256: Chapter 256: I'm from the Demonic Sect!

In the hall, there was a deathly silence.

Only the groans of the wounded and the sound of blood dripping to the floor from broken bodies remained.

The air was thick with the smell of blood, scorched flesh, the pungent lingering scent of poison mist, and the violent Spiritual Pressure left behind by the self-detonation of Yao Cores.

Zhao Wudi was carried on the back of a Zhao family Prodigy, his broken sword tucked at his waist, the golden light on the blade completely extinguished.

He was unconscious, his Face as pale as paper, with dried blood still clinging to the corners of his mouth.

Sword Dust leaned against a pillar, his frost frost sword resting across his knees, the blade covered in cracks like a spiderweb that could shatter at any moment.

His right arm was wrapped in strips of cloth torn from his robes, which were already soaked through with blood and had turned a dark brown.

The piece of flesh he had sliced off lay on the ground, long since corroded by the poison mist into a pool of foul-smelling black pus.

Sword Dust's Face was pale, and cold sweat poured down his forehead like rain.

Yet his gaze remained cold and sharp, like a sword that, though chipped, was still keen.

Li Qingyun stood before the remaining Prodigies of the City Lord's Mansion, the burns on his back still seeping fluid.

The Zhao family Prodigy placed the unconscious Zhao Wudi on the ground, a young Disciple's eyes red with emotion.

He suddenly turned his head and stared at Xiao Ran at the entrance, his teeth chattering and grinding.

"Xiao Ran! Why didn't you act sooner?"

The Zhao family Prodigy's voice was hoarse, filled with uncontrollable anger and grief.

"You have so many people, your army is so strong. If you had acted sooner, so many of our people wouldn't have died!"

"Big Brother Zhao Wudi wouldn't be heavily injured, Senior Brother Sword Dust wouldn't be hurt, and our people wouldn't have died!"

His voice echoed in the hall, hitting the bullet-riddled walls with a buzzing reverberation.

Another Disciple from the Sword Sect also stepped forward, pointing his sword tip at Xiao Ran.

There was a scar on his Face corroded by poison, the new pink flesh looking hideous, and his eyes were full of hatred.

"You clearly could have wiped out the Yao Race, you clearly could have saved more of our lives!"

"You did it on purpose! You just wanted to watch us die! Are you even human?"

At the same time.

A Prodigy from the City Lord's Mansion behind Li Qingyun also spoke up.

His voice trembled, carrying a sob.

"My Senior Brother is dead, frozen into an ice sculpture by Chi Hanyuan and shattered into pieces all over the ground. I couldn't even collect all of his remains."

"Xiao Ran, doesn't your conscience hurt?"

One word stirred a thousand waves.

One after another, the surviving Human Race Cultivators stepped forward, dragging their injured bodies and limping toward Xiao Ran to surround him.

Their eyes were bloodshot, their Faces stained with tears, burns, frostbite, and wounds corroded by poison.

Their voices turned from whispers to bellows, and from bellows to roars.

Like a pack of beasts driven to a dead end, they poured all their fear, grief, and anger onto Xiao Ran.

"Why didn't you save them?"

"You have an army, why didn't you charge?"

"You did it on purpose! You Leng Xue! You beast!"

"You're even more cruel than the Yao Race! At least the Yao Race fights head-on, but you stab us in the back!"

Xiao Ran stood at the entrance, listening to everyone's discussion.

He had an expression as if none of it concerned him.

The Yellow Spring Army was arrayed behind him, over six hundred corpses holding Long Halberds, with silver-white ghost fires flickering in their eye sockets.

He just stood there like an outsider, watching those Human Race Cultivators who were on the verge of collapse.

Only when their voices gradually grew quieter did he speak.

His voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"Finished?"

The Zhao family Prodigy glared at him, his chest heaving violently, a wheezing sound coming from his throat.

Xiao Ran said indifferently.

"You ask me why I didn't act sooner?"

"Then let me ask you, when the Yao Race counterattacked earlier, what was your Zhao family doing? What was your Sword Sect doing? What was your City Lord's Mansion doing?"

His words, spoken one by one, stabbed into their hearts like knives.

