Chapter 23: The Demonic Cultivator
Si Chen's figure disappeared through the doors of the auction hall. Only then did the suppressed murmurs inside erupt all at once, like a seal had been lifted — a low, buzzing roar sweeping through the crowd.
Countless gazes, some open and some veiled, swept toward the private box of the Liuyun Sword Sect on the second floor, a mixture of shock, amusement, and the barely concealed excitement of those who love watching a spectacle.
Lü Yan's face had gone iron-grey. His chest felt as though a red-hot brand had been lodged inside it — impossible to swallow down, impossible to spit out.
He had lived for several hundred years, yet never once had he been so thoroughly humiliated before a mere Foundation Establishment junior — and in front of nearly every person of consequence in Wanggu City, no less.
Three hundred thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones!
That was almost half a lifetime's worth of savings, and all he had to show for it was a scorching-hot Crimson Yang Fruit and a hall full of mockery.
He clutched the cold-jade box containing the fruit, his fury threatening to burn its way out of his body.
"Elder Lü, congratulations — three hundred thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones for that Crimson Yang Fruit. What a… generous bid."
A woman's voice drifted over from the private box across the way, carrying a lazy, languid smile.
The words sounded like congratulations, but the ridicule lurking beneath them was impossible to hide.
In Wanggu City, the number of cultivators bold enough — and unafraid enough — to provoke the Liuyun Sword Sect could be counted on one hand. She was one of them.
Lü Yan snapped his head around and fixed her with a dark, venomous glare. The female cultivator merely covered her mouth and laughed softly, utterly unintimidated.
He let out a heavy snort, swept his sleeves around, and turned away, unwilling to remain here a moment longer as the crowd's entertainment. "We're leaving!"
Zhao Qinghe and the others hurried after him with their heads bowed, every face ashen — none of them had ever felt this humiliated in their lives.
Senior Brother's heart was a tangle of conflicting feelings. Ever since they had crossed paths with Si Chen, nothing had gone right. In that moment, he almost regretted it — if only they hadn't stuck their noses in that day…
The whispers in the open floor section grew louder.
"Who is that kid? He actually dared to twist the Liuyun Sword Sect's tail like that?"
"Young as he is, he's got a tit-for-tat temperament — doesn't let a single slight go."
"Still, he was willing to spend three thousand low-grade Spirit Stones on that Spirit-Nourishing Zhi earlier, and then he didn't even blink when bidding against Elder Lü. That kind of wealth…"
More than a few minds began to stir, greed quietly taking root in the shadows.
Those words naturally reached Lü Yan's ears as well.
He strode out of Wanbao Pavilion at a brisk pace. The cold night wind hit him, and it actually cleared his head a little. He drew a deep breath, forced down the churning blood-qi in his chest, and let a far colder, more vicious thought rise to the surface.
Since you've flaunted your wealth and made yourself a target for everyone… don't blame me for using other people's blades to cut you down.
He swore silently: he would see this young man dead. Every secret the boy carried, and every price he had forced Lü Yan to pay today — he would reclaim it all, with interest.
In the shadows of the auction hall, Manager Qian had taken in every detail.
His expression remained neutral, but inwardly his estimation of the young man called Si Chen had risen another notch.
Talented, bold, and possessed of a ruthless, heedless edge. If he truly managed to survive the storm of Lü Yan's coming wrath…
Manager Qian decided that Wanbao Pavilion would find it very worthwhile to invest a measure of goodwill in him when that time came.
* * *
As for Si Chen, he had already made his way to the dessert shop he had been thinking about all day and was now working through a bowl of almond pudding.
The smooth, delicate sweetness melted across his tongue, and the faint irritation the Liuyun Sword Sect had stirred in him finally began to dissolve.
When he ate, he was fully present. His mind was clear of distractions.
The Liuyun Sword Sect's retaliation? He wasn't worried about it in the slightest.
Not out of arrogance — in his view, the logic was simply straightforward.
That Elder Lü, along with his disciples, had already graduated from "an occasional nuisance" to "a persistent, recurring problem."
They had tried to kill him in the mountains. They had blocked his path at the restaurant. They had even tried to interfere when he was buying something for his Mother.
When a source of trouble appeared before you again and again, every encounter laced with malice, with every likelihood of continuing to cause problems in the future — what was the most rational way to handle it?
Si Chen set down the porcelain bowl, scraped clean, and the answer was already settled in his mind.
Pull it out by the roots.
