CHAPTER 9

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'WHAT IS HE DOING? WHAT IS THAT?'

IN JIAN'S ROOM, A RED-HAIRED YOUNG GIRL AROUND 25 YEARS OLD WAS SLOWLY MOVING TOWARD JIAN WHILE READYING HER SWORD. JIAN WAS STILL MEDITATING AND IN FRONT OF HIM, SWORD-LIKE ENERGY WAS FORMING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE AIR.

'HE IS ABOUT TO FINISH, I MUST FINISH THIS QUICK OR I WON'T BE ABLE TO LEAVE IN ONE PIECE'

SHE GOT A LITTLE WORRIED AND IMMEDIATELY RACED TOWARD JIAN.

"DIE YOU BASTARD!"

THE TIP OF HER SWORD WAS DRAWING CLOSER TO HIS HEAD WHEN SUDDENLY HE OPENED HIS EYES. RED EYES WITH FOUR RADIANT TOMOE ROTATING IN IT.

'WHAT IS THIS?'

JIAN WAS LOOKING AT THE TIP OF THE SWORD THAT WAS ABOUT TO PENETRATE HIS HEAD, BUT IT SEEMED TIME HAD SLOWED DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY.

[THIS IS THE POWER OF YOUR NEW EYES, BUT REMEMBER THAT YOU CAN'T USE IT OFTEN BECAUSE THE FUSION OF SHARINGAN AND BYAKUGAN ISN'T COMPLETELY STABLE. TO STABILIZE IT, YOU MUST ACHIEVE THE ETERNAL MANGEKYO SHARINGAN OR FUSE WITH ANOTHER EYE POWER TO FURTHER STABILIZE.]

JIAN SLOWLY TILTED HIS HEAD TO AVOID THE THRUST WHILE LISTENING TO THE SYSTEM'S EXPLANATION.

[YOUR ZANPAKUTO HAS COMPLETELY UNSEALED]

BOOOOOOOOM

SUDDENLY THE SWORD ENERGY IN FRONT OF HIM FINISHED ITS PROCESS AND BY THE SUDDEN ENERGY OF IT, A BLAST WAS GENERATED, PUSHING BOTH OF THEM AWAY.

"AHHHH"

SHE WAS TOSSED AWAY AND HIT THE WALL, BREAKING IT. HER BODY BECAME A LITTLE SORE AND SHE FELT THE PAIN COMING OUT OF HER RIGHT ARM, IT SEEMED HER ARM WAS BROKEN. SHE QUICKLY WANTED TO STAND UP AND RUN AWAY BUT WHEN SHE LOOKED AT HIM, HER BODY DIDN'T LISTEN TO HER COMMANDS ANYMORE!

"W-WHAT ARE YOU?"

IN FRONT OF HER, A MAN STOOD WHILE LOOKING AT HER.

THE TOMOE IN HIS EYES WAS ROTATING NON-STOP, SENDING A SHIVER DOWN HER SPINES. HE SLOWLY REACHED HIS HAND AND GRABBED THE SWORD ENERGY, PROMPTING SOME MESSAGE IN HIS HEAD.

[THIS IS YOUR SWORD, ITS BASE FORM IS SHIKAI, BECAUSE OF YOUR HIGH ENERGY. ITS ABILITIES ARE:

DEVOUR: ABSORB ENERGY AND FOUNDATION OF A SPECIFIC TARGET, ONCE PER DAY AND FURTHER TEMPER YOUR ZANPAKUTO.

ABSORB: COMPLETELY ABSORB AN ARTIFACT OR SOMETHING SIMILAR. GAINING ITS ABILITIES AND FURTHER TEMPER YOUR ZANPAKUTO. UNTIL YOU UNLOCK FURTHER STAGES, YOU ONLY HAVE THREE SLOTS FOR ABSORPTION.]

