Plight of the Ghu Clan Pawns

For a moment, there was silence throughout the trial palace. Yaan's voice was loud, booming across the battlefield, whilst his aura was rapidly recovering at a visible rate. All eyes were on him up above, as he slowly fell down to the ground. Anyone could see that however he was doing it, he was growing stronger by the second!

It didn't take Ghu Lin long to deduce that his poison had been neutralised. Well, it was actually being removed entirely, but the effect was the same. The pill Zue Yin gave him was one that could extract the poison and absorb it into itself, this was his only solution to this powerful corrosive poison.

Using his Agile Sword Arts, Yaan slowed his descent down towards the ground. By the time he landed, the two sides had once again split, leaving him facing Ghu Lin.

Yaan smiled. Ghu Lin remained indifferent, as if none of this made a difference to him.

"Ghu Lin…stop the battle now, and I'll enter the 4th trial. Your task was to kill me, and nobody has ever returned from the 4th trial in the past 1,800 years."

For a long period of time, there was only silence. Nobody said anything, creating an increasingly tense atmosphere. The number of bodies that littered the floor was simply far too high, but there were surely only a few hundred people remaining at this point.

"Just you entering the 4th trial isn't enough for us to stop…the benefits from this battle are ongoing." Ghu Lin finally responded.

Some people sucked in a breath off cold air, glancing at the other Ghu Clansmen to see their reactions…

Nothing. He spoke of benefits whilst disregarding their lives, but to the Ghu Clan, this was only normal.

"I'll enter too." To Yaan's surprise, Zue Yin stepped forwards. She didn't look at him but stared straight ahead at Ghu Lin. He raised an eyebrow and pondered, before nodding slowly.

"This is good for my clan…but still not enough!"

"You can keep all of these corpses, and any remaining loot on the ground." Aque Li suddenly spoke up.

Ghu Lin stared at him, before turning to the other significant characters on the enemy side.

"Who else intends to enter the 4th trial?" He suddenly asked.

One by one, a few people stepped forwards. Surprisingly, there were another 9 individuals, 6 of whom were only at the True Yuan Qi realm! Clearly, they were just trying their luck.

Looking across them, Ghu Lin slowly nodded.

"This deal isn't bad, but…the reward gained from a body temperer killing the others here is simply too valuable."

To this, Zue Yin scoffed.

"What, you expect us to hand over our hard earned rewards? Oh, or just Yaan's rewards…?"

Yaan sighed and shook his head, looking at Ghu Lin briefly, before glancing back at their group.

"We have 198 clansmen, 96 guests and 382 pawns." Ghu Lin spoke without emotion after Yaan turned back to him.

Hearing the term 'pawns', many of those on the Ghu Clan side began looking around confusedly. As some understood what was about to take place, they tried to flee to the opposing side…only to have their legs broken by the Ghu Clansmen.

"…If I do this, you'll leave alone everyone on this side?" Yaan asked, looking straight at Ghu Lin. Ghu Lin just nodded.

"Fine then. But I want half."

"Half?" Ghu Lin snorted coldly, showing an unkind expression towards Yaan. "You doing this for us is already-"

"If the battle waged on, it wouldn't end well for you either. Especially now that I've stalled enough that the poison has fully detoxified from my body." With that, Yaan smiled, before spitting out a deep, ominous black ball of liquid. Ghu Lin's eyes widened, showing a rare look of disbelief as this item landed in Yaan's palm. This was the pill, filled with almost all of Ghu Lin's poison! As for the remaining traces, Yaan's body was just about able to detoxify this!

"…Half is far too much. You can take any 30 rewards of your choosing. However, if there is a unique technique not possessed by my clan, you cannot take it."

This back and forth conversation went completely over many people's heads. Those who did understand what they were talking about however, were filled with a deep chill.

Even though they had also engaged in wanton slaughter all for the sake of monetary gain, it was still difficult, listening to people discussing the mass massacre of human life in terms of benefits and rewards.

Truthfully, this sort of thing was also far beyond that which Yaan could normally bring himself to do. This sort of 'evil' was something he had always been resistant to. Perhaps after this event, he would look back and realise that what he did was 'wrong'. Or perhaps this was a new demonic beginning for Yaan…

Either way, right now, Yaan's heart was as cold as ice. He had killed too much, he had seen too much death.

