A single path to greatness, an iron will to brilliance, and a single path to Slaughter!

"PHOENIX SLAUGHTER~" Leo swung his knife, "Huh? Where's the Elk?" confusion plagued Leo's mind finding nothing in front of him. He creased his brows, still unable to gather himself.

"The Elk's dead, Leo, you already killed it…"

Wang Ling said with his eyes closed. He was busy meditating but chose to stop seeing Leo had awakened, he had yet to find an answer anyway, why waste time doing something so useless?

"How long have I been out?"

"About seven hours, it is now already night. Food is to your right, eat."

Leo did not dare object; he grabbed the bowl carved out of wood and began drinking the soup made from the Elk he had killed. Upon consumption, he felt energy feeling him up.

"What is this?" Leo knew it was cooked using Elk meat, but the amount of qi it held was something even a treasure plant could not measure. Surely Wang Ling had done something Leo did not know.

"Nothing, just something I picked up while walking." Wang Ling said and stood up to take a walk outside, "Finish that and return to sleep, I am going to mediate under the moon."

Leo nodded and just as he watched Wang Ling exit the room, he noticed something from the edges of his fingers, "Bloodstains?"

He questioned and then began sniffing the air, and as he did a very faint smell entered his senses. There was nothing that could create such a scent.

Leo had smelled this before, at the time when the blood splattered across this very room when Wang Ling was trying his best to use his qi.

The scent came from, "Brother Wang's blood essence!?

BAM!

Leo came running out searching for Wang Ling, "Brother Wang, you used your blood essence to help with my recovery. Also, now that I see it I don't even have a single scratch on me, and my internal organs all of it a—"

"Enough, you don't have to continue talking. Just accept this help and move on, Leo."

Outside, Wang Ling rested his face on his palms for the blunder he had committed, letting a child see something so insignificant as this made him sigh.

[Failing to clean up was my mistake — sigh and here I thought I can cover it by mediating.] he had drawn from the bloodline of the Holy Race to quickly heal the child who almost lost his life trying to prove his worth.

The amount was just a single drop, but the effects it had were amazing considering the one who benefited was a mortal.

"But still, thank you, Brother Wang no — Master."

Wang Ling flinched at the mention of that word, "Do you really intend to call me that, Leo?"

"For the last two months Master has rejected my wishes to enter your discipleship, saying you teaching me is nothing a way to pass the time. But, after your giving something so precious as blood essence and teaching me a revised version of your own techniques, what can I call you other than my master?"

Wang Ling turned around, he saw Leo already crossed the distance between them and was already preparing himself to kowtow a meter away from him. A sigh escaped Wang Ling.

"Do you know why I didn't accept you as my student?"

Leo shook his head.

"I'm telling you now, the path I am going to walk will be fraught with danger, and one day, if my enemy learns that I have a student, they will get to him to get to me. What's more, is that I will one day come to fight against the Abyssal Demons and end the war that is plaguing the cosmos, do you think the disciple of such a man can live?"

Kowtowing three times, Leo looked Wang Ling in the eyes, "This life would have long been whisked away if not for Master's help. Life will always come to an end, and I would rather perish in the heat of the battle treading the path I chose rather than compromising in life just to stay alive. Many paths may open for me if I live, but I will die within knowing I abandoned my true desires. I Leo wishes to take Venerable Wang Ling as my Master, if you so order me to, I will jump to the fires of Hell just to receive your glorious teachings, I wish to walk the path of a warrior, and I wish to walk it while waving the banner of your name."

Leo had already finished his kowtow with his hands reaching out waiting for Wang Ling to accept him as his disciple.

Seeing those pair of eyes once again made Wang Ling sigh, he was reminded of his sister, Wang Yue who wished to learn the bow, or even a certain Princess who threw her pride just to see his teachings.

"You should know that I have a history of throwing my students to a wild goose chase just to chase them out and leave me alone (though I didn't accept her as a complete disciple)."

"… that doesn't matter, Master."

"You hesitated but I supposed that is normal… hmmm, yeah sure, why not. I still don't have control over my qi anyway, might as well do something while I'm not preoccupied."

Leo's eyes brightened, he threw his fist up and made a very wide smile, "HAHAHA, YES!" needless to say, he was happy.

"So, what is the name of our Sect?"

"Sect? What do you mean by that? We're not a Sect or anywhere close to becoming one."

"I mean, a Sect basically only needs disciples and a Sect Master, and we fulfill both requirements, so do you not think we need a name? Are you going to call it Blood Seeking Sect? Or Immortal Blood Sect? Slaughter Blade Sect?"

[How does this kid see me for him to think of such names?] Wang Ling shook his head, [But, a Sect name huh…] Wang Ling closed his eyes and from a very distant memory entered his mind.

A memory from the distant past, when he was training his sword under the supervision of his Master reached him to this life.

Wang Ling remembered something as he said, "Crimson Snow Sect — I will name it that."

"Crimson Snow Sect? Why would—" Leo wanted to ask Wang Ling's reasons but seeing the peace smile on his reminiscing face, Leo chose to keep his silence, letting his master reminisce in peace.

Wang Ling had a pleasant smile as he remembered a memory from long before.

While the spring breeze blew, a young man practicing his sword asked his Master.

"Master, you once said you wanted to create a Sect, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"If you fulfill your wish, what name would you give our Sect? As your first disciple, I think I am entitled with the right to know, correct?"

"Hmm, a name, huh. Well, there's this one event that changed my life — I want to name it after that time."

"What event?"

"A simple event that impacted me, a sight of a child that bled into the snow while trying to mock his savior, to remind him of his arrogance and idiocy of that night I'll name the Sect, Crimson Snow Sect — to remind him that he's still a brat in my eyes, hahaha."

Laughter from the man referred to as Master would echo and the Protest of the disciple would follow.

A pleasant memory from the first life, a memory that had been buried by the bloodied and sordid experience he had. A past where blood had not completely stained his existence.

It was a past before he led to a self-destructive path of revenge.

A time when Wang Ling was truly innocent of any crime.