Chapter 17 - The Battle Royal (2)

They could do nothing as he was in the third level of cultivation, the difference in power as vast as Heaven and Earth. The crowd cringed, and many cried for him to stop, only to be even more horrified as they heard him laugh with glee while the students tried to resist him.

"Your brother is evil," Shen Hua noted as she fought the other third-year classes alongside the other two triplets and Shen Dong.

"Don't say it like that. Little brother's finally letting loose. He never fights like that because all the other students were too scared of him. With your presence here, many idiotic students transferred, and it resulted in this situation since they knew nothing. Heck, you have the cultivation to do the same," Guo Mei shrugged.

"But we wouldn't do it," Shen Dong said as the four of them saw another three bodies fly into the air and crash onto the ground. "I would at least let them forfeit or knock them out. Him? He is just... toying with them."

"Brother isn't that simple-minded. He uses what he calls psychological warfare. By doing this, none of the third-years are trying to fight him and are forced to fight against other third-year classes. He ensures his victory and many more future victories since fewer students will challenge him. That is what brother is doing," Guo Lin explained as he performed a shoulder tackle on another student, the student crying out as his bones broke and he fainted before crashing to the ground.

"Evil," Hua nodded as two third-year classes were quickly defeated.

"Red Death, let's join the party," Guo Yang grinned, letting go of a student he held by the throat as he and his snake rushed into a class of third-years. His spear was covered in rocks as he used the Stone Breaker Art. As he smashed through some students, he condensed and shot out a boulder of rocks that exploded against students who clustered together at the back. His snake used its tail to flick screaming students into the walls, sometimes crushing three or four students at once as it coiled around them and constricted its body.

"Too ruthless," Ji Ting muttered.

"That's the way of practitioners," Guo Jing laughed. "Go, Yang'er! Show them your might! Hey, why the fuck aren't you cheering for your fellow clan members?!"

"C-Cheers for the young master!" the Guo clansmen cried as they waved their banners, the faces of many powerful clans turning dark. Some had already expected this, but many new clans and organizations that had their young children transferred did not expect such... carnage.

It was as if they were sacrificing their children to a mad, sadistic beast. Even now, many clenched their fists as Guo Yang laughed maniacally, smiling as his body was doused in blood. How could they know that this exact scene was what made Guo Yang truly appreciate cultivation?

In the past, battles like this made him smile. He was the hunter now, toying with his prey instead of being the hunted. No schemes, no worries. Just him utterly destroying his enemies. He was like a snake on the verge of immortality, with no equal to challenge his wrath.

"W-Wait!" a student cried as he was the last of his class, while only Class 3-B remained and began their infighting. "D-Do you know who I am? My father is a duke!"

"So? Like I give a rat's ass what a duke is. Let me tell you, rats don't taste as good to a snake as they do to a cat. Ugh, fuck," Guo Yang said as he sneered in disgust as flashes of memories swirled in his mind. "Yeah. You made me remember something unpleasant. Grit your teeth or risk losing them."

"D-Did you not hear me? My father is a duke!" the boy shouted, pointing at his father.

"Oh, pray tell, what is his name?" Guo Yang asked.

"My dad is Lu Jin. I am Lu Jing," the boy said, looking arrogant as he rose to his feet.

"Oh, well that esteemed duke can't save you," Guo Yang grinned, his snake stealthily slithering around to the boy's back.

"Y-You would harm me?" the boy cried.

"I just can't kill you. Nothing says I can't break you. Harm you? That's not enough for me," Guo Yang grinned, spirit energy bursting from his body.

"W-Wait! You are in the third level of cultivation, right? I have this Dark Hell Fruit that can only be used to assist in breaking through to the fourth level of cultivation: the Meteor Vessel Stage. If I give it to you, you can't harm me," the boy said as he took out a black pear with purple and red dots across the skin.

".......It does sound tempting. Fine, I agree," Guo Yang said, and the boy, delighted, handed over the fruit.

"What?" the crowd, Guo Lin, Guo Mei, Shen Hua, and Shen Dong gasped. All of them were speechless, as they did not think Guo Yang would take the bribe.

"Y-You... accepted it?" Guo Lin asked, stunned.

"Well, he did say I couldn't," Guo Yang said, then gestured to them. "But you six can."

"There's only four of us," Shen Hua said, confused.

"How could you neglect their presence? Did two more not fight beside me and Guo Lin?" Guo Yang grinned, Lu Jing paling as he looked around and only saw the manticore.

"AUGHHHHH!" Jing screamed as a snake loomed over and swallowed him whole.

"I said no deaths!" Guan Hai shouted, then paused. "Ah, how cruel."

"Yup. Hey, Red Death, spit him out. He's not your lunch," Guo Yang shrugged, acting regretful as Jing was spat out and crashed to the ground, creating a small crater in the process.

"You! You hurt my son!" Lu Jin roared.

"I did not," Guo Yang said as he stored the fruit away. "Hey, do you not have eyes? This snake is not bound to me by a soul contract. He is NOT my magical beast. I merely... tamed it."

"He speaks the truth. The snake has no master," Guan Hai said as he checked Lu Jing. "The boy lives. Covered in spit and with several fractures, but he lives."

"That stuff can't be washed off. Those clothes are ruined. Trust me," Guo Yang sighed. "But hey, he qualifies for the top eight. Shouldn't you be grateful? Besides myself and the four others, he is ranked sixth due to my... benevolence in saving him for last."

"You...." the duke started, but could say no more as Guo Yang was right. The crowd did not know whether to laugh or cry as they stared at the sad boy covered in snake saliva. He didn't look like someone who should celebrate attaining the sixth rank.

"Lu Jing is indeed ranked sixth. Congratulations to him... I suppose," Guan Hai shrugged.

"Yup, I'm a nice guy," Guo Yang nodded as if he had done nothing wrong, some members in the crowd coughing blood as Guo Yang truly felt no remorse for the mayhem he had caused. Many stared at the Guo Clan and wondered how exactly they had raised him.

"What? Guo Lin turned out okay," Guo Feng snapped, some nodding as that was true.

"HEY!" Guo Mei shouted, and Shen Dong took the opportunity to hit her in the solar plexus. Guo Mei doubled over and coughed up saliva before falling unconscious.

"Well, I guess that makes her ranked fifth?" Shen Hua said as she scratched the back of her head. One of the two who got the seventh and eighth rank was her cousin. No one noticed her cousin's true cultivation or how she had been defeated.

"I got pretty boy. You fight the princess to determine third place," Guo Yang said as he walked toward Shen Dong.

"But I want to rank first or second," Guo Lin complained as he stood beside his brother.

"How does 100,000 demon spirit coins sound?" Guo Yang asked.

"Add 150,000 more and some spirit pills," Guo Lin haggled.

"Alright," Guo Yang shrugged, handing over the items, which Guo Lin happily stored in his ring. "Try not to lose. You do have a disadvantage, but you can fuse elements. Think how you can use that to control the battlefield, even changing it to give you an advantage."

"Right. Good luck," Guo Lin said as he and Shen Hua moved to the side, having a similar plan.

"It's been a while since I faced someone stronger than me. Can I enjoy this battle?" Guo Yang smiled as Red Death moved to the side by Guan Hai. "It's just you, me, your great sword, and my spear."

"I can accept nothing but first place," Shen Dong said as he brandished his giant sword, and the two charged with their weapons, their spirit energy blazing a glowing trail behind them.