Chương 73: If You Gaze Long into the Abyss...

A scream, raw and hysterical to the bone, tore through her throat.

"Shhh, don't get me all excited," Guan said, a mischievous glint flaring in his eyes as he placed his finger on her soft lips. Her scream stuck. Even her breath was blocked, cold sweat pouring down from her forehead. A moment later, it returned way too strong for her. Her chest rose and fell in an erratic rhythm, each breath coming faster than the last. All shallow. Burning. His eyes shifted to her chest but didn't even linger there, disinterested. There was no lust in them. No desire.

As though what he saw was only a dead weight. Discarded flesh useful for absolutely nothing. He stared deeply into her roots, stationed below her rib cage, and above her belly button. T-T… She couldn't formulate even a thought. He didn't hurry her. The finger on her lips slowly moved to her chin, propping it up. His eyes met hers again, his smile soft. Gentle. Smitten, in the sickest way. Then his whole hand followed, cupping over her cheek.

A rose petal slowly materialized on his fingertip, mirroring the one that had unknowingly appeared on her forehead.

"Oh, you gained something new, too. I wonder what exactly our dearest Wang Ren helped you to gain—" Just before the petal fully formed and bloomed into flesh, a crimson glow darker than his suddenly erupted. It pushed his hand back and, as though not satisfied, pressed over on him until he stumbled onto the Snapper Deer's body. Guan frowned, a faint irritation flashing past his face. The beast wailed weakly.

"Shut it, wretched thing," he whispered, patting over its shell. Petal marks covered its skin like a set of scales. The light in its purple eyes faded before all its flesh broke into a rain of roses. He didn't even spare a glance, eyes locked onto something in the glow.

"You are…?"

"A worm like you doesn't deserve to know," hissed a voice from the glow.

"Ah, the one called Crimsonbite. You were that pathetic familiar of pilldrunken Master…what was his name again? Shu-something." Guan smirked, his frown disappearing as if it were only her work of imagination.

"A noble viper, endeavored by one of the best enhancing venom in the world, working for a half-cripple?" The glow sharpened all at once, yet he didn't react.

"You might be strong. But mere aura remnant thinks it can be above this coldblooded one?" he muttered as one eye of his eerily shifted to her, while the other didn't even tremble.

"Is this what he gave to you as reassurance?" Liuxue didn't answer. Her tongue refused to.

"Don't fret, little one, this worm shall threaten you no more." The glow spread all over her body like a cocoon and even released a hint of warmth. Only then did Liuxue realize she was freezing cold. Her senses returned like an avalanche. Teeth chattered uncontrollably, feet lost grip, and blood dripped from her clenched hands. She collapsed onto her knees, her gaze still blank. Guan's smile didn't diminish.

His stationary eye flickered toward the broken tree— A golden hue suddenly flashed as it slammed into his chest. A crimson barrier appeared, yet the hue passed through it without even touching. At the very last moment, a rose bloomed in a split second, barely stopping it short." Second Punch, Tyrant's Shadow." A whisper echoed, then a spectral fist pierced through the dust cloud far away. It struck at the empty air, yet the effect hit the butt end of the hue.

The rose, already stretched to its limit, broke apart in the blink of an eye. The spear pierced all the way through his chest and launched itself into the ground, scattering bits of shell and gravel across the bank. It left a huge, horizontal emptiness— both on his body and on the ground. Blood dripped from Guan's mouth. Only then could he react.

"Hehe… You are still full of surprises, Wang Ren! Hehehehe!" He touched his chest, his hand slipped straight into the hollow where his heart should have been, finding two separate globs of flesh thumping in anguish. His laughter was cut short as he vomited a ton of dark blood.

"You know I was after you all this time… What gave me away?" he muttered, wiping his mouth against his arm. His lips curled up wide. Silence. An ugly smirk—utterly mismatched with his slender features— surfaced.

"Hiding, huh? Fine, I already have a guess." He paused, his eyes flicking to the Crimsonbite. This time, he didn't even bother staring at her. Liuxue didn't know what to make with it… Yet she still shivered.

"But I truly have something I really wonder. Your fall… It's not as simple as a broken foundation, right?" Guan continued, as petals fluttered out of his hand, merging with the flowing water and mending the broken heart. Or at least they tried, as a golden light mixed with silver halted their approach. He stared at them, and his smirk widened.

"You were a deity up above, mingling only in your so-called judgment. I respected you as my brother. But this… lesser version of you isn't deserving that respect." Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

"What arrogance." An answer arrived.

"To consider yourself equal with a deity way above." Liuxue… didn't know this voice. Not this version of it. She turned stiffly, her neck protesting. Amidst the dust cloud, a pair of fist-sized eyes opened slowly. It had no pupils, only pure whiteness, before colors spilled into them like viscous blood, moving in an erratic rhythm. Black and crimson clashed, splattering their pieces around, repelling and devouring each other as if they couldn't coexist.

"You are angry," Guan said, not even bothering to acknowledge his claim.

"Oh, I'm way past that." Another pair of crimson eyes snapped open below the first pair. The fight for dominance in the massive eyes halted, and both colors unwillingly stopped bothering each other. Settling in two circles, crimson took the center while black covered around it like a blanket, still greedy for its place. H-he… he is like that … again… Liuxue couldn't hold it back anymore. She emptied whatever she had in her system. …

Bright red blood dripped from his forehead, running along his nose and down onto his throat. A metallic taste mixed with acidic sweat seeped into Ren's mouth. There was a dark silhouette behind, beyond his being, two emotionless eyes looking down at Guan. Ba-thump! His heart pounded louder than ever before. Was it because of adrenaline? Fear? Pain? Disgust? Anger? Maybe… hope? The figure waved its hand out of the cloud, clearing the dust.

