"Sigh."
Meanwhile Mikael let out a small sigh as his tense, action-ready body finally calmed, his gaze lingering on the frozen beauty Rong Xueyin and the fiery but usually rational Qin Yanlong as they returned to their respective sects, an extremely cold glint flashing in his eyes.
'You two have done actions that will carry consequences!' was the thought that passed through his mind as he regarded them with killing intent burning in his heart.
His gaze, sharp with killing intent, remained fixed on both of them for several seconds before softening as it shifted to Yulan and Lifen, whose figures he could glimpse from his current position.
Both beauties weren't on the Wandering Sword Sect flying sword like he and the girls were, but instead stood with the Stillwater Palace group—and what was even more worrying was the fact that, since they had arrived some time earlier, they weren't on their Sect's Flying Artifact but had remained with their Sect on the ground!
And this meant that the 'casual aura clash' provoked by Rong Xueyin and answered by Qin Yanlong could have very well killed them!
Which was why, in the fraction of a fraction of a fraction of an instant when he sensed the aura clash begin, his body had entered an 'overclocked' state and he was ready to go ALL OUT to protect Yulan and Lifen who were in danger, but fortunately—
Just as he was about to take drastic measures—even if it wasn't a direct attack but only an 'aura'—the strike of a Core Perfection Realm cultivator wasn't something he could easily withstand, and this was even more true considering he would need to protect both Yulan and Lifen at the same time!
Because of that he had been ready to take truly drastic measures, but fortunately Qin Yanlong's aura was contained just before that, so did this mean that everything was fine and joyous simply because the girls weren't truly in danger?
After all, in the end both girls were actually safe and hadn't even been injured by Qin Yanlong's aura outburst, so would he ignore it and not care?
Obviously not!
Bai Yulan and Bai Lifen had fallen into a life-threatening situation because of BOTH Rong Xueyin and Qin Yanlong, and this—
This wasn't, wasn't, really, really wasn't the kind of thing that Mikael could forget or forgive!
Because of that, at that moment the killing intent in his heart toward the two powerhouses that were Rong Xueyin and Qin Yanlong was terrifying.
Toward the frozen beauty, since she hadn't been the true cause of the life-threatening situation and had even helped in the end, his 'hatred' toward her was rather 'low.'
He simply disliked her, and in a hypothetical scenario where he had to choose between saving this heavenly fairy or saving the ugliest woman in the world, he would choose the ugly woman without a stray thought.
Primarily because she had at least helped contain Qin Yanlong's fiery aura, his hatred toward her was 'low,' but toward the latter… oh boy, the killing intent in his heart was so potent and heavy it could drown a sea.
If it wasn't for the fact that he was still 'perfectly sane' and refused to let himself be controlled by that killing intent in a way that allowed him to keep his rationality, he would have already jumped at this… thing to kill him.
But he didn't, since he wasn't delusional; he made no move, yet one thing was certain—this fiery Sect Master had entered his 'killing list,' and Mikael would make sure that the instant he could kill him, he would, even if killing Qin Yanlong brought negative consequences upon himself.
Of course he knew that his line of thinking was somewhat 'hypocritical' considering what he had done to the man's son, but he didn't give a fuck; he never cared about what others thought of him.
He always did what he wanted and was who he was, so no matter how 'hypocritical' it was of him to think so considering what he had done to Qin Lei…
The moment the Sect Master 'touched' his reverse scale that was the girls, he had already condemned him to death with no possibility of reversing the situation.
"Sangrelia will always be here to help deal with Master's enemies!" the recognizably innocent yet bloodthirsty voice of Sangrelia resounded in Mikael's mind as he felt the sword on his back become warmly comforting, transmitting her support, her undying loyalty, and… love?
His mood grew marginally better as he felt the presence of his loyal sword, the faintest hint of a smile even making its way onto his lips as he mentally replied, "I know, I know Sangrelia, but… I appreciate it, thanks."
Using the unique connection that linked them, he sent his feelings back to her, giving her his appreciation in return.
Seconds passed as sword and man wordlessly communicated before Mikael returned to reality, refusing to let Sangrelia 'distract' him any longer as he refocused on what truly mattered.
'Time to bring Yulan and Lifen to safety!' The thought passed through his mind, and after a brief exchange with the girls on the Flying Sword he leapt off it.
He then quickly made his way through the crowd, which was understandably tense after their near-death experience.
Chatter.
After moving through the chattering cultivators he soon reached the Stillwater Palace part of the crowd, with all of these cultivators being in the recognizable deep blue with lighter shades of blue Taoist Robes of the Stillwater Palace.
And far, far more important than their presence was a duo existence…
Bai Yulan and Bai Lifen were both with their Sect and carried rather tense and worried expressions, and this was true even for Yulan who had lost some of her usual airheadedness because of the gravity of the situation.
"Mikael!" ×2
Still, it didn't affect their reaction much, as the moment they saw him approach their expressions lit up with joy and they jumped into his arms, both sisters wrapping him in a tight hug.
"Good to see you two…" murmured Mikael gently as he hugged them back, feeling how tense both girls were, especially Lifen who was slightly trembling and showing none of her usual tsundereness, it was clear that the 'near-death experience' had shaken her.
Mmmph… Rustle.
