Chapter 75
The black paper boat lingered at the cave entrance, with paper figures continuously disembarking and transforming into formation puppets that poured into the cave.
Yu Sui collapsed to her knees from the pain, while Xue Mushi experienced the World Destroyer's death resonance for the first time. Combined with being slashed by a formation puppet, his advancing figure stumbled.
Neither made a sound.
Because in their consciousness, the youth far away in Dan Kingdom was collapsing and shouting: "Why do this to me!"
"Why!"
"What did I do wrong? I did everything you told me! I said everything I knew, what more do you want from me?!"
In his collapsing shouts, the androgynous voice asked: "What did you tell them?"
"Why am I the only one suffering like this? Why just me? This isn't fair, why only me!" The youth was barely nineteen, his first half of life carefree, his second half unbearably dark. He cried and laughed, his collapsing roars becoming vicious. "I told them everything, everything I knew! They all know now! You can't escape either! Why should it only be me? Why am I the only one who has to become like this!"
Lying in the alley, already unable to move, the youth was barely clinging to life.
The Legalist School Saint's Judgment Art: Slow Slicing was attacking, but he stubbornly resisted. His eyes were full of blood, and through the blood he looked ahead, searching through people's feet for the place he wanted to return to, but could never go back.
The youth was barely alive, but hatred made him seem full of vitality.
People maintained an offensive and defensive distance from him, watching him with eyes full of wariness and killing intent.
The initially vocal rough man now spoke with faint mockery: "So unwilling? Then release your Strange Fire and burn them."
His tone turned vicious: "You're going to die anyway, so burn them."
The androgynous voice said: "Mutual destruction isn't impossible either."
Yu Sui, who had collapsed from empathetic pain, moved her fingers. Thunder snakes flashed, barely repelling the approaching formation puppets wielding swords, but new ones quickly surged forward.
"There are two more mutes who won't speak, but silence counts as agreement." The rough man said harshly: "We all agree, so burn them!"
Yu Sui, who had tilted her head against the stone wall to dodge a puppet's sword, felt her heart tremble. He knew there were two more World Destroyers listening?
Could it be that even without mental communication, their existence could still be confirmed?
The youth collapsed: "I don't want to kill them! I don't want to destroy the world! I never wanted to!"
"Idiot! You think your Strange Fire alone can destroy the world? Then what are five people for? You can't kill everyone, you'll only kill yourself." The rough man seemed unable to bear it, both pained and angry. "If you're really that resentful and unwilling, then be decisive, burn them, so the others don't have to suffer slow slicing with you."
Then he cursed: "Damn the Legalist School's slow slicing!"
"Tell me which Legalist School member used slow slicing on you, and even if I die later I'll kill a Legalist School Saint first to avenge this slow slicing!"
The rough man cursed continuously.
Yu Sui in the fish scale cave was sent flying by sword energy, the pain making her sweat profusely. Legalist School Judgment Heavenly Mechanism Art: Slow Slicing made Five Elements energy flow through her entire body, cutting skin and scraping bones. Though the wounds were invisible, the pain descended upon her.
Being eliminated now wouldn't work either.
Being transmitted outside the academy would be even more dangerous.
Yu Sui fell to the ground, using her last strength to roll away and dodge a fatal sword thrust. The long sword pinned her dress, tearing away a large piece. As the fabric ripped, golden thunder flashed brightly in the stone cave.
Along with the golden thunder came Mei Liangyu's Eight Trigrams Life Arts thunder snakes, which carried Ghost Way School death symbols, draining the Five Elements energy from the formation puppets surrounding Yu Sui.
Yu Sui's Surrounding Heaven Fire had been extinguished. Using the golden thunder's light, Mei Liangyu saw Yu Sui on the ground covered in sweat from pain and frowned. As the next batch of formation puppets charged with swords, he used instant movement to scoop up Yu Sui.
Surrounding Heaven Fire reignited, illuminating the darkness.
Yu Sui's eyes blazed with firelight, also reflecting Mei Liangyu's calm, composed face.
Mei Liangyu pulled Yu Sui with his backhand, wanting to head deeper into the stone cave to temporarily distance themselves from the formation puppets behind them, but Yu Sui stopped him. She crashed into Mei Liangyu's embrace, her five fingers gripping his clothes tightly, knuckles white, leaving bloody marks.
Xue Mushi was inside.
If Senior Brother saw him, there would be no way to explain. If both of them showed pain and weakness without visible wounds at the same time, it would easily arouse suspicion.
Senior Brother could stop the formation puppets from eliminating them now, but she couldn't let Senior Brother make any additional discoveries.
What they felt wasn't just slow slicing, but all of the youth's current condition, all the previous injuries, the speed of blood loss, gradually diminishing body temperature, breathing like knives cutting heart and lungs.
Slow slicing was just the final blow.
