A single b.l.o.o.d.y streak of light shot through the azure skies. Flying at unbelievable speeds, this streak of light was seemingly running off in a single direction somewhere.
Within this light was Gui Nu and Mo Ni.
“d.a.m.n! d.a.m.nit! d.a.m.n it all!!”
Mo Ni howled with rage. With how he was cursing over and over, one would think someone had killed his dog or something.
It wasn’t supposed to go this way! He came here on this trip with his father and ancestor so he could regain the confidence he had lost! He wanted to see what the Fate School had to offer and become stronger! It was a journey of conquest where they were supposed to be the victors!
And yet…
“Bai Yunfei…Bai Yunfei!!! Ahhhh!!!”
Mo Ni roared, cursing Bai Yunfei’s name with as much hatred he could muster.
If there had been any lingering thoughts of him being Bai Yunfei’s ‘rival’, the scene he witnessed just a moment ago had shattered that into thousands of pieces. He thought about how he had once been proud to call Bai Yunfei a ‘genius’ of his caliber. Now, Mo Ni had nothing but envious hatred for him.
It wasn’t just Bai Yunfei anymore! There was someone else his age that was even stronger than he was! That Li Chengfeng! When they fought, Mo Ni could distinctly see that Li Chengfeng wasn’t anywhere as stressed as he was. And to make matters even worse, Mo Ni knew that he wouldn’t be able to win against him!
But the final nail in the coffin was when he was trying to escape. Though he managed to do so, Mo Ni was forced to concede the needle to Li Chengfeng!
That was his strongest demon armament! A demon armament he spent far too much time and energy killing soul cultivators to ‘grow’! If he had just a little more time with it, Mo Ni was confident his needle would’ve been as strong as the demon core Dongfang Ming had! But now…that needle was gone!
“Ah!! Ahhhh!!! Ahhhhh!!!!!”
This time, Mo Ni’s voice was starting to grow hoa.r.s.e. His eyes were bloodshot even due to the intense emotions running through his mind.
Then, his cries of anger were cut off abruptly as if someone had suddenly seized hold of his throat. Eyes widening, Mo Ni immediately doubled up in pain.
“Pfft!!”
Completely out of the blue, Mo Ni spat out a mouthful of blood!
Face flushed, Mo Ni wiped at his robes to rid the blood from his mouth. He coughed several times as his body spasmed with pain, his eyes revealing the horror he was feeling.
“The…the Black Dragon King is dead?!”
The loss of the Black Dragon King stunned Mo Ni. He simply never imagined that such a day would come.
He turned to look behind him where the Black Dragon King had been, dazed.
“He’s…he’s dead! I can’t believe it!”
“Pft!!”
A stab of pain shot through Mo Ni again at that moment, causing him to spit out another mouthful of blood.
“Gui Nu! Stop!!”
Gui Nu came to an immediate stop at Mo Ni’s command. Hovering near a cliff, Gui Nu quickly excavated a small cave for Mo Ni to take shelter in.
Mo Ni could hardly even stand as it was right now. He staggered two steps forward before belching out another mouthful of blood. His hand slammed unsteadily against the wall before he collapsed onto the ground.
It felt like his very soul was in pain right now. If souls had a physical shape, then his would definitely have several cracks. His soulforce was flowing so erratically that even his essence originseed seemed like it was on the verge of collapse.
Closing his eyes, Mo Ni tried to forget about the pain so he could meditate and recuperate.
The death of the Black Dragon King had serious implications on his own health due to their contract. If he didn’t take care of this problem now, then Mo Ni feared that the damage to his soul would become irreversible.
……
With Mo Ni meditating in the cave and Gui Nu standing guard, the cave was silent for at least three full minutes before…
“Ugh…pft!!”
The silence shattered when Mo Ni let out a groan of pain and spat out yet another mouthful of blood!
“He’s…he’s really dead!
“I can’t believe it! How could the Black Dragon King be dead!?
“Why are things like this?! Why?!
“Bai Yunfei!!! It’s all because of Bai Yunfei!
“Aahhh!! Ahhh!!
“I…I hate him!!”
The final limiter on Mo Ni’s emotional wellbeing had finally cracked. All at once, Mo Ni began to let loose a myriad of curses and screams until his eyes went fully red!
He was going insane!
As hard as he tried to concentrate on healing, Mo Ni simply couldn’t! The death of the Black Dragon King and the loss of his demon armament had caused his emotions to go out of control to the point of insanity!
Ten years…it was almost close to ten years since he met Bai Yunfei. Ten years of defeat, pressure, envy, and hatred…all of it was finally starting to pour out from him!
