Battle Royale of the Sinners

"Can I refuse?"

Li Feihong did not want to gamble against his instinct.

"We need him dead," Zhuge Liang insisted.

"If I kill him, Guan Yu will know since he's with Lilim, and he will come after me and Zhang Tong."

Li Feihong took a stand and declined the suggestion. He glared into Zhuge Liang's eyes to hint that he was serious.

The hidden dragon shook his head in disappointment.

"Why are you getting scared of Guan Yu for? Are you too weak to contend with him?"

"Duh! That's obvious! He's at least at 8-wing cultivation but I only have 7! He's a veteran, but I'm merely a scholar with barely martial arts training. How can I beat him when my foundation and cultivation strength are weaker than him!?"

"Then, please cultivate and get that wing right now. We need you as a pillar of his majesty's forces as soon as possible. Unless you can match your strength with Guan Yu, his majesty's kingdom will be in peril."

"Oi! You think cultivation is as easy as talking? All you have to do is to cultivate your mind to awaken souls, but you forgot that we have to convert that soul energy and lifespan to reinforce our physical body to maintain that power. My body and souls are not ready for the 8th wing!"

"What will happen if you breakthrough right now, then?"

"I'll die."

"That's an exaggeration. From my investigation, Guan Yu forcefully broke through when he was fighting against his majesty, but he was still alive afterward. All he suffered was soul injuries."

"Soul injury can be fatal. Zhang Tong got injured after the Anti-Khan Coalition disbanded, and it took him years to recover from that."

"But he is still alive, no?"

"…"

"How about this? We'll postpone our initial plan for now and focus on helping you get your 8th wing. We'll use our power to keep healing and reinforcing your body during the process."

Li Feihong hesitated if this was a good idea.

Seeing that Li Feihong was depressed, Zhou Cang patted the former's back and showed off the four white wings. He, too, was a hard worker, and he had been cultivating hard for the legion.

Zhou Cang didn't know that the soft touch (that he believed to be) made Li Feihong spat a mouthful of blood.

"I have Sacrifice, Charity, Loyalty, and Valor. I can use Charity to heal you and Sacrifice to transfer a portion of your injuries to me. Let's do it, Grand General!"

Not only Zhou Cang had useful souls and abilities, but Xu Shu also summoned his only virtuous soul, Sacrifice, which he had acquired after the mass awakening.

"I also have Sacrifice. I can share a bit of your pain, general."

Lu Lingqi, the only observer, clicked her tongue in disgust as she still did not like Li Feihong. Moreover, she had awakened a soul of sin, a demonic soul, Wrath.

She was not suited for any support mission. Instead, she excelled in battles and curses.

'Bla, bla, bla. Idiots. Cultivation is like laying the groundwork for tall buildings. You can't rush it, or you'll lose those potential souls forever if you fail! I doubt this hypocrite has that many unawakened virtues to grow more wings.'

Unbeknownst to Lu Lingqi's thoughts, Li Feihong believed in Xu Shu and Zhou Cang and prepared to breakthrough.

"Okay, I trust you. Please help me if something goes wrong."

Xu Shu and Zhou Cang nodded. They summoned their souls and were ready to help Li Feihong at any moment.

"Oh, you remind me of a proverb. I think there's a saying in the other world, "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong", so please get ready to cast your blessing as soon as he starts."

"…"

Xu Shu, Zhou Cang, and Li Feihong's faces twitched in frustration. All of them were thinking, "Would it hurt if you shut your mouth?"

Li Feihong ignored Zhuge Liang's trolling remark and contemplated if he should rush his 8th wing.

'I don't like him, but he has a point. Cao Cao and Te Langpu are up to something, but I can't stop them with my current power. Everyone is catching up with my cultivation so fast, but they will eventually get stuck at my stage. If I have 8 wings, at least I can force them to submit or get rid of all greedy bastards. I still have to prepare for the worst-case scenario if Tong and his wives fail to subdue Lilim.'