Yu Sui even prayed that Xue Mushi wouldn't cry out from pain.
Though she herself couldn't hold on, tears spinning in her eyes. Opening her mouth felt like thick blood was sticky inside. She had bitten her lip corner, the overflowing blood staining Mei Liangyu's clothes.
Mei Liangyu, suddenly embraced and stopped by Yu Sui, paused slightly but reacted quickly, raising his hand to seize a puppet's long sword and counterattack, cutting it back before saying to Yu Sui: "Go to the back."
Yu Sui trembled as she squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, her speech unclear from pain: "Senior Brother... it hurts too much."
Mei Liangyu glimpsed her snow-white neck moistened by sweat, marked with black lightning imprints, thinking her pain came from lightning fire burning. His expression darkened slightly, so he said nothing more and let her cling to him.
Yu Sui could have countless reasons to explain this obstruction afterward, but she couldn't let Mei Liangyu go to the back and see Xue Mushi in similar pain.
Pain.
Pain!
Pain so intense she wanted to destroy everything!
Not just "anger," "pain" could also generate destructive urges in certain moments.
The youth cried out in painful, miserable screams, his five fingers curled and pressed into the blood.
None of the Nine Schools Saints dared approach at this moment. No one could guarantee that walking forward to any distance wouldn't result in being instantly burned to charred bones by Strange Fire.
"This should be during death resonance time." Someone said in a deep voice. "Your slow slicing can wait a bit longer."
The Legalist School Saint nodded after hearing this.
Another Yin-Yang School Saint asked: "Yu Xian, who else are the World Destroyers? What are their names, where are they, what are you saying now?"
The woman's words invaded the youth's ears from all directions, persuading his consciousness to obey the speaker. The "curse" branded on him responded, and the youth slightly opened his mouth, saying slowly: "I... don't want to die."
The rough man continued cursing: "Five years ago you were confused about the situation there, and you're still not clear now? Give me a location so I can see where you die. Don't tell me you're at Taiyi Academy. How stupid would you have to be to believe that old man's words and go to Taiyi Academy with over twenty Saints, sneaking around under their noses looking for things!"
"Didn't he himself never return?"
"Still wanting to separate from Strange Fire, still talking about heavenly characters. I'm really laughing. It's understandable that he was old and unclear, but you young people are also acting foolishly!"
"Since Strange Fire burns everything, any Nine Schools Arts are ineffective, and all Five Elements energy of heaven and earth can be burned, what external thing in this world could separate it from you? What kind of spring dream are you having!"
Obviously he couldn't bear the pain of slow slicing. The more pain, the greater his anger, and the harsher his cursing became.
"Are you at Taiyi Academy? Speak! And the one who's been there for eighteen years, and the new one who came after the old man died five years ago, you two don't think we don't know you're there just because you don't speak. If you're foolishly going to Taiyi Academy to die, get out of Taiyi Academy quickly! I don't want to die in fancy ways again!"
"I also..." the youth said desperately, "I don't want to die either!"
Rough man: "Tell me the name of the Legalist School Saint on scene, I'll avenge you."
However, the youth had completely despaired.
His finger, raised with difficulty, finally pointed back to the ground, creating ripples in the blood.
"Let's burn."
He thought in his heart.
Black flames ignited instantly, swallowing the youth lying in blood.
The Legalist School Saint, who had been watching him constantly, caught the black color in his eyes and delivered the final blow with Judgment Art: Slow Slicing.
Almost simultaneously, other Saints shouted: "Retreat!"
They watched the continuous black below with horrified expressions. The figures guarding this street and alley used Wind-Riding Techniques to rise into the air. The flames released by the youth before death, like a stone dropped into water creating ripples, also spread with these ripples as the black flames dispersed, instantly burning everything.
Houses, ground, flowering trees, all things in heaven and earth, life and death were destroyed.
Thirteenth Realm practitioners who were slow to activate techniques, merely touched by a corner of black flame on their clothing, were dragged into the burning purgatory, turned to charred corpses and fell to the ground. Tragic cries for lost companions rang in the air, while black flames traveled thousands of miles in an instant. Even people arranged to retreat to the outer city were not spared.
The home the youth wanted to return to, the family waiting in the outer city, turned to ashes in this instant.
The Saints had misjudged, their expressions ugly as they watched the devoured outer city. The entire city of tens of thousands, along with suburban towns and mountain villages, everything died in the black flames.
Black ashes floated, covering Dan Kingdom's bright clear sky.
The city that had been bustling and lively a moment before, the beautiful suburban areas, now only left black flat ground.
The youth died, and the black flames disappeared with him.
They lived and accompanied each other, born and died together.
The surviving Nine Schools practitioners all ignited golden Five Elements energy before daring to land on the scorched ground. Some looked down at the youth's remains, others surveyed the devoured ground. Without exception, their fear of Strange Fire deepened further.
