Slaying Along the Way

Yu Xian continued forward, killing every member of the Ancient Sages Society he encountered. With his current strength, unless he ran into a Rule Branch ability, he could instantly kill any foe no matter how flashy or elaborate their skills might be. After all, they were simply far too weak. Most of the people he crossed paths with possessed a combat power of less than 1, whereas after Yu Xian and the others fused, their combat power had already broken past a thousand. It was like a level 100 player returning to the starter village to slaughter a mob of alts below level 1; even his basic attacks dealt massive overkill damage. "Who are you?" Soon, he encountered someone who did not look like a mere lackey. Yet Yu Xian did not even bother using Appraisal. The moment the man uttered his first sentence, he killed him in a flash. "Passcode!" Ten minutes later, he ran into another fellow who carried the distinct air of a leader. Instantly killed. Yu Xian did not spare the corpse a second glance, continuing straight ahead. "Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" Next came a swarm of lackeys. Instantly killed. "Wait, don't kill me! I surrender—" A few minutes later, Yu Xian pulverized a fat man with a single punch the moment the coward tried to surrender. "Big Bro is as cold-blooded as a hitman right now. It's terrifying," Little Nora shrank back and muttered, watching Yu Xian go on an unsparing killing spree. Thank goodness Yu Xian had not been like this when it first met him, or it probably would have ended up as a roast duck by now. Niman explained on Yu Xian's behalf, "Yu Xian hasn't changed. It's just that these people are evil, and when dealing with evil, you must cut the weeds down to the roots and leave no one alive." "Although the Ancient Sages Society isn't a purely evil organization on paper, they are far worse than any criminal syndicate. Countless nations have suffered at their hands, and the lives lost number at least nine hundred thousand, if not a million. Given the chance, of course we can't let them off," Yu Xian added. To say nothing of other nations. Huaxia alone had been targeted by the Ancient Sages Society's schemes dozens of times, and he had personally been caught in one of them. Whenever he recalled the memorial service for his compatriots slaughtered by Deimos, his heart turned to iron. He harbored not a shred of sympathy for any Ancient Sages Society member he encountered here at the Bottom of the Sea. Of course, aside from those who were unmistakably Ancient Sages Society members at a glance, Yu Xian would still cast Appraisal on the rest just to be safe and avoid killing the wrong person. For example, if Huaxia had planted undercover agents inside, it would be terrible if he struck them down by mistake. After all, he had been away from Earth for quite some time, and he genuinely had no idea what Qilin's current situation was. Just then, he came across a purple-haired woman. To avoid a wrongful kill, he cast Appraisal on her directly. —————— True Name: Mikami Mei Codename: Murasaki Shikibu Race: Human Gender: Female Age: 48 Vitality: 130/130 Life: 0.9/0.9 Strength: 0.9 Luck: Impending Misfortune Theoretical Lifespan: 0 Rank: Dragon Universal Rank: Heaven Rank Faction: Ancient Sages Society Cultivation Technique: None Abilities: [Tale of Sorrow: When imbued with killing intent, her voice causes surrounding living beings to rapidly age and wither.] [Hateful in Life: Passive ability. The stronger the host's hatred toward a target, the greater the boost to her own strength upon killing them.] [Precious in Death: Any target slain by Tale of Sorrow can be revived as a puppet, capable of taking one fatal blow in their master's stead.] [Summary: A very strong weakling.] —————— 'Her abilities are quite interesting,' Yu Xian mused. Then, before Murasaki Shikibu could even speak, he flashed right past her. Her eyes widened instantly, and her body disintegrated into scattered particles. Although Precious in Death allowed her to redirect all lethal attacks she sustained to her puppets, every single puppet under her control had exploded in that single instant. In less than a second, Yu Xian had struck her hundreds of thousands of times, until not a single puppet remained to die in her place. Against wicked women of this sort, Yu Xian had never shown any mercy. Whether it was Nangong Wanwan or Murasaki Shikibu, he cut them down cleanly and decisively without exception. "I thought you might hesitate for a moment," Niman teased. Yu Xian kept walking forward, remarking casually, "A piece of scum with hundreds of thousands of lives on her hands—what difference does gender make?" "Big Bro is right! Bad guys are bad guys, regardless of whether they're men or women," Little Nora chimed in supportively. Yu Xian then hacked into Shui Yuetian's Star Ring, wanting to see if he was still in that room. Along the way, he had passed numerous rooms, but they were either empty or occupied only by people who deserved death. He checked every two or three minutes now, just in case Zhi'er realized he had invaded and moved Shui Yuetian. One glance, and his heart leapt into his throat. Shui Yuetian's surroundings had changed; he was currently trapped inside a pitch-black bag, completely unable to see the outside world. "Not good. Zhi'er seems to have noticed us and is fleeing with Shuishui," Yu Xian said, his expression tightening as he broke into a sprint. Zhi'er possessed Star-rank strength as well; Yu Xian had to intercept him before he escaped the Bottom of the Sea, or he would end up wasting another of his daily questions on him. Yet Yu Xian had not run far before a black-haired man approached from ahead. Flinging out an Appraisal and confirming he was no good, Yu Xian swept past him like a gust of wind. Before the man could even register what was happening, his body instantly collapsed into dust. In truth, most of the Ancient Sages Society's core members were not at the Bottom of the Sea. They were either stirring up trouble in other countries or exploring the Abyss. Only an unfortunate few still remained here—and their misfortune peaked when they crossed paths with Yu Xian. Next, Yu Xian ran into Shakespeare. Following a quick Appraisal, he instantly killed him. Still sprinting, he shared Shakespeare's abilities with the others to broaden their horizons, as the man's skillset was indeed quite intriguing. —————— True Name: Tom Donald Codename: Shakespeare Race: Human Gender: Male Age: 31 Vitality: 90/90 Life: 0.5/0.5 Strength: 0.09 Luck: Impending Misfortune Theoretical Lifespan: 0 Rank: Tiger Universal Rank: Earth Rank Faction: Ancient Sages Society Cultivation Technique: None Abilities: [Tragic Fate: Can inflict the 'Tragedy' mark on a target. Until the mark fades, the target will inevitably suffer all manner of tragic scenarios, up to and including death.] [Comic Fate: Can inflict the 'Comedy' mark on a target, causing them to die in a comical, ludicrous manner.] [Dramatic Fate: Authors a dramatic script and marks it onto a target, compelling them to 'perform' in the drama.] [Summary: A very strong weakling.] —————— A user of the Destiny Branch. It was the first time any of them had seen one, and they could not help marveling at it. If Shakespeare had not been so weak, he would have been a truly terrifying opponent. "All three are destiny-related abilities," Niman remarked after seeing the panel. "You should have drained his blood just now to see if you could gain them." Yu Xian explained, "I thought about it, but right before striking, I got a bad feeling, so I gave up on the idea." "Is something wrong with his abilities?" Niman asked, catching on immediately. Yu Xian shook his head. "Hard to say, but there's probably a catch. I'll know once I ask Auntie later." As they spoke, he finally caught sight of Zhi'er. Carrying a sack over his shoulder, Zhi'er was sprinting at full speed. Sensing someone behind him, he glanced back at Yu Xian, gritted his teeth in the next instant, and slammed his body into a side wall, immediately vanishing into the seawater beyond it. "Don't run!" At this sight, Yu Xian shouted, shattering space as he lunged out into the ocean in pursuit.