Chapter 56: A Not So Friendly Spar (Patreon)

Ding!

A Disciplinary Hall Member, Bart, Has Abused His Authority

Credit Deduction: 3 Karmic Credit

Ding!

Task: Discipline The Member & Make An Example Of Him!

Reward: 100 Karmic Credits

Slifer sat on his throne in the Disciplinary Hall, his head resting on his hand. The hall's member, Bart, had dared to violate the rules Slifer had laid down. The disciple probably thought he could escape notice, not realizing the System would notify Slifer of his actions.

"Master, we should flay him alive," Amelia suggested. "Peel his skin inch by inch, ensuring he feels every shred of pain but remains conscious throughout the ordeal. The conscious part is really important!"

Slifer raised an eyebrow at her suggestion. "Maybe I should consider such a punishment for you when you disobey me," he retorted dryly.

Amelia visibly recoiled at Slifer's words, retreating into the shadows and trying to blend into the background.

Minutes ticked by until a young man entered the hall. He had black hair, wore black robes, and his face carried an annoyingly smug expression.

“Supreme Elder, you summoned me,” Bart bowed, barely concealing a smirk. He had recently entered the Core Formation realm and assumed the news had caught the Supreme Elder’s ear. He must want to recruit me, no doubt impressed by my talent.

Slifer scoffed at the disciple's demeanour. “Since taking over, I implemented a new system for you, the members of the Disciplinary Hall, to win cultivation resources from my personal collection at a more than reasonable price. But there are rules,” Slifer paused, fixing his gaze on Bart, whose face drained of colour when he realised, he was in fact not summoned to be recruited.

“What was the rule I commanded all of you to follow?” Slifer asked.

Swallowing hard, Bart managed to reply, “Not to abuse our authority, Supreme Elder.”

“And yet, you felt emboldened to break this rule. Why?” Slifer’s tone turned icy.

Sweat beaded on Bart’s forehead as he began to falter, “I haven’t done anything, I—”

“You dare lie to my master!” Amelia's voice cut through the hall as she emerged from the shadows, her face flushed with anger.

Slifer was baffled at the blatant act of hypocrisy taking place before him, Amelia had no qualms about disobeying and deceiving him, yet she seemed personally affronted when another disciple did the same?

Bart glanced at silver-haired girl, his legs trembling slightly. He knew her by reputation - the 'demon girl', as others called her.

"Senior Sister, I—" Bart stammered, but Amelia sharply cut him off.

"For the blatant disrespect you showed my master, I should rip out your tongue and feed it to you," she snarled as she advanced, her face twisting into a more ghoulish visage with each step.

Bart's eyes widened in terror, taking a step back. He knew it wasn’t an empty threat, the innocent-looking girl had once done that to a Core Formation expert when he spoke ill of Amelia’s master.

"Or perhaps I should flay your skin slowly, layer by layer, letting you feel every excruciating moment.”

Standing right in front of him, her face now fully transformed, and her long tongue extended, she whispered, "Let me just taste your soul, just a little lick. It won’t hurt much…I promise."

Bart, almost crying in fear, blurted out, "I did it, I'm sorry!" He turned desperately to Slifer, "Please, Supreme Elder, protect me!"

Ding!

Your Disciple Amelia Disciplined Bart

Reward: 3 Karmic Credits

Slifer, nonchalantly waving his hand, signalled for Amelia to retreat. She backed off, her appearance reverting to normal.

At that moment, a white-robed youth entered the hall - Kalin. Slifer had summoned him, he had delayed the youth’s request for too long, it was time to throw him a bone.

Two birds with one stone, Slifer thought, his flickering between Kalin and Bart.

Releasing his Peak Foundation Establishment aura, Slifer stood up from his throne. The disciples exchanged confused glances but remained silent. They knew better than to be fooled by the old man's aura; after all, they had recently witnessed him effortlessly defeat an Early Ascendant Realm cultivator.

"Kalin, you wanted to see my sword skills. Today, you'll witness them," Slifer announced, his voice echoing through the hall. "And as for you, Bart, you'll serve as an example of what happens to those who break my rules."

Kalin's eyes lit up with anticipation, a move by a sword cultivator at the Sword Will realm? He couldn’t afford to blink.

"I will not use my higher cultivation realm to bully you as you did to that disciple," Slifer continued. He didn’t know exactly what Bart did, but the disciple's demeanour suggested typical cultivation world nonsense like ­­­­­­bullying someone weaker. "In fact, I'll limit myself to the Foundation Establishment realm and still defeat you... in one blow."

