By now it was after noon – I had started when the sun was at its zenith, but right now it continued to blaze down on us mercilessly as we occupied the plaza. I was casually leaning against one of the Spirit Engraved Pillars, seeking refuge in its shadow from the blinding rays. I mean, I"m an ice user. Of course I can"t stand the d.a.m.ned heat.

Opposite me was Tian Yu Di, who had sat down cross-legged to meditate. I wasn"t sure what he was doing, though judging from the flow of qi circulating around his body, I was pretty sure he was purifying the tainted qi in Blood Shadow"s body. Hmm, it seemed like he might need a bit more time to purify the qi, and the purer his qi, the stronger he would be, and thus the bigger the advantage we would have in a fight.

I resolved to buy him as much time as possible.

Sect Leader Zi Shou De was hovering nearby, having taken his place at the center of the plaza to wait for the enemies. As the leader of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, it was only right that he represented the sect in negotiations. I had heard his conversation over the phone with Sect Lady Zi Da Ji earlier, which meant they should be showing up any time soon.

Flanking him were the five surviving Great Elders, and forming a larger circle was Chief Elder Hai Mo and the other inner sect elders. Tang Qi Hong and Lian Rou stood to the side uncertainly, being as inconspicuous as possible as they too took shelter under the shade of a towering Spirit Engraved Pillar. The both of them watched me curiously, no doubt wondering what I had under my sleeve.

A few minutes later, Zi Da Ji, Elder Zhao, and many outer sect disciples and Blood Blades martial artists appeared, retreating from the front yard and flooding into the plaza. Taking their places around the inner sect disciples, they crowded around anxiously, obviously as clueless to the sudden ceasefire as our enemies.

"Dear." Zi Da Ji bowed her head deferentially as she approached her husband. "I"ve brought them as you requested."

"Thank you, my beloved." Zi Shou De greeted her with a warm smile. He reached out and squeezed her hand as she took her place beside him. "You did an excellent job defending the sect. I"m very proud of you and the Blood Blades."

"It has been a great honor," she replied with a smile of her own.

A few moments later, our enemies appeared. The members of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect retreated to the edges of the plaza, hanging around the shadows of the nine Spirit Engraved Pillars, while many members of the Martial Arts Alliance swept onto the main bulk of the plaza, dominating it with their presence.

Tong Xue returned to Lian Rou"s side, presumably so that he could protect her if a fight suddenly erupted. He glanced in my direction and I nodded in acknowledgement. Whatever words we could exchange were cut off by booming laughter.

"Sect Leader Zi, we appreciate your invitation to negotiations!" The chubby Cloud Sky Mountain Sect expert had been the first to set foot on the plaza. Pang Feng followed closely, along with many Cloud Sky Mountain Sect martial artists, all of them clad in the gray uniform of their sect. He met my gaze evenly, only lowering his head slightly.

Zi Shou De narrowed his eyes when he spotted him, but even his reaction was not as hostile as Hai Rong and the elders, who were literally boiling with rage as they glared accusingly at him. Both inner sect and outer sect disciples also hurled insults at him, labeling him as a traitor and an ingrate, which given the circ.u.mstances, were true.

Pang Feng"s shoulders sagged a fraction, but he stoically received the abuse without any excuses or attempt to defend himself, only standing as still as a rock.

"Zi Shou De!" Liang Yang Zu approached the sect leader of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect with a snarl, though to me it was clear that he was merely putting on a dramatic performance. His tone and mannerism were obviously exaggerated. "I would have you explain why my son was killed in the grounds of your sect! Why did you cover up and shelter a murderer like Fei Wu? Did you not think my sect will seek jusice for my son"s death?"

"I already explained everything to you. You should have read the reports I emailed to you." Zi Shou De met his accusatory gaze evenly. "And if you"re talking about justice for your son and sect, then you should have no complaints that he is executed for murdering Hao Ying. Or is your son"s life worth more than Hao Ying"s?"

"That"s…!" Liang Yang Zu spluttered, and then composed himself. "That"s an affair between fellow Divine Shadow Sect disciples! Even if they had an altercation, Nine-Tailed Fox Sect has no right to interfere in their conflict!"

