The organization residing within the dome was in charge of handling the requests and everyday needs of the students that came to showcase themselves. By the time they took Song Yi's Spirit Stones the request may as well be considered completed already, it was borderline mechanical efficiency. As such, the moment the man behind the counter nodded his head, it became too late to stop the cogs and gears of fate.
Song Yi left the dome and made her way through the city while still hiding her face, her stomach slowly churning. It started out slow but got progressively worse with each step she took, her somewhat slow pace quickly turning into a full-blown dash as she hurried back to her house. But the churning and twisting of her stomach got worse far too quickly so she was forced to dive into a somewhat narrow opening between two particularly close buildings.
She had just barely jumped into the small alley when her stomach completely revolted, expelling its contents with all its might. She barely had the time to raise her hand, but she was far from being able to cover her mouth so it just resulted in some of her vomit splashing her hand before it fell to the ground. She continued to retch uncontrollably a few times, her pupils trembling softly as she looked at her vomit-covered hand.
"Whatever it takes...They all have to die, get swallowed by the wave and erased...That's what I decided."
She muttered in a quivering voice to harden and reaffirm her own determination, her stomach turning again as she vomited pure stomach acid. She had hardened her determination and decided that she had to accomplish her goal no matter the cost, the Liangyu family had to be erased from this universe. But that determination was clashing with the guilt of using a friend for her scheme, forcing him to fight without even knowing that he was being used.
The two opposing feelings were churning around within her and making her sick, but if she was asked if she regretted it, then she would be hard-pressed to answer right away. And in truth, even if she regretted it there wouldn't be any point in it. She had done it, the die had been cast and the choice had been made, regret or not, everything that came after wouldn't change.
"I need to prepare myself for when he learns about it."
She didn't know how long it would take him, but she knew that he would learn the truth eventually. And when he did, the least she could do was accept his anger head-on, accept the hatred he would feel for getting dragged into her mess like this. She wiped the corners of her mouth with a rag she pulled out from her interspatial ring, staggering out from the small alley and resuming her slow walk back home in the dark.
--
Liangyu Shao Zhe was sitting behind a desk in the house that he and some of the other servants of the Liangyu had occupied, his eyes gliding across the paper he was holding. The room was lit up by a lamp filled with small stones that would light up when filled with Qi, the soft white light illuminating the three stacks of papers on the desk. He had tied his long green hair back into a neat ponytail, sweeping back all the strands that would usually hang down in front of his face so that they wouldn't get in the way of reading.
He finished reading the paper he was currently holding and put it down on a stack at the top right of the desk, picking up another piece of paper from the stack directly in front of him. There were a lot of competitors present in this city, and there would likely be even more competitors inside the Forge of Heroes itself thanks to the fact that the largest academies didn't bother sending all their chosen students here.
His master had decided to take part in this competition so Shao Zhe had gone through the trouble of rounding up the profiles of all the up and coming students, as well as the already famous students. Now he had to go through them all to weed out the most dangerous ones so that he could present them to his master, that way he would be prepared to deal with them should they encounter each other.
"Adjunct Zhe, may I enter?"
A knock on the door halted Shao Zhe's reading, his gaze rising to glance at the door. He lowered his gaze and continued his reading after he recognized the voice, beckoning them in without raising his gaze again.
"You may."
The door was pushed open, an aged man with a short faded grey beard stepping into the room. He was clutching two pages, his brown eyes glancing down at them somewhat uncertainly as he stepped forward and presented them.
"Good evening, Adjunct Zhe, I received these papers from a messenger sent by the Domecliff Cove. He was quite insistent that it had to be delivered directly to you."
Shao Zhe glanced up at the papers after the man explained their origin, but he still took the time to finish the report he was currently reading before he accepted the papers. He glanced over both of them, one of them was a report on Song Yi and the other of Ying Feixu, both including a picture of them. A very simple message had been scribbled at the bottom of Song Yi's profile, clearly added after the profile itself had been made.