He had been betrayed, being forced to face his own inadequacies, forced to recognise his faults, his mistakes, and how his arrogance had almost gotten him killed.

Right now, he was only thinking about getting out of here alive, and about how he would continue to survive through the 4th trial. He needed to be left alone by the Ghu Clan, but he also needed resources and other treasures if he wanted to improve his odds of making it through the 4th trial.

And so, he would kill.

WHOOOOOOOSH!

Ghu Lin simply lifted one hand up, clenched his fist, then dropped the arm down. Apparently this was a signal to the Ghu Clansmen. The Ghu Clan guests were bewildered and moved out of the way fearfully. Thankfully, the Ghu Clansmen entirely ignored the guests.

Their target was only the remaining pawns.

Yaan stood at a distance and watched on silently, with Aque Li to his left and Zue Yin to his right. Aque Li sighed, shaking his head pitifully. He had witnessed such horrors in the past and he was sure that he would witness them again. The cultivation world was cruel…no, the world was cruel.

As for Zue Yin, she didn't truly understand until all of the Ghu Clansmen readied their spells and treasures. They held them in position, pointing towards the terrified crowd of huddled 'Ghu Clan Pawns'.

"Attack." Ghu Lin's command was simple, but the ruthlessness contained in such a monotone voice was incomprehensible to an ordinary person.

BOOOOOOOOOM!

Zue Yin's eyes were wide. She trembled, her knees almost buckling as she watched from a safe distance. Though, even from here, she could still feel the residual shockwaves.

"Ahhhhh!"

"P-please, please don't kill me!"

"I, I have children to feed, I, I…I want to live…!"

…

Their pleas were both pathetic and entirely understandable, most people would act in this way, given the same situation.

"Yaan, you won't really-" As Zue Yin turned to the left hurriedly, finally understanding the plan now. The Ghu Clan crippled their own pawns, making way for Yaan to kill them all.

However, he was already gone. She was startled as Aque Li and another three Qi Temple realm Qi masters quickly followed after him.

The Ghu Clansmen followed Ghu Lin's orders and parted ways, far away to the edge of the palace. Everyone was on guard as they protected Yaan, ready to remain in position for a few minutes or even longer-

Chi…ChichichiChichichi…

Yaan used only his Agile Sword Arts. In that barrage of attacks released by the Ghu Clan, 345 of them were truly crippled, 17 were mistakenly killed, leaving 20 Qi masters not badly injured, on their feet and ready to fight.

Unfortunately, they were the Ghu Clan pawns. The pawns were all at the True Yuan Qi realm, meaning, they couldn't put up the least bit of a fight before Yaan.

Aque Li followed Yaan around, collecting the rewards one by one. He was stunned by Yaan's movement speed, and in his efficiency of killing. It was as if he didn't need to stop, or to swing his blade…just drifting past his enemies left them deceased.

55 seconds.

That was how long it took for Yaan to massacre 365 True Yuan Qi realm Qi masters. It helped that they were all huddled together like that, scared and unable to run away or fight…but still.

The aura of death lingered heavily over Yaan. When a person killed too much, they would become crazed due to bloodlust. Compared to others though, it was impossible for Yaan to lose himself to this sort of feeling.

How many times had he refined the slaughter aura in order to develop his Yuan Qi back then? Each kill had been a life and death ordeal back then, because he was quite literally devouring the slaughter itself, leading to the bloodlust assaulting his mind in full force. Now that his dantian was crippled, his body no longer absorbed and refined this slaughter aura of course.

Something like this, where he was simply surrounded by death and slaughter, was nothing compared to that. It simply phased through him unnoticed, creating not a trace of an impact.

Back in the crowd, Zue Yin was staring at Yaan with a trembling gaze. She had seen how he killed those people without so much as hesitating…it was the first time she had seen such coldness in someone's eyes when killing. She wasn't the only one to feel this way, in fact, most people present aside from those in the Ghu Clan were shocked by this sudden travesty committed by a single 'child'.

Ghu Lin stood 20 feet away as they lay out the 365 rewards on the floor.

"Since you four all helped me, you should have your share too…especially Aque Li, since his cultivation is highest, and he collected everything. I'll take 15, Aque Li take 6, then everyone else gets 3."

