Chapter 152 He who fights monsters.
152 He who fights monsters.
The sun's harsh rays reduced in might as it went around the dome of heaven, finally nearing the time of sunset. Slaughter-bathed and death-filled, the forest of the world felt as if it had broken a sense of monochrome that had kept nature balanced till now.
Standing at the top of a tree, his gaze akin to an eagle, Han Li looked around, pondering. Humans were like this, the most chaotic of all races as if a mistake by the heavens. Everything else, Beasts, Gu Worms, trees with a beast core inside, all of them were trapped in a sort of life cycle where their standing was always a constant.
If it was a lion, it was put at the top at birth; if it was a squirrel, it was put at the bottom. But humans had the inherent nature by which putting them in any category would be just wrong; they were neither predators at all times nor were they prey; they were just a unique cog in the whole system of things.
His gaze moved to the waterfall once more, so mighty, he knew, even after having had his breakthrough and his physique becoming an [Above Average Evolved Physique], in the face of nature, he was nothing but an ant with a bigger head. Even Power Borns couldn't have been mighty enough to withstand that waterfall. Han Li already knew the location of six Power Born. He had killed enough animals and absorbed all their memories in the last half an hour, the number of animals here was quite aplenty, so he had eyes everywhere. And, of course, he didn't plan to engage them; he would take advantage of the weak instead. Even though he lacked info on some key figures, it was not that worrying.
His cold red gaze focused on the distance at a group of people, three buff men and one coquettish woman, each wearing different martial robes and bickering as they moved towards one of the Power Borns. In their hands, there were no Life Type resources, he knew. He had already realized that after inflicting a wound on their comrade's corpse that they had left behind. Yet, they did have many Water Type resources.
Even mosquito meat was meat, he wouldn't reject such heavenly fortune.
Han Li was swift; after finding their location, he jumped down the tree with a vine and quickly followed them. His footsteps were quick; he was akin to a blur in normal senses like a cheetah dropped into its natural habitat, and a minute later, he was standing before the party. Of course, in the shadows.
His gaze scanned them. Two of the three men were Transformation path, and both of them would be beyond his bodily capability in a head-on fight, as long as they got the chance to transform, that is. One of them had an Ice Monkey Dao Soul, while the other was, surprisingly, a Rabbit Dao Soul. Han Li's gaze shimmered as he waited in front of them while his sword was on their back. With a single glance, Han Li could tell they had zero teamwork and were wary of each other.
He waited, he waited till they were just a meter apart, five seconds more, and he would attack. One…
Two…
Cold sweat streamed down his back, and his heart skipped a beat; in his senses that were hidden with Heart Qi but spread 10 meters all around him, in the sky was a woman, and she was coldly looking at him. Han Li immediately knew the person.
Saintess Moon Girl! The second Power Born was just like Monk Hen Shin, going around the Demon World just saving children; even though great fortune hung around her for her to have, she didn't look twice. A carrier of justice, an absolutely fierce woman.
But to Han Li, her fair, jade-like face felt like a scythe that hung around his neck.
'She would kill me if I moved…' His heart chilled, and he stayed still as if he hadn't noticed anything. His sword, too, hid in the shadows, completely untraceable. Suddenly, his heart calmed down, and his mind became icy sharp, and a smile tugged at his lips.
He repressed the smile.
Han Li walked out of the shadows, his face utterly frigid. The party of four was startled, and all of them quickly jumped back.
Moon Girl frowned. Wasn't this person just trying to ambush them?
Han Li, on the other hand, coldly looked at the three men and the woman. His gaze emotional, he asked, "Where is my brother Lu Jun?"
The men and the woman immediately looked at each other. Lu Jun? Who the fuck was that?
Han Li's eyes reddened. "My brother Lu Jun was with you earlier, the scar-faced, orange-haired handsome man. Did you kill him?"
The men and woman immediately realized. Ah! That idiot who had tried to take advantage of them, the person who they killed together earlier, their earlier companion!
"Brat, if you don't want to die, scram!" One of the buff men said coldly, he was the Rabbit Dao Soul guy.
Han Li glared at him with a face full of desperation. A smirk inside his mind; of course, they wouldn't want to explain it to him; after all, they didn't know a justice-seeking disaster was in the sky.
"Did you…" with a heartbroken expression, he asked, "Really kill brother Li Jun?"
