CHAPTER 80: BLOOD SPIRIT AWAKENING

"I would assume so too," Meng Hejun sighed.

"As for why the darkness only emerges when he's being beaten by Fang Che, perhaps it's brought to the fore by emotions like anger and resentment?" Gao Qingyu speculated.

"It sounds more like indignation to me. He's being purely bullied by Fang Che, as opposed to fighting in normal sparring matches, and the indignation has been building with each successive beating, finally resulting in the darkness rising to the fore."

Meng Hejun turned to Fang Che with an exasperated expression as she spoke.

He should be reprimanded for picking on Wei Zihao, but at the same time, his actions had led to extremely important discovery, so she really didn't know what to say.

"I'll go get a map."

Gao Qingyu vanished in an instant, then returned just as quickly, this time with a map in his hand.

He spread the map open on the table, then pointed at a section of it as he asked, "Is this the area?"

"That's right, but I don't know exactly how large the area is," Fang Che replied.

"I should've known something was suspicious," Gao Qingyu sighed.

"We should still be in time to stop them, right?" Huang Yifan asked with a grim expression.

Gao Qingyu shook his head in response. "I received news just yesterday that the cave abode of a powerful ancient cultivator appeared in that area. Right now, countless warriors are fighting over the right to claim the cave abode, and there are countless more still converging to the area. It's already turned into a complete bloodbath over there!"

"That means the blood sacrifice has already begun!" Meng Hejun exclaimed as her face turned deathly pale.

"Indeed," Gao Qingyu replied with a grim nod. "Prior to learning about this Blood Spirit Ginseng, I was also under the impression that some ancient cave abode must've appeared in the area, but it's now become very clear that this is a blood sacrifice being carried out by the Church of the Self-Righteous! It's a blood spirit awakening!

“At least hundreds of warriors must've already perished there since yesterday, and that number is only going to continue to rise! At this rate, it won't take long before they reach the required death count!"

"I'll go to the southeastern headquarters right away! Huang Yifan, you go report this matter to Master Nine! Gao Qingyu, I need you to personally monitor Wei Zihao!" Meng Hejun said in an urgent voice as she immediately sprang to her feet.

With that, Meng Hejun and Huang Yifan instantly vanished from the room, leaving Gao Qingyu to sit at the table with Fang Che and Old Man Shen.

After a grim silence, he turned his gaze to Fang Che and said, "You've made another major contribution, Fang Che..."

Fang Che offered no response. At the moment, his mind was racing as he thought about how he was going to answer to Yin Shengong if this matter were exposed.

He had ruined something extremely significant.

After some contemplation, he asked, "Dean Gao, can I be removed from this situation? I can make do without the contribution."

Gao Qingyu stared at Fang Che for a moment, then smiled as he reassured, "Rest assured, this whole situation is going to be kept strictly confidential, and your contribution will be marked down on your file, but kept secret to the outside world."

"This is way too much for him to handle," Old Man Shen cautioned. "If the role that he's played in this situation is revealed, then he'll be hunted down ruthlessly by the Church of the Self-Rightetous!"

"It's alright, I know what I'm doing," Gao Qingyu reassured with a nod.

"He's the only one who's brought wine to me over all these years! You better make sure he doesn't end up dead!" Old Man Shen snapped.

A hint of guilt surfaced in Gao Qingyu's eyes as he sighed, "We should've come to visit you more..."

"Don't get all sappy with me! I don't wanna hear it!" Old Man Shen interrupted, cutting him off midsentence.

Gao Qingyu could only fall silent with a wry smile.

With Gao Qingyu's reassurance, Fang Che knew that he was safe, and he began pondering what he had just heard.

He immediately knew what was happening as soon as he heard mention of the term "blood spirit awakening" from Meng Hejun.

"I don't recall hearing about any powerful warriors meeting their demise in that area," he murmured to himself.

"You seem to know a lot," Gao Qingyu remarked in a surprised manner.

"I read a lot of books," Fang Che explained.

"There are almighty warriors in the eyes of the average person who've perished on every inch of soil on this continent, it's just that very few of them are known," Gao Qingyu sighed. "This continent has been around for millions, even tens of millions of years, and there's no part of it that hasn't been soaked in blood at some point in history. I'm going back now. You can go as well. Make sure not to pick on Wei Zihao anymore."

With that, Gao Qingyu bade farewell to Old Man Shen before departing in a troubled manner.