[YOU HAVE USED THE ENERGY OF THIS REALM TO ACTIVATE SHIKAI AND SHINIGAMI FORM AND REPLACED REIATSU WITH IT, BUT FURTHER, THAN THIS, IS IMPOSSIBLE AND YOU NEED THE CHARACTERISTICS OF REIATSU. UNFORTUNATELY, ACCORDING TO THE DATA THAT I HAVE GATHERED, THERE IS NO SOURCE OF REIATSU IN THIS REALM, ASCEND TO THE NEXT REALM SO I CAN GATHER MORE DATA.]

[YOU HAVE ONE ARTIFACT IN YOUR INVENTORY, DO YOU WISH TO ABSORB IT?

ABSORB LESSER RANKED CRIMSON KATANA? Y/N]

"DO YOU EVEN NEED TO ASK? ABSORB"

WHOOOSH

THE KATANA IN HIS INVENTORY DISAPPEARED AND THE ENERGY SWORD IN HIS HAND BEGAN MODIFYING AGAIN.

WHILE THIS WAS HAPPENING, THE GIRL REGAINED SOME COURAGE AND STOOD UP SLOWLY, NOT TO MAKE A NOISE.

'IS…IS THAT A SOUL PRISON? HOW CAN HE HAVE A MIDDLE-RANK UNIQUE ARTIFACT LIKE THIS?'

HER EYES ONCE AGAIN WERE FILLED WITH DETERMINATION, AFTER TAKING A DEEP BREATH, SHE RAN TOWARD THE BLACK CUBE THAT WAS LYING ON THE GROUND BETWEEN HER AND JIAN.

'HAHA, THIS ARTIFACT HAS THE ABILITY TO CAPTURE THE SOUL OF SOMEONE EVEN WITH MASTER TIER CULTIVATION. ITS ONE-TIME USE, BUT VERY POWERFUL. I'LL BRING YOUR SOUL BACK TO MY FATHER AND WE'LL TORTURE YOUR SOUL FOR ETERNITY.'

"HO, NO YOU WON'T!"

"DEVOUR"

"WHAT? NO NOOOOO!"

JIAN WAS FINISHED WITH HIS ZANPAKUTO TRANSFORMATION WHEN HE NOTICED WHAT SHE WANTED TO DO! IT WAS LIKE HE COULD READ HER GOALS AND INTENTS, HER PLAN WAS COMPLETELY VISIBLE TO HIM WITH HIS NEW EYES. SO, FOR EXPERIMENTING WITH HIS NEW POWERS HE POINTS THE TIP OF THE SWORD TOWARDS HER AND ACTIVATES THE DEVOUR ABILITY.

EVERY ENERGY ALONG WITH HER FOUNDATION AND TALENT WAS SEEPED OUT OF HER BODY. SHE DIDN'T FEEL ANY PAIN, BUT HER FUTURE WAS BEING STOLEN FROM HER. BEING A CULTIVATOR IS THE DREAM OF MANY AND NO ONE IS WILLING TO LOSE IT AND BEING CRIPPLED, SHE PREFERRED BEING TORTURED THAN LOSING HER CULTIVATION.

"NO NO PLEASE, I BEG YOU"

SHE SOON KNELT IN INFRONT OF JIAN AND BEGGED, CRYING.

"SHIT, DON'T GIVE ME THAT FACE!......SADLY THIS PROCESS CAN'T BE STOPPED ONCE STARTED. AT LEAST YOU KEEP YOUR LIFE."

HE WAS TELLING THE TRUTH, EVEN THOUGH HE WAS PITYING HER A LITTLE…... BUT HE COULDN'T STOP THE PROCESS, EVEN IF HE WANTED,

SHE KEPT KNEELING THERE TILL ALL OF HER ENERGY GOT DRIED UP, SHE COULDN'T ACTIVATE THE SOUL PRISON WHEN JIAN BEGAN DEVOURING HER ENERGY, BECAUSE THAT ARTIFACT CAN'T BE ACTIVATED WITH UNSTABLE ENERGY.

"WHAT HAS HAPPENED HERE? JIAN, EXPLAIN THE SITUATION!"