After a long hug they slowly separated, Mikael looking down at them with a gentle smile while hiding the killing intent that only grew as he saw how much they had been affected.
"Why don't you come with me to the Wandering Sword Sect spot? While we wait for the Secret Realm to open, we could talk with each other and with the girls too, what do you say?"
"Hum… Okay~" Yulan didn't think long before answering positively, and the airheaded beauty didn't think much about why he had suggested it either; she was simply happy at the idea of passing time with her beloved and with her friends who were also her Dao Sisters.
With the joy of seeing and hugging Mikael, and of being reunited with her friends, much of her earlier worry and fear faded away as she once more became airhead Yulan.
Nod.
As for Lifen, she took a longer time before answering with a small nod, a faint, "I'll come with you…" escaping her lips, and being sharper than her airheaded sister she understood why Mikael had suggested they go with him.
She realized that if they were at the Wandering Sword Sect's location when something like that happened again, they would be protected from danger, and while she would usually have gone all tsundere—
By saying something like, "Hmph! I don't need your protection," or something of the sort—the cute tsundere was shaken by what had just happened and simply accepted her beloved's offer.
Rustle.
On that note both Bai Sisters tightly hugged him and were about to leave under the gaze of the Stillwater Palace, who had witnessed the entire scene, but then—
One of the Core Elders frowned, and being able to read between the lines, wasn't what Mikael had said essentially implying that their Sect was unable to protect its own disciples?
He deepened his frown as he began, "Young man, don't you think that you are looking down on our Stillwater Palace a little too much!?"
"No!" That single word escaped Mikael as he wrapped his arms around the Bai Sisters and began to walk away, yet as he did so he cast a casual passing glance at the Core Elder who had just spoken.
Gaze.
That single look carried such suffocating killing intent and terrifying madness that the Core Elder's next words, which he had been about to utter in response to Mikael's disrespect, died in his throat.
His face paled as cold sweat slid down his temple, his body stiffening as he felt an invisible blade hovering at his neck while a sea of blood surrounded him, slowly suffocating him.
Neither the Bai Sisters nor Mikael cared about the Core Elder, not sparing him a second thought as the three of them walked away, leaving him frozen in place, drenched in sweat and utterly unable to regain his composure.
"Elder, are you… are you alright?" asked a nearby disciple, but the Core Elder didn't answer, his gaze fixed on Mikael's retreating back, a single thought looping endlessly through his mind: 'Monster, he is a monster!'
Meanwhile Mikael and the Bai Sisters quickly moved to the immense Flying Artefact where nearly all the members of the Wandering Sword Sect stood.
Not a single one of them, except Mikael, had dared to descend after what had just happened with Sect Master Qin.
And this was a pattern that was happening at large with all the Sect and other Organization around the Realm of Broken Skies as their members returned under the protection of their Flying Artefact, fearing that another similar incident would happen but this time there would be nobody to stop it…
Because of that, they 'hid' under the protection of these Flying Artifacts, with the atmosphere being far, far tenser compared to how it was minutes ago.
Hop.
The next instant Mikael and the Bai Sisters hopped onto the flying sword, and normally Yulan and Lifen's presence would have attracted attention—and the wrong kind.
Or at least that was the case for a more 'normal' Sect, but for the Wandering Sword Sect nobody cared much, except for a few customary glances thrown their way, glances that were quickly retracted the moment others saw they weren't 'unknown' but were with a Core Disciple, and so nobody cared anymore.
They all stopped paying attention and returned to their own things, which showed the lax and relaxed structure that made the Wandering Sword Sect so unique.
"Two more!" A surprised exclamation escaped Brother Chen as he murmured to himself, "Brother Mikael is really something…" he muttered in a shocked undertone as he once more saw this Junior Brother of his being close—and clearly in the romantic sense—with two other heavenly fairies.
And when you took into account that Mikael was already in a Taoist Couple with three beautiful women, Lyra, Kiara, and Amelia…
Brother Chen shook his head, 'Yeah… Brother Mikael is really something else…'
Ignorant of Brother Chen's thoughts—though even if he knew, he wouldn't have cared—Mikael and the girls made their way through the crowd until they quickly reached Kiara, Amelia, Lian'er, and Lyra, who were all sitting in meditation beside each other.
All these extremely beautiful and enchanting women were chatting together, but contrary to the lighthearted atmosphere that could have been expected considering their relationship with one another, all four were on guard and somewhat tense, carefully paying attention to their surroundings.
Light up!
The moment the girls saw Mikael and the Bai Sisters approach their eyes lit up, not only in joy at seeing their beloved and their Dao Sisters/Friends, but also and above all in relief at seeing that they were safe and would be safe.
Author Note:
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Yandere Mikael?
I put that in the title because it made me think of that, he let out his Kiaraedness with his killing intent and him becoming really really not happy.
He isn't happy when his two women could have died… How Shocking!!!
Actually this is the kind of things that are generally 'swept under the rug' and not thought of when reading cultivation novel(I just remarked in my Author Note I often compare my novel with Cultivation Novel, but… meh it's currently in a cultivation world, so it's in the theme…)
Anyway the thing is that this is the kind of things that if you don't think much and read casually or don't pay much attention you won't care but if you take the time to think about it, it will annoy you(at least it do that to me) which is why I took the time to address the situation with all the seriousness I believe it deserves!
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— End of Chapter —