Authors Note: WARNING! THIS CHAPTER IS NOT FOR THE LIGHT HEARTED! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

LILY POV:

It's been years since I truly battled, fought in life and death scenarios. I'm currently a dull knife that's been neglected, a knife been sitting in the drawer for years, rusting away.

But finally, I need to sharpen myself, to polish myself again. Than I need to transform myself, from a knife, to the sharpest blade, one that can cut everything in its path, even the heavens. If I don't, I know that I'll be left behind.

Lily walked through the forest, trying to find a suitable enemy. With each beast she cut down, the sharper she became, both mind and body. Her aura, steadily started to climb, becoming stronger, more fierce, turning a flaming red, almost as if it was alive. She was an ancient being, slowly, demonically awakening from her slumber after countless years. With each step, her movements became more efficient, more precise, more deadly. With each swipe of the blade, a life would be taken. A river of blood started to form in her gruesome path, and her emerald sword, had become scarlet red from the blood of her enemies.

What happened next, terrified all the Ferocious Beasts in the vicinity. The limitless amount of blood, followed her, gathered under her feet, covering her, seemingly being absorbed by her, making her stronger. A thick smell of sweet blood started emanating from her perfect, jade like body, oozing out of her every pore. Her pupils became the deepest bloody red, and her gaze became ice cold. She looked like a devil, but her demeanor had become absolutely calm and serene. She became a divine being that controlled all life, and the Ferocious Beasts had become her sacrifices, the whetstones needed to sharpen herself again.

Her silver hair swirled in the air, becoming alive. Each strand of hair moved individually, almost like snakes. Her bloody crescent pearls froze the souls of each entity that gazed into them. Covering her, was a terrifying demonic aura, like a demon that could no longer be detained, no longer held back. Lily no longer looked human. She had become a devil, one not from this world.

The paradoxical aura of fierce, noble, calm, and serene made the Ferocious Beasts instinctively feel like they didn't deserve to breath the same air as this being. It made them feel like it was an honour to have their life taken by this Goddess, the devil reincarnate, like it was their life goal, an inevitability. The Ferocious Beasts, who despised humans, who wanted to tear each and every one of them to shreds, became joyous of their fruitful fates, to became a part of this devils strength.

The Storm family Bloodline, their ancient Heritage, was why they ruled. It was why they were feared by countless others.

While the Bones of Beasts contained Essence, the blood contained their Strength, their Energy.

The Storm family had sacrificed themselves to save her. Fighting against some of the worlds strongest, most powerful Desolate Beasts. The mothers, fathers, cousins, aunts, and uncles, all lost their lives, one by one, fought till their last breath, hoping that Lily would survive.

Her family wasn't annihilated because her mother was a Heavenly Desolate Master that could keep intact 85% of the Essence. Though Essence gave countless benefits to humans, it wasn't enough to reach the True Powers excrement, much less challenge them.

It was because of the mother and daughter pair that the family was erased from the face of this world.

Information and Insights, the Truth Of Laws, which come from Essence, can't challenge True Power. Information may be a weapon, it may even become power, but against world ending raw power, it's but a passing wind, it can't even be mentioned on the same scale.

Information, by itself, is intangible, without a physical form. Only when it's used, harnessed, made into something physical, into a tool of power, can it be useful to humanity, to protect themselves from the horrors of this world.

From the moment Lily was born, she had consumed, been force fed, Relics made from the strongest Desolate Beasts that the Storm family could get their hands on. This had accidentally awakened a Primordial Bloodline within her, the Draconian Devils Body.

Not much was known about this Bloodline, because it was never seen before. Its power, its secrets, Lily had to discover herself. For the Storm family, it became a blessing, and an eventual curse. The value of Lily however, had exceeded her mothers when they discovered she had a Primordial Bloodline. Lily was unique, while there were still more Heavenly Desolate Masters, though not as potent as Lilys mother. Lily herself, was unique, a priceless gem. Lilys Bloodline, had become the most guarded Storm family secret.

