Chapter 523: I Admit My Failure, Master
Translator: flycrane01Editor: Millman97
Within a moment, one of their subordinates had already been wreathed by the aura of blood from the deadly beast!
This subordinate was at the peak of the Refinement Stage and had almost advanced into the Building Foundation Stage. He was a skilled, experienced Immortal Cultivator.
The crystal suit he was wearing had been manufactured by one of the three main crystal suit centers and modified by the experts on Spider Den!
However, in front of the ferocious beast, his bones and teeth were broken within half a second, and he seemed to have become a cub at anyone's mercy!
Miserable screams echoed inside the communication channel, only to end abruptly in less than one third of a second.
Black Stone and White Dew, however, could see from their blurred light beam that the four limbs of their subordinate had been chopped off before his head had separated from his body as well!
Although Black Stone and White Dew were seasoned Exos who had witnessed countless battles, they felt their head was dizzy nonetheless. The floor under their feet did not seem solid; it seemed like a dark abyss, at the bottom of which the most terrifying devils were waiting for them!
"Master Su! Master Su!"
Master Su didn't respond to their call. Yet, screams continued.
The speed of the ferocious animal was beyond their imagination. Like a cluster of crimson brightness, it dashed past their four subordinates. The first three of them had time to utter a final scream before their death, but the last one did not even let out any sound. His spine seemed to have been unplugged, turning him into a pile of meat that even his crystal suit couldn't support, before he collapsed to the ground.
Four of them were killed instantly within three seconds!
Black Stone and White Dew looked at each other. Brutality burst out of their eyes at the same time. They roared and unsheathed their sabers, charging forward into the black smoke!
Clang!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Inside the black smoke, metal collided, and sparks spluttered. But everything came to a stop three seconds later.
Black Stone and White Dew were in perfect poses. One of them raised the saber high above the head, while the other one hid the sharpness of the saber behind them. They looked like a furious tiger and a sordid leopard. Like two frozen statues, they surrounded Li Yao in the middle.
"I was told that your sabers are fast."
Li Yao waved his saber to clean the last drop of blood on it, before he sheathed his saber and walked out of their siege slowly. He continued casually, "If I were not in a hurry today, I would have definitely liked to witness it."
He didn't even bother to look at them. As if the well-prepared, malicious assassins were nothing but air, he strode away, leaving them behind him.
Clang!
Clang!
Black Stone and White Dew's sabers fell to the ground one after the other. Their facial covers exploded after cracking noises, too, revealing two shocked and baffled faces.
"How did you… launch the attack?"
His hands shaking, Black Stone tried to touch his thick neck. Half way through his movement, a terrible wound that had severed his veins, wind pipe, and spine appeared on his neck. Stimulated by the tremendous pressure inside the body, blood spurted out through the wound like a growing red tree. Half of his head was twisted backward weirdly. His eyes, resembling those of a dead fish, gazed at the wandering smoke near the ceiling.
Inside the smoke, countless restless souls seemed to be grinning hideously at him.
"Hiss… hiss…"
White Dew, the dark woman, was better than him. She covered her neck with her hand in time, but there was no way that she could stop her blood from flooding out through the gaps of her fingers!
She stared at Li Yao with her grey eyes. To this moment, White Dew still found it hard to understand. The first day that guy had gotten aboard, she had kicked him down in one attack. He had been completely useless back then. How come everything ended like this? Why?
Black Stone and White Dew, two Exos who used to be somewhat famous among Cultivators and two experts best known for their fast sabers, kneeled down, collapsed, and died behind Li Yao.
Because of the dense black smoke inside the warehouse and the interference waves Li Yao had added to his crystal bomb, Huangpu Shiyi didn't know exactly what was going on, but he did know that something was happening.
His face pale, he summoned a maintenance suit and put it on. Then he hid several pieces of powerful aggressive magical equipment in his hand. He felt somewhat relieved after doing all that.
With a cruel smile, Li Yao walked toward Huangpu Shiyi, neither too quickly nor too slowly.
"Ma—Ma—Master Li Yao…"
Fei Ming, the Meditation Healer who had 'invited' him onto the ship with hypnosis arts, was in his way, shaking with the utmost fear.
As an expert of mental warfare, Fei Ming was not good at combat with real guns and swords. But Li Yao was apparently not someone he could hypnotize, and his combat ability was strong enough to take down Su Jiuzhen, Black Stone and White Dew!
Faced with such a monster, Fei Ming had completely lost his fighting will. His head was in a mess, but his natural instinct of survival made him kneel down and kowtow before Li Yao.
"Master Li Yao, spare me. Please spare me! They did everything! I'm just a Meditation Healer. I knew nothing about bombs or killing! I did nothing! I was coerced. I was coerced!"
Li Yao frowned and sighed. "Were you really coerced?"
"Yes, yes!"
Fei Ming couldn't be more excited, seeing a slim chance of survival. He looked up and immediately started rambling. "The Temple of Immortals kidnapped my entire family, including my two daughters, one five and the other three! They said that, if I didn't cooperate with them, they would feed my family to demon beasts! I had to do what I was asked to! There were no alternatives!"
