Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1216 - Revenge Begins
Chapter 1216 – Revenge Begins
A veteran disciple leapt onto the stage, charging straight at Liu Wuxie with the clear intent to seize the five Wisdom Stones.
“Shen Zihao, remember to share them with us if you succeed!” several veteran disciples shouted from below. The youth on the platform was Shen Zihao, a cultivator who, like Tie Niu, had chosen to remain in the outer sect even after reaching the Origin Conversion Realm. Disciples at the lower levels of the Origin Conversion Realm were common in the outer sect; they preferred to lord their strength over weaker disciples rather than join the inner sect, where they would rank at the very bottom.
Liu Wuxie merely smiled, watching Shen Zihao’s approach. He had been waiting for someone to make the first move.
“Brat, did you hear me?” Shen Zihao sneered. “Hand over the Wisdom Stones. Don’t force my hand.”
The wilderness training had only just ended, and many of the veteran disciples still hadn’t learned what had transpired. By contrast, the new disciples knew all too well—anyone who had faced Liu Wuxie in the wilderness knew that even a cultivator at the third-level Origin Conversion Realm was no match for him. What chance did a first-level Origin Conversion Realm disciple like Shen Zihao stand?
“I was considering offering more Wisdom Stones for sale,” Liu Wuxie said, pressing a hand to his chest in mock distress. “But seeing someone attempt to rob me in broad daylight chills my heart. I’ve decided to reduce the number to three. Furthermore, only one hundred disciples from the War Dragon Institute and the Dharma Institute may compete.”
Behind him, He Yingwu nearly choked in disbelief. He hadn’t expected Liu Wuxie to be so ruthless in turning a challenge into yet another trap.
To Liu Wuxie, whether he sold three or five Wisdom Stones mattered little. Even one would fetch a sky-high price. Scarcity drove value, and by lowering the number available, he ensured the bidding would be fiercer.
On the market, one Wisdom Stone was worth five to seven hundred thousand astral stones. Five could easily bring in over three million. But with only three to bid on, the final price might exceed even that. Such was the charm of an auction.
Scornful looks spread through the crowd; many new disciples understood precisely what kind of man Liu Wuxie was.
“Liu Wuxie, are you deaf? Hand over the Wisdom Stones!” Shen Zihao snapped. Rage flared as Liu Wuxie ignored him twice. With a roar, he lashed out with a palm strike aimed at Liu Wuxie’s face.
When someone in the Transcendent Realm disregarded him, Shen Zihao felt humiliated, especially in front of so many witnesses. His strike tore through the air at blinding speed, more than enough to overwhelm an ordinary third-level Transcendent Realm disciple.
But Liu Wuxie’s eyes only grew more amused. At the last instant, he lifted his right foot and struck like a shooting star. His movement was so fast that no one could see it clearly.
Shen Zihao froze mid-strike, a sharp pain lancing through his abdomen. A breath later, his body shot backward like a broken kite, crashing violently into the crowd.
Gasps rippled through the field. The veteran disciples stared in shock, unable to comprehend what had just happened. The new disciples, however, merely nodded, as if they had expected this outcome. None of the veterans had seen Liu Wuxie’s counterattack. They only saw Shen Zihao rush forward, then fly out even faster.
Shen Zihao slammed into the ground, bones aching on the verge of breaking. He coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“Liu Wuxie! I’ll kill you!” he roared, staggering to his feet, only to hesitate as murmurs spread through the veterans.
Word of Liu Wuxie’s strength in the wilderness training had already spread: he had crushed cultivators at the third-level Origin Conversion Realm. Shen Zihao suddenly found himself trapped. To retreat would be shameful, yet to advance would be courting disaster.
“Since a veteran disciple dared to attack me,” Liu Wuxie declared, voice heavy with false heartache, “I’ve decided to strip all veteran disciples of their bidding rights. Only new disciples may bid. The slots for the War Dragon Institute and the Dharma Institute will be reduced to eighty each.”
The announcement stunned the crowd. Why limit the bidding pool when more competition meant higher prices? None could fathom Liu Wuxie’s reasoning.
But the disciples of the Heavenly Martial Institute erupted in cheers. Every word from Liu Wuxie tilted the advantage in their favor.
“On what grounds can you strip us of our qualification?” the veteran disciples demanded. Before today, they would have laughed off such words. Now, however, no one dared move against Liu Wuxie unless a high-level Origin Conversion Realm cultivator interfered, and those experts were all in the inner sect, far beyond reach.
Timing was everything, and Liu Wuxie had planned it perfectly. By holding the auction only one day after the wilderness training ended, he ensured that inner disciples would remain ignorant of the outer sect’s chaos until it was too late.
“On what grounds?” Liu Wuxie shrugged and cast a glance at Shen Zihao. “Because he attacked me. Blame him.”
