Chapter 173 - Invitation Part Five

With the appearing billows of darkness leaving Wind's body, the youth stepped forward with clear battle intent in their eyes. Their energy rotated in their meridians; their bodies glowed in numerous colors, and they took a step towards Wind at the same time.

The dark clouds that escaped Wind were the manifestation of his soul, and it quickly spread toward his opponent, encompassing them and sealing them in a veil of obscurity.

Then, in every speck of the soul cloud, exploded a wisp of murderous intent. The group of cultivators were in the middle of their retaliation, their fists were tightly clenched. Their legs were crossing the distance towards Wind. But the moment the murderous intent was released; all of them felt a cold and deadly intent grasp at their necks.

Their movements came to a standstill, and unbeknownst to their intentions, they found their body locked in the same place.

"What the hell is this?", tried to exclaim one of the youths in a dramatic fit of panic. But what left his mouth was a muffled sound that was hidden with his clattering teeth.

Wind calmly stepped in and walked one step at a time towards the group of youth. The sound of his steps turned into a nightmare in the group of cultivator's minds, and every speck of emotion was intensified and magnified in the cloud of darkness. They stood in place with trembling legs; their face had long thrown their bravery and contempt, replaced with a mask of horror and fear.

Their heart nearly skipped a beat with every footstep they heard; their mind was filled with multiple visions of horror that came from Wind's soul power. The fight hadn't even begun that he had already ended it; the group of youths unable to even express themselves in the fear.

"Wait, d-d-d-ont!?", screamed one in horror while soiling his underwear.

"I am…", a broken voice escaped Wind's throat and sounded as if broken glass had made its way in his throat. "Your worst fear. Tonight, you've made the mistake of leaving your pitiful fantasies. And you dared to step in my realm…"

"The price for that is… Death!", his voice was magnified in the cloud of darkness. And one of the youths fainted immediately when he heard Wind finish his sentence.

"Calm down guys, he is a soul cultivator!", roared the youth that had spoken in contempt about the elder of his family. He was the strongest of them, and even with having fallen in Wind's illusion, he managed to gather his will and fight back against Wind's soul power. But as an energy cultivator, he had no means of fully blocking Wind's murderous intent.

But, with a desperate roar filled his pride and unwillingness to finish like his peers. He managed to break through the illusion with sheer will, and moved his frozen body despite the inner fear his mind was under.

"Illusion is only for weakling!", he screamed while rushing toward Wind.

"Sweet, a lost lamb has made its way out of its fearful pack…", mumbled Wind while continuing walking with his casual pace. "But does the delicious lamb know the price for going against destiny?".

"Shut up!", roared the man as he threw a fist toward Wind. But as his mind wasn't completely free of Wind's influence, his movements weren't precise, and nearly a third of the energy he rotated had escaped before the fist even made contact with Wind.

Wind twisted his chest, and with a dancer's grace, stepped the left, evading the fist with ease. In the same continuity of movement, with water-like fluidity, he twisted his waist and released a fast sweep with legs.

Thud! The noble's body tumbled toward the ground, and his face flattened the dirt on the ground. But that wasn't all; a swift kick was released right after the first one; connecting straight with the noble's ribcage. A sound of bone breaking resounded in the darkness, and a painful scream was magnified, turning into a ghastly howl that sent chills in the spines of the other nobles.

Wind executed another kick to neutralize the noble in front of him entirely. He couldn't help but whistle and gaze at the result with a satisfied grin on his lips. He then began making his way in the darkness with playful steps; in the courtyard, he gave the impression that he was a joyous gardener in the middle of weeding out the bad herbs and flowers.

Teeth were popped out of their place, and arms were bent in the opposite direction; Wind took a strange pleasure in hitting down the fearful noble. Fell couldn't help but sigh when he saw his brother act like this, but he knew that stopping him now might break the image he was building.

"They pay the price for their own doing…", he thought as he couldn't help but think they were doing the elder's job of teaching their young generation. "Should I ask for a fee for this?", he thought as he gazed at Wind's macabre torture.

After a few seconds of despair, the cloud of darkness returned inside of Wind's body, and with it disappeared the murderous intent. Under the surprise of the few guests that were in the courtyard, the six noble youth appeared on the ground, meek and weak sound escaped their busted lips.

"Now, that's what I call a satisfying beating…", mumbled Wind as he exhaled a deep breath. He patted a few specks of dust from his suit, before returning next to Fell.

A horrified scream escaped from a female guest; the maiden's voice extended past the courtyard and gathered some attention from individuals that were nearby. Due to that, sounds of hurried footsteps resounded, and a group of armed guards made their way in the courtyard.

The team of guards quickly made their way towards Fell's position. They separated in two; dozens of rifle muzzles locked their aim on the pair of cultivators, while the rest of the guards checked the noble youth's condition.