Ren appeared, lodged in the massive tree, its shattered body cradling him like a throne would. He seemed relaxed. He was relaxed. His muscles weren't stiff. Hands not clenched. Teeth not trying to crush each other as though they had an unresolved vendetta. The Tyrant of his being mirrored him, sitting on a true throne, majestic and indifferent. The throne he mended with his own hands, marred by his scars. Drunk on the boundless strength from his foundation surging inside him, Ren's gaze slowly shifted away from it.

And he saw. Trembled. A fierce shiver that ran through his whole body. The image from his past overlapped with the image in his present. Xue Liuxue. His precious disciple. The girl who reminded Luna… was vomiting. The greedy black chose right that moment, like a shark smelling blood, and bit into the crimson. A drop of it seeping into the center. Ren glared at the still smirking bastard. Both hands pressed on the bark, pulverizing a part of it as he rose. He deserves only one fate. Ba-thump!

The heart-shaped seed on the throne thundered as Tyrant mimicked him, stepping onto the empty air. Its green phantom figure flickered on the corners as its crown glimmered.

"Come!" Guan shouted, a mad glimmer flaring in his eyes.

"Show me what you have become, brother!" Ren obliged. BOOM! A terrifying explosion echoed. He landed, a crater forming on the ground as Heavenpiercer struck a blooming rose. The figure in the sky shrank only then, his afterimage failing to follow him. Guan raised a brow. His aura erupted in full. Unfortunately for him, it could only reach Late-Stage Core Formation before it stopped harshly. Frowning, his gaze flicked toward his cleaved heart, then he used his hand like a blade.

At the same time, roses bloomed all around his body, but the spear tore their petals apart and cleaved their stems. Ren slightly tilted his torso forward and stepped closer without fear. Indestructible Body concentrated on his shoulder, his muscles clenching as the hand hit Cinderborn. It left no mark, nor did it affect his flesh. Instead, it got pushed back faster than it arrived, as though it had burned, fingers melting into roses and scattering in the air. Guan flinched. That was a mistake.

Blood splashed from Guan's broken nose, and his face twisted from the splitting pain flooding into his head. Another line of blood dripped down from Ren's forehead.

"Ha!" Viper let out a gasp, waving his hand toward the Heavenpiercer trying to cleave him into two. A pure-white fan flashed into his hand, stopping the spear.

"You don't think only you gained a wea—" An armored fist sank into his throat, crushing his Adam's apple and cutting off his nonsense. Ren hit with his elbow, spinning the spear one-handed. He grabbed it with both hands just as it ended its half-turn. As if wasting even a single second was unacceptable, his arms bulged, and he drove its butt end into Guan's solar plexus. It dug in deep. He moved closer, hands sliding the shaft, until it came out the other side. They stood face-to-face.

The man's cold breath clashed with his burning hot one.

"You talk too much," Ren murmured. The Viper's eyes widened. The scattered and broken petals around him vibrated for a second, then all shot toward Ren like bullets. He also tried to retreat— Ren only cast a sidelong glance before he charged in. His body shimmered in a faint silver light, and the petals passed through him harmlessly. Some hit the crimson barrier behind, clinking aside. This finally elicited a frown from him.

He pushed the spear with one hand, not letting the Viper save himself, while his armored hand once again rose high. He landed one punch, stepped faster than the man could fly back, and caught his shoulder, crushing his shoulder blade into a pulp. Followed with a headbutt, he dazed him once more. He let go of the spear. His fists returned to the stage, every punch shone with a blend of silver and crimson, until the face caved in. Until the skull smashed apart completely. Until— Viper's body exploded.

His flesh turned into white serpents slithering on the ground in panic, his blood into petals revolving in the air. Like a wild hedgehog desperately shooting its needles, the petals tried to turn Ren into a pincushion. The second they moved, one of the serpents hissed viciously. It lunged at him, growing to a behemoth in an instant. Ren's eyes sharpened. If he dodged, both attacks would go straight to Liuxue. You don't get to escape. The Tyrant heard his thoughts. Both stomped— Ren's eyes shot open.

Wind hit his face, flaying his skin as he reached the limit of his body, touching the realm of supersonic speed. A belated boom erupted behind him only when he appeared above a tiny serpent climbing the broken tree, Heavenpiercer silently appeared in-hand. The serpent flinched, turning around reflexively. Stab! Guan returned to his human form, nailed to the tree. Blood spurted from his mouth, and he looked down at his chest in disbelief.

His heart, freshly recovered, cleaved in two once before it could beat even once. His eyes shifted past Ren. The Tyrant had grabbed the colossal serpent's open maw. It didn't even react when the petals hit its body and melted into a bloody mess. The crown over its head glimmered, its arms bulged with spectral muscles before it ripped the snake, from mouth to tail, in two. Then, as though it wasn't satisfied, it punched the ground. First Punch… Dominating Heavens.

A massive crimson print covered the sky, falling as though someone had angered the Buddha. It crashed into the ground, leaving a crater and splashing soil and water everywhere. Not even one serpent managed to escape. Its crimson eyes suddenly found Guan's vertical ones. The throne had appeared behind it at one point, above Liuxue, smoking and scalding hot. Tyrant sat on it like the king it was, its gaze never leaving him. A clear warning. Guan gulped, his eyes shifting back to Ren. Then he broke into a smile.