Tainted Blood

by Tinalynge

  His plans did not stop at just killing Primordial Beast Hunters. Although he aimed to kill all the Primordial Beast Hunters that had a blood feud with him, he also wanted to kill those who were behind the grudge that had been created back then. Anyone who had taken part in the mission ought to die, including those who had a hand in the whole thing escalating like this—the ones who claimed that Xue Wei was a Primordial Beast.

  If they had not believed Chu Huiyin back then, they would never have caused things to grow this much and Tie Haolong would still have been alive. In fact, Xue Wei blamed these people just as much as he blamed the Primordial Beast Hunters that served as the weapons that were used to oppress him.

  While they were not exactly slow, it still took them quite some time to reach the capital of Heping Kingdom.

  On their way, no one caused problems for them. Since they could fly as fast as they could, most thought that they were Primordial Beast Hunters, so no one caused problems for them but withdrew and looked at them with adoration and veneration.

  Xue Wei had no intention of taking out his rage on the commoners within the kingdom, but he was aware that his revenge would cause the already troubled Heping Kingdom to be even more troubled in the future.

  By getting rid of the majority of their Primordial Beast Hunters, they were bound to have a lot of trouble withstanding the beast hordes in the future, but this was something that the kingdom had brought upon itself in Xue Wei’s eyes.

  Even if the entire kingdom was left desolate, it was the king’s fault when he decided to cause such a scene with him and Tie Haolong.

  As they arrived at the capital, Xue Wei did not fly into it. Instead, he hovered right in the air above the city, looking down at it with cold eyes.

  This city had both an outer and an inner city; the inner city was where most cultivators and even a few Diviners were present.

  “I, Xue Wei, have returned to Heping Kingdom to settle scores!” Xue Wei infused his voice with Qi and yelled out. His voice penetrated through the entire city, including the royal palace housing the king and his family.

  Since the prince and everyone in the inner city heard him, obviously the ones in the outer city heard it too, but the ordinary citizens were confused.

  Who was Xue Wei? They had all forgotten as time went by since he had left. Although he had made a dramatic exit back then, it had not mattered much to the common folk.

  “Xue Wei. Is that not the human name of the Crimson Devil?” A few people in the crowd remembered the name. Some of them looked incredibly fearful, while others were laughing and looking down on Xue Wei appearing in the air like this.

  Next to Xue Wei were Bai Tianyi, Hei Gou, and Lin Xiao. All four of them looked imposing as they hovered in the air above the capital, but no one dared move towards them. Even the proudest Primordial Beast Hunters had holed up in their mansions.

  These experts were no fools. If Xue Wei had appeared here and declared his arrival like this, it meant that he was confident in his own strength. A glance at their cultivation bases was enough to make them all shrink their necks and want to appear as invisible as possible.

  It was simply impossible to determine the cultivation bases of any of these experts that were hovering in the air, meaning that all of them were above the Heavenly Warrior rank.

  Fear started creeping into the hearts of every person below. Why had the experts from the palace not come out yet? The commoners started to fear for their lives.

  But the only thing that met Xue Wei was silence. No one was willing to step up to attack him. All of them knew that they would be killed right away if they tried.

  Xue Wei was here to kill everyone who had participated in the battle against him and Tie Haolong, and he was not going to let any of them go.

  Seeing that no one came out to meet him, Xue Wei considered for a moment before he looked at Bai Tianyi. “All of you stay here,” he said commandingly.

  “If someone comes out to meet you, then make them wait till I arrive or kill them if they act uncouthly. If someone tries to flee, kill them right away!”

  “Where are you going?” Hei Gou asked curiously. Xue Wei sighed. “I am going to the Genius Camp,” he said seriously.

  “It is a place where every young man and woman from the continent are sent to improve their strength and become experts. The leader of that place is the one at fault for the mistake back then. He should never dream of having an easy time.”

  Having said this, Xue Wei nodded to Bai Tianyi and the others before turning around and flying away.

  Many were breathing out in relief when they saw he vanished, but moments after this relief turned to worry as the rest of the experts remained where they were in the air

  Some got ready to escape, knowing that they had no option than to let their heads fall on the chopping block once Xue Wei returns and descends upon them.

  They should definitely try to flee as fast as they could. While this was happening, Xue Wei flew towards the Genius Camp.

  The trip to the Genius Camp was rather short. It was located almost right outside the capital, and looking at it brought memories back to Xue Wei of the year he had spent there. Many things had happened in the time he had lived there, but it was also the beginning of the disaster that later struck him.

  He hovered in the air above the camp, looking down on a lot of youngsters who were passing by. Some noticed him and stopped curiously. Soon, a commotion broke out in the camp as all of them curiously looked up at him in the air.

