Kapitel 17: Righteous Idiot
*Things like sexism and racism are purely for worldbuilding and to make it more realistic. Thank you for your understanding.*
"Xuan Han, you cannot sway me. As you said, things require sacrifice. If I have to lose Meng Ai, so be it. As long as I can destroy this cage that millions of people have died in, it's worth it." Meng Chuan, who was rapidly approaching the entrance of the sacred garden, said in response to Xuan Han.
Xuan Han did not respond, he only sped after Meng Chuan who was nearing the entrance of the sacred garden with a regretful look on his face. The two ran with quick steps worthy of a peak Stage 1 cultivator and were over twice as fast as a mortal.
Intense winds assaulted the sides of their bodies which were facing the abysmal drop down to the city. However, they were unfazed. With their cyan robes fluttering wildly, Meng Chuan had a resolute expression while Xuan Han had a contemplative one reminiscent of regret.
'If I still can't persuade him when we arrive, I'll have to try and stop him myself.' Xuan Han thought maliciously. Although Meng Chuan was his close friend, he would betray him without a second thought if the Temple ordered him to.
Xuan Han was born within the Temple and his mother was a Stage 3 high priestess. His father was even stronger; a Stage 4 templar! Since he had been within the grasp of the Temple since he was young, he put the interests of the Temple before everything he did. However, this was not a bad thing. Every force needs recruits and every force needs to preach its doctrines.
If someone like Qing Fang was in charge of a large force, he would be much more ruthless towards recruits like Xuan Han. Due to his sociopathic nature, Qing Fang would stop at nothing to brainwash and manipulate children. This was the most efficient and effective way. Things like morality only hinder the bearer.
Unknowing of Xuan Han's thoughts, fourteen-year-old Meng Chuan ran at full speed. He was only higher Stage 1 in cultivation but Meng Chuan was special. He knew the arts of muscle-strengthening taught by martial artists. At full strength, he could fight a middle Stage 2 cultivator. This was also the reason why Xuan Han, who was stronger and older, was in such a passive stance toward Meng Chuan.
If Xuan Han had the power to stop Meng Chuan, he already would have. Thus, if Xuan Han wanted to stop Meng Chuan, he would have to put his life on the line and resort to underhanded tactics. However, Xuan Han had no qualms about throwing his life away for the Temple. He saw it as his duty and purpose.
A man without a purpose is a man without substance. On many developed planets within the Mortal Realm, people are living with no purpose but indulgence. This eventually leads to regression instead of progression. A force even at the top must not lose its purpose. If they do, another force will soon take their place.
If a man had nothing to fight for, even Qing Fang would pity him. If a man fought for the wrong things, Qing Fang would disdain him. Women? Money? Material? Are these things truly worth blood, worth life? No. Only belief is worth life. Thus, a man without belief is a man wasting himself.
When a man reaches the gates of the seven gods of Hell, will he truly be content with his life if he wasted it chasing the wrong thing?
The rays of sunlight shone through the air within the valley like many spotlights with the light being very concentrated at the top of the valley. It made it look like a world of light was just above, but out of reach. Visible, but forever unattainable. If one saw such a beautiful scene, the desire to escape this city would undoubtedly burn bright.
The trail was carved out of the cliffside and resembled steep stone steps a dozen meters wide. With plenty of room, twenty men could walk side by side and not fall off.
Meng Chuan looked up and ahead of him as he saw the trail abruptly stop and fork left. Increasing his speed, Meng Chuan neared the end of the trail.
Sunlight suddenly blinded the two as they put their arms in front of their eyes and waited for them to adjust. A dull tingling could be felt on the back of their eyes and slowly receded as vision returned. When it had, a grass plateau came into view. It was not small but not large either. There were no trees and only shortly cut grass filled the space. The plateau was connected to the cliffside and connecting to the cliffside from the plateau was a large entrance to what seemed to be another world filled with level-ground, nature and small animals. Looking through the crack in the cliff, they could see rows of trees and plants on either side of a grass path which eventually led to a garden just within view.