Together, mother and daughter, were the hope for humanity. The mother would nurture and protect her daughter, until the daughter blossomed, turning into a shining light, a beacon that pierced the dark clouds, the turbulent and stormy waters, the endless monsters that roamed the land, bringing hope and peace for humanity.

Since Essence awakened her powers, it could also used to advance and nurture her powers. There was a direct connection between the two. That's why her mother being an unparalleled Heavenly Desolate Master was so important. The combination of the pair was a match made in heaven, an astronomical chance, one that could change a species destiny and outcome.

It was why they had sacrificed themselves to save Lily above all else. Even if the entire family all died, but Lily survived, there would be hope for humanity.

Now, the powers that lay dormant inside her body, her Primordial Bloodline, started to reawaken. The death of her entire family was a trauma that had broken her as a child, both body and soul. But in Cesars arms, she had wept away her sorrow, gotten rid of the shackles that bound her. Her need for power, whether to protect, or not be left behind, became a driving force that awakened her Bloodline once more. The 100% pure Relics that she had consumed were the final step, a step that reawakened her Bloodline, reawakened her destiny.

Cesar and Lily were truly a match made in Heaven, whose destinies are intertwined, more than any other.

So Lily ripped through the Ferocious Beasts, who had surrendered and willingly gave up their life to be of aid to her. Her Cultivation, which has been stagnant for many years, started to crawl, worm, and advance for the first time in years. But it wasn't enough. The normal Ferocious Beast Blood Essence wasn't enough, it wasn't worthy to become a part of her power. She needed to find stronger Ferocious Beasts.

Luck however, wasn't with her today. When strong Ferocious Beasts felt her aura, fear overtook their entire souls and they ran, cowering with their tales between their legs. Lily would chase, but after 3 hours, she had only managed to kill 4 Elite Ferocious Beasts. She couldn't find any King ranked Ferocious Beasts. To her, Elite Ferocious Beasts were no different to normal Ferocious Beasts. She needed to enter deep in the forest to find prey that was worthy to advance her strength.

She became more and more proficient at controlling Blood Essence. She figured out that not only can she gain strength through the blood, advancing her body, but it could also be used as her weapon and shield. She could crystallize the blood, making into the sharpest weapon. She could cover her whole body, making it a perfect shield. The higher the quality and quantity of blood she collected, the stronger her weapon, shield, Cultivation, and strength!

Lily had a unique cultivation method. One where she had to gain Essence, Heavenly Energy, Yin energy, Yang energy, and Blood from Desolate Beasts to advance her Bloodline. She also had to practice a normal Cultivation technique. Everything had to advance at the same pace, or her Cultivation would become stagnant, not moving a step forward.

But she didn't go deep in the forest. That could wait. She had a feeling that she should get back to the village, a feeling that came from deep inside her. It only took a moment for Lily to return to her normal self. Her devil like persona reverted back to a heavenly fairy with silver eyes. The ocean of blood, disappeared into her body, going into an unknown place in an instant.

She stored the 3 Ferocious Beasts close to their hut so Cesar could make them into Relics. They decided to keep some Essence in the bones so the corpses could still be sold. Leave it to Cesar to make the most out of any situation.

She killed some normal Ferocious Beasts with minimal damage to sell along with a single Elite Ferocious Beast. Selling all 4 would cause pandemonium in the village. Cesar would also take most of the Essence from this corpse. Since he didn't need to make them into Relics, they didn't need to hide the body and it could be sold instantly. The lost blood from the corpse wouldn't cause a major panic when selling. Ferocious Beasts Blood Essence was usually collected right after a kill. By the time it made it to the merchants or families, the Beast usually bled out. If the blood was collected, than the merchants or families would buy it, making the price of the corpse higher. But it wasn't unusual that there was little blood in the body when it was sold. So Lily wasn't bothered or worried about selling the Elite Ferocious Beast that was missing most of its blood.

