Chapter 213
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While the surviving martial artists of the nine remaining enemy sects backed away in fear, Shi Jing Yun, Wu Tuo and Su Bai Xue began yelling furiously and incoherently. However, their threats rang hollow and their pleas went unheeded.
As for Lu Li, Ling Yu Mei, Ling Yu Xuan, Pang Feng and the other people who had came from the nine other sects (by this point, the contingent of Dark Asura Sect that had came with them had already been completely wiped out), they looked shaken, their faces turning into an ashen complexion when they realized their death warrants had been issued.
"You heard him," Zi Shou De said simply, using his authority as the sect leader as Nine-Tailed Fox Sect to lend support to Lang Xie's command.
However, the five remaining Great Elders frowned in disagreement. They didn't dare to be too harsh, fearing the retaliation from the Martial Arts Alliance. Despite their age and supposed wisdom, they were still so naïve. The Martial Arts Alliance was going to wipe us out and enslave the blacksmiths and Spirit Engravers whether or not we allowed the ten invading sects to live. In fact, I suspected the Martial Arts Alliance didn't care if the ten sects they sent were destroyed in the process of subjugating Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. It would strengthen their hold and claim over the territories of the Great Zhou Empire and erase potential threats.
I meant the territories of the Great Zhou Empire that the royal family had given to the Martial Arts Alliance as concession and in return for their cooperation. The less sects there were in the Martial Arts Alliance, the less the remaining sects had to compete for an equal amount of territory, after all. Their greed and corruption had blinded them to the dangers of destroying their own member sects in the face of a resurgent coalition of demonic sects.
"They have to pay the price for invading our sect and killing so many of our members," Lang Xie replied simply, glancing aat the surviving Blood Blades. A quick estimation told me that we had suffered at least thirty percent casualties. There was a significant number of Blood Blades who were absent, killed during the fighting in the courtyard earlier when the ten invading sects barged in through the front gates and overran our defenses.
Tong Xue and Jing Wei and quite a lot of my friends were still alive, thankfully, but many more who I had gotten to know during my time with them were gone. Zhao Shi and Da Ge were present, still guarding Zi Xiao Ji, but a lot of Jing Wei's colleagues – the Blood Blades assigned as sentries at the front gates were missing. I couldn't find Shen Cha either – later I would learn that he was killed in the vicious fighting.
Lang Xie was also looking for his elite forces, the ones he had personally handpicked and trained, and the top warriors of Blood Blades who had experienced countless battles and climbed atop piles of corpses. My seniors, in other words. I only had the vaguest impression of who they were, but I was pretty sure there were twenty of them. Yet only nine remained – less than half their number. Apparently they had bore the brunt of the commanders' attacks when they broke into our sect.
"In this battle, we have lost slightly over thirty percent of our Blood Blades martial artists." Lang Xie was glaring murderously at Shi Jing Yun, Wu Tuo, and Su Bai Xue. "A life for a life. These bastards murdered our comrades and sect members. Should they not pay a price?"
"Indeed they should," Zi Shou De agreed. "Both you and Fei Wu are correct. What kind of message will we be sending if we allowed bullies to walk in and out of our sect without facing the consequences?"
The five Great Elders sighed and shook their heads, conceding the point. They knew neither Zi Shou De nor Lang Xie could be convinced.
"Blood Blades, kill them all," Zi Da Ji commanded fiercely. "You heard your vice-commander. Leave none alive except those three."
"That's right!" Elder Zhao shouted. "Kill them! Kill these invaders!"
"Kill them all!" the surviving nine elite Blood Blades martial artists shouted in unison.
"No mercy. No forgiveness." I nodded and stepped forward. Behind me, my squadron of Castellax battle-automata responded to my will and their guns tracked the pale invaders. For all their bluster and aggressiveness earlier when they trespassed into our territory, conquered and ransacked our city, and thought they had us cornered, they were now quaking in their boots – literally – and on the verge of pissing themselves.
Well, serves them right.
"Well said!" Tian Yu Di cackled. "Let's do it!"
While this was all going on, Pang Feng was watching me. He had resigned himself to his fate, knowing that he deserved this for betraying Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. he met my gaze evenly, and something inside my heart stirred.
"I'll take care of Pang Feng myself. He still has his uses."
Zi Da Ji and Hai Rong stared at me in surprise.
"He betrayed us," the Sect Lady pointed out coldly. I nodded.
"Yeah, he did. And he will not be forgiven for it. Even so, he was still one of us. It isn't right to kill him. We'll punish him, but I would like to leave him alive if possible."
"It's fine." Pang Feng spoke up, steeling his resolve. "I knew the consequences and made my choice. You should just kill me. I deserve it."
I smirked. "You think you can just run away from responsibility by throwing away your life? I know you're prepared to die, which is why I don't intend to make it so easy for you. You'll have to repent through another way. It'll be too easy to kill you, but we'll be wasting all the efforts we poured into grooming you. Until you pay us back for that, you're not allowed to die."
"I'll let him leave." Tian Yu Di shrugged as he communicated through the Golden Dragon Medallion in a voice only I could hear. "He seems to have learned the basics of Heaven and Earth Absorption as well."
That made sense, considering that Pang Feng was part of the Blood Blades and had learned the same techniques as the rest of us.
On the other hand, the Ling sisters were trembling from fear and despair. Ling Yu Mei reached out and gripped Ling Yu Xuan's hand.
"Little sis, I didn't expect something like this to happen. I just wanted to come and watch."
The sisters' hands were trembling. They didn't want to die.
What the hell? I wanted to scoff at them. They made the choice to come here and watch us die, and now that the situation was reversed and the tables were turned on the invaders, they didn't want to die? What the fuck was this hypocrisy?
Anyway, I couldn't care less about them. I wasn't Qin Lie, and thus I had no ties with them. I had no obligation to save them, and it wasn't as if Ling Yu Mei was my fiancée or something. They came to watch our demise, so no sweat off my back if they were the ones killed.
"Kid…just who the hell are you?" Shi Jing Yun demanded, his face pale. He glanced at Tian Yu Di, his complexion growing more ashen by the second. "And who the hell is that monster? Why haven't we heard of such a powerful martial artist before?"
"You don't have to know." I smiled thinly. "You're just a hostage. I have no obligation to tell you anything. All you need to know is that I'm a member of Blood Blades, and a disciple of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. I'll do anything to protect my sect."
I then turned toward the fearful crowd who were backing away from Tian Yu Di and Blood Blades. They all set upon them with vengeful gusto, determined to exact revenge on these greedy, corrupted, hypocritical killers for killing so many of our brethren. Elder Zhao and the outer sect elders also joined in, following Lang Xie as they hunted down the people of the now leaderless sects, intent on wiping them out. Our battle-automata waded into the bloodbath, firing and pulverizing the enemies mercilessly.
As they did so, a single shrill voice pierced the heavens.
"YOU TRASH!"
Lu Li was shrieking at me, and she charged at me, her sword drawn and glowing ominously with icy qi.
"Face me if you have the guts! Or are you going to keep relying on other people and hide behind them?!"
"You don't have the right to face my sect leader," Tian Yu Di replied coolly as he stepped in front of her, getting ready to kill her with a single flick of his finger, but I stayed his hand with a thought through the Golden Dragon Medallion.
"Leave her to me," I told him. "She pisses me off, so I'll deal with her with my own hands."
"Hah! You think the likes of you can really deal with me yourself?!" Lu Li sneered as she slashed at me. I merely reached out and caught the blade with a hand. Her eyes bulged when she saw me stop her strike with a bare hand.
"How?! How did you…?!"
"Like this."
I shoved her back and then kicked her in the gut. She doubled over, coughing out blood. But she was far from down, and thrust her sword at my face, hoping to get another clean hit in, never mind she failed to scratch my palm even after I caught her blade with my bare hand.
I disappeared from her sight and she spun around, cursing and swearing.
"Where are you?! Did you really run away, you coward?! I knew it! I knew you can't defeat me in a one…AAAH!"
Her tirade of insults ended in a scream as my mobile turrets blasted her with a volley of qi beams, punching bloody holes through her arms, legs and body. She crashed onto the ground heavily, but didn't bleed out because the superheated qi blasts had cauterized the wounds. Writhing in pain, she gripped her sword tightly and glanced up at me as I approached.
"You were saying?" I asked pleasantly.
"Fuck you!" Lu Li screamed.
"No thank you," I replied, but she didn't seem to care about my rejection and continued wailing hatefully.
"You think you're some kind of big shot? You think you're a hero now that you've stopped our invasion?" Lu Li sneered, still flailing about on the ground. "Stop deluding yourself! You're just a fraud, just trash! The only thing you are capable of is relying on the power of others!" she shot a furious glance at Tian Yu Di, who was callously massacring the martial artists from the Seven Valley Sects, alongside Blood Blades.
"Power of others?" I smiled faintly, my lips curling into a sneer. "Coming from you, that's pretty rich. What about you? You dare to barge into the main sect grounds of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect today, but isn't that only because you are relying on the powers of the Seven Valley Sects? Would you dare to attack Nine-Tailed Fox Sect without relying on the power of others, without the power of the Martial Arts Alliance behind you? What a hypocrite!"
Lu Li was unable to come up with an answer, but she continued to glare at me venomously. I wanted to gloat over her, but I wasn't a villain. So I stepped in to finish her off quickly, because her very existence was pissing me off.
"Please! Master Fei Wu, I'm begging you! Please don't kill Senior Lu Li!"
Ling Yu Mei threw herself at my feet, desperately pleading with me. I frowned as I withdrew, causing her to land clumsily on the plaza.
"You should be more worried about yourself," I told her honestly. Glancing up, I was surprised that the Ling sisters had escaped the massacre so far. They probably kept a low profile and hid among the dead while the Blood Blades and Tian Yu Di focused on the martial artists desperately fighting back or visibly running away.
"You can take my life, but please spare Senior Lu Li!"
"Shut up!" Lu Li shouted coldly. "I don't want him to spare my life!"
"Master Fei Wu, during our time at Dark Fiend Valley Sect, Senior Lu constantly looked after us. She treated us very well. So please!" Ling Yu Xuan was begging me as well. I stared at the two sisters icily, wondering if I should just cut them down, but I wasn't ruthless and cruel enough to kill people who weren't attacking me or those without the will to fight.
"Why should I care?" I snapped irritably. "That has got nothing to do with me. You, Lu Li, the Seven Valley Sects all came to assault Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, and you think I should spare her life because she treated you well? Don't be ridiculous. What does that have to do with me?"
"Good! Hold him there!" Lu Li shouted.
Even though I had wounded her, Lu Li was far from helpless. While the Ling sisters were distracting me, she surged upward and stabbed at me.
"No, Senior Lu, don't!" Ling Yu Mei shouted.
"Don't do it, Senior Lu!" Ling Yu Xuan also screamed.
They were too late. As was my reaction – my reflexes were a millisecond too slow.
