Chương 79: Soul Fire in the Blood City

The night around me, as the moon shone through the light rain dropping softly on the ground, each droplet catching silver light as it fell. I moved swiftly, branch hopping from one massive tree to another to traverse faster. These huge trees of brown leaves stood eighty-nine meters tall, their ancient trunks thick as houses and their wide, gnarled branches forming natural highways high above the earth.

The rain made the bark slippery, but I kept perfect balance, my body moving on pure instinct as I finally crossed a little deeper into the Hardened Steel Territory. The terrain changed quickly and dramatically. The lush mountains gave way to a dark, oppressive land of jagged black rock and blood-red soil that seemed to drink in all light. I saw a smaller city upon my view, an outpost of roughly 12, 000 souls made from the absolute dregs of society.

Massive spiked walls of dark iron and red steel surrounded it, rising high and covered in layers of dried blood and rust. Towers shaped like screaming faces loomed over the streets, their open mouths carved, as if eternally crying out. The buildings were squat and brutal, stained black and red, with iron-barred windows and open torture yards all for massive gaze.

Public squares featured permanent devices of extreme suffering, as people were slowly skinned alive with heated blades while still conscious, hung upside down as hot oil dripped into their mouths, crushed under heavy spiked wheels that broke bones millimeter by millimeter, or locked inside iron maidens lined with rusting blades. Whips cracked, iron spikes drove under nails, and boiling cauldrons bubbled with oil and acid. The air reeked of blood, burnt flesh, sulfur, urine, and despair.

Screams rose and fell like a never-ending storm. Soldiers patrolled in spiked armor with perverse steel masks with sharp angular designs with grated mouths like iron cages that turned their voices into guttural growls. Their reinforced steel shoes were built for bone-shattering kicks. Their main weapons were long iron pikes with cruel barbed heads designed to hook and tear flesh. I watched from the rooftops for a long time, observing everything.

Non-consensual acts happened openly in the alleys while buzzing crowds laughed and gloated over the victims. I waited until the loudest screaming died down a little, then slipped inside. Luckily it coincided with my recovery, as I made it back to full power.

I saw the banner of the Hardened Steel Sect it looked like a black flag with dark crimson borders, featuring a bold white silhouette of a muscular long-haired man with arms powerfully crossed and fists clenched, long wavy hair dramatically flowing behind him, and fresh blood droplets dripping from his arms and fists. Truly disgusting of a folk. Once I jumped from rooftop to rooftop I saw the woman they had caught and had their "fun" with.

She lay on dirty hay outside in the rain, still wet in her eyes, discarded like trash. It pissed me off deeply. I wanted to let loose right away, but I held myself back. First I wanted to see the strongest here and understand this rotten place more, as I know from my past, once you beaten the strongest the rest will collapse. I rooftop-jumped ahead and found the biggest building in this outpost, the central fortress that felt like it housed the strongest local leader.

I beat a quick guard up there before he could utter a word, slamming him unconscious, then jumped through a window into the grand hall. Walking with a stolen mask, I looked around and found a prison full of people being mistreated, malnourished, and beaten worse than animals. Some were missing limbs or had fresh brands burned into their skin. The smell of unwashed bodies, blood, and despair was overwhelming. I finally had enough.

I thought this was a place of combat focused ragtag's, but I once again saw the ugly reality of life. I knew I had experienced this type of world before, but I had naively thought I would not be directly involved again. Yet here I was seeing them all caged. So I went Vestuto and cut the gates wide open. The walls behind me shook the whole building. I screamed at them, "Go! Run outside! I will bring the attention to me!"

With the little hope i had for those humans, yet they still did not move, even with an open wall. It was like they were broken beyond saving. I got even more pissed of current situation at hand. I wanted to kick them outside but instead I said with active vigor, "There! I will show you hope of freedom. Look at this branding of mine and compare it to yourself. I also were a slave who ran into freedom thanks to an outside help. The only difference was i stood up, when offered.

You can succeed too, if you believe in it." One of the older amber hued men took me with his gibberish babble, his voice trembling with fear.