The others looked at him in surprise, but said nothing, each having their own thoughts.

Yaan was being quite generous, for two reasons. Firstly, he wanted to quickly fit into this group so that he could survive until the 4th trial opened. By giving them generous rewards, they would feel better disposed towards him.

Secondly…well, Yaan already had hundreds of rewards. And many from Qi Temple realm and Qi Palace realm Qi masters. Just these 30 didn't mean much…but he did get to choose from 365, which was nice.

With 365 rewards laid out on the ground, Yaan obviously got first pick. He saw no need to rush, and neither did anyone else. They were on guard against the Ghu Clan, but with their members having retreated back by a hundred feet, it seemed that they truly no longer intended to fight.

He studied each item one by one, and had Zue Yin help him identify things, since she was a knowledgeable alchemist apparently.

"You want body cultivation stuff, right?" She asked.

"Mm. Also anything relating to life and death, vitality and blood essence."

"Aha, well then, you need these 9 pills for sure." She pointed out 9 pills, all Rank 3 bar one which was Rank 4. It seemed that killing Rank 2 beings earned him a Rank 3 resource, unless he was lucky, then he could possibly get a Rank 4 resource.

According to Zue Yin, every single one of these pills was a body tempering pill…as in, true body tempering, not vital energy cultivation. These pills could assist Yaan in developing his fleshly body, something that he always sought out more-so than other methods.

Moving on from the pills, she selected six books. After Ghu Lin confirmed that these were not techniques needed by his clan, Yaan was able to pocket the lot.

It was a decent haul, but he definitely earned many more incredible things during the earlier war.

The others took their sweet time choosing their loot. 2 hours later, once Ghu Lin was beginning to lose his patience, they were done. They depressingly handed over the other 335 items to Ghu Lin and his clan…but at least they had taken all the best things bar some techniques. More importantly, the bloody battle had come to an end, which was the main point of all this.

And now…they had to wait. For 5 hours. This was not going to be a short 5 hours.

Everyone had one reward or another, yet hardly anyone had the heart to make use of these things right now. The Ghu Clan and their guests moved to one side of the palace, everyone else to the other side.

"Yaan, you're really entering the 4th trial?" Aque Li asked curiously. Whilst he couldn't say that he had a deep relationship with Yaan, they had been able to understand one another's intentions using eye movement alone during all the of the confusion, right after Yaan was attacked by Ghu Lin. This showed that they truly were two people who could definitely get along with one another, so Aque Li felt somewhat disappointed that Yaan was…well, going to vanish forever.

Would he die? Would he get trapped in some micro realm? Would he be transported so far away that he could never hope to find his way home?

Nobody was to say, but everybody who planned on entering the 4th trial themselves seriously hoped that it wasn't the first option, for their own sakes.

"I am." Yaan nodded. He had now changed into a clean red robe, hiding his golden armour below and looking much more presentable compared to before, though his burns were yet to properly heal.

"But you weren't planning to before, right?" Aque Li sighed. Yaan lightly shook his head.

"Ghu Lin wants me dead, or at least gone. If I don't enter, he'll try to kill me before the exit appears. Even if I make it out of the inheritance exit, he'll continue giving chase, or maybe I'll be directly targeted by Ghu Clan Elders. But as for you all who are staying here…." Yaan looked around, glancing at the others thoughtfully. "Watch out. Once me and Zue Yin are out of the picture, Ghu Lin might decide that he has a big enough advantage again."

Aque Li nodded, he'd already considered that.

"I know. There's a decent chance that I'll be forced to enter the 4th trial also. At least the 4th trial entrance remains until the end of the 3rd trial, so we'll have a way out regardless."

Yaan nodded, then didn't say anymore on the matter. It was a difficult situation, with no right or wrong answer. Really, entering the 4th trial was just Yaan fleeing from Ghu Lin. Besides, it seemed like he wasn't exactly welcomed by the Ghu Clan any longer.

In the end, Yaan had no place that he could truly call home. There was nobody who would miss him, he had no responsibilities nor expectations upon his shoulders. He lived only for himself, so in the end, he had no misgivings about entering the 4th trial.

The same couldn't be said for Zue Yin. Honestly, he was bewildered as to why she would enter the 4th trial when she had a powerful clan supporting her in the outside world.

