Chapter 128: He Was Once My Master

This scene once again left everyone deeply shaken.

"Brother Xia, could you help me improve as well?"
"Brother Xia, please take a look at my constitution. Can it still be refined?"
"Brother Xia, I am willing to follow you, even as your servant, if you would only offer me some guidance."

Seeing that Mo Yongjian had gained such immense benefits, the others began to plead with Xia Jiuxuan for help.

"Let’s focus on surviving and getting out of here first!" Xia Jiuxuan did not agree.

This left the group feeling a wave of disappointment.

"Brother Xia is right. We should focus on how to get out alive."
"The month-long limit is almost up. We should be automatically teleported out, right?"
"That is not necessarily true. This is a divine temple, quite different from the secret realms outside."

Only then did the group have the presence of mind to carefully observe the interior of the temple. The vast hall was supported by dragon-patterned stone pillars towering a thousand feet high, and along the sides of the hall were many small doors, each three zhang tall, leading to unknown destinations.

"Follow me."

Just as the group felt at a loss, Xia Jiuxuan’s words filled them with confidence. "Brother Xia is a god among men; following him is the right choice!"

Xia Jiuxuan led the remaining geniuses of the Mortal Realm directly toward the front of the hall. Soon, he reached the dais, where a bronze throne sat, occupied by a skeleton.

"How terrifying!" The sight of the skeletal remains made everyone’s hearts tremble. Even Duanmu Wan, whose soul was relatively powerful, found her breathing hitching.

"Brother Xia, this skeleton must have been incredibly strong in life—even stronger than the ox demon outside!" Duanmu Wan murmured.

Xia Jiuxuan stared at the skeleton, memories of the past flooding his mind. "As a matter of fact, he was once my master."

To keep the others from hearing, Xia Jiuxuan communicated with Duanmu Wan through a secret telepathic jade.

"What?! This skeleton was your master?!" Duanmu Wan was shocked. Brother Xia was already unfathomable, a being comparable to a god; what kind of peerless powerhouse must his master have been?

"He was indeed my master. Before I reached the Imperial Realm, he saved my life and taught me many things," Xia Jiuxuan transmitted.

"Then your master must have been very powerful! What was his cultivation level?" Duanmu Wan asked out of curiosity.

"Merely a King Realm practitioner," Xia Jiuxuan replied nonchalantly.

"I can't comprehend that." Duanmu Wan did not know what the King Realm or Imperial Realm actually represented.

"Let’s put it this way: if your father’s strength were to increase by six major tiers, he would be worthy of being called a King," Xia Jiuxuan explained.

Duanmu Wan’s heart churned. Her father was the Sovereign of a region—and he was still six major tiers away from the King Realm? It was unimaginable!

Xia Jiuxuan glanced at her stunned expression and said coolly, "It is normal that you don't understand, for you were born in a small world and do not know how vast the world outside truly is."

"Oh." Duanmu Wan nodded, then asked, "And what about you? At your peak, what was your cultivation level?"

"You really want to know?" Xia Jiuxuan replied with a faint smile.

"Yes!" Duanmu Wan nodded vigorously, consumed by curiosity.

"Very well, I will tell you." Xia Jiuxuan paused as Duanmu Wan leaned in to listen. "I reigned above all living beings, second only to the gods of the Nine Heavens."

"???" Duanmu Wan rolled her eyes. "That sounds impressive, but I have no idea what it means!"

"Exactly," Xia Jiuxuan chuckled.

"Hmph, you might as well have said nothing!" Duanmu Wan pouted, then added, "But back to the point, if your master was so strong, how did he die?"

"I killed him," Xia Jiuxuan said without a trace of emotion.

"What?" Duanmu Wan gasped. "Who could be capable enough to kill your master?"

Xia Jiuxuan cast his gaze forward, looking indifferently at the skeletal remains. "I did."

Duanmu Wan froze. A complex feeling surged within her. This guy had to be joking! He killed his own master? But thinking back, whenever this man was in the midst of a slaughter, he feared no one and spared no one. And he never seemed to joke.

"Why?" Duanmu Wan looked at him, deeply confused.

"Because he wanted to kill me."

A flicker of resentment finally stirred in Xia Jiuxuan’s heart. In his past life, he was defined by slaughter; from his youth, he had lived a life of bloodshed and endless killing. That year, as he condensed his Heart of Slaughter and reached the King Realm, he suffered a backlash from the Laws of Slaughter and stood on the brink of death. At that critical moment, his master had sacrificed half a lifetime of cultivation to save him. He had been grateful, regarding the man as the person he respected most.

Little did he know, years later, as he neared the threshold of becoming an Emperor, his master had plunged a sword through his heart from behind. That was the only time in the first half of his life that Xia Jiuxuan had shed tears.

"Why?" he had asked, weeping.

"You are a creature of immense sin; you should not exist in this world." Xia Jiuxuan remembered clearly how cold and disdainful his master’s voice had been.

"But why save me then?" Xia Jiuxuan had choked out.

"I saved you only to wait for you to reach the Imperial Realm and claim your Imperial Blood. It is as simple as that. Hahaha!"

At that moment, Xia Jiuxuan saw him as a monster, devoid of any shred of mentor-student affection.

"You cannot kill me. Go now, and let us sever all ties." Xia Jiuxuan, trembling and struggling to control his own bloodlust, had spread his palms and pushed the blade tip protruding from his chest backward.

"You wretch!"

A frantic, raging aura of slaughter erupted. His master’s expression froze, as if he had witnessed the most terrifying thing in the world. Run! Without hesitation, his master took a few drops of the spilled Imperial Blood and turned to flee.

*Swish!*

A single sword strike. The fleeing figure was pierced through and flung away, slamming heavily into the throne of the hall.

From that day on, a true Emperor of Slaughter was born. If it benefited him, he would kill regardless of good or evil. This Seven-Winged Blood Dragon was the first Demon Emperor Xia Jiuxuan had slain after achieving the Imperial Realm. Since then, countless others at the Imperial level had died by his hand.

Now, having been reborn, he found he could not remain calm when facing this past; a boundless sense of sorrow welled up from the depths of his soul.

Seeing Xia Jiuxuan’s somber expression, Duanmu Wan patted his shoulder. "Being betrayed by the person you trusted most must be painful."

Xia Jiuxuan curled his lips and shook his head. "It matters not. Whoever betrays me, I kill."

Duanmu Wan paused. At that moment, the figure in her eyes seemed as terrifying as a killing god from the Nine Netherworlds. Xia Jiuxuan glanced at her, returning to his usual demeanor. "Enough talk. Let us retrieve the Imperial Blood."

He stepped forward, standing beside the skeleton. He reached out and brushed his palm over the sword mark on the ribcage.

*Rumble.*

The entire palace shook violently, and dust showered down. An aura of extreme resentment instantly permeated the hall.

"Hmm?" Xia Jiuxuan frowned and immediately retreated.

*Click, click, click!*

On the throne, the skeleton slowly stood up. Blood-red light ignited in its empty eye sockets, and it fixed a deathly stare upon Xia Jiuxuan.