Xue Meng's expression saw no change while being complimented by the Hall's First Protector. Tian Zheng, the young master of the Ancient Tian Clan which ruled numerous Empires and Kingdoms, that Lorded over several 'Farm Planets', held as much value as a stray dog in front of Xue Meng.
Because only the strong had any right to stand in front of him. The strong deserved respect and his friendship, while the weak could only be trampled beneath his feet on the bloody path he had chosen for himself.
Such was his Dao, such was his way of the blade.
"For my saber is blind, it will cut down all those who are weaker than me. I am destined to stand at the top, unrivaled and unsurpassed."
That is what he often told those rare few that were capable enough to befriend him.
A gust of cold wind blew from the north, ruffling Xue Meng's hair. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. The smell of iron mixed in with the wind came from the corpsed littered in front of him, the smell of fresh blood.
There were both men and beast lying in front of him. All of them were dressed in the same clothes as the ones that were currently attacking the Temple's city. Only when they tried to attack the Hall, all of were cut down by a single swing of Xue Ming's blade.
Xue Meng turned his body halfway, facing Tian Zheng and the girl sitting a few meters behind him.
"Why do you think I came here?" he asked with an expressionless face. It sounded like both an honest query and a rhetorical question.
Tian Zheng's smile faltered. Unknowingly he straightened his back and his expression became serious.
"To…help the hall…?" he replied carefully.
"Guess again," Xue Meng turned around all the way, now staring directly at Tian Zheng.
Tian Zheng pushed the girl off his lap and stood up as well, his expression somber.
"Please enlighten me, senior brother," he asked with a bow.
Xue Meng nodded with a slightly softened expression, "That's more like it."
He walked up to the throne and sat down while Tian Zheng and the girl stood silently beside him.
Xue Meng placed his right elbow on the armrest and rested his head on it while surveying the bloody scene in front.
"I was told by a 'seer' under my master that I would meet a few worthy opponents here. Those that had the talents to stand beside me. He said that it will be the first time I will taste defeat. I laughed when I heard that," his eyes glittering with a bright light as he looked over towards Tian Zheng with a sigh.
"You know who my master is?"
"Yes, father told me a few things."
"Hmm, then you should know that your older brother is my fellow disciple. And he is much more talented than you. Not enough to excite me but, much stronger than you. And master likes him as well. Even though you inherited the secret art of your clan, if you keep messing around like this then it will not help you in the future. Stop wasting time."
Tian Zheng bowed from the waist, his voice quivering ever so slightly, "Thank you, senior brother."
Seeing as Tian Zheng had listened to his advice with an open heart, Xue Meng's gaze flickered back to the tattoed corpses.
"So far I have only found three people that could possibly be of some use to me. Two of them are from the Academy, the kid with the Smoldering Phoenix bloodline and the Vampire boy. But unless he completely awakens his bloodline soon, the vampire prince won't be much of an interest to me."
Tian Zheng waited beside him patiently, waiting for him to continue but it seemed like Xue Meng had totally forgotten. He was completely focused on the corpses of the natives laying a few meters in front of him.
Tian Zheng finally mustered up some courage, "And the…third?" he inquired meekly.
"Hm? Oh," Xue Meng was awoken by his voice but his gaze never left the corpses. He gestured towards them with his chin, "Them. The last one is the native that started the resistance and started fighting back. None of these guys remember his name or face, or anything about him really. Only that he is the strongest of them all. The third one is probably him. They say he was the first one to get a word of power."
Xue Meng's lips curled up into a cold smile, "I am quite curious as to how powerful a savage from a forgotten planet could be.. I really hope he doesn't dissapoint, otherwise I might just kill off his entire race."
