All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 37 - 37 37 Mars Guarding Heart

37: Chapter 37: Mars Guarding Heart?

Or is it…

37: Chapter 37: Mars Guarding Heart?

Or is it…

“Mars Guarding Heart…

Mars Guarding Heart!

Even among the deadliest Star Detriments, it can be considered the most perilous and treacherous!”

Considering this possibility, Master of the Medicine Manor’s heart skipped a beat.

This Fate Pattern was calamitous.

Encountered by people, it brought death; faced by armies, it led to defeat; met by countries, it spelled doom.

Once born into the world, it signaled the collapse of dynasties and the turmoil of the realm!

As fatal as the Fate Pattern was, so were its bearers.

If those who held it wished to succeed, their path inevitably led through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, truly a case of one man’s success built on the skeletons of ten thousand!

It fits, truly fits…

—Fit to be the Heavenly Fiend Divine General in the future conquest of the world by their Heaven’s Will Demon Sect!

Meanwhile.

“Dear junior brothers and sisters, taking this opportunity, I want to tell you a truth.”

Having fully awakened to his Fate Pattern and seizing some control over the Imperial Heaven Star Detriment Grand Rite, An Jing seized the moment when the Demonic Qi was dispersed.His soul connected with every young boy and girl in the ritual, delivering them a message, an imprint from his memory.

He candidly said, “Hanging Fate Manor is not what they claim to be, not some hidden heritage.”

“Their true identity is the ‘Heaven’s Will Demon Sect.'”

“Our other junior brothers and sisters have not been sent away due to insufficient aptitude, forced to leave the mountain.

Instead, for various reasons, they have become ingredients for the sect’s medicine grinding.”

“They were ‘eaten.’

An Jing’s thoughts swept across the entire Formation, his voice echoing in the hearts of all sixty-six survivors.

But initially, not everyone could grasp what An Jing had just revealed—they had just emerged from the clutches of their Heart Demons and were still bewildered and at a loss.

For a while, the interior of the ritual was filled with the clamorous voices of young boys and girls.

“I broke free of the Heart Demon?

No, wait…

What happened?!”

“Haha…

Hahaha!

I survived!

I made it!

Hey mom, hey dad, did you see that?!!”

“Liu?

Don’t die, don’t die!

Please…

don’t leave me alone…”

“I, it feels like I had a dream…

Did we successfully endure the trial?

No, wait, what is this memory…

This is, this is…”

Having escaped from their Heart Demons, everyone reacted differently.

Some were keen, and even without An Jing’s help, they likely would have broken free from their Heart Demons, but they could not awaken their Fate Pattern.

These individuals immediately noticed the other children who had died by their side, utterly shocked.

Some were almost devoured by their Heart Demons and, rescued by An Jing, were still shaken and hysterical in their emotional turmoil.

Some immediately noticed the deaths of their friends and companions.

They were deeply saddened, their souls even emitting mournful cries.

But soon, everyone heard An Jing’s words and received the many memories transmitted by him.

On a dark rainy night, lightning split the silence.

They felt as if they truly experienced everything An Jing did, running in the storm, searching in the manor, approaching the truth with fearful hearts, weakly begging for mercy from the heavens and the Demon Sect.

With hearts almost in despair, they uncovered the stone lid.

They all saw that floating bone.

Saw the missing people.

Then they saw the dungeon, the butchered bodies hanging within it—the suspended corpses and skeletons.

Silence.

The crimson brilliance illuminated their hearts, An Jing’s soul connecting with everyone through the sacrificial platform.

At this moment, he could sense the emotions in everyone’s hearts, some like tumultuous waves, some profoundly sad, some as cold as death, and others calm yet puzzled.

Then, came responses one after another.

“No, it can’t be…”

Some naive young boys and girls were almost incoherent, “They couldn’t possibly treat us like this…

Our instructors and teachers have been so kind to us…”

“How could it be, Zhu…” Some, recognizing familiar names from An Jing’s memories, immediately lost control, “It can’t be!

Zhu isn’t dead, we’ll meet down the mountain!

Eldest Senior, you’re lying!

You’re lying, right?!”

These responses came from those not yet wholly contaminated by the Demon Sect; shocked by such intense emotions and witnessing their oldest friends dead alongside them, knowing that those who were merely supposed to be on the mountain were long turned into medicinal mush…

This kind of impact indeed made them uncontrollably exposed and frazzled, shattering the masks they had all along worn over their hearts.

Yet others had by now twisted into utter indifference by the Demon Sect’s influence.

They felt no stir of emotion for anyone’s death; despite many companions being lost, didn’t everyone come prepared to die?

Didn’t they all consider this possibility while fighting for their lives?

They were the successful ones, whereas those who died, even those turned into medicinal mush, were failures.

—Why should winners empathize with losers?

But An Jing had anticipated this.

He had almost been twisted by the methods of the Demon Sect himself, so how could he blame these ‘indifferent’ young boys and girls?

Not to mention, the Demon Sect did indeed ‘purchase their lives.’ Even he couldn’t deny this fact.

Yet, he would resist.

Like a caught rabbit, like a purchased crab, he would bite back once, pinch once.

So, An Jing spoke directly and to the point.

