FWIP!
An illusory projection of a valiant-looking man adorned in golden armor emerged from within a magical amulet kept on Lord Chung's body. The projection's square-shaped face contorted with fury when he saw the current state of his brother, prompting him to shoot his glare in Xue Ren's direction.
"Do you know what you've just done!?" he roared, his Golden Core Realm cultivation heavily suppressing Xue Ren. "Your death is already marked for certainty!!"
Xue Ren pensively looked down at his trembling body.
'So this is the Golden Core Realm,' he thought before shaking off the pressure. 'No, this is but a mere fraction of what the real thing would be like.'
"The trash has been taken out," said Xue Ren as he approached the magical amulet. "I just happened to be the one to do it."
CRACK—
With the magical amulet now in his grasp, he started to apply pressure to it.
"I swear you'll pay for this, you little bastard!!" Lord Chung's brother furiously bellowed. "On my name, Bo Lou, I swear I'll skin you alive and leave your flesh out for the wild dogs to devour—…!!"
SHATTER!
"Do what you want," Xue Ren said as he let the amulet shards fall to the ground. "I'll just continue becoming stronger, making you but mere kindle to further stoke my flame."
Leaning down, he snatched the Storage Ring of the big fat man. Then he turned around and began to make his ascent back up the staircase.
"Ah, I almost forgot," he said as he turned around on the first stair, pulling off his hoodie. "Would you three like to go to a Sect and become Disciples?"
The three half-naked girls had been quivering in a corner until a little while ago. But when they saw what this unknown person did, they decided to commit to clinging to that thin string of hope.
"P-Please take us with you, Sir Immortal!" the girls mustered up all their courage, bowing on all fours. "We'll do anything you say…!"
Xue Ren pulled them up with his Spiritual Energy, wrapping them in nearby cloth at the same time.
"There's no need for that," he said. "I just noticed that you three have quite the talent for cultivation, and figured bringing you back would help lessen the punishment I'll receive from my Mother. Of course, to figure out exactly how high your cultivation talent is, you'll need to be tested."
The girls weren't too keen on all of what this handsome boy was saying, but they nodded nonetheless.
"Whatever you say, we'll do, Young Lord!"
Xue Ren vacantly stared at them, figuring that it was useless to instruct them any further.
"Follow me," he ordered. "Don't get too far away from me, else your safety will not be guaranteed."
The pretty girls looked between one another before running over to him. They took his words a little too seriously, staying very, very close to him.
Xue Ren suddenly felt like this idea to bring back some promising Disciples was not his brightest decision. However, seeing as how he couldn't turn them away now, he left the Yellow Blade Fort with them.
On their way out, the girls saw many bloody scenes. Frightened, they clung to Xue Ren, their eyes closed and their heartbeats uneven.
He was going to reprimand them for overstepping their bounds, but even he wasn't that much of a monster.
Many soft things pressed up against him, but with his unshakable Martial Heart, such worldly pleasures eluded him. And while traveling outside the Fort, where even more scorched corpses and scenery lay in wait, he abruptly stopped.
Turning around, he walked a bit away from the confused girls.
Raising his right hand, a |Large Fireball| was conjured. It towered over him, its flame both brilliant and dangerous.
With a simple hand movement, Xue Ren sent this |Large Fireball| careening toward the already mostly demolished Fort. He did this so as to destroy the rest of it, throwing in a few |Fireball Bursts| to finish the job.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each Fireball in a |Fireball Burst| was roughly half the size of a |Large Fireball| at their current limit. Furthermore, the firepower of each one was nearly that of a |Large Fireball|, making their destructive power more superior overall.
After casting both Skills a few times, Xue Ren became satisfied with the result and returned to the stunned girls.
"I don't know if you were aware, but you were the only ones from Yellowbog City still alive when I arrived," said Xue Ren, his expression unreadable. "As for the rest of the women that were kidnapped alongside you… I'm sorry if you knew them."
The girls' shock rapidly transformed into something bluer and sadder. While hiding their faces, they clung tightly to his robes, crying into them.
Xue Ren allowed it this one time.
— After a while of traveling —
"E-Excuse me, Young Lord…?"
The shortest and meekest of the girls spoke up in a low, hesitant voice. Her name was Mu Qing.
"Yes?" replied Xue Ren.
"Why is it that you're carrying around a sack full of heads…?"
Mu Lian and Mu Yun, the other two girls, also wanted to ask the same thing.
It was quite the large bag heaved over his shoulder, you know?
Did their savior have some sort of kink for collecting heads or something?
"Perish those thoughts from your minds," said Xue Ren. "I've just completed a job, so I need to bring back proof of completion. There's no other motive behind the gathering of these heads than to better fill my pockets."
A job?
So saving them was just a job…? Nothing else…?