Tianshen was looking down at the kneeling Ice God sect disciples in front of him while still releasing his crushing soul pressure and killing intent.

One of the girls gathered up some courage and lifted her head up and said to Tianshen through gritted teeth ‘’Do you know what you’re doing? After this day there will be no place for you to hide in the Azure Province! The Ice God sect will hunt you down to the ends of continent if necessary if you dare to harm us’’

Tianshen was not even looking at her, he was still staring at Xia Ning, and said in a calm manner

‘’Little girl, there are people in this world that you cannot afford to provoke no matter what, you made one fatal miscalculation when you decided to come here, and that was you assuming that I give a fuck about some Ice God sect. After I kill all of you I will pay a visit to your Ice God sect and erase it. A sect that abducts children against their will and brainwashes them is not worth existing’’

When Xia Ning and the girls heard what Tianshen said they were dumbstruck. He was talking about erasing one of the top sects of the Azure province as if he was talking about eating breakfast. But something gave them the feeling that he was not kidding when he said that.

Tianshen continued ‘’it just so happens that people like you are the ones I hate the most. Proud and arrogant but can’t back it up, you think you are better than everyone because of your social status as disciples of some stupid Ice God sect. You think that you stand above the law and can do whatever you want, well let me tell you something…’’ Said Tianshen while extending his right hand.

A one meter long sword materialized in his hand out of nowhere ‘’…I am the Law’’ said Tianshen and swung his sword towards the girl that just spoke before. She wanted to scream but she realized that she can’t, then everything went dark. Her head was now laying on the ground next to her lifeless body.

People gasped, how domineering and arrogant, who would dare utter words like ‘I am the law’ besides this guy in front of them? Plus, he really dared to kill the Ice God sect disciples.

Tianshen swung his sword a second time and another head flew from the shoulders of another girl. He then proceeded to chop the rest of the heads of the girls.

Xia Ning at this point was trembling from fear, she looked at the person that was currently killing her sect sisters one by one and she saw that his face was devoid of emotion. How could a thirteen year old boy be so merciless, how could someone of his age be so ruthless? He was cutting heads like he was cutting grass. Then she realized something, there was only one kind of person that could kill so ruthlessly without even blinking. It was the kind of person that bathed in the blood of countless people. Was it hundreds? Thousands? Millions?

She did not know, the truth is that Tianshen did not know the answer to that question either. He had long since lost count of how many people, demons, beasts and all kinds of life-forms he had slain.

Now he stood in front of Xia Ning with the sword of judgment in his hand. Xia Ning looked him in the eyes, she felt like she was staring into a bottomless pit. The she felt regret, she felt boundless regret. She wished that she did not provoke this death god, she wished that she had not acted so arrogant in front of others, she wished that she had another chance so she could change her ways.

Then tears started falling from her eyes, she wanted to plead for mercy but she knew it was useless. Then the image of her master came into her mind, her master was the only person that ever truly cared for her. She knew how sad her master would be when the news of her death would get to her.

Suddenly when Xia Ning seemed to lose all hope, a voice resounded throughout the lonely peak

‘’Boy let my disciple go, she has went and offended someone she shouldn’t have. If you want to blame someone then blame me for not raising her correctly’’

Then a middle aged woman appeared above the scene, her hair was snow-white, even though she looked middle aged, Tianshen could tell that she was once a peerless beauty, she was floating in the air and looking down at her disciple with a worried look on her face.

‘’Master!!’’ shouted Xia Ning with tears in her eyes.

Tianshen glanced at her ‘’She is stronger than chief Cao Chen’’ he thought.

‘’If you want to plead mercy for your disciple then come down here where our eyes can meet on the same level, you are not qualified to look down on me from there’’

At this point Tianshen retracted his killing intent and soul power, everyone finally felt like they could breathe again. The reason Tianshen retracted his soul power is because he did not feel any ill intent from this middle aged woman.

The woman sighed and flew down and stood opposite of Tianshen. Suddenly ten more people landed next to Tianshen, all of them had strong auras, especially the one in the middle, it was the chief Cao Chen.

