Li Jialing ran crazily in the cold pathway. The wounds all over his body covered him completely like weird stripes.
On the pathway behind him, there was nothing but remnants of blood and flesh, like the alimentary canal of a primeval beast.
“He’s there. Stop him now!”
“It’s dangerous. Don’t engage rashly. Open fire!”
The Immortal Cultivators’ roars of surprise and fury were echoing both far and near. The enemy’s attacks were not limited to anesthetics anymore but smashing at him overwhelmingly with all kinds of most dangerous aggressive magical equipment.
Boom!
One of the rays exploded on the young man’s chest brutally, knocking him to a ground after a tremble and making him dodge three flying swords that were darting at him from his back.
The moment before he hit the floor, every joint on his body seemed to have been installed with a spring, allowing him to change his direction uncannily and fly backward into the three Immortal Cultivators. After a few dazzling attacks and explosions, the few Immortal Cultivators were all blown back after their crystal suits were broken.
Li Jialing took the opportunity to dash into a branch.
The metal wall of the branch glided open without a sound, and the fully automatic turrets were rolled over. The young man’s eyes were ignited by the fatal rays.
“Hehehe!”
Li Jialing’s entire face seemed to be burning. Uttering roars that could be either joy or fury, he accelerated to his top speed and dashed in the middle of four crystal cannons.
The four crystal cannons all began to spark, cramping and shivering mechanically. It was not until Li Jialing disappeared at the end of the pathway that they exploded at the same time!
On the other side of the pathway, however, Li Jialing was greeted by more than fifty crystal suits of super heavy fire power, which blocked the sole path ahead.
Wuying Lan stood before those Exos, his hands behind his back. He looked rather relaxed and thoughtful when he observed Li Jialing.
Judging from the bouncing flames in his eyes, the owner of Manjusaka was more overjoyed than infuriated at the ‘test subject’ that had gone out of control.
“Have you played enough?”
Studying the wounds all over Li Jialing’s body that were healing rapidly as if he were appreciating the most perfect masterpiece, Wuying Lan said casually, “If you want to keep on playing, at least get a rest first!”
“Get out of my way! Out of my way!” His eyes bloodshot, Li Jialing heard none of it. The bloody mist around his body spurted out, and he turned into a raging fiend as he jumped at Wuying Lan. “Get out of my way or die!”
Shua!
The bloody mist around Li Jialing turned into a weird claw. Leaving three crimson traces in midair, it snatched at Wuying Lan’s carotid artery brutally, as if it were going to tear the man’s head off!
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. How brutal.” Wuying Lan smiled at ease. He was not equipped with any crystal suit, only wearing casual clothes. Yet, he was faster than the Immortal Cultivators who were equipped with high-mobility scouting crystal suits. Nobody saw how he dodged Li Jialing’s attack. They only saw that Li Jialing seemed to have hit a nonexistent shooting star and was blown backward brutally into the metal wall of the pathway, leaving a human-shaped dent there.
Pu!
Li Jialing spewed large clusters of blood and white vomit.
“Young man, you are the most perfect masterpiece that I have ever produced. You are even stronger than me in certain respects.”
Warming up his wrists and angles unhurriedly, Wuying Lan walked up to Li Jialing.
“But you do not know how to make use of your strength at all despite its massiveness. You are just squandering the precious abilities that have been granted to you. Do you not feel that it is too much of a waste for the efforts that all of us have invested in you?”
“You—You—” Li Jialing seemed to have been woken up by the punch. Crying and coughing, he lunged at the enemy again. “You are all fiends! Fiends!”
Boom!
He was blown away by Wuying Lan again. This time, Wuying Lan’s fist did not stop but pressed his head deep into the metal wall before he opened his fingers and clutched the young man’s skull so hard that it was uttering cracking noises.
Wuying Lan dragged Li Jialing out. After a bellow, his body size expanded to twice as large. The previously sloppy casual clothes turned into a tight suit. The thick veins all over his body were clearly revealed on his clothes like boas.
He threw the young man against the floor, the wall, and even the ceiling crazily like he was a broken bag. Every hit triggered such a deafening explosion that one could not help but wonder if Manjusaka was being bombarded by giant cannons. Even the most fearless Immortal Cultivators were shuddering in fear, feeling that their blood was freezing, when they heard the collisions.
Li Jialing’s body was unbelievably sturdy, too. He was not killed immediately under the unreserved bombardment of an expert like Wuying Lan but was still vaguely moaning.
“Enough!”
A low but solemn voice came from behind the many Exos. Everybody hurried to step aside and greet Li Lingfeng’s arrival.