Li Feihong bit his lower lip, lamenting his fate that the world was too cruel. He just wanted to repent for his past sins, but Tong and Li Feihong might face doom because of their lack of power.

Making up his mind, Li Feihong sat crossed-legs, attempting to awaken his 8th soul right away.

The process of breaking through was as simple as before. By only cultivating the awakening chance of a virtuous soul to 100%, Li Feihong could just press one button on his system panel and allow the dimension law of Lilim to help him through the process.

<<Ding>>

*BOOM*

Li Feihong had been delaying the 8th soul for years. Now, it emerged and completed another pair of his wings. Eight white wings glowed and extended from his back.

Lu Lingqi's jaw dropped, shocked. Since she was cultivating demon wings, she didn't know that the growth rate of all angels was faster than demons.

'He succeeds? Just like that?'

While Lu Lingqi was admiring the wings, the hard part of the breakthrough began.

*PUKI*

*CRACK*

Li Feihong's 8 wings cracked as if they were glasses which was on the verge of shattering to pieces.

"Ugh!!"

As Li Feihong had expected, the incomplete physical body backlash hit him hard. His body was now riddled with holes and cracking lines.

"Hnnn!!"

He gritted his teeth and cast every soul blessing he knew onto himself.

At first, the cracks covered 80% of his wings. But after Li Feihong began healing himself, it reduced to 60%.

The entire process lasted only 10 seconds.

Still, it was far from enough. The cracks could expand at any moment. Had it expanded to 100% or had one of them shattered, Li Feihong would have died!

"CHARITY, HEAL GENERAL LI!!"

Zhou Cang was not idle. He activated his soul ability, assisting Li Feihong on the side.

The cracks slowly mended.

55%

50%

45%

The damage stopped at 40%. This time, they spent 6 hours healing Li Feihong.

Zhou Cang panted as it drained his strength and lifespan more than he had imagined. He wanted to use Sacrifice to share the pain next, but he had to pace his breath.

*CRACK*

Suddenly, the soul injuries relapsed and transferred the damages to Li Feihong's physical body.

"AAAAHHHH!!"

The pain was unbearable to this cowardly otherworlder. Even though he was raised in Lu Bu's army for years, soul injuries brought the new sense of pain, far worse than broken bones or torn muscle.

Li Feihong's upper teeth dug into his lower lip. Blood seeped out from the wound, but the tiny itching pain was no match against the torture of shattering the body.

60%

The previously hard work was in vain as the cracks expanded. It continued to develop without stopping.

Li Feihong shed a tear of pain as he gazed to the sky, roughly breathing.

As he looked up, he recalled Tong's face after he had suffered from soul injuries for the first time.

Tong never revealed his pain during that time, only exhausted expression. Li Feihong still remembered that he never gave up hope even when his condition was far worse.

'Were you dealing with this pain all the time, Tong? Were you this injured when you got hurt at that time? Did you face this on your own when you got your 8th wing?'

Thinking how Tong went through the ordeal and rose to the top, Li Feihong had a second wind. Mysterious strength gushed out from his exhausted body and souls, helping him recover from the physical and soul wounds.

50%

40%

30%

It healed faster than usual, but it stopped at 30%.

Li Feihong panted and almost collapsed to the ground. The sudden surge of strength just now was gone.

"SACRIFICE! SHARE ME HIS PAIN!!"

"SACRIFICE! LET ME BEAR SOME OF HIS BURDEN!"

Xu Shu and Zhou Cang summoned their soul and transfer some of Li Feihong's injuries to themselves. Each bore 10% of the wounds to themselves.

"AHHHH!!"

"UGH!!"

Xu Shu screamed in pain while Zhou Cang groaned from the torture. Both now had similar wounds on their physical bodies, and their souls had small red lines on them.

Because of their effort and sacrifices, Li Feihong's injuries stabilized at 10%. The cracks on his souls stopped expanding, and no relapse occurred again.

The hard part was now completed. What was left was reinforcing his foundation and stabilizing his cultivation as the newfound power could go berserk.