“Freeze!” shouted the level one Demon. He shot an icy stare at Sanguis with askant eyes before turning to Han Shuo, saying, “Who are you?”
From the moment the Demon appeared, Han Shuo could recognize his identity from that insignia proudly woven on the front of his garb – a Black Jade Guard!
Only within the Black Jade City would a Black Jade Guard be so arrogant and cold! Although he didn’t possess a high ranking among the Black Jade Guards, he could still strut around before others.
“Who am I? You will find out soon. But let me advise you this: do not to meddle with my business,” Han Shuo ignored the Black Jade Guard’s instruction. He put on an unruffled smile and turned his gaze towards Sanguis, who had suddenly stopped following the Demon’s threats. In a deep voice, he instructed, “Kill these clowns. You don’t have to worry about anything else.”
It was obvious that Sanguis recognized the identity of this level-one Demon. In Black Jade City, the Black Jade Guards were tantamount to the arms of Demon King Manticole. Their strengths and influences could strike terror into anyone’s heart, let alone Sanguis, who was at the very bottom of the abyssal society. That kind of fear and dread towards the Black Jade Guards was deeply rooted in his soul, and it definitely wasn’t something that could be reversed in just a moment.
Sanguis hesitantly looked at that Black Jade Guard whose face was grim and sinister, and turned his head to look at his most mysterious master, who was in no rush. After silently turning over in his mind, that stubborn spirit of his flared up and his heart toughened like steel. Sanguis no longer batted an eye at that boisterous Black Jade Guard, but concentrated his resentful gaze at the ringleader of the group of teenagers. Once again, he marched forward, staunch and steady, making towards the answering bully with the disdainful expression.
The Demon was obviously annoyed at Sanguis’ utter disregard for him. “You better not do anything stupid!” he threatened, eyebrows furrowed and angered by this rubbish living at the very bottom of society, but who, as he felt, couldn’t tell chalk from cheese. His mind was thereby flooded with murderous thoughts. But before he could take action, a voiced staccatoed into his ears.
In the next moment, a sinister, eerie sensation rushed into his body like tidewater, which made his blood run cold. This level-one Demon’s body suddenly turned as stiff as frozen. His creased brows began to crumple. Traces of timidity could even be seen in his pair of ice-cold, merciless eyes. He looked at Han Shuo, eyes droopy at the outer corners and forehead crinkled, yet still wearing a smile, and said in a deep voice, “A mighty expert indeed. Nevertheless, to offend us Black Jade Guards in Black Jade City, are you really itching to taste death?”
That sinister energy restraining the level-one Demon did not wane to any degree as that mild and unruffled smile on Han Shuo’s face suddenly disappeared and was replaced with a rather evil and cunning smile. “You are merely a little level-one Demon. You, in no way, stand for the whole body of Black Jade Guards. Hehe, I’d advise you not to act blindly without first using that small brain of yours. Because even if I were to kill you, your death would be in vain. The Black Jade Guards will not choose to go to war against me over a small character like yourself!
The look on this Demon’s face flipped. He had discerned the meaning of Han Shuo’s words. He demanded in a deep voice, “Who exactly are you?”
“You will find out! But for now, you better behave yourself and be a good spectator!” Han Shuo said coldly as he glared at the Black Jade Guard. Right after, he turned his attention to that new apprentice of his.
Those teenagers, who had pit a significant amount of effort into inviting a level-one Demon to retaliate against Han Shuo, looked confounded at that Black Jade Guard who had remained motionless all the while. They couldn’t understand why a Black Jade Guard whose authority was unchallenged in Black Jade City would suddenly become so restrained. Ant-like existences like them obviously couldn’t sense that terrifying pressure that Han Shuo exerted on the Black Jade Guard.
“My… my Lord…” that leading youngster stammered, as though wanting to say something.
He coldly and indifferently turned the other way. With his actions, this level-one Demon had declared his stance. They were merely a few low-level Abyssal Guards with no promising prospects, absolutely unworthy of a level-one Demon risking his own life just to protect them. Besides, that Sanguis kid might not have the strength to defeat them.
This level-one Demon couldn’t sense one bit of elemental energies or edictal forces from Sanguis’ body. To say that a youngster who possessed not a single one of the twelve energies could kill those Abyssal Guard who possessed that little bit of strength would be an absolute pipe dream! This guy was brimming with curiosity at heart. Therefore, he wisely decided to step aside and become a spectator, and see for himself how Sanguis would attack.
It was apparent that those teenagers weren’t afraid of Sanguis, but of the person standing behind him. Therefore, when they were frightened gutless and knew not what to do, Han Shuo smilingly assured them, “You kids don’t have to worry about me. Things between you and my apprentice should be left to be resolved between yourselves. I will not get involved, not even if you killed him!”