"You do not get it. Even if we are free... this nation is under the watchful crazed eyes of the forty-nine-year-old Liangbei and his three monstrous sons Liushan, Liuyong and Liangi … Life under the Hardened Steel Sect is over and we are all considered wasted goods not even good enough to be put in good use…so let us be" I put the old man aside calmly.

"Ahhh, those are their names. Okay, hmmm I will show you hope by fighting this city and breaking you all free with my strength." As naive as my words sounded to them, I wanted to show them power from a Suren and help them out. Also it was perfect training for me to improve even more. I did not fully heed their warning, though true gospel that it was, I would later find out there was merit to their self-deprecating lifestyle of giving up.

Now with so many awakened soldiers pouring into the main building I let my Vestuto roar in heat. My veins pumped strong. My body's inner skin highlighted the colors like usual. I jumped straight down from the upper level, hitting the ground and damaging one hundred twenty-two soldiers in the massive impact crater that cracked the stone floor. The now confused group of soldiers around me saw a Suren.

"You are the troublemaker are you not?," asked a General with curious tone. At least that was how he looked to me. He had a steel mask with sharp angular design and grated mouth. He struck with his pike. Our weapons clashed, canceling each other out.

"Ohhh not bad Suren. You look like a familiar one i heard off. Oh, the one I heard yesterday was the only Suren who defeated Feng-Dao…" He licked his fingers, pulling his mask straight.

"Time to taste Suren blood and gain confidence for the boy as after i am done with you the Dao might be next, hehe. For our Steel Sect is impervious to pain! All praise Liangbei" The soldiers now started to shouted and sang loudly in unison for their General Pingul their song Yìng Gang Zong Zhan Gē, the ceremonial song. Pinyin English Tiě gǔ zhēng zhēng bú jù tòng, Shí wàn gōng jī shēn bú dòng. Nù yàn tāo tiān hù wú gāng, Yìng gāng zōng yǒng bú dǎo! Chorus Wǒ men dǎ de hěn, wǒ men yìng rú gāng!

Wú jù wú wèi, wú tòng wú shāng! Wēi yán tiān zhǔ nù mù shǒu, Hù yòu yìng gāng yǒng huī huáng! Wǒ men shì zhēn zhèng de Zhōngguó dào, Tiān yǔ zhī xià, Tài lā mǔ zhī shàng, yìng gāng wú shuāng! Iron bones unyielding, we fear no pain, Hundred thousand attacks cannot move our frame. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The mighty Lord's wrathful flames protect our steel, The Hardened Steel Sect shall never kneel! Chorus We hit hard, we are hard as steel!

Fearless, dauntless, impervious to pain! The watchful wrath of the mighty Lord guards us, Blessing our hardened steel to shine forever! We are the true Sect of the Zhongguodao, Unmatched under the Celestial Presence and over Terrarum's earth, Hardened Steel Sect... supreme! The General Pingul felt his strength surging as he Vestutoed under the ceremonial song. He realized that while he could keep up with my Vestuto somewhat, I was still far outside his scope of knowledge and was holding back to see what I could do.

But for me his Vestuto was terrifying, the Fire Nerve System. It started by burning nerves and make them burst out from beneath his skin like living whips of flame, wrapping around his limbs and torso before plunging back inside. Every protrusion carried lightning-fast signals from his brain, granting him explosive reaction speed and power that multiplied with each movement. He laughed with savage glee his face changed as his forehead got super swollen in orange color.

As he started to take steps and saw my reaction to his hidesous form he spoke with the ego of a maniac "Behold my Huo Shen Jing Mai known as the Divine Fire Nerve Veins! My nerves extend like the veins of a divine-one, carrying commands at the faster speed of lightning itself. They grant me strength that grows with every heartbeat, turning my body into a living furnace of destruction! Your pathetic little flames are nothing but a dying candle before my inner inferno.

Your trashy Vestuto belongs in the ashes where weaklings like you are born to burn!" Our battle intensified into a ferocious storm of steel and fire. With his new power he started gaining on me as we both tried to find out about each other and learn the weaknesses. His pike strikes exploded with internal fire implosions that sent shockwaves through my body every time they connected.