"Fair enough," Zi Shou De conceded. "Which is why we didn"t do anything. However, in the same manner, Divine Shadow Sect has no right to interfere in the conflict between Nine-Tailed Fox Sect disciples." He raised his smartphone. "I already mentioned it in my report but perhaps you haven"t read it, so I shall remind you again. Your son attempted to murder Fei Wu with Venomous Scarabs, and then killed Kao Wen inside our sect grounds. Not only that, he attacked Fei Wu, Pang Feng and Tong Xue with the intent to kill." He snorted. "You can"t possibly be suggesting something as ridiculous as Fei Wu and the others just standing there, doing nothing and allowing your son to kill them? Even if he"s your son, you should approach this with a more objective outlook. Simply put, he broke our sect laws, and even as a Nine-Tailed Fox Sect disciple, attacked other Nine-Tailed Fox Sect disciples. Or…" he narrowed his eyes. "Are you practicing double standards because he is your son?"

"You…you…!" Liang Yang Zu stuttered in astonishment, unable to muster a retort.

Su Bai Xue sighed. "Stop it, Sect Leader Liang. You"re embarra.s.sing yourself." She then turned to Elder Hai Mo. "Elder Hai Mo…I apologize for the circ.u.mstances having befallen your sect, but Snow Valley Sect will guarantee your safety."

She, along with Yuan Tian Ya and Shi Jing Yun, had already arrived with their subordinates and had heard the whole thing.

"…Elder Hai Mo, I am very sorry, but I am under orders from the higher-ups." Shi Jing Yun was bitter. He also glanced apologetically at Zi Shou De and the five Great Elders, his face red in embarra.s.sment. Then he turned back to Elder Hai Mo and bowed deeply. "I have not forgotten my debt to you when you forged a Spirit Armament for me. If the masters of the six Valley Sects did not order me to do so, then I would never have set foot into Nine-Tailed Fox Sect with the intention to invade you. I can only express my deepest apologies."

Yuan Tian Ya also bowed, looking ashamed before Hai Mo. "Same here. The higer-ups from the Martial Arts Alliance have specifically ordered me to ensure no harm befalls you whatsoever." His tone was respectful.

Currently Hai Mo was acknowledged as the number one Spirit Engraver and blacksmith in the Great Zhou Empire. Every single Spirit Artifact that he produced was of extremely high quality and highly sought after by most martial artists. He had made vital and major contributions to the blacksmithing industry and revolutionized manufacture of Spirit Artifacts. Many of his blueprints were used by the royal blacksmiths to produce equipment for Imperial Guardsmen.

Never mind the Martial Arts Alliance…if the royal family learned that the Martial Arts Alliance had killed Hai Mo, then no matter what excuse they came up with, the royal family would definitely send the Imperial Guard to utterly destroy the Martial Arts Alliance, no matter the cost.

Of course, the Martial Arts Alliance desired Hai Mo"s ability for themselves, owing tohis great reputation. Even if Nine-Tailed Fox Sect was destroyed today, Hai Mo would only rise through the ranks of blacksmiths in the Martial Arts Alliance and become the most eminent and most indispensable blacksmith in the Great Zhou Empire.

That was why Yuan Tian Ya, Su Bai Xue, Shi Jing Yun and the others treated Hai Mo with so much respect, not daring to offend him (though too late for that). They knew that in future, they would need to request Hai Mo for a favor. Even if it wasn"t Spirit Artifacts, given how Hai Mo would eventually rise to a position of absolute authority and influence, they were aware that a single word from him might even determine their fates.

Similarly, earlier when Blood Shadow refrained from killing Hai Rong earlier, it was because he didn"t want to offend her husband. He wanted to keep open the option of being able to request Hai Mo to forge Spirit Weapons for him in future. Not that it helped him much, given his eventual demise, but whatever.

Hai Mo merely stared at them indifferently. "Do you think your words carry any weight when you"re all standing here today like this?" he asked, carefully keeping his tone neutral.

The invading crowd looked ashamed of themselves.

"Does it matter?" Liang Yang Zu sneered as he stomped toward Zi Shou De to confront our sect leader directly. "You"ve invited us here to discuss terms of your surrender, haven"t you? Let"s hear it then."

To his utter surprise, I burst out laughing. He turned to glare at me.

"Impudent child!" he roared. "What"s so funny?"