Li Yao snorted in acknowledgement and said, "If so, take off your crystal suit and throw it to the ground. Go to the corner and check Huangpu Xiaoya's status. If you dare mess with me, you will definitely regret it!"
"Of course, of course. Thank you, Master Li Yao. I would definitely follow your order. I'm now abandoning darkness for light!"
Fei Ming was so happy that he was almost crying. He rose up from the ground and took off his crystal suit quickly.
Hardly had his helmet split from his chest armor when a silver brightness flashed in Li Yao's right hand. Fei Ming's big head soared to the ceiling, span several rounds in midair, and smashed to the floor heavily. His eyes were still open and beaming with the ecstasy from seeing a chance of survival!
His headless body shook violently. His hands seemed to be groping for his head. After half a second of struggling, it fell beside Li Yao's feet helplessly, cramping.
Li Yao kicked the dead body aside and continued walking toward Huangpu Shiyi.
This warehouse had only one gate. Since it was a laboratory for the study of crystal bombs, the walls of the room had been strengthened. They were solid and soundproof. Therefore, Li Yao was not worried that he might escape from somewhere else at all.
It was also the main reason Li Yao had asked for a competition of crystal bombs with Huangpu Shiyi. This was the best slaughterhouse!
Li Yao finally reached Huangpu Shiyi. He opened his facial cover and stared at his opponent emotionlessly.
To this moment, if Huangpu Shiyi hadn't figured out what had happened on the spot, he wouldn't have deserved to be a Core Formation Stage Cultivator!
However, although he was a Core Formation Stage Cultivator, most of his time and effort had been dedicated to the arts of refining. In regard to combat, his capability was merely in the middle-high level of the Refinement Stage, which was of little help now he was faced with such a formidable enemy!
Huangpu Shiyi's face was grim and pale. His lips shivered for a long time before he finally managed to open his mouth. "You—you were not meaning to join the Temple of Immortals. You didn't plan to become an Immortal Cultivator at all!"
With a wicked smile, Li Yao replied, "You know too much."
Huangpu Shiyi grunted and shouted, "But we tested you, multiple times. Even if you reserved your strength during the first test, how did you see through the Furious Bears Union's assault? Or was it that you were blowing them up regardless of whether or not they were real Cultivators in order to win our trust?
"How sleazy you are!"
Li Yao scorned, "Not as sleazy as you think. Of course I knew that those scumbags were not Cultivators from the Furious Bears Union, because I didn't install any alarm magical equipment in my room when I was captured by you."
Huangpu Shiyi was stunned. It took him a long time to recover. He shouted again, "Then, your conversation with Huangpu Xiaoya was also faked in order to fool us, and you knew that there were still crystal cameras and detectaphones inside your room?
"It's impossible! The remaining three devices were refined with the best of my knowledge. They were utterly unobtrusive and in no way noticeable for you!"
Li Yao replied, "Indeed, I was not sure if there were still crystal cameras, although I did feel a little ill at ease. However, noticeable or not, I simply assumed that there were still crystal cameras and detectaphones in my room. There wouldn't be a problem, then."
Huangpu Shiyi was truly dumbfounded. He finally thought through everything Li Yao had done since he'd gotten aboard and figured out why Li Yao had been so generous as to share all the techniques with him.
It was because he was already a dead person in the man's eyes!
However, the dead person was idiotic enough to teach him so many techniques sincerely and even provided ten authentic and precious techniques today before he died!
He had been exploited by Li Yao, the evil, insidious brat!
Regret! Desperation! Fury! Fear!
Complicated emotions surged on Huangpu Shiyi's skeleton-like face simultaneously.
"Wait!"
As if a drowning man who had found a straw, he suddenly yelled, "Blood Oath! You swore a Blood Oath yesterday! You cannot go back on your vow! Otherwise, you will be haunted forever, and the success rate of your future refining will plummet!"
Li Yao raised his eyebrow in surprise and replied, "When did I say that I would go back on my vow?
"Indeed. I swore a Blood Oath yesterday that I would respect you as my master if I lost the competition today.
"Huangpu Shiyi, you are truly an unparalleled genius and a super expert of refining!
"In this battle, you've shown me the invincibility of a Core Formation Stage refiner. I know my weakness and insignificance much better now. In the profound and magnificent world of magical equipment, I am just a beginner, and I'm not capable enough to be arrogant yet!
"I have lost the Skyhill Sword Seminar in the sea of stars. My failure was brutal, and I have no excuse for that. You've crushed me!
"Therefore, I will honor my words and respect you as my master now!
"Master Huangpu Shiyi, please accept the bow of your disciple Li Yao!"
With a solemn expression, Li Yao bowed toward Huangpu Shiyi in the strictest manner. Then, his saber flashed and cut through the gap in Huangpu Shiyi's crystal suit, chopping off his hands!