I blocked and countered, landing heavy cuts that drew blood, but he kept coming ignoring them, laughing through the pain as his nerves imploded on contact and boosted his strength further. With our fight now going into the hall, which shook with every clash. Sparks flew all over. Flames and explosions lit up the room. I was now being pushed hard, forced to give ground, but I refused to fall down. Every block rattled my bones. His speed and power kept rising while my stamina dropped.

I now had to dodge, weave, and strike back with growing fury, but his imploding nerve strikes were relentless, each hit feeling like a small explosion inside my guard. I saw no other chance, as the General Pingul found my position to be dire and ready to go for the kill. In Response to the overall situation i led my brain being overloaded. The Soul Attribute forced its way in. The charcoal-grey shadowy armor with silver sheen erupted violently around me. Flames and shadows mixed in a monstrous storm.

My eyes glowed with cold silver light while fire raged across the black plates. The unwilling transformation released an overwhelming aura that made the entire hall tremble. My instinct self took full control to safe me from death. The surprised and shocked General Pingul saw not only fire of hot heat but something monstrous now standing before him. I destroyed him in brutal fashion. My sword-axe swings became a blur of black fire and silver slashes.

I cut him apart piece by piece over the next hour while the soldiers watched in horror. When I finally came back to myself I was still in extreme pain. I was mad at myself the pain hurting my spine, still telling me. I definitely needed to improve on controlling the Soul Attribute enough to be not hurting as much as it right now did. I needed to train... now more than ever it made it conclusive. I needed to find space to myself and master it.

But before that, all the imprisoned people finally ran, seeing what I had done. I told myself it was all for the good. The problem though was the main Sect capital far away got wind of the situation. Deep in the heart of the capital, a vulture messenger burst through the night sky, screeching as it landed on the balcony of the grand fortress. A servant quickly untied the blood-stained scroll from its leg and ran inside, trembling.

The forty-nine-year-old Liangbei (186 cm tall) sat on his throne made entirely of skulls from his fallen enemies, the bones polished to a grim shine by years of blood and sweat. He looked crazily young for his age, his long wavy hair cascading dramatically over his shoulders, his ripped body visible beneath dark red robes. His Animo protruded powerfully at 105, 000, filling the entire hall with crushing pressure.

He was in the middle of devouring a whole roasted chicken with savage bites, grease and blood dripping down his chin. Servants shivered around him, knowing this man was a madman in himself. The servant fell to his knees and hollered the news with a shaking voice. Liangbei's sharp eyes narrowed. His slavering mouth paused mid-bite. Then a slow, terrifying grin spread across his face. With a loud booming laugh that shook the walls, he roared, "BRING ME MY SONS TO ME!" The call echoed like thunder. BOOM!

The first born, Liushan (188 cm tall), crashed through the massive reinforced gate like it was paper, the heavy iron doors flying open with a deafening clang. He bowed deeply, his buzzcut white-yellow hair and scarred body radiating violence. BOOM! The second born, Liuyong (175 cm tall), dropped from the rooftop, shattering the stone floor where he landed. His dark violet hair and trident gleamed as he knelt. BOOM! The youngest, Liangi (177 cm tall), burst in through a side window, glass exploding around him.

His wild dark blue wavy hair and ripped physique mirrored his father's as he dropped to one knee. All three monstrous sons bowed before their father, eyes glowing with hunger. Liangbei licked the grease from his fingers and spoke with a mad grin.

"My most vicious ones… If one of you brings me this Suren alive, that has ravaged on my Outpost in the far east, for personal skinning via hot boiling water, I will let you become the young Sect Leader, that you all are eyeing upon." The three sons' eyes widened with savage ambition. Dots of realization appeared above their heads as they processed the reward. Now they looked like hungry hyenas, teeth bared, eyes locked on the Suren news with pure bloodlust.

Without another word, all three exploded out of the hall and out of the city, speeding into the deep night like monsters unleashed. They were informed the Suren was 1, 200 kilometers to the north-east of the border. And so I was now officially hunted by the Hardened Steel Sect's potential young heirs...