There were countless Cultivation techniques in this world, so she didn't need to hide the power of her Bloodline. She couldn't tell other people that it was a Primordial Bloodline, and had to downplay the enormous power boost it provided. But she still had her mothers techniques, which she also needed to improve desperately. Today, she was the dull knife had gained back it's spirit, only taken out of the drawer. It still needed to be sharpened and polished.

The Elite Ferocious Beast was a Twin Headed Lion. It was 10 meters long and each part of its body was covered with bulging muscles filled with veins. The lion had a thick and furry characteristic mane with razor sharp claws and teeth. The ever prideful lion, in it's death, had the emotions of understanding and acceptance on its identical faces.

People on this world studied and learned all about Ferocious Beasts, like people learned to count and talk. This meant facial expressions, body movements, and anatomy. Knowing critical information about Ferocious Beasts was simply life saving. Knowing strengths, weaknesses, and capabilities of Ferocious Beasts was the difference between life and death, victory and defeat.

Lily made her way into the village with her mountain of Ferocious Beasts with the Elite Twin Headed Lion presented on the top, clearly visible to all the villagers. When people saw the expression of the Elite Twin Headed Lion, they gained insight towards the strength of the young women that killed it. They knew it wasn't a fight. It wasn't even a battle. It wasn't a hard fought death desperation where both sides had fatal wounds and one just managed to win over the other. No, it was one sided domination. A one sided massacre.

There were a few rogue hunters and Cultivators who believed in their strength and wanted to steal the Elite corpse. An Elite Ferocious Beast corpse was worth enough to do so. It was worth enough to not worry about their reputation. It was worth enough to risk their life to get it. The corpse also seemed to be in perfect condition and completely intact. Such a specimen was truly rare, making it even more valuable. But when they saw the expression of the Elite Ferocious Beast, they immediately got rid of that thought. They were experienced enough to know that if they tried to steal the corpse, the girl would kill them in an instant. They weren't an opponent for the fairy, just vultures eyeing a corpse that they couldn't sink their peaks into.

A small detail, like the expression and condition of the Elite Ferocious Beast corpse, became the catalyst for every major power in the village paying attention to Lily.

It also made everyone reevaluate the goddess. A young women capable of dominating an Elite Ferocious Beast. It was completely unheard of. It was a level of power that wasn't seen in Floating Cloud Village. This made the importance of the women skyrocket.

The news spread, instantly. Important Cultivators like family clan patriarchs were taken out of their Cultivation and told about the unprecedented prodigy. They quickly made decisions to rope this women in. The best option was to have this women engaged in their family. The beauty was at the cusp of womanhood, yet she could overpower an Elite Ferocious Beast, with ease. Her future was limitless. If the fairy was part of their family, their power, influence, and importance might even exceed the Imperial Family branch! That meant total control of the village! Her power might even be enough to establish themselves in the capital in the near future! That type of temptation was too strong.

Orders were made. Some included any and all information about the heavenly beauty. Powerful families, Associations, merchants, Cultivators, all sent envoys to purchase the Elite Ferocious Beast. They all knew, that if there was one corpse, there would be more in the future.

Young masters of powerful families, even the Imperial Family branch, wanted to court the heavenly maiden. Even if she wasn't powerful, her beauty alone was enough to shake the entire village. But she was also powerful. One of the strongest in the entire village. The young masters were chosen few of the heavens, and were led to believe that since their moment of birth. These young masters were powerful leaders. Their strength exceeded all their peers, and their destiny was to soar the heavens, saving humanity in the process.

For these young men, Lily was the perfect wife.

Some, who had already heard about this young maiden, placed an even greater importance on Cesar and General Calix. Those who didn't, would soon. Some wanted to control the boy, thus controlling the fairy. Others wanted to go through General Calix, because she was his disciple. Some thought that General Calix might have even adopted the pair. If he did, than they needed to coax him to agreeing in a marriage proposal with Lily.

Different powers made different plans, all employing them as fast as they could, before any other major power. For them, time was of the essence. It was the key. It was the same for Lily, but for an entirely different reason.

