Chapter 24: They’ll Die
Chapter 24- They'll Die
"This feels amazing!" Hu Mei'er exclaimed with a bright smile. "I can go even faster."
Before she could accelerate further, Hu Jiao'er smacked her head and angrily said. "Didn't you hear a single word Su Mu just said? And stop using my True Qi to run at speed beyond your cultivation realm. There is a limit to how much True Qi you can handle with your current cultivation."
"I'm sorry." Hu Mei'er sobbed, rubbing the top of her head.
The Siblings Divine Art allowed them to share their Qi with each other without physical contact, and it also allowed Hu Mei'er, a Qi Transformation Realm cultivator who only had access to Yuan Qi, to use True Qi that belonged to Hu Jiao'er.
"You will need to keep an eye on her, Jiao'er." Su Mu said, looking at Hu Jiao'er as she nodded.
After running for a few kilometres, the three of them finally arrived close to the source of the roar while Lan Chu Die and Du Yi Shuang could be seen running towards them at a distance, unable to keep up.
Hu Mei'er and Hu Jiao'er looked at the Monster Beast and were dumbfounded, freezing on the spot as if a blizzard swept through them.
At a viewable distance was a Giant Tortoise Monster Beast, it was about a hundred meters in length with a body comparable to a small hill. As it walked, each step was nothing less than a stomp and caused the ground to shiver while leaving large footprints on the ground. Its carapace had deep outlines, highlighting its thick, impenetrable figure. Its tail was long and widened towards the tip, looking like a gigantic hammer. Although it was not very fast, each step it took covered a lot of ground. With its sheer size and incomparable power, a swing of its tail was enough to produce a strong gale of wind that was strong enough to send many people flying.
Whoosh!
The sound of movement was constant as more than a hundred disciples were in mid-air, attacking the Monster Beast, but even with the endless barrage, the Monster Beast remained indomitable. With its unrestrained power, each attack and roar made the disciples terror-stricken.
When they looked up into the sky, they recognised many of the disciples, especially the two top disciples of the High Heaven Pavilion. Su Yan and Xie Hongchen.
But they also noticed something else. All of the people fighting the Monster Beast were High Heaven Pavilion's Disciples. Meanwhile, the Blood Battle Gang and Storm House disciples were all watching the battle unfold by the side, eyes filled with pleasure.
Although Su Yan was the strongest in High Heaven Pavilion, she was unable to afflict any damage on the Monster Beast. As each movement she made was followed by wind and snow, she could only slow down the Monster Beast with her Cold Yin Yuan Qi, her only goal was to prevent more casualties in the High Heaven Pavilion.
Unfortunately, the defence of this Monster Beast was too strong, even for Su Yan. Covered by an almost impenetrable hard tortoise shell and thick, resistant skin, it was similar to a walking Defensive Artifact. Although its movements were sluggish, anyone under Immortal Ascension had no chance against it.
'Hmm. Let's see how far Su Yan can go right now.' Su Mu thought, looking at the scene. Interrupting this kind of thing might restrict her growth, so he planned on intervening after Su Yan was done. And from what Su Mu read at the entrance, the things one does inside the Heaven's Cave Inheritance are also a factor when it comes to deciding who will get the final inheritance.
On the field, there were numerous corpses. It could easily be deduced that they were High Heaven Pavilion disciples.
"To think that the High Heaven Pavilion would actually dare to provoke it." Hu Jiao'er's brows wrinkled as she frowned. "However, it can't be Su Yan who did it. She is not that stupid."
"Stop repeating what Su Mu has already said, elder sister." Hu Mei'er added.
Meanwhile, a youth was running towards the two girls, his eyes filled with affection. However, his brows immediately wrinkled once he spotted Su Mu standing between the two of them.
"Jiao'er?" The youth came to a halt as he looked at Jiao'er amongst the group of three. But little did he know, the one he was looking at was Hu Mei'er. Hu Mei'er quietly stepped behind Su Mu with the motive of annoying the youth.
