Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Killing Humans For The First Time
Ignoring the angry face of the red-haired young man before him, Vahn asked calmly, "Do I know you?"
The red-haired young man felt another blow.
"Y-you, how can you forget... You’re the one who made me a laughing stock at the Holy Ascension Stairway in White Lotus Sanctuary. Because of you, I was rejected to become an Outer Court disciple despite crossing 50 Steps...
Only Because of You!"
He shouted the last part and charged forward with the momentum of a leopard toward Vahn.
Clang!
Vahn met the nobleman’s furious sword attack head-on with his Hellbringer Saber. The sound of the Saint-grade black steel meeting the nobleman’s Sky-level weapon was sharp and resounding. The impact alone sent a tremor up the young man’s arm, momentarily shocking the rage out of him.
Only then did Vahn truly recall the incident: the spoiled red-haired young man who had tried to push him off the Holy Ascension Stairway and received a sound thrashing for his efforts. The memory of the petty attempt to cheat brought a dark amusement to Vahn.
Remembering that incident, Vahn’s lips curved into an evil smile.
He didn’t wait for the follow-up. While the young man was reeling from the saber impact, Vahn delivered a sharp, concentrated kick straight to the nobleman’s chest.
Bam!
The force was enough to send the youth stumbling back several feet.
"You’re so foolish and weak," Vahn said with calm contempt, keeping his voice low enough not to alert the distant Rock Giant. "You were rejected because of your petty nature, not me. How can you blame a higher destiny for your own lack of character?"
The young man, fueled by humiliation rather than strength, surprisingly stood up as if nothing had happened, though a clear, dark footprint was visible on his chest plate. He glared at Vahn, his breathing ragged.
He glanced at his own men. The other six cultivators had indeed ceased fighting the Rock Giant and were now watching their humiliated Young Master with baffled eyes.
Such a humiliation, his face was completely lost before his slaves and cohorts.
"How dare you! I will kill you!"
The nobleman screamed the vow and charged again, a visible, blazing fire erupting from his sword. This time, he channeled his full elemental power, turning the attack into a desperate, fiery slash.
But Vahn was no longer a newbie. He newfound Spirit Sense granted him perfect awareness.
He ducked low, his agility allowing him to effortlessly dodge the wide, slow Fire Slash. Then, with the instinct of a seasoned killer, he thrust his Hellbringer Saber straight toward the young man’s stomach.
He was momentarily hesitant to kill a human so early in his journey, but that brief thought vanished immediately.
When his life was on the line, why would he show mercy, especially to an irrational, enraged Qi Refining idiot who had abandoned an ongoing battle just to attack him.
He would kill. He will survive.
SCHLKK
The Hellbringer Saber, guided by Vahn’s Spiritual Sense and demanding only the slightest trickle of Spirit Energy for its edge, passed through the Sky-level armor and flesh with horrifying ease.
It was swift, silent, and decisive.
The red-haired young man froze mid-charge, his fiery sword clattering to the ground as his eyes went wide with shock and disbelief. He looked down at the point where the black blade had entered him, a dark red stain blossoming instantly around the wound. The fire blazing on his body immediately sputtered out.
Vahn didn’t yank the blade out; he merely pushed the wounded boy backward one final time, breaking contact cleanly.
The young man stumbled, falling silently onto the muddy forest floor. His life force was dissipating rapidly.
Vahn immediately turned around, his Hellbringer Saber clean and ready. The entire encounter had lasted mere seconds, but it had irrevocably shattered the silence of the forest.
The six remaining cultivators stood frozen in shock, staring from the prone body of their young master to Vahn’s menacing, shadowed figure.
"Y-young Master is dead!"
"Quick. Catch him! Don’t let them escape! Otherwise, Master Dalian will kill us all!"
Grrrrr!
The Rock Giant, momentarily forgotten, let out a confused, shaking roar, now looking at the entire group as potential targets.
Lilith, who was still standing like a statue behind him, transmitted a sharp warning directly into Vahn’s mind:
"The death of their leader will either unify them against you or the Rock will cause them to flee. Make your next move definitive, Vahn."
Vahn, coming out of his momentary guilt over the kill, acknowledged Lilith’s internal warning with a tight nod. He already had a cunning plan hatched, one that leveraged both the forest’s chaos and his powerful Arts.
He obviously couldn’t afford to fight six Sky Level cultivators and a Rock Giant alone. He had to turn the enemies against each other.
The six cultivators were still frozen, staring at their dead young master, their emotions swinging wildly between shock, fear, and desire for revenge. The massive Rock Giant, tired of the inactivity, was letting loose a confused, earth-shaking roar.
Vahn channeled a small but concentrated amount of Spirit energy into his Hellbringer Saber. He didn’t activate the full, devastating power of the Destruction Sword, which would consume too much Internal energy.
Instead, he channeled just enough lightning energy to create a highly visible, provocative flash.
Crackle!
He launched a quick, short-range bolt of Lightning Destruction Sword not at the Giant, but directly at the Giant’s foot. The strike was designed to be annoying and attention-grabbing, not destructive.
Boom!
The Rock Giant, already aggravated by the prolonged skirmish, felt the sharp, destructive electrical attack. Its colossal, stone head swiveled, ignoring the smaller, stationary cultivators. Its focus was now solely on the source of the sudden, sharp pain: Vahn.
Vahn didn’t wait for it attack. He flashed a triumphant, malicious grin at the six terrified cultivators who were now facing both a rogue Giant and a deadly assailant.
"Enjoy the show!" Vahn shouted, then, utilizing his boosted Agility and his ten-meter Spirit Sense to navigate the uneven terrain flawlessly, he disappeared into the woods alongside Lilith, melting instantly into the shadowy gloom.
--
"GRRRR!!
The diversion worked perfectly. The Rock Giant was immediately enraged. It entered a terrifying, primal Rage Mode, letting out a guttural, ground-shattering bellow.
It lunged at the nearest moving targets: the six remaining cultivators.
The cultivators, panicking, abandoned all formation. Their focus shifted instantly from vengeance to desperate survival. They scattered, trying to fight and flee simultaneously. It was a futile effort.
"NOOO! LET ME LIVE!
"SPARE—!"
Their desperate pleas and screams were useless.
One by one, the Rock Giant caught them.
"Bam!" A crushing fist turned one into a smear of blood and bone against a tree. A wide, sweeping arm strike knocked two others into the air, where they were instantly squashed upon landing.
Vahn and Lilith watched from the darkness, positioned perfectly to observe the unfolding massacre. Vahn was quietly enjoying the show, feeling the brutal satisfaction of seeing his enemies justly destroyed without expending any further effort.
"You’re more evil than I thought," Lilith suddenly said with dark amusement in her tone. "I think we will have an interesting relationship ahead."
"Haha, you really think so? Then I’ll be eagerly waiting for that day as well."