Chapter 2013: A Thousand Autumns Devoted to Killing

Beneath a grand hall, there lay a secret chamber. A group was hidden inside, and they were staring intently at a curtain of light. It reflected everything that had happened since Su Yi entered Golden Bridge City.

“Old Devil Blue Star and the others failed!” someone exclaimed.

They’d just watched their allies ambush Su Yi on the empty streets, only for Su Yi to step forth and crush everyone in his path with a single swing of his sleeve!

Every last expert involved perished, including everyone who tried to flee!

“That guy really is as strong as the rumors say. He’s at least a demigod!” someone frowned.

“Everyone, look! Someone’s blocked his advance!” someone called out with a strange look on their face.

The curtain of light now showed a group of the young, elderly, weak, and sick standing in Su Yi’s way.

“Haha! Wonderful! Someone’s using the locals to restrict Su Yi’s movements!” someone chuckled. “This is perhaps a bit despicable, but it sure is effective! At the very least, it will give Su Yi reservations, and we can keep making good use of the locals as the operation proceeds. At the very least, they’ll make for good meat shields!”

“But what if Su Yi isn’t susceptible to such threats?”

“There’s no harm in trying. Golden Bridge City is Heaven’s Reliance Tower territory. When they see Su Yi strutting about like he owns the place, they’re sure to step in!”

“When the snipe and the clam fight, it’s the fishermen who benefit. When the time comes, all we need to do is fish in those muddied waters.”

…As the crowd conversed, the scene reflected on the curtain of light changed. Su Yi suddenly vanished.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Hm?

Everyone was stunned.

Where did he go?

“Don’t tell me he realized we were spying on him?” someone exclaimed.

“Impossible! No one beneath the god level can possibly sense the god pearl,” someone said with conviction.

They were capable of watching Su Yi’s movements in secret thanks to a secret treasure known as the Mirage Pearl.

“It’s true. This treasure has never failed us before. Rest assured that even if Su Yi sprouted a dog’s nose, he wouldn’t be able to catch our scent!”

Quite a few people laughed in response.

But although they didn’t notice, a tall, upright figure had appeared in their midst, silently watching them laugh.

“Hm?” Suddenly, someone caught a glimpse of Su Yi out of the corner of his eye. His hair stood on end, and his scalp went numb.

Su Yi!

Practically simultaneously, the others sensed that something wasn’t right. When they saw Su Yi, all of them reacted as if they’d been struck by lightning, and their smiles froze in place.

When did he get here?

“This Mirage Pearl is rather decent.” A glistening, snow-white jade pearl floated above Su Yi’s palm.

A rain of light fell around it in waves, the flickering light illuminating Su Yi’s tall, upright figure with an ethereal glow.

“Get him!” The crowd bellowed and attacked valiantly.

But it was then that a sword rain came crashing down. Blood splattered the air, and seven Great Realm experts died on the spot.

Su Yi turned and left.

It was only later that someone discovered the secret room and recognized the seven fallen Great Realm experts. They were a group of heretical cultivators famous in the Golden Bridge Watershed, and they were collectively known as “the Seven Demons of the Blood Cloud.”

……

Su Yi slipped through an alleyway. Wherever he passed, blood splattered the air.

Some of it belonged to the shadowy figures hidden beneath the eaves.

Then, there was a human in the shape of an unassuming bird perched on the roof of a building.

As well as an expert disguised as a weak ordinary citizen. He’d mixed in with the people at a local clinic…

There were several others, too. Without exception, every last one of them took a sword to the throat!

As Su Yi faded into the distance, his enemies exploded behind him, one by one.

From beginning to end, no one saw how he attacked. It was to the point that his hidden enemies died before they could even react!

……

Atop an ancient tower, near the railing.

“Your Excellency, wasn’t using the weakest echelons of society like that a bit too much? If word gets out, I’m afraid it’ll invite widespread criticism,” an elderly servant said softly.

“What do you know?” Meng Yunshui laughed and shook his head. “Killing one man makes you a murderer, but killing ten thousand makes you a hero, and killing nine million makes you a hero among heroes!”

His gaze was cold and indifferent as he gazed into the distance and recited an ancient poem. “'A thousand years of consistent effort, all devoted to killing.' Better for countless people to gnash their teeth in hatred than for no one to curse my name!

“Throughout the ages and throughout all worlds, what hero hasn’t killed others?” He stood against the railing and said, “On the River of Epochs, you cannot show your enemies even the slightest compassion. And if others curse you for it… hah! Who cares?”

As a prominent expert of Heaven’s Reliance Tower and the man in charge of Golden Bridge City, Meng Yunshui had slaughtered countless people over the course of his cultivation. The lives of the local population mattered no more than blades of grass; he could cut them down as he saw fit.

“Your Excellency, will this really work?” that old servant couldn’t help but ask.

“Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. Either way, we have to try it. We’ve got to find Su Yi’s weaknesses. Then, we can target them to deal him a lethal blow,” Meng Yunshui said with a smile. “If he cares about the lives of the weak, that makes things easy. If he doesn’t, we can try something else. We’ll keep probing until we’ve found his weak points!”

“Your Excellency, we have an urgent report!” An attendant rushed in. “Su Yi didn’t harm any of the locals’ lives!”