A chill ran down Shen Zihao’s spine. Because of his single action, Liu Wuxie barred all veterans from bidding. Their fury fell squarely on him.
Only He Yingwu knew that Liu Wuxie’s true goal in holding the auction was to set the two institutes against each other.
“Shen Zihao, you useless fool!” Two Origin Conversion Realm cultivators strode forward, their faces dark with anger.
In terms of spending power, the new disciples could not compare to the veteran disciples. This was why no one could fathom why Liu Wuxie had stripped their bidding qualification.
“What do you want?” Shen Zihao panicked. Not only had he failed to seize the stones, but now he had drawn the wrath of his peers.
“What do you think?” the two growled. Their fists crashed into him with savage force, shattering bones and leaving him broken.
Gasps swept through the new disciples, even Mu Heng’s expression tightening with dread. He realized this had been Liu Wuxie’s design all along. With nothing more than a few words, Liu Wuxie had crippled Shen Zihao and turned the veterans against their own.
Shen Zihao would live, but the beating shattered his internal organs and marred his dantian with cracks. His future as a cultivator was ruined.
“This Liu Wuxie is terrifying… never become his enemy,” many thought with a shiver. They understood now: Liu Wuxie had used this moment to establish his dominance over the outer sect. From this day forward, his name would spread across the entire sect.
After today, his name would spread far and wide in the outer sect, known to everyone. From the day he joined the Heavenly Dragon Sect, he had acted with a high profile to draw the attention of the sect’s upper echelons.
“Liu Wuxie, we’ve crippled Shen Zihao. Can we compete for the bidding now?” asked the two disciples who had beaten him. The Wisdom Stones were too precious to let slip away.
For many veteran disciples, years of stagnation at the first-level Origin Conversion Realm weren’t due to a lack of resources but a lack of talent. A Wisdom Stone could expand their soul sea, sharpen their aptitude, and give them a chance to break past their limits. They would stop at nothing to obtain one. One might be enough to sustain them to the high levels of the Origin Conversion Realm.
They rushed over the moment they heard about the bidding, unwilling to miss such an opportunity. More than two thousand veteran disciples crowded the martial field, yet he put only three Wisdom Stones up for auction. The competition would be brutal.
When word spread that Liu Wuxie possessed more than eighty Wisdom Stones, greed flared in countless eyes, yet none dared to make a move. Shen Zihao’s miserable fate stood as a warning. No one wanted to follow in his footsteps.
“Veteran disciples will receive fifty slots. New disciples from the War Dragon Institute and the Dharma Institute will each keep eighty. Decide among yourselves who will take the bidding slots,” Liu Wuxie announced. He spoke calmly, unhurried. The sect had yet to issue the rewards from the wilderness training, and he still had plenty of time to toy with them.
The uproar on the martial field quickly drew the attention of other outer sect disciples, who came to watch the spectacle. Elder Ding, who had been working past midnight to submit the rankings, had barely rested when the news reached him. The sect would distribute the rewards tomorrow, yet already new chaos was brewing.
“Old Ding, hurry to the martial field! Liu Wuxie seems to have caused another stir,” an elder said urgently.
Ding Yi sighed and rushed out of his house, convinced Liu Wuxie had started another fight.
“He causes trouble wherever he goes,” Ding Yi muttered with a bitter smile. Since Liu Wuxie joined the sect, his name had spread like wildfire through one scandal after another.
But despite his complaint, Ding Yi moved quickly, worried that things might spiral out of control. With over two thousand veteran disciples competing for fifty slots, a brawl was inevitable. And the new disciples still had to fight for the eighty slots Liu Wuxie reserved for them.
Everyone glared at one another, unwilling to yield. After all, Wisdom Stones meant a brighter cultivation path and a stronger future.
“You have two hours to settle the slots before the auction begins,” Liu Wuxie said casually.
He Yingwu immediately produced a chair, and Liu Wuxie sat with leisurely confidence. The Heavenly Martial Institute disciples, relieved, sat back. They did not need to struggle for bidding slots like the disciples of the other two institutions.
“I want one!” A man in his late twenties stepped forward from the new disciples’ ranks, radiating the aura of a first-level Origin Conversion Realm cultivator. He had placed fifth in the entrance assessment. No one challenged his claim; his cultivation alone silenced opposition.
“I want one too,” another voice rang out. This time, it was a disciple of the War Dragon Institute, his strength at the very peak of the Transcendent Realm.
“Who the hell do you think you are to claim a slot?” sneered two Dharma Institute disciples, striding out with open contempt for that War Dragon Institute disciple.
The sudden spark of hostility rippled through the crowd, and realization dawned on many faces.
“He’s deliberately setting them against each other,” whispered several elders who had just arrived. Their eyes widened in shock. “Liu Wuxie wastes no time repaying a grudge. The two institutes tried to kill him in the wilderness training, and now he is returning the favor.”