Time passed by slowly.

With hundreds of people in a group, they didn't need to be too wary, there were always a few dozen people willing to keep watch at any one time. Of course, they kept multiple Rank 3 cultivators on watch duty at all times.

As for Yaan, he got off of these duties, mostly because he frightened everyone. Also though, he needed to continue healing his wounds. The third degree burns were now healing up nicely, and with just 2 hours left until the 4th trial opening, his skin was only a bit red, and his body had but a few scars.

He continued to consume more regular vital recovery pills every now and then whilst starting to read one of the books that he had been rewarded much earlier on. Out of all the books he'd obtained, this one interested him the most. It was titled 'Fiend Alchemy'.

"Hey…how come you eat recovery pills like candy?" Zue Yin finally couldn't contain her curiosity and asked. Yaan glanced at her and sighed.

"You surely must have realised by now, right?"

"Ah, I know you're a body cultivator…though you definitely cultivated Yuan Qi back then! So you're…"

She trailed off, but Yaan turned to her and nodded silently. Her eyes lit up, as if excited that she had deduced this correctly.

"Still though, there's no way that it's good to just throw back handfuls of recovery pills like that, right? I know you don't have any Yuan Qi to get tainted, but, I don't know, what about your body? What about the efficacy of the pill? Doesn't it lose effect eventually?

"It loses effect partially for a short period of time. After a day, you're back to normal." Yaan explained, giving her this much since she'd been of assistance to him earlier. "As for the impurities…"

Yaan trailed off there as he thought about it. Honestly, he wasn't sure. The Fiend Transformation technique that existed within his mind was…well, Yaan felt as if it had some problems. His guess was that, like when Rui first transmitted this technique to him, she had missed off certain details because they were not yet relevant, or perhaps because his mind simply couldn't process the information.

He had once tried to obtain the Fiend Transformation technique in North Ghu City, but as it turned out, even the Ghu Clan possessed just six copies of the technique. Each of the techniques were locked within temples, upon a podium in each of the Ghu Clan's children villages. It could not be removed and copying it was both forbidden and pretty much impossible. Nadda had never successfully learned it either, so Yaan had never been able to compare his own copy of the technique to the Ghu Clan's.

"Anyway, why all the questions?" Yaan avoided answering her question and glanced back at Zue Yin. She pouted, half-glaring at him as she matter-of-factly stated:

"We're both going to be competing in the 4th trial, right? We should definitely stick together, at least until we understand the trial."

"Well, I suppose you're right." Yaan nodded.

"Then we need to get to know one another, to better understand each others' abilities, strengths and weaknesses, right?" She leaned in with a self assured smile.

"No way." Yaan shot her down, shaking his head adamantly.

"B-but why-"

"Revealing my weakness? No thanks. And my strengths? I'd rather keep them hidden, you've seen enough as it is. It's good enough to agree to an alliance I think, right? Everyone has their secrets, let's leave it at that."

"Fine then…" Zue Yin seemed to pout slightly yet again, but she ended up getting bored. She leaned over Yaan's shoulder, peering at the book he was reading.

"Fiend Alchemy?" She blinked. "Wow, you got something so use- ahem, I mean, this is sure interesting!"

Yaan speechlessly stared at this girl who couldn't sit still or keep her mouth shut, starting to worry about this 'alliance' and whether it would actually be of any help to him.

He ignored her for the most part, reading through the introduction to this book whilst waiting for the trial to end. This was a thick book written in tiny print, with countless minute diagrams and runes imprinted all over every page. Basically, this was going to take some time to read…it included not just alchemy refinement methods, but for some reason delved deeply into the fiend's biology, their progression alongside their cultivation, and other such things.

Yaan wasn't complaining of course, all of this was vital information to him! However, by the time he'd finished the introduction, a giant red vortex appeared within the centre of the palace roof.

Quickly standing up, Yaan nodded to Aque Li, before grabbing Zue Yin's wrist and rushing towards the centre of the hall. Before he jumped, Yaan paused. He caught Ghu Nadda's eyes, seeing the melancholic and regretful expression.

Yaan sighed, shook his head, then flashed Nadda a light smiled. He clasped his hands, but looked away before seeing Nadda's response, turning to face upwards.

And with that, he jumped up.