In an elegant and tasteful pavilion on a mountain peak, Hu Meiāer stumbled her way over to the stone table where she splattered, bathed in crimson.
Her delicate complexion had now taken a sickly turn.
Whoosh~
An azure person flashed over, the second senior brother.
Liu Xu gasped at her wounds, āJunior sister Meiāer, what the hell happened? Did Kui Lang and Yue Ling attack you while you dealt with that punk?ā
āThey didnāt have to. Itās all that rotten punkās fault. He played us!ā Hu Meiāer shook her head, lamenting, āThis must be my most unlucky year. I just ran into a monster, a beast this close to tearing me apart!ā
Liu Xu asked, āJunior sister, what are you saying? I donāt understand anything.ā
āHa-ha-ha, youāre not the only one. Heās supposed to be some weak lamb, yet underneath it all, heās a monster ready to pounce. I wouldāve never risked today if I knew him for what he was.ā Hu Meiāer sighed with a pained face.
Having complained enough, she detailed her ābattleā to Liu Xu.
Liu Xu was dumbstruck, āThat brat is stronger than you? How?ā
āWhy else do you think he had me immobilized in one move? I couldnāt resist at all!ā Hu Meiāer sighed.
Liu Xu paced around the pavilion, his face heavy, āWith a power like Zhuo Fan, this changes things. Sect Leader brought him in for a reason after all. But why dump him in the Labor Office? What is Sect Leader up to?ā
āSecond senior brother, donāt be rash.ā
Hu Meiāer cut in his train of thoughts, āWe canāt beat that guy, so donāt taunt him. Weāre already on his bad side from today, but letās not do something weāll regret.ā
āSo? This is the Demon Scheming Sect, no matter how great he is, he still needs a stable footing to stand tall. What slips my understanding is the Sect Leaderās design revolving around him. Will it affect the elite selection? ā
Liu Xuās eyes glinted, āThis is no longer something as simple as a disciple affair. Iāll take it up with the master and hear his opinion.ā
Hu Meiāer cried, āVenerable Shi?ā
āYes.ā Liu Xu nodded, āLet him probe Zhuo Fanās importance to Sect Leader and weāll just ask him or an elite senior brother to deal with the brat depending on how much Sect Leader values him. If the Sect Leader has his eyes set on him, weāll block the Labor Office and he wonāt get any merit to leave this place. With no excuse to base his rise on, heāll be stuck there forever!ā
Hu Meiāer nodded, and her charming smile was back, yet was soon replaced with a frown, āBut with his strength, he simply has to challenge an inner disciple before the elders and Venerables and heās out. Moreover, our competition is in three months. He is our biggest threat!ā
āHa-ha-ha, thatās even easier. If we meet him, weād just forfeit.ā Liu Xu said.
Hu Meiāer was still puzzled.
Liu Xu beamed, āJunior sister, everyone that ends up in the Labor Office is either a criminal or a reject. The first type will either die of old age stuck in there for the rest of their lives or gain enough merit to recover their status. Exactly how Kui Lang and Yue Ling created the Asura Circle.
āLaborers are the lowest rung, no matter how hard they work, how strong they get, theyāll never become disciples again, only elders or Venerables to safeguard the precious inner disciples. Zhuo Fan is a laborer but not a criminal, that means heās lower than a bug. So no matter how much he proves his strength, heāll be a Venerable or elder at most. Unlessā¦ā
āWhat?ā Hu Meiāer asked eagerly.
Liu Xu shook his head, āJunior sister Meiāer, it doesnāt matter. Itās just impossible. Unless he flips the world on its back and has the whole sect acknowledge him. Thatās the only way to become an elite.ā
āThey say the High Venerable came from the Labor Office as well, with unstoppable power, the highest in the sect. But even so, heās still just a Venerable falling short of becoming the Sect Leader. It is a rule unchanged for eternity.ā
Hu Meiāer nodded, āThat means Zhuo Fan and us will never cross paths.ā
āThatās how it should be, but I worry that the Sect Leader has brought him here not to deal with disciples but those old guys.ā Liu Xuās eyes glinted, āIf their situation does not settle, our structure will change.ā
Hu Meiāer nodded after a pause.