After leaving the scripture library, Gao Qingyu raised his head to look up at the heavens with a grim expression.

If they couldn't stop this blood spirit awakening, then a massive calamity was going to befall the White Cloud Prefecture and beyond.

Shortly thereafter, Wei Zihao was taken into a secret chamber.

Gao Qingyu had already made up his mind.

Wei Zihao had to die! Otherwise, once the blood spirit awakening was complete, the entire White Cloud Prefecture would be brutally massacred!

He didn't want to have to kill a student, but he was forced to do so for the sake of the greater good.

Wei Zihao was feeling very uneasy, and he asked, "Did I do something wrong, Dean Gao?"

"No, it's just that we've been informed that you're in danger, so we're going to keep you here for a few days for your protection," Gao Qingyu reassured in a gentle voice.

"I see... Thank you, Dean Gao."

"Just be at ease and stay here for a few days. You can feel free to eat and drink anything here."

"Thank you, Dean Gao," Wei Zihao repeated.

After taking a moment to reassure Wei Zihao, Gao Qingyu sat down onto a chair and began to read a book.

After investigating Wei Zihao, Gao Qingyu discovered that he was a rather unscrupulous student often willing to resort to underhanded means to get what he wanted, but that was not a just cause for execution.

However, in this situation, he simply had to die.

With that in mind, Gao Qingyu heaved a forlorn internal sigh.

Even if they didn't kill him, Wei Zihao would still die, nevertheless. As soon as the soul clinging to his body took shape, it would immediately devour his soul and possess his body, leading to his demise.

His fate had already been sealed from the moment he consumed that Blood Spirit Ginseng.

Thanks to Fang Che's intervention, he had a brief opportunity to pass off this terrible fate to someone else, but ultimately, he had paid off all of the other students and kept the Blood Spirit Ginseng to himself.

It was truly a terrible irony.

Gao Qingyu couldn't help but feel as if this had all been orchestrated by the will of the heavens.

If the heavens wanted him dead, then no one could save him.

***

Meanwhile, the forest in which Fang Che had previously slain those Blood Tooth Demon Wolves was already packed with people, and a mass brawl had already been taking place here for three days.

Swarms of warriors were searching for the so-called ancient cave abode, while many powerful warriors of the five churches were lurking in the shadows, observing the proceedings from afar.

Occasionally, someone would stumble upon a crater in the ground that contained some treasures, and this further served as further confirmation to everyone that there was indeed an ancient cave abode here.

Many of these craters had suddenly appeared, and as soon as one emerged, many warriors would instantly gather around it to fight over its contents.

No one was holding back as everyone set out to eliminate their competitors as quickly and ruthlessly as possible, and there were even some warriors that had banded together to come here fighting among themselves.

The situation had become extremely chaotic, and everyone had been driven into a frenzy of bloodlust by ambition and greed.

The warriors of the demonic churches that were lurking in the shadows were also fanning the flames by unleashing a constant barrage of sneak attacks, and there were lives being lost every single second.

Rivers of blood were flowing into the earth, but in the heat of battle, everyone failed to notice that for some reason, the bloodsoaked soil beneath them was somehow able to retain its original coloration, as if all of the blood had been funneled away.

Countless more warriors were converging toward the area in anticipation and excitement, eager to join in on the bloodshed, driven insane by greed and longing.

The popes of the five churches had even arranged a banquet on a distant mountaintop, watching the ongoing bloodshed with pleased expressions.

"I wonder what the main church is up to here," Hai Wuliang mused.

Even the popes hadn't been made aware of the purpose of this mission.

However, setting traps and killing people were second nature for these demonic church members, so they were happy to comply.

Yin Shengong was holding a cup of wine in his hand as he sneered, "This is human nature. Just a little bit of temptation is enough for them to fight to the death and throw their lives away. How are they different from packs of wolves fighting over a fresh carcass?"

"Indeed, Pope Yin," Kou Yifang chuckled. "Whenever I travel to the White Cloud Prefecture, I'm struck by the urge to massacre entire cities. How blissful an experience it would be to take a whole city's worth of lives in one go? Just the thought of it raises goosebumps on my skin!"

"Your time will come eventually. Once our New Chu Nation has fully established itself, the main church will look to expand its borders, and massacring entire cities will be nothing but child's play!" Yin Shengong chuckled.

"There's not enough temptation here to lure in a million warriors. We need to up the stakes a little," Hai Wuliang proposed.