It was a huge blunder on my part. I was too fixated with arguing with the Ling sisters that I didn't notice Lu Li attacking until too late. Nonetheless, I was still a veteran martial artist who had experienced countless combat. I managed to instinctively used Tui to retreat. Even though I caught her sword earlier with my bare hand, that was because I had gathered all my qi into my palm to intercept her sword. Obviously I didn't have the time or opportunity to do that for my chest, nor did I know the exact place where she would stab me.
Even so, Lu Li's sword scraped my breast pocket, slicing through the fabric.
Thunk.
My Golden Dragon Medallion dropped onto the ground, for all to see.
"That's…" Ling Yu Mei's eyes widened.
"Ah…" Ling Yu Xuan was stunned.
"Impossible…" Lu Li murmured.
That was her last word. Furious, partially because she almost got the better of me, and partially at myself for carelessly letting my guard down, my body moved before my mind could compose itself. I stomped Lu Li's head onto the ground and unleashed Seimsic Step.
Lu Li didn't even get a chance to scream. Her head vanished, reduced to a bloody pulp beneath my foot, and her body flopped about helplessly, blood unceasingly streaming from her neck. Ignoring her headless corpse, I returned to the place where my Golden Dragon Medallion had dropped onto and picked it up.
It was too late. The damage had been done. Everyone, whether it was the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect or the nine invading sects sent by the Martial Arts Alliance, had seen the Golden Dragon Medallion. Even now, they had frozen in the middle of flight or fight, their eyes fixated on me. Only Tian Yu Di, who already knew that I possessed the Golden Dragon Medallion, didn't cease in his slaughter, but when he saw that everyone had stopped to stare at me, he halted as well, as if curious to see what I would do.
Even the cohort of battle-automata had paused, staying as stationary as statues, when the flow of qi from their controllers were cut off. My six Castellax battle-automata also went inactive when my focus was broken, idling while I tried to deal with my current predicament.
"You…why do you have that medallion?" Shi Jing Yun asked hoarsely.
"Isn't that…isn't that the Heaven and Earth Crest, the proof of the sect leader of the Heaven and Earth Sect?" this time it was Wu Tuo, his voice filled with disbelief.
"Kid, what is your connection with the Heaven and Earth Sect?" Su Bai Xue demanded, even paler than before.
"…that Heaven and Earth Master has been addressing Fei Wu as sect leader this whole time," Luo Zhi Chang whispered, the coin finally dropping. What? It took you this long to figure it out? Have you gone senile, old man?
Only Zi Shou De had some idea of what was going on, having suspected all that ever since Tian Yu Di appeared, but he didn't say anything.
"What's the meaning of this, Fei Wu?" Tong Xue asked nervously. "Why do you have that?"
"Answer me, brat!" Shi Jing Yun shouted. "What is your relationship to Heaven and Earth Sect?! And who is that monster that you command?!"
I glanced at Tian Yu Di, and he shrugged, as if to say he was going to leave the decision to me. From his expression, though, I had the impression that he wouldn't be happy if I denied my connection to Heaven and Earth Sect.
Might as well tell the truth and come clean now.
"I am Fei Wu, the 44th generation Sect Leader of Heaven and Earth Sect," I declared, holding my Golden Dragon Medallion up high for all to see. "As you know…" this was directed toward the elders and leaders of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. "Nine-Tailed Fox Sect is my secondary sect. My primary sect is and has always been Heaven and Earth Sect."
"Since when?" Zi Da Ji asked, and for the first time I saw her looking uncertain.
"Since before I joined the sect."
Elder Zhao nodded at my reply, recalling last year when he first recruited me. "I did know he was from another sect, that he already had a primary sect. But Nine-Tailed Fox Sect's policy was not to pursue our recruits' past or history."
"You did the right thing," Zi Shou De cut in. "And we honestly don't care what sect Fei Wu is from. He's still a member of our sect."
"When did you first join Heaven and Earth Sect?" Tong Xue asked timidly. He didn't seem to be listening to Zi Shou De's words, and was staring at me nervously. He then cleared his throat, realizing his place. "Um…it's okay if you don't want to say it."
"Four years ago," I replied honestly. "Shortly after we enrolled in Wu Ling Academy."
"Huh? Isn't that after…the destruction of Heaven and Earth Sect?" Zi Da Ji frowned in confusion. "How did you end up joining it after it was annihilated?"
"It's not unusual. Four years ago was exactly when Tian Mo was finally hunted down and killed." Lang Xie was the one who poke up solemnly. "He could have come into contact with Fei Wu and taught him a bit before he died. More importantly…" he turned his strict gaze upon me. "I want to know your intentions, Fei Wu. As the Sect Leader of Heaven and Earth Sect, what do you intend to do from here on out?"
"Huh? Protect Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. Isn't it obvious?"
Lang Xie stared at me skeptically. "Please forgive me for doubting you, but even you must know what sort of sect Heaven and Earth Sect is. I'm asking if you have any ulterior motives. Do you not seek revenge against the Martial Arts Alliance? Nine-Tailed Fox Sect was part of the coalition that annihilated the Heaven and Earth Sect."
Tian Yu Di stiffened, but I held out a hand to stop him.
"The same Martial Arts Alliance that is now seeking to destroy us," I pointed out calmly.
"Point taken," Lang Xie conceded with a nod as he shot a baleful glare at the three restrained leaders of the invading sects. "But are you saving Nine-Tailed Fox Sect now just to take revenge on us later?"
"Don't be ridiculous," I scoffed. "Why would I take such a roundabout manner of destroying Nine-Tailed Fox Sect if the Martial Arts Alliance can do it for me, while weakening themselves in the bargain? And to be honest…" I met Lang Xie's gaze evenly. "I originally didn't have any intention to take revenge on the Martial Arts Alliance or anyone who participated in the destruction of Heaven and Earth Sect." I shot an apologetic look at Tian Yu Di, but he maintained a mask of indifference. "I only met Master after the destruction of the sect, and he gave me this medallion and taught me Heaven and Earth Formula because I saved his life. Not because he wanted me to take revenge for him. He didn't even tell me who drove him to his death, nor did he mention a word of revenge. I would like to think that he was merely repaying the favor of me saving his life."
"You saved the life of Tian Mo?" Wu Tuo repeated incredulously.
"Yeah," I replied, but decided not to go into details. I honestly didn't want to mention the car and my original timeline. Nobody would believe me, and it would take too long to explain. "I only became the last member of Heaven and Earth Sect after everyone else was killed, so it is pretty hard for me to get emotionally attached to any of them. Why should I be obligated to take revenge for them when I had never met any of them? I never even had any idea of what the sect originally was, nor was I raised with the rest of them. And Master refused to tell me to the very end who hunted him down and killed him."
"I hardly think he would be able to do that after he died," Tong Xue remarked dryly. Oh, right. I couldn't tell them that I met Master in the underworld a few months after his death. "And you weren't attached to him?"
"He told me not to bother with revenge," I told him truthfully. "And he warned me beforehand that he was going to die anyway, and told me not to pursue it."
"I'm sorry, but I find that hard to believe." Lang Xie was still staring at me sternly. "Do you really not intend on taking revenge on the Martial Arts Alliance?"
"After what they did to us?" I gestured to Tushan City and the razed outer sect grounds. "Now I do."
"That's not what I mean. What do you intend to do with Nine-Tailed Fox Sect after this?" Lang Xie persisted.
This time, I wasn't the one who answered. Our conversation was rudely interrupted by the ominous laughter of Tian Yu Di. Everyone turned to stare at him.
"What's so funny?" Even though Lang Xie should know how strong Tian Yu Di was, he was staring at my Ancestral Master without a trace of fear.
Tian Yu Di snorted and jabbed a finger at him.
"You, of course. Listen to yourself. If Sect Leader wanted Nine-Tailed Fox Sect to be destroyed, it would have already been destroyed long ago." He revealed an ugly grin. "I myself am more than enough to destroy you singlehandedly."
Lang Xie bristled, but Tian Yu Di continued, ignoring him.
"And it was this kid who saved you. With the authority of sect leader, he ordered me not to lay a hand on your sect and forbid me from harming it. With his status as sect leader he commanded me to protect your pathetic sect. Otherwise how did you survive?"
"That's right." Surprisingly, it was Zi Shou De who spoke up for me. He was glaring at Lang Xie. "If Fei Wu didn't care about the sect, he wouldn't have returned through the underground passageway and braved those demons. He could very easily have escaped by himself after following you and Hai Rong to the trap these bastards set up." he gestured toward the corpses of Yuan Tian Ya and Liang Yang Zu. "It was Fei Wu who protected us – the Great Elders – from the predations of Blood Shadow. It was Fei Wu who protected us – me, the inner sect elders and everyone else here – from the Martial Arts Alliance. And it was Fei Wu who commanded the Elder over there to eliminate Liang Yang Zu and Yuan Tian Ya!"
Everyone fell silent, unable to refute Zi Shou De's words. Tang Qi Hong, taking courage from her adopted father, also reared to her full height and took a deep breath.
"That's right!" she shouted, her voice echoing across the plaza. "With all due respect, Lord Lang Xie, Fei Wu has done more to protect the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect than you did! The reason why Nine-Tailed Fox Sect has survived the invasion isn't because of you, but because of Fei Wu! He's the one who overturned the situation, risking his own life to stay even at the danger of the Martial Arts Alliance breaking into our grounds!"
To be honest, I didn't expect the ten sects to break in that quickly, but that wasn't something everyone needed to know.
Tong Xue nodded as well. "That's true. Lord Lang Xie, I believe in Fei Wu."
"Me too!" Lian Rou added.
"Brother Wu will never lie to us!" Zi Xiao Ji shouted from somewhere, still flanked by Zhao Shi and Da Ge, who were nodding in approval.
"He fought beside us and killed more than his fair share of enemies." Jing Wei cast a disgusted stare at Lu Li's headless corpse. "He has more than earned my trust."
The Great Elders and inner sect elders slowly relaxed. They knew that what my friends were saying was correct.
Indeed, the person who saved Nine-Tailed Fox Sect recently wasn't Lang Xie, who had been absent for most of the defense, but me. It was clear that our main pillar of strength, Tian Yu Di, only listened to my orders. If it was not for me commanding him, my Ancestral Master wouldn't have slain Blood Shadow, Liang Yang Zu or Yuan Tian Ya.
If Blood Shadow hadn't been killed, then all six Great Elders wold have already been slaughtered. Not only that, Tian Yu Di had singlehandedly turned the tables on the ten invading sects. If it weren't for him, Nine-Tailed Fox Sect would have been massacred as we were in Tushan City. But right now, it was the ten sects who were dying in droves – the contingent from Dark Asura Sect had been completely wiped out.