Meanwhile, back among the tombstones, where the yin was thickest, a guy and a girl popped out of nowhere.
Achoo~!
Yueāer sneezed from the biting wind, hugging herself from the cold.
The creepiness of this place had her feeling threatened.
The sneeze was the most obvious sign. Even at her 6th layer of Profound Heaven cultivation, some cold wind actually managed to pierce her body.
Zhuo Fan had an ineffable smile, āFrom now on, you will be under my guidance. You are to follow my words to the letter, no matter if the path is rugged, torturing or deadly. You āwillā obey. And get it out of your head that someoneās going to save you. Iāve set up a barrier those two will never find. Got it?ā
āYes!ā Yueāer nooded with a steeled face, disregarding her gruesome fate.
Zhuo Fan beamed, āNo questions? How strong youāll get or your survival rateā¦ā
āNone.ā Yueāer said, āKnowing that you can restore my meridians to keep me cultivating is enough. Nothing else matters.ā
Zhuo Fan smiled, āGreat!ā
He made a gesture and pointed, āPlace of yin, gates of heaven; howls of wraiths, gather within me; biting winds lash my body; rip the sky, destroy this world!ā
Hum~
The air shimmered under Yueāerās incredulous look and a two meters tall door appeared.
It opened with a creak to reveal nothing but a black abyss and howling winds like bansheeās screams. Yueāer stood frozen before the eerie door and ice formed on her hand, robbing her of feeling from it.
āW-wha-ā Yueāer lost her composure, now panicking.
Zhuo Fan smiled, āThis is the 7th grade array Iāve set up, Black Wind Array. Iāve gathered all the biting winds, strongest here in the cemeteryās center. Entering this place will have oneās bones and tendons snap like twigs, their soul pulverized. A feeble mind would end up soulless just looking at the door.ā
āBut not you, because you have a death wish!ā
Yueāer turned her shocked face at him. [How does he know my thoughts?]
Zhuo Fan continued, āFrom the moment I laid my eyes on you, I knew your character, ruthless to the extreme and even more so to yourself. I thought you were just putting up a tough front, but after all thatās happened to you, I knew it all came from your steeled will. Itās because of you that your sister ended up in the Labor Office and made you feel like a burden. You worked hard to live up to her expectations while also hellbent on succeeding or die trying. So that maybe, dying will free her of this burden.ā
āThatās why not fully healing didnāt come as such a disappointment to you, because youāre a lost cause, hopeless. Right?ā Zhuo Fanās eyes pierced her.
Yueāer stared right back, though her eyes were in shock. [He saw through me. Not even my sister knows me so well.]
āNow, this temper is quite good, perfect to train this top profound ranked martial art, Black Wind Blade!ā Zhuo Fanās trademark evil smile was back in business, his hand revealed a jade slip, āThis art is trained with the biting winds here, far stronger than your Demon Devouring Sabre. And since your meridians are shot to begin with, this yin seeping into you is a blessing in disguise and you donāt need my help. Follow this art and these winds will be your deadliest weapon!ā
Yueāer took the jade slip, about to read it, when Zhuo Fan threw her inside the door, āNo time, just get to it!ā
āAh!ā
The devilās hand pushed a wailing Yueāer into hell.
Zhuo Fan stayed behind with a wide smirk.
The crucial point of the Black Wind Blade was to stay calm in the face of certain death. Or the second one panicked, the yin would devour him.
Zhuo Fan planned for Yueāer to learn this art, the minute he saw her. All his actions lead to this point, even forgoing healing her. He wasnāt that petty, just cruel.
Or no matter how much she agreed, her sister would never let herā¦