Betrayal (I)

A hint of appreciation flashed in Sheng Heng's eyes. Although Li Mo always had some unexpected tricks up his sleeve, this time he posed the greatest threat to Sheng Heng. He also drew his dagger with his left hand. Instead of retreating, he stepped forward and blocked the dagger with his left hand. Feeling the blade about to reach his neck, he leaned back and kicked out.

Li Mo felt the kick from below, slashed forward with his left foot to block it, and then slashed downwards with the blade in his hand. However, he found that Sheng Heng's right hand, which was clearly numb, was thrown over by the movement of his body and blocked the slash in front of Sheng Heng.

Then Sheng Heng straightened up, passed over Li Mo's Short Blade, held the Short Blade upside down, and thrust it in front of Li Mo, positioning it against Li Mo's neck. Although his right hand was numb, he used it as a hilt, using his body and shoulder as his hands, and was still able to swing the blade.

The next moment, Sheng Heng felt a strong gust of wind behind him, striking his right hand and knocking the Short Blade away. A dark hand caught the Short Blade and placed it against Sheng Heng's neck.

Ke Su's eyes widened instantly, and he stood up abruptly. The other two spectators were also somewhat incredulous; Li Mo's shadow had actually stood up, knocked Sheng Heng's knife away, and placed it against his neck.

"Is this the Sky Mark?" Sheng Heng was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed with delight, "Congratulations, Junior Brother, you've mastered it..."

As Sheng Heng spoke, he suddenly realized something was amiss. Sky Mark and the others all inherited the same power, and the Sky Mark that Li Mo had planned for wasn't this kind of shadowy power. So what exactly was this power?

Ling Ge's initial cheers for Li Mo's victory ceased as Ke Su stood up, his face dark, and asked in an almost accusatory tone, "Li Mo! Where did you learn that power?"

Li Mo blank. The joy of winning against Sheng Heng was forcibly interrupted. The expected expression of satisfaction from his master did not appear. Instead, Li Mo felt a killing intent from Ke Su. That terrifying killing intent was like a knife slicing through Li Mo's body.

However, what truly chilled Li Mo's heart was not the murderous intent, but Ke Su's behavior. "I am the child you raised with your own hands. I can understand your strictness towards me, and I can understand your punishments. I think you are doing it all for my own good. But what is this murderous intent?"

"Admit it, you're just a deadbeat who can't get recognition. No matter what you achieve, he'll habitually deny you. He wants to suppress you for life. And once you exceed his expectations, you'll be a threatening deadbeat, and he'll never acknowledge you."

"Tell me!! Where did you learn this power from!" Ke Su's face was flushed red, his veins bulged, and his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white and cracked. He was clearly furious to the extreme, and his aura emanated from his body, as if he had transformed into a huge monster and was about to engulf Li Mo.

The immense aura pressed down on Li Mo, causing his newly acquired shadow control skills to dissipate instantly. The Short Blade fell from the sky, and Li Mo's body was forced to the ground.

Li Mo knelt on the ground, his hands supporting him, his entire skeleton seemingly creaking. He stared at Ke Su standing there, a voice echoing in his mind: He wants to kill me! He wants to kill me!! Master wants to kill me!!

At this Ke Su's ears. "Look, this is that person's son. The self- Destruction madness in their bones has never changed. All your efforts over the years to make him restrain himself and prevent him from following that person's old path have been in vain. This person will be a disaster sooner or later if you keep him alive. Kill him!"

"Master, please have mercy! You'll hurt my senior brother if you do this. No matter what he did, can't we just talk things out calmly?" Seeing that things were getting out of hand, Ling Ge quickly ran over and knelt down to beg for mercy.

"Yes, Master, perhaps this is just a misunderstanding. Please calm down, Master." This was the first time Sheng Heng had ever seen his master so angry, but seeing Li Mo being forcibly pressed to the ground, his whole body flushed red, he quickly knelt down and begged for mercy.

"Master, even if Senior Brother Li Mo is in the wrong, you don't need to treat him like this. Getting angry is bad for your health. Please calm down." Even Zhang Qi rushed over to plead for him. Although he was unhappy that Ling Ge liked Li Mo, they were fellow disciples, and he couldn't just stand by and watch him die.

"Look at him, he still refuses to admit defeat, and that stubborn look in his eyes, isn't it just like that person from back then? What did that person do again? Explored forbidden territory, disobeyed his master's orders, murdered his master, and then betrayed the sect, only to be killed by your own hands in the end. Look how much this bastard resembles him..."

"Shut up!" Ke Su roared, and the three disciples stopped begging for mercy, thinking that Ke Su was talking about them. Ke Su quickly took a breath, controlled his mind, and released his aura. With a touch of desolation and a hint of expectation, he asked Li Mo, "Explain clearly, where did you get your power to control shadows?"

Looking at Li Mo, who was lying on the ground drenched in sweat, Ke Su's thoughts drifted. Ten years ago, his junior brother had knelt before their master in the same way when the five of them led a team to besiege an evil cult.

In the final battle, the five brothers were killed while protecting their master. The fifth sister had her heart meridian shattered by the enemy. Although she survived, she could no longer fight. Only three remained: the second brother, the third brother, Li Wen, and the fourth brother Ling Weiluo.

He was hit by the opponent's final move and infected by the opponent's aura. In order not to aggravate the infection, the jet-black Shadow Gem was carried by his third junior brother, Li Wen, but problems arose.

Li Wen was not infected by the shadow aura, but he was taught a lot of knowledge related to it. As a martial arts fanatic who enjoyed fighting, Li Wen could not refuse and began to devote himself to studying the power of shadow. When he finally tried to steal the Shadow Gem, he was discovered by his master.

The master was shocked and demanded that Li Wen give up his research on shadow power, but Li Wen refused. Then a fight broke out, Li Wen accidentally killed the elderly master. In a panic, he didn't have time to steal the gem and fled. However, he was eventually caught up by himself and his fourth junior brother, who killed Li Wen in a two-on-one fight.

Li Wen's eight-year-old son Li Mo, was Ke Su, who had always tried to prevent Li Mo following in his father's footsteps, but now it seems that he has failed.

Li Mo lowered his head and recounted what he had discovered on the mountaintop the day before. Ke Su approached, lifted Li Mo's shirt, and looked at the black sun mark on his chest. Suddenly, he clenched his fist and slammed it into Li Mo's chest. A strange force burst forth, piercing through his lungs. Li Mo immediately coughed up blood. Even if his injuries healed, his lungs would be permanently damaged, rendering him unable to fight again.

Li Mo lay on the ground, blood still spilling from his mouth, his eyes filled with disbelief, just like when he had narrowly defeated Li Wen years ago, and Li Wen had looked at him from the ground. "Li Mo, don't hate me, I did this for your own good!"

The update is on the 13th/14th, and there's one more update for 200 monthly votes, so I'm releasing it a little early. Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone!