A God of War and Destruction had descended upon the entrance exam of the Long Shui Academy, but it wasn’t an old monster or a master of Dao, it was a fifth stage Qi Gathering Realm rookie.

Cries of horror were heard all throughout the space, all those at the sixth stage and under were essentially slaughtered in seconds. No one knew what had happened to the monster in front of them, that could possibly have made him so unfathomably angry, but they prayed he would not find them.

For the second time in the history of the Brightjade world, a true deviation had appeared. A rookie whom if he was allowed to grow, would soar to unprecedented heights.

Zi Qingyun watched from afar, observing how Zhao Chen was mercilessly killing all those in front of him. Was this really the brother he had known just an hour ago? He knew that Zhao Chen was not a regular person, and he definitely wasn’t a coward, but he knew for a fact Zhao Chen was not a bloodlusted person.

Zi Qingyun thought to himself for a few moments. Maybe something had happened to him? Perhaps his failure to breakthrough caused an inner demon to form? But was that even possible? For such a thing to happen, Zhao Chen would have to have never seen failure.

Not only was that near impossible, Zhao Chen was not such a prideful person. Even if he had never lost, he would not be so conceited as to think he was untouchable.

Zi Qingyun shifted his gaze on to the people who were being beaten to an inch of their life, some had already perished. Though Zi Qingyun didn’t feel much empathy for them, and though he had already passed the test, he couldn’t allow his brother to fall into such a predicament.

With Zhao Chen's current strength, his future accomplishments wouldn’t fall short of the Brightjade world's greatest geniuses. But if this rampage and bloodlust consumed Zhao Chen fully, he would end up crippled and cut off from a life of martial arts forever.

Zi Qingyun stood up and hastily ran to where Zhao Chen was currently slaughtering away, as he watched as 5 other figures also rushed over. At first he thought they two had come to help those examinees in peril, but as Zi Qingyun drew closer to them, he saw that they all carried wild smiles on their faces.

‘These bastards are aiming for brother Chen! I won’t allow it!’ Zi Qingyun forced his movement technique to its fullest and rushed over to Zhao Chen's side.

“Die! Die! All of you deserve death! Only this seat, the great golden sun divine lord, Yang Chen deserves power in this world! Those who stand in my way, I will eradicate without mercy!”

Zhao Chens words rang in the ears of the currently fleeting examinees. They had no choice. The villain in front of them could effortlessly slaughter those at the seventh stage of the Qi Gathering realm!

There weren’t any eight stage examinees this year, so unless the old man, who had not even opened his eyes since last speaking, or the ninth stage practitioners came to help, their only choice was to run!

Inside of Zhao Chen's sea of consciousness

‘What the hell is going on! Why can’t I stop myself!’

Zhao Chen was yelling, knowing there would be no response, but he couldn’t help it. He watched in horror as his body slaughtered countless people, who weren’t even trying to fight back. Luckily it had yet to go for anyone weaker than Zhao Chen, but his body seemed to be actively searching for strong opponents.

‘It’s because you’re weak.’

‘Who was that!?’

Zhao Chen snapped his head around to see where the voice came from, and to his utter shock, a veiled figure stood in front of him. Where the hell did this guy come from!?

‘I'm you.’

‘Shut up! No you’re not, I’ll only ask again, or else-’

‘Or else what? Don’t forget this is just your sea of consciousness, neither me or you are tangible beings. So quiet down and listen.’ The veiled figure spoke with authority, much like the old man, but his voice commanded fear rather than respect.

Zhao Chen did as he was told and ceased his nonsensical threats. The man in front of him was right, the sea of consciousness was much like a person's brain. You as a person are alive in it, but it doesn’t do much other than materialize your soul and spirit.

When the veiled man saw Zhao Chen had heeded his words, he spoke once again.

‘As I said I'm you, but I am not Zhao Chen. You take that however you want, but to me I don’t care. As for what you may call me, I will accept Lord or Baifun.’

The veiled man had unexpectedly read Zhao Chen's mind, which wasn’t too hard as he was presently in it.

Zhao Chen's pride would never allow him to call someone else Lord, no matter how strong they are. But why bat? Nevermind, it wasn’t important. Zhao Chen nodded his head to show his acceptance.

‘Good. You are currently in a rampage as a side effect of your awakening. I can undo it but you have to agree to three conditions. Should you agree not only will I help you know, but I will help you destroy all those that opposed you.’

Zhao Chen had a range of questions. Why did this man say awakening, rather than reincarnation? And how had he known about his previous life's death? Zhao Chen wanted to ask all of these questions but he stopped himself. The man in front of him would obviously not answer anything.

Zhao Chen nodded his head once again to tell the man that he was ready.

“Hmm, good. My conditions are simple. One, you may not ask any questions about why I know what I know about you. Two, you can only ask for my help when your life is on the line, I am not your personal bodyguard. And finally three, should you violate rule 1 or 2, you die. Do you agree?’