With this mistake, Dan Kingdom suffered heavy losses.
People's fear and hatred of World Destroyers also increased accordingly.
……
Mei Liangyu let Yu Sui hold onto him, just from the strength of his Junior Sister's embrace, he could feel the degree of pain she was enduring.
The formation puppets' assault grew fiercer. They even worked in groups of three to five, coordinating their attacks and coming one after another with synchronized moves.
With multi-directional attacks, he protected Yu Sui's head with one hand while using instant movement with her to dodge sword lights and blade shadows.
When formation puppets circled behind him, Mei Liangyu coldly swept his gaze over, throwing his long sword to repel one side. Black and white chess pieces flashed through the cave connecting into lines, with stellar connections summoning the Emptiness Mansion Star General: Ice Frost White Python materialized, charging fiercely toward the cave entrance.
He actually rarely used Ghost Way School Nine Schools Arts.
At this moment was also a rare time he opened Soul Control third level, simultaneously using different Nine Schools Arts.
Ice frost froze the formation puppets, black and white chess pieces spun rapidly, carrying Ghost Way School death symbols penetrating the puppets' bodies, draining all Five Elements energy and shattering them.
The ice frost white python bit and crushed the black paper boat at the cave entrance before dispersing.
After Mei Liangyu dealt with the formation puppets in the stone cave, just as he turned to look back at the person in his arms, he saw Yu Sui's body soften and kneel down. He frowned and crouched to help Yu Sui, but saw her eyes were red with tears flowing down.
Yu Sui's eyes were full of tears, making Mei Liangyu appear blurry to her.
She desperately, desperately suppressed the anger to destroy everything in this unbearable torment.
Surrounding Heaven Fire still climbed along the stone walls burning. Firelight illuminated her tearful eyes with sparks jumping within. Mei Liangyu paused at the sight.
For a moment he wondered, could lightning fire be this painful?
But meeting Yu Sui's gaze, Mei Liangyu cursed Wen Yanghui in his heart.
Mei Liangyu seemed somewhat helpless, extending his hand to hover near the lightning marks on Yu Sui's neck, sending Five Elements energy to gently guide and help disperse some of the lightning fire burning. He tried to use a gentle tone with Yu Sui: "Your Sister Yuezhen is already waiting outside. Once we get out it won't hurt anymore."
The anger in Yu Sui's heart hadn't been completely suppressed.
She was still immersed in the previous pain, carved into her soul, transferred to the deepest part of her consciousness, remembering every breath's agony.
Why.
Why me.
Why must I encounter such things.
Yu Sui's fingers gripping Mei Liangyu's clothes were about to shatter.
She gently lowered her eyes, tears overflowing from her eye sockets, saying with a nasal tone: "It hurts too much."
Yu Sui said: "I'll never forget this my whole life."
During infancy, unable to bear it, she directly lost consciousness.
Five years ago, to prevent them from suffering too much, the elder died instantly when Strange Fire self-immolated.
Only today.
Legalist School slow slicing deliberately delayed time, letting her taste what it meant to wish for death from pain.
Mei Liangyu had never coaxed anyone, much less coaxed Yu Sui, this kind of young girl who cried like a pear blossom in rain. Just seeing Yu Sui's tearful eyes made him feel extremely troubled, more difficult than learning any Nine Schools Arts.
When that teardrop overflowed her eye socket and traced a tear mark on her cheek, it was like giving Mei Liangyu a cut, the knife sliding along his skin creating the same mark. Though it didn't hurt or itch, he couldn't ignore it.
Mei Liangyu could only use the Medical School Nine Schools Arts he mastered to try reducing Yu Sui's pain, thinking: "After the Dragon Slaying Cave trial ends, I'll have Wen Yanghui struck by golden thunder every day. When the lightning fire breaks, I'll renew it for him, making him suffer lightning fire burning his whole life."
Yu Sui looked up slightly. Whether because of Senior Brother's Medical School Nine Schools Arts, the physical pain indeed lessened somewhat. She gradually calmed down and slowly responded: "Good."
Mei Liangyu was still thinking of ways to stop her crying.
Yu Sui wanted to wipe her tears but found both hands were weak and sore. She had clenched her fists too tightly, and now loosening them felt painful. So she lowered her head and rubbed against Mei Liangyu's raised sleeve, wiping away the tears.
Mei Liangyu watched her kitten-like face rubbing motion and clicked his tongue softly.
Whatever makes you happy.
"Senior Brother, I'm too pained to have strength," Yu Sui said in a muffled voice. "Let me rest a bit."
Mei Liangyu hummed in acknowledgment, moving his hand closer to her cheek and adjusting the height to make it more convenient for her to wipe tears.
Yu Sui's eyelashes hung with teardrops. She glanced at Mei Liangyu without speaking, then lowered her head to wipe the tears from her face clean on his sleeve.