"Long Jun. What happened here?" The real Hu Jiao'er replied, completely ignoring the frown on Long Jun's face.
Long Jun did not hide his glee in watching others' misfortune. "That idiot Xie Hongchen actually dared to gather a group of people to steal the treasure that Monster Beast was guarding while it was still asleep. They did not seem to care or think that they would come back with many dead. Unfortunately, it woke up and gave chase. That idiot then led it to the High Heaven Pavilion's gathering spot and well, that's it."
"And what did he obtain?" Hu Jiao'er asked.
"I'm not exactly sure. According to him, he does not have anything on him." Long Jun replied obediently.
Hu Jiao'er responded with disappointment in her voice, "It is impossible that he did not steal anything! The Monster Beast only looks to draw his blood, how is it possible that he does not possess anything the Monster Beast desires?"
Long Jun bowed slightly. "I agree. However, since Xie Hongchen refuses to hand it over, the High Heaven Pavilion can only face the Monster Beast's anger. It is only because Su Yan intervened and is slowing down the Monster Beast right now, otherwise, I estimate that many of them would be dead by now."
Hu Mei'er snorted, showing her despise for Xie Hong Chen. "To think that he would be able to hide behind a woman and use her as a shelter. Despicable!" Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only
"I concur wholeheartedly." Long Jun nods continuously. "Storm House's Fang Zi Ji and I wish to help the High Heaven Pavilion, but we cannot support Xie Hong Chen after knowing his deeds."
In reality, the two sects do not wish to be involved in the fight. Even Su Yan could do nothing but slow the Monster Beast down. The others would contribute very little even if they jumped into the fray.
They can surely help when all is said and done, but only on the condition that Xie Hongchen delivers to them whatever he obtained!
Another reason as to why the two sects have not made any moves was to make sure that High Heaven Pavilion was in a direr situation. Once they are desperate enough, giving up what Xie Hongchen had obtained would be such a small price to pay to save what little they have left.
"That's rich coming from a coward like you." Su Mu said with a slight smile.
Long Jun looked towards Su Mu and couldn't bear but spoke to assert his authority, "And who the hell are you?"
'Since I'm about to kill Xie Hongchen, might as well deal with Long Jun, no? Let's provoke him for now until Su Yan is done. I can kill him during the final trial.' Su Mu thought, a smile appearing on his face. He knew that Xie Hongchen had been annoying Su Yan for a long time after talking to her about it along with Long Jun, who was trying to court Hu Jiao'er. What's better than to have all the trash collected in one place to clean up? Going after a woman is one thing and not stopping after a certain point is another.
"I'm the one who killed Long Hui, didn't Treasurer Meng tell you while beating the shit out of your grandfather as he hid behind the Blood Battle Group like a coward. What was his name again?" Su Mu pondered for a few seconds before grinning. "Well, a beaten dog's name doesn't really matter now, does it?"
Hearing his words, Long Jun's face was getting red from shame and humiliation. Before he could say anything, Hu Mei'er interrupted.
"Su Mu, you were the one who killed Long Hui?" She asked in a surprised tone. Hu Jiao'er was curious as well. Just what did Long Hui do to incur Su Mu's wrath?
"That weakling dared to ambush me and Xia Ning Chang with some True Element Realm trash while saying how I was trying to go after Mei'er." Su Mu replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, don't worry, I don't care about what insects like that do."
Hu Jiao'er rolled her eyes at Su Mu's obvious attempts to provoke Long Jun. But looking at Long Jun's angry and humiliated face, she accepted that Su Mu had a knack for pissing people off while Hu Mei'er decided to add fuel to the fire.
"That bastard Long Hui, not only did that impotent trash run after me all the time, he dared to attack you? If I had known about this, I would've killed him myself." Hu Mei'er said in an angry tone. But on the inside, she had a sly smile on her face. Since Su Mu was doing something, it was only natural for her, as his woman, to support him.