‘’Xia Qing, it has been a while’’ said Cao Chen with a smile

‘’It indeed has been a while Cao Chen, I’m sorry we have to reunite under these circumstances, it would be much more comforting if my dear disciple did not have a blade pointed at her neck’’

Said Xia Qing with a worried face.

Cao Chen turned to Tianshen ‘’Tianshen this is enough, you have already avenged you friend, plus his wounds can be healed, let’s not escalate this any further’’

Tianshen looked at Cao Chen then back to Xia Ning who was still kneeling in front of him.

‘’I hope that nine of your junior sisters dying because of your selfishness was a good enough lesson for you’’ he said emotionlessly.

Chief Xia Qing spoke before Xia Ning could ‘’you can rest assured that she will be further punished for her actions, as for your friend’s wound, here’’ She threw a green pill towards Tianshen and he caught it. He immediately recognized the pill, it was an Earth grade restoration pill of high quality.

Tianshen went and gave it to Wentian while smiling at him ‘’I’m sorry I was late brother, you have done well’’

Wentian smiled back at him ‘’Just a scratch’’

Bingyue was finally relieved and smiled at both of them.

‘’Bingyue, you have grown well. And it looks like you finally found a family. I know you never felt at home in the Ice God sect, but I never wanted anything but for you to be happy, cherish your friends’’ said Xia Qing with a smile. It seemed like she was genuinely happy for Bingyue.

Bingyue smiled back at her without saying anything.

Tianshen was surprised, the difference between Xia Qing and Xia Ning was huge, how could the disciple be so different from the master?

‘’Cao Chen I apologize for my disciple again, I have been in secluded cultivation for the past two years trying to break through, before I knew it Ning’er status as a legacy disciple went to her head. I happened to exit my secluded cultivation yesterday and as soon as I heard that Ning’er came here to retrieve Bingye I came her as fast as I could’’

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

*sigh ‘’looks like I wasn’t on time to save everyone’’ said Xia Qing with a sad face.

Then she added ‘’Looks like you really found yourself a monstrous genius as a legacy disciple Cao Chen, the Azure Dragon sect is destined to make a comeback soon’’

Then she turned back to Tianshen and said ‘’ I don’t know what you heard about our sect, but we are not an evil bunch of women who brainwash little girls. We do indeed abduct girls from families but only from the families where the girls are abused and not treated in the right way.

Each and every one of these girls has a story, so don’t judge us too harshly’’

Tianshen indeed felt like he rushed a bit in judging the Ice God sect.

‘’Your disciple has potential, although her personality may be rotten, I hope today’s event taught her a valuable life lesson’’ said Tianshen with a smile

‘’as for the girls I just killed, I have zero regrets. No matter how sad and difficult their childhood was, it does not justify them acting in the way they did’’ he added, then he turned around started walking back towards his courtyard while supporting Wentian, Bingyue followed closely behind them.

Xian Qing sighed again, then she flicked her hand and all the bodies and heads of the dead girls flew into a spatial ring she was wearing.

She put her hand on Xia Ning’s shoulder ‘’let’s go back, you are going to go into secluded cultivation and reflect upon your actions’’

She then said goodbye to Cao Chen and flew off.

Cao Chen and the nine elders left while Cai Kun dispersed the crowd. At this point Cai Kun lost all hope for revenge, what he witnessed today was beyond of what he could understand. He made the decision to never provoke Tianshen and change his ways. It looked like he was finally going to take his outer sect elder job seriously and help the disciples grow.

The next couple of days were uneventful, while the three friends were cultivating on the lonely peak. The news of what happened on the lonely peak spread through the sect and inevitably through the province. Rumor said that the Ice goddess herself, Xia Ning went to the Azure Dragon sect to cause trouble but ended up kneeling and begging for mercy in front of a guy named Tianshen who was apparently the new legacy disciple of the Azure Dragon sect.

The rumors were of course highly exaggerated. But still people started paying more attention towards the Azure Dragon sect now.

‘’Does this not mean that this Tianshen is strong enough to be ranked at least fifth in the Earth ranking of the Azure province?’’ people were gossiping.