This was thanks to me, or so they thought. But obviously it wasn't as if I singlehandedly saved Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. In a way, the late Lu Li was right. I had relied on the power of Tian Yu Di. And in the long run, Tian Yu Di wouldn't have killed all ten sects on his own, not while he was still in a weakened condition. Sect Lady Zi Da Ji and Blood Blades had contributed immensely to the defense of the sect. We had all fought hard and made the enemy pay dearly in blood for every millimeter of ground they took. It wasn't as if Tian Yu Di was the only one fighting.
The Blood Blades – no, every single member of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect had contributed vitally to the survival of our sect. It was just that all our efforts added up into a single, overwhelming success. Just like gears and cogs, if we were missing even one member, the whole defense would have collapsed. As powerful as he was, even Tian Yu Di wouldn't have been able to hold up the protection of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect alone, not without the major contributions the Blood Blades and outer sect elders did earlier. Zi Da Ji, Tong Xue, Jing Wei, Zhao Shi, Da Ge, Elder Zhao – all of them contributed. Even our battle-automata deserved a mention, having been a stalwart bulwark that repelled the enemy for so long.
"That doesn't excuse you from colluding or joining a demonic sect," Su Bai Xue snarled icily.
"Now that I've taken charge, under my leadership, I will ensure that Heaven and Earth Sect will walk the right path and no longer be a demonic sect." I glanced at Tian Yu Di. "If that's all right with you, Elder Tian?"
Tian Yu Di snorted and looked away. "Suit yourself. You're the sect leader. I'll just do whatever I'm told."
"I want your honest opinion," I insisted.
"Hah!" Tian Yu Di laughed. "Is there any meaning to what's orthodox and what's demonic? That's just labels the people aove like to put on other sects. If they don't agree with them, then they're demonic. If they're in power and in place to implement their own brand of justice, then they'll call themselves orthodox. These are just stupid words. I have no time to waste on semantics. If you don't want the sect to walk down the path of murder, **** and pillage, then we won't. But…" he looked at me, his eyes glinting. "Never forget that we're martial artists. We will always walk the path of conflict, where strength is of utmost importance."
"Well, having ideals is useless if you don't have the strength to back it up," I pointed out honestly.
"Hah! Well said!" Tian Yu Di cackled. "As long as you are aware of that, then I have no complaints! Do whatever you want!"
"You think we'll listen to the rhetoric of demons?" Su Bai Xue yelled.
"They are not demons. As long as they are part of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, we will continue to protect them." Zi Shou De looked at me seriously. "Fei Wu, as I said before, Nine-Tailed Fox Sect doesn't care about your identity, origins or background, or your primary sect, and that as long as you are willing to remain a member of the sect, we will do everything we can to raise and teach you. Now, even though you're also the sect leader of Heaven and Earth Sect, allow me to ask you if you are still willing to stay at Nine-Tailed Fox Sect? Are you willing to bear the appropriate responsibilities as a disciple of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect?"
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't be here when the sect is in such grave danger," I replied calmly. "I'm not like Pang Feng or Yin Jing Jing, who left the sect because they thought we were doomed." I thought for a bit. "But I just want a small favor. If you don't mind allowing Blood Blades to be renamed Heaven and Earth Blades, to reflect the influence that Heaven and Earth Sect has on them, and grant Elder Tian a position there."
"Good!" Zi Shou De nodded. "Consider it done!"
"That's right!" Luo Zhi Chang shouted excitedly. "As long as you are willing, no matter what your primary sect is, or your past, you will always be a member of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect!"
"Thank you." I turned to Tian Yu Di. "Seems like you'll still get your revenge after all. Let's resume killing."
As if to punctuate my words, my Castellax battle-automata reared up and began firing again, mowing down a line of enemy martial artists before they even knew what was happening. I didn't kill them, just incapacitated them (by shooting their legs). Like I said, it was in bad taste to kill someone who wasn't attacking you.
Taking their cue, Blood Blades (the name change hadn't been made officially yet – there would be a ceremony later and everything), all tore into the stunned enemies, tearing them apart with their Spirit Weapons, battle-automata and techniques.
"Meh, the ones I want to take revenge on are long dead, anyway." Tian Yu Di waved his hand dismissively. "I don't really care if the people here live or die." He then grinned. "But if that's your command, then I'll go have some fun!"
"Enjoy yourself!" I called out to him, and he disappeared, turning into a demon that wiped out a cluster of fleeing martial artists with a single strike.
I was about to join my Cybernetica Cohort when I heard sounds of sobbing. The Ling Sisters, miraculously, were still alive, weeping over the corpse of Lu Li. I looked at them sympathetically, then at the nearby Blood Blades. Sooner or later there wouldn't be anyone left except them, and my comrades would turn their murderous attention to the two.
It didn't sit well with me to kill people who had already lost the will to fight and weren't even lifting a finger to resist. Even so, I had sent an order, and couldn't just rescind it.
"Sorry," I told them as I approached. Ling Yu Mei and Ling Yu Xuan stared up at me tearfully, not sure what to do. They held hands tightly, preparing for their deaths. I felt sorry for them, but I steeled myself.
This was for the sake of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, after all.
"If you survive this, then we'll just let you go. Since we'll dispose the bodies outside the city later anyway." I didn't mention that we would have to burn the bodies to prevent diseases and whatnot. No point scaring the sisters. "But let's leave everything to fate."
With a wave of my hand, I encased both shocked sisters in ice. I was satisfied when I detected a small trace of qi from both sisters, which indicated that they were still alive, and then turned away in search of more…resistant prey.
Within a few hours, we were done with our bloody work.
Corpses could be seen lying in all directions. All of them belonged to the martial artist from the ten invading sects and included the subordinates and closest confidants of Shi Jing Yun, Wu Tuo and Su Bai Xue.
The three of them were still chained to the Spirit Engraved Pillars, helplessly watching as their subordinates were slaughtered. They were glaring at us hatefully, an ominous fire blazing deep inside their eyes.
If Lang Xie hadn't commanded that we let them live, I would have them killed. They were dangerous. If we let them go, they would return to pose a formidable threat to us in the far future.
Even so, I couldn't help but comment on their hypocrisy.
"Did you really think you can just waltz into Tushan City, massacre our citizens and members of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, and just walk away freely?" I snapped at them. "You think you can just go around killing anybody you want without suffering the consequences? If you're not ready to be killed in return, then you have no business taking lives!"
The three of them didn't respond. They only glared at me defiantly. I knew they would be scheming to assassinate me in the future. I couldn't let them go. After Lang Xie made his deal and secured the safety of our sect members who were taken as hostages, and these guys were returned to the sect, I vowed to hunt them down before they could carry out their plans of revenge.
No…that was fine. Tian Yu Di and I were going to take revenge and destroy the Martial Arts Alliance anyway. When that happened, we would inevitably clash, and that would be the best time to eliminate them.
I looked forward to that happening.
Unaware of my sinister schemes, Hai Rong had gotten to her feet, still severely injured from her clash with Blood Shadow earlier.
"There are still many enemies from these ten sects lingering in Tushan City," she growled through gritted teeth. "We should exterminate them as well!"
Lang Xie nodded in acknowledgement. "I'll take care of it now."
"Elder Tian," I spoke up. Now that the carnage was over, he was hanging out at the bottom of one of the Spirit Engraved Pillars, looking bored. It appeared that he was absorbing the qi from some victims, especially those with purer qi, in an effort to replenish his strength. He looked up when I approached, stifling a yawn.
"What is it?"
"You mind helping Lord Lang Xie get rid of the invaders in Tushan City?"
Tian Yu Di grinned. "Do you even have to ask? Just point me in the right direction and I'll wipe them out!"
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While the surviving martial artists of the nine remaining enemy sects backed away in fear, Shi Jing Yun, Wu Tuo and Su Bai Xue began yelling furiously and incoherently. However, their threats rang hollow and their pleas went unheeded.
As for Lu Li, Ling Yu Mei, Ling Yu Xuan, Pang Feng and the other people who had came from the nine other sects (by this point, the contingent of Dark Asura Sect that had came with them had already been completely wiped out), they looked shaken, their faces turning into an ashen complexion when they realized their death warrants had been issued.
"You heard him," Zi Shou De said simply, using his authority as the sect leader as Nine-Tailed Fox Sect to lend support to Lang Xie's command.
However, the five remaining Great Elders frowned in disagreement. They didn't dare to be too harsh, fearing the retaliation from the Martial Arts Alliance. Despite their age and supposed wisdom, they were still so naïve. The Martial Arts Alliance was going to wipe us out and enslave the blacksmiths and Spirit Engravers whether or not we allowed the ten invading sects to live. In fact, I suspected the Martial Arts Alliance didn't care if the ten sects they sent were destroyed in the process of subjugating Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. It would strengthen their hold and claim over the territories of the Great Zhou Empire and erase potential threats.
I meant the territories of the Great Zhou Empire that the royal family had given to the Martial Arts Alliance as concession and in return for their cooperation. The less sects there were in the Martial Arts Alliance, the less the remaining sects had to compete for an equal amount of territory, after all. Their greed and corruption had blinded them to the dangers of destroying their own member sects in the face of a resurgent coalition of demonic sects.
"They have to pay the price for invading our sect and killing so many of our members," Lang Xie replied simply, glancing aat the surviving Blood Blades. A quick estimation told me that we had suffered at least thirty percent casualties. There was a significant number of Blood Blades who were absent, killed during the fighting in the courtyard earlier when the ten invading sects barged in through the front gates and overran our defenses.
Tong Xue and Jing Wei and quite a lot of my friends were still alive, thankfully, but many more who I had gotten to know during my time with them were gone. Zhao Shi and Da Ge were present, still guarding Zi Xiao Ji, but a lot of Jing Wei's colleagues – the Blood Blades assigned as sentries at the front gates were missing. I couldn't find Shen Cha either – later I would learn that he was killed in the vicious fighting.
Lang Xie was also looking for his elite forces, the ones he had personally handpicked and trained, and the top warriors of Blood Blades who had experienced countless battles and climbed atop piles of corpses. My seniors, in other words. I only had the vaguest impression of who they were, but I was pretty sure there were twenty of them. Yet only nine remained – less than half their number. Apparently they had bore the brunt of the commanders' attacks when they broke into our sect.
"In this battle, we have lost slightly over thirty percent of our Blood Blades martial artists." Lang Xie was glaring murderously at Shi Jing Yun, Wu Tuo, and Su Bai Xue. "A life for a life. These bastards murdered our comrades and sect members. Should they not pay a price?"
"Indeed they should," Zi Shou De agreed. "Both you and Fei Wu are correct. What kind of message will we be sending if we allowed bullies to walk in and out of our sect without facing the consequences?"
The five Great Elders sighed and shook their heads, conceding the point. They knew neither Zi Shou De nor Lang Xie could be convinced.
"Blood Blades, kill them all," Zi Da Ji commanded fiercely. "You heard your vice-commander. Leave none alive except those three."
"That's right!" Elder Zhao shouted. "Kill them! Kill these invaders!"
