Bear School Astartes

Old Robert walked toward the mountain gate of the Immortal Peak Temple, having donned his helmet and face armor once more, carrying that enormous sword which seemed more suited for ceremonial purposes than for the battlefield.

Iwami Yixin was quite eager to see how he would wield the sword, so he slowed his light footsteps and followed behind the Southern Barbarian Warrior.

The two hadn't walked for ten minutes before they saw the wide-open mountain gate and the road winding up the mountain.

The mountain gate was nothing remarkable, and the mountain road was equally unexceptional.

However, when that winding road upwards became a path for a red stream with the stench of blood flowing downward... the scene took on a different flavor.

Old Robert lifted up his iron-shod foot, only to realize that the crimson liquid had already reached the place where he stood.

Beside him, Iwami Yixin chuckled lightly.

"So much blood... well, at least enough for a dozen people."

One was a survivor from the European battlefield, the other had fought in the Theft of the Nation battle against the Inner Mansion.

Both of them were not particularly surprised by the blood of mere dozens of people.

Following the stream of blood upwards, they indeed came upon a battlefield strewn with debris.

However, at this moment, the two old war hands, previously unfazed by the spectacle, were unexpectedly dumbfounded.

Iwami Yixin was quite familiar with the massive bleeding that an Air Blade could cause, but he never imagined that the blood flowing from a human body, once severed and drawn out by the Air Blade, would appear so... artistic.

Bright red blood splashed expressively across the green grass and brown tree trunks.

Maple leaves floated and drifted on the blood stream.

The monks' bodies weren't grotesque; most were cleanly taken down with a single strike, now scattered across the mountain path.

Silent, serene... this slaughtered scene surprisingly evoked a sense of deathly beauty.

Lann was not a psychopath who deliberately sought the atmosphere of a massacre.

Yet when he made his move, it naturally seemed to achieve this effect.

The Son of the Emperor's notable artistic cultivation did not make his singing voice melodious, but seemed to exert influence in other ways.

Iwami Yixin tapped lightly with his fingers on the sword's hilt.

"Is it 'Hell's Bliss Picture'... tch, truly deceiving."

Old Robert, however, after the initial shock, no longer looked around. Instead, he paced heavily to the root of a tree.

In the pile of small windmills stuck into the roots, a small skull stood out prominently.

And from the hole dug out around the small skull, many small bones were visible protruding from the soil.

The elder with the Tengu mask paced to the rigid, half-kneeling position behind the Southern Barbarian Warrior, speaking in a calm and cold manner, as if he had seen much.

"Now this... true or false, it's crystal clear."

Old Robert said nothing, perhaps couldn't find words to utter.

But the powerful body from the back seemed to shrink, tremble increasingly.

He had sent his son here with his own hands.

Iwami Yixin watched from behind, observing the ever-increasing amplitude of his trembling, even his entire armor began to shudder and shake.

But once this trembling reached its peak... he suddenly stabilized instead.

At the same time, the solitary eye beneath Iwami Yixin's mask squinted slightly.

The atmosphere... had changed.

A sorrowful heart for a warrior would forge a terrifying blade.

Without uttering another word, Old Robert calmly used the giant sword to prop himself up and advanced deeper into the Immortal Peak Temple.

The monks took him for a fool, but that was not important.

Letting him labor in vain, that was also not important.

However, using the son he brought to be healed as experimental material...

Now, it was time for him to seek revenge.

-----------------

Lann, having already drawn his blade and struck down men, did not intend to stop.

The dozen monks on the mountain path lasted less than five minutes under his blade, thanks to the 'Immortal Peak Temple Fist Technique', which made their bodies flexible and nimble, able to maneuver deftly.

"Slice!"

Lann pulled the sword from a monk's collarbone.

This fellow, like the monks on the mountain path, had foolishly trained his immortality to the level of numbness.

Clenching his fist, he actively attacked Lann, but with Lann simply using the [Climbing Carp] technique appropriately to block twice, his stance completely fell apart.

Unable to coordinate muscle strength and hold steady his center of gravity, he could only watch wide-eyed as Lann, in that instant, vertically thrust the long blade into his collarbone, penetrating into the viscera.

The Demon Hunter's expression was calm; as he withdrew the blade, he twisted the hilt by ninety degrees.

The resulting blood spray splattered onto the face of the Buddha statue in the grand hall.

Behind this side hall were the many main halls of the Immortal Peak Temple.

In the days when the temple was still functioning normally, people would first pay respects here briefly, then head up the mountain, paying homage to many halls and countless Buddha statues along the way.

Ultimately, reaching the famed Lotus King Courtyard—comprising thirty-three rooms separated by thirty-three pillars, housing a thousand statues of the Thousand-armed Guanyin, to listen to the Immortal Peak Master's teachings and receive blessings.

In this side hall, three from the Immortal Peak Temple lay dead on the ground, as they had already forsaken the Buddhist Technique. It's been ages since anyone cleaned the side hall, now overrun with locusts the size of human heads hopping about, feasting on the mindless flesh lying prone.

The blood-stained statue veiled in spider silk still bore its serene smile, benevolently overlooking everyone in the side hall.

A Tairou Soldier, clad in monk trousers and wielding a large club, was gulping nervously, staring wide-eyed at the approaching Lann.

"Don't come near! No matter how fierce you are, I won't let you harm the temple's... Urgh!"

Before he finished speaking, he swung like a baseball player aiming for a home run, channeling all his strength into one swing at Lann.

Lann lightly tapped with his sword akin to a toothpick, and the reckless swing was completely deflected by [Climbing Carp].

The Tairou Soldier, using his body's weight, couldn't halt his momentum.

After veering off, he directly crashed into the wall. Lann pressed his hand on the back of his head, adding some force.

With a 'boom', the hulking mass of flesh collapsed, disoriented.

Lann landed lightly.

The Tairou Soldier was over two and a half meters tall, and he had to leap to reach the back of his head.

But now, with his Light Body Skill, even donned in high-grade Bear School Armor, he wouldn't land heavily.

After dealing with this clumsy but well-meaning Tairou Soldier, Lann returned to the Buddha statue.

Not to show reverence to the Buddha, but for a current 'living Buddha'.

A 'high monk' who had made himself into a mummy.

Sitting cross-legged, the dried up... well, decayed elder measuring less than a meter tall, sat on the mat before the Buddha statue.

His eyes no longer contained moist, full eyeballs.

This organ had been entirely consumed during the living Buddha process.

Skin dry as parchment showed damage, exposing string-like muscle fibers, the monk robe tattered and worn.

However, in Lann's sense, the life force of this living Buddha... was powerful enough to frighten.

But that wasn't a human life force; judging by the heat flow within him... it seemed more like centipedes active within the body.

"A body completely supported by centipedes..."

Lann curled his lip, drew out a murky, viscous sword oil from the alchemy pouch at the back of his waist, and applied it to the blade.