548 Blood (1/2)

Besides doubt, there was only astonishment. Absolute astonishment.

To the three Rebirth State guests, battles and murders were part of life, and they had learned the relationship between killing and being killed.

Therefore…

They had never once underestimated their opponents.

Even if they have realized early on that their opponents were not as powerful as them, they would not show any mercy or complacency.

And it was precisely due to this, that they were shocked at the strange sight that had unfolded.

After all, they were well-aware of the capabilities of the guest with the Death Flame. Although he had not achieved their level of mastery, in terms of technique and potential, he was not much weaker than them.

But now, the guest with the Death Flame had died.

Without any warning, he had died in front of them. He was killed by them when they could not stop the attack in time.

This made them extremely wary.

Normally, they would have stopped and tested their opponent's abilities once more. After all, it was only a fine line between killing and being killed.

But Lin Tianrong's voice reverberated in their ears with rising urgency.

”What are the three of you waiting for? Do you want to die with that idiot? Kill him now, I want him dead now!” Lin Tianrong's rage shot through the roof.

Even when they had attacked together, the masked man managed to kill the Death Fire guest with the attack of others. How humiliating! If he wasn't that weak, he would've fought.

The three Rebirth guests exchanged looks and immediately understood one another's thoughts.

They did not feel any pity for the fallen guest.

Because when they first stepped into the Eastern Palace, they were fated to be a weapon. A weapon used by Lin Tianrong according to his whims and fancies.

And now…

They were still a weapon.

But one used by another person.

Blame? Hatred?

They had neither. Because, like the guest with the Death Flame, they had a history that no one knew of. If it wasn't like this, with their Rebirth State abilities, why would they be a weapon so willingly?

”Kill him!” one of the guests shouted.

Without much nonsense or banter, this one phrase determined the path of their life, one which they could never turn back.

They still had the advantage of strength with three people.

Even if they had no advantage, or only one was left, they could not stop fighting. Because the result would be the same. It was either the masked man or them who had to die.

The three Rebirth State guards moved again.

But this time they did not attack from different directions, because they weren't exactly clear how the masked man used their attacks to kill the other guard.

Since they weren't clear…

It was an ambiguity.

And once was enough.

The trio stepped toward the masked man in the same direction. Rays of light emerged from their bodies in their respective colors: one red and the two green. Red signified flames.

The flames weren't any special Dao, but they were a powerful, ferocious Dao. And when one had achieved the Rebirth State in the Dao of the flames, he could feel his opponent's realization and control of the flames.

Green signified nature.

Nature is all-encompassing, with flowers, grass, vines, creepers…

But most importantly, nature arose from earth. Hence, when the two green light rays emerged, streaks of green lines simultaneously surfaced from the ground.

The green lines moved wildly, approaching the masked man's legs.

With impressive speed.

The masked man stood calmly at his position as if he didn't notice what was happening. In an instant, the green lines twisted around his legs, rooting him to the ground.

And at this moment, a ball of red flames reached in front of the masked man like a hungry predator about the devour his prey.

From the time the three guests moved to the ensnarement of the masked man, all happened in the blink of an eye, but it was in fact very visible.

A fiery red tooth pierced deep in the masked man's throat, sizzling as it penetrated his skin.

The surrounding guards and servants heaved a sigh a relief.

”Is he dead?!”

”With the combined force of the three Rebirth State guests, his fate was sealed even if he managed to defeat the 'Dark Death' by luck.”

”Yes. It is impossible for a single person to survive this.”

The guards discussed softly as they carefully observed Lin Tianrong's expression. After all, if the masked man was defeated, Lin Tianrong would calm down a little.

And the Dark Death they mentioned referred, of course, to the guest with the Death Flame.

A pseudonym.

No one knew his real name.

Lin Tianrong stared intently at the three guests and the masked man. He saw witnessed the flame piercing through the masked man's throat, but his rage did not quell.

Setting the Eastern Palace and his study on fire.

How could such a rage be quelled just by a simple death? He was full of hatred. He didn't want the masked man to die just like this.

If it was possible, he preferred slowly slicing the masked man apart with a knife.

But now…

He couldn't care anymore.

Death!

He could still let him rot in public!

Lin Tianrong had decided that he would expose his corpse in the public for seven days. He wanted to let everyone know that the royal dignity was not to be messed around.

Those who infringed the royal dignity only had one end: death.

The sizzling noise emerged from the masked man's body. It should have been a bloody sight, but strangely, it wasn't so.

Because…

There was no blood!

When everyone saw the fiery tooth pierce his throat and heard the sizzle, they knew the masked man in front of them wasn't just a persistence of vision. He did not dodge, but why had he not died upon such a blow?

This was their first thought.

But when they hadn't the time to develop this thought, they noticed something peculiar: the masked man's throat had no trace of blood.

They had seen it clearly: the fiery red tooth piercing deeply into his throat. By why was there no blood?

What a strange sight.

Everyone had the same doubts. Even Lin Tianrong was dazed. But there were no explanations for this.

And the most puzzled among them was…

Of course, the guest of the highest level of Rebirth State among the trio, the flaming guest.