Drip! Drip! Drip!
Spark remained immobile in the grasp of the sect masters, his scarlet blood the only thing able to move.
Lacerations all over his skin ran deep—so deep they cut down to the bone. 'Are you kidding me? Is this how I'm going out?' he panicked.
The powers wielded by the masters were terrifying. They hadn't even made a move—just emitted a slight intent—and he was already in this state.
What did that mean? They hardly needed to exert effort for him to end up dead.
Not to mention how useless his input-output ability felt right now. No matter how much he tried, it remained dormant.
From the side, the immobile Void wore a cold expression, but internally, his heart was filled with rampaging fury.
No one is allowed to kill him… That right is reserved for me and me only!!! His mind roiled furiously. No matter the conflict he and Spark had gone through, it never changed the fact that they were brothers.
Though he was helpless to stop the execution, he burned the faces of all the masters into his memory. They wanted to nurture him, right?
'Perfect. I'll bide my time. When I'm strong enough, I'll claim your heads!' he declared.
The others had mixed feelings. The villains were mostly filled with terror at the power the sect masters displayed—and a little bit of glee at Spark's misfortune.
As for the heroes, they were mostly filled with pity and sympathy, with only a few sharing the same killing intent as Void.
There were two in particular. Starlight was obviously the first. Her love for Spark still ran deep. Seeing him dying before her very eyes filled her with a kind of hatred she had never felt before.
'Is this what you always felt?' she wondered. Spark had always told her he couldn't help his impulses, but back then, she never believed that humans could be ruled by them.
But today, she had been a victim—surrendering helplessly to her overwhelming compulsion. And now it was happening again. But this time, she didn't care.
She carefully glanced at all the masters' faces. 'I will make sure you all regret this!' she stated internally. Somehow, even with such killing intent, she felt she wouldn't regret anything. If anything, it might just turn out to be enjoyable.
As for the other, it was none other than Frost Bane—a secret admirer of Spark's.
But looking at her, one would hardly notice she cared at all. Her ever-icy expression remained, coating her inner turmoil.
One had to say, these sect masters were pitiful figures. They never once stopped to consider that Spark might have relatives or friends among these outsiders.
They never understood that their actions now would only lead them down the path of forging the blades that would execute them in the future.
…
And then, just when Sect Master Cao Ming was about to make a move—ending Spark once and for all—
Buzz!!!
His figure miraculously vanished from sight!
Their heads rang with stinging pain as an imperial voice boomed in their minds:
"Hurt him and I will exterminate you and your families—to your ninth generation!"
All the masters on the scene froze.
They understood immediately that all their actions had been observed by an immeasurable figure—and it seemed their choices had angered him.
They trembled in terror.
Where was this? This was a realm where angering the wrong person could result in being randomly slapped to death!
One had to always be cautious. A random beggar on the roadside could turn out to be an unimaginable existence.
They were merely Tribulation Realm cultivators. There were still countless figures out there who could end their lives with nothing more than a fart!
The fact that they were still alive now left them with endless gratitude in their hearts.
"Ahem! Comrades, it's been nice seeing you. Me and Master Ye still have some unfinished business waiting for us—we'll be taking our leave now…" Spirit Master Gu suddenly formed an excuse to depart.
He had barely finished his statement when he, Spirit Master Ye, Mind Bender, and Echo vanished from sight.
They were running back to their sects. Who knew if that being would change his mind and suddenly find them unsightly?
They couldn't take that chance.
Before anyone else could speak, Master Lin Bin vanished—taking Void, his sect disciples, and elders along—without saying goodbye.
The other masters glanced at each other and followed suit, vanishing with their disciples and elders.
As for the others who saw Spark disappear, they thought he was dead.
Also, the voice of the mysterious being was only heard by the masters. The others didn't notice the anomaly…
And so the villains and heroes separated, each embarking on their various paths to becoming cultivation titans.
The question now was—would they really make it to the peak?
Yes, they had outstanding talents.
Yes, they were close to reaching Zenith.
But none of that mattered in Tianxue Jingjie.
After all, this was a realm that boasted a thousand times more danger than Earth. Their opponents wouldn't only be humans—they would face gods, dragons, demons, and even more abominable beings.
They would face situations that would make them question their existence, abandon their morals, and reforge their being.
A lot of things were uncertain for sure. But what was certain was that when next they met… if they met… they wouldn't be the same anymore.
…
Meanwhile, at another corner of the southern wastelands, fate stirred in silence…
A region called the Barren Desert came into sight—a desert abandoned by the wind, a place of eerie stillness. It was a vast plain of sand, flat and dry.
But suddenly, this stillness was interrupted as a bloodied figure appeared out of thin air.
Thump!
It was none other than Spark's unconscious body, sprawled helplessly on the sandy plains.
"Father, looks like there's someone over there," a lively young voice rang out from a passing merchant carriage.
"Oh? What a pitiable guy. He probably got robbed and murdered. Xiao Li, this is what happens when one braves these feared lands alone. This should be a lesson," an elderly voice followed.
"But Father, he's breathing… shouldn't we help?" the young voice questioned.
"Hmmm… Han, Guo, you two go check it out. If he's alive, give him some treatment and put him at the back with the goods… and one of you stays to monitor him."
And so, Spark's journey through the mortal lands began…