Exalted Toxin Lord - Chapter 43

Hua Yan’s footsteps pounded heavily across the ground as he left the scene. The sound of shocked clan members drifted away behind him.

To avoid pursuit, he climbed some buildings. As he continued to run, he found that there was no one chasing after him.

But, for some reason, his heart kept beating non-stop, as if he was on the verge of being caught by something.

He didn’t understand this feeling.

He was currently sitting on an isolated rooftop. There was no one around him. Everyone had probably already gone to sleep. As for the people that were supposed to be chasing after him, they had probably lost track of him and started searching for him somewhere else.

In other words, he was completely alone. In his solitude, there was the sky, more than a million stars and the moon to keep him company.

But, now more than ever, he had to acknowledge the presence of Frenzy.

The more he remembered that Frenzy existed within him, the more he realized that he and it were not the same entity. For a moment, he had even forgotten this simple fact in all the adrenaline.

He was under the impression that Frenzy was gone.

The truth, however, was that it was Frenzy that had disappeared, but he!

He had almost let Frenzy take over his body! In fact, it wasn’t wrong to say that Frenzy did indeed have complete control over him for a brief period!

Moreover, there was also something different about Frenzy taking over his body this time compared to how he had done so previously. This time, it was almost as if Hua Yan had voluntarily given his body away.

The reason for that? Because he had evoked such bloodlust even though it should have technically been avoidable.

He was not forced to fight, yet he still chose the fighting route to get to a specified goal even quicker.

Those guards that he had killed were not after his life. Yet, he still chose to kill them and take their possessions anyway.

The boy that he killed had not harmed him by any definition of the word nor did he have anything that was valuable to Hua Yan on him.

He was not someone that Hua Yan held a grudge against, but that didn’t stop Hua Yan from killing him off so miserably to silence him.

Even though it was that boy’s own fault for being weak, Hua Yan could not seem to bring himself to accept this explanation. He was having trouble settling down the emotions in his heart from having killed someone like that.

Was it the remnant bits of his humanity? Was it his empathy? Or was there something that just left a bad taste in his mind after killing a little kid?

He didn’t know, but he did know that he was deeply afraid that Frenzy was changing him.

He didn’t want to change! If he had to change, the only kind of change that he wanted was to become more powerful! That was all! He didn’t want to kill people like this! It felt so wrong to him!

That was not him acting! That was Frenzy!

“As much as you’d like to pin all the blame onto me, there is one thing that you yourself acknowledge but refuse to admit,” Frenzy’s thundering voice echoed, prompting Hua Yan to hold onto his ears in pain, “To become strong doesn’t just mean to improve your body. That’s a very primitive way of putting things. In the true pursuit of power, it isn’t just your physique that changes. Your very character itself undergoes a period of constant change. If you can’t handle it, you aren’t fit to cultivate anyway. If someone doesn’t even have the willpower to kill, regardless of who it is, then they’ll never be able to fulfill their dreams. Cultivation is not just about power, but also about character. Instead of saying you cultivate to become stronger, it’s better to say you cultivate to accomplish your dreams, no matter what those dreams are. Cultivation isn’t the end-point, just the path you take to reach your end-point.”

“I… I’m not a killer!” Hua Yan screamed back, trying his hardest to resist the suppression of Frenzy, “That’s not my path!”

“You wanted to give your sister a good life! Why be so hypocritical now? Weren’t you the one that said you would do anything it took? If someone came in the way of your dream, isn’t it normal to kill them? Isn’t it normal to erase them out of the picture so you can have a better time? All of us do the damndest things to get places, so why do you hesitate just because you think something is wrong? How can it be wrong if it helps you get where you want to go?”

“N… No!” Hua Yan mumbled, there was blood pouring out of his ears and nose now. Even his eyes looked to be crying red.

“You are weak. You are not strong enough to spare people. To save your own pathetic life or your sister’s, you are forced to kill. Even when you aren’t in direct danger, you still kill. This is what you are. This is what we all are. There is no such thing as altruism. There is no such thing as benevolence. All actions have self-interest behind them. The quicker you accept it, the easier it will be for your future.”

“This is not who… I am!”

“Jajahajahajahajahajahaja!” Frenzy mad laughter echoed, “I know exactly what you are. A filthy hypocrite. This won’t do; you aren’t fit for the path that the Ashura has set out. You lack the resolve. You forget who’s hands your life is in. It’s time to give you a wake-up call. Let me show you exactly what you are!”

The scene around Hua Yan changed. He was back in the Hour House of Chil Pin, the place where he had seen his sister yesterday.

And like yesterday, she was here today as well. She noticed him, and he had noticed her.

Though his face was different, she somehow had a strong sense of familiarity with it. It didn’t take long before she recognized him through some unknown manner.

Before Hua Yan could even do anything, she had called out his name.

“Hua Ya—”

Slice!

Before she could finish her words, Hua Yan had sliced her apart. Once her head was thrown aside, his sword slashed at the remaining parts of her body!

Hua Yan could do nothing to stop Frenzy from raining down sword strikes on Hua Yin!

The world was collapsing around him.

Hua Yin’s head that was cast to a random corner still had some life in it. The leftover syllable of Hua Yan name was still on the tip of its tongue.

Then, it’s eyes closed for good.

Hua Yin was dead! Hua Yan had killed her!

“This is what you are, Hua Yan,” Frenzy barked, sounding really crazy, “A weakling! Someone that can’t even control his own life, yet thinks he has the luxury to spare others! You caused her death! You should have just listened to me! Now, suffer for the rest of your life knowing what you’ve done!”