I didn’t know what being a violet earth bastard meant, but I had an inkling. Scar likely meant being a Violet Earth Cultivator, and if there were cultivators, there was probably a sect or a group.

Something to think about later.

My hand reached for the mask on Scar’s face, and the tips of my fingers braced along the edges just enough to lightly pull it aside.

“Get there!” I yelled at myself.

I took another step and followed along as Scar hurriedly backpedalled. Finally, with a pinch between my fingers, I managed to grab the mask and rip it back. As soon as my hand caught the mask, I backed away, not letting Scar get a chance at stealing it back.

“Violet, BRAT!” Scar screamed out and then screamed as the violet mist surrounded him. Like it did to me so long ago, the violet mist dug into Scar’s eyes, mouth, and ears, inflicting a stinging sensation that would soon turn into a violent pain.

“I’ll kill you!” Scar yelled at the top of his lungs.

“You know, if you keep yelling like that, it only lets more violet mist into your body.” I reminded.

The veins on Scar’s face began to throb, and it almost looked like he was turning into a bramble beast with the way the veins turned red.

Despite the casual way I talked to Scar, I didn’t let my guard down. My legs were ready to shift anywhere, and the vibrations circulated around my body, ready to be used instantly. Letting your guard down gets you killed like Scar was about to be.

“I wanted to save it. Damnit!” Scar yelled, and he reached into his robe with a shaking hand. With a death grip, the bottle containing a single crimson pill was shattered, cutting Scar’s hand in the process.

“You thought the mask was the only thing I prepared? Oh, I’m going to make you beg before—!” Scar spoke, and my body shifted forward to intercept the crimson pill in his hand. Unfortunately, I was too late, and the crimson pill was swallowed in a single gulp.

My sense of danger spiked as Scar’s skin flashed red like a lobster submerged in boiling water. His bloodshot eyes looked up at me, and with an animalistic growl, the violet mist in the air backed away from the red particles pouring out of his body.

“Die!” Scar shouted.

With speed far surpassing his limits, Scar arrived before me. His hand whipped around, and a condensed water bullet sliced a line across my cheek as I barely dodged out of the way.

Well, shit.

My first instinct was to create distance between us, but Scar wouldn’t let me do that. He stayed up close and personal, threatening to send a hole through my body with each watery punch. Usually, I would relish the chance at close combat, but my usual fighting style of exchanging blows didn’t work here. If I tried to tank one of his water bullets, it would not end well for me, even if I landed a Big Thumper.

Huff, huff. Hou.

Calm down, Louie.

I hurried to control my breathing, which had been slowly escalating as Scar whizzed punches past my face. In stark contrast, Scar’s eyes tunnel-visioned on me.

I couldn’t let him falter me.

I could already tell that this was a battle that would be done instantly, like the Horned Bramble Dog. I wasn't confident enough to wait out the crimson pill's effects. I just had to wait for an opportunity.

…

The vibrations along my arms battled and distorted the cutting power of the water bullet punches that Scar released. This meant I had some means of deflecting his attacks, but the speed of Scar's punches was faster than my fists could intercept.

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“Ack!” I clenched my teeth as an unblocked water bullet shaved off a piece of my torso. It was nothing but fatty tissue, but it still hurt, nonetheless.

My countering attacks faltered, which produced a brilliant sparkle in Scar’s bloodshot eyes.

“Die!” he yelled for the umpteenth time during this fight. I mean, honestly, does he not have any other catchphrases? Has he not been monologuing this entire time, trying to create new ones?

The vibrations in my legs sent out a shockwave that faltered Scar’s punch from blasting me in the gut. His legs rocked as the chance I had been waiting for showed itself.

“Big Thumper!” I yelled in a much more extraordinary fashion. See Scar, you had to call out the name of your ultimate move. That was the proper way to do it!

…yeah, I’m going crazy.

Scar’s arms guarded against the punch that crashed into them, but the maximum-level vibrations contained within the punch weren’t something he could defend against.

Crunch!

Not even the robes he wore could stop his arm bones from folding in. My punch sent Scar flying back into a nearby boulder with a crash.

