A hidden fragrance wafted by his ears.
Wu Xiaode looked at the translucent figure in his hand, knowing that if the real Arian were here, he should be able to react in many ways, none of which should give him away.
But what was the most appropriate one?
If he wanted to hide everything and not reveal himself, the most appropriate reaction would be—
His hand tightened slightly.
To crush the figure, activate the power of "Diamond Tears," and head straight to the arena to finish the life-and-death battle with Abner!
But he was sowhat reluctant.
After all the trouble to get here, only to end up having the chance to impersonate himself.
He needed more information!
With this thought, he said:
"This ti, defeating Abner isn’t difficult, but within the family..."
As expected, the mother took over the conversation and continued:
"You don’t have to worry about the family. Your father’s last attempt to kill you has been exposed, and I’ve commanded him to be put under confinent."
"As for the Family Head, he listens to in these matters, so we’re fully prepared for everything."
Damn it.
Why did Arian’s father want to kill him?
Wu Xiaode carefully pondered Arian’s way of doing things and simply snorted coldly, turning away.
—Regardless of who it is, being targeted by one’s own father and brother is always an unpleasant matter.
Seeing him like this, the mother laughed "giggly."
She plucked a bright flower, sniffed it gently, and said languidly:
"A useless son who occupies so many resources—if you had died earlier, giving everything to Abner, he would probably have grown up by now."
"That’s always what your father thinks."
"So it makes sense that he’s always wanted to kill you."
Wu Xiaode blurted out, "Let see him."
"Hmm?"
The mother furrowed her brows, eyeing Wu Xiaode with a suspicious look.
But Wu Xiaode was thinking about sothing else at the mont.
"Let go there; so things should co to an end," he said.
"For instance?" the mother asked, probing.
"My glory, which he has no interest in seeing, then he shouldn’t see it. He should go to the Netherworld and wait for Abner, to witness Abner’s death with his own eyes," Wu Xiaode said.
The mother’s frown relaxed, and she tilted her head slightly, looking at Wu Xiaode in a new light.
"Arian... you truly have grown."
She set down the flower and gestured behind her.
A maid quickly approached.
"Take Young Master Arian to see his father."
"Yes, my lord, please follow ," the maid said, bowing slightly.
Wu Xiaode followed the maid toward a path behind the garden.
The mother watched his retreating figure and murmured softly:
"Your father’s strength is not to be underestimated. If you’re going to kill him, be prepared to get killed by him instead."
Wu Xiaode paused and, without turning back, said, "I will prove your discernnt, not his."
A blush spread across the mother’s face.
The struggle for power and strength was so thrilling and intoxicating. Just imagining the scene of father and son mutually annihilating each other made her entire body tremble with excitent.
—This is the deanor of a great family!
"Go, bring your father’s head, and I will reward you," she said, lightly touching her chest.
Wu Xiaode gave no response.
He disappeared along the path crowded with blooming flowers, following the maid.
...
The path ca to an end.
There was a tranquil courtyard.
The maid stopped and said, "My lord, as soon as you go in, I will use the mother’s authority to completely seal this place with a barrier."
"Only when there’s one person left in the courtyard, the master of the End, will I open the barrier."
"Do you have any last words?"
"None," said Wu Xiaode.
"Please," the maid stepped aside, bowing slightly toward him.
The courtyard door then opened.
Wu Xiaode entered the courtyard, and the door silently closed behind him.
The courtyard.
With a rockery surrounded by a clear stream.
The pond was full of lotuses that swayed gracefully with the breeze.
A man dressed in black armor stood in front of the pond, silently watching the birds flying to and fro on the rockery.
"Why are you here?"
The man didn’t turn around as he spoke.
"To see you," said Wu Xiaode.
"There’s no need to see —if you’ve already been defeated by your brother, you should be fully dedicated to his cause. But it seems you haven’t done that," the man said.
"I heard that when I lost to him last ti, you wanted to kill ," Wu Xiaode said.
"Yes."
The man turned his head and glanced at Wu Xiaode.
—He was filled with murderous intent, and his expression was dark with the scheming of constant calculation; he looked at Wu Xiaode and then averted his gaze.
"I often think, if I had killed you when you were a child, then I wouldn’t have had to split my resources into two, but could have focused them all on Abner,"
"In that case, his talents might have erged a few years earlier."