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Zhao Chen cared little for the second condition, as he wanted to get strong on his own. But as for the first condition. The way the man had said it implied that the man knew a lot more about him than he was letting on, and it greatly confused as to why the man was switching in between us and you.

Zhao Chen wanted to know immediately who the man was, he wanted to tell the man he declined and that he demanded to know who he was and what he knew. But as he looked outside his body, and watched as the mass killings were still happening, he spoke up.

“I agree.”

Unlike his cold character and unwillingness to trust people easily, Zhao Chen was an empathetic man. The people his body was killing were his competitors, not his enemies. They did not deserve death.

‘Very well then, if we weren’t in your sea of consciousness I would have told you to clench your jaw, it’s unfortunate. This is going to really hurt.’ The veiled man raised his palm high and slammed it down into the void.

“ARGHHHH!”

On the battlefield everything stopped. Nothing like the previous times, not out of fear or awe but out of excitement, was the nightmare finally over?

Zhao Chen grabbed onto his head with both hands and fell to his knees. A burning pain was being spread through his entire body, one almost 10 times stronger than the jadegrass turtles medicinal bath.

Instead this time the pain had no nourishing effects, he had gained control over his body back but he wanted to immediately throw it away. His limbs felt weak and limp, and he had broken out into a cold sweat all over as he cried out in pain.

Zhao Chen's complexion grew worse and worse, but the pain didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. Luckily it hadn’t gotten any worse but Zhao Chen wasn’t in a position to be looking at the bright side of this situation.

Zi Qingyun arrived in the next moment, speeding over to Zhao Chen and standing in front of him as soon as he saw Zhao Chen was returning to his usual self.

“I apologize to all those present, it seems that my brother here wasn’t in full control of himself for this past period of time. I pray everyone forgets what had happened and simply moves on to try and complete the test in front of you.”

Zi Qingyun did not need to ask Zhao Chen any questions. Though he had only known him for a few days, Zi Qingyun placed his absolute trust in Zhao Chen, and seeing that Zhao Chen had gained back control over himself, he did not need any more information.

“Is junior brother joking? That monster you’re guarding mercilessly slaughtered well over a hundred people, now only 60 of us remain. And you want us all to just forget? We must kill him!” A youth walked out from the crowd, he was one of the five people Zi Qingyun had seen rush over to Zhao Chen.

“If you’re going to try and pull on people's heart strings, try changing your expression, you imbecile! You’re grinning from ear to ear in wait to kill brother Chen!” Zi Qingyun had no enmity with anyone, and he might have offered to take a punishment in Zhao Chen's place had the concerns been sincere.

However Zi Qingyun could see the calculative looks and playful smiles that the five youths were wearing proudly.

They didn’t care about the fallen, they just wanted to kill a potential rival. The five of them were all ninth stage Qi Gathering Realm practitioners, as opposed to Zhao Chen being at the fifth stage.

But seeing as he already had the power to rival seventh stage practitioners, they couldn’t allow him to grow any further.

“Please forgive this senior brother, I, it’s a condition I’ve had since young, I smile when I’m greatly saddened. I swear it on all those who have died today!” The youth continued, and the other four coughed to cover their laughs.

Zi Qingyun observed them hatefully. He was not a person who was quick to anger, but he was slowly starting to understand Zhao Chen's actions previously when he had fought Hang Chen. The conceited people truly knew how to anger people!

“Very well! You come try and take Zhao Chen over my dead corpse!” Zi Qingyun roared out and fully unleashed his full power.

Ninth stage Qi Gathering Realm!

Not only that but he was close to breaking through to the Foundational Harmony Realm!

The five youths all retreated back a few steps. This strength was far too shocking. Previously they had assumed that Zhao Chen was the only one with the strength to rival them, but then Zi Qingyun appeared with his monstrous strength!

“Very good! You think you can take us all on by yourself? We’ll crush your confidence and make you watch as we kill that little brother of yours!” The youth unleashed his aura and got into a fighting stance.

“Yes!” The four youths behind him copied his actions quickly.

“Good, then stop speaking and-”

“S-st-stop, brother Zi”

Just as Zi Qingyun was about to unleash a move, a weak and hoarse voice sounded out from behind him. He snapped his head backwards to see Zhao Chen struggling to stand on his own two feet.

“Brother Chen, stop! You’re too weak to even stand, just sit back and rest, I swear I won't let them even step foot near you!” Zi Qingyun assisted Zhao Chen into a standing position but he stood in front of him, stopping him from advancing.

“M-mo-move aside Zi Qingyun. This Chen has never backed down from a fight. A-an-and I will not start by letting some juniors run their mouths!” Zhao Chen tried to force a yell but he was in too bad of a state to even get his voice higher than a few decibels.