Within the garden was an expansive view of beautiful plants, trees and herbs. Around the periphery of the garden was a wall of intertwining trunks from thin trees. Growing beyond them were the pungent-smelling plants.
'The sacred garden.' Meng Chuan looked at the garden with intense longing in his eyes. As a fourteen-year-old boy, he was around 5'6" and had a young face, black hair and bright eyes filled with youth. He gave off a special bearing and someone could tell he was extraordinary just by looking at him. Although young, he was built sturdily and had obvious muscle unbefitting his youthful face. With many small scars and callouses in his hands and immediate wrist, it could be seen that he had undergone harsh training even at such an age.
Next to Meng Chuan, Xuan Han stood slightly behind. 'I must act soon. Before it's too late...' Xuan Han was tall for a sixteen-year-old, standing 6'2" and was quite skinny. He had a strange glint in his eyes, showing his scheming nature. He glanced at the back of Meng Chuan's head, a glint in his eyes that one wouldn't normally see from such a young man.
'Meng Chuan must be stopped. It is for the prosperity of the city.' Xuan Han thought with noble intentions. In fact, since his mother and father were high up in the Temple, he knew exactly why the secret of the sacred garden must be kept.
The Temple had long since sent a Stage 6 expert to the outside world by the passage of the sacred garden. It had to be known that there were only three Stage 6s in the city and each of them was with a major force. The Temple's Stage 6 expert was outside for a dozen years before he finally returned. When he came back, the Temple were eager to find out what the outside world was like, however, they didn't get the answer they were hoping for. "We must not go outside. The people inhabiting this planet... are far too strong. There are nearly a hundred Stage 6s and even someone above that. They call him 'Patriarch'. When I felt his aura...I nearly collapsed. If they find out about us, the city is done for."
These were the exact words of the Stage 6 expert who went outside. After this, the Temple kept the sacred garden a secret and forbid cultivators from entering. They hoped to stay within the city. To the Temple, what they once thought was a cage was now a safeguard. Thinking of this, Xuan Han was completely prepared to kill Meng Chuan. This foolish child, although talented, was hoping to 'free' the inhabitants of the city. However, he was setting them up for capture instead. It was a cruel irony.
It goes without saying that this Stage 6 expert spent a dozen years investigating the Qing Clan. It must've been a shock to someone who was used to being one of three powerhouses to have to crawl around in the dark like a rat. Stage 6 cultivators had the ability to leave the planet and explore the Mortal Realm. This Stage 6 cultivator hadn't even explored his planet! It was truly a waste of a Stage 6 cultivator to be locked up within a tiny city and for what? Preservation? The Stage 6 cultivator could've joined Qing Clan as an external elder. Loyalty? A shackle on one's mind.
If Qing Fang knew that this Stage 6 cultivator placed a meaningless city above his own hope in cultivating further than Stage 6, he would be confused. From this, it could be seen how things like emotions are a burden. Of course, emotions are not bad as long as one can channel and suppress them at will. For example, when Qing Fang used his rage to kill a Stage 4 cultivator. Although he was overtaken by it, the feat of killing a Stage 4 cultivator was not something he could've achieved sane. If Qing Fang perhaps managed to use such rage as a weapon, fighting people much more powerful than he would become child's play. If Qing Fang managed to fuse his arrogant nature with his sociopathic one, nothing would be impossible.
Meng Chuan was looking at the sacred garden with great desire, however, something suddenly caught his eye. He, as well as Xuan Han, looked over to see a scene they never would've thought to find deep within the Temple's territory.
They saw a small girl wearing a priestess' dress cowering in fear beneath the gaze of a terrifying warrior.
