Chapter 514: Meeting me is your blessing |
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Ugh!
Brother Niu held his breath, staring blankly at Du Ge, a thought swirling in his mind: Is there something wrong with this guy? Seriously, what's wrong with him?
Who persuades someone to kill themself?
And here I am, just pretending to go along with him!
No, wait!
This sinister guy might have seen through my thoughts and is using reverse psychology to test me!
If I dared to agree with him, I'd probably lose my life right here...
Brother Niu snapped back to reality, ignoring the pain in his wrist, and heavily kowtowed to the ground. "Senior, I realize my mistake. Even if I had ten times the courage, I wouldn't dare to think of harming you."
The two guys who had been drinking in the courtyard looked at Du Ge's back timidly, kneeling like quails, not daring to breathe, fearing they might attract Du Ge's attention.
Their ruthlessness was only aimed at the weak, and they often heard Brother Niu talk about the fearsome martial artists, which they never took seriously before.
But after seeing Du Ge, they truly understood what it meant to be ruthless, far exceeding Brother Niu's tales, too ruthless!
A thug named Old Five had his hand chopped off by Du Ge. At first, the pain was unbearable.
Later, he was scared by Du Ge, and the more he thought about it, the more he hated, his anger boiling, always glancing at the knife on the ground, just wanting a chance to kill that brat and avenge his lost hand.
But when he suddenly heard Du Ge's words, his mind buzzed, unable to comprehend.
Seeing Brother Niu beg for mercy, he snapped back to reality, breaking out in a cold sweat, quickly retracting his gaze, not daring to have any thoughts.
Moreover, a child with such an old-fashioned demeanor was truly unsettling.
Du Ge took in everyone's expressions, sneering coldly, crossing his legs. "Useless fools, relying on a bit of cunning to be petty thieves in this small town."
Losing too much blood, Brother Niu felt dizzy and had to tightly squeeze his wrist to prevent bleeding out.
Du Ge glanced at him and commanded, "Those two over there who can still move, help stop their bleeding, so they don't bleed to death, leaving me without anyone to use."
"I'll get a doctor."
One of them hurriedly stood up, ready to run outside the courtyard.
Du Ge picked up a plate from the table and threw it at the back of his head.
With a clang.
It hit him, causing him to stagger, blood immediately gushing from the back of his head.
"Looking for a doctor? Don't think I can't see through your thoughts, wanting to report to the authorities, right? If you dare step out of this courtyard, I'll kill all of you," Du Ge threatened coldly.
"If we don't find a doctor, how will Brother Niu's hand be reattached?" the person asked, trembling.
"However those beggars with severed limbs on the street survive, do the same for him," Du Ge said indifferently, "If those beggars can survive, he can survive. If not, it's his fate."
Indeed.
Actions aligned with the keywords, and attributes grew faster.
Du Ge snorted inwardly.
Having experienced countless battles on the Alien Star Battlefield, he had killed many and witnessed the coldness of Pan-Universal Entertainment harvesting the battlefield, his heart already as hard as stone. If he was unwilling to be cruel to the downtrodden, why not be cruel to a few villains?
The two looked at Du Ge, then at Brother Niu and the others, dumbfounded and unmoving.
"If you don't treat them, and they die, you two will pay with your lives," Du Ge said leisurely, "And that one with his intestines spilling out, stuff them back in, sew up his belly, bandage him. If he survives, it's his luck."
Brother Niu looked at Du Ge, who seemed to be giving a trivial order, then at his severed hand on the ground. "Old Si, Old Qi, do as the senior says!"
His heart was filled with desolation. After orchestrating countless tragedies over the years, he never thought he'd end up a cripple.
Isn't this karma?
...
These guys treated wounds in a simple and brutal manner, using a red-hot iron to stop the bleeding, sprinkling some ash, and crudely bandaging them, leaving them to their fate.
The guy whose intestines Du Ge had pulled out was treated the same way.
However, having committed countless sins, they were quite experienced in handling severed limbs, with a surprisingly high success rate.
After treating the wounds, although the severely injured guys were pale from blood loss and occasionally broke out in cold sweat, they clearly wouldn't die anytime soon.
Even the guy with his intestines pulled out managed to hang on, lying on the side groaning, occasionally casting a look of hatred at Du Ge.
Except for Brother Niu, the other thugs were terrible actors, their thoughts written all over their faces, unable to hide them.
But.
Du Ge didn't care about their thoughts.
In the end, these scumbags were just tools for him to farm attributes.
Unfortunately, after all this trouble, he still hadn't awakened any skills. His heart was indeed too soft. A person with a conscience would surely suffer against Pan-Universal Entertainment...
"Do you hate me?" Du Ge pulled over a chair, sat down boldly, and asked the half-dead thugs in front of him.
