In the blink of an eye, Lordi Payne lunged forward, the Life-Loathing Blade tracing a vivid red arc through the air as it slashed viciously toward Miu Toanh's head!
Miu Toanh's face twisted in panic. His Dao Fulu was moments away from activation. He dodged aside—but with all his spiritual energy poured into the Dao Fulu, his body felt heavy and sluggish, far slower than usual, unable to keep up with his reflexes.
Despite his desperate effort, he only narrowly avoided a killing blow. The blade still cut deep into his shoulder!
With a scream, his arm was severed, flying through the air. At the same moment, the Dao Fulu in his hand finally completed its activation. A faint glow flared, morphing into a longsword brimming with chilling Sword Qi, which rocketed forth!
The Sword Qi surged with unstoppable force, thrusting with into the nearby wall.
A bowl-sized hole gaped in the lodge's wall surface. The sword Qi streaked into the night, vanishing from sight.
Miu Toanh stared at the hole, his face draining of color, a chill gripping him like ice.
This Sword Qi Dao Fulu was a gift from his brother—his ultimate trump card for survival.
But losing his arm in a sudden, excruciating burst of pain and shock had thrown off his aim. Not only had the Dao Fulu missed Lordi Payne, but it had also drained every ounce of his spiritual energy!
The power of that thing was insane!
Lordi Payne's pupils shrank as he eyed the hole. If that strike had hit him, he'd be dead or crippled.
Good thing his blade was faster!
No telling if Miu Toanh had more Dao Fulu like it—he had to finish him quick! With that, Lordi Payne swung again, aiming for Miu Toanh's neck!
Just then, a figure leaped up behind him. Chou Ease, hair wild and eyes venomous, clutched a short dagger glowing with a sickly green light—clearly coated with deadly venom. He sprang high, stabbing at Lordi Payne's heart.
Lordi Payne caught the sound of movement and, without thinking, swung the blade backhand. It carved through Chou Ease's midsection, sending him flying backward in a spray of blood!
Chou Ease crashed through tables and chairs, not stopping until he slammed into the wall. He slid down, leaving a gruesome smear of blood on the surface, motionless—whether dead or alive, unknown.
Lordi Payne raised the Blade of Life Hater again, slashing at Miu Toanh.
Despair and defiance flashed in Miu Toanh's eyes as he roared, "You dare kill me? My senior sibling's an inner sect—"
His words were cut off as the blade sliced through his throat. A splash of crimson sprayed, his eyes bulged, and his body slumped slowly to the floor...
Seeing this, the tension coiled in Lordi Payne finally unwound a fraction.
He exhaled heavily, then gave the system a one-star review.
[AllFullOS: Version 1.0.0]
> Submitted. Thanks for your feedback.
After catching his breath for a few minutes, his stamina mostly restored, Lordi Payne got up and rummaged through the trio's belongings.
Forget about the fine for wrecking the room—killing three outer sect disciples already meant a fine ranging from 30,000 to 90,000 D$t!
If he couldn't hand over the money within three months, he'd be demoted from outer sect disciple to raw material, split among the sect's mountain peaks.
"These three had backers and status—their stuff's gotta be worth something," Lordi Payne reasoned, scouring the room at top speed. But aside from some bottles and jars on the table, the most valuable finds were three distinct storage pouches.
The problem was, even with their owners dead, the pouches remained locked by defensive wards. Lordi Payne tried everything to open them—but nothing worked.
As for the bottles and jars left in the room, they seemed to contain the healing supplies the trio had just used. Aside from the system's "gifted" Spirit Nourishing Pills, Lordi Payne couldn't recognize any of them.
"Dang..." Lordi Payne gathered the pouches and non-pill items. No matter how he looked at it, selling these items would probably fetch him no more than five spirit stones.
Weighing his options quickly, he decided to master the Blood Fiend Blade Art first to solve the threat of Fairy Lith's ten-day deadline.
"System, I want to cultivate! Select the Blood Fiend Blade Art, Smart Duration! One-Click-Cultivation!"
The system chimed, seemingly in a happy mood.
~ Ding! System Notification Chime
[AllFullOS: Version 1.0.0]
> All-Smart Full-Host Cultivation System™ is at your service!
> [OCC] - One-Click-Cultivation activated.
Features: Temporary practice, smart duration, and questionable decision-making.
Soon, notifications flooded in:
~ Ding! System Notification Chime
[AllFullOS: Version 1.0.0]
> Detected severe depletion of host's Spirit Energy. Pending...
> Executing optimal solution...
> All-Smart Full-Host Cultivation System™ has decided to be GENEROUS today!
> Spirit Restore Pills x5 will be gifted to the host for FREE.
~ Ding! System Notification Chime
[AllFullOS: Version 1.0.0]
> Executing optimal solution...
> All-Smart Full-Host Cultivation System™ has decided to be GENEROUS today!
> Health Restore Pills x3 will be gifted to the host for FREE.
~ Ding! System Notification Chime
[AllFullOS: Version 1.0.0]
Moments later, the system controlled Lordi Payne's body, popping the last pill into his mouth. Lordi Payne stood up, his head forcibly turned toward Miu Toanh and Chou Ease, who lay sprawled in pools of blood. Grabbing the Life-Loathing Blade, the system chimed again.
~ Ding! System Notification Chime
[AllFullOS: Version 1.0.0]
> Detected lack of Cultivation Material: [Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator Essence Blood] (Error: 191)
- Error: Insufficient materials for cultivation.
> Executing optimal solution...
> All-Smart Full-Host Cultivation System™ has decided to be GENEROUS today!
> Qi Refinement Stage cultivators x2 will be gifted to the host for FREE.
Before the system's announcement settled, the faint blood mist on the Blade of Life Hater boiled, splitting into two in midair and diving toward Miu Toanh and Chou Ease!
Chou Ease's bloodcurdling scream split the air. Lordi Payne jolted—he wasn't dead?! He'd been faking it all along!
But the blood mist lunging at Chou Ease was ravenous, undeterred by his living state. If anything, it intensified its plunder of his essence blood.
Chou Ease's face contorted in agony, as if enduring unspeakable torment. Already gravely wounded and clinging to a slim hope of playing dead—hence his silence during Lordi Payne's earlier rest—he couldn't hold out. His cries weakened rapidly. Soon, like Lee Sagwon before him, his body was drained of all blood and vitality, his soul dragged back to the blade.
The mist showed no mercy, shredding his soul to pieces!
Meanwhile, Miu Toanh was truly dead. The mist plunged into him, yanking out a streak of bloodlight. The blade's crimson sheen flared back to a vivid scarlet.
After Miu Toanh's soul was torn apart as well, the system chimed.
~ Ding! System Notification Chime
[AllFullOS: Version 1.0.0]
> Cultivation Material: [Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator Essence Blood]
- Status: Gifted successfully.
> Resuming cultivation process...
Stepping carelessly over their corpses, the system resumed the Blood Fiend Blade Art. Drained by the blade art, these two bodies—like Lee Sagwon's—crumbled to ash in moments, scattered by the blade's swirling winds, leaving behind only scant traces.
Lordi Payne was speechless. At this point, nothing this brain-dead system did could shock him anymore.
It drilled the Blood Fiend Blade Art again and again, tirelessly. As dawn faintly brightened the eastern sky, Lordi Payne grew anxious.
Then, a sudden lightness washed over him.
It was as if he'd broken free from the chains of a cramped jail. In that instant, he felt the Blade of Life Hater in his hand as weightless as a feather—almost nonexistent!