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“Vice-Sect Leader Moonlight!”
Junior Cloud’s voice startled me. “Y-yes?” I turned my head, taking my gaze off the golden buddha in the sky.
Junior Cloud was gripping his sword, staring at me with fiery eyes. “Are you hesitating because of us?” he asked. “Forget bearing the weight of our deaths. We of the Shadow Devil Sect have resolved to follow Sect Leader Fluffytail—even down a road to hell!”
The sect members behind him nodded their heads, voicing their agreement. Even Junior Mist was looking at me with a stern expression. Right, didn’t we resolve to follow Lucia to the end? What kind of sorry joke would the Shadow Devil Sect be if we abandoned our sect leader because of the threat of death? We might be corrupt cultivators in the eyes of others, but that doesn’t mean we’re ungrateful and disloyal! Lucia helped the Shadow Devil Sect greatly; how shameless would we be if we reaped the benefits without shouldering any of the risk?
“Wait a minute, I didn’t sign up for that.”
I turned towards the person who spoke, but before I could say anything, he was surrounded and pummeled to the ground.
“You ungrateful wretch!”
“When the sect’s doing fine, you’re happy flaunting your status, but in a time of crisis, you want to leave?”
“Beat this bastard!”
This…, I’m not sure how to feel about that. Grateful? Relieved? But certainly, now that my fellow sect members have expressed their feelings, I know what decision I have to make.
The leader of the monks’ gaze hardened. “I see resolution in your eyes. Have you decided to join our Righteous Buddha Sect to repent for your sinful ways?”
I took in a deep breath and circulated my qi. My body felt like it was on the verge of bursting after ingesting Lucia’s impurities. “Yes. I’ll repent. Can you put away the golden buddha? There’s no need to resort to threats.”
“What!?”
“Vice-Sect Leader!”
“You guys beat me up when I want to surrender, but you don’t beat her!?”
The three monks in the sky exchanged glances with each other, almost as if they couldn’t believe my decision. After a short pause, the golden buddha closed its eyes and faded out of existence. The three monks’ faces grew even paler than before, but they made up for their weakness with stern expressions. “You made the right choice, Vice-Sect Leader Moonlight,” the leader of the monks said. “A wise ruler knows when to yield; there’s no shame in surrendering to a superior power.”
“It’s a shame our sect leader is anything but wise!” Qi flooded my body as I channeled my strongest offensive technique. “Devouring Snake of Bondage!” Its name is a bit … questionable, but its strength is undeniable. I lashed out with my whip, and a black snake made of heart devil worms infused with Lucia’s impurities surged out of the tip with a booming sound. It roared and surged through the air, appearing before the three monks in an instant. Its jaws stretched open as if to devour the sky, and it chomped down on the three monks who were trying to escape. They let out screams, but those were cut short as the snake closed its mouth and shrank in size, the impurity-filled worms squirming their way inside the three monks through all of their orifices.
“That…. Vice-Sect Leader?”
“Yes?”
“Wasn’t that a little despicable?”
“So what? They’re the ones who ganged up on me first!” Even if the world condemns me, I’ll do anything for Lucia. What gives them the right to block Lucia’s passage home to the Shadow Devil Sect? “Besides, since we’re the only witnesses, we can make up a story and say I won fair and square.”
“As expected of the Vice-Sect Leader!”
“Quick! While they’re struggling, let’s beat them up!” Junior Cloud shouted and waved his sword in the air. “We might not be able to fight a sky-realm expert fairly even if there’s a hundred of us earth-realm experts, but the Vice-Sect Leader disabled them for us! Now’s our chance!”
“Everyone, attack! Saint-realm experts too!”
The air around me turned black as everyone unleashed their attacks on the helpless blob made up of the three monks and Lucia’s impurities. The blob squirmed and struggled, but no sounds came out as waves upon waves of heart devil worms in all different shapes and sizes struck the black surface. I took out another vial of Lucia’s impurities, keeping it close to my mouth just in case I needed to replenish my qi. I only had four vials left, and I didn’t want to use them if I didn’t have to. Thankfully, it didn’t seem necessary. The three lumps inside the blob, which were the monks, stopped struggling, either unconscious or dead.
“Keep attacking! Sky-realm experts are sturdy bastards!” Junior Cloud shouted, and another wave of attacks began.
Beside me, Junior Mist exhaled and swung her whip while laughing. “This feels so good! They chased us for a whole month with conceited expressions but look at them now! I bet they didn’t think this would ever happen to them.” She stopped laughing and took in a deep breath. Then she swung her whip, and a giant fist made of heart devil worms materialized above the unmoving blob ahead. “This is for my mother!” The fist slammed down, cracking the ground, and dispersed into hundreds of worms that squirmed into the blob. Another fist formed in the air. “This is for my father!” The fist punched the blob and exploded. “And this is for my broken defensive treasures!” Another hand appeared, but in the shape of an open palm this time. It slapped down and smeared the blob against the ground. Junior Mist exhaled and turned to look at me, her face pale. “You’re not going to hit them for your grandfather?”
My chest heated up, and my neck grew itchy. “Thanks for the reminder, Junior Mist.” When the monks invaded our sect, the elders were the first to step up and defend. Needless to say, they suffered a crushing defeat. Earth-realm experts can’t compete with sky-realm experts; the difference in strength is too vast. Not many elders survived, and those that did were severely injured. My grandfather’s still bedridden! I didn’t have any qi to spare, so I whipped the three monks without using any. Fancy techniques aren’t necessary to beat a dog.