'Mei'er is scary in her own rights.' Hu Jiao'er thought, looking at her little sister before a question appeared in her mind. 'Not only Su Yan, but Xia Ning Chang as well? How did Su Mu even convince that old man Meng?'
"You Bastard..." Long Jun growled, looking at Su Mu with burning hatred and anger.
Looking at him, Su Mu's amused smile reappeared again. "That's it. That look of a beaten dog is quite similar to what your grandfather had when looking at Treasurer Meng. Guess Long Family is indeed a prestigious family of beaten dogs."
"Pfft." Both Hu Jiao'er and Hu Mei'er tried to hold their laughter as the two sisters twitched all over.
"DIE!" As if that laugh was the final trigger, Long Jun attacked Su Mu with his palm without holding back. How dare he insult him along with his grandfather? Not to mention that he even dared to insult the Long Family. There was no way that Long Jun could let something like this slide.
"That's enough." Hu Jiao'er said, casually waving her hand towards Long Ju.
"What?" Long Jun exclaimed as he felt an unimaginable force pushing him. With the impact of the palm sent by Hu Jiao'er, Long Jun landed a few meters away with blood dripping from his mouth and nose.
"T-True Element 5th Stage?" Long Jun muttered in disbelief, looking at Hu Jiao'er. Wasn't she supposed to be at the Second Stage of True Element Realm? How did she get so strong in a short period?
"Hm?" Hu Jiao'er frowned. She only attempted to cancel out Long Jun's attack, but her attack had more power than she ever imagined.
"I told you to be careful, Jiao'er. You are stronger than an average 5th Stage True Element Realm Cultivator." Su Mu said, making Hu Jiao'er nod. Long Jun was still muttering to himself in disbelief. For his whole life, he thought that Hu Jiao'er was below him and will eventually start following him around. Her surpassing him in strength was something he couldn't accept easily.
While this was going on, the situation on the battlefield wasn't getting any better for the High Heaven Pavilion.
Su Mu turned towards Su Yan. She was pale and looked exhausted as she had consumed a lot of her True Qi, but with several High Heaven Pavilion disciples fighting alongside her, how could she possibly retreat and abandon them? It would only mean the meaningless deaths of dozens of High Heaven Pavilion disciples.
The only reason some disciples even survived was thanks to Su Yan.
Ice seemed to conjure out of thin air as Su Yan danced around gracefully like a butterfly. In a flash, flowers made of ice shot towards the Monster Beast and grew on its flesh. Those attacks lowered the surrounding temperature, causing a layer of ice to form on the Monster Beast, further slowing it down.
Meanwhile, countless fireball attacks were pelting the giant tortoise's shell, but to no avail.
Lan Chu Die and Du Yi Shuang were looking at Su Mu's face with stars in their eyes.
Both of them were breathing heavily and shortly, almost like she was hyperventilating. Looking at the man and woman standing under the foreboding shadow of the Tortoise Monster Beast, they felt a sudden surge of emotion.
The man who rescued Su Yan did so while disregarding his own life, leaving a deep impression in the hearts of all women present. Lan Chu Die and Du Yi Shuang were no exception.
If a man is willing to pay for a woman's life with his own, why can't she be with him? Women's requests are sometimes tall, and sometimes small, and sometimes a few words or a little action can open up their hearts and leave a beautiful image of them behind.
"I do not have any strength left." Su Yan said in slightly worried voice. "We need to hurry; this monster is too strong. I can only freeze it for half a minute. If we don't leave now, we can never even dream of escaping alive."
"What are you so worried about? All we need to do is kill that turtle." Su Mu replied with a chuckle, making Su Yan dumbfounded.
"Kill it?" Su Yan was startled by Su Mu's brazen and voracious appetite for feats that few others would try. To be able to flee with their lives from the face of this Monster Beast was a bargain few would contest, but to kill it?
As Su Mu and Su Yan spoke, a flicking movement was done by the Monster Beast from under the thick layer of ice. "How has it already passed?"
"Oh, it's already time." Su Mu said with a smile, looking at the Monster Beast. "Now stay back."