"Zhao Wudi held back the power of his sword, Sword Dust held back the power of his sword, and although Li Qingyun didn't hold back much, he was only protecting his own people."

"You all wanted to wait for my army to exhaust the Yao Race before you acted."

"You thought I couldn't tell?"

"Now that people have died, and they're your people, you're blaming me?"

Xiao Ran's voice remained calm.

"Better the Fellow Daoist die than the poor priest; you all had quite a clever plan."

"Unfortunately, things didn't go as you wished."

"The Yao Race counterattacked, you couldn't hold them off and people died, and now you want to push the blame onto me? Do I look like someone who's easy to bully?"

The Zhao family Prodigy's Face turned red, his lips trembling, and it took a long time for him to squeeze out a sentence.

"You... you are Leng Xue! You have no humanity!"

Xiao Ran laughed when he heard this.

He was from the Demonic Sect!

"Humanity? I'm from the Demonic Sect. You're talking about humanity to someone from the Demonic Sect?"

The Zhao family Prodigy was speechless.

Sword Dust raised his head, looked at Xiao Ran, and said slowly.

"Xiao Ran, regardless of everything, you are still part of the Human Race."

"So many of our people died, don't you feel even a little bit of guilt?"

Xiao Ran looked at him and pulled back his smile.

"Guilt? Why should I feel guilt?"

"My army charged at the very front, half of my army died, and over six hundred corpses were shattered and reformed, then reformed and shattered again."

"Your people hid in the back to take advantage, and now you're telling me about guilt?"

"Sword Dust, is your injury so severe that your mind is no longer clear?"

Sword Dust's Face turned pale, and he said no more.

Li Qingyun sighed and stepped forward.

"Xiao Ran, everyone is at fault, but now is not the time to assign blame."

"The Ruins are about to close. Let's take the wounded out first and talk when we get back."

Xiao Ran looked at Li Qingyun; this was the only person he still gave some Face.

The City Lord had treated him well, and Li Qingyun was a fairly honest person.

But he knew that if he didn't make things clear today, his reputation would be completely ruined once these people returned to the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Although he wasn't afraid, he didn't want to invite trouble for himself.

"Brother Li, I respect you, so I'll give you this Face today."

Xiao Ran said slowly.

"But let's be clear: I, Xiao Ran, owe no one anything."

"My army charged, my soldiers died. Your people died because of your own actions; blame yourselves for not putting in the effort."

Li Qingyun silence for a moment, then nodded.

"I will report today's events truthfully to the City Lord."

Xiao Ran nodded and prepared to turn and leave.

Just then, a voice rang out from a corner.

"You say it so lightly! You clearly could have acted earlier, but you deliberately waited until our people were dead before you acted!"

"You did it on purpose! You just wanted our people to die! You're a demon!"

Xiao Ran stopped in his tracks and turned to look.

It was that young female Cultivator from the Wanbao Chamber of Commerce.

She was huddled in the corner, her whole body trembling, her Face covered in tears.

Her eyes were swollen, and her voice was shrill, like a rabbit driven to a dead end.

"Why did you do this? Why did you harm us? What did we do wrong? We just wanted to get out alive..."

Her words were like a fuse, igniting the suppressed fear and anger in everyone's hearts.

The Zhao family Prodigies drew their swords one after another, and the Sword Sect Disciples gripped their sword hilts tightly.

The Prodigies of the City Lord's Mansion also subconsciously formed a semi-circle.

"Right! You did it on purpose!"

"You caused the deaths of our people!"

"Pay for their lives!"

"We must avenge our fallen fellow Disciples!"

Xiao Ran looked at them, the smile on his Face gradually fading.

It was replaced by a cold, emotionless indifference.

His gaze swept over everyone, as if looking at a group of dead people.

"Have I given you too much Face?"

His voice wasn't loud, but every word stabbed into their hearts like an ice pick.

The temperature in the hall suddenly dropped by several degrees.

It wasn't an illusion; it really had dropped.

Xiao Ran's Guixu Vortex was slightly released, the grayish-black vortex swirling around him, devouring the surrounding spiritual energy, making even the air thin.

"I originally intended to let you live a bit longer, but it seems you are seeking death."

"Do you really not know that I'm from the Demonic Sect?"