Volume One: The Devil's Nature Never Changes
Arc: The Strategic Sect War
Scarlet King stood before Fang Chen, their eyes meeting.
The first pair was entirely black and white, devoid of any expression that suggested the presence of a living human soul.
They were the purest eyes one could possibly see, like black-and-white gemstones that reflected nothing.
The other pair was filled with courageous anxiety and tension from facing someone who had killed him before.
Fang Chen suddenly shouted:
"Big Brother! I won't let you win this time!"
Everyone was shocked when they heard Fang Chen's words, and whispers immediately began spreading.
"Fang Chen's big brother? Since when did he have a brother?"
Another disciple whispered:
"Maybe he means a senior brother from his division."
Another disciple interrupted:
"Impossible. They never even met before, and Gu Yue was only nine years old when he joined. How could Fang Chen have known Gu Yue when they were both younger?"
"And Fang Chen is fifteen years old. How could Gu Yue be his big brother? Unless…"
Scarlet King said nothing.
He simply raised his wine jar and drank from it, completely ignoring Fang Chen's words.
Fang Chen immediately became furious.
"Big Brother! You dare ignore me!? Fine! We'll see who wins today!"
"Even if your cultivation is four levels above mine, that doesn't mean you can defeat me, you bastard who uses demonic methods to increase his cultivation!"
"And I'll be the king here!"
Fang Chen leaped forward and tried to punch Scarlet King.
But Scarlet King simply grabbed the wine jar and hurled it straight into Fang Chen's face.
The jar smashed against him and shattered, splashing wine into his eyes.
Scarlet King suddenly appeared in front of him, grabbed Fang Chen by the throat, and slammed him into the ground with enough force to shatter it.
He had not used any cultivation power.
Only pure physical strength.
"Hah. Weak."
"You're not the king."
Fang Chen violently jumped backward while clutching his throat.
"Bastard! You attacked me by surprise!"
Scarlet King shrugged.
"There's nothing stopping me from attacking you by surprise."
He took a challenging stance and raised one hand, pointing toward Fang Chen.
"Come on."
"Come at me."
Fang Chen advanced and tried to punch Scarlet King.
But Scarlet King effortlessly dodged.
He continued evading every strike while staring at Fang Chen with complete indifference.
Fang Chen said:
"Haha, fine. I'll play your way."
Scarlet King replied while dodging another punch:
"Don't try to play honorably when everyone else in the game is corrupt."
From afar, Lin Yuan watched nervously and thought:
(Other people being corrupt doesn't justify me becoming corrupt as well.)
Ikalat, meanwhile, thought:
(Other people being corrupt would tempt me into becoming corrupt too.)
As for Fang Chen, he thought:
(The corruption of others becomes irrelevant as long as I'm carrying out an existential mission.)
Suddenly, Fang Chen drew a sword and rushed toward Scarlet King's neck at tremendous speed.
Scarlet King was slightly surprised.
He had not expected Fang Chen to do that.
He quickly moved away, but the sword still managed to leave a shallow wound across his neck.
At the same instant Fang Chen attacked, Scarlet King wounded him as well.
Scarlet King wiped the blood from his neck and looked at his hand.
The blood felt hot against his intensely pale skin, like crimson spilled across snow.
Fang Chen's blood had mixed with his own.
The sight resembled a plain white cake, immaculate on the outside yet rotten within, now stained by the fresh blood of a slaughtered goat.
Scarlet King thought while continuing to evade the sword attacks:
(There's an old saying: humans can easily be dragged into darkness, but pulling them toward the light is far more difficult.)
(And I am neither darkness nor light.)
(I'm an opportunist.)
Scarlet King suddenly moved.
He seized Fang Chen by the throat and squeezed hard enough to make the sword fall from his hand.
Then he said:
"Little brother, you really love playing around."
Scarlet King tightened his grip.
Fang Chen's throat began to collapse beneath his fingers as blood seeped between them, soaking Scarlet King's hand and Fang Chen's clothes.
Fang Chen struggled to speak.
"B-Big Brother, please… mercy! I'm your little brother!"
Scarlet King smiled faintly.
He did not answer.
He only did one thing…
He tightened his grip even further.
His fingers reached the bone.
Then—
he ripped Fang Chen's entire skeleton out of his body.
Flesh burst apart and scattered across the arena.
Blood flooded the ground.
And in Scarlet King's hand remained a blood-red skeleton, with pieces of skin and flesh still clinging to its bones.
Scarlet King stood there, lowered his fist, and looked toward the audience with a cold smile on his face.
"Sorry."
"It seems I disappointed you."