‘’Looks like this year’s Earth ranking competition is going to have a rising star’’

Two more days passed by, in those two days Tianshen was cultivating and sometimes giving pointers on cultivation to the sect elders that were stuck in their cultivation. Most disciples now respected Tianshen, some out of fear, others out of pure veneration.

Today Tianshen was sitting in his courtyard drinking tea when Wentian came in

‘’Wentian, any news from the sect?’’ asked Tianshen with a smile

Wentian sat down next to Tianshen ‘’Yes, in a week’s time it is the yearly Azure Dragon sect ranking tournament, but it’s not only a tournament to rank the strongest disciples of the sect. The other purpose is to determine this year’s ten core disciples. So not even the core disciples are exempted from the competition and they can lose their place’’

Tianshen nodded in approval ‘’It is a good way to keep even the core disciples from slacking. But since I am already the legacy disciple I don’t think I will be participating. But you and Bingyue should, this is a good chance for both of you to prove yourself to the whole sect.

One week should be enough for you and Bingyue to cultivate your respective techniques to the second stage’’

Wentian agreed ‘’yes, I’ve been feeling that I’m close to advancing to the second stage of the Golden Crow flames for the past two days, plus my cultivation is at the 4th Core Formation realm now, I think I may be able to rank in the top ten if I cultivate for the next week’’

‘’Then what are you waiting for? Go’’ said Tianshen with a smile. He was really cheerful for the past couple of days. He really forgot what it was like to be around friends and sharing these simple happy moments with them. This also reassured him that he was not wrong in choosing to abandon his previous life. This time he did not want to rise on his own, he wanted to bring his friends to the top with him.

Wentian went to his room and closed the door behind him. Coincidentally as soon as Wentian’s door closed, Bingyue’s door opened and she walked into the courtyard and sat next to Tianshen.

‘’Bingyue, your advancement is too scary’’ said Tianshen with a smile while checking her cultivation. She was already at the 2nd Core formation realm.

Bingyue blushed ‘’don’t make fun of me brother Tianshen, you are still the monster out of the three of us’’ she said while pouting her lips in a cute way.

She wasn’t wrong, Tianshen was already at the 5th Core formation realm and his Sword of Judgment advanced to the second stage.

‘’Little Bingyue, you know you make me sad when you call me a monster like that, you make it sound like I’m some kind of evil villain’’ said Tianshen while pretending to be sad and staring into the sky like he was just immensely hurt.

Bingyue caught his sarcastic tone ‘’Hmph, of course you’re evil, and a pervert too!’’ she said. Then she stormed back into her room.

Tianshen laughed loudly ‘’this little girl is too easy to tease’’

Then continued drinking his tea ‘’this life was indeed worth it’’ he thought.

Meanwhile in another area of the sect.

Elder Kong Zhi was sitting in a beautiful pavilion on his mountain peak, next to him sat two youths. They looked almost identical, the only difference was that one was a bit younger and shorter.

‘’Kong Feng, Kong Jie, I expect an even better performance than last year, you better not disappoint me’’ said Kong Zhi in a serious manner.

Kong Feng said ‘’Don’t worry father I am already half step into the Earth Realm and Ji’er is a the 6th Core Formation realm. Who would possibly stand a chance against me besides that annoying Cao Bai?’’

‘’Come to think of it, she’s been away for training for the past three months, she should be returning to the sect any day now’’ said Kong Jie with a frown.

‘’It does not matter, I have full confidence in both of you. Just be careful of that Tianshen, who knows he might just decide to participate in the ranking tournament because he feels like it. Cao Chen just lets him do whatever he wants, his status has become too strong in the sect for me to openly challenge at this point. Whatever we do must be done secretly from now on’’ Said Kong Zhi with a serous face.

‘’Father, rest assured, if that fake legacy disciple decided to join in the ranking battle I’ll defeat him in front of everyone and prove that I am the only one worthy of that spot’’ said Kong Feng confidently.

At this moment outside of the Azure Dragon sect, a girl was walking towards the entrance. She stopped for a moment and looked at the lonely peak that was visible from the distance.

‘’this year I will definitely get that spot’’ she said with a confident smile and continued walking towards the sect entrance.