Lily hurried to the military compound. She didn't spend the entire day hunting and killing, even though she wanted to. In the pit of her stomach, deep in her gut, she had a bad premonition. It was a feeling that she despised, hated with all her soul. It was the feeling of Cesar being in trouble.

The more time that passed, the greater the feeling. She wanted to doubt the feeling, thinking that it was just her over active imagination and worry for Cesar. But as she had got closer to the village, the greater the feeling had become. Now, on her way to the military compound, she knew something was wrong.

The last time this feeling had occurred, Cesar had went missing in the forest and almost died.

She didn't care about the gazes of astonishment and reverence that she was getting from practically the entire village. She didn't care about all the activity around her. Under the loud thumping of her heart, she made her way to the military compound. The tension in her mind was building, and the worry in her heart was starting to overtake her.

She quickly followed Cesars orders, and told them not to sell the Elite Ferocious Beast, but note down the offers for it.

There already seemed to be people wanting to talk to her. All of them finely dressed, and had the aura of nobility to them. She didn't care. She had a mission now, and that was to find Cesar.

She found the one person that might know where Cesar might be. General Calix.

Before he could start a conversation, Lily said “Tell me where Cesar is, or where you think he is.”

General Calix could hear the urgency in her voice. He thought for a moment and gave the best answer he could.

“He should have gone to the Flame Household first. It's been a few hours, but since he doesn't know his way around the village, he should have asked directions from them.”

The next moment, Lily was gone. General Calix could could only stare dumbly with his eyes twitching and his jaw wide open. Even to him, a Xiantian Profound Realm Cultivator, it seemed like she had just teleported away. It had been many years since he had last witnessed a speed he couldn't follow. He knew, in that moment, that he had vastly underestimated the Cultivation and techniques of the 9 year old Lily.

Than it hit him. A realization hit him so hard he thought he would pass out. He cursed and thanked his perceptive mind. She went looking for Cesar. Cesar was challenging households. She was overprotective. From her urgency, she somehow knew Cesar was in trouble or injured. This meant one of the households had put Cesar into that position.

The next moment, he dropped everything he was doing and ran after her, to the Flame household. It was the first place she would go. If something had happened to Cesar, she would eradicate the family that caused him any harm. He now knew that she had that level of power. He feared that the entire village together might not be able to stop her anymore. He hoped, and prayed, that a powerful family hadn't injured Cesar. Important and powerful families controlled the various Associations and markets of the village. If even one were to fall, it would offset a balance that the village wouldn't be able to recover from. He hoped that Lily wouldn't be blinded with rage and fury. He also cursed his own stupid process of decision making. Why did he let Cesar go fight households. Just let the him train with Lily, and that would have been better for him. Hell, he could have gone with her to hunt powerful Ferocious Beasts. With Lily there, he would have been safe. He cursed not knowing just how strong Lily was. If anything were to happen, it would on his shoulders.

The strong ruled, created the laws, and made the final decisions. Calix hoped that he could control the situation, and not let it escalate, whatever the situation was.

When he arrived at the Flame household, he saw a scene that caused the world around him to come a screeching halt. Blood started filling his head and his heart started beating faster and faster. He thought he was about to have a heart attack and a ruptured brain aneurysm at the same time. But there was hope. The situation had a slim chance of being controlled. He could only hope, because if he didn't succeed, the Flame family would be destroyed.

Lily had arrived at the Flame household in a few moments after she had disappeared from the Generals vision. She hadn't even realized that she had used her mothers movement technique, her body had moved automatically.

Her breathing had stopped and her entire mind and soul had focused on a single point in front of the household. Her knees became pudding and she felt like she was about to faint. Her eyes started watering and she felt her soul leave her body.

In front of the Flame family compound, were poles placed in a cross shape. On them, was an act of cruelty. It was a show of power and a lecture on human torture. A figure of a young man was tied on the poles.

The entire body was disfigured and swollen beyond recognition. Blood would slowly ooze out of the young male body like molasses, creating a pool underneath his tied, broken feet. His body was a colour between black, purple, dark blue and the scarlet red blood that would sometimes come out of his torn, cut, and beaten body. The teenager wouldn't move a muscle, not even twitch. The young man looked dead, almost at deaths door.