“Why…why!! It’s…it’s all because of you! Bai Yunfei! I’ll…I’ll definitely kill you! Die! Die die die die!!”
Like a broken record, Mo Ni was without his usual calm-headed rationality. He was already hallucinating Bai Yunfei standing right in front of him and swiped at him as if trying to kill him.
Going insane at such a moment like this was extremely dangerous. He could probably return back to normal if someone was there to help him, but unfortunately, that wasn’t possible…
—Gui Nu was basically a statue right now. He was standing vigilantly outside the cave due to the ‘order’ Mo Ni gave him earlier. He wouldn’t leave his position without another order.
But what Mo Ni failed to see in his insanity was that there was something off about Gui Nu…His eyes, which were normally supposed to be vacant and emotionless, were starting to flicker with something.
A closer observation would allow one to see that this flicker of light would only appear when Mo Ni said a specific thing.
Two words, in fact.
Bai Yunfei…
The light in Gui Nu’s eyes gradually grew brighter and brighter—the light of ‘hatred’!
……
Bai Yunfei…
Bai Yunfei.
Bai Yunfei!
That was the name of his most hated enemy! The bane of his life and the very reason behind his existence!
“Huff…huff…”
Labored breaths began to escape from Gui Nu as his face scrunched together.
Once before, he had been promised enough power to kill Bai Yunfei. But today, Gui Nu knew he had yet that power to kill Bai Yunfei!
It wasn’t enough! He had…he had to become stronger! He needed more power in order to kill that person!
“Blood…blood!!”
A murky snarl escaped from Gui Nu. His mind was beginning to think of ways for him to become stronger.
“Pft!!”
He was suddenly made aware of a strange noise. His nose smelled something enticing, and his eyes began to scour the area for what it was.
He turned around.
Behind him was the hallucinating Mo Ni with blood pouring freely from his mouth.
Blood!
Power!!
Thirst appeared in Gui Nu’s eyes at once. As if driven by instinct, he stood up and walked slowly over to Mo Ni.
Then his mind began to work against his body. Upon his second step toward Mo Ni, something deep within his soul was telling him something—he was not to harm this person in front of him!
Master…master?!
His eyes dimmed in light and the snarl on his face dropped.
“Bai Yunfei! I’ll kill you! I’ll definitely kill you!”
But then Mo Ni renewed his rantings. Like music, the very name of Bai Yunfei caused Gui Nu to jolt awake again!
The pupils of his eyes dilated very much like that of a beast. The shackles put in place in his soul were destroyed at once at the mention of Bai Yunfei’s name.
The snarl was back on Gui Nu’s lips.
“Roar!!”
Roaring like a feral beast, Gui Nu snapped forward at Mo Ni!
……
“Pft!!”
The caves echoed with the sound of flesh being torn apart. Mo Ni’s ears were the first part of him to recognize this fact before his entire body froze still.
The insanity bled away from his face as his brain tried to interpret the situation he was in. It took a moment for his eyes to regain the light and another two seconds for him to look down at his own chest.
An arm was sticking into it.
He followed the arm down to where it connected with his chest. The wrist and even palm were embedded in his chest…
Going back the other way, Mo Ni looked up to stare at the snarling Gui Nu.
“Gui…Gui Nu?”
With quaking lips, Mo Ni spoke Gui Nu’s name. He could hardly believe what was going on right now.
“Bzz…”
A wave of soulforce pulsed outward from Gui Nu into Mo Ni’s body. Freezing up, Mo Ni realized at once what this meant when his lifeforce began to drop.
The Bloodsoul Dark Artes!
He was a hundred percent sane again. Right now, hundreds of emotions were dancing across his face and mind.
Shock. Fury. Terror. Rejection. Humiliation. Self-derision. Despair. Loss…
“I…Mo Ni…am going to die like this…?”
Eyes dimming, Mo Ni uttered the very last words he would ever speak in his life…
He never thought that he’d die. If he had a choice, he supposed he’d rather die at the hands of his bitter ‘rival’ Bai Yunfei after a long-fought battle. Of all the ways to die, though, dying at the hands of Gui Nu was not one he expected.
There was no ‘final confrontation’. There was no intense battle or dramatic getaway scene. To go insane due to the death of the Black Dragon King and then dying at the hand of his own ‘slave’ and turning into something akin to ‘nutrients’.
How laughable.
……
“Thud!”
Gui Nu pulled his arm back some time later, allowing Mo Ni’s corpse to fall to the ground.
The corpse was as dry as a mummy without any blood or liquid in it.
Mo Ni was dead. Dead with regrets.