The warrior's upper body was bare and his robes started just above his belly button. Thick wiry muscles rippled as they shone under the sun in red and brown. War paint in menacing patterns was covered over his upper body and bulging muscles. His face was covered in white lines as a pair of murderous eyes turned from the shivering girl and stared right at them.
The warrior was very intimidating and Meng Chuan was immediately on guard. As Meng Chuan was very experienced in battling martial arts masters, he could sense a formless aura around the warrior. Danger signals were constantly going off in his head, especially when he matched the gaze of the warrior.
Meng Chuan had never shied away when fighting older opponents and managed to get to his current level because of it. However, when he looked at the dominating man pulsing with a sensation of danger and death, Meng Chuan felt his age: that of a young boy. Looking at the eyes of the warrior that were filled with vast battle experience coupled with a will to slaughter, a weight formed on Meng Chuan's mind as he felt anxious.
There was a strange feeling in Meng Chuan's gut telling him to retreat; that the opponent before he was a dangerous beast. Meng Chuan composed himself as he stood strong in the face of a true warrior. Looking at the person beneath the warrior, however, Meng Chuan lost his newfound composure as he shouted unbelievably loudly.
"Bastard! What did you do to my sister?!" The words contained endless hate and loathing. Meng Chuan lost all the previous anxiety within as it was fueled by a rage so powerful that he could lose himself within it. However, it paled in comparison to the rage Qing Fang displayed back then. When Qing Fang slaughtered Qing Jinfeng, if anyone saw that scene, they would think he was the God of Violence-one of the seven gods of Hell-incarnate. Thus, when faced with such an amateur rage, the warrior only smiled cruelly instead.
Seeing a cold, cruel and ruthless smile in reply to his provocation, some of the danger resurfaced in Meng Chuan's mind. However, he didn't listen to it. It was obvious that the warrior before him was a mighty foe that must be faced with extreme caution. But even so, rage and immaturity took over the, although powerful, young and inexperienced Meng Chuan's mind.
Turning his attention to sensing the cultivation of this barbarian, Meng Chuan was surprised for a second before a mocking smile adorned his face. 'Hahaha! A mortal dares to face a cultivator? I'll kill him!' Meng Chuan's inner thoughts were extremely vicious as he prepared to slaughter this mortal and then free his sister. He disregarded the danger he felt before like it never happened-a huge mistake.
Next to Meng Chuan, Xuan Han also visibly relaxed as he could not possibly consider a mere mortal a threat. With his sharp eyes, Xuan Han could see that this mortal warrior looked extremely accomplished in fighting and was probably unmatched among mortals. However, Xuan Han was a cultivator. He was stronger, faster and more powerful than mortals in every way. Not to mention he could manipulate Law fragment and conjure elements at will. There was no way a mortal could match him.
As for the possibility that this mortal was a martial artist? It never crossed the sixteen-year-old's mind. However, it could not be expected from a youth to have a nature as cautious as Qing Fang. He was but a cultivator youth who had powerful parents, was average in cultivation and was an inexperienced fighter.
If he had these traits while being the son of a very important and powerful person, he would be killed for incompetence. However, he was still alive and well as of now.
Meng Chuan was staring viciously at the mortal who dared to provoke him. While not as cautious as before, Meng Chuan still focused on every movement the warrior took so he could not escape. When he saw the warrior slightly bend down and reach an arm toward his sister, he wanted to yell in anger, however, he was too late. Under his incredulous gaze, Meng Chuan watched as the little white dress adorned on his sister was ruthlessly and violently torn from her small body.
Meng Ai, who was weeping at the foot of Qing Fang on the floor, finally felt a touch from "Fang". About to look up at him, she felt a tight gripping force from the hand placed upon the chest of her dress. Then, a very violent force was enacted on her body as she felt the dress being pulled roughly and savagely. She grimaced in pain and wept loudly as she felt the dress tightening on her to an unholy degree. With a final and vicious tug, the dress was completely ripped from her body.