I tried to control my laughter, clutching my stomach as I suppressed an errant giggle. "It seems you"ve misunderstood something. We did not invite you here to discuss terms of our surrender. We"ve graciously welcomed you here to discuss terms of your surrender."

A stunned silence fell over the crowd, all of them looking at me in absolute astonishment.

Yuan Tian Ya was the first to recover. He turned on Zi Shou De, scorn on his face.

"Is this what your sect is reduced now?" he sneered. "You can"t even control a brat from speaking out of his place? You allow your disciples to ridicule and make a mockery of this solemn affair?"

"That "brat" is currently our core disciple and a major member of the Blood Blades." Zi Shou De was smiling, thoroughly amused. I swear, he was actually enjoying this as well. "And yes, his words carry as much weight as mine. He was the one who suggested that we invite you all here to discuss terms of your surrender." He leaned back with a chuckle. "I merely authorized his proposal." He spead his hands. "So yes, I"m of the same opinion as him. Shall we begin discussing terms of your surrender then?"

The commanders of the ten invading sects looked stupefied. Their subordinates were all looking at me in confusion, their jaws dropping. Never mind our enemies, even my fellow members from Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, whether it was outer sect disciples, inner sect disciples or Blood Blades, were looking at me as if I had gone mad.

"Impudent fools!" Liang Yang Zu finally roared. "You will die for this insolence! Warriors of the Divine Shadow Sect! Kill all of them except the elders!"

Just before they could make their move, however, a creepy chuckle reverberated across the plaza, causing them to freeze. Tian Yu Di had seemingly finished whatever it was that he was doing, and rose to his feet, emerging from the shadow of the Spirit Engraved Pillar where he was meditating and purifying his qi.

"Kill them all? Do you think you"re capable of doing so?" he turned to me with a snicker. "Sect Leader, shall I eliminate all of them for you?"

"Y…you are…!" Liang Yang Zu blinked at Tian Yu Di"s sudden appearance, stunned. "Blood Shadow?! What are you doing?!"

Everyone turned to stare at the body of Blood Shadow, which had been completely taken over by Tian Yu Di.

My Ancestral Master didn"t reply, instead waiting for me to respond. I glanced at him with a tilt of my head while noticing something peculiar about Liang Yang Zu at the same time. Pushing up my gla.s.ses, I studied the Sect Leader of Divine Shadow Sect for a moment, making him more uneasy.

"Blood Shadow! What the f.u.c.k are you doing? Kill that kid for me!"

Again, Tian Yu Di didn"t reply, merely watching me for a response. I turned back to him.

"That whiny man over there, it seems that he gives off the same qi as us. Do you think he"ll be more suitable as a host, or is his qi compatible with yours for Heaven and Earth Absorption?"

Tian Yu Di let out a chilling laughter that caused everyone to shudder uncontrollably, and then he glanced at Liang Yang Zu revoltingly. "This garbage? Are you kidding me? He"s worse than this Yan Chi." He sighed exaggeratedly and shook his head. "He obviously has been secretly cultivating Heaven and Earth Formula, but in an incomplete manner. He got too greedy and ended up in the state of demonic rebound."

This time, he turned to Liang Yang Zu and addressed him directly, his tone full of scorn.

"How much human blood have you drunk recently, hmm? Do you feel mentally unstable whenever you stop drinking human blood daily?"

The moment he heard that, Liang Yang Zu"s entire body shuddered violently. Backing away in terror, he yelled, "Blood Shadow! What nonsense are you spouting?!"

"Drink human blood?" Zi Shou De exchanged knowing glances with the five Great Elders. They realized that Liang Yang Zu had cultivated the same Heaven and Earth techniques as Blood Shadow, in the same imperfect and flawed state, and thus he had now ended up like Xue Jian where he needed human blood in order to survive or maintain a modic.u.m of his sanity. Zi Shou De nodded in understanding. "No wonder Liang Yang Zu and Blood Shadow were the first to arrive and attack our sect. The both of them have been suffering the same problem, and thus needed Elder Tian"s help."

"As if I would help them," Tian Yu Di snorted.

"Drink human blood? Liang Yang Zu?" Su Bai Xue"s already snow-white skin paled further as she instinctively backed away from Liang Yang Zu, staring at him as if he was a monster. "Is what Blood Shadow said true? Do you drink human blood daily now?"