'Huang Ying of the Fierce Flame Academy holds the key to acquiring them.'
His expression dropped slightly as he read over Ying Feixu's profile, the old man standing opposite of him mimicking his change in expression. But his expression sunk even further when he got to Song Yi's profile, one of his eyebrows rising in a mixture of surprise and suspicion.
"So this is where she ran off to, guess that means there is some truth to the myth that the Ancestral Tomb is hidden on this planet... Do we have the profile for this Huang Ying?"
He raised his gaze slightly as he questioned, but his voice was tinged with fatigue rather than excitement or the like. He glanced at the stacks of paper in front of him, he hadn't seen the name Huang Ying yet so he was a bit uncertain if he was among the more famous students. But the old man shook his head so this particular student was evidently not among the ones they had investigated beforehand.
"I'm afraid not, Adjunct, we'll have to get it from the Cove. But are you certain that you wish to follow through on this? Does it not feel too convenient, like we're just being used?"
It was just too strange, they had just arrived and only a handful of people present should know about the Liangyu family. And even fewer people should know about Song Yi's relationship with the Liangyu family and the fact that the Master he and Zhao She served desired her. So for this information to reach them now, it was all just too suspicious. Shao Zhe obviously also saw this, placing down the papers and rubbing his temple.
"Of course we're being used, it's so obvious that it isn't even funny. But so what? The fact that we've received this information means that it will reach Young Master Mao before long, his other men will probably inform him within two days or so at most. And even if he doesn't get to hear the exact information, he'll hear that we received something and ask about it. We can't lie, so we'll have to tell him the truth. Tell me, how do you think he'll react to hearing that we've kept this information from him, or gods forbid, not done everything in our power to acquire that which he desires?"
Shao Zhe had raised his gaze a little as he spoke, locking eyes with the old man. His free hand was tapping the desk rapidly while the other was rubbing his temple, another annoying job had been tossed his way, but at least he could hand over part of it to someone else. He phrased the last part of his sentence as a question, but he knew that it was more rhetorical than anything. And sure enough, the old man didn't even bother responding to it.
"I'll go get Huang Ying's profile and will see if I can find anything on his living quarters, I shall return shortly."
Shao Zhe only nodded his head and then picked up a new profile from the stack he had in front of him, pouring over the details held within. His pupils stopped moving only a minute after the old man left, his eyes narrowing as he raised his head. He turned his head sideways a few times but the room was perfectly empty and the door hadn't been touched. But even so, he snorted coldly once and muttered a quiet complaint before returning to his reading.
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"At least the idiots know to work fast..."
Silence returned to the room after he muttered his complaint and continued reading, quickly placing the profile in his hands on the stack that was on the left side of the table. And then, only an hour after he left, the old man returned to the room with another paper in his hand.
"I've returned, Adjunct. This is the profile on Huang Ying, it took a bit longer to find out which house he had chosen so please forgive my tardiness."
Shao Zhe finished going through the profile he was holding and placed it down, accepting the paper on Huang Ying and placing his attention on it. He quickly figured out why he wasn't among the up-and-coming students, but there was one point about him that made it a bit annoying to move.
"Young, no great backing, peak 9th Mortal Step. Hmm, he's quickly risen through the ranks of the Mortal Step so there's a chance that he's found some decent resources, or he's the secret child of one of the teachers so they may have fawned on him. But he's one of their chosen disciples, that's a bit irking... Send Wue Qing and Ling Fue, tell them that an exchange is preferable, but if he's too adamant or too greedy then it's also fine to just bring back the corpse, Young Master Mao can drag the information out of his soul."
Shao Zhe quickly came to a decision and placed the profile aside, picking up a new one to continue his original job. The profile only spoke about the information that existed within the Fierce Flame Academy itself so it didn't confirm some of the battles he had engaged in outside of the academy, nor did it register his actual birthplace so it didn't give a full picture of him.