Meng Ai lay powerless on the floor, deep red marks and rashes along her upper body and shoulders given to her when the dress was torn off. Her body and innocence were on display to "Fang" who had just desecrated her. Her milky-brown skin looked warm and supple under the sunlight as her womanly curves were revealed. Now that the dress was gone, Qing Fang could see Meng Ai's breasts and flat belly.
However, he was unconcerned with her. As he was right now, she was just a bag of flesh in his eyes. His cold eyes barely glanced at her body and turned back toward Meng Chuan.
Due to searing anger, Meng Chuan's mind went blank for a moment before he exploded in rage. Seeing his sister violated by a brutish mortal, one that he thought to be much weaker than himself, he felt gravely insulted. Did this mortal not care about his life? Meng Chuan thought that this was an open underestimation of himself, which he hated with a passion.
As a very young cultivator, people always look down on him due to his age. It had gotten to the point of being an insecurity. Having this insecurity violated so ruthlessly made Meng Chuan so angry he nearly fainted.
Controlling his muscles to surpass their potential using the methods of martial artists, Meng Chuan rushed toward the barbarian with immense speed. As he was a cultivator, the burden on his body when using this method was significantly lesser than when Qing Fang used it.
With an ugly expression on his face, Meng Chuan wanted to bury this mortal a thousand meters underground. He wanted to torture him for a hundred thousand days, stripping his flesh and eating it before his eyes. Insurmountable rage had completely encompassed Meng Chuan's being as he broke the ground with every step as he rushed toward Qing Fang.
The barbarian constantly enlarging within his view, Meng Chuan mobilised a punch that no Stage 1 cultivator could withstand. Arriving just before the barbarian, Meng Chuan firmly planted his feet on the ground, crushing it. Using his extremely firm stance, he used every muscle in his body to impale Qing Fang on his arm! Moments after he had pivoted his stance, his fist was already flying through the air at a speed no mortal could see. When delivering the punch, Meng Chuan glanced at the barbarian's eyes. He wanted to see despair, fear and indignance.
Unknowingly, Meng Chuan was planning to instantly kill Qing Fang even though he wanted to torture him. This was the effect of rage clouding his mind. He had decided on something, but the next moment, he acted against it.
Glancing at the warrior's eyes, however, Meng Chuan was shocked.
He only saw mockery.
But even so, Meng Chuan did not waver. He showed that he was confident in battle and confident in his abilities, only increasing the power of his punch aimed directly at the abdomen of the warrior.
After which, Meng Chuan watched speechlessly as the barbarian spread his feet into a wide pivot, curled his arms strangely like he was dancing and completely redirected Meng Chuan's punch to the side.
Punching only air with such immense force his body could not normally muster, Meng Chuan heard some of the muscles in his arm and upper back tear loudly as bones were fractured and joints were dislocated. It seems that in his infinite anger, Meng Chuan delivered a punch with his whole body weight behind it, not caring for the fighting experience he has painstakingly built over the years.
Grimacing in pain, Meng Chuan suddenly looked up to the barbarian before him. The height difference was too huge. Meng Chuan was 5'6" while the tyrant before him was 6'0". Not to mention that the warrior was standing tall while he was in a low stance. Looking up, he saw a gaze directed down towards his own. Seeing the barbarian's head still held high above him while glancing down, Meng Chuan felt a formless pressure shroud his mind.
This was the bearing of an Emperor!
Meng Chuan felt like he was nothing before this mortal like he was disposable. Thinking of this, Meng Chuan suddenly felt very strange. Like...he had lost control of his own body. The feeling rapidly spread from his 'human essence' and to his whole body.
With a gaze filled with disbelief, all of Meng Chuan's muscles relaxed and became limp. Feeling extremely vulnerable, a broad shadow suddenly encompassed his body.
Directing the eyes of his falling head upward, he saw the barbarian's chest ripple and become a shade of red. Seeing this, Meng Chuan was speechless.
