Chapter One Hundred and Three: The Opinions of Others Are Like the Screams of the Dead
Volume One: The Nature of the Devil Never Changes
Arc: The Great Guerrilla War
[After a few days]
A week—
without events… on the surface.
Yet the threads had begun tightening once again, as Scarlet King played behind the curtains as usual. Nothing important happened, except that Scarlet King was summoned to court.
When Scarlet King entered the court, he was extremely calm. It was only him and the judge, without any useless witnesses.
The atmosphere… was silent.
Cold enough to be felt.
The judge spoke:
"Gu Yue… do you understand… why I summoned you?"
Scarlet King bowed, clasped his hands together, and immediately understood the kind of mistake being referred to.
"Yes, I admit my mistake, my lord judge. I should not have interfered in the fight between Meng Ling and Ikalath."
The judge spoke in a questioning tone, finding Scarlet King's easy confession suspicious:
"I did not expect you to admit it. But you will be punished by going outside the sect to gather resources until your punishment is lifted. You must go to the sect's mission hall and complete ten missions before the punishment is removed. You must complete at least ten ninth-rank missions, or three first-rank missions."
Scarlet King thought with a cold laugh:
(Haha… just as planned. When I previously discussed the rule allowing killing inside the Blood Arena with the referee, it was part of my plan. That way, if I interfered in any fight, I would be punished by being sent outside the sect to gather resources.)
(This gives me a reason to leave without drawing suspicion, allowing me to visit the laboratory or obtain resources for myself.)
The judge thought with obvious boredom, as though these incidents were beginning to happen far too often:
(Why do they send disciples to court over every small mistake? Do the elders think I don't have a private life?)
The judge lowered his head, rested his hand against his cheek, and said:
"Very well. You may leave now, Gu Yue."
Scarlet King turned to leave, but the judge stopped him with a slight pressure of aura.
"Gu Yue… are you not afraid your reputation will be ruined by coming to court so often? This is the third or fourth time you have come here. Do you never think about what others think of you?"
Scarlet King glanced at the judge from the corner of his eye with overwhelming coldness, as if he were ice formed from pure indifference.
"Reputation? What use is reputation when I have no power? Anyone could trample and crush me and my reputation with ease. There is no reputation without power, and no power without perseverance, losses, ambition, and will."
He continued while walking toward the exit:
"And the opinions of others? They are like the screams of the dead."
"Does anyone listen to the screams of the dead?"
"No."
"Except me."
"Because some screams… are useful. To me."
The judge interrupted him in a low voice filled with suspicion:
"Do you not think that perhaps no one will join the Ink Darkness Faction because of your bad reputation?"
Scarlet King was silent for a few seconds.
Then he spoke:
"…What does my father's faction have to do with me? I am part of it, yes, but I am not its leader or anyone influential within it. I am merely a small child, the son of the faction leader. So why should I care about my reputation as long as I obtain strength?"
"The faction… is not me."
"And I… do not live for its reputation."
The judge fell silent.
He could not find a proper response to Scarlet King's words, as though he had lost the ability to argue with him.
(This young man… truly does not care.)
Scarlet King left, heading toward the disciples' mission fortress.
[After dozens of minutes of slow walking, as the world… returned to its usual triviality.]
Scarlet King arrived at the disciples' mission hall.
It was a wide hall on the inside, containing the mission area, where missions were displayed as papers ranked from first rank to ninth rank, each rank having its own color. The first rank had a special color: blue-violet, with red writing.
The hall had a distinct design.
The mission papers were posted on the wall directly opposite the entrance. Beside them sat the mission clerk, who confirmed mission acceptance and completion. He sat there with obvious boredom from being alone for far too long.
The hall was filled with disciples talking and discussing among themselves.
"I heard the Ink Darkness Faction has gained nearly a thousand new disciples."
Another disciple spoke:
"But that doesn't compare to the Dragon Gang. They have over one or two million disciples."
A huge man looked at Scarlet King and said:
"Who is that child who just walked in?"
Everyone turned toward Scarlet King with curiosity, while Scarlet King remained standing like a frozen mountain.
The thick-bearded man stepped forward and placed his hand on Scarlet King's head.
"Hahaha, a little child coming to the mission hall! What a joke."
He looked into Scarlet King's dead eyes and felt a tremor pass through his body.
A faint tremor…
"…Boy, what brings you here?"
Scarlet King grabbed his arm.
Then squeezed—
It was not a scream…
but the sound of bone… breaking under Scarlet King's light pressure.
The man screamed loudly, clutching his arm:
"Ah!! My arm!!"
Everyone fell silent in tension, and no one interfered.
They each returned to their place, but one of them spoke slightly louder:
"Isn't that Gu Yue?! How did he break through to the tenth level of Qi Refinement so quickly?!"
Someone whispered:
"As expected of the son of the talent Lin Yuan."
Another person said:
"But his cultivation development is even faster than Lin Yuan's. Could he be an Era Talent?"
Scarlet King thought while listening to the others speak:
(No one knows that my rapid growth is due to external support, and that my internal support is weak.)
(Although this man's cultivation is higher than mine, I am stronger in physical power because of the Titan King transformation, which greatly supported my body's strength.)
(But even that remains a kind of external support that is almost internal.)
He looked at the man, his eyes shining with coldness.
"Leave."
The man spoke angrily, preparing to attack Scarlet King:
"Leave? You don't have the right to say that to someone older than you, child. I'll teach you manners!"
Everyone exchanged glances, waiting to see what would happen.
But Scarlet King cut through their stares with a voice like a blade:
"Do you dare attack the son of the leader of the Ink Darkness Faction? If you try to attack me, my father will order your capture. And the Dragon Gang wants revenge against me. If you attack me, they will consider it interference in their personal affairs, and they will come after you."
He smiled with cold devilishness and placed his hand behind his back.
"Now… will you leave or not?"
The man's entire body trembled.
He fell silent. His lips shook, but he lowered his hand, then quickly turned and left.
At that moment, the mission clerk spoke:
"Welcome, sect troublemaker."