Chapter 396: Killing Is Joy He was from another world, yes... and cultivators, especially those of higher ranks and prestigious heritages, killed those of lower status for the dumbest reasons imaginable. If someone of a lofty clan saw you accidentally breathing near their Jade Beauty, they could slap you into a wall. If you touched a herb they wanted, they could cripple your cultivation. In their world, life had no meaning unless you were born powerful enough for it to matter. But despite living in this new world under his master, despite taking care of Lillia and Isolde day after day, despite training diligently, expanding his closed cultivation, and killing more monsters than he could count... Feng had never killed a human before. And that... was different. ’When you kill a monster... you don’t have to reason about how both of you look the same,’ Feng thought as he stared down at Larry’s corpse. The man’s eyes were still open and frozen in shock with mouth twisted mid-scream. Blood still steamed from the open wound along his skull. ’You don’t have to think about how monsters don’t laugh, don’t dream, don’t love their children... or lie awake at night wondering why their lives went wrong. Killing a monster is like swatting a mosquito. Killing a human reminds you that they could’ve been you.’ He swallowed. ’Killing a human is supposed to make you question if you’re still human.’ But Feng didn’t feel any of that. His chest rose and fell sharply and his heart was pounding like a war drum. His fingers shook... not with fear, but with a burning exhilaration. The rising warmth spiraling through his limbs wasn’t guilt. It was thrill. His hand landed on his chest, gripping where his heart hammered. ’But I don’t feel any of those right now...’ Mana leaked from Larry’s corpse like steam escaping an open furnace... it was strangely sweeter than that of a monster. Feng inhaled without meaning to, and the body’s remaining mana slipped into him like liquid fire. His pupils dilated and his senses completely awoke. A shiver ran up his spine. ’I want to... kill more.’ His mask fell off and he turned slowly. The priest tensed immediately as he saw the young man’s face. Feng’s demonic smile crawled across his face like a shadow given form. "What are you guys waiting for?!" the priest barked. His back collided with the altar behind him. "Attack!" The three remaining hooded assistants reacted instantly, turning toward Feng with shaking hands. Dark mana pooled into their palms, bubbling like something rotten. Feng tilted his head gently, like a predator observing prey that hadn’t realized it was already dead. "I thought it was forbidden for unregistered mages and aura users alike to come to this town." The priest laughed, but it came out strained. "Eh, boy? There’s a lot of them living here undercover. Guards are easy to bribe if you have enough money so you should blame them, not us." The first assistant lunged forward with his fingers shaped like a gun. Dark mana shot from his fingertips in volleys, forming arrow-like projectiles. The other two circled, firing simultaneously, creating a deadly net of shadow magic closing in around Feng. ’How... underwhelming.’ The thought slid silkily across Feng’s mind as his grin widened, stretching just enough to be unsettling. He pushed mana into his eyes and the world slowed. Every incoming arrow blurred to a crawl with their edges dissolving from darkness to smoke. Their shapes flickered, weakened, and then... FZZZT They disappeared entirely, erased from existence. "He canceled our spells?!" one assistant gasped, her voice breaking as she stumbled backward. Feng’s expression didn’t change. ’My closed cultivation... my studies into mana... they’ve reaped quite some benefits.’ Even when he compared himself to his master, he couldn’t deny it... he was strong. He bent his knees slightly. Mana gathered beneath his feet... BOOM! He launched himself upward like a fired bullet. The world blurred around him. In the blink of an eye, he was above the first assistant, whose eyes widened with horror as Feng’s shadow fell over him. He fired more arrows, rapid and full of desperation but they fizzled out before touching Feng’s skin. Feng twisted in a controlled flip, and... CRACK! His heel slammed into the assistant’s skull with brutal momentum. The head caved inward like smashed glass making blood and bone spray across the ground. Mana burst from the corpse like a ruptured dam. Feng inhaled sharply. The Warmth flooded into him instantly. His toes curled inside his shoes and his spine arched making his pupils tremble. ’It feels... good.’ The priest flinched. He had been frightened before, yes... but now he understood. This wasn’t fear of a murderer. This was fear of something inhuman. "You’re taking their mana..." he whispered with wide eyes. "Are you... are you a demon...?" Feng didn’t answer. The next assistant shot a blast of black mana with trembling hands, then another, then another... each exploding uselessly against Feng’s approaching silhouette. He stepped forward once. Then twice. She tried to backpedal, but she tripped over her own cloak and Feng was already there. He reached forward lazily. His fingers plunged through her skull. Her mouth opened in a silent gasp, and she collapsed instantly as Feng withdrew his hand, mana swirling around his fingertips like mist. ’I feel high.’ The sensation of killing humans was addictive... dangerously so. He breathed out slowly, savoring the warmth filling every part of his body. The last assistant screamed and sprinted toward the exit. Feng barely glanced at her. He flicked his wrist. The bone spear glowed in a flash of mana then shot across the room SPLAT! It drove through her heart, pinning her to the wooden door like a grotesque decoration. Blood dripped down her robes as her head slumped lifelessly. Another gush of mana surged toward him. Feng inhaled... shuddering as the rush danced along his skin. He turned his head slowly toward the priest. The priest let out a strangled breath. "Demon..." "How can I be a demon when I don’t use dark mana?" Feng asked, then dragged the spear back into his hand with a single lazy gesture. It was quite funny seeing the priest that had looked so confident moments before be so afraid right now. He began walking. One step. Two steps. "Are you..." Feng whispered, though the Priest could hear everything. "...scared, Father?" The priest shook. He had gone through a lot of things in his life, fighting monsters, killing them, plotting his goal... everything was for this plan and at some point, he thought he was a monster that enjoyed killing and had lost his humanity. But today? He realized he was sane... who was really insane was this young psychopath in front of him. ’... Demon.’