I loved this mission!
"I... was... first in line... Please don't... cut in..."
The little girl's voice was faint, and her eyes glistened with tears, as if she might burst into them at any moment.
Xiao Yao knew this was what people in his past life called social anxiety.
But compared to his past life, the cultivation world of fantasy was even less tolerant of socially anxious people.
Sure enough, the line-cutter turned around to glance at the little girl. He wore a gorgeous black robe and had a tall, burly build, with cultivation at the seventh level of the Sea Opening Realm. He snorted disdainfully. "I cut in line. So what?"
"Umm..."
The little girl was so socially anxious that her mind went blank, and she had no idea what to say.
But nobody stepped forward to stand up for her. The line-cutter looked incredibly strong, and he wasn't someone a bunch of weaklings like them could afford to provoke.
As for those with real strength, they seemed to take this sort of thing for granted. None of them showed any interest in getting involved.
Indifference!
An indifference even more terrifying than in his past life!
This had happened to Xiao Yao countless times before. He should have long since gotten used to it!
Yet seeing it happen to someone else still made his heart ache a little.
Without another moment's hesitation, Xiao Yao walked toward the queue.
Seeing Xiao Yao leave his place, the line-cutter was overjoyed. "Hahaha! What luck! That spot's the best place to study the sword mark!"
Then he dashed straight toward the spot Xiao Yao had vacated.
But just as he was about to pass Xiao Yao, a fierce gale struck him, sending his burly frame flying.
The line-cutter expended quite a bit of mana and effort before finally coming to a stop beside the little girl.
Quite a few Sea Opening Realm cultivators had finished studying the sword mark. They all turned to look at Xiao Yao, knowing that a good show was about to begin.
"Brat, what do you think you're doing?"
"Do you know who I am? How dare you treat me like this?"
As the line-cutter raged at him, Xiao Yao strolled over at his leisure and said coldly, "I have no need to know who you are. All I know is that you'll get to the very end of the line right now, or die!"
His killing intent was plain for all to see. Even those at the Sea Opening Realm were overcome with terror and panic, let alone cultivators below that realm.
"How many people has he killed?"
"No idea, but I heard he slaughtered over three thousand people in one fell swoop at the Dao Fruit Tree, including more than a hundred Sea Opening Realm cultivators."
"Holy crap! No wonder the leader of the Heavenly Sword Society called him a god of slaughter three days ago!"
"Good thing we didn't provoke him. Otherwise, this place would be awash in blood."
While everyone else turned pale, the line-cutter flashed a wicked smile. "So you've killed a lot of people? They're afraid of you, but I'm not!"
"I'll say this one more time, and it'll be the last. Get to the very end of the line right now, or die!"
Xiao Yao's patience had run out.
It wasn't that he enjoyed killing. It was just that his opponents all thought they had the upper hand and insisted on courting death.
So what could he do? Send them to their deaths, of course!
"I'm from the Xuanyuan Family! Go ahead and try laying a finger on me!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, a sharp, fearsome sword light flashed by. The next instant, a massive hole appeared in the line-cutter's body.
With everyone watching, Sword Qi swept over the blood that was about to gush out.
In the blink of an eye, Sword Qi devoured the line-cutter's body, killing him on the spot!
The little girl's bright eyes flickered. From where she sat, she saw the line-cutter's soul get annihilated, too.
What a ruthless strike!
But the unrepentant line-cutter had brought it on himself.
[Beep! Congratulations, host! Mission complete: Teach the line-cutter a lesson. Reward: Advance your cultivation by one minor realm!]
"System, does this really count as teaching him a lesson?" Xiao Yao asked curiously in his mind.
[Beep! The scope of 'teaching a lesson' is very broad. Killing the line-cutter counts, too. Besides, didn't the line-cutter bring this on himself by forcing the host to kill him?]
"I see!" Xiao Yao thought, enlightened.
[Beep! Host, would you like to claim your cultivation advancement reward now?]
This was the first time he'd received a cultivation advancement reward!
Xiao Yao was so excited that he immediately answered with a mental "Yes."
The very next instant, his aura surged. His cultivation advanced to the third level of the Sea Opening Realm, then reached the peak of the third level.
The surrounding cultivators naturally felt it!
"Th-this... Can killing people actually increase your cultivation now?"
"Could it be that he cultivates not the way of the sword, but the way of slaughter?"
"Who cares what path he cultivates? We'd better not provoke him, or we'll become fuel for his cultivation and strength."
Xiao Yao was speechless, but this was a good thing. At least fewer idiots would come looking for trouble.
At last, his gaze settled on the little girl. "You can go study the sword mark from the spot I just left."
"R-really...?" The little girl still sounded timid.
Xiao Yao nodded. "Of course! You waited in line for so long. You deserve it."
"Thank you!" the little girl said politely.