Huff, huff, huff.

“Damnit, that hurt!” I gripped my knuckles, which were bleeding something fierce, and tried to move them around. It felt like one of them might be broken from impacting against the seemingly soft robes. What were they made out of?

My right hand couldn’t be used that well for now; the violet mist was already working on healing me. But that was okay; I only needed one hand to kill off Scar, anyway.

I calmly walked towards the hacking and coughing Scar, who littered the ground with burning blood. Whatever the crimson pill was that he ate had severe side effects as the reddened veins littering his face grew in number.

“Hehe, you think you’re so good.” Scar looked up at me, and I flinched a bit.

I had experienced bloodlust from the bramble beasts down here many times. I would even say I had gotten used to it. But the level of bloody desire that Scar emanated made it seem like I was his lifelong blood enemy.

“YOU THINK you’re going to walk out of here alive.” Scar continued in a hysteric laugh.

“You’re going to die down here! It might not be me; it might not even be the sect leaders. But The Matron will ensure you are ground into a speck of dust that gets sprinkled in tea.” He finished and blinked.

I watched the pupils in Scar’s eyes shrunk, and the sides shortened and became a slit like a cat…

…Or like a bramble dog.

Slam!

My foot slammed into Scar’s head, eager to stop whatever ominous process he was going through, but a vine suddenly sprouted from his forehead that pierced into my leg. I punched the vine, infusing it with vibrations that burst it apart.

“Oh, Matron. Take me! Use me to rid the world of this person!” Scar screamed out, and a shriek escaped his lips as sickening red vines twisted out from his body.

I watched with mixed horror as the vines arced in and out of his flesh like the other bramble beasts. The one that pierced my leg hardened rapidly, forming a curved horn like the other horned bramble dogs I had seen. When Scar’s back arched unnaturally, and the little vines poking out of his skin flattened into a short fur, I realized that I wanted to vomit.

Did that make the rest of them…? Even the regular ones?

ROAR!

A supernatural roar echoed from the mouth of Scar, and I watched with disgust as the transformation was completed.

Scar was now a horned bramble dog.

*****

“I’m sorry! Please, don’t do this! I’m not one of them; my faith belongs to The Matron!”

AGGHHH!

Gou Hui’s dagger pierced into the thigh of the outer sect disciple, one of their prisoners, and gave it a twist that rolled the prisoner’s eyes back into their skull.

“Unconscious already? That’s no fun.” Gou Hui blandly complained. He turned to the other of the two prisoners, and the look in his eyes grew playful.

The other prisoner shivered as Gou Hui approached, and his bound feet twitched with fear.

“It was Sun Cai! He was the one who organized it! Please, don’t—!”

Gou Hui’s other dagger stabbed the prisoner’s thigh, resulting in a high-pitched squeal that faltered into soft sobs.

“So, it was Sun Cai.” Gou Da spoke from behind Gou Hui. He took his hand off the counter that held various torture tools and looked towards Gou Jia, who was frowning with clenched fists.

“Trying to incite rebellion among my own disciples.” Gou Jia started and crescendo-ed to a tone full of wrath. “He will pay for this.”

Gou Da looked at his brother and walked over to the conscious prisoner. He forcefully lifted his head and stared at him straight in the eyes.

“Was it just Sun Cai? Were there others?” Gou Da inquired.

The prisoner gulped as he felt Gou Da’s fingers dig into his head. He could likely crush his head into nothing but meat paste with hardly any effort.

“There was a brown-haired boy. His disciple. He was the only other one there, I swear! I, I—”

With a sickening crunch, the prisoner’s head dropped down, dead.

“Gou Hui, kill the other one and dispose of their bodies outside the sect. Let the wild beasts feed on their traitorous flesh.” Gou Da spoke chilling words, then he turned to Gou Jia.

“What’s your plan?”

Gou Jia’s eyes held a battle within them. But when he closed them, it was settled. He reopened them with a focused look and gazed at his older brother with calm strength.

“We already warned Sun Cai once. We will not do it again. We will bring him to The Matron.” Gou Jia continued.

“As for Arden, he will follow the fate of his teacher.”