Wu Xiaode chuckled and asked, "Then why didn’t you kill back then?"
The man sighed and said earnestly, "That was a strategic mistake on my part. I had assud that both of your talents were strong enough to inspire each other, and that you would eventually beco mbers of the Destruction Council."
"I am already a council mber," Wu Xiaode said.
The man looked at him with a hint of mockery in his eyes and whispered,
"You just climbed up there because of that woman. Your own strength isn’t enough to sustain such a position, Arian."
"Is that so?" Wu Xiaode took up the conversation.
"Of course, the best proof is that you lost to your younger brother in a duel," the man said.
His killing intent was so intense it peaked, he simply pulled out a string of skull necklaces from his chest and held it up before him.
His hand brushed over one of the skulls on the necklace.
—The skull was so small and silent.
"I had thirteen children, the youngest nad Asuo. When he was ten, I realized his talent was astonishing. Unfortunately, he held a grudge against the family and longed for freedom, so I had to let him die."
The tiny skull slid through the palm of his hand.
"The oldest is this one—"
He displayed a red skull to Wu Xiaode.
"Amy, a naughty child with a talent for the Evil Curse. Unfortunately, he was too deeply bewitched by Evil Spirits—I didn’t teach him well. Needless to say, he had no future, so I killed him."
The red skull once again slipped through his hand.
"Eleven are already dead, and finally, the dawn has co—"
The man gently hung the skull necklace on a rockery.
Eleven skulls, and the wind passing through them made a faint whimpering sound.
A warm smile appeared on the man’s face.
"...Raising children is truly a difficult task, but hardship ans harvest."
"At last, I got a genius."
"Abner."
"Arian, your disobedience to your younger brother will only tear my family apart. Once you die, your brother will no longer have any internal obstacles,"
"So you can die with ease."
"This will be your last useful contribution to the family. From now on, our house will beco the strongest branch in the Shangmo family."
After speaking, the man slowly drew his sword from his waist.
Wu Xiaode shook his head and spoke:
"Then have you ever thought about why the mistress favored over Abner?"
The man sneered disdainfully, "Isn’t it just because of your sweet talk—"
Wu Xiaode gestured him to stop talking, "Have you ever considered that won might also desire power. Perhaps her vision is better than yours."
"Twenty-so years are enough for to see all your talents, Arian. You don’t have more potential," the man said.
"Is that so?" Wu Xiaode said.
The man suddenly disappeared from where he stood.
Clang!
A light sound rang out as the string of skull necklaces fell to the ground.
The sound of the wind beca bleak.
Continuous cutting noises echoed throughout the courtyard.
In an instant.
The entire courtyard was leveled.
Innurable blue blades pierced through the entire Void, cutting incessantly back and forth.
The man sheathed his sword and shook his head, "You’ve regressed. Just now, I struck you twenty-one tis."
Amidst the dense blue blades, Wu Xiaode’s voice was heard:
"But... what of it?"
Whoosh—
Dark flas spread out in all directions.
Wu Xiaode hovered a few centiters off the ground, with a crown of dark fire behind him.
—The Dark Demon King has arrived!
Sentences of ice crystal script appeared on the Book of the Dead:
"The opponent has launched End: Absolute Cutting."
"Its ability is to utilize the power of all Magic to sever all existence."
"Its might lies between the Laws."
"Your Demon King’s arrival is immune to all magic attacks below the Laws."
"Damage reduced by half!"
A line of blood erged on Wu Xiaode.
He looked down at the shallow wound on his chest, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Despite wearing the Demon Suppression General’s armor and having the power of the Demon King’s arrival, the opponent was still able to injure him.
Formidable swordsmanship!
But—
"Your strength... should not be limited to this," Wu Xiaode mused.
"My swordsmanship is just so. Haven’t you seen it for so many years, and still don’t understand a bit?" the man asked with mockery.
Wu Xiaode shook his head and said, "No, your moves are sharp, and each stroke is the result of thorough refinent. It does not match your current use of ’End.’ Where is your original End?"
For the first ti, the man showed a look of surprise.
"You can actually tell? Arian, indeed you’ve grown, but it’s too late to say anything now—I’ve given my strongest End to Abner, enabling him to kill the new mber Wu Xiaode and save the Council by achieving a great feat."
Excited, he raised his sword again and lowered his voice:
"As for , I will kill you here, removing the last thorn for Abner."
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