But he was only in the Mortal Step realm, and he was only a student at a mere Fierce Flame Academy, it was easy to see that he didn't have any great backing, at least not one that mattered. The old man nodded his head and left the room, bringing with him a copy of the profile as he headed for the quarters of Wue Qing and Ling Fue.
--
"Someone's coming, looks like you're quite popular."
The somewhat sarcastic voice of Li Jun rang in Huang Ying's head while he was cultivating, his eyes sliding open as he halted his training. He could tell that the person coming wasn't someone he knew, otherwise Li Jun would likely have used their name. Thanks to all the people and beasts he had devoured over time, his perception could already stretch out to 25 metres, so it didn't take too long for the people approaching his house to enter his range.
There was a knock on the door shortly after the people entered his senses, but the knock was only a formality since the couple in question simply walked in after a few seconds. Two girls who didn't look older than 18 walked into the room, Huang Ying had picked a rather small house so the main room he stayed in was right by the entrance.
The first girl had flowing blonde hair and glittering blue eyes, her features and appearance were soft and charming, she was the kind of girl one could easily look at for hours. The second girl was much the same, but she had short black hair and had a leaner, more athletic physique. The two stopped right after entering the door, Hei Ya and Hong Yi glaring at them in a warning. But the girls didn't seem to care about them, grabbing the hem of their loose green dresses and raising it while giving a curtsy greeting.
"It's a splendid night, is it not, Lord Ying? This one is Wue Qing and we have come here on orders from our master, Liangyu Gong Mao. It has come to him that a girl by the name of Song Yi and a girl by the name of Ying Feixu are currently in your possession. My master greatly appreciates beauty, so he would like to offer an exchange that would leave both parties satisfied. My master has stated that he can increase the payment if you find it lacking."
The one who spoke was the blonde girl, both of them tugging at the collar of their dresses so that they loosened up and slid to the ground. They didn't outright state what he would receive, but he would have to be an idiot if he didn't understand what they were trying to imply. Huang Ying was still seated with his legs crossed as the two people removed their garments, tilting his head slightly as the voice of Li Jun once again sounded in his head.
"Hoho, not often a man gets to see women presenting themself like this to him. Well, weak men at least, it becomes quite easy when you're stronger and have a higher position. But still, you can consider yourself lucky, these two have quite the high calibre."
Huang Ying didn't bother much with Li Jun's message, he could tell that the way Li Jun spoke had gradually started to change ever since he had forced him to tell the truth and subsequently forced him to swear an oath. But that was only to be expected, Li Jun no longer had to play the part of the caring grandfather figure that was secretly trying to lure Huang Ying to his death. The two of them were now using the other, Li Jun used Huang Ying to stay alive and Huang Ying used Li Jun for information and scouting. With a relationship like that, it was much easier for Li Jun to simply act as he normally would.
Huang Ying uncrossed his legs and stood up, patting Hong Yi and Hei Ya on the head to have them stand down. He then walked up to the two girls with slow and calm steps, stopping in front of them as he let his gaze drift over them. But both of them felt a slight chill as they looked at his eyes, there was no trace of charm or desire in them. And sure enough, he raised his head and locked eyes with the blonde girl, giving an exceedingly simple response.
"No. You can take your leashes and fuck off back to your owner."
His voice and gaze didn't leave any room for negotiation, it wasn't even something worth considering. He didn't bother correcting their misunderstanding that he owned Song Yi and Ying Feixu, he didn't even bother asking why their master suddenly also desired Ying Feixu. These girls weren't worth his time, and seeing that their master sent them over for an exchange without even showing himself, it seemed like their master also wasn't worth his time.
The two girls exchanged a glance, a nervous wrinkle appearing between their eyebrows. The blonde girl gave a nearly imperceptible signal with her eyes, both girls springing into action at once. They both lashed out with their hands, curving their hands as metal appeared around their fingers and turned them into claws.