"Master, allow me to handle this!" Amelia interjected, a twisted smile playing on her lips. Her silver hair writhed around her like sinister tendrils.

Slifer shook his head, this was a great opportunity to test out his new technique, Void Piercer. But more importantly, he wanted to make a statement.

He thinks he can defeat me in one blow? Bart thought incredulously. He felt the Supreme Elder was underestimating him, he wasn't just any cultivator with subpar techniques; he was one of the Black Rose Sect's most talented youths.

He only respected the Supreme Elder due to the vast gap in their cultivation realms. But now, with Slifer lowering his power below Bart's own level, he saw an opportunity to outshine the elder, if it meant humiliating the Supreme Elder in the process, then so be it.

"It would be an honour to spar against the Supreme Elder," Bart said, bowing respectfully while concealing his true thoughts. Today, I, Bart, will make a name for myself by defeating the Supreme Elder.

Slifer merely nodded in acknowledgment. He turned to Kalin. "Watch closely, Kalin. I'll demonstrate this technique only once."

Unlike Bart, Kalin had no illusions regarding an Ascendant cultivator's prowess. He already knew the outcome; he was more interested in witnessing the Supreme Elder’s sword skills.

A sword materialized in the air, and Slifer caught it effortlessly with one hand. Turning towards Bart, he commanded, "Begin."

Bart's face contorted into a menacing smirk, his left arm enveloped in qi, transforming into a demonic, enlarged red limb that rushed towards Slifer with alarming speed.

In a swift, almost imperceptible motion, Slifer slashed with his sword and then sheathed it back.

The very moment Bart's mutated hand was about to collide with Slifer, the disciple's eyes shot open in shock. Blood spurted from his mouth as his hand reverted to normal. He collapsed to his knees, clutching his stomach in pain. He had no visible wound, yet he couldn’t stop spewing blood.

As Slifer had predicted, it only took one move.

Ding!

You Punished A Demonic Cultivator

Reward: 1 Karmic Credit

Ding!

Completed Task: Discipline The Member & Make An Example Of Him!

Reward: 100 Karmic Credits

Not bothering to spare his fallen opponent a glance, Slifer turned to Kalin. "Did you catch that?" he asked.

Kalin’s face paled. He had expected a display of Sword Will, but never had he thought to witness a technique infused with the space element, at least not in the mortal realm.

The fact that Slifer, a mere Ascendant cultivator, had demonstrated such mastery over both Sword Will and space manipulation was beyond extraordinary. Such cultivators tended to break past even the Greater Immortal Realm!

A genius like this…even the Venerables would fight over such a talent! Kalin thought in awe.

Slifer's gaze rested thoughtfully on the white-robed youth.

Once Val manages to soften Leah up a bit, I should be ready to attempt converting her to the righteous path. Then, I’ll have a spare disciple slot to take this one in.

Slifer turned his gaze towards Amelia. He thought back to the three Karmic Credits gained when she intimidated Bart and realised that he had been dealing with her wrong the entire time. Instead of constantly trying to rein in her sadistic tendencies, why not channel it for a more…constructive purpose?

"Amelia, from now on, you'll be in charge of dealing with rule-breakers in the Hall," Slifer announced, watching her reaction closely.

A wickedly bright smile lit up Amelia's face, and she produced a dagger from seemingly nowhere, already sharpening it with eager anticipation.

"But remember," Slifer added with emphasis, "you can only punish those whom I have judged guilty."

Amelia let out a small sigh, obviously disappointed by the limitation, but she nodded. Her master had a knack for knowing when people lied to him, she decided it was better to obey him. At least with this new role, she could have a little fun with some poor disciple once in a while.

As Slifer settled back into his throne, he dismissed the group with a wave of his hand. Kalin and Amelia gave respectful nods before vanishing from the hall. But Bart, who was still severely injured, struggled to stand and eventually had to resort to crawling away, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

Slifer made no move to assist him; in the world of demonic cultivators, mercy was seen as weakness. Power was what commanded respect and today's actions would serve as a warning to anyone foolish enough to think they could slip under his or, more precisely, the System’s radar.

Resting his head back, Slifer closed his eyes, pondering the future of the Disciplinary Hall. When will the first member accumulate enough credits to redeem a treasure? he mused. The carrot and the stick... that's how you manage people.

“Master, I have returned.”

Slifer’s eyes snapped open, focusing on the figure before him.