Against Heaven's Will

"You can do that?!" the Commentator voiced out everyone's thoughts. "How is that possible?"

It was probably the first time for many to see someone consume an Elemental Core this easily. Once the Cultivator died, the Elemental Core would crumble as well, since it was tightly connected with the Cultivator's Soul. 

Knowing how hard it was to absorb and use someone else's Qi, it was naturally unheard of to steal other's Cores. Xuefeng definitely couldn't use it as his own core, but no one could be certain anymore. 

Xuefeng, on the other hand, had the same questions in mind and didn't hurry to fight, waiting for Ming to explain what was going on first. It was her who took the Core for herself while he only pretended to absorb it. 

'Can we use this Core?' Xuefeng wondered while staring at the group. Tianshi wasn't in the picture anymore so he didn't need to worry about anyone but himself. 

'You cannot use it directly to replace your own Elemental Core but I can use it as storage. It is really small but contains all the Qi from the Cultivator's body. Imagine we had hundreds of them? Would we ever run out of Qi this way?' Ming explained excitedly. 'How about we steal the Elemental Cores from everyone here? We could get at least thirty plus cores!' 

The sheer thought of that scared him. He was already overstepping his moral boundaries, killing people left and right as if it was nothing. He looked down at his bloodied Dragon Claws and suddenly realized something. 

Since when did he become so cruel and insensitive, capable of killing people as if they were nothing? Before he only killed when someone attacked him or someone he cared about was in danger. 

What about now? Some of the people he killed couldn't even defend themselves before they died. Was it really the person he wanted to be? He was slowly becoming someone he didn't even recognize anymore. 

'No… I think we should stop…' Xuefeng muttered, feeling unwell with himself. 'Do you want me to become an emotionless killer or what? This is too much.' 

'What…? Can't you see how amazing that would be? Imagine how many Forbidden Techniques I can teach you that require an immense amount of Qi. This could help us defeat the Old Master!' Ming convinced passionately. 'I can help you get the Cores with ease!' 

'But at what cost? How can I treat people normally when I don't care about anything and kill everyone as I wish? I would soon become the same monster of a person that I hated if I didn't already become one. This is too much,' Xuefeng pointed out, recalling all of his actions so far. 'What happened to me?' 

Even though Heaven Realm was the land of kill or get killed, he was strong enough to decide the path for himself. 

"Everyone! Don't believe him!" Li Wei called out, breaking his thoughts. "He cannot absorb the Qi from the Elemental Core so why should we worry! He can't teleport anymore so this is our chance to win!" 

The Participants began regaining their courage when Xuefeng broke it again. 

"Do you really think I need to teleport to kill you? All I need is a simple snap." 

He raised his hand after the claim, causing the group to back away on impulse. Xuefeng snapped his fingers and all frozen trees and plants turned into dust. With just one snap, the whole jungle was no more, leaving only him and the group in the sky. 

"I changed my mind. I want to end it fast and attend to my Wife. I will give you ten seconds to pull out your tokens and resign. After that, I will kill the rest. You won't get the chance to escape once you decide to stay, that's for sure," Xuefeng suggested calmly. "The choice is yours."

Xuefeng didn't seem like he was joking, all the laughter disappearing from his face. It definitely worked on some as they listened to his advice and took out their tokens. 

"Don't listen to him! He is just trying to divide us! He knows he can't win against us all," Li Wei cried out to stop them. "You leaving is like giving him a free win against us! Are you going to ignore all the people he killed so far?!"

The youths hesitated at his words till one of them shared a valid point. 

"From what I know, there aren't many limits to Elemental Bracelet. He could kill us much earlier but for some reason, he didn't, giving us hope that we can defeat him. We knew the results from the beginning but our pride didn't let us accept that fact. It is time to face the reality." 

He sighed and broke the token after one last glance at Xuefeng, disappearing from the place. Following suit were others, leaving one by one till only those in the Top Ten remained. 

"Congratulations, you won," a Female expert said, copying everyone else. Her robes were tattered from the battle in multiple places, exposing most of her skin. 

Xuefeng couldn't help but take a deep breath at that sight.

'I'm disappointed. If they got the chance to kill you, they wouldn't hesitate at all. Why did you let them escape?' Ming questioned but Xuefeng had an answer ready. 

'To remain the Xuefeng I know.' 

"Fuck! A bunch of idiots," Li Wei cursed as all figures from Top Ten also resigned, leaving only the last three. "Are you two going to leave me too?" 

The Top Second and Third Seed looked at each other and nodded. 

"Our lives are more valuable than some Upgrade Fragments and money. There will be more Tournaments in the future," one of them explained. "This is just the beginning of our journey. If you want to bet it all this early then go ahead."

They both disappeared right after, leaving Li Wei alone with him. 

"Time is up," Xuefeng announced, slowly flying up to match Li Wei's altitude. "So you decided to die?" 

Li Wei's face darkened, not replying to his question. 

'How about him? Are you planning on killing him?' Ming wondered, ignoring their previous argument. 'I only care about you and my goal is improving your strength so you can survive in this world. Do you think you can beat that Old Master or get other Elemental Stones if you don't get stronger? The only efficient way to improve is by using others as stepping stones.' 

'I know that,' Xuefeng agreed. 'I don't deny that killing is an integral part of this world but there should be limits.' 

'Limits? You are the Owner of the Elemental Bracelet. You are already breaking all the limits possible and you are meant to be the ruler. If you don't take this position, there are many who will willingly take your place,' Ming explained. 'If you begin to enjoy killing, I will be the first to slap your face, but you don't. You use it as a tool to get stronger and protect your wives.' 

She didn't stop there and added, 'Since this Tournament depended on killing to win, why are you bothered by it? They joined knowing they can die and continued to challenge you. If you won't kill them now, they will only cause trouble for you later on.' 

Xuefeng gave Li Wei a deep stare, knowing she was talking about him. The hatred in his eyes was obvious even though he tried to hide it. People like him were the main reason he even began killing, knowing there was no other choice. 

'Don't worry, I never planned to let him leave,' Xuefeng assured when he heard the crowd slowly explode. 

Fight! Fight! Fight!

"It seems like the crowd is still hungry for more! Is Xuefeng and Li Wei going to satisfy our hunger?!" the Commentator called out excitedly, ignoring the fact that tens of experts already resigned. 

"It seems even the people don't want you to live," Xuefeng commented with a shrug. "I gave you ten seconds and you already lost your chance." 

He didn't plan to wait anymore, launching himself forward in the full offense when Li Wei shocked everyone. 

He backed off instead and pulled out Teleportation Token, planning on escaping. 

"You only won because of the Elemental Bracelet! You are nothing without it and you never will be!" Li Wei cried out and he squeezed his palm. 

Too bad, his expression changed right after, realizing he was still in the same spot while the Token stayed intact. 

"You are not going anywhere!" Xuefeng shouted as his Elvish Bloodline wrapped around Li Wei's body. There was basically no time for him to react when Xuefeng was already in front of him, his claws piercing through his chest. 

Cough!

Blood sprayed from Li Wei's mouth while Xuefeng pulled out the Elemental Core from his chest. There were no words needed. Xuefeng made his point as Li Wei's body dropped down from the sky, leaving only the Core to continue his life. 

"Xuefeng Won! He won! Xuefeng is the strongest and wins the Tournament!" the Commentator announced causing an avalanche of cheers. 

Although he won, Xuefeng wasn't happy at all, his voice breaking through the crowds. 

"Is that what all of you wanted? Are you happy seeing so many of your Top Experts die? How many more should die before it's enough?"