Infinite Slaughter System: I Kill, Therefore I Ascend!-Chapter 219: Blades Drawn, Civil War Imminent?!

"What!! He actually...!!"

"Oh my god, Bei Dongshi is...!!"

The disciples at all levels entered an uproar of epic proportions because they could not believe what they were seeing.

It was one thing for Li Ling to kill unnamed competitors or even a named one like Wang Feng. It was harsh, but easy to forgive because what Li Ling represented was far more valuable than what all the others put together.

But Bei Dongshi wasn’t the same!

He may not be at the level of Li Ling, but he was far above the others, seen as a rising pillar of the future sect and the—currently—greatest prodigy of the Desolate Hell Path of this era.

So where did Li Ling get the guts? Even if the Sect Master wanted to protect him, the Sect Master was not the final say in the entire sect!

Case in point...

"INSOLENT!"

Once again, Li Ling suffered the harassment of a higher-level power that bore down on him menacingly, aiming to crush his entire existence into nothing with righteous fury!

The source revealed itself to be a Nihility Realm Grand Elder of the Desolate Hell Hall.

The moment that terrifying pressure descended, countless disciples in the lower stands froze in place, their spines bending as if a mountain had been placed on their backs.

Some fellows even spat blood outright, their bodies unable to endure even the aftershock of such a being’s anger.

In this moment, the entire stadium’s mood flipped in an instant, from shock to fear!

It finally settled on the kind of panic that made people forget they were in a sect and start thinking like mortals facing a calamity!

Yan Moqing’s face changed sharply, the Hall Master of the lower-path Desolate Hell Hall rising halfway from her seat, lips parting as her mind raced.

Bei Dongshi was her creation, not in the sense of ownership, but in terms of the pride of a teacher who had poured countless resources and painstaking attention into polishing a stone that might one day become a pillar!

Even if Zhen Mingshen had publicly taken him as a disciple, Yan Moqing was still the one who had nurtured him from nothing!

So when Li Ling’s hand had pierced through Bei Dongshi’s chest, when that ’PUCHI!’ echoed like a knife in the heart of every Desolate Hell disciple, Yan Moqing’s eyes instantly reddened with anger.

However, even she could not move because the pressure bearing down was not hers; it belonged to an elder above her, furious enough to ignore courtesy.

"Little beast! How dare you kill a seedling of my Desolate Hell line in broad daylight?!" the Grand Elder’s voice thundered, shaking the arena formation itself.

On the Desolate Hell side, disciples erupted into righteous fury, pointing, shouting, clenching fists until their knuckles turned white.

"H-He actually killed Senior Bei Dongshi!"

"This is too much! Ah!!!"

"Even if he’s talented, there must be restraint!"

Opposite them, the Asura Blood Hall disciples stood up like hornets that had been stirred, their reactions mixed.

Some fellows were delighted to see the death, while others were terrified by the threat from above, but all of them moved with the same instinct: to protect their path’s monster before anyone else could decide to ’discipline’ him!

Because Li Ling wasn’t merely a promising disciple anymore; he was the Asura Blood Hall’s future banner, rising legend, and their sharpest blade!

Hall Master Tang Huo’s expression darkened as he rose as well, his suave composure hardening into something wary but resolute.

While he understood the danger of siding openly with Li Ling in front of a furious Grand Elder—not to mention his grievances with the fellow that might culminate in a life-and-death scuffle—he also understood something deeper.

If Li Ling was abandoned even once, the lesson for others would be simple: if you could touch the fellow today, then anyone could deal with any of us tomorrow!

Sha Ren, the Asura Blood Path Saint, didn’t stand, but the air around him changed as his gaze turned cold enough that even those who weren’t looking directly at him felt a chill crawl up their backs.

The Desolate Hell Grand Elder’s fury surged, yet just as he was about to truly act, Zhen Mingshen made a move.

The Path Saint of Desolate Hell had been unnervingly still up until now, but he now rose slowly to his feet, eyes narrowing with extreme danger.