Then she skipped excitedly toward Xiao Yao's spot.
Watching her, Xiao Yao knew that as soon as he left, someone might steal her place.
So he had to teach the little girl how to protect herself.
He looked up and saw that she was already sitting in the spot he'd occupied earlier.
What incredible speed!
But even now, his Heavenly Spirit Eyes couldn't see through her cultivation. That was ridiculous!
So Xiao Yao asked inwardly, "System, what's this little girl's cultivation? Why can't even my Heavenly Spirit Eyes see it?"
[Beep! Reporting to the host: She has an Emperor Tier Golden Furnace Phoenix Leaf on her, so your Saint tier Heavenly Spirit Eyes definitely can't see through her.]
"So that's why! Then what's her cultivation?" Xiao Yao hadn't expected such a timid little girl to be carrying a heavenly treasure of the Emperor Tier.
[Beep! Peak ninth level of the Sea Opening Realm.]
"Holy crap! With cultivation like that, she's still this timid? She's got to be a top-tier case of social anxiety!" Xiao Yao grumbled inwardly. Then, after a moment's thought, he realized, "All I need to do is teach her how to deal with people who bully her. I don't need to stay by her side the whole time."
Having made up his mind, Xiao Yao strode toward the little girl.
The little girl looked up at him with innocent eyes. "Big brother, is there anything else you wanted to tell me?"
"Even though we've only just met, I still have to tell you this: when dealing with line-cutters like the one just now, you have to be as fast, precise, and ruthless as I was. That's the only language they understand."
"Only with thunderous methods can one show a bodhisattva's compassion!"
After Xiao Yao said this, the little girl seemed to understand. Her eyes lit up, and she clearly agreed wholeheartedly.
"Big brother, my name is Dai Tianwei. Can you tell me yours?"
Xiao Yao smiled faintly. "If fate brings us together again, I'll tell you!"
Whoosh!
Xiao Yao turned into a streak of white light and vanished.
In truth, though, Xiao Yao still wasn't at ease. He had only pretended to disappear; actually, he was hiding nearby in a secluded spot.
"Dai Tianwei? Why does that name sound so familiar?"
"I've never heard it before. How could you have? You must be mixing up your memories!"
Six hours passed. Perhaps they thought Xiao Yao hadn't gone far, or perhaps his influence still lingered. So far, no one had laid a hand on Dai Tianwei.
Suddenly, a purple-clad figure appeared beside Dai Tianwei and said coldly, "Get up right now, or I'll make you regret it!"
Dai Tianwei opened her eyes. She no longer looked as if she were about to cry. Instead, her gaze was icy.
She even managed to bark out a sharp command. "Get lost!"
"Get lost? Heh! Anyone who dares say that to me hasn't been born yet!" The girl in purple summoned a King Tier saber-type magical treasure.
Just as she was about to bring it down, a heaven-shaking sword light pierced through the girl in purple.
"I remember now! Dai Tianwei is the newly appointed Divine Maiden of the Shocking Heaven Tower, one of the three super sects in the Southern Wilderness Domain."
"She's only twelve years old, yet already has the peak ninth-level cultivation of the Sea Opening Realm."
"Twelve? She's that young?"
"Even cultivators with an Emperor's Bearing might not have achieved what she has at her age."
"But the Shocking Heaven Tower's former Divine Maiden still couldn't control her own cultivation. Under the instigation of that god of slaughter, she's transformed!"
Xiao Yao naturally heard all of this from afar.
He slowly let out a breath, mildly surprised. "She's twelve, just like me."
"But Dai Tianwei can't have been cultivating for only a month. She still can't compare to me!"
Suddenly, sixteen streaks of light shot down from the sky.
The cultivator at their head was broad and burly, with glaring eyes and the peak ninth-level cultivation of the Sea Opening Realm. He looked intensely imposing.
"Who killed the Xuanyuan Family's second young master?"
His booming voice erupted in a roar, and the cultivators present trembled like startled birds.
"You won't say? Then you'll all join the second young master in death!"
Some of the more cowardly cultivators immediately spoke up. "That person's already left! We don't know where he is. But he might have something to do with that little girl!"
Dai Tianwei opened her beautiful eyes. She knew this fight might be unavoidable.
For the sake of the big brother who'd been kind to her, she didn't mind fighting this battle.
"Your second young master was killed for my sake, so you can come straight to me!"
As Dai Tianwei spoke, she stood up. Her timid demeanor had completely vanished, replaced by the bearing of a heaven's favored prodigy.
[Beep! As the saying goes, the one who did the deed should take responsibility! Host, you're so strong—how can you let a defenseless little girl suffer? Kill this bunch of unreasonable trash who came looking for revenge! Mission: Slay every cultivator from the Xuanyuan Family present. Completion reward: something better than the previous one]
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