WHEN NUWA FOUND OUT THAT THERE WAS A COMMOTION HERE, SHE WORRIEDLY CAME HERE FOR THE FEAR OF ASSASSINS THAT THE CRIMSON SWORD EMPEROR SECT MIGHT HAVE HIRED! BUT FORTUNATELY, THE SITUATION WAS UNDER CONTROL.

"SECT LEADER, SHE TRIED TO ASSASSINATE ME WHEN I WAS MEDITATING, BUT LUCKILY I RESPONDED IN TIME AND CRIPPLED HER TO PREVENT HER ESCAPE!"

JIAN BOWED A LITTLE AND EXPLAINED EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED HERE WHILE LEAVING OUT SOME SMALL DETAILS.

NUWA'S FACE DARKENED. SHE LOOKED AT THE GIRL WITH FURY IN HER EYES!

"YOU HAVE OUR SECT OUTER DISCIPLE UNIFORM, WHY DID YOU ASSAULT ONE OF YOUR OWN? YOU HAVE 5 SECONDS TO ANSWER!"

NUWA COLDLY DREW HER BEAUTIFUL TRANSLUCENT SWORD WHILE WAITING FOR THE 5SECOND TO FINISH AND EXECUTE HER.

"NO PLEASE, HAVE MERCY! MY FATHER ORDERED ME TO DO IT, WE JUST WANTED JUSTICE!"

SHE QUICKLY ANSWERED HER, TRYING TO PREVENT HER DEATH, THEN SHE CONTINUED…

"MY NAME IS WU CHYNNA. I WAS ON A MISSION AND WHEN I CAME BACK, MY FATHER TOLD ME THAT JIAN HAD COLD-HEARTEDLY BEHEADED MY BROTHER! SO HE ORDERED ME TO SEEK JUSTICE AND KILL HIM! I DIDN'T MEAN TO OFFEND THE SECT, BUT HE IS A DEMON WHO WON'T EVEN HESITATE TO KILL ONE OF HIS OWN FAMILY!"

"SIGH, WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? IT WAS YOUR FATHER AND BROTHER THAT HAD THEIR EYES ON MY MOTHER AND WANTED TO KILL ME SO THAT I WON'T BE ABLE TO PREVENT THEM FROM GETTING WHAT THEY WANTED! I WAS JUST DEFENDING MYSELF."

WHEN JIAN FINALLY FOUND OUT WHO SHE WAS, HE SIGHED AND TOLD HER IN A CALM VOICE. SHE LOOKED AT HIM ANGRILY AGAIN AND CONTINUED THE ARGUMENT,

"UNGRATEFUL BASTARD! IT IS YOUR HONOR THAT MY FATHER TOOK A LIKING IN YOUR OLD MOTHER, IT IS HER DUTY TO PLEASE THE PATRIARCH NEEDS! MY BROTHER WAS THE NEXT IN LINE FOR THE PATRIARCHAL POSITION. HIS LIFE MEANT MORE THAN YOURS, YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO KILL HIM. YOU SHOULD'VE OBEDIENTLY ACCEPTED YOUR DEATH! ALL FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR CLAN."

JIAN WAS A LITTLE SHOCKED BY HER MENTALITY AND WAY OF THINKING. AFTER SIGHING AGAIN AND SHAKING HIS HEAD, HE SPOKE AGAIN: "SIGH, IT SEEMS THE BLOOD IN YOUR VEINS THAT YOU HAVE INHERITED FROM YOUR FATHER CAN'T BE CLEANED. LUCKILY IT SEEMS THAT YOUR ROTTEN BLOOD COMES FROM YOUR GRANDMOTHER CAUSE YOUR FATHER AND MINE HAVE THE SAME FATHER BUT DIFFERENT MOTHER! OTHERWISE, I WOULD'VE BEEN JUST AS EVIL AS YOU AND YOUR FATHER! I HAVE ALREADY FORGIVEN YOU BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T MANAGE TO HARM ME. BUT, IN A FEW DAYS…. I’LL PAY A VISIT TO MY PRECIOUS CLAN AND DO SOME CLEANING."