The four of them all relaxed, thinking of him as an Awakened instead of an Evolved. He looked too young, and even though there were resources to change appearances, if Li Jun was such a cheap idiot who died for a bunch of Water Type resources, how could his brother be any different? If he was strong, they'd be a team in the first place.
Arrogance ruled their thought process, calmly and silently; Han Li activated his Talent—Seduction. All of their groins started to feel weird, especially the woman, and their thinking process was also messed with, as lust would usually.
23:18
"You guys are all demons," Han Li teared up. "Do you have any way of saying no? Are you guys even human? He was such a heroic person. What did you do to the children he saved?"
Li Jun had saved no children, nor were the people here Demons; anyone sane would reject such slander by instinct; anyone would go nuts to say it was slander. But sadly for them: [Low-Level Magic Power, Fantasy Inducement: An ability to make others briefly forget something due to a lack of attention to detail by uniquely inducing their lust.]
They were like a fiddle to him; they couldn't even notice it due to a lack of him using Dao Crystals; it was a direct Power, and unlike Yang Wei who had his Spirit to guide him in the battle, here Han Li was alone, to someone as experienced as him, these people were just simple beings. If the Power Born above was spreading her Soul Sense, he wouldn't have been so daring, but she was just looking at them, like looking at ants.
And Han Li sobbed again, wiping his face with a sleeve. He screamed, his appearance that of a wounded beast, a hopeless creature. His act was so realistic even his mother would have fallen for it. He had experience doing this a million times after all.
Acting was a survival skill.
"Kill me too; I don't have any cultivation! I am just an Awakened, and I no longer have anyone! Kill me too, you demons!" His heart-wrenching screams made all of them frown, but just as they were about to reject the accusations, they forgot that thought. Luckily, even if the Power Born scanned him with her Soul Sense, he would seem weak. He had Heart Qi after all.
If even one of them among the party had a solid Heart of Cultivation, Han Li would have been in a lot of trouble since that would easily make them reject it, but unlike his mom, they were not so aligned with their own thoughts.
But Han Li, more than anyone, knew how arrogant these Sacred Talent Young Masters and Mistresses were usually. He knew how high pedestal they would think of themselves. Even looking at him, they would have a shade of disdain. Finding someone with humility among them was a rare event.
The coquettish woman did give Han Li many scares with her frowns, but Seduction on the side was a powerful technique, especially since his beauty was so devastating to most women. Her eyes were practically glazed with lust as she looked at him.
Beauty was a weapon. And seeing their expressions and seeing them not even utter a word of rejection against the young awakened, who she had thought to be an Evolved Demon waiting in ambush, the woman in the skies coldly harrumphed to herself.
How vile these three men and that woman were!
And that boy really does look handsome, but what was this woman? With one glance, she could understand that the coquettish woman was a slut. Who looks at a newly met face with such lust?
She calmly waved her hand in the air, and a moon-like blade appeared and cut off each three of the men's heads, and on the side, cut off all four of the woman's limbs, and then finally vanished as shards of light.
Smiling, completely confident in her judgment, she flew away. Just in case, she had put a delayed attack on the woman. If that youth tried to do something weird with the woman, he would also perish. Han Li looked at her vanishing back with a smirk using his Soul Sense.
"Among all of the people who were here," he muttered, a chuckle in his tone. "You are the most arrogant, the most conceited. Yet, you are also the strongest. What you say is justice., is justice."
But… He shook his head.
He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster himself. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee. Who was the demon? n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Was it the lion acting like a sheep?
Was it the three people who were already dead?
Or… Was it the justice seeker?
"First time I schemed against a Power Born so easily," Han Li chuckled. "What an amusing and attractive girl… ah, I forgot to check her with Life Vision."
His gaze then moved to the coquettish woman. With a smile, he forgave her for killing his brother Li Jun, and with a smile, he departed. Of course, not without a pouch full of Water-type resources; in total, there were three.
"Bountiful harvest awaits the diligent farmer," He sang, his mood lovely. There was still roughly about an hour till sunset. His mood couldn't help but become better again.
The best thing in this scheme was that he wouldn't have had to suffer even if the dead or dying had reacted against him. He would just be thought of as someone Li Jun, the Evolved, had manipulated into thinking that Li Jun was a good man. It was a no-loss game.