"Kill them all!" the surviving nine elite Blood Blades martial artists shouted in unison.
"No mercy. No forgiveness." I nodded and stepped forward. Behind me, my squadron of Castellax battle-automata responded to my will and their guns tracked the pale invaders. For all their bluster and aggressiveness earlier when they trespassed into our territory, conquered and ransacked our city, and thought they had us cornered, they were now quaking in their boots – literally – and on the verge of pissing themselves.
Well, serves them right.
"Well said!" Tian Yu Di cackled. "Let's do it!"
While this was all going on, Pang Feng was watching me. He had resigned himself to his fate, knowing that he deserved this for betraying Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. he met my gaze evenly, and something inside my heart stirred.
"I'll take care of Pang Feng myself. He still has his uses."
Zi Da Ji and Hai Rong stared at me in surprise.
"He betrayed us," the Sect Lady pointed out coldly. I nodded.
"Yeah, he did. And he will not be forgiven for it. Even so, he was still one of us. It isn't right to kill him. We'll punish him, but I would like to leave him alive if possible."
"It's fine." Pang Feng spoke up, steeling his resolve. "I knew the consequences and made my choice. You should just kill me. I deserve it."
I smirked. "You think you can just run away from responsibility by throwing away your life? I know you're prepared to die, which is why I don't intend to make it so easy for you. You'll have to repent through another way. It'll be too easy to kill you, but we'll be wasting all the efforts we poured into grooming you. Until you pay us back for that, you're not allowed to die."
"I'll let him leave." Tian Yu Di shrugged as he communicated through the Golden Dragon Medallion in a voice only I could hear. "He seems to have learned the basics of Heaven and Earth Absorption as well."
That made sense, considering that Pang Feng was part of the Blood Blades and had learned the same techniques as the rest of us.
On the other hand, the Ling sisters were trembling from fear and despair. Ling Yu Mei reached out and gripped Ling Yu Xuan's hand.
"Little sis, I didn't expect something like this to happen. I just wanted to come and watch."
The sisters' hands were trembling. They didn't want to die.
What the hell? I wanted to scoff at them. They made the choice to come here and watch us die, and now that the situation was reversed and the tables were turned on the invaders, they didn't want to die? What the fuck was this hypocrisy?
Anyway, I couldn't care less about them. I wasn't Qin Lie, and thus I had no ties with them. I had no obligation to save them, and it wasn't as if Ling Yu Mei was my fiancée or something. They came to watch our demise, so no sweat off my back if they were the ones killed.
"Kid…just who the hell are you?" Shi Jing Yun demanded, his face pale. He glanced at Tian Yu Di, his complexion growing more ashen by the second. "And who the hell is that monster? Why haven't we heard of such a powerful martial artist before?"
"You don't have to know." I smiled thinly. "You're just a hostage. I have no obligation to tell you anything. All you need to know is that I'm a member of Blood Blades, and a disciple of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. I'll do anything to protect my sect."
I then turned toward the fearful crowd who were backing away from Tian Yu Di and Blood Blades. They all set upon them with vengeful gusto, determined to exact revenge on these greedy, corrupted, hypocritical killers for killing so many of our brethren. Elder Zhao and the outer sect elders also joined in, following Lang Xie as they hunted down the people of the now leaderless sects, intent on wiping them out. Our battle-automata waded into the bloodbath, firing and pulverizing the enemies mercilessly.
As they did so, a single shrill voice pierced the heavens.
"YOU TRASH!"
Lu Li was shrieking at me, and she charged at me, her sword drawn and glowing ominously with icy qi.
"Face me if you have the guts! Or are you going to keep relying on other people and hide behind them?!"
"You don't have the right to face my sect leader," Tian Yu Di replied coolly as he stepped in front of her, getting ready to kill her with a single flick of his finger, but I stayed his hand with a thought through the Golden Dragon Medallion.
"Leave her to me," I told him. "She pisses me off, so I'll deal with her with my own hands."
"Hah! You think the likes of you can really deal with me yourself?!" Lu Li sneered as she slashed at me. I merely reached out and caught the blade with a hand. Her eyes bulged when she saw me stop her strike with a bare hand.
"How?! How did you…?!"
"Like this."
I shoved her back and then kicked her in the gut. She doubled over, coughing out blood. But she was far from down, and thrust her sword at my face, hoping to get another clean hit in, never mind she failed to scratch my palm even after I caught her blade with my bare hand.
I disappeared from her sight and she spun around, cursing and swearing.
"Where are you?! Did you really run away, you coward?! I knew it! I knew you can't defeat me in a one…AAAH!"
Her tirade of insults ended in a scream as my mobile turrets blasted her with a volley of qi beams, punching bloody holes through her arms, legs and body. She crashed onto the ground heavily, but didn't bleed out because the superheated qi blasts had cauterized the wounds. Writhing in pain, she gripped her sword tightly and glanced up at me as I approached.
"You were saying?" I asked pleasantly.
"Fuck you!" Lu Li screamed.
"No thank you," I replied, but she didn't seem to care about my rejection and continued wailing hatefully.
"You think you're some kind of big shot? You think you're a hero now that you've stopped our invasion?" Lu Li sneered, still flailing about on the ground. "Stop deluding yourself! You're just a fraud, just trash! The only thing you are capable of is relying on the power of others!" she shot a furious glance at Tian Yu Di, who was callously massacring the martial artists from the Seven Valley Sects, alongside Blood Blades.
"Power of others?" I smiled faintly, my lips curling into a sneer. "Coming from you, that's pretty rich. What about you? You dare to barge into the main sect grounds of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect today, but isn't that only because you are relying on the powers of the Seven Valley Sects? Would you dare to attack Nine-Tailed Fox Sect without relying on the power of others, without the power of the Martial Arts Alliance behind you? What a hypocrite!"
Lu Li was unable to come up with an answer, but she continued to glare at me venomously. I wanted to gloat over her, but I wasn't a villain. So I stepped in to finish her off quickly, because her very existence was pissing me off.
"Please! Master Fei Wu, I'm begging you! Please don't kill Senior Lu Li!"
Ling Yu Mei threw herself at my feet, desperately pleading with me. I frowned as I withdrew, causing her to land clumsily on the plaza.
"You should be more worried about yourself," I told her honestly. Glancing up, I was surprised that the Ling sisters had escaped the massacre so far. They probably kept a low profile and hid among the dead while the Blood Blades and Tian Yu Di focused on the martial artists desperately fighting back or visibly running away.
"You can take my life, but please spare Senior Lu Li!"
"Shut up!" Lu Li shouted coldly. "I don't want him to spare my life!"
"Master Fei Wu, during our time at Dark Fiend Valley Sect, Senior Lu constantly looked after us. She treated us very well. So please!" Ling Yu Xuan was begging me as well. I stared at the two sisters icily, wondering if I should just cut them down, but I wasn't ruthless and cruel enough to kill people who weren't attacking me or those without the will to fight.
"Why should I care?" I snapped irritably. "That has got nothing to do with me. You, Lu Li, the Seven Valley Sects all came to assault Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, and you think I should spare her life because she treated you well? Don't be ridiculous. What does that have to do with me?"
"Good! Hold him there!" Lu Li shouted.
Even though I had wounded her, Lu Li was far from helpless. While the Ling sisters were distracting me, she surged upward and stabbed at me.
"No, Senior Lu, don't!" Ling Yu Mei shouted.
"Don't do it, Senior Lu!" Ling Yu Xuan also screamed.
They were too late. As was my reaction – my reflexes were a millisecond too slow.
It was a huge blunder on my part. I was too fixated with arguing with the Ling sisters that I didn't notice Lu Li attacking until too late. Nonetheless, I was still a veteran martial artist who had experienced countless combat. I managed to instinctively used Tui to retreat. Even though I caught her sword earlier with my bare hand, that was because I had gathered all my qi into my palm to intercept her sword. Obviously I didn't have the time or opportunity to do that for my chest, nor did I know the exact place where she would stab me.
Even so, Lu Li's sword scraped my breast pocket, slicing through the fabric.
Thunk.
My Golden Dragon Medallion dropped onto the ground, for all to see.
"That's…" Ling Yu Mei's eyes widened.
"Ah…" Ling Yu Xuan was stunned.
"Impossible…" Lu Li murmured.
That was her last word. Furious, partially because she almost got the better of me, and partially at myself for carelessly letting my guard down, my body moved before my mind could compose itself. I stomped Lu Li's head onto the ground and unleashed Seimsic Step.
Lu Li didn't even get a chance to scream. Her head vanished, reduced to a bloody pulp beneath my foot, and her body flopped about helplessly, blood unceasingly streaming from her neck. Ignoring her headless corpse, I returned to the place where my Golden Dragon Medallion had dropped onto and picked it up.
It was too late. The damage had been done. Everyone, whether it was the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect or the nine invading sects sent by the Martial Arts Alliance, had seen the Golden Dragon Medallion. Even now, they had frozen in the middle of flight or fight, their eyes fixated on me. Only Tian Yu Di, who already knew that I possessed the Golden Dragon Medallion, didn't cease in his slaughter, but when he saw that everyone had stopped to stare at me, he halted as well, as if curious to see what I would do.
Even the cohort of battle-automata had paused, staying as stationary as statues, when the flow of qi from their controllers were cut off. My six Castellax battle-automata also went inactive when my focus was broken, idling while I tried to deal with my current predicament.
"You…why do you have that medallion?" Shi Jing Yun asked hoarsely.
"Isn't that…isn't that the Heaven and Earth Crest, the proof of the sect leader of the Heaven and Earth Sect?" this time it was Wu Tuo, his voice filled with disbelief.
"Kid, what is your connection with the Heaven and Earth Sect?" Su Bai Xue demanded, even paler than before.
"…that Heaven and Earth Master has been addressing Fei Wu as sect leader this whole time," Luo Zhi Chang whispered, the coin finally dropping. What? It took you this long to figure it out? Have you gone senile, old man?
Only Zi Shou De had some idea of what was going on, having suspected all that ever since Tian Yu Di appeared, but he didn't say anything.
"What's the meaning of this, Fei Wu?" Tong Xue asked nervously. "Why do you have that?"
"Answer me, brat!" Shi Jing Yun shouted. "What is your relationship to Heaven and Earth Sect?! And who is that monster that you command?!"
I glanced at Tian Yu Di, and he shrugged, as if to say he was going to leave the decision to me. From his expression, though, I had the impression that he wouldn't be happy if I denied my connection to Heaven and Earth Sect.
Might as well tell the truth and come clean now.
"I am Fei Wu, the 44th generation Sect Leader of Heaven and Earth Sect," I declared, holding my Golden Dragon Medallion up high for all to see. "As you know…" this was directed toward the elders and leaders of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. "Nine-Tailed Fox Sect is my secondary sect. My primary sect is and has always been Heaven and Earth Sect."
"Since when?" Zi Da Ji asked, and for the first time I saw her looking uncertain.