The others remained silent, while Brother Niu, enduring the pain, timidly said, "No hate. I did wrong, and being punished by the senior is only right."
"Hating me is normal," Du Ge glanced at him, sneering, "The suffering I endured back then was far worse than yours, yet I survived. This is the rule of our sect: if you're not ruthless, you can't stand firm. Be ruthless to others, be ruthless to yourself. Only then can you survive in this world and become someone above others."
The rule of this sect?
Brother Niu was stunned.
"Don't believe it?" Du Ge snorted, "Back when I met your grandmaster, he cut off one of my hands, severed a tendon in my leg, blinded one of my eyes, broke two ribs, yet I still survived and eventually killed that old bastard, absorbing his power and taking his place...
Do you know how miserable my master was when he died?
I skinned him, pulled out his tendons, chopped off his limbs, and kept him in a jar for eighty-one days before lighting him up as a lantern. Compared to that old bastard, the suffering you endured is nothing."
Gulp!
The group swallowed hard.
Brother Niu looked at Du Ge in horror, his mouth dry, cursing inwardly. What sin did he commit to capture such a fiend?
The evil deeds they committed were nothing compared to this monster!
As for the truth of Du Ge's words, he had no doubt.
How could an eight or nine-year-old child beat them, seasoned street thugs, without breaking a sweat, chopping hands and slicing bellies without blinking?
The key was, when he recounted the past, he looked nostalgic. If it wasn't an old monster possessing him, there was no other explanation.
But from the old monster's tone, it seemed he wanted to recruit them into the sect. Recalling Du Ge's earlier words about his power not being fully restored, Brother Niu's mind stirred, and he tentatively asked, "Senior, what sect are we?"
"The Free and Unfettered Sect!" Du Ge glanced at him and said.
The Free and Unfettered Sect?
Brother Niu's eyes widened. You betrayed your master, harmed others at will, and still have the face to call it the Free and Unfettered Sect?
"What? Don't believe it?" Du Ge asked with a smile.
"Believe," Brother Niu replied awkwardly.
"What is freedom?" Du Ge looked around, explaining in a childish voice, "Not rejoicing in things, nor grieving over oneself. This tells us not to be influenced by the secular world, including laws and morals, no matter what we do;
What is the highest realm of freedom?
Joy without attachment, acting as one pleases.
This means being able to quickly make yourself happy, to enjoy yourself, no matter when or where. Reaching this realm, whatever you do becomes an enjoyment.
For example, betraying my master, chopping off your hand, these make me happy, so they are freedom."
"..." Brother Niu stared blankly at Du Ge. Is this what freedom means?
Do you have some misunderstanding about freedom?
I may not be well-educated, but I know that freedom is a good word. How did it become lawless when you said it?
"Brother Niu, do you agree with the teachings of our Free and Unfettered Sect?" Du Ge asked.
"Yes," Brother Niu replied with a forced smile.
"The Free and Unfettered Sect emphasizes fate and never deliberately seeks disciples. Talent and aptitude mean nothing to us. When fate arrives, we naturally meet."
Du Ge smiled, looking around, "You are very fortunate to have captured me in my time of need. This is our fate, meant for you to join the Free and Unfettered Sect!"
Damn it!
Even a dog wouldn't want this fate!
Brother Niu and the others exchanged glances, biting their back teeth in frustration at their miserable state.
"Judging by your eyes, you don't seem to believe me?" Du Ge looked around, smiling.
"Senior's words, I naturally believe," Brother Niu said.
"Remember what I went through when I met my master?" Du Ge asked.
"Remember," Brother Niu replied.
"Right, hand severed, tendon severed, eye blinded, ribs broken," Du Ge interrupted, looking at him approvingly, "Anyone else would have died from such injuries. Yet I survived. Guess why?"
"Senior, I..." Brother Niu began again.
"Exactly, because of our sect's divine skill, 'Eternal Youth and Longevity Art,'" Du Ge said proudly, interrupting him again, "Our sect's doctrine is to be free and unfettered, disregarding worldly laws, often hated by those mundane folks. They don't understand us and often call us demons, eager to eliminate us."
They're not wrong!
If you're not a demon, then there are no demons in the world!
Brother Niu thought.
"To pursue ultimate freedom, our sect's ancestor, the Free and Unfettered Master, constantly dealing with those righteous sects, created this miraculous skill."
Du Ge continued, "From the name, you can tell the greatest benefit of this skill is resilience. At its peak, it can regenerate limbs, revive the dead, heal bones, and grant immortality. As long as you're not reduced to ashes on the spot, you can recover afterward. Not a god, but better than a god."
Gulp!
Brother Niu and the others swallowed hard again.
They exchanged glances, a glimmer of hope suddenly rising in their once despairing hearts.