The sound of ice disintegrating and cracking grew louder and louder, the still-frozen Tortoise Monster Beast slowly rotated his body and turned its scarlet eyes toward Su Yan and Su Mu. To it, the two of them were as small and insignificant as ants.
Noticing that Su Yan was still there, Su Mu looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "I said stay back."
Su Yan's body jerked and she quickly moved a distance away from the Monster Beast. The remaining injured disciples of the High Heaven Pavilion did the same.
Su Mu kept his foot stationary in front of the Tortoise Monster Beast. The thin figure of Su Mu standing in the shadow of the giant made him look nothing short of mighty.
He stood there, looking like a confident wall blocking the Monster Beast. He was like a shield that could shelter the onlookers from wind and rain.
Moving his right hand, Su Mu gripped the hilt of his sword before unsheathing it. He placed the tip of the sword on the ground and a hazy blue glow appeared around his sword. The glow started growing more and more before it condensed on the edges of the sword.
The people standing a thousand feet away from Su Mu could feel the overbearing pressure coming from his sword as their very souls trembled.
"What kind of Martial Skill is this!?" Long Jun's face changed greatly. Even though he was thousands of feet from Su Mu, he could not help but feel scared while looking at him.
What's more, the sword was still poised in building strength. It did not show any signs of stopping. It was already scary, what would happen once it discharges? What kind of terror would it cause?
"So beautiful" Hu Mei'er and Hu Jiao'er muttered in unison. There were stars littering and twinkling everywhere like a night sky. The people watching the scene felt engrossed in its beauty, almost forgetting the imminent danger they may face.
The earth underneath Su Mu's foot began to quake, unable to withstand such colossal strength. Cracks in the dirt formed around him and slowly, his body began to sink into the ground, his legs left deep footprints on the ground.
"Trying to run away? How amusing." Su Mu muttered, looking at the Monster Beast with a smile.
As the Monster Beast continued to thaw rapidly from his icy prison, his scarlet eyes no longer saw resentment and hatred, but instead filled with panic and fear along with an overwhelming urge to flee. It just wanted to run. It feared Su Mu's sword more than anything else. The tortoise was sealed for many years, it was weak. It was not easy for it to regain its consciousness, but it cannot even enjoy its short amount of time out from its slumber. It did not want to be hurt and fall into boundless, deep sleep again.
But the ice that bounded it hindered its movement.
"This much should be enough." With those words, Su Mu jumped into the air while accelerating towards the Monster Beast.
The Starlight sparkled with boundless radiance and power to overcome everything.
Within a second, Su Mu was a hundred feet high in the air and as he came to hover, he immediately moved towards the direction of the Monster Beast, stopping right above its huge back.
Suddenly, the layer of ice cracked apart and a loud roar pierced the eardrums of everyone around. "Roooooaaaaarrrrr." Although ear deafening, its roar did not contain the subjugating power it once had. It was now filled with dread; a roar of panic.
Su Mu's whole body rotated sidewards, making a blue circle as he slashed his sword towards the Monster Beast. A beautiful, pale blue arc came out of his sword, charging towards the Monster Beast.
With an ear-piercing screech, the Monster Beast roared in pain and agony as its body was cleanly cut in half. But even after such a feat, the pale blue arc left a deep impact on the ground. While slicing it, Su Mu made sure to not accidentally damage the Monster Core since it was part of the inheritance's trail.
After the loud sound and the trembling ground calmed down, everyone was silent. Not even daring to move a muscle while looking at Su Mu in shock, admiration and a lot of fear. If he wanted to, he could easily kill anyone inside the Heaven's Inheritance Cave.
At the back where the Blood Battle Group disciples were gathered, Long Jun was sitting on the ground in disbelief as he almost wet himself in fear. Only now did he realise that Hu Jiao'er wasn't saving Su Mu from his attack, but she was saving him from what Su Mu might do to him after that.
'That single slash took around a fourth of my Sword Qi.' Su Mu thought, casually landing on the top of the Monster Beast with his sword in his right hand. Looking around, his eyes fell on Xie Hongchen, who, for some reason, trembled in fear while being looked at by Su Mu.
Activating the Seven Divine Steps, Su Mu disappeared from the spot. After a few seconds, he reappeared in front of Xie Hongchen.
"I'll ask you a single time, what did you steal from that Monster Beast?" Su Mu asked, his voice overbearing and clear enough to be heard by everyone within that area.
"Y-Young Master Su, I swear that I didn't- AAAAARRRGHHHHH." Before Xie Hongchen could complete his words, Su Mu effortlessly sliced his arm off.
"My question was what did you steal from that Monster Beast? Did I ask whether you stole it or not?" Su Mu replied as if stating the obvious.
"I- I stole-" Another pain-filled scream came out from Xie Hongchen's mouth as Su Mu sliced his other arm off as well. By now, Su Yan was standing behind Su Mu but didn't intervene. Due to Xie Hongchen, many disciples from the High Heaven Pavilion had died a meaningless death, as far as she was concerned, Xie Hongchen deserved such treatment.
As for everybody else? Nobody had the guts to even mutter a single word against Su Mu after how effortlessly he killed that Monster Beast.
"A-Ascension Flowers." Xie Hongchen barely blurred the words out of his mouth while trying to calm himself.
Su Mu took a white flower with four petals out of Xie Hongchen's robes, looking at it with uninterested eyes. "A herb that guarantees one's promotion to the Immortal Ascension Realm as long as they eat a single petal from it, huh? All that for this trash?"
Upon hearing his words, everyone's eyes were fixed on the flower in Su Mu's hand before they turned towards his sword, sighing. None of them had the guts to even speak in front of him, how could they have dreams about stealing something from Su Mu?
But for the High Heaven Pavilion disciples, their eyes were burning with rage as they looked at Xie Hongchen with disgust and hate. Even Su Yan had such a look in her eyes.
"What were you saying earlier? I didn't take anything, right?" Su Mu asked, a smile appearing on his face as he placed the flower inside his robes again. He couldn't care less about a herb like this and had no plans of consuming it, but it might come in handy later on.
"Y-Young Master Su, please forgive me." Xie Hongchen begged, placing his face at Su Mu's feet. By now, the pressure Su Mu's sword was releasing was almost gone so the people were able to move again.
"Such a disgusting person." Hu Mei'er muttered.
"Indeed." Hu Jiao'er nodded.
"Young Master Su, please kill that traitor so that everyone who died today can rest in peace." A random High Heaven Pavilion disciple shouted. Soon, every disciple started cursing Xie Hongchen while praising Su Mu.
"Xie Hongchen, for putting the lives of High Heaven Pavilion disciples in danger and for killing more than half of them, you must die."
Hearing his words, Xie Hongchen rolled backwards as he stared at Su Mu in fear. "Y-Young Master Su, the Sect Elders won't let my death slide. Please don't be so overbearing. T-This one can be useful to Young Master Su."
"Xie Hongchen, you overestimate your worth. And even if someone objected, they'll die. It is as simple as that." Just as his words finished, Su Mu slashed his sword, cutting Xie Hongchen's neck and his head fell to the ground with a horrified and regretful expression on his face.
Soon, everybody started cheering for Su Mu's name as many disciples looked at him with admiration, jealousy, envy and fear. But no one objected to Su Mu's decision of taking Xie Hongchen's life. They couldn't care less about a dead man.
"You two, go and get that Monster Beast's core." Su Mu said, looking at Lan Chu Die and Du Yi Shuang, who were unable to respond to his command for a few seconds. The display just now was too much for them to process all at once.
Even though Su Mu was ordering Du Yi Shuang, a Storm Hall disciple, like she was his personal maid, no one in the Storm Hall had the guts to say anything about it as they quietly turned towards Fang Ziji, the first seat disciple of Storm Hall, to which he just avoided the scene completely.
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