The Ravaging of Xiong Village
In the Xiong Village, the atmosphere was heavy with fear.
Hidden deep within the mountains, multiple people huddled in the clan's secret cave, anxiously waiting for any sign of hope. They had heard the horrifying news: Elder Zi's son had gone wild, mercilessly killing every Gu master and anyone even remotely connected to one.
A man, his voice breaking, turned to Yan Fang, who was known for being the Academy Elder's loyal "dog." Tears streamed down his face as he demanded, "Where is the Academy Elder?"
Yan Fang looked away, visibly uncomfortable. "He... he's busy with something else right now," he mumbled.
The man's face twisted in anguish, and he shouted, "Busy?! What if that monster hurts my wife and daughter? What then?!"
The moral of the group was already so low, but it was about to go lower.
Before Yan Fang could respond, an earth-shaking explosion rocked the cave. Dust and debris filled the air, and from the destruction emerged Ning Zu.
Atop his head sat a massive, bloody skull, its eye sockets burning with purple fire. He surveyed the frightened crowd, and they stared back, terrified by the changes in his appearance.
Some of his hair had turned ghostly white, stark against the rest of his normal brown hair.
A Gu master, acting purely on instinct, activated his movement Gu, attempting to flee.
But before he could get far, the skull's mouth opened, and a blast of purple flames shot out, consuming him in an instant.
The stench of burning flesh filled the air, and the remaining Gu masters were paralyzed with terror, unable to move or even think.
Ning Zu scoffed, his voice cold. "I'm tired of the Southern Border. I miss the Northern Plains."
Suddenly, the man who had shouted at Yan Fang stepped forward.
With a roar, fur sprouted from his skin, and his body transformed into a hulking bear. He charged Ning Zu with everything he had, his muscles rippling as he threw a powerful punch aimed at Ning Zu's face. But the attack did nothing. Ning Zu remained still, unfazed.
With brutal efficiency, Ning Zu delivered a dropkick, driving the man into the ground.
He turned away, ready to leave, but he felt something tug at his leg. Surprised, he looked down, and so did everyone else.
The Gu master, barely alive, had sunk his teeth into Ning Zu's leg, using the last of his strength to hold on.
Ning Zu's expression softened into a gentle smile. He seemed almost pleased, as if he had found a rare treasure.
With a look of respect, almost like a proud father, Ning Zu granted the man a swift death, stomping on his neck and sending his head flying.
Ning Zu's chest glowed, and a new Gu formed.
The negative energy his soul absorbed wasn't hatred or sadness, but the bitter feeling of betrayal.
This man had dedicated his life to his family and clan, only to be abandoned in his final moments.
The rank 3 Betrayed Gu emerged.
Ning Zu's voice dropped to a murmur. "Loyalty to others is betrayal to oneself," he said, almost to himself. "He had every right to feel betrayed."
He looked at the remaining Gu masters. "Now," he announced, "I shall deliver judgment."
The bloody skull atop his head opened its mouth wide, releasing a devastating blast of purple fire.
The explosion rocked the cave, consuming everything in its path. Ning Zu's soul absorbed the swirling emotions, the intoxicating mixture of fear and betrayal making him feel almost euphoric.
Yet, the Betrayed Gu did not get refined to the next rank like the Hatred Gu once had.
While hatred Gu was easy to work with, only needing hatred to be satisfied and to be refined to the next level, the betrayal Gu needed to feed on loyalty to someone other than oneself, and it didn't grow any further no matter how much you fed it that.
Walking out of the destroyed cave, the skull on his head now devoid of flames, Ning Zu's hair had grown even whiter.
He looked up and spotted a Gu hiding in a nearby cloud. His eyes glowed red, and the Gu burst apart instantly.
He laughed, "The Gu Yu clan," he muttered. "They're becoming a nuisance. But I'll handle them soon enough."
He made his way to the wide, flat training ground he had prepared himself. There, multiple mortal women knelt, their heads bowed, eyes fixed on the ground. None dared to look up.
Using a Gu to amplify his voice, Ning Zu declared, "I, the clan leader, have purified our clan. Now, I will rebuild our bloodline from its ashes."
No one dared speak, even though his claim was blatant nonsense.
He continued, "I shall grant you a gift."
The bloody skull floated high into the air above them.
Mortal Killer Move: Bloody Gift.
The skull swelled, tears of dark, thick blood streaming from its eye sockets. It grew larger and larger until it exploded, raining blood down on the crowd.
Ning Zu then released a sliver of his killing intent, a silent promise that anyone who did not accept his "gift" would wish for death.
None one opposed him.
Satisfied, Ning Zu turned and walked away, feeling no guilt or remorse, he believed he was in the right after all.
He decided to go to the clan's spirit spring, as he wanted to use it for a long time now.
As he walked, he soon came to a bend, only one turn away from the spirit spring. There, he found his sister Chu Er and Bai Ning Bing, their faces pale with fear.
Ning Zu smiled at them, though the kindness never reached his eyes. "I've been looking for you," he said, as he took a Gu that looked like a bubble from his aperture.
Bai Ning Bing swallowed, his voice hoarse and shaking. "Is it true?" he asked, stuttering. "Did you... kill the elders?"
Ning Zu nodded, his expression calm. "Yes, I did."