"Senior, is what you say true?" Old Five asked, trembling.
"Of course it's true. How else could I have turned the tables on my master? My master truly tortured me, but he truly taught me!" Du Ge laughed, "Of course, this is our Free and Unfettered Sect's tradition, passed down through generations.
I ended up like this, losing all my power, thanks to my good disciple. He thought he could kill me, but I escaped. He never learned my trick of skinning my master and lighting him up as a lantern! Hahaha..."
Watching Du Ge's smugness, Brother Niu's mouth twitched, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say. This guy was clearly mad, a true demon!
Disciples betraying their masters for generations, it's a miracle the Free and Unfettered Sect survived!
Old Five and the others exchanged glances, speechless.
"Now I've been reborn, starting our sect's skill from scratch. Meeting you is our mutual fate," Du Ge said, his smile fading. "If you pass my test, when I succeed, I'll teach you our sect's supreme skill, helping you roam freely in this world. How about it?"
"Senior, I'm willing to serve you," Brother Niu said joyfully, kneeling with a thud.
"I'm willing too."
Old Five and the others, lacking integrity, also knelt and kowtowed to Du Ge. Even the young man whose intestines Du Ge pulled out struggled to kneel and kowtow.
"My rebellious disciple is searching for me. If he finds us, with his nature, he'll slaughter you like chickens. Then, I'll escape freely, not caring about your lives. Do you still wish to join the Free and Unfettered Sect?" Du Ge asked again.
"Of course," Brother Niu replied without hesitation. Not to mention their lives were in this demon's hands, but just for the chance of limb regeneration, he had to learn the Free and Unfettered Sect's divine skill!
"Senior, if I succeed, I'll find your disciple and avenge you," the young man with the pulled-out intestines said flatteringly.
"That's unnecessary," Du Ge glanced at him, "The Free and Unfettered Sect's mind method values freedom. Anything against your will is never done. Only by following your heart can you reach the highest level of the skill.
You want to trick me into teaching you the skill, I want to use you to cover my recovery, that's freedom;
You learn my skill, then want revenge for today, killing me, that's freedom;
And if one day I find you unpleasant and kill you, that's also freedom;
But you hypocritically say you want to avenge me, that's not freedom, it's scheming. With such thoughts, even if I teach you the skill, you won't reach the highest level. Never have such thoughts again."
"..." The young man sweated profusely, stammering, "Yes, Senior."
Brother Niu and the others were dumbfounded.
Since meeting Du Ge, their worldview had undergone a complete upheaval. They once thought they were evil, but meeting Du Ge, they truly understood what it meant to be a small fry compared to a big demon.
"Brother Niu, tell me, what's your true inner thought?" Du Ge asked.
Brother Niu looked at Du Ge, gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and said, "Deceive the senior, trick the Free and Unfettered Sect's skill from him, then find a way to kill him, avenging today's severed arm."
Saying this, he was ready to die, but after speaking, nothing happened. He cautiously opened his eyes, swallowing hard.
Du Ge looked at him with a smile, asking, "Brother Niu, after expressing your true thoughts, don't you feel more at ease?"
Brother Niu was stunned, then overjoyed, "I really do."
"That's the essence of the Free and Unfettered Sect," Du Ge said, "Once you understand, everything becomes clear. When your mind is clear, your energy flows smoothly. When your energy flows smoothly, your meridians are clear. When your meridians are clear, all skills are clear. The Free and Unfettered Sect doesn't value aptitude because of this."
Du Ge sneered, mocking, "Other sects need to find geniuses, but in the Free and Unfettered Sect, we can create geniuses. The highest level of understanding is having all meridians clear, making you a top genius. Being called a demon is just their jealousy of our cultivation speed."
One sentence.
Made Brother Niu and the others' hearts surge, feeling hopeful for the future.
They once wanted to learn martial arts, but all martial arts schools said they were too old, and even if they learned, it would only be superficial.
But with Du Ge, it seemed nothing was a problem.
As long as they could become strong, roam the world freely, what did it matter if they became demons? After all, they weren't good people to begin with!
"If the heavens oppress me, what should I do?" Du Ge asked.
"..." Brother Niu and the others were stunned.
"Overturn the heavens," Du Ge said arrogantly.
"If the earth confines me, what should I do?" Du Ge asked again.
"Please teach us, Senior," Brother Niu said.
"Shatter the earth," Du Ge said proudly.
With these words.
Brother Niu and the others' eyes lit up, even their breathing quickened.
Seeing Brother Niu and the others' fervor, Du Ge smiled slightly and opened his flashing personal interface.
A newly awakened skill appeared:
Corrupt Without Rest: When you maliciously mislead others, it will cause evil thoughts to arise in their hearts;
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