NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: He brought this upon himself.
Lei Ying slowly stood up, his movements deliberate and unhurried, like a predator leisurely surveying its prey.
"Since this matter began with me," he said calmly, his voice resonating through the hall, "then let me put an end to it."
As he spoke, a terrifying aura erupted from him, flooding the hall with oppressive energy. The crowd gasped collectively, their faces draining of color. This was not the aura of someone dismissed as untalented.
What's going on? The same question echoed in every mind. Wasn't Lei Ying supposed to be the least talented of the Lei family? How could someone like him wield such overwhelming power?
Yun Xiao's face turned ashen as an invisible force gripped him, freezing him in place. He struggled, his cultivation surging in defiance, but it was futile. The force crushing him was too vast, too suffocating.
"Kneel," Lei Ying commanded, his tone cold and composed.
The single word carried an authority that seemed to reverberate through the very air. The crowd trembled, some of the weaker disciples collapsing to their knees involuntarily. Yun Xiao, who bore the brunt of the pressure, was forced down, his knees slamming against the ground with a painful thud.
Lei Ying's purple eyes flicked toward Xuě Lìng, the young miss of the Azure Cloud Sect, his expression unreadable.
"Xuě Lìng," he said softly, yet every word was weighted, "what do you think I should do to him?"
At the same time, his voice slipped into her mind, a chilling whisper laced with threat.
"If you ask for his release, I'll kill him instantly. You think I don't see through your little act? Trying to feign indifference to protect him? Naive. The best outcome for him would be banishment—crippled or not. If I spare him, someone else will kill him to curry favor with me."
Xuě Lìng's face turned pale. Her mind raced, the weight of Lei Ying's words pressing down on her. She hesitated, but she couldn't afford to let her emotions cloud her judgment.
"Of course, he deserves to die," she said aloud, her voice steady but tinged with resignation. "But since Young Lord Lei is magnanimous enough to seek my opinion, I suggest we cripple him and banish him from the Sect."
Lei Ying's lips curved into a faint, satisfied smile. Xuě Lìng was clever—clever enough to value her father's sect above her personal attachments. She'd chosen self-preservation and loyalty over love.
Yun Xiao's eyes widened in disbelief. "Xuě Lìng… you…" His voice faltered.
To be banished was one thing—something he could endure—but to be crippled as well? Xuě Lìng, the woman he had fought for, had condemned him without hesitation to save herself and her Sect.
[You have destroyed the relationship between Yun Xiao and Xuě Lìng.]
[Your Reward is being calculated.]
Lei Ying chuckled inwardly at the system notification. An extra? No, I'll be a villain instead. Villains always leave a lasting mark. After all, this world might not even be real.
He returned his attention to the crowd, his demeanor unchanged. "Since the Azure Cloud Sect's young miss has spoken, I will honor her wishes. This is, after all, an internal matter of your Sect."
Lei Ying gracefully sat back down, lifting his tea to his lips as though nothing had happened. The weight of his aura receded, leaving the crowd to recover from the oppressive display.
As the Elders hurried to drag Yun Xiao away to fulfill Xuě Lìng's decree, Lei Ying's system screen flickered in his vision.
Host: Lei Ying
Identity: Youngest Master of the Lei Family
Cultivation: Core Formation (Completion Stage)
Mystical Abilities:
(Locked)
Extra's Points: 10,000
System Shop: Unopened «Unlock with 8,000 Extra's Points»
Lei Ying's smirk deepened. A good beginning.
___
Elder Qiu, a stern-faced man with a gray beard flowing down his chest, moved swiftly, not waiting for any further instructions. His figure flickered, appearing in front of Yun Xiao like a phantom.
"Since the Young Miss has decreed it, so shall it be," Elder Qiu declared, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.
He raised his palm, a faint glow surrounding it, and slammed it onto Yun Xiao's chest. A muffled explosion echoed through the hall as the blow struck with precision, shattering Yun Xiao's meridians.
"Ahhh!" Yun Xiao let out a pained scream, his body convulsing as a mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips. He collapsed to the ground, trembling, his aura now weak and fragmented.
The crowd watched in silence, their expressions a mix of pity and dread. Yun Xiao, once a rising star of the Azure Cloud Sect, was now reduced to a cripple.
Before anyone could speak, a disciple stumbled into the hall, his face pale and drenched in sweat. He knelt hurriedly before the Sect Leader.
"Sect Leader!" the disciple cried, his voice trembling. "Mo Lian… Mo Lian has committed suicide by jumping off the Jade Serenity Bridge!"
"What?!" The Sect Leader's face turned grim, his hand tightening into a fist. Mo Lian was one of the Sect's talented disciples, and her death was a heavy blow to their future prospects.
Lei Ying's expression remained unchanged as he sipped his tea. But a faint glimmer danced in his eyes as he transmitted his voice directly to Yun Xiao's mind.
"Did you hear that? Mo Lian—the one who once admired you—ended her life. Perhaps she couldn't bear the thought of you being crippled and disgraced. This is your doing, Yun Xiao. Yours alone. You've brought shame upon yourself and despair upon those who cared for you."
Yun Xiao's eyes widened in horror as Lei Ying's words sank in. His body began to tremble uncontrollably. "Mo… Lian…" he croaked, his voice barely a whisper.
The weight of his failure, combined with Lei Ying's cruel words, shattered whatever strength he had left. His chest heaved, and another mouthful of blood spewed from his lips, staining the floor beneath him.
The crowd recoiled, murmuring among themselves.
"Poor Yun Xiao…"
"But he brought this on himself…"
"To challenge the Young Lord of the Lei Family? How foolish."
Yun Xiao staggered to his feet, his legs unsteady as if the world beneath him was crumbling. His face was pale, his eyes hollow, filled with despair and self-loathing. Without another word, he stumbled out of the hall, dragging his broken body away, leaving a trail of blood and shattered dignity in his wake.
Lei Ying watched him go, his purple eyes glinting with amusement. He leaned back in his chair, exuding an air of indifference.
Villains don't just crush their enemies; they destroy their hope.
The system chimed softly in his mind.
[You have crushed Yun Xiao's Martial Heart and spirit.]
[You have triggered a significant event: Mo Lian's suicide.]
[Calculating additional rewards…]