered his vital Gu, making him a rank 2 again, and with each fragment dissolving, the liquid essence from the spear began to seep into every corner of his aperture.
He then poured a flood of rare rank 1 Gu into the refining process that crumbled upon contact, feeding the transformation.
His aperture expanded, the walls stretching and strengthening. He was reshaping his very essence, reforging himself anew.
With each step of the refinement, power surged through him, a crescendo that made him feel invincible. A feeling of godlike triumph coursed through his veins.
When the transformation was complete, Ning Zu's laughter filled the room. It was an unsettling sound, echoing off the walls now cluttered with discarded, shattered Gu.
He stood tall, his aperture fully refined, every drop of essence brimming with power. "I've done it," he whispered, awe in his voice. "With the blood skull Gu, the amazing amplification of the hatred Gu, I've achieved the Great Strength True Martial Physique."
The weight of his accomplishment settled over him, but he had no time to bask in it, letting all the Gu in his aperture again.
He pushed open the doors, stepping into the fresh air outside.
The Xiong Clan village spread before him, a serene tableau that quickly shifted into chaos.
Villagers stopped and stared at the blood-covered boy who emerged from the elders' chamber, his eyes glinting with a dark, unrestrained energy.
Whispers erupted, fear spreading like wildfire.
Ning Zu tilted his head back and looked up at the sky. His lips curled into a smile, both calm and sinister. "Today," he declared softly, "I will do whatever I want."
The villagers' fearful murmurs grew louder as they began to back away, recognizing that something had changed irreversibly.
But Ning Zu paid them no mind.
The day was young, and a world of possibility lay before him, ripe for the taking.
With that, his cultivation rose, and he achieved rank 3 for a second time.