The bandit leader was terrified by the view of his comrade lying on the ground. The vice-leader looked lifeless as if someone sucked all the life out of his body. Soul search was claimed to be one of the cruellest techniques in today's world and the view in front proved it to be true. The vice-leader was screaming like his life was being sucked out of him, and he lay unconscious on the ground.
The motionless figure of the vice-leader filled the Bandit Leader's heart with extremities of fear. He never expected Li Meng to have such horrendous techniques in his arsenal. Methods such as this were banned from being used by the practitioners of the righteous path. Especially the Thunder Academy which signified an apex existence within the Righteous path.
It was the reason that the Bandit leader was fearless when Li Meng claimed to have used the soul search technique on him. He never expected that a high ranked disciple of the Thunder Academy would use such a violent and inhumane technique against his opponent. But the situation now implies otherwise. Not only was Li Meng capable of using the technique, but he was also incredibly calm while using it. Not a single expression of unrest appeared on his face.
He was like the incarnate of a cold-blooded demon. The Bandit leader was too scared to even shout out and resist Li Meng's act. His body was shaking violently.
Li Meng, on the other hand, was organizing all the information he had received after searching the vice leader's soul. He had to acknowledge the fact that the technique was not only too vicious but incredibly taxing on his soul's energy too. The sudden inflow of such a huge chunk of information was also a potential risk while executing this technique.
..............................…..
From the memories of the vice-leader, he did confirm that the first time he encountered the Bandit leader, he was truly a cultivator of intermediate Qi King level. The first encounter was fairly coincidental as the vice-leader came across the bandit leader when he was attacking a group of explorers. He thought that this person was a weak character and decided to threaten him.
But only when the attack started did, he understood what sort of character they offended just now. The Bandit Leader appeared out of nowhere in front of the vice-leader who was a relatively powerless character back then.
"Are you willing to follow me?" The mysterious man offered for him to follow in his footsteps.
"Why should I? I am a part of a fairly powerful bandit group in the region." The vice-leader replied. He was a member of a fairly vicious group of bandits who have spread terror throughout the cities near the Taiwan mountains.
"I could provide you with the perfect opportunity to rise above everyone in the region." Just to prove his point the Bandit leader killed everyone in the vicinity of the Taiwan mountains except for the fairly talented cultivators. He subdued them and forced them into servitude under him.
The best thing about conditions placed forward by him was an enticing gain in strength for every cultivator who decided to come under his banner and the assurance that he would make this stronghold the strongest bandit group in the whole Taiwan mountain range. They regrouped and began to eliminate their competition.
After a long period of massacres, the Black-Dragon bandits were the leader of the border areas. The monstrous figure holding a blood-red sword was one of the main topics of discussion in the whole Taiwan mountain range. His ambitions touched the skies, and he rose in strength, reaching the peak of the seventh level of Qi King. All the members were incredibly enthusiastic regarding the increment in strength they had experienced while working under this leader.
Li Meng had to commend the bandit leader's personality to have gathered such respect from his subordinate. In a treacherous world, the person who seems closest to you is the one eyeing your power the most. Yet the vice-leader was whole-heartedly devoted to this guy. His natural disposition was something even Li Meng had to appreciate.
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"The boy is a rare sapling. The very fact that he is someone who has connected with two heavenly laws qualifies him as a worthy consideration for the subordinate. Moreover, he has managed to connect with such a complementing set of laws, making his battle power extremely close to someone who has connected with three heavenly laws."
"His character is quite suited to lead a group of subordinates, be it battling or managing an institution. He should be the best chess piece for you to place in your arsenal."
Li Meng couldn't help but nod at the Keeper's suggestion he himself was thinking in the same line. Although the leader was quite a stubborn character when it comes to his secrets, he certainly is talented. Using soul search on this brat would definitely harm his cultivation and soul base, hindering his future martial path.
"The earlier action of yours should be enough to give him deadly scare which would live with him for the rest of his life. I think he would be willing to talk with you now." As the Keeper suggested, his opponent's face was deathly pale out of fright. He didn't want to become a victim of a ruthless technique like soul search.
Li Meng moved towards the Bandit leader and raised his hands to indicate a grabbing motion towards him. A loud scare could be heard from the bandit leader's mouth, trying to beg Li Meng for mercy.
"I will tell you the whole truth. Please let go. I don't want to become a victim of soul search." His legs were shaking constantly and the confidence he had showcased earlier had completely crumbled. He was a powerful cultivator at the advanced Qi King stage with the ability to easily surpass ranks while fighting, yet the calamity which was awaiting him was too dangerous.
Although he was acting extremely haughty earlier, the sight of his subordinate being crippled horrified him. Li Mengs topped his hand and silently stared at the bandit leader, waiting for his answer.
"My name is Sima Yu. As mentioned earlier, I am truly a core disciple of the Shengluo pavilion. Moreover, my father is the current leader of the pavilion. As I reported earlier, I did arrive at the Taiwan mountains to eliminate the bandit groups and complete a task given to me by the institute. My aim was one of the core groups which constituted the area."
"Although I was powerful enough to eliminate the group anytime, it was extremely difficult to find the hidden stronghold. I searched for a long time, during which I managed to come across this area. As I said earlier, this truly is an inheritance ground, but the name Hell-fire monarch was too foreign to me. I didn't know of any powerful monarch by that name. Yet, someone who has attached the title monarch beside his name is no small matter."
"Even powerful institutions like ours have a limited number of Qi Monarchs who guard our inheritance with their life. They are the true pillars of a powerful institution. I was enticed by the offer and decided to inspect the surrounding."
"Although my techniques were quite powerful, this place is truly a mystery. I decided to cultivate here while trying to pry into the mysteries of this location. Due to some mysterious grand formation, the fire energy from the surrounding area converges right into this room, aiding my cultivation speed. It was also the reason behind me being able to reach the peak of 7th level Qi King from a fourth level QI King so soon."
"After an extensive search of the whole area, I finally managed to come across a chance to get the inheritance. The chance is the stone stele right at the secluded corner of this room." Li Meng turned his head towards the area to find an extremely ordinary stone embedded into the wall.
"The stone stele might look ordinary, but after applying a huge amount of martial power, I was able to discover a secret to this cave. The cave inheritance was designed to be gained by someone who has attained the level of QI Emperor. As per the next few steps, I don't know the details."
Li Meng followed the directions mentioned in Sima Yu's words earlier and tried to instil his martial power into the stone stele. To his surprise, such a huge quantity was being directly absorbed into the stone. After a long period of instilling a huge amount of Qi, the stone stele finally changed.
"This is the cave of the Hell-Fire Monarch, the supreme leader who ruled this world in the past. Those who are fateful enough to chance upon this place are allowed to enter the trial set by the founder."
"Passing the trial would allow you to inherit the treasures left behind by the Hell-Fire monarch himself."
"Requirement- The cultivator must at least be a Martial Emperor with a Heavenly Fire law base."