  Was he a Primordial Beast Hunter who had come to their Genius Camp for some reason? To be able to hang in the air like that meant he was at least a Sky Warrior.

  “Have the commander of the Genius Camp come out to see me,” Xue Wei said, his Qi-enhanced voice reaching every part of the camp.

  The youngsters were shocked. They had never thought of using their Qi in this way.

  The commander had heard the call as well. He exited his tent in a rage and flew into the air. This commander was a Heavenly Warrior, and as a result he did not fear anyone in the Heping Kingdom.

  He never bothered to check Xue Wei’s cultivation base. When he saw his face, the commander turned pale because he recognized the other right away, but he did not flee. He was still completely certain of his own strength.

  “You!” he called out with furious voice. “You beast, how dare you show up here?!”

  The man did not infuse Qi into his voice, but he was yelling out loud, so those close by could still hear him.

  “I have come to settle our scores from back then,” Xue Wei said casually while looking at the angry man who was pointing at him.

  “Crimson Devil, don’t think that showing up here means you can win, that I don’t have a way to deal with you!” The commander was filled with hatred and anger. He hated beasts to the core, and from the very beginning, he had been certain that Xue Wei was, in fact, a beast.

  Xue Wei just smiled slightly as he kept hovering in the air. He said nothing, but murderous killing intent started to seep out from his body and his eyes had turned as cold as ice.

  The commander was a war veteran. He had been in so many life and death struggles against the beasts that he had lost count, and he could sense the sudden danger that exploded from Xue Wei.

  He did not retreat. Instead, he accelerated towards Xue Wei, still feeling that he was much stronger than this young man. He had lived for much longer, and he was recognized as a genius. He refused to believe that this young man had overtaken him, and frankly the possibility of that happening had never crossed his mind.

  Seeing the man rush at him, Xue Wei did not feel any pleasure. He did not feel excited at the idea of killing him, but the man had to die!

  Stretching out his arm, he prepared to welcome the charging commander. As they reached each other, a boom sounded out. A shockwave erupted from the place where their hands connected, but the expression on everyone’s faces, except Xue Wei’s, twisted.

  Up in the air, Xue Wei had
stopped him with a single hand that had grasped his fist. A cracking sound came out as the fingers of the hand which had grabbed the fist started to clamp inward.

  Xue Wei shook his head. He felt empty right now, even as he was about to begin his revenge. Melancholy struck him and a part of him started to reflect on everything. Nothing would have happened if he had not used the draconic arms back then.

  Lan had warned him about it, but he still got caught up in his own excitement and used the transformation like an idiot. Still, that did not free those who were directly involved in Tie Haolong’s death of their guilt.

  After crushing the commander’s hand, Xue Wei had lost all desire to mess with him as he had initially planned.

  Inner Might: Qi Sword Style!

  A sword quickly cut through the neck of the commander, separating his head from the rest of the body.

  It only lasted for a moment, but the execution was so fast that no one could have seen it coming. The youngsters of the Genius Camp below grew fearful. Their eyes were filled with dread. Were they going to be slaughtered now?

  Chapter 34 - A Slaughter

  Xue Wei glanced down at every member of the Genius Camp. He scanned them with disinterest. Executing everyone here would be as simple as killing chickens, but he was not interested in doing so.

  Although he was here to avenge Tie Haolong, he had no intention of venting his rage on civilians or people who had no part in the events of that day.

  After seeing their commander die such a swift death, the experts that had planned to rush into the air to assist him sobered up and understood that they were not his match.

  Xue Wei used his spiritual energy to scan the area. A few people seemed familiar; some of them had been the loudest voices when he was condemned.

  Inner Might: Qi Arrow Style!

  Arrows made from Qi appeared on his hands and with a simple gesture. They shot at the experts that were hiding. They were the ones who did not expect Xue Wei to snuff them out so cleanly, and thus they never managed to even let out a scream before the arrows struck them.

  The moment the arrows reached their mark, they turned into giant dragons of qi that roared loudly, releasing their energy and killing the experts on the spot. Their bodies exploded into a bloody mist. They could not handle the overwhelming power imbued into the Qi dragons.

  After finishing off the people who had taken part in causing Xue Wei’s downfall, Xue Wei glanced at the rest a second time before he snorted and left, leaving them heaving heavy sighs of relief. It seemed as if they had escaped a great calamity.

  Xue Wei returned to the capital after a short flight. When he arrived, he saw his friends who were in the air at the exact same spot as they had been when he left. However, he could smell the pungent smell of blood this time.

  Looking down, he saw that there were quite a few people who had died in their attempts to escape.

  “Thank you,” Xue Wei knew that these people would never bully the weak like this if not for him, and he felt grateful. Amongst the dead, he had recognized quite a few faces.