Each step that Lily took were torturous, as pain filled her soul. She would stumble side to side, her body not being in her control. Her vision became darker, not wanting to accept what was in her view. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and her face was deadly pale.

She knew it was Cesar on those poles.

All the memories of her family dying came back to her like a flood. Her mind would overlap the memories with the scene of Cesar in front of her.

The pain inside her was indescribable. Beyond what could be felt.

As Lily got closer to Cesar, she didn't notice that she was no longer shedding normal tears, but ones made of blood.

Underneath the infinite pain, underneath the utter torture of her soul, Lily had a sliver of hope. The hope being the heavenly mirror around Cesars neck.

when she touched him with her trembling hand, a searing heat went through her, like the warmth of the sunlight, like the heat of a fire.

She felt the Yang energy circulating within him, prolonging his life. She felt the weak pulse of his heart. it was so weak, threatening, almost whispering to go away.

She wouldn't let it. Never. She swore to her soul.

With all her power, control and determination, she circulated her Life and Yin energy within him. The Life energy was an emergency measure, keeping him from the underworld. She hoped the Yin energy would combine with the abundant Yang energy within him, creating more Life energy. Her prayer was answered and the Yin and Yang energy fused into Life energy, nurturing the strand of life still left within his body.

Lily took down Cesars mess of a body from the cross, laying him flat on the ground. The tears of blood that came down her face started dripping, collecting on his disfigured face. That caused her to notice that there wasn't enough blood in Cesars body. He would die soon if she couldn't replace the lost blood. Life energy would heal his body, but he still needed new blood and nutrients.

Her eyes became crimson red, gazing straight at the pool of blood that was once part of Cesars body. With the bloody tears running down her eyes, she looked like a crying devil. Under her control, the blood moved towards her. The colour of the blood was an insidious red mixed with brown dirt and obsidian black impurities. She used the Ferocious Beast blood and her own body to purify Cesars blood. She had noticed that his blood had mixed with her and the Ferocious Beast blood, and some of his blood was absorbed by her body, her Bloodline. But she gave it no further thought.

Slowly, under her careful control, Cesars blood returned to his body. Lily had to manually circulate the blood around his body. Just the thought of circulating his blood filled her with more pain than she could handle. Cesars life was in her hands now. She knew that if she was a moment late, Cesar would have died. But with the circulation of his blood becoming self sustaining, and his heart beat becoming faster and more lively, Cesar wasn't in danger of losing his life anymore.

She pulled Cesar close to her. She had almost lost him again. The pain in her heart, the tension in her mind, the torture of her soul, slowly eased and melted, being replaced by relief. There was more light in her eyes now, more clarity. The fog in her mind slowly lifted and cleared.

She once again returned to her normal self, with silver eyes and loving aura.

As her mind cleared, a new feeling had started overtaking her heart. A drowning fury. It threatened to burst her heart and overtake the entire world.

Someone had done this to Cesar.

She pieced together the information. As she did, the Draconian Devils Body, her Bloodline, reawakened. An insidious, murderous aura enveloped her, and the entire Flame household.

She hadn't noticed that several minutes ago, General Calix had passed her and entered the Flame household.

When he entered, he wasted no time and went directly to the family/clan leader. The Flame family leader and several elders seemed to be in a meeting. When they saw him, smiles appeared on their faces. Calix scowled in his heart. If they knew the disastrous situation they were in, the entire family would have shit their robes.

The patriarch looked like a middle aged man with red hair. He had a warm smile and a fair personality. Despite all this, General Calix knew that the man had the same Cultivation as him. He was in the lower Xiantian Profound Realm. The greatest elixirs in the entire village were made by him. His control over Yang Flames was unparalleled in the village.

The Flame family patriarch, happily said “What heavenly luck for you to come to us Calix. We just heard about Lily, and the Elite Ferocious Beast she has slain. Since you have graced us with your presence, we've like to talk to you about her.”