As soon as he finished his words, Chu Er's face contorted with pain, and she screamed, "Why? Why did you kill our parents?! What did they do wrong? What's wrong with you!"
Ning Zu let out a small laugh, a sound that sent chills through their bones. It almost seemed like he found their pain amusing. Chu Er and Bai Ning Bing exchanged a look of confusion. Did he think this was funny?
"I didn't kill our parents," Ning Zu said, his voice laced with mockery. Chu Er's eyes lit up with a fragile hope. "Is that true?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Ning Zu nodded again. "I only killed the elders. Our parents stopped being that long ago."
Before they could process his words, Ning Zu moved swiftly. He picked them up, and a rank 5 Gu activated in his hand.
A shimmering bubble formed around Chu Er and Bai Ning Bing, trapping them. They clung to each other, terrified and helpless, as seconds turned into years.
Inside the bubble, their bodies aged rapidly. Chu Er's hair grew long and wild, her face maturing from the softness of childhood to the beauty of a teenager. Her limbs stretched, her bones shifting, and her features sharpened.
Bai Ning Bing's frame expanded, muscles developing as his shoulders broadened. His once-boyish face hardened into that of a young man, reflecting the pain he felt.
The bubble burst, and they collapsed onto the ground, now as teenagers, they lay gasping, disoriented and exhausted.
Ning Zu observed them, satisfied. He used one of his newly regained killer moves.
Mortal Killer Move: Careful Puppetry.
Chu Er and Bai Ning Bing stood up against their will, their bodies moving like marionettes as they stumbled into the spirit spring.
The spring's energy surged around them, awakening their apertures. Bai Ning Bing's aperture gleamed with the brilliance of an A grade, a full 99 percent maximum capacity, while Chu Er's was a humble C-grade, just a 52 percent maximum capacity.
Ning Zu noted Bai Ning Bing's potential, knowing it would take time for him to reach a full 100 percent.
Deactivating the killer move, Ning Zu let them fall, exhausted. He pulled a blanket from one of his storage Gu and tossed it over them. "Rest," he said. "You two will become the future elders of the Bai Xiong Clan, after all, I can't use you if you're dead."
He turned to leave, walking to the village to make a formation, but a voice, hoarse and old, cut through the air.
The Academy Elder stood tall and straight, despite his age. His eyes burned with defiance.
"There is no future for the clan you speak of," the Elder said. "Only the true Xiong Clan will remain."
Ning Zu's smile widened, his eyes alight with madness. 'He must have heard me using a Gu,' he thought.
"Then let's complete the purification," he replied, ready to face the Academy Elder in the final confrontation.
The Academy Elder stood firm, unexpectedly emitting a rank 4 aura. Hope flickering in his eyes.
Ning Zu raised an eyebrow. "A rank 4?" he whistled. "So that's why you were hiding like a rat while your clan was butchered."
The elder's eyes narrowed. "Advancing was easy," he replied, "I was late because I was refining a Gu."
From his aperture, the elder took out a rank 5 Gu, it looked like a dark green bean, with a little eye growing from it.
He smirked. "I was going to lie to the clan leader," he admitted, "claiming this Gu's recipe was flawed, and then burn it. But fate is funny, I ended up refining it for myself."
Ning Zu began charging his killer move, unconcerned with whatever threat the elder's Gu might pose. He kept his focus steady until, suddenly, the academy elder did something unexpected.
He placed the Gu in his mouth and began to chew it. Ning Zu's eyes narrowed in confusion, unable to understand the elder's intentions.
The elder swallowed the Gu and declared with a fierce determination, "I will take revenge for everyone." As he finished speaking, an eye opened in the middle of his forehead. It was dark as ink, with a sinister yellow pupil that glared with unsettling intensity.
The eye's gaze locked onto Ning Zu, and he felt a strange sensation deep in his stomach. His aperture trembled violently.
To his horror, the essence within his aperture disappeared, and the Gu worms he had seemed to vanish as if they had never existed. His aperture ceased to produce essence, leaving him helpless.
His Gu and aperture had been sealed!
Meanwhile, the academy elder's transformation had begun. His body grew younger and taller, his skin turning a vivid green.
Muscles rippled beneath his flesh, tearing apart the once dignified elder robes as he stood more powerful and imposing than ever.
The elder's hair remained stark white, but his now jade-green skin gleamed under the sunlight, exuding a raw, primal strength.
He tilted his face toward the sky, savoring the sunlight one last time. Yet, the eye on his forehead stayed locked on Ning Zu, never blinking.
In that moment, the elder's aperture. His body fell into a state that should have dulled his senses and slowed his mind, but this transformation left him in a state unlike any ordinary zombie.
His mind, though sluggish, retained more clarity than typical zombies.
Ning Zu, shaken and disbelieving, managed to ask, "What kind of zombie are you?"
The elder turned his gaze to Ning Zu, considering the question before replying, "I'm not sure myself. But I do know one thing." With that, he stomped the ground, the sheer force of his movement shattering the earth beneath him. In an instant, he was upon Ning Zu, delivering a devastating punch to his stomach.
The impact sent Ning Zu hurtling backward, crashing through a bamboo house and obliterating it in a cloud of splintered wood and dust. Pain wracked his body, but the elder stood in the debris, his presence radiating an overpowering menace.
Today, the academy elder would demonstrate the terrifying ability of this unknown demonic Gu.