Meng Yunshui’s eyes lit up. “Had those weaklings blocked the path of a truly ruthless man, he’d have killed them all. But it seems Su Yi couldn’t bear to strike the killing blow. It seems… he’s not the malevolent sort.”

His tone was tinged with mockery and a hint of excitement, and he didn’t hesitate to make a decision. “Pass on more orders. We’re to begin the next stage of our plan immediately!”

“Yes, Your Excellency!” The attendant dashed off to do as he was told.

Moments later, a calm voice arose out of nowhere. “To tell the truth, your Heaven’s Reliance Tower has really disappointed me.”

Meng Yunshui stiffened, then whipped around.

He was immediately greeted by the sight of a young man in blue approaching from the distant staircase, holding a still-bleeding head in hand.

It belonged to the attendant who’d just left to pass on Meng Yunshui’s orders!

“You…” Meng Yunshui found this difficult to accept. Rather, the shock was such that for a moment, he couldn’t speak.

Thud!

Su Yi casually tossed the bloody head to Meng Yunshui. Its eyes were wide, and its expression was utterly hideous.

Then, he clapped his hands. “I’ll give you fifteen minutes to call for reinforcements. Be quick about it.”

Meng Yunshui took a deep breath. “For real?”

“Taking your head would be no more difficult than turning over my hand,” said Su Yi. “What need do I have to deceive you?”

After a moment’s silence, Meng Yunshui slipped a talisman from his sleeves and shattered it. It was used to call for reinforcements, and he’d only have used it in the face of a lethal threat. Once crushed, the Heaven’s Reliance Tower experts stationed throughout the city would rush to his aid.

Time slipped by, but not one person heeded Meng Yunshui’s call.

His expression gradually grew unsightly, and a chill coursed down his spine as he guessed at a potential explanation. “Did you… kill every expert of Heaven’s Reliance Tower in city limits already?”

Su Yi took out a jug of wine and sat in a nearby chair before replying casually, “I wasn’t certain if I’d killed them all or not, so I let you confirm it for me.”

Meng Yunshui felt a chill in his hands and feet, as if he’d been plunged into an icy abyss.

How long has it been since he arrived? How could he have killed every expert we had stationed in the city already?

How on earth did he pull that off? Why didn’t anyone report earlier?

Su Yi said casually, “‘A thousand years of consistent effort, all devoted to killing?’ In that case, you won’t resent me for killing you, will you?”

“Even ants cling to life, let alone men,” said Meng Yunshui. He forced himself to calm down. “I’m willing to do everything in my power in exchange for a chance to live, so please, show mercy!”

Su Yi laughed derisively. “Deep without your bones, you view slaughter with reverence. To you, the lives of common folk are no more valuable than grass. Despite this, you fear death?”

The sayings circulating amongst the general populace are always contradictory. Some people say that rabbits don’t eat the grass near their burrows, while others retort that a waterfront pavilion enjoys the moonlight first.

Which one is true?

Some say that a wise man adapts to his circumstances, and that fine fowl chooses the best trees to perch on. Others claim they’d rather die with honor than live on in degradation.

Who should you believe?

The answer is, in truth, simple. Everyone believes whatever “grand principles” most benefit them!

Take Meng Yunshui. He spoke of killing others like it was nothing, and he cut down the masses as if they were no more than grass, but when

his

life was on the line, he turned around and said, “Even ants cling to life.”

He was simply too shameless!

Su Yi thought for a moment, then said, “I’ll give you a choice. Either you end yourself, or I cripple your cultivation base and consign you to life among the ‘grass’ you so look down on.”

Meng Yunshui shook from head to toe, and his expression shifted dramatically.

Su Yi said calmly. “I’ll count to three. If you don’t decide by then, I’ll decide for you.”

“I…” Meng Yunshui turned to flee. He was shockingly quick, too.

And as he fled, he grabbed a nearby elderly attendant and flung him at Su Yi.

Bang!

The attendant’s body exploded.

But appeared in Meng Yunshui’s path, extended his hand, and seized him by the throat.

“I’m curious. What will the common folk you forced to block my path do when they learn that you’ve been reduced to a cripple?” whispered Su Yi.

Meng Yunshui’s expression filled with terror. “Do this, and Heaven’s Reliance Tower won’t let you go…”

Bang!

Su Yi tightened his grip, destroying Meng Yunshui’s cultivation base.

As his cultivation slipped away, his vitality waned, and he instantly aged, becoming incomparably weak and decrepit.

“If Heaven’s Reliance Tower finds out how worthless you were, will they bother avenging you?” said Su Yi. Then, he picked Meng Yunshui up and flung him.

Thud!

Meng Yunshui slammed into the ground, wailing in agony.

He’d gone from a lofty Great Realm cultivator to a cripple who’d lost everything. This was far crueler than simply killing him.

“If every expert of Heaven’s Reliance Tower is like you, they’re unworthy of my concern.” Su Yi shook his head, then turned to leave.

And here he’d thought that after the Nine Great Heavenly Gods of the Kingdom of Lasting Light issued a bounty on his head, he’d run into some real threats. Similarly, he’d figured that since Heaven’s Reliance Tower was one of the nine greatest orthodoxies, they’d have numerous powerful experts under their command.

Now, it seemed he’d jumped to conclusions!

Hm?

When Su Yi returned, he saw someone standing not far from Wu Lingchong.

Su Yi’s gaze focused.

Who is that? His aura is quite distinctive!