"Since before I joined the sect."
Elder Zhao nodded at my reply, recalling last year when he first recruited me. "I did know he was from another sect, that he already had a primary sect. But Nine-Tailed Fox Sect's policy was not to pursue our recruits' past or history."
"You did the right thing," Zi Shou De cut in. "And we honestly don't care what sect Fei Wu is from. He's still a member of our sect."
"When did you first join Heaven and Earth Sect?" Tong Xue asked timidly. He didn't seem to be listening to Zi Shou De's words, and was staring at me nervously. He then cleared his throat, realizing his place. "Um…it's okay if you don't want to say it."
"Four years ago," I replied honestly. "Shortly after we enrolled in Wu Ling Academy."
"Huh? Isn't that after…the destruction of Heaven and Earth Sect?" Zi Da Ji frowned in confusion. "How did you end up joining it after it was annihilated?"
"It's not unusual. Four years ago was exactly when Tian Mo was finally hunted down and killed." Lang Xie was the one who poke up solemnly. "He could have come into contact with Fei Wu and taught him a bit before he died. More importantly…" he turned his strict gaze upon me. "I want to know your intentions, Fei Wu. As the Sect Leader of Heaven and Earth Sect, what do you intend to do from here on out?"
"Huh? Protect Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. Isn't it obvious?"
Lang Xie stared at me skeptically. "Please forgive me for doubting you, but even you must know what sort of sect Heaven and Earth Sect is. I'm asking if you have any ulterior motives. Do you not seek revenge against the Martial Arts Alliance? Nine-Tailed Fox Sect was part of the coalition that annihilated the Heaven and Earth Sect."
Tian Yu Di stiffened, but I held out a hand to stop him.
"The same Martial Arts Alliance that is now seeking to destroy us," I pointed out calmly.
"Point taken," Lang Xie conceded with a nod as he shot a baleful glare at the three restrained leaders of the invading sects. "But are you saving Nine-Tailed Fox Sect now just to take revenge on us later?"
"Don't be ridiculous," I scoffed. "Why would I take such a roundabout manner of destroying Nine-Tailed Fox Sect if the Martial Arts Alliance can do it for me, while weakening themselves in the bargain? And to be honest…" I met Lang Xie's gaze evenly. "I originally didn't have any intention to take revenge on the Martial Arts Alliance or anyone who participated in the destruction of Heaven and Earth Sect." I shot an apologetic look at Tian Yu Di, but he maintained a mask of indifference. "I only met Master after the destruction of the sect, and he gave me this medallion and taught me Heaven and Earth Formula because I saved his life. Not because he wanted me to take revenge for him. He didn't even tell me who drove him to his death, nor did he mention a word of revenge. I would like to think that he was merely repaying the favor of me saving his life."
"You saved the life of Tian Mo?" Wu Tuo repeated incredulously.
"Yeah," I replied, but decided not to go into details. I honestly didn't want to mention the car and my original timeline. Nobody would believe me, and it would take too long to explain. "I only became the last member of Heaven and Earth Sect after everyone else was killed, so it is pretty hard for me to get emotionally attached to any of them. Why should I be obligated to take revenge for them when I had never met any of them? I never even had any idea of what the sect originally was, nor was I raised with the rest of them. And Master refused to tell me to the very end who hunted him down and killed him."
"I hardly think he would be able to do that after he died," Tong Xue remarked dryly. Oh, right. I couldn't tell them that I met Master in the underworld a few months after his death. "And you weren't attached to him?"
"He told me not to bother with revenge," I told him truthfully. "And he warned me beforehand that he was going to die anyway, and told me not to pursue it."
"I'm sorry, but I find that hard to believe." Lang Xie was still staring at me sternly. "Do you really not intend on taking revenge on the Martial Arts Alliance?"
"After what they did to us?" I gestured to Tushan City and the razed outer sect grounds. "Now I do."
"That's not what I mean. What do you intend to do with Nine-Tailed Fox Sect after this?" Lang Xie persisted.
This time, I wasn't the one who answered. Our conversation was rudely interrupted by the ominous laughter of Tian Yu Di. Everyone turned to stare at him.
"What's so funny?" Even though Lang Xie should know how strong Tian Yu Di was, he was staring at my Ancestral Master without a trace of fear.
Tian Yu Di snorted and jabbed a finger at him.
"You, of course. Listen to yourself. If Sect Leader wanted Nine-Tailed Fox Sect to be destroyed, it would have already been destroyed long ago." He revealed an ugly grin. "I myself am more than enough to destroy you singlehandedly."
Lang Xie bristled, but Tian Yu Di continued, ignoring him.
"And it was this kid who saved you. With the authority of sect leader, he ordered me not to lay a hand on your sect and forbid me from harming it. With his status as sect leader he commanded me to protect your pathetic sect. Otherwise how did you survive?"
"That's right." Surprisingly, it was Zi Shou De who spoke up for me. He was glaring at Lang Xie. "If Fei Wu didn't care about the sect, he wouldn't have returned through the underground passageway and braved those demons. He could very easily have escaped by himself after following you and Hai Rong to the trap these bastards set up." he gestured toward the corpses of Yuan Tian Ya and Liang Yang Zu. "It was Fei Wu who protected us – the Great Elders – from the predations of Blood Shadow. It was Fei Wu who protected us – me, the inner sect elders and everyone else here – from the Martial Arts Alliance. And it was Fei Wu who commanded the Elder over there to eliminate Liang Yang Zu and Yuan Tian Ya!"
Everyone fell silent, unable to refute Zi Shou De's words. Tang Qi Hong, taking courage from her adopted father, also reared to her full height and took a deep breath.
"That's right!" she shouted, her voice echoing across the plaza. "With all due respect, Lord Lang Xie, Fei Wu has done more to protect the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect than you did! The reason why Nine-Tailed Fox Sect has survived the invasion isn't because of you, but because of Fei Wu! He's the one who overturned the situation, risking his own life to stay even at the danger of the Martial Arts Alliance breaking into our grounds!"
To be honest, I didn't expect the ten sects to break in that quickly, but that wasn't something everyone needed to know.
Tong Xue nodded as well. "That's true. Lord Lang Xie, I believe in Fei Wu."
"Me too!" Lian Rou added.
"Brother Wu will never lie to us!" Zi Xiao Ji shouted from somewhere, still flanked by Zhao Shi and Da Ge, who were nodding in approval.
"He fought beside us and killed more than his fair share of enemies." Jing Wei cast a disgusted stare at Lu Li's headless corpse. "He has more than earned my trust."
The Great Elders and inner sect elders slowly relaxed. They knew that what my friends were saying was correct.
Indeed, the person who saved Nine-Tailed Fox Sect recently wasn't Lang Xie, who had been absent for most of the defense, but me. It was clear that our main pillar of strength, Tian Yu Di, only listened to my orders. If it was not for me commanding him, my Ancestral Master wouldn't have slain Blood Shadow, Liang Yang Zu or Yuan Tian Ya.
If Blood Shadow hadn't been killed, then all six Great Elders wold have already been slaughtered. Not only that, Tian Yu Di had singlehandedly turned the tables on the ten invading sects. If it weren't for him, Nine-Tailed Fox Sect would have been massacred as we were in Tushan City. But right now, it was the ten sects who were dying in droves – the contingent from Dark Asura Sect had been completely wiped out.
This was thanks to me, or so they thought. But obviously it wasn't as if I singlehandedly saved Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. In a way, the late Lu Li was right. I had relied on the power of Tian Yu Di. And in the long run, Tian Yu Di wouldn't have killed all ten sects on his own, not while he was still in a weakened condition. Sect Lady Zi Da Ji and Blood Blades had contributed immensely to the defense of the sect. We had all fought hard and made the enemy pay dearly in blood for every millimeter of ground they took. It wasn't as if Tian Yu Di was the only one fighting.
The Blood Blades – no, every single member of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect had contributed vitally to the survival of our sect. It was just that all our efforts added up into a single, overwhelming success. Just like gears and cogs, if we were missing even one member, the whole defense would have collapsed. As powerful as he was, even Tian Yu Di wouldn't have been able to hold up the protection of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect alone, not without the major contributions the Blood Blades and outer sect elders did earlier. Zi Da Ji, Tong Xue, Jing Wei, Zhao Shi, Da Ge, Elder Zhao – all of them contributed. Even our battle-automata deserved a mention, having been a stalwart bulwark that repelled the enemy for so long.
"That doesn't excuse you from colluding or joining a demonic sect," Su Bai Xue snarled icily.
"Now that I've taken charge, under my leadership, I will ensure that Heaven and Earth Sect will walk the right path and no longer be a demonic sect." I glanced at Tian Yu Di. "If that's all right with you, Elder Tian?"
Tian Yu Di snorted and looked away. "Suit yourself. You're the sect leader. I'll just do whatever I'm told."
"I want your honest opinion," I insisted.
"Hah!" Tian Yu Di laughed. "Is there any meaning to what's orthodox and what's demonic? That's just labels the people aove like to put on other sects. If they don't agree with them, then they're demonic. If they're in power and in place to implement their own brand of justice, then they'll call themselves orthodox. These are just stupid words. I have no time to waste on semantics. If you don't want the sect to walk down the path of murder, **** and pillage, then we won't. But…" he looked at me, his eyes glinting. "Never forget that we're martial artists. We will always walk the path of conflict, where strength is of utmost importance."
"Well, having ideals is useless if you don't have the strength to back it up," I pointed out honestly.
"Hah! Well said!" Tian Yu Di cackled. "As long as you are aware of that, then I have no complaints! Do whatever you want!"
"You think we'll listen to the rhetoric of demons?" Su Bai Xue yelled.
"They are not demons. As long as they are part of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, we will continue to protect them." Zi Shou De looked at me seriously. "Fei Wu, as I said before, Nine-Tailed Fox Sect doesn't care about your identity, origins or background, or your primary sect, and that as long as you are willing to remain a member of the sect, we will do everything we can to raise and teach you. Now, even though you're also the sect leader of Heaven and Earth Sect, allow me to ask you if you are still willing to stay at Nine-Tailed Fox Sect? Are you willing to bear the appropriate responsibilities as a disciple of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect?"
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't be here when the sect is in such grave danger," I replied calmly. "I'm not like Pang Feng or Yin Jing Jing, who left the sect because they thought we were doomed." I thought for a bit. "But I just want a small favor. If you don't mind allowing Blood Blades to be renamed Heaven and Earth Blades, to reflect the influence that Heaven and Earth Sect has on them, and grant Elder Tian a position there."
"Good!" Zi Shou De nodded. "Consider it done!"
"That's right!" Luo Zhi Chang shouted excitedly. "As long as you are willing, no matter what your primary sect is, or your past, you will always be a member of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect!"
"Thank you." I turned to Tian Yu Di. "Seems like you'll still get your revenge after all. Let's resume killing."
