Elder Kang was unsure what to do about the strange boy.

I have followed him for a little over a day and he is still exhibiting the same extreme behavior. He has so much potential but is so ruthless. Normally I wouldn’t mind a little ruthlessness in a disciple but for it to come so naturally is concerning.

He rubbed his forehead.

It isn’t helping matters that I am getting sick of spending my time following him.

After a few more killings of the local wildlife, the boy finally exited the woods and entered a small village. Kang saw him enter the local tavern and begin asking for food in a very awkward manner

He also seems to lack social skills. He isn’t treating the barkeep as a person at all and is just being belligerent.

Elder Kang was taken by complete surprise when the boy laughed and then stabbed the owner in the chest.

Edward was so excited about this new VR game. It was the best he had ever played. From the graphics to the intuitive mental controls it was flawless. He was simply blown away. He was a little pissed when the exiting system wasn’t working but after he sent a complaint through the system interface he decided to keep exploring. After all, that Initial Push game that came out last year had the same issue for a bit. He had gone through the same thing back then and wasn’t too worried.

Edward shifted his attention back to his immediate needs.

“Look, just give me some food,” Edward said. He held up a horn of the weird pig-like animal he had killed. “It's definitely worth way more than some simple bread”

“Look, kid,” said the annoyed barkeep. “I do not believe some snot-nosed brat actually got a valuable horn. Even if it is something amazing, this isn’t the merchant’s guild.”

Edward shifted on his feet. He hadn’t noticed it when he had been hunting but he was so hungry. He had never played a game with such a realistic hunger sense.

How dare some shitty NPC not give me food. Normally I wouldn’t care but I need to eat something now. I should have tried to cook one of those animals. Screw it. I will just start a new game if this doesn’t work.

With a laugh, Edward stepped forward and stabbed the man in the chest. He grimaced as the man fell to his feet clutching his chest. The smell of blood almost made him gag.

I've got to admit that this is a little much. I could stomach the animals but did they need to make the NPC’s so lifelike-

Edward’s line of thought was cut off as his viewpoint blurred and he found himself looking at a man in black robes with golden embroidery standing over his headless corpse. As his eyes closed, he saw the man move forward to help the NPC on the floor.

…

Edward came too covered in sweat. He was back in the clearing he had started the game in.

Who the hell was that NPC? Was there some secret guard in case you killed NPCs?

He looked at the marker in the corner of his vision that read ‘2/3 lives’.

Holy crap that felt real. It was like I was actually dying!

He felt his neck as he glanced around. Things that had seemed off about the past few days started coming back to him.

Wait, what if this is real! What if that was a real person?

Edward felt sick to his stomach and proceeded to throw up all over the floor. As he rubbed the puke off his chin he froze. Standing in front of him was the man that just cut his head off. The silence was broken by a voice he had never heard before.

“Huh, such a low-level cultivator has a trick to come back to life. Well, that’s weird. I suppose being paranoid paid off.”

Edward saw a blur and then his world went black.

Elder Kang looked down at the unconscious boy in consternation and wonderment.

I only did a blood tracking spell out of paranoia. After fighting that one devil cultivator I’ve always been careful. I was expecting to find his kin but this is definitely the same boy. He even feels the same with my spiritual sense. Yes, this has to be the same boy whose head I chopped off.

Kang shuddered.

Just the idea of some little freak like this swearing vengeance is giving me a headache.

After a moment of thought, he covered the boy with seals and even used one of his best treasures meant to incapacitate a nascent soul cultivator.

Can’t let the little bastard getaway. Overkill is definitely warranted when dealing with stuff like this. I killed the boy mostly on reflex. Since the barkeep will live, I suppose the boy might be redeemed.

He put the boy on his shoulder and with a flourish of his hand, he laid down a few observation talismans.

Just to make sure nothing else appears in this meadow. I will let my brothers and sisters decide what to do with the boy. Though my instinct is to slaughter the boy. The idea of killing a child, even if it is the same kid, leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Turning toward the sect, he began the flight home.