"Well, so what's the plan now? I've been meaning to ask, but why is there no one around here? Are they hiding below in ambush or something?" asked Shuren, looking around in puzzlement.

"Ahem.... well.... there isn't anyone else here. I'm the only one left after choosing the trial, though there didn't seem many takers for it to begin with." replied Tim sheepishly.

Shuren's eyes widened in shock, but a second later everything seemed to fit in place and she gave him a nod. " That explains why you're so freakishly strong, damned brute. Though from what little I know of your planet, you only had the attributes of a level 1 and the world spark of the planet was damaged..... Are you sure you're alright up there?" she asked, tapping at her forehead.

"Wait, what!? Aren't you supposed to start from level 1, to begin with? You're not making any sense." Tim countered, slightly irked.

"Idiot. Why do you think Earth got upgraded to a Domain Controller planet? It was reparations for being so ridiculously weak. The trial was supposed to be for people who had, despite the limited energy of all creation they had access to, still managed to strengthen themselves to an impressive degree. A reward, so to speak, for the strong." she explained with a smug grin on her face.

"FUCK!" he shouted, in frustration. In hindsight, he would've taken the option anyway, so it didn't matter a great deal. So the system wasn't as twisted as he'd assumed it to be, explaining why his parents had managed to survive so far. Not everyone was going to suddenly gain affinity with the Dao, that much he was sure of. Guess that wasn't a prerequisite to survive in this new world, humanity still had a fair shot.

"What rewards did the system offer you anyway? Though I'm sure you just did it for the challenge, meathead." Shuren asked, trying to suppress her curiosity.

"A named weapon. The one I used earlier. I'm sorry, I didn't want to hurt you but I had no choice earlier." he replied, lost in thought.

"No way. That was a named weapon? Don't tell me.... you didn't bind it yet? That explains why my wounds still haven't healed." she stared at the weapon dangling from Tim's waist in awe.

"Bind it?" Tim asked, puzzled. Warrior's resentment was the sharpest weapon he had access to and played a major part in him surviving up until now. Was there more to it than he had thought?

"You do realize that any initiate level cultivator would kill you at the drop of a hat for an unbound named weapon? If we weren't allies, well I'd definitely try to swindle it out of your hands. No offense." Shuren plainly stated the truth, in a deadpan voice. Tim was like a walking treasure trove, and he didn't even realize the value of half the things in his possession.

Tim just looked at her expectantly, hungry for a potential upgrade.

"Haaah, what will I do with you. By the progenitor, I've sure gotten myself right into a mess this time. Just drip some of your blood over the blade and express a desire to form a pact with it." Shuren replied, in a tone dripping with resignation.

Tim did as she said, poking the center of his hand with warrior's resentment, and expressing his desire to see what the weapon was truly capable of. He found the scenery around him rapidly melted, and an overpowering sense of exhaustion overcame his body before he could form a resistance. The last thing he was before he lost consciousness was a glimpse of the sky before it all went black.

After what felt like an eternity, his eyes suddenly snapped open to unfamiliar terrain. This.... something was odd about the way his body felt. Ah, looking at the deep red skin color, this probably wasn't his body. He tried to move, but he had no control over this foreign body. It appeared he was only here in the capacity of a spectator.

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The only thing Tim found familiar in this bizarre situation was the man's weapon, he had unsheathed warrior's resentment and looked at the entrance of the forest as if he were waiting in for something.

Tim heard the rustling in the foliage in front of him, and dozens of shadows materialized out of the forest, surrounding the man in an instant. Tim's heartbeat sped, as he counted the number of assailants the man was surrounded by. From what was visible, there were around 30-40 people that he could see. It was possible that some of them were still hidden in the forest, waiting to reveal themselves later.

"Hahaha" one of them laughed loudly, "Feng Xuan Xi, you are indeed a worthy opponent to force the Nine Leaves Sect to such an extent. Unfortunately, your actions this time have crossed our bottom line. For the glory of the sect, you will fall today by the virtue of my blade" the masked man said, with a tone that radiated a sense of righteousness.

"For the glory of the sect" chanted the rest of the assailants in unison.

"Ah, Chen Zhan, do you not have a sense of shame?" the man Tim was sharing a vision with, replied in a very soft-spoken tone. "To think that you would assassinate the son of the Shen Clan's patriarch and then have the gall to approach them for an alliance, only to pin the murder on a vagrant cultivator like myself. How have I ever offended your sect?" the man said, in a tone full of lamentation.

"So, you knew. Guess the sect leader's assessment of you was not fully accurate. Well, it matters little now. Each cultivator here belongs to the Sect Leader's personal guard, so your allegations will never hear the light of the day. As for why you were simply the most convenient target we had. Our divinations indicated you had no ties to any forces that could threaten us, and your identity was not fabricated. That is all." the man said, as if it were common sense.

"Ah.... I see. It is unfortunate. Unfortunate, indeed. Chen Zhan, in your next life I suggest that you place less reliance on divinations." said Feng Xuan Xi, shaking his head as if a great calamity had befallen him.

"He's bluffing. Finish hi-" A bead of sweat rolled down Chen Zhan's forehead as he confronted the massive aura of resentment that coalesced around the supposedly 'easy' target. However, he had already given the order, and half the men instinctively rushed towards the target without having time to retreat.

Cultivators rushed towards Feng Xuan Xi with a various assortment of weapons, some of them glowing, giving an indication that they were channelling the Dao. The first one to get within striking range was a great axe wielder, as with a loud bellow unleashed a crushing torrent of force that Tim wouldn't even manage to last a single strike under.

From Chen Zhan's perspective, Feng Xuan Xi simply walked past the attack as if he were taking a leisurely stroll in the park. The assailants that followed after also found themselves unable to strike him, as if he were an incorporeal existence that could not be touched in the physical realm. Tim however, knew better. The man only indulged in the barest of movements, slightly shifting the rapier as each opponent passed by him. Once he was done, he craned his neck to see the aftermath of his handiwork.

To have such a stupefying skill differential between him and the previous owner of warrior's resentment, Tim felt humbled. Razor-thin lacerations appeared across the vital regions of each cultivator that had stepped forward to attack Feng Xuan Xi, unbeknownst to even them. A moment later, an unstoppable torrent of blood gushed out from those wounds, quickly draining them of their vitality. Half the attackers dead, in but an instant.

"Despite having come to this lower realm in search of some time away from the tiresome politics of the clan, I find myself schemed against by these mongrels, regardless. Guess people still remain people, wherever you go" he stated, with a disappointed sigh.

'Warrior's resentment, Astral Form: Superimposition'

Two phantom swords, as if forged from live blood itself materialized right behind the original blade of warrior's resentment. As the man moved alongside the blade, the astral swords accompanying him almost seemed hypnotic. The remaining cultivators had no chance, as the spectre now charged at them with spectral swords befitting his status. The remaining guards were sliced to pieces as they experienced the wrath of a higher realm cultivator, while Tim felt queasy at the sight.

Chen Zhan however, had run quite the distance away by this time, using his guards as cannon fodder to buy him some time.

The man, however, did not give chase. Instead, he bent his knees and retracted his sword, as if he were building up strength for an attack.

'Warrior's resentment, Astral Form: Superimposition Release'

He slashed with the rapier, seemingly at thin air. As the slash reached the end of its momentum, the spectral blades accompanying it followed, fusing into it. The result of the fusion was a red beam of light emanating from the slash, severing Chen Zhan's waist from his upper body without him even realizing it.