The Desolate Hell Path disciples instantly fell silent, gulping heavily with sweat on their foreheads, because unlike the Grand Elder, Zhen Mingshen’s intent was harder to read... and far more terrifying!

Yan Moqing turned her head sharply toward him, her expression complex as a flash of resentment passed through her eyes.

’You took him as a disciple publicly... so now you’ll avenge him publicly too, won’t you?’ she thought with hope.

However, Zhen Mingshen didn’t even look at her. His gaze remained on the stage... on Li Ling.

And... on Bei Dongshi’s corpse.

The Seven Sins Sect true inheritors who had been spectating with casual amusement now leaned forward as one.

Yan Liehu’s (Wrath) eyes widened, lips curling as if he could barely hold himself back from laughing at the surging killing intent from all sides.

Rong Aotian’s (Pride) expression became one of mockery, as if watching a bunch of clowns act out a show to please him.

Liu Qingying’s (Envy) eyes were filled with deep rapaciousness as she breathed heavily like she had run a mile, her expression flushed as she stared fixedly at Li Ling as if he were the most valuable thing in the world that she craved.

Zhou Lanxue (Sloth) blinked slowly, then finally sat up straight for the first time in a long while, understanding that things might escalate in a while.

Qin Taishou’s (Greed) expression changed greatly, his clenched fists causing one of his expensive storage rings to crack and shatter, exploding into the subspace void, but he didn’t care about that at this moment.

Guo Manman (Gluttony) swallowed once, then gently wrapped her food up and put it away, her expression turning cautious.

And finally, Su Meiluo (Lust) watched quietly with an expression of disgust, her gaze lingering on Li Ling as if she had just seen a beast try to pretend to be a man.

The crowd, however, didn’t care about subtlety, because they only saw one thing: a Desolate Hell Grand Elder about to crush Li Ling!

And if that happened, the tournament would cease to be a tournament; rather, it would become a purge the likes never seen before, leading to a sect civil war!

But just then, a wave of authoritative pressure descended that made even the Grand Elder’s furious power dissipate like a blown-out candle.

Ming Yue, the Sect Master, had finally stepped forth!

His movement was calm, almost leisurely, but the moment he appeared between the Grand Elder’s crushing intent and Li Ling, the entire stadium felt as if they were a hunter in the jungle who had come face to face with a tiger.

"Cease."

One word, and the Desolate Hell Grand Elder’s body trembled, cupping his fists with respect before sitting down and glaring at Li Ling down on the arena floor with hate.

However, he wasn’t the only Grand Elder present, as one from the Hungry Ghost Hall shook his head with disapproval and spoke bluntly.

"Sect Master Ming, it is fine to step up to protect the boy, but the rules cannot be flouted so carelessly. There must be a price to pay!"

But Ming Yue only raised a hand, interrupting him without even looking away from the stage.

Then, with the same calm, he pointed at Bei Dongshi.

"...He isn’t dead."

For a moment, nobody understood what they had heard. Then the Desolate Hell disciples exclaimed in disbelief.

"How could he not be dead?!"

"We saw his chest pierced!"

"His life aura is gone!"

Even Yan Moqing’s eyes widened, her breath catching, while Zhen Mingshen’s gaze sharpened, finally showing a sign of something close to surprise.

Ming Yue’s voice remained composed, gently gesturing downward.

"Look carefully."

And only then did people notice that the ’corpse’ that Li Ling had pierced through the chest on the arena floor... was wrong.

The blood was there, yes.

The hole was there, yes.

But one could see that the black mass that Bei Dongshi usually summoned to effect his usual esoteric methods had appeared at a different part of the stage, bubbling as if it were boiling over.

It was only a small puddle, but it was definitely active and alive!

The stadium’s uproar weakened into a confused silence, and in that silence, everyone’s eyes—from disciples, to elders, to hall masters, to path saints, and even to True Inheritors—all locked onto Bei Dongshi!

They were all waiting with bated breath for the lad to appear, because it was imperative to find out how he had escaped what should have been a fatal blow that they had all registered as true in their senses!