Lu Li, Ling Yu Mei, Ling Yu Xuan and the other female martial artists in Snow Valley Sect also backed away in shock and terror, staring at Liang Yang Zu as if he had just suddenly transformed into a vicious monster.

Even Shi Jing Yun, Wu Tuo and Yuan Tian Ya looked dismayed as they glanced fearfully at Liang Yang Zu, taking a few steps back in reflex.

Yuan Tian Ya even ended up delivering a blunt question. "Sect Leader Liang, is what Blood Shadow said true? Do those who cultivate Blood Blades" martial arts need to continuously feed on human blood in order to stay alive and maintain their sanity?"

Everyone was now staring at Liang Yang Zu with disgust and revulsion. In that single instance, they all viewed him as a monster.

I began laughing, clutching my stomach and dropping onto the ground. Banging my fists against the ground, I howled in laughter. Everyone turned to stare at me.

"What"s so funny?" Wu Tuo asked, somewhat stiffly.

"All of you!" I exclaimed, taking my gla.s.ses off and wuping the tears from my eyes. "Listen to all of you! This is rich! This is so rich! Why are you all acting as if you have any right to judge Liang Yang Zu when you"re just as bad as him?!"

"Take that back!" Su Bai Xue snarled. "You insolent child! You have been yapping away all this while…has no one taught you any manners?"

"Manners?" Zi Shou De"s lips quirked into a sneer. "You ganged up on us, barge into our sect, plunder our resources and killed so many of our discples and martial artists, and you want to talk to my disciple about manners? Utter hypocrites!"

At least a few of the enemy martial artists had the temerity to look ashamed when they heard that. Even Su Bai Xue fell silent, unable to muster a proper reb.u.t.tal.

"It"s not that I want to defend Liang Yang Zu." I made use of the lull to continue. "But listen to yourselves. "Drink human blood? Liang Yang Zu! That is inhuman, you monster! How dare you treat human life like lifestock, like something you can manipulate and destroy as you wish according to your own desires! Human life, at best, should only be something you slaughter because you covet their wealth and power! Kill because you"re greedy, and not because you want to drink their blood! Otherwise it"s wrong! You monster! You fiend! We totally have the right to judge you!""

Shaking my head, I sighed and pointed dramatically at them.

"You"ve achieved a whole new level of hypocrisy. Tell me, what truly is the difference between you all and Liang Yang Zu? Is killing us to plunder our resources and take our power more justified than killing someone to drink their blood? What"s the difference? In the end, all of you are murderers. In the end, all of you killed us for your own selfish desires. How is killing someone to drink his blood any difffernt from killing all the members of a sect to steal their resources, eliminate their power and monopolize their blacksmithing industry?"

Pushing my gla.s.ses up my nose, I glared at them.

"Are any of you in any position to judge Liang Yang Zu? To us in Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, whether we"re slaughtered for our blood, or we"re killed so that you can rip our sect apart and help yourselves to our wealth and resources, it"s the same. We still end up dead."

"That"s right!" Tong Xue shouted. "b.l.o.o.d.y hypocrites! Get out of your sect!"

"Don"t justify yourself with your half-a.s.sed logic! You"re just here to rob, pillage and murder us! Plain and simple!" Jing Wei yelled.

Within seconds, all the Blood Blades, outer sect disciples and inner sect disciples had joined in, hurling accusations and abuse at the shameful, silent invaders. The elders and commanders were too dignified to join in the childish tirade, but they didn"t stop us, merely staring at the ten invading sects accusingly.

However, several of them were too far gone to listen to us. The Divine Shadow Sect members, in particular, were too distracted by the revelation that their sect leader was a vampire to pay any attention to our rage and outburst.

"For the past two years, many brothers in Divine Shadow Sect have died without a single drop of blood remaining in their veins." One of Liang Yang Zu"s subordinates was whispering under his breath as he backed away from his commander, the color rapidly draining from his face. His lips trembled as he stared at Liang Yang Zu, the pieces finally falling into place for him. "So that"s why. That"s how it all happened…"

Liang Yang Zu was staring from me to Tian Yu Di, quivering in both rage and dread. He finally settled on my Ancestral Master, recalling that he was the one who leaked everything in front of everyone. "Blood Shadow! What nonsense are you spouting?!"