They even accounted for the off-chance that Huang Ying might dodge, aiming for his waist since it would be harder for him to move his waist out of the way, it would also be easier to aim for the waist if he decided to jump away. But never had they expected that Huang Ying wouldn't even make a move to dodge, allowing both of the claws to hit his waist and stab deep into his flesh. But there wasn't enough power behind the attacks for them to reach his organs, one of his eyebrows rising as he looked at the two, a grin slowly starting to form on his face.
"Well, is that it? Or do you have anything more exhilarating to show me?"
Both the girls felt a chill creep into their chests again as they met Huang Ying's gaze. This...This was too far out of their expectations. The blonde girl quickly reacted, her other arm shooting forward and forming another claw that aimed at the easiest target, Huang Ying's stomach. But just as her arm started to move, the voice of Huang Ying sank into her ears, and her heart dropped to the pits of her stomach.
"No, when you're fighting someone you have to go for the kill. And when you go for the kill, the head and the heart are the best targets. Here, like this."
His arm swept out as he spoke, one of his spear's two parts appearing in his grasp. She was too close for him to bring out his full spear, luckily he could split it into two equal parts so it didn't really matter if she was close or a few steps away. The blade cut through the air, but the girl couldn't dodge because she suddenly found herself unable to extract her hand from Huang Ying's waist.
There wasn't enough room for her to move her head out of the way so the weapon cut through her neck without mercy, severing her head from her shoulders. The severed head fell to the side and dropped to the floor, a sickening squelching sound echoing out as it landed on his now muddy shadow. The darkness grew countless eyes and maws, a crunching sound mixing with the squelching as the head was chewed up and devoured by Huang Ying.
The other girl could only look at the scene in horror, the thud that the headless body produced as it fell to the ground giving her a second of clarity. She pulled her hand out from Huang Ying's waist, letting out a stealthy breath of relief when she saw that she wasn't stopped like her companion.
Huang Ying glanced at her from the corner of his eye, the girl's heart trembling as she immediately turned around to fling open the door. But what a shame it was that she didn't know that this was the exact opposite of the correct move in this situation.
"If you can't even stand tall in your final moments, when will you ever?"
The question rang in her ears, but Huang Ying's weapon pierced through her chest from behind before she could even formulate a response in her mind. Her body jolted to a halt, her head shakily lowering to gaze at the blade that poked out from her chest. The blade rose just as she lowered her gaze, bisecting her chest and head to forever seal whatever thoughts ran through her mind.
The second corpse also fell to the ground with a dull thud, Huang Ying swinging the blade once to get rid of the blood that clung to it. It didn't quite do the trick so he just sent some of the muddy darkness that his shadow had become up along his weapon to devour the blood.
"Zhao She, huh? You move fast, really darn fast. I was gonna wait with having a taste of you until we entered the forge, but if you wanna start the games early then I'll accompany you."
The corners of his mouth curved up in a wicked manner as he muttered to himself, devouring the head of the first girl had also given him her memories so he already knew who sent them. He tilted his head slightly as he looked at the two corpses, an idea flitting past his mind.
"Li Jun, tell me the moment I'm about to enter anyone's senses. And once I reach the house, find me a spot where none of them will be able to sense me."
He stashed the two corpses into his interspatial ring as he spoke, his shadow returning to normal as he pushed open the door and left the house, striding through the dark night. Li Jun did as Huang Ying said so he could move around without being seen and quickly reached the house he was searching for. He didn't waste a single second before he got to work, Li Jun abiding by the oath and making sure that Huang Ying wasn't spotted.
As the sun rose the next day, a grim sight met the people that lived in or moved past Shao Zhe's house. Two naked corpses had been nailed to the wall with earthen spikes, one missing its head while the other had been bisected from the heart and up. Scrawled in dripping blood beneath the two corpses was an exceedingly simple message.
'Try Again'