Chapter 39: Obedience

"Agh, it hurts!"

A Mystic Finger Realm cultivator crouched behind a massive boulder, grimacing in pain. He'd been struck by lightning—badly. The worst part? The location of the strike was… unfortunate.

'Why did it have to be right on the—?!'

Even as a third-level Mystic Finger Realm cultivator with considerable strength, he hadn't specifically fortified that area. The searing pain was unbearable, and the smell of charred flesh mixed with something far more unpleasant was nauseating. To make matters worse, residual arcs of electricity still danced across the wound, sending jolts of agony through his body.

"Brother, most of the others have already fled," he hissed through clenched teeth, glancing at his equally singed companion. "Should we leave too? This Moon Embracing Sect is downright cursed!"

"...Let's go." His elder brother's face—already darkened by soot—twisted further. "Tonight's been nothing but weirdness. If we stay any longer, I'm afraid…"

He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

'I can take a hit to the head, but a lightning strike to the—?! That's just cruel! Even if it heals eventually, who wants to endure that process?!'

Unless you had certain proclivities, no sane person would volunteer for such torment.

"Old Zhou, let's get out of here," the elder brother growled, forcing himself upright despite the lingering pain. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. 'We lurked in this damned rain all night, achieved nothing, got zapped multiple times, and now this?!'

In a fit of rage, he kicked the boulder in front of him, shattering it to pieces.

"Nice!" Old Zhou cheered weakly, though his enthusiasm was mostly relief that his brother hadn't kicked him instead.

But then—silence.

Old Zhou frowned. 'Why isn't Brother responding?' As he turned to look, the world suddenly spun. His vision blurred, and then—thud.

'Why is there a headless body standing there? And why does it look so familiar…?'

Darkness swallowed his consciousness.

The elder brother stared in horror at his own hands, then at Old Zhou's crushed skull beneath his foot. The once-proud head was now flattened beyond recognition, its contents spattered across the mud.

"W-what…?"

His entire body trembled. 'I—I killed Old Zhou?! How?! Why?!'

This was impossible! They'd sworn a blood oath never to betray each other—to raise a hand against a brother was to invite instant death!

"AHHHH!!!"

Agony erupted in his soul as the oath's backlash took hold. His scream echoed through the storm as his body convulsed, flesh and spirit unraveling simultaneously. Despair, fury, and regret warred in his final moments.

'If only we'd never come…'

Then—nothing.

…..

Elsewhere, similar scenes played out. Small skirmishes erupted among the remaining intruders, though these conflicts ended as abruptly as they began. In each case, one or two members of a group would suddenly turn violent, attacking their comrades without warning.

Though no one died (aside from the unfortunate oath-bound brothers), the damage to trust was irreparable. No amount of pleading—"I don't know what came over me!"—could convince the others. Even if they believed the claims, the conclusion was the same: This Moon Embracing Sect is wrong.

"This place is cursed! The Moon Embracing Sect is playing dirty—let's get out of here!"

"Fall back and regroup!"

"I'm reporting this to the family elders…"

One by one, the raiding parties retreated into the storm.

…..

Liu Xun's scalp prickled.

The lightning hadn't touched his group—their cultivation levels were among the highest present. But as he surveyed the battlefield, his unease grew. Nearly ninety percent of the forces had already fled! Only five or six groups remained, and even those were wavering.

The sole exceptions were the beastmen, whose bloodlust remained undimmed.

'How did it come to this?!' Liu Xun's mind raced. 'I watched the entire thing! The Moon Embracing Sect only sent two elders, and they barely did anything! So why—?!'

He'd witnessed it all, yet he couldn't make sense of it. Was his father right? Was the Moon Embracing Sect truly gaining the upper hand?

This is insane!

Beside him, an elder whispered urgently, "Young Master, prepare yourself. The beastmen are about to strike. Per the family head's orders, we must…"

"I know!" Liu Xun snapped, his face dark.

He might not understand how, but he had one saving grace: obedience. Especially to his father.

"Ready yourselves," he commanded. "We capture those beasts and befriend the Moon Embracing Sect!"

The elders exhaled in relief. For a moment, they'd worried he might balk. But Liu Xun, for all his confusion, knew better than to defy family wisdom.