More and more red-robed people appeared in the plaza. Every three steps, they bowed. Each nine steps, they kowtowed. They were muttering some kind of strange scripture.
A strange air filled heaven and earth. Leng Yueyan and the others’ nerves were stretched taut, and it was like some kind of formless energy was enveloping them.
“Grand Corrupt God, please bestow your glory onto these children. Enlighten them on how to advance. From today onwards, they will no longer be sheep lost in the wild…”
An old man was kneeling in front of the statue and was also muttering a scripture. Leng Yueyan didn’t know that this was a kind of ceremony.
All the children were befuddled as they looked at the statue. The ceremony took a full two hours, and during it, none of the children dared to move.
Once the ceremony was finally over, all the children were forced together, and the scripture was taught to them.
“Corrupt God Blessing, temper my body, make me fearless. Make me forget myself, make me forget the rest of the world.
“Everything the world has is bestowed by the god; every blade of grass, every tree, every thread, every needle.
“The god graced me with my body, a body to follow heaven’s laws. Eliminate the weak, a battle of survival of the fittest. The weak are only born for the strong. All life struggles…”
No one could understand it, but they did their best to memorize it. That was because the elder had just said that this ceremony was to offer sacrifice to the Corrupt God. That person would only repeat it three times, and if they still couldn’t memorize it, it meant they didn’t know how to respect the Corrupt God. Those who disrespected the Corrupt God would be killed.
There were over a thousand words. After only repeating it three times, that person began testing people one by one. If anyone said one word wrong, they would be dragged away. It was said that they would be fed to Magical Beasts, thus, wails began to rise.
“Little Yan, did you memorize it?” asked Gu Nianrou stealthily.
“Yes.” Leng Yueyan nodded.
It was quickly their turn. The two of them smoothly passed the test. After that, they were split into a group of five hundred people.
“Since you’ve memorized it, from today onwards, you will no longer be orphans, but the god’s children. Your parents weren’t killed; they died to undertake the Corrupt God’s work. You can consider them heroes that died in battle.
“If they hadn’t died, there would have been no way for you to realize what this world is. This world is emotionless, pitiless, and merciless. It is a world where the weak are only prey to the strong, and only the strong are respected.
“Compassion, duty, propriety, integrity? Those are hypocritical shams. Power is the only thing you need.
“With power, you can fulfill all your desires. Without power, you’ll only be able to watch as the things you cherish the most are taken away by others. As for you, you’ll be able to do nothing.
“Starting today, you’ll form groups of ten and be thrown deep into the mountains. You’ll have to survive on your own for two years. Wild beasts roam about in those mountains, so whether or not you can survive depends on your own abilities.”
That expert directly sent them off after speaking. This was Leng Yueyan’s first time seeing flying Magical Beasts. The fortunate thing was that she was in the same group as Gu Nianrou.
In their group of ten, there were three girls and seven boys. They all listened to Gu Nianrou, working together to find a source of water, forage for food, and build a shelter.
These children who had originally enjoyed their parents’ love had now begun to learn how to survive on their own. Fortunately, Gu Nianrou was extremely experienced with hunting. When the ten of them worked together, each day was better than the last. They began to form bonds between them, as if they were a family.
In the beginning, they only dared to gather a few wild fruits. Once they found a source of water, they began building a shelter. They built traps around the shelter to prevent attacks from wild beasts.
A month later, they began hunting for pheasants, rabbits, and other prey. Sometimes, they would even dare to attack wild boars.
Living in that intense environment, Leng Yueyan learned many skills.
Under Gu Nianrou’s guidance, she quickly became their group’s second-in-command. She was strong and agile.
Their shelter was attacked several times by wild beasts. Once a fierce black bear attacked and broken their traps. Under Gu Nianrou and Leng Yueyan’s guidance, they worked together to cut it down.
The days passed one by one. They felt that these days were the happiest time of their lives after what they had experienced before. But happy days always passed by the quickest.
Two years passed in the blink of an eye. Leng Yueyan was already five and a half years old. In this environment, she had grown a great deal. She had almost forgotten the pain of her past.
But on this day, their nightmare returned. People came to bring them back. They tried to run, but they were all caught.
They were brought back to the sect. After that, they were forced to consume various medicinal pills and take tests to evaluate their physical functions. The pain was enough for them to want to die.
In this place, they were like animals that had to follow other people’s orders. They wanted to rebel, but they didn’t have the power.
Three days later, they were brought into a room. Next, someone came and called out three names. Once those three people left, they never returned.
Leng Yueyan and Gu Nianrou went out to search only to find them in a nearby valley. They were already dead. There were hundreds of other corpses with them.
“They should be the people whose talent wasn’t good enough. They didn’t have the qualifications to be raised, so they were killed,” said Gu Nianrou hatefully, clenching her fists.