The reminder of Lily was a ticking time bomb in the back of General Calixs mind.

With a sour expression on the Generals face, he replied “We do need to talk about her. But first, I need to know who almost killed Cesar and tied him to the cross shaped poles.”

He saw a slight, an almost unnoticeable twitch in one of the elders face. Not many would have caught it, but General Calix, who had been in many life and death situations, caught the tell, an expression of sudden realization and memory.

General Calix sharply faced him with anger on his face. He had no idea why this idiot would almost kill Cesar. The elder should have known that I was supporting him. That alone should have been enough. He must have thought that he was protected, that he could hide behind the Flame family. The moron probably could have, but not against the current Lily.

General Calix had decided that this idiot would be sacrificed. The stupidity of the elder had consequences. Lily would want revenge, and he needed to make sure that she would take it out on the offender, not the entire Flame family. The situation couldn't be salvaged, they needed to minimize the damage and aftermath.

The patriarch frowned at the new information. Did the brat challenge his household and almost die in the process? That would explain the Generals anger. He would probably give some elixirs as compensation and make sure the connections that were already built didn't turn sour. Cesar was connected to Lily and General Calix. He didn't know how close Lily and Cesar were, but he was prepared to give ample compensation. This could be even be an opportunity, one that could rope in Lily. He followed General Calixs gaze onto an elder and his face turned sour.

The patriarch gazed on the same elder that had injured Cesar to an inch of his life. But the elder wasn't afraid or even concerned. From his perspective, the elder had protected the clans reputation. If the word had gotten out that a brat had beaten a family instructor, it would have damaged their standing. He realized that he might have gone overboard but knew that even if he had killed Cesar, General Calix didn't have the power to demand anything out of him. Even if the family wanted connections with Lily, the unprecedented genius, they'll just have to give them some compensate and he'll just have to apologize.

The Generals next words however, made him realize that the situation was much more serious and dire.

“Lily is Cesars future wife. You almost just killed her husband. I should tell you, that her Cultivation is beyond what I can sense, despite her tender age. She has the strength to destroy the entire Flame family, and we wouldn't be able to stop her.”

His ominous words rang in each persons ear.

“Impossible!” One of the elders immediately said.

The patriarchs face became grave when hearing the Generals words. This not only threw a wrench in his plans but also made the consequences much more severe. Multiple thoughts went through his mind at the speed on lightning, plans to salvage the situation. He knew that his family would pay a hefty price, and he wanted to kill the elder that placed his family in the grave situation. He trusted General Calixs words, but still had a tough time believing them. The General came here to make sure his family would survive from Lilys wrath.

General Calix followed up on their doom by saying “Lily is outside healing Cesar. She's an emotional wreck but when she gains clarity, she'll be furious. The situation cannot be salvaged, trust me. We need to make sure her wrath is channeled into the offender. This concerns the survival of the entire Flame family.”

Calix pointed to the elder in question. “Since you almost killed Cesar, you need to take her fury. If you try to hide behind the family, they'll be dragged into it and the entire family will die. You made a mistake, one that will cost you your life.”

The elders face twisted. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. He needed to face the consequences and die? Lily was strong enough to destroy the entire Flame family? Bullshit! The General must have gone crazy or this was some type of petty revenge! If she was that strong, than he would run. He had no plans of dying. He had a feeling that he would step into the Xiantian Profound Realm any day.

The elder in question scowled “How old is the girl? 13? 14? Stop lying to us Calix. There's no way that she's that strong. If she was, there would be no reason to become your disciple.”

The others agreed with the elders reasoning. But they still believed General Calix. They've known him for far too long and far too well to know that he's doing this for them. The elder in question started getting death gazes from everyone else.

That's when an aura covered the entire Flame household. It was an aura that no one had ever felt before. The young or powerless instantly went unconscious while the elders fell on their knees, shivering. Only the patriarch and General Calix remained standing, just barely.

Everyone had hideous expressions on their faces. The elder who almost killed Cesar wet his robes, like a scared child.