"Nonsense? You know the truth." Tian Yu Di gave an indifferent reply, and he bowed his head respectfully toward me. "Sect Leader, I request that you allow me to eliminate him first. His existence is a disgrace to our sect."

"Suit yourself," I replied. The f.u.c.ker was responsible for Nine-Tailed Fox Sect"s current crisis, after all. The sooner he was dead, the better.

"Many thanks." Tian Yu Di cupped his hands and bowed again.

"Shut the f.u.c.k up!"

Unable to restrain his anger anymore, Liang Yang Zu launched himself at me. He brandished a scythe, swinging it down to decapitate me.

"I"ll get rid of you first, brat!" he hollered. "You"ll pay for your insolence and arrogance!"

His scythe never reached. He hadn"t even gotten halfway across the plaza when Tian Yu Di disappeared and appeared in front of him. None of us even saw him move. The next second, Liang Yang Zu froze, and he dropped his scythe, which shattered.

"Pathetic…you want to attack Sect Leader with such a low-grade Spirit Weapon?" Tian Yu Di scoffed, clenching and loosening his fingers.

Liang Yang Zu didn"t budge, beads of perspiration rolling down his face as he stared at Tian Yu Di in absolute horror. He couldn"t even move a muscle, and his eyes were beginning to glaze over, his lips quivering as he struggled to say something.

"You…you"re not Blood Shadow!" he finally managed. "Who…?"

"Took you long enough to figure that out," I muttered. On the other hand, Yuan Tian Ya, Su Bai Xue, Wu Tuo and Shi Jing Yun could only stare at Tian Yu Di, stupefied. They knew Liang Yang Zu"s strength very well, and couldn"t understand how he was so easily subdued in a single move.

Comprehension finally dawned on Liang Yang Zu"s face when the coin dropped. Staring at Tian Yu Di, his terror increasing with each second, he spluttered.

"You are the Heaven and Earth Master! You are the person who taught Blood Shadow"s master Heaven and Earth Absorption!"

"Correct!" Tian Yu Di crowed in delight and made a weird sound that sounded like those stuff in game shows. "You deserve a prize!"

Yuan Tian Ya, Su Bai Xue, Wu Tuo and Shi Jing Yun all noticed that something was very amiss, and when they heard Liang Yang Zu"s words, the color drained from their faces. As one, they all swung around to look at Tian Yu Di.

"Just kill him already," I told Tian Yu Di impatiently. "Toying with a victim before he dies is in bad taste."

"Roger that, Sect Leader." Tian Yu Di nodded. Liang Yang Zu swallowed, and shook his head, his eyes bulging from fright.

"Please…" he gasped, quivering wildly now as he begged. "Please don"t kill me. I"ll take you as my master." He turned to me. "I"ll recognize you as sect leader, so please."

"Too late."

Tian Yu Di smirked as he spun away and walked off, waving his hand dismissively. Liang Yang Zu stared at him in disbelief, but seeing that the other party had not made any move, dared to breathe a sigh of relief.

Tian Yu Di"s smile widened, and he turned back mischievously.

"Omae wa mou shindeiru."

"NANI?!"

Liang Yang Zu could only manage that last shriek before his body exploded. First his head blew up, then his torso. Blood and viscera rained down on the plaza, splattering onto shocked and yelping Divine Shadow Sect members and causing them to jump away or recoil in shock. Soon, there was nothing left of Liang Yang Zu but b.l.o.o.d.y pulp and disembodied entrals.

The poor b.a.s.t.a.r.d didn"t even get to truly use the Heaven and Earth techniques that he had so paintstakingly learned.

"Who"s next?" Tian Yu Di addressed me, not even bothering to look back as his victim exploded. I winced at the grisly sight.

"Could you be a lot less messy?"

"Is that an order?" Tian Yu Di asked. I sighed and shook my head. He then snickered. "Then please indulge in my selfishness. It"s just been so long since I had so much fun."

"Fine, fine." I ignored the traumatized crowd around Liang Yang Zu"s gruesome demise and glanced at the remaining commanders, who still had no clue what had just happened. One of them, in particular, caught my attention.

"How about him?" I asked, pointing at Yuan Tian Ya. The Dark Asura Sect Leader"s jaw dropped as he stared at me, stunned.

"Consider it done," Tian Yu Di said with a gleeful chuckle as he turned toward the paling martial artist.