As if to punctuate my words, my Castellax battle-automata reared up and began firing again, mowing down a line of enemy martial artists before they even knew what was happening. I didn't kill them, just incapacitated them (by shooting their legs). Like I said, it was in bad taste to kill someone who wasn't attacking you.
Taking their cue, Blood Blades (the name change hadn't been made officially yet – there would be a ceremony later and everything), all tore into the stunned enemies, tearing them apart with their Spirit Weapons, battle-automata and techniques.
"Meh, the ones I want to take revenge on are long dead, anyway." Tian Yu Di waved his hand dismissively. "I don't really care if the people here live or die." He then grinned. "But if that's your command, then I'll go have some fun!"
"Enjoy yourself!" I called out to him, and he disappeared, turning into a demon that wiped out a cluster of fleeing martial artists with a single strike.
I was about to join my Cybernetica Cohort when I heard sounds of sobbing. The Ling Sisters, miraculously, were still alive, weeping over the corpse of Lu Li. I looked at them sympathetically, then at the nearby Blood Blades. Sooner or later there wouldn't be anyone left except them, and my comrades would turn their murderous attention to the two.
It didn't sit well with me to kill people who had already lost the will to fight and weren't even lifting a finger to resist. Even so, I had sent an order, and couldn't just rescind it.
"Sorry," I told them as I approached. Ling Yu Mei and Ling Yu Xuan stared up at me tearfully, not sure what to do. They held hands tightly, preparing for their deaths. I felt sorry for them, but I steeled myself.
This was for the sake of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, after all.
"If you survive this, then we'll just let you go. Since we'll dispose the bodies outside the city later anyway." I didn't mention that we would have to burn the bodies to prevent diseases and whatnot. No point scaring the sisters. "But let's leave everything to fate."
With a wave of my hand, I encased both shocked sisters in ice. I was satisfied when I detected a small trace of qi from both sisters, which indicated that they were still alive, and then turned away in search of more…resistant prey.
Within a few hours, we were done with our bloody work.
Corpses could be seen lying in all directions. All of them belonged to the martial artist from the ten invading sects and included the subordinates and closest confidants of Shi Jing Yun, Wu Tuo and Su Bai Xue.
The three of them were still chained to the Spirit Engraved Pillars, helplessly watching as their subordinates were slaughtered. They were glaring at us hatefully, an ominous fire blazing deep inside their eyes.
If Lang Xie hadn't commanded that we let them live, I would have them killed. They were dangerous. If we let them go, they would return to pose a formidable threat to us in the far future.
Even so, I couldn't help but comment on their hypocrisy.
"Did you really think you can just waltz into Tushan City, massacre our citizens and members of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, and just walk away freely?" I snapped at them. "You think you can just go around killing anybody you want without suffering the consequences? If you're not ready to be killed in return, then you have no business taking lives!"
The three of them didn't respond. They only glared at me defiantly. I knew they would be scheming to assassinate me in the future. I couldn't let them go. After Lang Xie made his deal and secured the safety of our sect members who were taken as hostages, and these guys were returned to the sect, I vowed to hunt them down before they could carry out their plans of revenge.
No…that was fine. Tian Yu Di and I were going to take revenge and destroy the Martial Arts Alliance anyway. When that happened, we would inevitably clash, and that would be the best time to eliminate them.
I looked forward to that happening.
Unaware of my sinister schemes, Hai Rong had gotten to her feet, still severely injured from her clash with Blood Shadow earlier.
"There are still many enemies from these ten sects lingering in Tushan City," she growled through gritted teeth. "We should exterminate them as well!"
Lang Xie nodded in acknowledgement. "I'll take care of it now."
"Elder Tian," I spoke up. Now that the carnage was over, he was hanging out at the bottom of one of the Spirit Engraved Pillars, looking bored. It appeared that he was absorbing the qi from some victims, especially those with purer qi, in an effort to replenish his strength. He looked up when I approached, stifling a yawn.
"What is it?"
"You mind helping Lord Lang Xie get rid of the invaders in Tushan City?"
Tian Yu Di grinned. "Do you even have to ask? Just point me in the right direction and I'll wipe them out!"
While the surviving martial artists of the nine remaining enemy sects backed away in fear, Shi Jing Yun, Wu Tuo and Su Bai Xue began yelling furiously and incoherently. However, their threats rang hollow and their pleas went unheeded.As for Lu Li, Ling Yu Mei, Ling Yu Xuan, Pang Feng and the other people who had came from the nine other sects by this point, the contingent of Dark Asura Sect that had came with them had already been completely wiped out, they looked shaken, their faces turning into an ashen complexion when they realized their death warrants had been issued."You heard him," Zi Shou De said simply, using his authority as the sect leader as Nine-Tailed Fox Sect to lend support to Lang Xie's command.However, the five remaining Great Elders frowned in disagreement. They didn't dare to be too harsh, fearing the retaliation from the Martial Arts Alliance. Despite their age and supposed wisdom, they were still so nave. The Martial Arts Alliance was going to wipe us out and enslave the blacksmiths and Spirit Engravers whether or not we allowed the ten invading sects to live. In fact, I suspected the Martial Arts Alliance didn't care if the ten sects they sent were destroyed in the process of subjugating Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. It would strengthen their hold and claim over the territories of the Great Zhou Empire and erase potential threats.I meant the territories of the Great Zhou Empire that the royal family had given to the Martial Arts Alliance as concession and in return for their cooperation. The less sects there were in the Martial Arts Alliance, the less the remaining sects had to compete for an equal amount of territory, after all. Their greed and corruption had blinded them to the dangers of destroying their own member sects in the face of a resurgent coalition of demonic sects."They have to pay the price for invading our sect and killing so many of our members," Lang Xie replied simply, glancing aat the surviving Blood Blades. A quick estimation told me that we had suffered at least thirty percent casualties. There was a significant number of Blood Blades who were absent, killed during the fighting in the courtyard earlier when the ten invading sects barged in through the front gates and overran our defenses.Tong Xue and Jing Wei and quite a lot of my friends were still alive, thankfully, but many more who I had gotten to know during my time with them were gone. Zhao Shi and Da Ge were present, still guarding Zi Xiao Ji, but a lot of Jing Wei's colleagues the Blood Blades assigned as sentries at the front gates were missing. I couldn't find Shen Cha either later I would learn that he was killed in the vicious fighting.Lang Xie was also looking for his elite forces, the ones he had personally handpicked and trained, and the top warriors of Blood Blades who had experienced countless battles and climbed atop piles of corpses. My seniors, in other words. I only had the vaguest impression of who they were, but I was pretty sure there were twenty of them. Yet only nine remained less than half their number. Apparently they had bore the brunt of the commanders' attacks when they broke into our sect."In this battle, we have lost slightly over thirty percent of our Blood Blades martial artists." Lang Xie was glaring murderously at Shi Jing Yun, Wu Tuo, and Su Bai Xue. "A life for a life. These bastards murdered our comrades and sect members. Should they not pay a price?""Indeed they should," Zi Shou De agreed. "Both you and Fei Wu are correct. What kind of message will we be sending if we allowed bullies to walk in and out of our sect without facing the consequences?"The five Great Elders sighed and shook their heads, conceding the point. They knew neither Zi Shou De nor Lang Xie could be convinced."Blood Blades, kill them all," Zi Da Ji commanded fiercely. "You heard your vice-commander. Leave none alive except those three.""That's right!" Elder Zhao shouted. "Kill them! Kill these invaders!""Kill them all!" the surviving nine elite Blood Blades martial artists shouted in unison."No mercy. No forgiveness." I nodded and stepped forward. Behind me, my squadron of Castellax battle-automata responded to my will and their guns tracked the pale invaders. For all their bluster and aggressiveness earlier when they trespassed into our territory, conquered and ransacked our city, and thought they had us cornered, they were now quaking in their boots literally and on the verge of pissing themselves.Well, serves them right."Well said!" Tian Yu Di cackled. "Let's do it!"While this was all going on, Pang Feng was watching me. He had resigned himself to his fate, knowing that he deserved this for betraying Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. he met my gaze evenly, and something inside my heart stirred."I'll take care of Pang Feng myself. He still has his uses."Zi Da Ji and Hai Rong stared at me in surprise."He betrayed us," the Sect Lady pointed out coldly. I nodded."Yeah, he did. And he will not be forgiven for it. Even so, he was still one of us. It isn't right to kill him. We'll punish him, but I would like to leave him alive if possible.""It's fine." Pang Feng spoke up, steeling his resolve. "I knew the consequences and made my choice. You should just kill me. I deserve it."I smirked. "You think you can just run away from responsibility by throwing away your life? I know you're prepared to die, which is why I don't intend to make it so easy for you. You'll have to repent through another way. It'll be too easy to kill you, but we'll be wasting all the efforts we poured into grooming you. Until you pay us back for that, you're not allowed to die.""I'll let him leave." Tian Yu Di shrugged as he communicated through the Golden Dragon Medallion in a voice only I could hear. "He seems to have learned the basics of Heaven and Earth Absorption as well."That made sense, considering that Pang Feng was part of the Blood Blades and had learned the same techniques as the rest of us.On the other hand, the Ling sisters were trembling from fear and despair. Ling Yu Mei reached out and gripped Ling Yu Xuan's hand."Little sis, I didn't expect something like this to happen. I just wanted to come and watch."The sisters' hands were trembling. They didn't want to die.What the hell? I wanted to scoff at them. They made the choice to come here and watch us die, and now that the situation was reversed and the tables were turned on the invaders, they didn't want to die? What the fuck was this hypocrisy?Anyway, I couldn't care less about them. I wasn't Qin Lie, and thus I had no ties with them. I had no obligation to save them, and it wasn't as if Ling Yu Mei was my fiance or something. They came to watch our demise, so no sweat off my back if they were the ones killed."Kidjust who the hell are you?" Shi Jing Yun demanded, his face pale. He glanced at Tian Yu Di, his complexion growing more ashen by the second. "And who the hell is that monster? Why haven't we heard of such a powerful martial artist before?""You don't have to know." I smiled thinly. "You're just a hostage. I have no obligation to tell you anything. All you need to know is that I'm a member of Blood Blades, and a disciple of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. I'll do anything to protect my sect."I then turned toward the fearful crowd who were backing away from Tian Yu Di and Blood Blades. They all set upon them with vengeful gusto, determined to exact revenge on these greedy, corrupted, hypocritical killers for killing so many of our brethren. Elder Zhao and the outer sect elders also joined in, following Lang Xie as they hunted down the people of the now leaderless sects, intent on wiping them out. Our battle-automata waded into the bloodbath, firing and pulverizing the enemies mercilessly.As they did so, a single shrill