  “I have no intention of executing you all,” Xue Wei announced to the city with a voice enhanced by Qi, making the still and silent place suddenly perk up with hope.

  “When I was last here, everyone was willing to attack me. Everyone was willing to kill an innocent soul just to get me, and thus I want all involved in the hunt of me and my friend to die.”

  “Everyone, make a heavenly oath! Make a heavenly oath that states that you took no part in the chase of me and my brother Tie Haolong. Those who survive this oath will be allowed to live.”

  “Now take the oath, or I will bathe the city in blood. I will not let even the animals escape this fate!”

  One after another, they began swearing the oath. It was mainly the citizens who swore. The higher-ups were not willing to do it. They knew they could not contend with a heavenly oath, and thus they would most likely die.

  “I will take you on!” someone screamed out loud as he flew into the air. “I do not believe that you can take care of all of us!” another yelled, and suddenly everyone with a guilty conscience flew into the air ready to face Xue Wei and his friends.

  Around a hundred to two hundred experts flew up into the air. They glared at Xue Wei and his companions.

  “You cannot kill us all!” someone sneered. Xue Wei chuckled. He lifted his hand and a stream of Qi spiraled around his arm like a big azure dragon.

  Xue Wei looked at the masses, contemplating how to deal with them all. He would have a hard time killing them off if they scattered about in every direction, but they, fortunately for him, did not seem to be planning to do so.

  They were a lot of experts against only four. Even if their cultivation bases were lower than Xue Wei and his friends, the sheer amount of experts on their side gave them courage.

  Xue Wei was relieved. He did not believe that they could actually pose any threat to him, but he did know that he would be helpless if they decided to flee. Since they had no intention of fleeing, then he had a chance to execute them all.

  “Gou, take care of anyone who flees,” Xue Wei ordered, and Hei Gou nodded his head, taking the task very solemnly.

  “Xiao, I doubt you are willing to participate in the slaughter of common folk. Although they have bad blood with me, they have done nothing wrong to you. Having you kill them might just give you a heart demon.”

  “Tianyi, you support Gou in hunting the ones that flee. I doubt you can even get a heart demon, so don’t hold back!”

  Bai Tianyi smiled wryly. It was true that he could not get a heart demon, but he had never thought that Xue Wei could have guessed this.

  The truth was that the only ones who had experienced the torment of that dreadful chase was Xue Wei and Hei Gou. If they did not vent the frustrations in their hearts when given the chance, it was possible that they would end up with a heart demon.

  But these were all Heavenly Warriors. Killing them should be simple. Someone like Bai Tianyi who had been at the apex of the world regarded Heavenly Warriors as ants.

  To actually entertain the idea of letting them flee was something he had never once considered. This was the arrogance that came with having been at the very peak of the world.

  Xue Wei had become unbelievably strong compared to his past self. He had climbed to where he was by walking on a mountain of corpses, through a river of blood. He had fought in an untold number of life and death situations.

  He was prideful, but he was not arrogant. He knew his own ability and that he could not properly put an end to this feud should they start fleeing.

  He could kill them one at a time, or he could transform into an Azure Dragon and straight out chomp down on them one after the other—maybe even take a few at a time now that his awakened bloodline had increased his other form’s size.

  Xue Wei’s eyes suddenly brightened. Since he had awakened his bloodline, this also meant that he had awakened his innate abilities.

  One of those abilities was to create a Qi Azure Dragon—a copy of himself—that would have the exact same strength as himself for a period of time. Naturally, it came with a heavy price.

  The price to summon a Qi Azure Dragon was that he would use basically half of his total Qi, and it would permanently cost him a layer of cultivation afterwards.

  This layer would not be returned to him—he would have to cultivate it back up the same way he had done previously.

  There were two kinds of Qi Azure Dragons. One was the regular Qi Azure Dragon, and the other was a Devouring Qi Azure Dragon.

  The regular Qi Azure Dragon was able to last for the time it took to eat a meal, while the Devouring Azure Dragon only lasted for as long as it took to brew a cup of tea.

  The Devouring Qi Azure Dragon was capable of absorbing the cultivation base of the ones it consumed and directly deliver that to its controller.

  Although the Devouring Qi Azure Dragon could run rampant for the time it took to brew a cup of tea, it was susc
eptible to group fire. So while it could absorb a lot, but the risks were also similarly heavy.

  Xue Wei decided to summon the Devouring Qi Azure Dragon. Qi flowed out of his body liked a whirlpool in front of him, swiftly manifesting into the shape of a hundred meter long dragon.

  It was abnormally detailed; the scales on the body glistened in the sunshine, and the teeth were so razor sharp that the crowd below felt a chill down their spine. The eyes of this azure dragon were not devoid of life. They were actually filled with battle intent. It seemed as if it had an intelligence of its own.