Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 120 - Scorpion Brothers

The death of three Profound Grade students and seventeen Earth Grade students naturally received the higher-ups’ attention. After all, this was a vile incident to the academy.

Gao Yingzhang sought out the academy’s higher-ups, demanding Liu Wuxie’s expulsion. However, his pleas fell on deaf ears as the headmaster had gone into seclusion, leaving the three vice-headmasters in charge of the academy’s affairs. This resulted in a game of pass the buck among the vice-headmasters, and the issue was left unresolved.

This was an unusual situation. Despite Liu Wuxie’s talent, his potential for growth was constrained by his constitution. Yet, for some reason, the academy appeared to be shielding Liu Wuxie.

After ensuring Song Ling was comfortable, Liu Wuxie handed him several pills to expedite his cultivation, acknowledging that Song Ling’s current cultivation level was insufficient.

The tranquility of Liu Wuxie’s rest was disrupted by a series of knocks on the door. With plans to visit the Flame Sun Cave the next day, he had intended to be in peak condition. Opening the door with a hint of annoyance, he found three unfamiliar youths standing outside.

“Who are you looking for?” Liu Wuxie asked politely.

“We’ve heard that you topped all three assessment rounds. We’re prepared to pay for the pill and martial technique you were awarded,” the youth in the center stated their intention directly; they were interested in acquiring Liu Wuxie’s assessment rewards.

Liu Wuxie hadn’t had the chance to look at the pill and martial technique, but they probably had a high grade, attracting the interest of these people.

“Really? And what would be your offer?” Liu Wuxie asked with a smile. He had no lack of pills as he still had ten Golden Spirit Pills and a few hundred Origin Yang Pills. If he could trade them for a substantial amount of gold coins, he could exchange them for credits.

He needed credits if he wanted to use the various facilities in the Imperial Academy, such as the Blacksmith or Alchemy Chambers. Since credits were the currency of use, he inquired about their offer, open to the idea of trading them for credits.

“What do you think about ten gold coins?” The youth in the middle sneered, planning to use ten gold coins to buy Liu Wuxie’s rewards—the pill and martial technique.

This response caused Liu Wuxie’s smile to stiffen. He had assumed these three had come with genuine intentions to trade. Still, it appeared they were here to take advantage of him. Ten gold coins wouldn’t even cover the cost of an Energy Condensing Pill, let alone a fourth-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill and a profound-graded martial technique. Did they think he was naive?

“Are you all sure about that?” Liu Wuxie queried once more, questioning if his ears had deceived him. After all, a Marrow Cleansing Pill could easily be sold for over a million gold coins, and a profound-graded martial technique could easily go for two million gold coins.

The pill and martial technique given by the Imperial Academy would only be more valuable than in the market. This was why Liu Wuxie was left wondering if he had misheard their plan to purchase his items with just ten gold coins.

His intention was to sell the pill and martial technique in exchange for credits to repay Li Shengsheng, as he disliked being in debt to others.

“You heard right, ten gold coins!” The youth in the center flashed a savage grin. The trio was at the eighth level of the Xiantian Realm, while Liu Wuxie was merely at the fifth level.

Everyone perceived the incident at the dining hall as a result of Liu Wuxie’s surprise attack. Since these three weren’t present, they didn’t believe that Liu Wuxie could defeat students at the eighth-level Xiantian Realm.

“What if I refuse?” Liu Wuxie inquired, his smile radiant as he eyed the three youths, a glint of lethal intent flickering in his gaze. He had just dispatched twenty students that morning, and he hadn’t anticipated more troublemakers so soon.

“Brat, we suggest you surrender them willingly and don’t compel us to act,” the youth on the right bellowed, causing the students in the nearby courtyards to emerge.

Their faces had been adorned with smiles just moments ago, but their expressions shifted quicker than turning pages. A dozen or so students appeared, but they weren’t taken aback by the scene as it was a familiar sight. This was the usual state of affairs, hence the lack of surprise.

“It’s the three scorpion brothers! They’re notorious for ruthlessness, and that brat is in danger now.” Someone recognized the three youths, secretly known as the three scorpion brothers. Over time, they had left a trail of victims in their wake.

The one in the middle was called the Red Scorpion, the one on the left was the Black Scorpion, and the one on the right was called the Poison Scorpion. They weren’t related by blood, but their shared interests had led them to form a tight-knit group, proving that birds of a feather do indeed flock together.

Poison Scorpion looked at Liu Wuxie viciously with a cold smirk.

“If I don’t intend to hand it over, are you all planning to cripple me before seizing them forcefully?” A murderous intent flashed in Liu Wuxie’s eyes. He might have needed to strategize to deal with Jiang Hua’s group, but he could simply eliminate these three with a swift blade strike. Even if the academy were to investigate, he had ample justifications at his disposal.

“You’re rather tactful!” Red Scorpion didn’t deny what Liu Wuxie said. This meant that they planned to cripple Liu Wuxie if he refused to hand it over, and the surrounding atmosphere suddenly became tense.