voice pierced the heavens."YOU TRASH!"Lu Li was shrieking at me, and she charged at me, her sword drawn and glowing ominously with icy qi."Face me if you have the guts! Or are you going to keep relying on other people and hide behind them?!""You don't have the right to face my sect leader," Tian Yu Di replied coolly as he stepped in front of her, getting ready to kill her with a single flick of his finger, but I stayed his hand with a thought through the Golden Dragon Medallion."Leave her to me," I told him. "She pisses me off, so I'll deal with her with my own hands.""Hah! You think the likes of you can really deal with me yourself?!" Lu Li sneered as she slashed at me. I merely reached out and caught the blade with a hand. Her eyes bulged when she saw me stop her strike with a bare hand."How?! How did you?!""Like this."I shoved her back and then kicked her in the gut. She doubled over, coughing out blood. But she was far from down, and thrust her sword at my face, hoping to get another clean hit in, never mind she failed to scratch my palm even after I caught her blade with my bare hand.I disappeared from her sight and she spun around, cursing and swearing."Where are you?! Did you really run away, you coward?! I knew it! I knew you can't defeat me in a oneAAAH!"Her tirade of insults ended in a scream as my mobile turrets blasted her with a volley of qi beams, punching bloody holes through her arms, legs and body. She crashed onto the ground heavily, but didn't bleed out because the superheated qi blasts had cauterized the wounds. Writhing in pain, she gripped her sword tightly and glanced up at me as I approached."You were saying?" I asked pleasantly."Fuck you!" Lu Li screamed."No thank you," I replied, but she didn't seem to care about my rejection and continued wailing hatefully."You think you're some kind of big shot? You think you're a hero now that you've stopped our invasion?" Lu Li sneered, still flailing about on the ground. "Stop deluding yourself! You're just a fraud, just trash! The only thing you are capable of is relying on the power of others!" she shot a furious glance at Tian Yu Di, who was callously massacring the martial artists from the Seven Valley Sects, alongside Blood Blades."Power of others?" I smiled faintly, my lips curling into a sneer. "Coming from you, that's pretty rich. What about you? You dare to barge into the main sect grounds of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect today, but isn't that only because you are relying on the powers of the Seven Valley Sects? Would you dare to attack Nine-Tailed Fox Sect without relying on the power of others, without the power of the Martial Arts Alliance behind you? What a hypocrite!"Lu Li was unable to come up with an answer, but she continued to glare at me venomously. I wanted to gloat over her, but I wasn't a villain. So I stepped in to finish her off quickly, because her very existence was pissing me off."Please! Master Fei Wu, I'm begging you! Please don't kill Senior Lu Li!"Ling Yu Mei threw herself at my feet, desperately pleading with me. I frowned as I withdrew, causing her to land clumsily on the plaza."You should be more worried about yourself," I told her honestly. Glancing up, I was surprised that the Ling sisters had escaped the massacre so far. They probably kept a low profile and hid among the dead while the Blood Blades and Tian Yu Di focused on the martial artists desperately fighting back or visibly running away."You can take my life, but please spare Senior Lu Li!""Shut up!" Lu Li shouted coldly. "I don't want him to spare my life!""Master Fei Wu, during our time at Dark Fiend Valley Sect, Senior Lu constantly looked after us. She treated us very well. So please!" Ling Yu Xuan was begging me as well. I stared at the two sisters icily, wondering if I should just cut them down, but I wasn't ruthless and cruel enough to kill people who weren't attacking me or those without the will to fight."Why should I care?" I snapped irritably. "That has got nothing to do with me. You, Lu Li, the Seven Valley Sects all came to assault Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, and you think I should spare her life because she treated you well? Don't be ridiculous. What does that have to do with me?""Good! Hold him there!" Lu Li shouted.Even though I had wounded her, Lu Li was far from helpless. While the Ling sisters were distracting me, she surged upward and stabbed at me."No, Senior Lu, don't!" Ling Yu Mei shouted."Don't do it, Senior Lu!" Ling Yu Xuan also screamed.They were too late. As was my reaction my reflexes were a millisecond too slow.It was a huge blunder on my part. I was too fixated with arguing with the Ling sisters that I didn't notice Lu Li attacking until too late. Nonetheless, I was still a veteran martial artist who had experienced countless combat. I managed to instinctively used Tui to retreat. Even though I caught her sword earlier with my bare hand, that was because I had gathered all my qi into my palm to intercept her sword. Obviously I didn't have the time or opportunity to do that for my chest, nor did I know the exact place where she would stab me.Even so, Lu Li's sword scraped my breast pocket, slicing through the fabric.Thunk.My Golden Dragon Medallion dropped onto the ground, for all to see."That's" Ling Yu Mei's eyes widened."Ah" Ling Yu Xuan was stunned."Impossible" Lu Li murmured.That was her last word. Furious, partially because she almost got the better of me, and partially at myself for carelessly letting my guard down, my body moved before my mind could compose itself. I stomped Lu Li's head onto the ground and unleashed Seimsic Step.Lu Li didn't even get a chance to scream. Her head vanished, reduced to a bloody pulp beneath my foot, and her body flopped about helplessly, blood unceasingly streaming from her neck. Ignoring her headless corpse, I returned to the place where my Golden Dragon Medallion had dropped onto and picked it up.It was too late. The damage had been done. Everyone, whether it was the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect or the nine invading sects sent by the Martial Arts Alliance, had seen the Golden Dragon Medallion. Even now, they had frozen in the middle of flight or fight, their eyes fixated on me. Only Tian Yu Di, who already knew that I possessed the Golden Dragon Medallion, didn't cease in his slaughter, but when he saw that everyone had stopped to stare at me, he halted as well, as if curious to see what I would do.Even the cohort of battle-automata had paused, staying as stationary as statues, when the flow of qi from their controllers were cut off. My six Castellax battle-automata also went inactive when my focus was broken, idling while I tried to deal with my current predicament."Youwhy do you have that medallion?" Shi Jing Yun asked hoarsely."Isn't thatisn't that the Heaven and Earth Crest, the proof of the sect leader of the Heaven and Earth Sect?" this time it was Wu Tuo, his voice filled with disbelief."Kid, what is your connection with the Heaven and Earth Sect?" Su Bai Xue demanded, even paler than before."that Heaven and Earth Master has been addressing Fei Wu as sect leader this whole time," Luo Zhi Chang whispered, the coin finally dropping. What? It took you this long to figure it out? Have you gone senile, old man?Only Zi Shou De had some idea of what was going on, having suspected all that ever since Tian Yu Di appeared, but he didn't say anything."What's the meaning of this, Fei Wu?" Tong Xue asked nervously. "Why do you have that?""Answer me, brat!" Shi Jing Yun shouted. "What is your relationship to Heaven and Earth Sect?! And who is that monster that you command?!"I glanced at Tian Yu Di, and he shrugged, as if to say he was going to leave the decision to me. From his expression, though, I had the impression that he wouldn't be happy if I denied my connection to Heaven and Earth Sect.Might as well tell the truth and come clean now."I am Fei Wu, the 44th generation Sect Leader of Heaven and Earth Sect," I declared, holding my Golden Dragon Medallion up high for all to see. "As you know" this was directed toward the elders and leaders of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. "Nine-Tailed Fox Sect is my secondary sect. My primary sect is and has always been Heaven and Earth Sect.""Since when?" Zi Da Ji asked, and for the first time I saw her looking uncertain."Since before I joined the sect."Elder Zhao nodded at my reply, recalling last year when he first recruited me. "I did know he was from another sect, that he already had a primary sect. But Nine-Tailed Fox Sect's policy was not to pursue our recruits' past or history.""You did the right thing," Zi Shou De cut in. "And we honestly don't care what sect Fei Wu is from. He's still a member of our sect.""When did you first join Heaven and Earth Sect?" Tong Xue asked timidly. He didn't seem to be listening to Zi Shou De's words, and was staring at me nervously. He then cleared his throat, realizing his place. "Umit's okay if you don't want to say it.""Four years ago," I replied honestly. "Shortly after we enrolled in Wu Ling Academy.""Huh? Isn't that afterthe destruction of Heaven and Earth Sect?" Zi Da Ji frowned in confusion. "How did you end up joining it after it was annihilated?""It's not unusual. Four years ago was exactly when Tian Mo was finally hunted down and killed." Lang Xie was the one who poke up solemnly. "He could have come into contact with Fei Wu and taught him a bit before he died. More importantly" he turned his strict gaze upon me. "I want to know your intentions, Fei Wu. As the Sect Leader of Heaven and Earth Sect, what do you intend to do from here on out?""Huh? Protect Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. Isn't it obvious?"Lang Xie stared at me skeptically. "Please forgive me for doubting you, but even you must know what sort of sect Heaven and Earth Sect is. I'm asking if you have any ulterior motives. Do you not seek revenge against the Martial Arts Alliance? Nine-Tailed Fox Sect was part of the coalition that annihilated the Heaven and Earth Sect."Tian Yu Di stiffened, but I held out a hand to stop him."The same Martial Arts Alliance that is now seeking to destroy us," I pointed out calmly."Point taken," Lang Xie conceded with a nod as he shot a baleful glare at the three restrained leaders of the invading sects. "But are you saving Nine-Tailed Fox Sect now just to take revenge on us later?""Don't be ridiculous," I scoffed. "Why would I take such a roundabout manner of destroying Nine-Tailed Fox Sect if the Martial Arts Alliance can do it for me, while weakening themselves in the bargain? And to be honest" I met Lang Xie's gaze evenly. "I originally didn't have any intention to take revenge on the Martial Arts Alliance or anyone who participated in the destruction of Heaven and Earth Sect." I shot an apologetic look at Tian Yu Di, but he maintained a mask of indifference. "I only met Master after the destruction of the sect, and he gave me this medallion and taught me Heaven and Earth Formula because I saved his life. Not because he wanted me to take revenge for him. He didn't even tell me who drove him to his death, nor did he mention a word of revenge. I would like to think that he was merely repaying the favor of me saving his life.""You saved the life of Tian Mo?" Wu Tuo repeated incredulously."Yeah," I replied, but decided not to go into details. I honestly didn't want to mention the car and my original timeline. Nobody would believe me, and it would take too long to explain. "I only became the last member of Heaven and Earth Sect after everyone else was killed, so it is pretty hard for me to get emotionally attached to any of them. Why should I be obligated to take revenge for them when I had never met any of them? I never even had any idea of what the sect originally was, nor was I raised with the rest of them. And Master refused to tell me to the very end who hunted him down and killed him.""I hardly think he would be able to do that after he died," Tong Xue remarked dryly. Oh, right. I couldn't tell them that I met Master in the underworld a few months after his death. "And you weren't attached to him?""He told me not to bother with revenge," I told him truthfully. "And he warned me beforehand that he was going to die anyway, and told me not to pursue it.""I'm sorry, but I find that hard to believe." Lang Xie was still staring at me sternly. "Do you really not intend on taking revenge on the Martial Arts Alliance?""After what they did to us?" I gestured to Tushan City and the razed outer sect grounds. "Now I do.""That's not what I mean. What do you intend to do with Nine-Tailed Fox