The notion that Heavenly Dragon Temple hadn’t betrayed Xu Xing... was merely the last shred of wishful thinking in Fa Zheng’s heart.
The reason Heavenly Dragon Temple accepted Xu Xing as a true lineage disciple was because his Bright King Body could help them purify the evil thoughts of the Sky Dragon Outer Demons. But Xu Xing might not have been aware of this...
Regardless, he had to try.
However, what awaited him was not Xu Xing’s response, but another wave of Great Imperial Court Sword Qi. This attack completely extinguished the last vestiges of life in Fa Zheng’s head and body.
It seems... after cultivating the Dragon Transformation Technique, one develops this Sky Dragon Outer Demon within...
Even an Innate Martial Artist, after being killed, retains a glimmer of life.
Xu Xing glanced at Fa Zheng’s corpse, thinking to himself.
The reason he hadn’t killed Fa Zheng completely just now was that he wanted to see if Fa Zheng had any other means to counterattack and turn the tables. Compared to Fa Zheng, who was relatively easy to kill, Fa Hui, that Old Monk, was a far more difficult opponent.
The two were from the same sect, and Fa Zheng was the abbot; their methods should have been comparable to Fa Hui’s.
But now it seemed that, under the overwhelming power of his Immortal Foundation Realm, Fa Zheng could only await his doom.
Although the Great Imperial Court Sword Qi was currently only an Innate Martial Art, when fueled by his Magic Power, its might and effectiveness were more than ten times greater than when previously activated with Innate True Qi.
Among experts, even flying flowers and plucked leaves could be used to kill.
Although he hadn’t cultivated any techniques specific to the Immortal Foundation Realm, relying solely on the Great Imperial Court Sword Qi and the Vajra Mudra—two Innate Martial Arts—was enough for him to dominate anyone beneath the Immortal Foundation Realm.
Just then, a burst of dense and disorderly footsteps echoed from the passageway outside the Zen Room.
Fa Zheng had used his movement technique to quickly return to his residence first. The other monks of Heavenly Dragon Temple, lacking Fa Zheng’s level of cultivation, could only trail behind, arriving considerably later.
About Half a Moment had passed from when Fa Zheng entered the room to when the other monks arrived.
"A bunch of Buddhist degenerates..." Xu Xing cursed under his breath.
However, he didn’t rush to kill them. Instead, with a flicker of movement, he slipped out through the broken door of the Zen Room and hid about two to three li away from Fa Zheng’s room.
This place was unlit, dark, and silent.
From his vantage point, as the Heavenly Dragon Temple monks arrived, the light from their torches blazed up, brightly illuminating Fa Zheng’s room and two or three surrounding wing rooms.
Then, the torches moved off one by one as the monks began to patrol the temple.
First, I’ll kill those of the Fa generation, then those of the Zhi generation... Xu Xing decided as he watched them disperse.
Even with his Immortal Foundation Realm strength, taking on the entire temple alone wouldn’t have been difficult. However, he wasn’t one to revel in brawling and bloodshed. As long as the outcome was the same, the process didn’t matter to him.
Soon, like a reaper, he lurked in the shadows, silently harvesting the lives of the Heavenly Dragon Temple monks.
One... Two... Until the seventh old monk of the Fa generation fell.
Next, it was time to deal with the Zhi generation—his peers. Compared to the Fa generation monks, who were already easy to kill, Xu Xing found dispatching those of the Zhi generation even less trouble. A single wave of Great Imperial Court Sword Qi was enough to slay them, leaving them no time to react.
There’s no need to kill those further down. Xu Xing stayed his hand, deciding to spare the Sky Dragon Temple junior generation.
These monks had only just begun their martial arts training; their cultivation realms were low, and they had yet to be taught any profound martial arts.
Of course, this was merely one insignificant reason why he chose not to kill these junior monks.
The fundamental reasons he chose not to kill the junior monks were:
First, while one should not be swayed by misplaced compassion when acting, one must also guard against indiscriminate slaughter.
Second, as he had noted when previously dealing with Prince Chongming and Prince Yong, two imperial princes, he rarely killed personally. If he had the Mount Siming army at his command now, he wouldn’t mind ordering the Heavenly Dragon Temple to be razed—out of sight, out of mind. It would only take a casually spoken command.
Third, even if he inadvertently left behind future troubles, this was merely the Instance World; he had the capital to squander. If this were Reality, he would, at the very least, have eradicated them root and stem.
Slipping past a group of patrolling novice monks, Xu Xing began to search the residences of the Fa and Zhi generation monks, looking for texts detailing the cultivation methods and experiences related to the Dragon Transformation Technique.
During his search, he encountered a few unperceptive junior monks who tried to attack him. Xu Xing didn’t feign mercy. His general reluctance to kill all the junior monks stemmed more from finding it troublesome than from compassion. With a casual wave of his hand, he unleashed a Sword Qi, and the few monks were killed instantly.
In any case, the monks of Heavenly Dragon Temple had, to varying degrees, all participated in the efforts to hunt him down after he’d left the mountain; killing them couldn’t be considered slaughtering the innocent.
This is enough. These texts are sufficient... Cradling a stack of books, Xu Xing tossed down a few torches, set fire to the temple, and departed.
By the time the sky began to show the pale light of dawn, he had already reached Hezhou City, near Lian Shi Mountain. He stood before the city gate, waiting for the City Guard Soldiers to raise the drawbridge and open it.
[Heavenly Dragon Temple’s Rebel Monk—Zhi Xing. Informant reward: One hundred taels of silver. For his slaying: Bring his head to the local government office for a reward of seven thousand taels of silver...]
Just as he passed through the city gate, Xu Xing saw the Wanted Order for him posted on the city wall.
"The reward is a thousand taels higher than it was ten years ago." He smiled.
Trying to entice someone to kill an Innate Martial Artist with such a meager reward was pointless; hardly anyone would be tempted. Those capable of killing Innate Martial Artists wouldn’t be short of money. Wealth, after all, was merely a worldly possession.
The main purpose of this Wanted Order was to encourage the Common People to provide information, allowing experts from the Imperial Court and Heavenly Dragon Temple to then pursue and kill him.
「Half an hour later.」