Xin Fen:
Huff… huff… There are too many monsters in this place… They just keep coming!
Cultivator A:
Yeah. We only came here to collect herbs for our sick master.
But this forest… it's infested.
I fear we may never return alive—
Wait… someone's approaching!
(Xie Wang steps out of the shadows. His aura is calm, yet terrifying.
His face—immaculate, sharp as if carved by the heavens.
The entire group freezes, stunned by his beauty.)
Xie Wang:
Greetings, fellow cultivators. I seem to have lost my way.
Would you mind if I joined you?
(Xin Fen blushes, struggling to speak.)
Xin Fen (thinking):
So… handsome… is he even human?
Xin Fen:
Y-Yes! Please, feel free to come with us…
Though… this place is dangerous. Too many monsters still roam.
(Elder Cultivator, thinking):
I… can't see through his cultivation.
Even at Soul Transformation Realm, I sense nothing.
Could he be… Void Transformation stage? A Heaven Realm expert?
Xie Wang:
There's no need to concern yourselves. I'll deal with the beasts.
(A flash—no more than a second.
Dozens of monsters fall, their corpses twisted and broken.
The ground runs red.
He doesn't even look at them. He smiles… calm, composed.)
Xie Wang (inner voice — cold, divine):
Pathetic.
They grovel at strength wrapped in beauty.
The mask I wear is enough to lure sheep to slaughter.
Let them believe in me.
Let them cling to hope…
So I may crush it when they kneel.
Xie Wang (thinking):
System. Too many eyes. How do I speak to you unnoticed?
System:
Through thought, Master. Only you can hear me.
Your will is law.
Xie Wang:
Good. Then answer me this…
Why do these people reek of filth?
System:
Because they are lesser beings, Master.
Their bodies and souls pale before your presence.
Xie Wang:
Mute the stench. I tire of it.
System:
As you command.
But… why not kill them now?
Xie Wang (inner voice):
Do you ask a god why he watches ants build their mound?
These "people" belong to a greater nest—
A sect, perhaps powerful.
Let them lead me to it.
Then I will burn it down… root to sky.
Xin Fen:
Sir, you're incredibly strong… May I ask your name?
Xie Wang:
Xie Wang.
Strength, you've seen.
But directions… I lack.
I sought a sect to join… and wandered into this pit of trees.
Xin Fen:
Then join us! We're from the Phoenix Sect.
It's powerful—our leader is at Heaven Ascension stage!
Xie Wang (smiling faintly):
How kind.
And… your name, fairy?
Xin Fen (blushing):
I am Xin Fen.
System:
Master, her body is optimal for refining.
She can become a Divine Body Pill—
You'd gain two full levels of cultivation.
Xie Wang (inner voice — serene malice):
Interesting.
A rare fish swims toward my palm…
Soft… warm… useful.
But the butcher waits.
Let her trust me first.
Xie Wang:
System. My current points?
System:
You have 300 Evil Points, Master.
Xin Fen:
We've found the herbs. Let's return to the sect!
(They travel through the woods.
Xie Wang walks behind, silent, observing. Dozens of monsters fall to their blades.)
Xie Wang (arriving at the sect gate):
So… this is the Phoenix Sect.
A hive of arrogance and illusion.
Xie Wang (inner voice):
I sense power… some worthy, some not.
System—if I were to turn this entire sect to ash…
What would I gain?
System:
98,730 Evil Points.
But if you inflict pain—mental, physical, spiritual—
you may harvest far more.
Xie Wang (smiling, voice calm as moonlight):
Then let their dreams bloom…
So I may pluck them apart, one by one.