'M-martial arts grandmaster...no! Great grandmaster!!' Meng Chuan had trained martial arts with an old grandmaster within the city, thus, he instantly recognised the use of the art. Not to mention his enemy's great strength, just the fighting technique he used before warranted extreme caution even if he was a mortal. Meng Chuan even suspected it surpassed the level of a great grandmaster and into the level of a supreme grandmaster! The way Meng Chuan felt his punch redirected so effortlessly and with minimal strength, he knew he was facing an absolute master in fighting arts.
Meng Chuan felt that when redirecting his punch, the mortal before him only used the strength of a child. With such mastery over the redirection of force, it was no wonder why Meng Chuan thought Qing Fang was a martial arts supreme grandmaster.
Hence the name, supreme grandmaster was the level above great grandmaster in regards to martial arts. They were sages in regards to turning the mortal body into a fighting machine and had even delved into the study of longevity! In the folklore of the Mortal Realm, there once was a supreme grandmaster who lived for two hundred years and could fight a peak Stage 3 cultivator!! The folklore said that when faced with the seven trials of reincarnation in Hell, the supreme grandmaster failed miserably under the God of Violence and was judged to suffer in the Violence Hell for all eternity! They say he is still suffering there to this day. The reason for this was that the supreme grandmaster was just too violent! Maybe even more so than the God of Violence himself!
Possibly facing a figure such as this, Stage 1 Meng Chuan felt hopeless. How could he not?
Meng Chuan wanted to move but couldn't control his falling body. Knowing he was going to die right here, he looked at his sister shivering a few meters to his side. Looking at her terrified bearing, Meng Chuan felt like he was in Hell already.
After glancing for a second, he closed his eyes, never to open them again.
...
Xuan Han saw Meng Chuan rush up to the warrior, only to have his punch redirected and arm destroyed. After that, Xuan Han saw Meng Chuan's body fall powerlessly while the warrior cupped both of his hands into a fist and raised them above his head.
Then, the fist travelled downward with immense speed onto Meng Chuan's limp head.
With a sickening crack and squelch, Meng Chuan's head was completely smashed into pieces. The headless body hit the ground with a dull thud as the warrior redirected his gaze toward Xuan Han.
The whole exchange lasted less than a second!
An overwhelming fear shrouded Xuan Han's mind. Seeing the warrior who was covered in the blood and brain matter of Meng Chuan suddenly turn and stare at him, Xuan Han immediately turned to flee.
But even then, it could not be seen as dishonourable even though a friend was killed before him. After all, the foe was just too strong. Too dominating. Too violent. Too ruthless. Xuan Han could say millions of words to describe the nature of the scene he had just seen and still wouldn't be able to convey the fear he felt right now.
But what was honour? Stand amongst the ashes of a trillion dead and ask them if honour matters. It does not. Life prevails over all! While the 'righteous' fall pathetically into the fallacy of honour, the 'evil' disdain it. This is another reason why Qing Fang felt like his way in life was the only true way. Anything else is wrong.
Running toward the exit of the plateau and onto the cliffside trail, Xuan Han thought he was safe. With the hearing of a cultivator, he had not heard the warrior take even one step, meaning he was still stood in the same position.
However, a hand firmly gripping his shoulder snapped Xuan Han out of his naïve reverie.
Turning around with a horrified expression, Xuan Han didn't even have a chance to see what was behind him before his head was blown off by a powerful fist.
Another pitiful soul, sent to Hell by the demon Qing Fang.
...
Wiping the blood and brain matter of his second victim off of his wrist, Qing Fang had a downcast gaze.
'What a pity.' Qing Fang was regretful that he didn't have the ability to use these two people for his own gain. Manipulating their minds to his whim was too much work for too little gain. After all, they were only Stage 1 cultivators. While one of the two was very talented, Qing Fang saw the resolution in his eyes and knew he wouldn't be able to subdue him.
