Chapter Twelve: The First Kill

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Staring at Lin Junxiu, who had appeared out of nowhere, Wan Yi furrowed his brows and asked in a low voice, “Peak Master Lin, what brings you here in the middle of the night?”

As he spoke, Wan Yi began to wonder. Ever since the Slaying the Emperor Art had issued its own warning, he had used the technique to sense his surroundings, yet he had never been able to detect the source of the anomaly.

It was only after Lin Junxiu came within a hundred paces of him that he finally sensed his presence. What did that mean?

It meant the damn technique had a range limit!

Once that possibility occurred to him, Wan Yi broke out in a cold sweat. The Slaying the Emperor Art might be incredibly powerful, but what would he do if it could not harm enemies more than a hundred paces away?

At that thought, he instinctively shifted a little closer to Lin Junxiu.

At the same time, Lin Junxiu spoke from across the way. “Boy, I know you possess a supreme treasure capable of restraining those in the Emperor Realm. If you know what is good for you, hand it over obediently. Otherwise...”

As he spoke, the greed and murderous intent in his eyes were laid bare.

Hearing this, Wan Yi understood. So Lin Junxiu had secretly attacked him while he was fighting Zhu Peng earlier that day.

However, thanks to the Slaying the Emperor Art, the attack had been nullified. Wan Yi had been completely focused on dealing with Zhu Peng at the time, so he had failed to notice Lin Junxiu’s little trick.

When all was said and done, it was simply because he had been careless. That was what had led Lin Junxiu to believe he possessed some supreme treasure.

But this was also a good thing. Since Lin Junxiu had grown greedy, he would not reveal Wan Yi’s secret to anyone else. In that case, there was nothing left for Wan Yi to fear.

Once he understood the truth, Wan Yi immediately felt like having a little fun at the other man’s expense. He put on an expression of shock and nervousness, covering his chest with both hands as though he were afraid someone might snatch away whatever he was hiding there.

Raising his voice, he shouted, “What supreme treasure? I don’t have anything! Don’t make things up!”

Though he denied it with his words, his actions said everything.

Lin Junxiu’s blood began to boil with excitement. His adrenaline surged, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

A supreme treasure capable of restraining an Emperor Realm expert—if word of this got out, every Emperor Realm powerhouse in the world would go mad.

He raised his right hand and pointed at the area around Wan Yi’s chest from a distance, coaxing him gently. “Boy, hand over what you have hidden in your robes. This Emperor will take you as his disciple and ensure that no one dares bully you in the future!

“You must understand that no matter how powerful a treasure is, you still need the ability to protect it. Besides, with your cultivation, you can barely activate that treasure even once, can’t you?

“A treasure you cannot fully control is no different from garbage, no matter how great its power may be, if you cannot activate it.

“With your current strength, if someone other than this Emperor had come looking for you tonight, you would already be dead!”

Lin Junxiu had not chosen this approach because he was unwilling to kill Wan Yi and seize the treasure outright. He was worried that the treasure hidden in Wan Yi’s robes might contain some other deadly technique in addition to the art that could restrain Emperor Realm cultivators.

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Before he understood the truth, he had chosen to deceive Wan Yi. Once he tricked the treasure out of him, Wan Yi would be a dead man.

Meanwhile, Wan Yi took advantage of the delay to survey his surroundings, checking whether anyone else was concealed nearby.

After looking around, he saw that there was no one present besides himself and Lin Junxiu—and he smiled.

He cursed inwardly, “Damn it. Better to avoid complications. I’m done playing with you!”

As he thought this, he put on an expression of being moved by Lin Junxiu’s offer and reached his right hand into his robes, fumbling around.

He even said to Lin Junxiu, “Peak Master Lin, you really are willing to take me as your disciple?”

Hearing this, Lin Junxiu’s anxious heart nearly leapt into his throat. He swallowed and nodded repeatedly. “Of course! From this day forward, you will be my foremost disciple! As for that Zhu Peng, your master will kill him for you once we return!”

A hint of delight appeared on Wan Yi’s face. “Really?”

“Of course. This Emperor always keeps his word!”

Seeing that the conversation had reached this point while Wan Yi’s hand continued to fumble inside his robes, Lin Junxiu grew impatient.

“Hurry up!”

At this, Wan Yi could not help flashing an evil grin. He pulled his hand from his robes, clenched it into a fist, raised his middle finger, and gave Lin Junxiu an unmistakable gesture.

“Here you go! Screw you!”

Lin Junxiu nearly vomited blood at the sight.

He had actually been played by this fellow—a mere Qi Refining disciple who worked as a dung hauler!

His eyes bulging with rage, he roared, “You insolent brat! How dare you toy with me? You must have a death wish!”

As he spoke, he raised his hand and struck from afar with a single palm.

This attack contained the full power of an early-stage Emperor Realm expert.

The fierce force of his palm howled through the air and reached Wan Yi in an instant.

Yet in the next moment, a bizarre scene unfolded.

Wan Yi calmly raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The palm force that had been so overbearing just moments before vanished with a soft pop.

The culprit then said blandly, “That’s it?”

Lin Junxiu was completely dumbfounded by Wan Yi’s bizarre maneuver. He roared inwardly, “What kind of nonsense is this?!”

Unwilling to accept defeat, he changed his technique, joining two fingers together like a sword and slashing out a blade of sword energy.

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Yet the result was the same. The sword energy, powerful enough to split mountains and sever rivers, was caught in Wan Yi’s hand as though it were a solid object when it came within two steps of him.

After casually playing with it for a moment, Wan Yi clenched his hand into a fist and crushed it with another soft pop.

Lin Junxiu was now completely stunned. Realizing that something was terribly wrong, he turned and tried to flee.

But Wan Yi had no intention of letting him leave. The instant Lin Junxiu turned around, Wan Yi spoke.

“Freeze!”

Empowered by the Slaying the Emperor Art, his words became law. Lin Junxiu was instantly fixed in place by the power of Heaven’s Dao.

Wan Yi was having the time of his life. He leisurely walked forward and, once he reached Lin Junxiu, seized the man’s right wrist.

He lifted Lin Junxiu’s arm, stripped the storage ring from his hand, and tucked it into his own robes.

Pinned in place, Lin Junxiu’s eyes were filled with terror. Cold sweat poured down his forehead, and his voice trembled as he said, “There’s something wrong with you! Who are you, really? Why have you infiltrated the Vast Sect?”

Wan Yi gave a mocking smile. “Damn it, a man about to die still has so many questions! If you get another life, remember not to be so arrogant.”

With that, he swung his arm in a wide arc and slapped Lin Junxiu across the face. At the same time, he softly uttered a single word.

“Explode!”

Bang!

The instant his palm struck Lin Junxiu’s face, the man exploded into a cloud of blood mist, leaving not even a trace of his remains.

At the same moment Lin Junxiu burst apart, Wan Yi sensed through the Slaying the Emperor Art that an extremely pure stream of origin power had escaped from the man’s body before finally dispersing into Heaven and Earth.

As that origin power returned to the world, Wan Yi felt as though something had been added to his own body. Yet after examining himself, he could find nothing tangible.

The vague, indescribable sensation left him deeply irritated—almost frantic.

Wan Yi raised his head toward the sky, his eyes filled with confusion, and muttered, “Is this the bond of Heaven’s Dao?

“Cheap old master, what use is this thing supposed to be? You weren’t lying to me, were you? You didn’t dig a pit for me before dying, did you?

“Why do I feel like I’ve just stabbed Heaven’s Dao right in the ass?!”

To be continued...

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