"And what would he say…"
"To the grave-wielders, the stoic leaders, the uncurious kings…"
"The calm butchers, the mutilated apostle, the sovereigns of the north, east, west, south…"
"I utter these words to you; only to you, the one above, why. Why!"
Silence.
Nothing but silence.
The Peak of the Western Star.
Dead fields of heaven's silk surround Him. They are grey, untethered. Without a soul. Not even a whisper.
A desolate fog surrounds four divine pillars, these pillars all stand in different directions: The north, the east, the south, and the west. Though they are cracked, blemished, no longer of gold and diamonds.
A man dressed in golden robes kneels, his white beard hanging low enough to sway upon the grey grass.
Tears stream down his face as he stares up at the skies, up at the heavens.
"You have abandoned us, as we had abandoned you." He whispers, before fading into dust, scattered over the grey fields.
The western divine pillar trembles, before a new crack appears, surrounded by small purple dots.
...
Outer Sect Competition, Xun Shi versus Liu Huan
Liu Huan sweeps his spear toward Xun Shi's head, but Xun Shi easily steps backwards, dodging it entirely.
"Too slow." He mutters, plunging his sword forward.
Liu Huan staggers backward as the sword slices him. Blood flies out of his mouth, which leaves him with a solemn gaze.
"Shit."
Clink! Shhhh!
Liu Huan struggles to keep up as Xun Shi repeatedly strikes him with his sword, in close-quarter battles like this, the spear falters.
Sparks fly everywhere, and the audience is silent, watching the battle closely.
There is a very obvious difference in overall strength, speed, skill, and cultivation between Liu Huan and Xun Shi. Even a toddler would notice this.
But over in the stands, one man notices something else, something that even the elders of the sect hadn't noticed.
"There isn't any light in his eyes. And his hands are grey." Wei Yin speculates on their battle, he rubs his palms together.
"These are typically the symptoms of a dead man. But Liu Huan isn't dead at all…" He thought.
"I've seen this before." His eyes narrow.
Wei Yin then looks toward the sky.
"What?"
He falls back, trembling as he watches a crack appear in the sky. The disciples around him quickly rush to help.
"Old man, are you okay?" A slim woman asks, helping him up.
But Wei Yin doesn't reply. His breath doesn't even come out, as if he were frozen in time.
"Old man?"
...
Back on the stage, Liu Huan and Xun Shi continue to fight, exchanging hits. But it is obvious that Xun Shi will quickly obtain victory.
Wind blows in Liu Huan's hair.
"Ah!" "Agh!" "Ouch!" Liu Huan quickly backs off after each strike, with blood covering his entire face and body as a result from the beating he is currently receiving.
"Damn it! I'm too useless!" Under the flurry of attacks, he sighs, choosing to give up.
"Father was right, I really am useless. But…" From above, swords continuously rain down. Not from an ability, but rather from the speed of Xun Shi's attacks.
"During my cultivation… I saw my father, and he said to me, "I remember; he said, to be a cultivator is to be humble to the world." Liu Huan mutters to himself. "I don't know why my father out of all people said that to me. Perhaps I'm delusional, but after that… I felt something awaken inside me, like I've finally found a purpose for cultivating."
"Perhaps I am a fool, a weakling, but my purpose for cultivating… is to seek peace. Without fighting, without actions but to find peace through words. Words are the most powerful."
Liu Huan smiles, lifting his right arm up. "I surrender." He speaks. The wind blowing in his hair suddenly stops.
BRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMMMMMNN
Before the audience could even react, a horn sounded. This horn shatters the eardrums of many disciples, making their ears bleed.
"Ah! Damn it!"
"What the fuck is that?"
"Someone help!
"My ears!"
"Great Whirlwind Sect, your time has come!"
A figure descends, his shadow blotting out the sun for those below.
Ling Huang floats above the battlefield, a devilish smirk on his face.
"You may all perish at the hands of yours truly!"
Pyeuw!
A short sound is heard before multiple disciples hit the ground, large holes present in their bodies.
"Ahh! A murderer!"
"Who is this?"
The audience panics as every disciple tries to escape, some fights even break out in the midst of this chaos.
Before Ling Huang can slaughter some more disciples, the elders finally stand in front of him, their faces pale.
"He's fast, way too fas—" Han Kuang mutters, before his eyes are dull. His limbs fly off, and half his body is disintegrated in the matter of not even a second.
The other elders slowly turn to look at the deceased Han Kuang with ghostly white faces.
"Fuck." Another elder stutters, before also being completely disintegrated, followed by every last elder present in the competition.
Not only that, Ling Huang proceeds to snap, killing every last person in the sect with a flash of his aura.
The sect leader, the elders, Fatty Wang, even the elites, all of them perished at a snap of his fingers.
The purple dots escalate, covering the entire sect, before disappearing.
"Destiny is fulfilled, it has to be." Ling Huang mutters, smiling at his work of art:
The destruction of the Great Whirlwind Sect.
…