Murder
Once the smoke and dust settled, the destroyed trees were visible. Mu Yu was supposedly reduced to particles in the dust that settled. At least, that was what Li Yuan assumed until Mu Yu descended from above, three swords and spiritual energy in the air, coiling around him.
By the time he snapped out of it, Li Yuan only had time for a quick roll on the ground to avoid being buried in the crater Mu Yu created with a swirl of spiritual energy. Mu Yu’s clothing was vilified with dirt, but it wasn’t damaged, and his eyes were still emitting the eerie vibe.
“How did you survive?”
Mu Yu ignored the question and began wielding the three swords hovering beside him. Meanwhile, he used his free hand to wield a fourth sword! Next, he prepared to execute the fifth technique in Dustfallen Swordplay, a technique consisting of phantasmal and physical attacks.
“Falling Dragon Howls the Sky Down.”
Mu Yu sent the three swords around him to the sky and lined them up into a grey spiritual dragon. The mighty dragon’s scales reflected light and tail gusted winds. The fiends in the distance jolted upon hearing the dragon’s roar. The dragon then fired a grey beam from its mouth.
Li Yuan’s mind wanted to evade, but his body wouldn’t obey. The beam pierced his chest, leaving a trail of blood in the direction he was sent back. He who doesn’t cherish life doesn’t deserve to enjoy life. Mu Yu pursued and tried to plunge the sword straight into Li Yuan’s chest. The trail of blood splattered onto Mu Yu’s face and into his eyes. The blood burnt away the ominous aura in Mu Yu’s eyes and cleared his mind.
Mu Yu had trouble making heads and tails of what happened or where he was. When he recomposed himself somewhat, he saw the gap between his sword tip and Li Yuan’s chest shortening.
Mu Yu’s shifu’s reminders flooded into his mind. He remembered being told he would eventually kill, but he was to not kill discriminately as it went against a cultivator’s principles. He didn’t feel he lacked something to judge whether or not a person deserved to be killed. He just felt his moral compass couldn’t tolerate someone killing a pregnant flame horse and their senior for personal gain. In the end, he impaled Li Yuan in the shoulder and regained his balance. He hammered Li Yuan with a palm strike. Li Yuan hit the ground hard, immobilised but without grievous wounds.
Mu Yu found a reason to justify killing Li Yuan, but he wasn’t ready to commit murder, partially owing to his short period cultivating. He mulled over whether or not he’d still hesitate to take a life once he took one. Mu Yu pulled his sword back. His eyes returned to normal. He tried to make sense of what transpired after he lost control.
When Mu Yu pressed the attack, he saw someone in his mind. As a product of the individual encouraging him to end Li Yuan, Mu Yu instinctively boosted his cultivation to aim for a lethal blow; however, the drop of blood that hit his eyeball allowed him to regain control.
Someone in purple deftly raced through the forest and landed next to Li Yuan. The two looked roughly the same age; the newcomer was also a Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer cultivator. The individual in purple examined Li Yuan’s injury and then shut Tang Yang’s eyes before turning his attention to Mu Yu. He questioned, “Did you kill my junior and hurt my junior, Li Yuan?”
“I did not kill him. I hurt your junior solely in self-defence.” Mu Yu had expended almost all of his spiritual energy in the fight and was worn out.
“Who killed my junior brother, Tang Yang, then?”
“Have you still not realised your surviving junior killed him? Why don’t you check the dead one’s wound?” chided Lan Ling’er, descending from above.
When the individual in purple checked the wound, he frowned and looked back at Li Yuan. Voice loud, he queried, “You killed Tang Yang? This wound is a product of your short sword. Why did you kill your fellow disciple?”
“Y-y-you…” Li Yuan couldn’t articulate himself. He panicked as he looked back and forth between Mu Yu and his senior.
Li Yuan’s senior drew a sword and thrust the sword through Li Yuan’s mouth. Blood poured out from his throat as he helplessly swung his hands in a desperate struggle. Eventually, his convulsing stopped along with his breathing.
The individual in purple presumably raised his voice for Mu Yu and Lan Ling’er to hear. “As per Jiuhua Sect’s rules, killing fellow disciples is worthy of the death penalty.”
Lan Ling’er decided to withhold what she planned to say, opting to stay out of another sect’s business. Mu Yu was surprised the individual killed Li Yuan without even giving the latter a chance to explain. Moreover, under normal circumstances, he would’ve taken Li Yuan back to their sect to punish him. Punishing him in front of outsiders was the same as admitting their sect’s imperfection.
“This one is Ju Wenxing, a disciple of Jiuhua Sect. I had to personally punish my juniors for breaking our sect rules. I will be taking their corpses back to explain what happened. I shall take my leave now.” Ju Wenxing bid duo farewell with a palm-fist salute before taking off.
“Senior Sister, where did you just go?”
Lan Ling’er checked Mu Yu out first. After ensuring he was fine, she began pointing and lecturing, “Didn’t you notice somebody sneak attacked us? She was a girl below my level, but she was darn fast! You all right? How did Li Yuan wound up injured so badly? Did he start to feel guilty and stab himself?”
“I hurt him. He tried to silence me, but I beat him.””
“You beat him? Yeah right. He was a Foundation Establishment Realm Ninth Layer. You’re a third layer amateur. I could’ve beat him that badly, but y-” Seeing Mu Yu suddenly collapse, Lan Ling’er caught him just in team. “Hey! What’s wrong? Don’t scare me! You really are an unlucky omen and a burden…”
Lan Ling’er checked Mu Yu and confirmed he only passed out, much to her relief. She gazed up at the dark sky. They couldn’t just have a respite anywhere in the forest. She decided to take him up with her on her flying sword…
***
Somewhere else in the forest.
“Brother, did you obtain the fiend spirit?” asked a girl in purple next to Ju Wenxing. The charming girl wore identical clothing to Ju Wenxing. She was still trying to catch her breath after a fight.
Ju Wenxing searched Li Yuan’s clothing and removed his sleeve storage. He found dozens of spiritual stones, but he wasn’t after them. He went and checked Tang Yang’s corpse. He pulled his eyebrows together. “The fiend spirit isn’t on them.”
“Huh? Where is it, then?”
Ju Wenxing balled his fists. “I don’t know, either. Those two must know something about it. Why didn’t you subdue the girl?”
The girl gnashed her teeth. “She was too much for me. What’s the plan now? We’ll be in trouble if we’re careless. You even killed one of them.”
“These two really are a hassle. I had to silence Li Yuan to prevent the other two finding out, but it was all for nothing. God damn it!”
“I think they are heading to Pine City. Let’s off them before they reach the academy!” suggested the girl.
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