Outside, Lily had released her devil like aura around the entire household. She had held back and evenly spread out her aura. Even in her fury, she didn't want to kill innocent children and toddlers. Using her Bloodline aura, she could tell a certain elder had drops of Cesars blood on their cloths.

Her Bloodline made her calm, even when fury and rage was going through each part of her. It was a paradoxical combination. She slowly made her way to the elder in question.

When she reached the room, she heard everyone gasp at her appearance and some elders even fell unconscious. She had sensed General Calix and removed her aura from him while making her way there. She had guessed his purpose in talking to the Flame family. The General gulped but nodded to her as he gazed to the perpetrator, letting her know, as if she didn't already.

She slowly took back the blood-curdling aura, but kept it on the elder that dare harm Cesar. The others didn't say anything, not even the patriarch.

They had realized that the elder couldn't be saved, no matter what. They now feared Lily from the bottom of their hearts. They just prayed that her wrath didn't drip onto everyone else.

She wanted to kill the elder, but she knew that wouldn't be enough to quench the fury she felt. The utter emotional torture she went through needed to fully repaid. She knew there were worse situations than dying, and she would make sure that the elder experienced the worst she could think of.

She peered at the elder in question with her monstrous, blood red eyes filled with death, letting him know of his fate, with total abhor. Than she gazed at the patriarch. She could see the Flame family patriarch trembling. She knew, more than anyone else, that a crime grave enough, affected the entire family, not just the person. She wouldn't kill all of them, because she knew the pain of losing ones entire family, but there needed to be justified compensation.

Lily said to the patriarch in an icy voice that didn't allow any room for disagreement “Cesar is outside. You will give him the best healing elixirs to heal with. When he is awake, he will become your personal disciple. In his free time, you will teach him everything you know about Alchemy. From now on, until we leave for the Exhibit, you will make him the best elixirs you can. Compensation will be provided for the elixirs, not for your time.”

The patriarch nodded repeatedly. Though the punishment seemed light, he knew it was heavy. The Exhibit was coming up, and he was requested by the most powerful families to make elixirs for them. Now, he was forced to work for her. Even though he would be compensated for the elixirs, he wouldn't make a profit. His time and effort was also worth a lot. But this also told him the women, even in her fury, was fair. If his son was in the same position as Cesar, he would have killed the perpetrators entire family if he had the power. Lily definitely had the power and motivation.

He looked at an elder, signalling him. The elder understood and quickly went to take care of Cesar. Every elder had life saving medicine on them in case they needed them. The elixirs would be enough to make sure Cesar would be healthy again by tomorrow, the patriarch would make sure of it.

When Lily looked back at the perpetrator that was still on his knees, a frost qi was released from her. Others once again gasped in astonishment. The frost qi came directly from her Dantian and covered the elder, freezing him, covering his entire body except his mouth, making his life even more miserable. The ice that covered the elder was completely in her control, and the elder was frozen solid, and couldn't move a single muscle. She would make sure the elder was alive, and felt every ounce of pain she was about to give him before she slowly killed him.

Lily was like her mother, proficient in water and ice manipulation. This was her mothers Cultivation technique, The Heaven Snow Fairy Mantra. In her current self, Lily couldn't even be touch the first level of the technique. But that didn't mean that she was weak in using it, quite the opposite. Understanding the technique just was too difficult. Even with the basic level of accomplishment she had attained, she was already stronger than anyone in the same Cultivation Realm as her. It was a technique that her mother had created from information and insights gathered from countless Relics.

With his teeth clattering, and his body shaking, he elder hissed with a visible white breath “I protected the family reputation and standing! He beat one of our instructors and I needed to make an example of him!”

“The torture...” Lily said in a voice colder than zero Kelvin as she peered into his trembling and chaotic soul, “Was that necessary. Did you not think of your position as an elder? Were you not spitting on your position as an elder when you almost killed and tortured Cesar and put his body on display!” Her voice started rising, making the entire building shake.