That Lü Yan was a full major realm above him, but Si Chen didn't find him particularly formidable — at the very least, he was far weaker than Second Uncle or Third Uncle.
* * *
However, before Si Chen could act, the mood in Wanggu City began to shift in an unsettling direction.
At first it was only vague shadows of rumor — whispers that a young man in blue-grey robes had methods too ruthless for someone of the righteous path.
But the rumors quickly grew more vivid and detailed.
"Did you hear? A while back, over in Qingsang, several children fell mysteriously ill — their vitality draining away, and no physician could find the cause…"
"I heard the same thing! Apparently a strange young man in blue-grey robes had been spotted in the town around that time, acting very suspiciously!"
"Strange young man? That's no ordinary person — that's a monster who cultivates wicked arts! He drains the vitality of young children to fuel his cultivation!"
"That's right, it's him! I think his name is… Si Chen!"
"The demonic cultivator, Si Chen!"
No one could say who first called out that name so clearly, but once it was spoken, it spread through every street and alley of Wanggu City as if it had grown wings.
The rumors were embellished with every retelling, growing more outrageous by the hour.
Devouring the Vital Energy of children to power his cultivation. Slaying people to harvest their souls for Magical Artifact refinement…
In no time at all, the name "demonic cultivator Si Chen" had become thoroughly notorious throughout Wanggu City.
Thoroughly notorious — and not in any good way.
Behind all of this, naturally, was Lü Yan's hand stirring the pot.
He didn't even need to act personally. A few hints dropped to the Rogue Cultivators and minor clans that depended on the Liuyun Sword Sect, a handful of Spirit Stones offered up, and there were plenty of willing mouths to spread these half-true, half-fabricated stories.
There were no shortage of sharp minds in the city, and those with good sources of information, connecting the dots with the spectacle at the auction, could more or less guess who was pulling the strings behind these rumors.
"That Elder Lü of the Liuyun Sword Sect has really gone for the throat this time," someone murmured in a private box at a teahouse.
"Using other people's blades — it's an old trick. But that kid brought it on himself. Daring to offend a Core Formation Stage cultivator like that? Isn't that just asking to die?"
"Still, that Si Chen really is something strange — young as he is, his cultivation isn't weak, and his wealth is considerable… Maybe there really is something off about him."
"Whether there is or isn't, it's none of our concern. Just watch. Lü Yan won't let this rest."
Everyone adopted the attitude of a bystander, content to enjoy the show.
No one would offend the Liuyun Sword Sect — the local power — for the sake of some unknown young man of unclear origins. And no one would be foolish enough to be the first to step forward and become the blade in Lü Yan's hand.
Anyone who had survived in the Cultivation World and done reasonably well for themselves had a measure of cunning and situational awareness.
They all understood: the bird that sticks its head out gets shot. Si Chen had been this brazen for one of two reasons — either he was irredeemably stupid, or he had something to back him up.
Until the truth was clear, the wisest choice was to watch from the other side of the river as it burned.
* * *
These slanders and insults naturally reached Si Chen's ears as well.
He was seated at a noodle stall, working through a steaming bowl of beef noodles. The broth was rich and full-bodied, the beef braised until it was meltingly tender — the best he had tried in the past several days.
Only the gazes around him had changed. Unlike the pure curiosity of before, they now carried scrutiny and appraisal.
He heard people lowering their voices to say things like "that's him" and "demonic cultivator," only to hastily look away in a panic the moment his eyes swept in their direction.
These people had never met him, yet they feared him.
Was it because of that Elder Lü?
Demonic cultivator?
Si Chen ate his noodles slowly, his heart undisturbed.
The label meant no more to him than "genius" or "good person" — there was certainly nothing to be angry about.
He quietly finished the last mouthful, drank every last drop of the savory broth from the bowl, then set down his chopsticks and placed a few Spirit Stones on the table.
It was time to leave Wanggu City.
He had sampled enough of the food here. He had no leads on the Yang Thunder. And he had accumulated far too many buzzing flies.
But before he left, there were certain things that needed to be cleaned up.
The constant droning was getting rather tiresome.
He rose to his feet. His plain blue-grey cloth robes stood out with a peculiar cleanliness amid the noise and bustle of the market streets. The prying gazes all around him shifted away in unison the instant he stood, everyone pretending to look elsewhere.
Si Chen did not look at them. His gaze turned toward the general direction of the Liuyun Sword Sect's guest manor.
The weather was fine today. A good day for… killing.