On the other side of the forest of enormous crimson trees, Princess Ling twirled a sword she had stolen from a young enemy.
The boy's body lay lifeless at her feet. Eyes wide open in terror.
She licked her lips as if she had just tasted a banquet, but the sensation soon faded away.
"Truly boring." She sighed as she kicked the corpse to the side.
"Weak, weak, all far too weak."
Her delicate hands were still stained with blood, but she seemed neither to notice nor to care.
She simply walked, lightly, as if she were on some casual stroll.
She was not hunting out of necessity. Nor to grow stronger.
But because she sought something to entertain her.
And also because each body that fell brought her closer to the inheritance. And the confrontation she now awaited with anticipation.
"Heh, I truly hope you're ready when the time comes…" she murmured, her eyes glittering as Cairen's image filled her mind.
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Cairen wiped the sweat from his forehead, the chain had already disappeared, retracting into his body with ease.
The two men from before had only been the beginning.
He knew that each soul he struck down would bring him closer to the power needed to face Ling.
It was not for pleasure. Nor for bloodlust. But an extreme necessity for power.
While Cairen walked in one direction, Ling walked in another. Leaving trails of corpses along the way like a bored child leaving behind broken toys.
At that moment, two hunters had appeared by the lake.
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Cairen advanced through the crimson forest above the lake. With a calm that contrasted with the storm that had filled his mind moments before.
His new determination already guided each step.
Determination to survive. To grow stronger. To face Ling head-on.
The sound of his steps in the still water of the lake rang out steadily as he searched for more people.
The air of the inheritance ground carried the scent of blood.
As he ran, searching for any sign of life, a hoarse groan suddenly made him stop.
His gaze shifted to the left, following the sound.
Among the twisted roots of one of the great trees, a young man from the Three Poisons Sect had collapsed.
His body was covered in deep cuts, and blood spilled from the side of his abdomen. His breathing was weak, almost imperceptible.
"You…" He lifted his gaze upon recognizing Cairen.
Cairen slowly approached. With a faint heaviness.
"What happened?"
The young man coughed up dark blood. But spoke.
"An ambush… three of them. Golden Sword, one from the Blue Sparrow Sect, and the last… a rogue. I… used the master's poison. They… were injured."
"But they survived… in the end, they fled."
The young man's body trembled. Life was already slipping through his fingers.
Cairen observed in silence. There was something truly cruel about that scene. The young man had fought so hard but would not live to even see what the inheritance looked like.
That was how… this world was.
"I see." Cairen said.
The young man then sighed, closing his eyes as if he had spoken his last words. Seconds later, his body relaxed, motionless.
Cairen noticed the young man had fainted but had not yet truly died. But…
"You will die anyway. I'm sorry for this. But I will help you by avenging those who did this."
Cairen said as he stood still, staring at the young man. His mind weighed with doubt if he truly should, but the decision was simple.
The chain emerged. Coiling tightly around the young man's neck. In a few seconds, the energy was completely absorbed. Becoming part of him.
His strength increased a little more.
Cairen clenched his fists.
"I will go after them." He decided to move in the direction the young man had pointed before fainting.
Following the trail indicated, it did not take long for him to find the enemies. The three cultivators were together, trying to treat their wounds.
The one from the Golden Sword Sect had his arm hastily bandaged. The one from the Blue Sparrow Sect spat blood repeatedly, the blood pitch black.
And the rogue cultivator trembled, his body weakened by the poison.
"Damn… that cursed poison." The young man from the Golden Sword Sect muttered.
Before he could continue speaking, silence fell abruptly.
A black veil smothered their senses. The Veil of Blindness had spread.
The three panicked, unable to see or hear. Fear consumed them even before the pain arrived.
Cairen walked among them, unhurried, without hesitation.
A chain coiled around the first one's neck. Transforming him immediately into energy.
The second came right after, the chain gripped his arms and dragged back with force the terrified Blue Sparrow Sect youth who ran aimlessly.
The last tried to crawl blindly, desperate. Cairen raised his hand, and his body vanished.
Silence returned then.
Three bodies, three more forces, and if Cairen could estimate, he felt that at least eighty percent of his body had already been tempered with fallen energy.
Cairen exhaled slowly.
"I avenged you. So, forgive me for what I did to your body." Cairen said, remembering the young man from his sect.
He was preparing to leave once again. But at that moment, the ground shook.
And the lake below began to bubble.
A new change was once again occurring in the inheritance ground.