“These bastards!” roared one boy. They were all infuriated. These were companions they had been with for two years. Seeing three of them die, they were incomparably distressed.
“Scram or die!”
Just at this moment, a red-robed man appeared, tossing two more corpses onto the pile.
Leng Yueyan and the others returned to their wooden room, and then, more people brought them away again. It was another round of tests. After those tests, only five of their seven remained.
Two more of them died. They despaired. In front of these powerful experts, their little bit of power was insignificant.
“Bastards, just wait until I get stronger! I’ll definitely kill them all to get revenge! I’ve already remembered all their faces,” said one boy through clenched teeth.
The next day, the five of them were brought back to the plaza with hundreds of others. It was still the same group as two years ago, but now they numbered much less.
Two years had let them grow a great deal. They had become stronger, but the only thing in their eyes was endless hatred. They had obviously encountered the same thing as Leng Yueyan and the others.
It was still the same elder that had held the ceremony back then. He smiled slightly. “Now do you understand how important power is? Without power, you won’t even be able to survive, let alone have freedom or dignity.
“However, you don’t need to panic. Do you want revenge? Do you want revenge for your companions? Do you want to kill those people who were so cruel to you? Do you also want to kill me with them?
“That’s also fine. Everyone is a follower of the Corrupt God, and the Corrupt God is fair. He will give all of you the chance to fulfill your wishes. The key point is whether or not you can grasp that chance.
“Starting today, you all have the right to cultivate. As long as you are strong enough, you can kill anyone here that you have enmity against, including myself.
“You are the seedlings that have been tested to have the greatest potential. But whether or not you can grow is up to yourselves. Now you have the chance to take the first step of your growth. Bathe in the Corrupt God’s favor! Let the divine ceremony begin!”
The Corrupt God’s statue began to shake slightly, and light began to rain from the sky. Those children began to quiver as that light sprinkled upon them. The blood in their bodies began to rapidly circulate. It felt like their bodies were overflowing with energy.
“Corrupt God, grace me with power! I am willing to become your most loyal servant!” shouted some people, their eyes red.
“Corrupt God, I am willing to offer up my everything to you, including my soul!”
Following the loud shouting of certain people, it was like the Corrupt God had really heard them. The rain of light slowly condensed over them.
The others saw that and followed suit. Shouts of solemn oaths rang throughout the air. Those people’s voices turned hoarse, but they continued to scream.
That was because they found that as they screamed, more light would gather over their bodies, and the power overflowing out of them grew even greater.
Leng Yueyan watched as the people around her screamed with greater and greater fervor. She noticed that when the light landed on her body, there was some kind of power that forced it back. She was unable to absorb it.
Once the divine ceremony was over, they learned that they were the disciples of the Corrupt God, also known as the Corrupt path’s disciples. Their sect was called Bloodfiend Gate.
Bloodfiend Gate didn’t split its disciples into inner or outer disciples. Everyone was the same. They started cultivating and training together. The Elders imparted the Qi Condensation techniques to them.
Qi Condensation was the first step. As for the qi sensing realm, after bathing in the Corrupt God’s divine grace, they had already passed that. Their cultivation speed was incredibly fast, and their foundation was extremely solid.
During this time, they had plenty of food, a good dwelling, and practically anything else that they wanted. In just one month, Leng Yueyan had reached the seventh Heavenstage of Qi Condensation.
That was the most frightening thing about the god’s blessing. Each of these people had been without the slightest foundation. But having experienced countless life and death trials, all their potential was carved out.
Gu Nianrou was even stronger. She had already reached the ninth Heavenstage. To reach the ninth Heavenstage of Qi Condensation at just six years old was extremely terrifying.
Once all the disciples were gathered again, they were no longer children, but cultivators. Although they were young and immature, the pain and suffering of their childhood had allowed them to mature very early. At just six or seven years old, they had the same stature as someone over ten years old. Their eyes were cold and sharp.
They also had their own weapons, as well as any Battle Skills they wanted to cultivate. Compared to a month ago, they were like completely different people.
“Excellent. You should all have sensed the power of the divine blessing now. It was the Corrupt God that changed your everything. Only by bathing under the light of the Corrupt God can you become this world’s master, becoming the master of your own fate.
“A month ago, I said the Corrupt God would give you a chance to get revenge. That time has come.”
The elder pointed to a mass of people standing in the distance. They were all Qi Condensation experts.
“Do you see them? The people who captured you, the people who killed your families, they’re right there. Your chance to get revenge has come.
“You can challenge them. It will be a fair fight. Life and death will be up to fate. It just depends on whether you have the courage,” said the elder.
“You, I want to challenge you!”
Seeing the man with the scar on his face, killing intent erupted out of Leng Yueyan. That was precisely one of the people that had killed her parents. Even if he was burned to ash, she would still recognize that face.