It was true that Han Shuo was extremely satisfied and fond of this new apprentice of his. However, demonic arts cultivators had to undergo cruel battles and combats in order to grow rapidly. The more fond Han Shuo grew of this apprentice, the less he could spoil him.
A man, to survive, would surely need to face all kinds of danger by himself. For Sanguis to gain domineering strength and a place above a world of experts, he had to pave his own road through bloodshed! This was a fact that not even Han Shuo could change!
“Really? You’re not getting involved?” that youngster gleefully asked. He looked like a drowning man who suddenly grabbed onto a floating log.
Han Shuo nodded and said affirmatively, “I won’t! If you guys manage to kill him, I will turn on my heels and walk away, right away!”
“Awesome!” the youngster was overjoyed. He raised his arms as a barricade, stopping the eager posse behind him, and heroically said, “I don’t need your help. I will finish this half-breed by myself!”
“Kiluya, I hate people calling a half-breed the most. From today onwards, all those who dare call me a half-breed will die in my hands – and you, you shall be the first!” Sanguis’ eyes were bloodshot. A faint reeking of blood began to seep from his body. After finally completing his speech with his teeth gnashed, Sanguis suddenly stomped and leapt ahead like a savage leopard that had escaped from its cage!
A pair of deep footprints were left on the ground where Sanguis had stepped. A streak of bloody shadows shot straight towards Kuliya. Sanguis’ two hands, like weapons, reached the space before Kuliya’s chest in the blink of an eye. The stench of blood coming from Sanguis’ body suddenly intensified to the point of stinging!
Kuliya hastily lifted his two arms to his chest in an attempt at defending against the unexpected attack. Creak! In an instant, Kuliya felt intense pain coming from his arms. Pow! An enormous force struck his body. As though he had been rammed into by a ferocious beast, Kuliya was thrown high into the air. He made a loud thud when his body kissed the ground. Fresh blood began gushing from his mouth like a river while his curled body convulsed and twitched.
That Demon’s pupils constricted the moment Sanguis stomped his feet. His jaw fell to his knees like weights on a rubber band as he looked at Sanguis in disbelief, astonished by that burst of energy that erupted in Sanguis.
That mysterious energy did not spring from any of the twelve types of energies, but it possessed an extremely vicious and terrifying impacting force; one thing that level-one Demon could clearly sense!
He even discovered that, when Sanguis’ two hands ruthlessly struck Kuliya’s arms, blood within Sanguis’ body seemed to have suddenly boiled over, rapidly circulated and converged in his palms. Sanguis’ palms that were originally white now looked as though they were drenched in blood, while the lines on his palms were more like bloody trenches.
“What, what martial art is this?” The level-one Demon had a head full of question marks. The glimmer in his eyes wave red on Sanguis with amazement and wonder.
“How, how is this possible?” said Kuliya after spitting yet another mouthful of blood. He stared at Sanguis with disbelief and fear smacked across his face as his body twitched all over the ground.
“Energy has always been within your body. You simply did not know how to make use of it!” said Sanguis when he suddenly recalled the words once uttered by Han Shuo. He couldn’t help but turned to give Han Shuo a nod of gratitude.
Grinning at Sanguis, Han Shuo said, “A real man ought to kill! And even more so for my apprentices! If there’s hatred in your heart, release it all! Do it in whatever way that would bring you the most satisfaction! Forget about how others would look at you. Even if everyone thought of you as a homicidal maniac, what then?”
Before Sanguis’ mother fell ill and die, she had been rather attractive. The elders of these teenagers standing before Sanguis had previously violated his mother. Following their in their parents’ footsteps, these delinquents had even desecrated Sanguis’ mother themselves. This hatred had always been buried deep in Sanguis’ heart. The reason that Sanguis craved so much for strength was precisely for the purpose of making reprisals.
After having received an encouragement from Han Shuo, Sanguis closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, his bloodshot eyes were mad with the cruel intention to slaughter. He flew to Kuliya as he struggled in pain, sat on him, and used his sharp fingernails to tear Kuliya’s body into shreds while howling with laughter.
This Kuliya, who had disparaged Sanguis as a lowlife half-breed, now could only let out ear-numbing wails as Sanguis tortured him to his slow and painful death.
After Sanguis finally got up, he turned his gaze to those teenagers who were frightened speechless, and said with a psychotic smile, “Your turn!”
“I beg you, please, please spare us,” the few teenagers mechanically repeated those words as they were scared witless by Sanguis’ brutal performance.
“These exact words, all the countless times I repeated them, but have you ever spared me?” Sanguis laughed like a lunatic. In the same fashion as a terrible beast, he pounced on those few teenagers attempting to escape. Using his newly obtained energy, Sanguis killed them all one by one with sheer resolution.