JIAN LOOKED AT HER EYES WITH DISAPPOINTMENT. HE EXPECTED HER TO BE MORE……. HUMAN, SINCE SHE LEFT THE CLAN TO JOIN THE SLAUGHTERING SWORD GODDESS SECT AT A YOUNG AGE. BUT STILL…. SHE BECAME LIKE HER FATHER AND BROTHER.

SHE SLOWLY STOOD UP AND WANTED TO LEAVE WHEN NUWA CALLED OUT TO HER, STOPPING HER FROM LEAVING.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING? HE PARDONED YOU, BUT WHAT ABOUT ME?"

"WHAT? PLEASE, SECT LEADER! HAVE MERCY, I AM CRIPPLED ALREADY! I HAVE BEEN PUNISHED MORE THAN ENOUGH!"

WHEN HER EARS RECEIVED NUWA'S VOICE, HER FEET LOST THEIR POWER AGAIN, CAUSING HER TO FALL ON HER KNEES, CAUSING THEM TO BLEED. SHE BEGGED WHILE TEARS WERE FALLING OFF HER EYES.

"HAHA, YOU THINK I AM AS KINDHEARTED AS HE IS? YOUR TEARS CAN'T REACH MY HEART! ON THE CONTRARY, IT JUST MAKES ME WANT TO SEE YOUR TEARS AND AGONY….MORE! YOU, TAKE HER TO THE HELL HALL AND GIVE HER SOME….SPECIAL TREATMENT! SHE BROKE THE RULES OF SECT, ASSAULTED ONE OF HER OWN, AND WHAT'S MORE…A CORE DISCIPLE, MY DISCIPLE!"

"NO NOOOOOO PLEASE, JIAN, SAVE ME, PLEASE. I BEG YOU!"

JIAN WATCHED HER WHILE BEING DRAGGED AWAY, HE WAS AN ASSASSIN IN HIS PREVIOUS LIFE, SO HE WAS IMMUNE TO HER SCREAMS, BUT STILL……HE WAS MORE HUMAN THAN HER, SO HIS HEART WAS A LITTLE SHAKEN.

"DON'T WORRY, YOU WERE ABOUT TO MOVE INTO YOUR NEW HOUSE ANYWAY, NOW THAT HERE IS DESTROYED, YOU CAN MOVE IN TONIGHT"

NUWA'S VOICE BROUGHT HIM OUT OF HIS MIND, THEN HE REMEMBERED SOMETHING IMPORTANT AND POLITELY ASKED HER: "OH, SECT LEADER, MANY INCIDENTS HAVE HAPPENED SO I DIDN'T HAVE THE CHANCE TO ASK YOU THIS……I STILL HAVEN'T RECEIVED THE PRIZE FOR THE TOURNAMENT!"

NUWA'S FACE GOT PALE A LITTLE, SHE GAVE A WRY SMILE AND ANSWERED TO HIM: "I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN ABOUT THAT! BUT-BUT THERE IS A LITTLE PROBLEM."

JIAN LOOKED INTO HER EYES, WAITING FOR HER TO CONTINUE.

AFTER A FEW SECONDS, SHE FINALLY BROKE THE SILENCE!

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"I NEVER THOUGHT THAT YOU COULD WIN, THE TRUTH IS THAT………. ONLY WOMEN CAN PRACTICE BLOOD AND SOUL TEMPERING TECHNIQUE!"

"….."

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IN THE DARK VOID, WHERE NOT EVEN LIGHT COULD PENETRATE, SOMEONE WITH A TATTERED RED DRESS AND WOUNDED BODY WAS HOLDING A MIRROR, SHINING IN THE BOUNDLESS VOID.

HER WEAK LIPS WERE OPENING AND CLOSING FROM CONFUSION.

"HIS SOUL…. WHY IS IT SO POWERFUL? HIS POTENTIAL SEEMS……………………………...ENDLESS."