As if sinister whispers from the depths of the void echoed in his ears, even the young man on the brink of death couldn't help but tremble and shiver.
One hand pinned the "sacrifice" to the ground, while the other hand extended two fingers, like an eagle's claw, aiming to stab into the young man's eyes, ready to gouge them out, and then slowly dismember the organs and parts from his body.
Like enjoying a grand feast, Zhu Haomiao was full of delight, savoring the thrill of the slaughter.
Yet just as his fingertips were about to touch the young man's eyeballs, the excited and joyful smile on Zhu Haomiao's face slightly paused, and a faint, clear spirit light flickered deep within his scarlet pupils.
Though small, that spirit light was like a stabilizer, anchoring itself in the deepest part of his eyes, remaining steadfast despite the impact from the crimson and cruel evil light.
Killing, is allowed...
But not being controlled to kill...
No one can force me to do things I don't want to do!
With a strong sense of resistance, the two fingers hovering in front of the young man's eyes stopped moving, and the grip on his throat loosened more and more.
Fresh air rushed into the narrow airway, and the young man greedily breathed in the source of life, his chest heaving with bellows-like gasps.
As oxygen filled his lungs, his previously suffocated and muddled consciousness quickly cleared, and he looked up at the trembling youth standing before him, feeling that the once small and frail body now appeared as grand as a God Demon. For a moment, he lay at his feet, not daring to make the slightest move.
"Get out of my brain!"
"Get out of my body!"
"Get out of my soul!!!"
Screams echoing like millions of overlapping voices rattled his soul, sweeping through his insides like a tangible shockwave, causing trickles of fresh blood to seep from the young man's lips.
Realizing that the youth's focus was not on him, but rather on combating some invisible force, the newly reprieved young man, disregarding his internal injuries, scrambled and fled in a panic, not daring to look back as he disappeared around the corner.
His heavy breathing gradually subsided, and the youth left standing slowly straightened his hunched back, completely unconcerned about his prey escaping. He exerted all his effort to suppress the uncontrollable desire to kill, his trembling body gradually calming down.
"No matter what you are, I am me, not a puppet of desire..."
"Don't even think about twisting and distorting me..."
"I will never surrender!!"
His low self-hypnotic murmuring seemed to invoke some mysterious power from the unseen, as Zhu Haomiao gritted his teeth tightly, his expression contorted and fierce as he stared into the void, enunciating each word.
"What I give you is yours; what I don't give, you cannot take!!"
In the next second, the spirit light in his eyes suddenly burst forth, like a rising sun melting the ice and snow, gradually pressing the riotous and uncontrollable desire back into the depths of his consciousness.
In an instant, a sudden intuition flooded his spirit, as if entering a wondrous supernatural state. The youth, shocked, glanced down, his vision penetrating flesh, bones, time, space, and even the barriers of dimensions, seeing a mass of all-encompassing, indescribable, writhing darkness nesting deep in his heart.
That darkness harbored boundless power!
And contained endless evil!
It was the ladder of all progress!
And the source of all downfall!
The next second, with his heart sensing something, Zhu Haomiao raised his head in shock, his sight piercing through the chaotic void, seeing hundreds of magnificent stars bursting forth above the nine-layered heaven, resonating with the darkness in his heart.
Mysteriously, as if severely provoked, the stars trembled in fear...
Immediately, divinity condensed, and the blazing stars descended from the highest heavens.
Among them, seven star-like energy bodies were the most intense, as their primordial light descended from the unmanifested non-material interface, step by step condensing into tangible matter, faintly eliciting a deeper resonant connection with Zhu Haomiao.
Then, more divinity invaded the material interface, as invisible beams of light pierced the boundary between reality and illusion, landing on the ground and collapsing into towering humanoid entities.
Before he could fully indulge in the glimpse of wonder, as the extreme emotions faded away, fatigue flooded in like a tide. The sight beyond the human senses blurred and vanished, and the world returned to its familiar, tranquil state.
The pain of exhaustion felt like countless steel needles stabbing and surging within his body. Even with Zhu Haomiao's willpower, he could no longer investigate the anomalies inside and outside himself, and could only drag his battered body, limping towards the dormitory.
Shortly after he left, an old man with a lean physique and one arm slowly stepped out of a dark corner, gazing pensively at Zhu Haomiao's departing figure, furrowing his brows in doubt.
United Nations SD·CN-red109 (Red Annihilation-level) Supernatural Disaster Survivor
Self-identified as a Chinese citizen, but no trace of this person can be found in the real world, suspected to be a leftover invasive species from a brief coupling between the High Sky Rank Illusion Realm and reality.
Learning Ability: Average
Communication Possible: Yes
Physical Strength: Weak (severe malnutrition, developmental delay)
Mental Strength: Average (equipped with a Law-level spirit barrier, immune to all known mental detection methods)
Mimetic Contamination: None
Position Assessment: B
Friendliness Assessment: Negative (emotionally unstable, abnormal mental fluctuations)
Current Handling: Management and education by the Central Supernatural Academy in the Chinese Imperial City
Emergency Handling Plan: Humane extermination
-------------------------
Gazing at the data on the tablet, Zhu Huacang pondered for a long time, finally extending a finger to change the "Friendliness Assessment" from "Negative" to "Cautiously Optimistic."
After further heavy contemplation, Zhu Huacang glanced at his empty right arm, his gaze slightly lost in thought.
When was the last time I felt fear?
Ah, it was before I faced the gods with a mortal body and slaughtered them all...
Since then, having comprehended life and death, I have never felt fear again.
Because nothing can be more terrifying than death...
But just now, while secretly observing Zhu Haomiao, there was a moment when I felt a long-lost chill run down my spine.
Although that feeling was fleeting, so quick that even my rational mind thought it was an illusion, the supernatural divine intuition told me it wasn't an illusion; I truly sensed an unfathomable great terror from a 16-year-old mortal!
It was an unknown that surpassed death!
It was a distortion more terrifying than annihilation!
Subsequently, Zhu Huacang glanced at the ridiculous B-level position assessment, curling his lips in a taunt.
Even this B-level evaluation was likely granted because of his inherent Law-level spirit barrier?
Otherwise, with his frail physique and ordinary mental strength akin to a mortal, he would at most be rated as a D-level personnel.
Thinking of this, Zhu Huacang couldn't help but sigh softly: "Even the Human Gods standing at the pinnacle of the nine-layered heaven would feel fear towards you, young man; you truly are deeply hidden..."
With a murmur, he tapped his fingers, escalating the position assessment on the data.
Until finally, a prompt popped up on the tablet.