Despair and Gratitude

"Sigh, finally, we finally managed to catch five beasts."

Si Yu sighed, panting. Both Si Yu and Li Na were sitting separately from the group and were tired. The other rank 2 cultivators were tying the beasts they just caught.

There were five rank 2 rabbits, known as the Bud Rabbits. Each of these rabbits had a bud on their tails. Not only was their meat tasty, but they were also used as Ka refining materials.

"Master, what are you doing here?" Ma Nik suddenly spoke.

The other also looked and saw a woman. It was their leader.

"All of you, kill these two." The woman pointed at Si Yu and Li Na.

"What…" Si Yu and Li Na were shocked.

"But, master… are you sure?" Ma Nik asked again.

Why would she want to kill two potential members?

"Didn't I tell you to kill them? Why are you just standing there?"

Just as she said this, the other six didn't hesitate and attacked Li Na and Si Yu.

"Run!"

Si Yu shouted, and both started to run. However, Si Yu fell because of a pothole on the ground.

"Where did this appear from, if I remember correctly, it was here before…" Si Yu muttered with wide eyes.

"Si Yu…"

When Li Na saw this, she also stopped and ran to Si Yu.

"Be careful!!!"

While this happened, Si Yu hurriedly pushed Li Na to the side and stared with wide eyes. A sharp light blade was coming at him at a high speed.

Li Na stared with wide eyes. She tried to jump in front of Si Yu to save him.

No, please, no.

Li Na truly felt fear and despair. However, her speed was slower compared to the light blade.

However, just as the blade was about to pierce Si Yu's neck, a spear came and sent the light blade flying. A small cut appeared on Si Yu's neck, but that's all. The cut was so small that not even a drop of blood was spilled.

"Stand up."

Yang Zhai walked from behind the trees and came forward. He came and stood in front of Si Yu and Li Na.

Both of them stare at Yang Zhai in a daze.

Si Yu had just seen death and Li Na had just seen the real despair of losing the one you care about.

"What? Why are you saving them, weren't you the one who told me…"

The woman was about to say something and suddenly stopped.

Yang Zhai clenched his fist and the mouth of the woman shut closed. Yang Zhai had activated the Blood Demon Ka. He had not stopped its effects on her, so he didn't have to insert blood in her body again.

Yang Zhai looked behind and saw that Si Yu and Li Na both were in a daze, only focused on him.

When Yang Zhai saw this, he smiled.

Yang Zhai moved his finger and The Last One came from behind and pierced a cultivator with its nails.

"Who… who are you…" when the others saw this, they were shocked.

Yang Zhai activated the ice spear technique and an ice spear appeared that pierced another man.

Yang Zhai killed all the other cultivators except for the two: the woman and Ma Nik.

Yang Zhai activates the Blood Demon Ka to control Ma Nik as well.

"You two, stop staring at me. Don't you have something to do?" Yang Zhai says, looking at Si Yu and Li Na.

"Wh, what?" They were awakened from their daze and asked.

"Don't you feel angry at Ma Nik for punching me?" Yang Zhai asks.

"We do, we want to beat him to death!" Li Na shouts.

"Then, what are you waiting for?"

"Uh…"

When Yang Zhai says this, Ma Nik and the woman are shocked. Whereas, Si Yu and Li Na are shocked.

"What do you mean, brother?" Si Yu asks.

"Well, go ahead and kill them. Don't hold back, if it's for me, you can do anything "

Yang Zhai looks at Si Yu and Li Na, his gaze intense yet calm. "You both know what needs to be done," he says, his voice carrying a weight that neither of them can ignore.

"For you, I am more valuable than anything, right? If it's for my sake, you can do anything. Don't worry—nothing else matters in this world, no one else matters, as long as I am the one, right? If it's for me, you can kill anyone. You can do anything."

These two were just kids. Yang Zhai was playing with their minds. If these two killed today for Yang Zhai, then there was no turning back for them. Their brains would develop in the way Yang Zhai just chose for them.

Right now, their minds are extremely fragile because of what happened. Their gratitude towards Yang Zhai is extremely great.

Nobody to help.

Ma Nik and the woman stare at Yang Zhai. His words were not ordinary. Their eyes filled with shock. To them, this person is not a human.

Especially, the woman. She was told to kill these two kids if she wanted to survive. She realized this was all but a trap: not for just them, but also his companions.

He is not a human: thinks the woman.

"Remember, what did the cultivators do to your mother? She was burned alive. This world is cruel. So, why should you hold back? What did you do wrong? Nothing, right? I was beaten in front of you. In the future, they might even burn me alive. Would you allow that too?"

His tone: intense, but calm. His eyes indifferent, but his words? His words: like a sword.

"Stand up, go ahead. It's fair as long as you do it to protect someone you love. Nothing's wrong with it. Stand up…"

Yang Zhai looked at Li Na first. Li Na had already experienced the loss of a loved one, and just a moment ago, she experienced the fear of losing a loved one again. He knew that both of them loved him: to them, he was the only one left now.

When Li Na saw Yang Zhai's eyes, she stood up. A fear was still lingering in her head from a moment ago when Si Yu was about to die. Then Yang Zhai saved him. Her emotions were unstable.

"Yes, Brother Fen… you are right, they deserve death."

Li Na said with red eyes. Her anger and gratitude had already taken control of her mind.

She went closer to Ma Nik and placed her hand in front of his face.

Ma Nik stared at her hand with wide eyes. He couldn't do anything as Yang Zhai had taken control of his body with the Blood Demon Ka.

A darkness emerged from her hand and whipped at the man's whole face and neck. After a while, his whole face was covered in blood. Sharp cuts appeared on his face. His eyes also had a sharp cut in them.

Yang Zhai looked at this indifferently. However, the woman's eyes were wide open.

As for Si Yu, he was shocked, instead, he also stood up and walked closer to the woman.

The lady wanted to shout and tried her best to beg, but couldn't move.

Si Yu also placed his hand in front of the woman's face. Tears appear in her eyes because of the fear. It was getting difficult for her to breathe.

However, Si Yu didn't care and a light sword appeared out of his hand and pierced the woman's face. It appeared from the other side and disappeared after a while.

Yang Zhai had taught them quite a few techniques so far. Li Na felt that she was best suited for the dark path, so Yang Zhai taught her dark path techniques. As for Si Yu, he felt that he was more suited for the light path; thus, Yang Zhai told him about the light path technique.

Except for a few techniques, such as the Red Poison, they mostly developed in these two paths.

"Good, both of you did great."

Yang Zhai patted their heads, which made them happy. It's natural for people to seek praise, especially from those they look up to.

/!*****!*****!/