As for controlling their soul? Since Meng Chuan had reverted back to a mortal, the radius of his divine sense had shrunk to one meter in every direction. Once they left this radius, Qing Fang would lose control over them.
Speaking of controlling souls, that was exactly what Qing Fang did to the foolish Meng Chuan who dared to get too close. Overcome by anger, Meng Chuan didn't even manipulate Law fragments to fight and only relied on physical strength, which was extremely advantageous for Qing Fang. When Meng Chuan came within the range of his divine sense, Qing Fang directly seized control of his body and made it limp before killing him.
Looking at the headless corpse of Xuan Han, Qing Fang suddenly bent down and stripped him of his robes. He planned to wear them. After all, since Qing Fang was right about the Temple placing huge importance on the sacred garden, it was definitely deep within their territory. If he tried to walk away while wearing ragged robes and looking like he is right now, Qing Fang will definitely get caught.
After stripping the corpse of its clothes, Qing Fang retrieved his storage bag from his robes and put the naked corpse inside. He had kept this storage bag within his robes since he buried the gold coins underground. At that time, he put the gold coins, ring and everything he had into the storage bag he found on Qing Li Guan and threw it in the hole he had dug. He kept this empty storage bag on him since then and had put nothing in it until now.
As for why he was taking the corpse? For his Blood path cultivation, of course. He planned to start as soon as possible. The best time would be as soon as Qing Fang entered the depths of the city and hid. After all, since he emerged from the sacred garden and killed two guards-Meng Chuan and Xuan Han-this Temple would definitely investigate him. He planned to quickly hide in the slums of the city. After all, if the Temple were to investigate, they certainly would not suspect a mortal.
Walking back up to the plateau, Qing Fang saw Meng Ai still curling up her naked body into a ball while shivering. She had sparse dots of blood on her skin. Probably due to Qing Fang crushing Meng Chuan's head with a downward fist pommel.
Passing by her and approaching the corpse of Meng Chuan, Qing Fang stopped in front of the body, once again, storing it within his storage bag for his cultivation later. Within the storage bag, only the Law of Space existed so the blood within the bodies would not dry up no matter how long he left it. It was also due to this that if a living being entered the storage space, they would instantly die.
Living beings-Mortals, Immortals and Gods alike-relied on Laws to exist. Without them, they would die.
Putting the cyan robes of Xuan Han on his body and throwing the robes of Meng Chuan away, Qing Fang looked over toward Meng Ai. She was still shivering on the ground, her naked body visible. It was unknown to Qing Fang whether she was shivering due to the strong winds or fear, but he would prefer the latter.
Walking over with the same silent steps he used to make Xuan Han feel a false sense of safety, Qing Fang looked down at the small body of Meng Ai. After his mortal desires resurfaced back in the sacred garden, Qing Fang had planned to maybe use Meng Ai as a vent. However, looking at her current pathetic and fear-stricken state, Qing Fang decided against it. Qing Fang had no qualms about r.a.p.e or anything similar. The powerful take from the weak. But such a pathetic woman...Qing Fang's pride prevented him from using Meng Ai's body. Knowing these desires wouldn't just face away if he ignored them, Qing Fang decided to go to a brothel in the city when he had the chance. Or even better, locate a nice young virgin. Of course, they had to be old enough to be able to pleasure him.
With a quick stamp of his foot, Meng Ai's abdomen caved in as she was grievously injured.
Short and quick breaths escaped her mouth as she couldn't even muster a groan. Qing Fang watched as she bled out.
It took exactly two minutes and seventeen seconds.
*Ultra-long chapter at 4,781 words! I even thought of splitting it into two!*
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
PSYcho_72
PSYcho_72 Thought about it a lot and Meng Ai won't fit into the R-18 without compromising Qing Fang’s character. You can still expect an R-18 chapter very soon, but it won't be Meng Ai in it.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
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Rangliste 
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Stein