“I’m afraid that you three will be disappointed. I won’t hand them over!” Liu Wuxie shrugged, looking helpless as he turned around and walked into the courtyard. He couldn’t be bothered to waste time with these people.

His attitude naturally made the three scorpion brothers furious as they rushed forward, blocking Liu Wuxie’s path.

“You three want to start a fight here?” Murderous intent swept out from Liu Wuxie and enveloped the three scorpion brothers.

Unfazed by Liu Wuxie’s words, the Scorpion Brothers were determined to proceed. After all, they were discussing a fourth-grade pill worth over a million gold coins—a sum that would take them a considerable amount of time to accumulate. As their anger surged, they each brandished a longsword, pointing them menacingly at Liu Wuxie.

Despite the threat, Liu Wuxie remained calm, a mocking smile playing on his lips as he marveled at the audacity of these lowlifes.

“Big Brother, should we kill him or cripple his cultivation?” Poison Scorpion turned to look at Red Scorpion, seeking his opinion. The longsword in his hand emitted a horrifying stench.

“Cripple his cultivation and sever his limbs before throwing him to the ten-mile-long street. Someone will take care of it for us.” Red Scorpion’s eyes became cold. He took the lead and swung this longsword in a snake-like manner, cutting through the air and heading for Liu Wuxie. It seemed like they had come prepared and weren’t just there to rob Liu Wuxie’s pill.

From the beginning, Liu Wuxie could guess that someone was manipulating them, using them to get rid of him. The moment the three made a move, Liu Wuxie vanished like a ghost with a blade in his hand.

As three sword auras erupted and swept across the courtyard, the massive tree within the yard creaked under the pressure of Liu Wuxi’s blade aura. The blade aura exuded an oppressive force that immobilized the Scorpion Brothers. Those outside the wall were oblivious to the events unfolding within, their only clue being the trio’s screams.

The three scorpion brothers were sent flying out, smashing against the wall before they wailed in pain on the ground. Each of them bled from their lower abdomen, a result of Liu Wuxie’s blade aura shattering their dantian and inflicting a wound several inches deep. From this day forward, they would be incapable of storing any true essence in their dantian.

As time passed, true essence escaped from their dantians as they lay on the ground in pain. Living was worse than dying after losing their cultivation in the True Martial Continent.

“This is impossible! Your cultivation is in the fifth-level Xiantian Realm. How did you manage to defeat us with a single blade strike!” Red Scorpion howled, unable to reconcile with this reality. Had they engaged in a fierce battle, he might have accepted the outcome. But the fight concluded before they could even discern Liu Wuxie’s attack, leaving him feeling wronged.

“I don’t like to waste time talking. Tell me who sent you three here!” Liu Wuxie cut straight to the chase, unwilling to waste time. The arrival of these three immediately after his conflict with the Advanced Class Three was too coincidental.

The Scorpion Brothers glared back, their eyes devoid of warmth and filled with malice, tinged with a touch of regret.

“Brat, even if you crippled our cultivation, it won’t be long before someone avenges us!” The three scorpion brothers remained defiant, unwilling to reveal the mastermind.

“It’s the Xue Clan, right?” Liu Wuxie answered for the three of them. Aside from Xue Clan, who would act against him so quickly?

As expected, the three scorpion brothers’ faces changed upon hearing what Liu Wuxie said. This was because Liu Wuxie had guessed correctly.

“Hmph, so what if you managed to guess it? In less than three days, it will be your death!” Black Scorpion gritted his teeth as he struggled to return to his feet with a vicious expression. It seemed the Xue Clan’s scheme against him extended beyond just sending the Scorpion Brothers.

“Go back and tell the Xue Clan to send someone more capable.” Liu Wuxie had already formed a feud with the Xue Clan, and one month had passed from the one-year agreement. This meant that Liu Wuxie had to make the best of his time. He didn’t kill them because he needed them to return the message to the Xue Clan.

The three scorpion brothers supported each other as they left Liu Wuxie’s courtyard. The sight of them in such a state left the gathered ten-odd students in shock. After all, the brothers had entered the courtyard in good health but emerged devoid of their cultivation.

The ruckus had ended quickly, and Liu Wuxie didn’t dwell on it. The Xue Clan had sent these people to test him, which was expected as they couldn’t gauge his strength.

Just when he was about to close the door and rest for the day, a familiar figure approached his courtyard. Liu Wuxie was fairly certain this person was there for him, so he decided to wait by the gate.

“Brother Liu, I’m impressed.” Yu Yifan arrived at Liu Wuxie’s courtyard, accompanied by two students.

Liu Wuxie was puzzled by Yu Yifan’s arrival, especially since it occurred right after he had dispatched the Scorpion Brothers. He asked, “Did the Xue Clan send you?”

Liu Wuxie was filled with uncertainty. It seemed implausible that someone as talented as Yu Yifan would serve as a lackey for the Xue Clan.