Sect after this?" Lang Xie persisted.This time, I wasn't the one who answered. Our conversation was rudely interrupted by the ominous laughter of Tian Yu Di. Everyone turned to stare at him."What's so funny?" Even though Lang Xie should know how strong Tian Yu Di was, he was staring at my Ancestral Master without a trace of fear.Tian Yu Di snorted and jabbed a finger at him."You, of course. Listen to yourself. If Sect Leader wanted Nine-Tailed Fox Sect to be destroyed, it would have already been destroyed long ago." He revealed an ugly grin. "I myself am more than enough to destroy you singlehandedly."Lang Xie bristled, but Tian Yu Di continued, ignoring him."And it was this kid who saved you. With the authority of sect leader, he ordered me not to lay a hand on your sect and forbid me from harming it. With his status as sect leader he commanded me to protect your pathetic sect. Otherwise how did you survive?""That's right." Surprisingly, it was Zi Shou De who spoke up for me. He was glaring at Lang Xie. "If Fei Wu didn't care about the sect, he wouldn't have returned through the underground passageway and braved those demons. He could very easily have escaped by himself after following you and Hai Rong to the trap these bastards set up." he gestured toward the corpses of Yuan Tian Ya and Liang Yang Zu. "It was Fei Wu who protected us the Great Elders from the predations of Blood Shadow. It was Fei Wu who protected us me, the inner sect elders and everyone else here from the Martial Arts Alliance. And it was Fei Wu who commanded the Elder over there to eliminate Liang Yang Zu and Yuan Tian Ya!"Everyone fell silent, unable to refute Zi Shou De's words. Tang Qi Hong, taking courage from her adopted father, also reared to her full height and took a deep breath."That's right!" she shouted, her voice echoing across the plaza. "With all due respect, Lord Lang Xie, Fei Wu has done more to protect the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect than you did! The reason why Nine-Tailed Fox Sect has survived the invasion isn't because of you, but because of Fei Wu! He's the one who overturned the situation, risking his own life to stay even at the danger of the Martial Arts Alliance breaking into our grounds!"To be honest, I didn't expect the ten sects to break in that quickly, but that wasn't something everyone needed to know.Tong Xue nodded as well. "That's true. Lord Lang Xie, I believe in Fei Wu.""Me too!" Lian Rou added."Brother Wu will never lie to us!" Zi Xiao Ji shouted from somewhere, still flanked by Zhao Shi and Da Ge, who were nodding in approval."He fought beside us and killed more than his fair share of enemies." Jing Wei cast a disgusted stare at Lu Li's headless corpse. "He has more than earned my trust."The Great Elders and inner sect elders slowly relaxed. They knew that what my friends were saying was correct.Indeed, the person who saved Nine-Tailed Fox Sect recently wasn't Lang Xie, who had been absent for most of the defense, but me. It was clear that our main pillar of strength, Tian Yu Di, only listened to my orders. If it was not for me commanding him, my Ancestral Master wouldn't have slain Blood Shadow, Liang Yang Zu or Yuan Tian Ya.If Blood Shadow hadn't been killed, then all six Great Elders wold have already been slaughtered. Not only that, Tian Yu Di had singlehandedly turned the tables on the ten invading sects. If it weren't for him, Nine-Tailed Fox Sect would have been massacred as we were in Tushan City. But right now, it was the ten sects who were dying in droves the contingent from Dark Asura Sect had been completely wiped out.This was thanks to me, or so they thought. But obviously it wasn't as if I singlehandedly saved Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. In a way, the late Lu Li was right. I had relied on the power of Tian Yu Di. And in the long run, Tian Yu Di wouldn't have killed all ten sects on his own, not while he was still in a weakened condition. Sect Lady Zi Da Ji and Blood Blades had contributed immensely to the defense of the sect. We had all fought hard and made the enemy pay dearly in blood for every millimeter of ground they took. It wasn't as if Tian Yu Di was the only one fighting.The Blood Blades no, every single member of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect had contributed vitally to the survival of our sect. It was just that all our efforts added up into a single, overwhelming success. Just like gears and cogs, if we were missing even one member, the whole defense would have collapsed. As powerful as he was, even Tian Yu Di wouldn't have been able to hold up the protection of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect alone, not without the major contributions the Blood Blades and outer sect elders did earlier. Zi Da Ji, Tong Xue, Jing Wei, Zhao Shi, Da Ge, Elder Zhao all of them contributed. Even our battle-automata deserved a mention, having been a stalwart bulwark that repelled the enemy for so long."That doesn't excuse you from colluding or joining a demonic sect," Su Bai Xue snarled icily."Now that I've taken charge, under my leadership, I will ensure that Heaven and Earth Sect will walk the right path and no longer be a demonic sect." I glanced at Tian Yu Di. "If that's all right with you, Elder Tian?"Tian Yu Di snorted and looked away. "Suit yourself. You're the sect leader. I'll just do whatever I'm told.""I want your honest opinion," I insisted."Hah!" Tian Yu Di laughed. "Is there any meaning to what's orthodox and what's demonic? That's just labels the people aove like to put on other sects. If they don't agree with them, then they're demonic. If they're in power and in place to implement their own brand of justice, then they'll call themselves orthodox. These are just stupid words. I have no time to waste on semantics. If you don't want the sect to walk down the path of murder, **** and pillage, then we won't. But" he looked at me, his eyes glinting. "Never forget that we're martial artists. We will always walk the path of conflict, where strength is of utmost importance.""Well, having ideals is useless if you don't have the strength to back it up," I pointed out honestly."Hah! Well said!" Tian Yu Di cackled. "As long as you are aware of that, then I have no complaints! Do whatever you want!""You think we'll listen to the rhetoric of demons?" Su Bai Xue yelled."They are not demons. As long as they are part of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, we will continue to protect them." Zi Shou De looked at me seriously. "Fei Wu, as I said before, Nine-Tailed Fox Sect doesn't care about your identity, origins or background, or your primary sect, and that as long as you are willing to remain a member of the sect, we will do everything we can to raise and teach you. Now, even though you're also the sect leader of Heaven and Earth Sect, allow me to ask you if you are still willing to stay at Nine-Tailed Fox Sect? Are you willing to bear the appropriate responsibilities as a disciple of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect?""If I wasn't, I wouldn't be here when the sect is in such grave danger," I replied calmly. "I'm not like Pang Feng or Yin Jing Jing, who left the sect because they thought we were doomed." I thought for a bit. "But I just want a small favor. If you don't mind allowing Blood Blades to be renamed Heaven and Earth Blades, to reflect the influence that Heaven and Earth Sect has on them, and grant Elder Tian a position there.""Good!" Zi Shou De nodded. "Consider it done!""That's right!" Luo Zhi Chang shouted excitedly. "As long as you are willing, no matter what your primary sect is, or your past, you will always be a member of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect!""Thank you." I turned to Tian Yu Di. "Seems like you'll still get your revenge after all. Let's resume killing."As if to punctuate my words, my Castellax battle-automata reared up and began firing again, mowing down a line of enemy martial artists before they even knew what was happening. I didn't kill them, just incapacitated them by shooting their legs. Like I said, it was in bad taste to kill someone who wasn't attacking you.Taking their cue, Blood Blades the name change hadn't been made officially yet there would be a ceremony later and everything, all tore into the stunned enemies, tearing them apart with their Spirit Weapons, battle-automata and techniques."Meh, the ones I want to take revenge on are long dead, anyway." Tian Yu Di waved his hand dismissively. "I don't really care if the people here live or die." He then grinned. "But if that's your command, then I'll go have some fun!""Enjoy yourself!" I called out to him, and he disappeared, turning into a demon that wiped out a cluster of fleeing martial artists with a single strike.I was about to join my Cybernetica Cohort when I heard sounds of sobbing. The Ling Sisters, miraculously, were still alive, weeping over the corpse of Lu Li. I looked at them sympathetically, then at the nearby Blood Blades. Sooner or later there wouldn't be anyone left except them, and my comrades would turn their murderous attention to the two.It didn't sit well with me to kill people who had already lost the will to fight and weren't even lifting a finger to resist. Even so, I had sent an order, and couldn't just rescind it."Sorry," I told them as I approached. Ling Yu Mei and Ling Yu Xuan stared up at me tearfully, not sure what to do. They held hands tightly, preparing for their deaths. I felt sorry for them, but I steeled myself.This was for the sake of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, after all."If you survive this, then we'll just let you go. Since we'll dispose the bodies outside the city later anyway." I didn't mention that we would have to burn the bodies to prevent diseases and whatnot. No point scaring the sisters. "But let's leave everything to fate."With a wave of my hand, I encased both shocked sisters in ice. I was satisfied when I detected a small trace of qi from both sisters, which indicated that they were still alive, and then turned away in search of moreresistant prey.Within a few hours, we were done with our bloody work.Corpses could be seen lying in all directions. All of them belonged to the martial artist from the ten invading sects and included the subordinates and closest confidants of Shi Jing Yun, Wu Tuo and Su Bai Xue.The three of them were still chained to the Spirit Engraved Pillars, helplessly watching as their subordinates were slaughtered. They were glaring at us hatefully, an ominous fire blazing deep inside their eyes.If Lang Xie hadn't commanded that we let them live, I would have them killed. They were dangerous. If we let them go, they would return to pose a formidable threat to us in the far future.Even so, I couldn't help but comment on their hypocrisy."Did you really think you can just waltz into Tushan City, massacre our citizens and members of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, and just walk away freely?" I snapped at them. "You think you can just go around killing anybody you want without suffering the consequences? If you're not ready to be killed in return, then you have no business taking lives!"The three of them didn't respond. They only glared at me defiantly. I knew they would be scheming to assassinate me in the future. I couldn't let them go. After Lang Xie made his deal and secured the safety of our sect members who were taken as hostages, and these guys were returned to the sect, I vowed to hunt them down before they could carry out their plans of revenge.Nothat was fine. Tian Yu Di and I were going to take revenge and destroy the Martial Arts Alliance anyway. When that happened, we would inevitably clash, and that would be the best time to eliminate them.I looked forward to that happening.Unaware of my sinister schemes, Hai Rong had gotten to her feet, still severely injured from her clash with Blood Shadow earlier."There are still many enemies from these ten sects lingering in Tushan City," she growled through gritted teeth. "We should exterminate them as well!"Lang Xie nodded in acknowledgement. "I'll take care of it now.""Elder Tian," I spoke up. Now that the carnage was over, he was hanging out at the bottom of one of the Spirit Engraved Pillars, looking bored. It appeared that he was absorbing the qi from some victims, especially those with purer qi, in an effort to replenish his strength. He looked up when I approached, stifling a yawn."What is it?""You mind helping Lord Lang Xie get rid of the invaders in Tushan City?"Tian Yu Di grinned. "Do you even have to ask? Just point me in the right direction and I'll wipe them out!"
