Chapter 51: Isn't He a Venerable?
Bloodnight Street.
As the apocalypse loomed, human nature's darkest aspects surfaced amidst the carnage. Screams of terror mixed with manic laughter while some cowered in fear and others indulged in final, desperate pleasures.
Swish—
A blade flashed, severing the head of a red-eyed man mid-laugh. The decapitated body sprayed blood as it collapsed to its knees with a sickening thud.
"Ah!" A disheveled woman in the corner screamed instinctively before clamping a hand over her mouth, trembling as she stared at the black-robed figure by the window.
The masked figure - clad in black with a red peach mask - cleaned his blade with practiced efficiency before pressing his wrist against the dead man's forehead. A faint glow seeped into his bracelet.
"Still not enough. Far from it," Mu Qingtong muttered coldly, frowning at the corpse-strewn street beyond the window.
Clatter—
A faint noise made her turn. The cornered woman had scrambled up, clutching an infant, and knocked over a lamp in her haste.
When the black-robed figure approached, sheer terror overwhelmed the woman. She bolted for the door, child clutched tightly.
Yet in an instant, he materialized before her, bloodied blade at her throat. Frozen, she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for death—
But it never came.
Peeking through squinted eyes, she saw the masked figure standing motionless, his eerie peach mask unreadable.
"The coward draws his blade on the innocent; the weak turn their swords on the weaker."
The words echoed in Mu Qingtong's mind—her junior brother's voice dripping with scorn. "Mu Qingtong, I am disappointed in you!"
Her expression flickered, brows knitting then relaxing as if wrestling with some internal debate.
The woman remained frozen, barely daring to breathe.
Then—
"Forget it. You're not the only one."
With that cold murmur, the black-robed figure sheathed his blade and vanished through the window.
The woman slumped against the wall, sweat beading on her forehead. After a long silence, she whispered, "Thank you... thank you."
Mu Qingtong carved a bloody path down the street. The afflicted displayed varying symptoms—some turned suicidal, others murderous, a few even gnashing their teeth like rabid animals. Sanity had all but vanished here.
Ten minutes later, Pingshan Hospital's silhouette emerged in the distance. Before approaching, she withdrew a transparent glass box from her robes.
Inside floated a violet prism, its countless facets shimmering like starlit crystal. Suddenly, it dissolved into swirling, cross-shaped mist before reforming—a cycle repeating endlessly.
This experimental trump card carried terrible risks. She'd planned to gather more corrupted souls to refine it, but with Xia Feng's life hanging by a thread...
"Time to gamble."
She'd left Bloodnight Street three hours prior to retrieve this artifact, only to return and find the district transformed. The souls she'd harvested were a drop in the ocean.
Taking a deep breath, she exhaled softly. "Mr. Xia... I hope you're still alive."
With that, she streaked toward Pingshan Hospital.
...
Above the churning sea of malevolent clouds, a golden slit split the sky, widening into an imposing gate.
A dozen figures emerged—men and women in bloodied robes and windbreakers, each forehead branded with a bone-white sigil.
Jiu Ye crouched in his sandals, sliding his heart-shaped sunglasses down to peer at the city below. "District 51's central hub—impressively vast. I do love large things."
Just then, a figure shot up from the cloudbank. The group turned.
"Clown, you're late," Jiu Ye chided, frowning.
The Clown landed, sighing. "Master Jiu, complications arose."
"You didn't let our intruder escape, did you?" Lan Hu's muscular frame tensed as he spoke, his gravelly voice dripping with aggression.
"Escape?" The Clown shot Lan Hu a withering look. "Why don't you go challenge that Venerable yourself if you're so brave?"
Lan Hu's face froze. "Venerable?"
With a derisive snort, the Clown summarized the events in the disaster zone.
"...When I pursued him, both the Spade and Yan Xujia had vanished. Yan Xujia's probably dead."
Lan Hu burst into mocking laughter. "You're calling the Spade a Venerable? Did he even demonstrate that level of power?"
"He drank seventy cups of concentrated soulwine," the Clown stated gravely.
"Tsk-" Lan Hu clicked his tongue. "That's your evidence? What if he cheated? You and Mino got played."
The Clown's lips twisted in contempt. "Mino scanned him personally. His power was completely undetectable. Who but a Venerable could manage that?"
"Enough!" Jiu Ye's icy command silenced them both.
Lan Hu's mouth snapped shut.
Jiu Ye studied the Clown. "If he's truly a Venerable, why did Boss Yu kick him into the disaster realm so easily? Why didn't he resist capture?"
The Clown hesitated. The truth - that the Spade might have been feigning weakness to infiltrate them - seemed ridiculous even to him now.
Seeing his companions' skeptical expressions, he swallowed his explanation.
Could I have been deceived? he wondered.
Jiu Ye adjusted his heart-shaped sunglasses with a chuckle. "A true Venerable wouldn't ignore this chaos."
Turning to Lan Hu, he commanded: "Initiate the Loft Void self-destruct sequence. The time has come."
His lips curled into a predatory grin. "This city belongs to Divine Evil now."
...
"Any sign of them?"
Taoist Chen and Freya reconvened near Pingshan Hospital.
Freya shook her head. "Nothing. You?"
"Same." Taoist Chen sighed. "They're likely dead. Just bad luck - no one survives Bloodnight Street."
Freya's hands clenched. To lose such a promising sword prodigy...
"What a waste," Taoist Chen lamented. "Xia had the makings of an exceptional Sunflower Sword disciple."
"Enough about your sect," Freya snapped, then stiffened. "Look up. We need shelter - now."
Above them, the nightmare-beast clouds writhed and compressed, their dark masses merging ominously.
The prelude to detonation. When those twenty Loft Void exploded, the corruptive wave would engulf the city in moments, transforming half its inhabitants into monstrosities.
Bzzzt—
The clouds convulsed, emitting a teeth-grinding shriek.
"Countdown's started. Back to the nightmare cave," Taoist Chen urged.
Freya nodded - then froze.
"Wait. What is that?!"
(End of Chapter)