"A-are you bold enough, Aizen? Do you know what you're doing? Let go of Steward Edric immediately!"
In the dimly lit hut, when Stanley saw that Aizen had grabbed Steward Edric's neck in one swift move, he could hardly believe his eyes and almost bit his own tongue in disbelief. His heart filled with fear as he shouted weakly.
Aizen looked at him coldly, a faint smile on his lips as he stared at the terrified face of Steward Edric. He paid no attention to Stanley's shouting.
"Steward Edric, you were right; if you want to blame something, blame your own weakness..."
With a cold chuckle, Aizen repeated the words Steward Edric had said to him earlier.
Steward Edric's pupils shrank as he desperately gripped Aizen's arm, trying to resist, but with Aizen's inner Aura flowing, his seemingly not-so-strong arm felt like it was made of iron. It was impossible for Steward Edric to move it.
With a firm squeeze, a loud crack echoed. Steward Edric's eyes widened as Aizen's grip snapped his neck, killing him instantly.
Even in his last moments, Steward Edric could not believe that the person he had always oppressed, Aizen, had such strength, and that he, Steward Edric, would die at the hands of a mere servant he had never even considered a threat.
"Ah!... " Stanley let out a terrified scream as he saw Steward Edric's lifeless body tossed aside like a rag doll. An overwhelming fear gripped his heart, and without hesitation, he turned to run.
Aizen snorted coldly and rushed forward. His hand shot out like an arrow, piercing through the air and striking the back of Stanley's neck.
Another crack echoed as Stanley fell to the ground, dead without even making a sound.
"System notification: The 'Die for Riches' mission is complete. You've earned 200 Wisdom points. Would you like to redeem an activity chest?"
Aizen selected "no" and finally understood what the system meant by the mission's "easy test of skill."
It seemed the system had judged that Aizen's current strength far exceeded that of Steward Edric and Stanley, making the mission's difficulty low, and the rewards not particularly generous.
Without paying further attention to Stanley's corpse, Aizen quickly walked out of the room and opened the door.
He looked around, and there was no one in sight. The surroundings were empty, and the only sounds were those of insects and birds. The nearby huts were quiet, as everyone had gone to complete the tasks Steward Edric had assigned.
Aizen remained expressionless, and after a moment's thought, he closed the door.
About ten seconds later, Aizen suddenly opened the door again. As soon as the door opened, he listened intently and scanned his surroundings with sharp eyes, like a hawk surveying everything in sight.
This time, he was certain that no one was around. He breathed a slight sigh of relief. Even though this was his first time killing, he was surprisingly unaffected. In fact, after the initial excitement, he became very calm. Perhaps he was truly suited to be a ruthless disciple of the demonic Clan .
After closing the door again, Aizen turned and walked over to the two corpses on the floor.
Stanley, a complete sycophant who had done nothing but flatter Steward Edric and serve his wicked purposes, deserved his fate.
As for Steward Edric, Aizen looked at the true disciple of the Heavenly Demon Clan. Over the past six months, Steward Edric had tormented him, and now he had died by Aizen's hand. It could be considered poetic justice.
However, his death was troublesome. A disciple of the Heavenly Demon Clanhad died inside the Clan, killed by someone as low as a servant. If the higher-ups of the Clan investigated, Aizen would have no escape.
What made things worse was that Steward Edric had a cousin named Leo.
Leo was also a disciple of the Heavenly Demon Clan, and his talents were even greater than Steward Edric's. Although he was also a low-level disciple, Leo was said to be one of the top candidates to place in the top three in the upcoming Clan competition. His reputation among the lower disciples far exceeded Steward Edric's.
Aizen wasn't sure if anyone else knew about Stanley and Steward Edric coming to find him. Now that he had made his move, he had no regrets.
Even if he had the chance to do it again, he would still kill them.
There was no other choice. In the Heavenly Demon Clan, the competition was brutal, and only the strong survived.
Today, Steward Edric discovered Aizen's wealth. If Aizen hadn't killed both Steward Edric and Stanley, the consequences would have been far worse.
As for surrendering the thousand taels of silver, Aizen would never consider such a thing.
Even if he handed over such a large fortune, how could he explain where it came from?
Instead, his display of weakness would only attract more unwanted attention.
Dragging the bodies of Steward Edric and Stanley to a corner of the room, Aizen tidied up the space, hiding the silver under the bed, and then left the room.
The best way to handle this situation was simple: Aizen needed to become a disciple of the Heavenly Demon Clan .
The disciples of the Heavenly Demon Clan were divided into several ranks, starting with the highest, the true disciples, followed by the inner disciples, then the outer disciples, and finally, the lowest-ranking disciples, who were as numerous as ants.
Aizen was nothing more than a servant of the Clan, lower than even an ant, someone whom any disciple of the demonic Clan could kill without consequence.
In fact, if it weren't for Lilith's protection over the past six months, Aizen would have already been killed by Steward Edric, who had taken a disliking to him.
Now, Aizen had killed Steward Edric, and it was as if a small, weak ant had dared to bite a human.
As long as his actions remained undiscovered, things would be fine. But if they were exposed, the Clan's enforcers would come for him, and the punishment would be death for death.
Aizen knew that time was running out, and the situation was urgent. After leaving the hut, he went directly to the area he had been assigned to clean earlier.
At that moment, several disciples dressed in black were passing through the area.
These were also low-level disciples. They either ignored Aizen or looked at him with disdain as they rushed past.
Aizen avoided them as much as he could. Since he wasn't yet a disciple of the demonic Clan, he chose to keep a low profile.
As he neared the Hall of Honor, Aizen suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps approaching from behind. A group of people was rushing toward him.
"Move aside!"
Someone shouted from behind.
Aizen frowned slightly and quickly stepped aside.
Almost as soon as he moved, a group of low-level black-clad disciples rushed past him. One of them, a man with a scarred face, glanced at Aizen with contempt and spat in his direction.
Aizen's expression changed slightly, and he quickly stepped back to avoid the spit.
The glob of spit hit the ground with a loud splat, a clear insult.
"Hmm? You dare to dodge?"
The scar-faced disciple immediately stopped in his tracks, his eyes flashing with hostility as he stared at Aizen.
The others also stopped. Leading them was a middle-aged man with a sword scar on his forehead. He glanced at Aizen and frowned at the scar-faced man, saying, "Scar, let it go. The mission is more important, and this servant is under Lilith's protection. Don't cause trouble."
"Lilith? Heh, even if that whore Lilith shows up today, I won't be afraid," Scar laughed. "You guys go on ahead and take the mission," he added with disdain.
Scar wasn't listening. His anger flared at the sight of Aizen's calm and unafraid expression. After finishing his words, he sneered and charged toward Aizen, launching a powerful flying kick.
This kick wasn't simple; it was a vicious strike, displaying Scar's formidable strength as he aimed to strike Aizen with full force!