Wuying Lan sniffed and tossed the young man aside casually, backing off.
“You may leave now.”
Li Lingfeng looked at Li Jialing without any expression. Nobody knew what was on his mind.
Wuying Lan bowed respectfully and soon disappeared with all the other Immortal Cultivators.
In the bloody pathway, the only things left were the bleeding, broken corpses and Li Jialing and Li Lingfeng. Well, there was still Neltharion, which was hiding inside Li Jialing’s body the whole time, in which part of Li Yao and the mental devil’s soul was hidden!
“You’ve finally awoken now.”
After the Immortal Cultivators that belonged to Manjusaka retreated, Li Lingfeng’s voice somehow turned… gentle and soothing. He smiled and said, “I’ve been imagining all the time what your performance will be like after you break all the shackles and are completely awakened. I did not know that the day would arrive sooner than I expected, nor did I foresee such a marvelous performance.
“Do not be affected by what Wuying Lan said just now. He has honed his strength for decades, and this is only the first time that you’ve ever used it. It is only natural that you were defeated by him.
“But if you train yourself hard under my tutelage, it won’t take long before you have an opportunity to far surpass him!
“Believe in your potential. Look at the path of blood behind you. Fiend? Hehe. Who’s more like a fiend here?”
“Huchi… Huchi… Huchi…” Li Jialing crouched in a corner without any strength. The miserable wounds all over his body were healing rapidly, but his head, having just been freed from extreme excitement, was more frustrated and confused than ever.
Looking at the smiling Li Lingfeng before his eyes, the broken limbs and guts of the dead Immortal Cultivators behind him, and then his intimidating hands where veins were still protruding, the young man trembled for a long time before he finally murmured, “I’ve killed people! I’ve killed people! I’ve killed people…”
Holding his stomach, he began to gag again.
It was a pity that all the contents in his stomach had been vomited just now. He could not spit out anything except for confusion, regret, and fury now.
“Why? Why are you doing all this?” Hot tears flooded out of his eyes again. The young man shivered hard, as devastated as a flower that had been ravaged and polluted by a swamp. He shouted, “You are a high and mighty big shot. You can exterminate my life as easily as stomping on an ant. Why have you been pushing me to do the things that I don’t want? Why are you tricking me?”
“The things that you don’t want?” Li Lingfeng’s smile became even deeper as he appreciated the dead bodies of the Immortal Cultivators that had been torn apart by Li Jialing just now. “With everything coming to this point, there is no need to keep lying to yourself. Did you dare say that you killed so many people because you completely lost your sanity? Did you not feel unparalleled ecstasy in the middle of the crazy slaughter? Was it not the urge that had been deeply lying in your mind all the time under the suppression of the goddamn shackles?
“Look at all the broken bodies here. They are the best evidence to prove that you are a natural-born Immortal Cultivator and the most perfect Immortal Cultivator. This is your natural instinct. This is the real you. I merely pushed the boat along the current to set it for sailing. That’s all.”
As if hit by lightning deep inside his soul, Li Jialing appeared astounded and felt like crying.
Seeing that he had calmed down somewhat, Li Lingfeng asked, “Should I help you examine your body first? Although your body boasts very powerful self-recovery abilities, this is your first slaughter after all. It will be safer if you have a full physical examination.”
“Don’t touch me!” Li Jialing jumped to his feet as if he had an electric shock. Holding his arms, he shuddered with tears running out of his eyes. “Don’t touch me. Please. Don’t touch me. Just leave me alone. I need to calm down. Please, please…”
“Alright, alright, alright. It’s true that you need to calm down and figure out your real identity and destiny.” Li Lingfeng raised his hands to show that he meant no harm at all. “There is no need for you to beg me or be so wary of me. I told you last time, and I will repeat it today. You were never a test subject. You should know very well that absolutely nobody would invest so many resources into an insignificant test subject. In my eyes, you are the most perfect warrior of the Li family and a new-generation, most standard Immortal Cultivator!”
“I don’t understand.” The young man’s eyes gradually focused, as if he had been caught in Li Lingfeng’s pace before he knew it. He had completely broken free from his previous panic and disgust. Ignoring so many people who had been killed by him nearby, he narrowed his eyes and said, “Tell me the truth. If I was never a test subject, why have you been torturing me so cruelly all these years?”
“Torture?” Li Lingfeng burst into laughter. Then he suddenly changed his face and glared at Li Jialing. “Boy, you don’t know what is good for you at all. You think that anybody is qualified to bear such ‘torture’?
“Let me tell. This is not torture but the most cutting-edge and the most efficient way of training. Too many people are begging for it but can never get it!”