The current Zhao Chen could probably be beaten by a strong enough gust of wind, but he refused to allow himself to be beaten. He had a revenge to get and a spirit to question, he would not fall here. But he would also not allow for someone else to protect him while he cowered in fear like some damsel in distress.

“You? You’re going to stop us? Haha! We only came to deal with you because we thought your power could rival us in the future, who would’ve thought you’d be too weak to even stand! Come fight, then you rat!” A shorter man from the four youths spoke up, attempting to unleash a technique.

“Qing Li, shut up!” The youth who had taken the lead against Zhao Chen turned his head to the boy who had just shouted, yelling through a closed mouth.

“But brother Wu! I -” Qing Li stopped to look around. The crowd that was previously cheering them on silently all had shocked expressions on their faces. Only then did he realize he had just blurted out the truth behind their actions.

“No, no what I meant was actually-”

“Shut up you pig. We all heard you don’t try to change your words!” Zhao Chen interrupted him abruptly. His face was regaining color and he could support himself on his own. Was this due to the spirit in his sea of consciousness? Zhao Chen made a mental note to ask him about it, among other things. But for now he must take on this challenge in front of him.

“You! Who are you calling a pig! So what if you heard my words? Am I Qing Li supposed to bow my head and hold my tongue to commoners! I’ll kill you, see who stops me!” It seemed that his weight was a soft spot for Qing Li. He roared out in anger and raised his palm.

“Qing Li, no!” Brother Wu attempted to stop Qing Li but he was too late, he had already fired out a palm.

Zhao Chen was dead for sure! A difference of four stages, no matter how monstrous Zhao Chen was there was no way he could survive! Everyone closed their eyes tightly, they did not wish to see the bloody mess that was about to appear in front of them.

Smack! Phwark!

The examines all opened their eyes slowly, expecting to see what was known as Zhao Chen now a pile of meat on the flood. But what was this?

Zhao Chen was standing, perfectly unscathed!

Did Qing Li’s attack miss? There’s no way, how could he possibly miss?

The examinees all immediately shifted their gazes to look at Qing Li only to see him lying on the floor with a fresh handprint on his face and a fresh mouthful of blood drooling from his mouth.

Did Zhao Chen somehow manage to block Qing Li’s attack and counterattack in such a short amount of time? This guy had only just recovered his strength after going through whatever it was that had happened to him, but now he had gotten stronger.

But just then, to everyone's relief a figure stood in front of Qing Li.

“I believe I warned you 6 specifically not to go for those weaker than you, what shame you’ve brought to the 6 great families! Now one of you is crippled and the other has failed the exam by the hands of this old man, I should disqualify you all right now!” The old man had appeared in front of everyone's eyes out of thin air. But that was not what surprised Zhao Chen.

He looked at the four youths, looking at the unconscious Qing Li with great fear in their eyes.

‘So it was the 6 great families targeting me? And here I was thinking of ways to meet them in the academy. It’s good to know I'll be meeting them quite often.’ Zhao Chen flashed the young lords a ‘sincere’ smile.

They all seethed with rage and killing intent but none spoke up.

None of the other examinees came up to support them either, showing that they all sided with Zhao Chen. Even if Zhao Chen was engraved as a demon in their hearts, clearly he wasn’t in control of himself while it happened. Succumbing to one's inner demon was nothing new to cultivators, so they actually felt some sympathy for him.

The young lords were all out of options. Zhao Chen technically did nothing against the rules, as he fought only those above him and killing was not forbidden. And they could not use the public's opinion to try and change the old man's mind.

They all gave each other a long stare and before turning towards the old man and giving a deep bow.

“These juniors apologize, we ask that seniors be merciful!” They all spoke in unison as they palmed their hands to the old man.

The old man watched silently, shifting his gaze from the young lords to Zhao Chen. He took a few minutes before speaking up.

“The Long Shui Academies entrance exam ends here! 45 of you will be transported to the academy and the rest will be transported out. The families of the deceased will be compensated duly so there’s no need for worry. Should you have failed this test, you are more than welcome to continue trying until you reach the age of 25! After that you will be forbidden from trying again!” The old man took a deep breath and shot a glance at Zhao Chen.

“For those who made it, I hope you won’t disappoint this old man!”

“Juniors will not disappoint!” All the remaining examinees shouted in unison, even those who knew for sure they had failed also made the vow. As long as they weren’t in a group with monsters like the young lords, Zi Qingyun or Zhao Chen they felt their chances of succeeding weren’t small.

Zhao Chen glanced over at Zi Qingyun with a smile. He no longer had a shred of doubt about him in his heart, Zi Qingyun was truly a man Zhao Chen could trust wholeheartedly. He had chosen the right person to call his brother in this life.

The old man nodded his head and waved his hands. Suddenly students were transported out of the space in large groups.

When Zhao Chen felt the same feeling as he did when he entered the space he let out a sigh of relief.

He had cleared the first hurdle of this life, and maybe now he could get a proper night's rest. Yes that sounds quite right.