With utter and total fear in his eyes, the elder didn't hold anything back and begged. “I had gone overboard. Please... I can only apologize. There was only family members at the training. They would have talked about an instructor losing, spreading the story. But with the fear of punishment they saw me give to Cesar, they wouldn't say a word to anyone. It was a way to control them, as well as make an example of Cesar. In the end, Cesar survived. His cultivation was not ruined and he had no lasting injuries...Please... ” The elder begged. His life was not in his hands anymore. He would take any punishment, and give any compensation, as long as his Cultivation and life remained!

Slowly, with complete control, Lily created long, hair thin ice spikes. She spread them around the elders body as they slowly penetrated his skin.

What followed was a ghastly and shrill scream that came as the result of the hideous torture.

The ice covering the elder, under her perfect control, didn't affect the nerves or pain sensors in his body. The ice somehow made him feel his body in more clarity, amplifying the torturous pain he felt, many times over.

She pierced the elder over and over again, in every part of his body, including the sensitive areas like the eyes, increasing the pain. She drilled into the bones, sending unbearable pain deep in his mind. She didn't let the elder pass out. She made sure he felt all the pain.

She created a bigger spike, and millimeter by millimeter, she drove it into the elders Dantian.

With soul crushing horror, the elder sensed as his entire cultivation was taken away from him, millimeter by millimeter. The pain was no longer just physical, but also mental, reaching his soul. But it wasn't over, Lily still had more to give.

Lily didn't let the elder bleed. She had perfect control over his blood. She circulated his blood, keeping his life intact.

Than the realization hit her. She had perfect control over his blood.

Channeling her fury, she quickened the circulation of his blood. The elder now felt the soul numbing chilliness of the ice, torturous pain of the spikes, destruction of his Dantian, and the burning feeling of his blood.

Lily kept him in his state for as long as possible.

Than slowly, ever so slowly, Lily gently crystallized his blood from the inside. This ripped and teared his body apart molecule by molecule, using his own blood against him.

This was true torture. The level of torture was so devious, so methodical, that torture wasn't a word that could be used to describe what she was doing.

The most sensitive parts of the body were tortured, including the testicles. The inside of the body was tortured, piece by piece. The freezing and burning effect combined together to add on a new level of suffering.

The worst part however, was that the torture was slow.

Even with all the pain she's given him, Lily knew it wasn't the worst she could do, or what was possible. She didn't have the ability to get her hands on his soul, or even reach it.

For the elder, each moment felt like the 9 stages of hell. It was as if the devil himself had come from the underworld to punish him, to give him the worst possible punishment.

The crystallization of the elders blood started to show it's effect. It turned the affected part of the body into a beautiful, blood red ruby. It was truly mesmerizing and frightening sight. The crystallization slowly snaked its way around his body, leaving the vital organs for last, keeping the elder alive until his last, final breath and scream.

Everything built up to a single moment of the elders death. It was truly a methodical act of torture, transitioning into the realm of dark art. Timing and controlling everything to keep the elder alive, all until a single moment, where it would all come together and the entire essence would be contained in that single moment.

As soon as the torture began, it was over. For Lily, it seemed like an instant, but for the elder, it was an endless, timeless hell.

The result however, was unique.

The elders entire body had become a timeless work of art. It had become a masterful sculpture made of a blood red gem that captured the true essence of endless pain and suffering. At the moment of death, the elders face had become twisted beyond compare, one that was wishing for death.

It was as if the universe itself had punished the elder with all of its infinite might and creativity.

With totality in her divine voice, Lily said “Punishment and an example. The same you had done to Cesar, I have done to you.”

Ending Note: Wow. What a chapter. This chapter was very hard to write. Thinking about the methods of torture that were coherent has taken a toll on me. I almost discarded this chapter in the process, but couldn't bring myself to do it in the end. There are several moral, psychological, and philosophical dilemmas I have to think about while writing this novel and that has been keeping me from uploading this chapter for some time. Anyways, Please comment and rate. Once again, thanks for all the love and support I've been getting as a new author.

P.S: The real reason for the late chapter is because I got too much to read. Too much Xianxia, not enough time.