“Open your eyes wide and look.”

An Jing raised the sword in his hand, pointing at the bodies of the junior brothers and sisters who had died due to the failure of their Fate Pattern awakening.

Wisps of blackish-red aura oozed from their bodies—this was Blood Qi.

The pure life Blood Qi of these young boys and girls gathered in mid-air and was then collected by the immense ritual formation, to condense something in the distance.

With the help of the power likely originating from the ‘Sword Spirit’ within the ritual platform, An Jing mobilized the Great Formation, guiding the consciousness of all the young boys and girls to follow these wisps and threads of Blood Qi back in time—very quickly, almost in an instant, their vision returned to Hanging Fate Manor, arriving at the fifth floor of the Medicine Pavilion, in the study of the Master of the Medicine Manor.

They saw a dark golden Vessel Instrument.

Within the Vessel Instrument, the dark red auras condensed, eventually forming plump and round Elixir Pills, emitting a blood-red glow, translucent and clean both inside and out.

[Blood Pill Great Medicine]

In the study, two Pharmacists remained to guard the Vessel Instrument; they watched the pure Blood Qi condense into pills, not excited or greedy, but rather, somewhat…

Somehow dissatisfied.

“Why so few?”

A younger Pharmacist frowned at the Blood Pills in the Life-Nourishing Tray, expressing some disdain, “There are so many survivors in this trial?”

“The quality indeed is better than in the past.” The older Pharmacist thoughtfully looked towards the direction of Fate Valley, “Just now, I saw two streams of starlight from earth to heaven, probably indicating that two people have awakened the [Strange Mandate]!”

“You have been at Hanging Fate Manor for a short time, hence you do not know that the reason the Imperial Heaven Star Detriment Grand Rite divides one hundred and eight people into twelve groups is that with too few people, the heart of one person cannot withstand the power of the Divine Sword and Heavenly Demon; with too many, they easily interfere with each other and cannot clearly identify ‘themselves’.”

“During the Ritual Sacrifice, for every person that dies in a group, the likelihood of encountering assaults from Demonic Qi increases by a level, and so does the probability of awakening to their own Fate Pattern.”

“However, if in the group, someone possesses an overly strong mentality, it can lead to two scenarios.”

“One is that aside from him, everyone else’s minds are taken by him, thus all dying, becoming nourishment to fulfill oneself.”

At this point, the older Pharmacist smacked his lips, somewhat regrettably saying, “The other scenario is his mind being like a massive tree, shading others, thus they survive together.”

“It seems that this time, our two Strange Mandate lords are more of the amiable type…

Although there will be quite a few rewards from above, they all belong to the manor master and chief instructor, those few superiors.”

“For us, it’s really not as practical as the Blood Pills we might obtain.”

“Indeed.” The young Pharmacist kept the words of the older Pharmacist in mind, agreeing stoutly, “Trimming branches to strengthen the trunk, there’s no need for so many ordinary people to be alive.

Keeping twenty or at most, forty people is enough.”

“The others, surviving doesn’t serve any purpose.

Let alone those without Fate Patterns, the ordinary folk, even regular Miscellaneous Fates, is it worth our manor’s effort to cultivate them?

It will still end up awkward, might as well be us Pharmacists…”

Although containing some self-praise, the truth was exactly so: While a Fate Pattern is indeed a necessary factor for a Martial Artist to achieve Inner Strength, possessing a Fate Pattern does not mean one excels in martial arts or can achieve Inner Strength.

Especially Miscellaneous Fates which encompass everything, there are even inexplicable Fate Patterns like ‘Laundry Immortal,’ ‘Roast Meat Immortal,’ ‘Cooking Immortal,’ the latter two of which can at least work as cooks, but the former…

really, is one supposed to do laundry?

The Pharmacists looked down upon these kinds of Miscellaneous Fates, let alone the illusory rewards from above.

The Blood Pills, however, were tangible benefits they solidly held in their hands.

The Blood Qi dissipated, and the reminiscence ended.

The bodies of those young boys and girls, their Blood Qi exhausted, swiftly began to decay, turning into dried corpses, skin and bones—before long, these bodies would become pure white bones, just like the skeletons they had seen when they first arrived at the White Sand Ground.

An Jing looked towards all who were silent, repressing their anger and fear, aware that they were merely livestock.

“Next.”

He said, “I won’t talk, I’ll act.”

“Afterward, those who wish to return to Hanging Fate Manor may do so; those who wish to follow me, do so.”

No one dared to counter such a proclamation from An Jing; they instinctively obeyed.

Perhaps it was also a bitter fruit of their own making at Hanging Fate Manor—An Jing’s exceptional performance led almost all instructors and lecturers to slack off, as many courses and trainings were explained, taught, and supervised by An Jing in their place.

He and they crossed mountains together.

He and they drank water and ate together.

He and they trained and fought together.

He taught Martial Skills, he explained doctrines, he listened to troubles, he consoled hearts.

At this point, An Jing, the Eldest Senior, with his authority and determination, had more control over all the young boys and girls than all the lecturers and instructors.

“Awake, and then form up!”

When An Jing gave the command.

There was no reasoning needed, no explanations necessary.

All of them instinctively obeyed An Jing’s words.

In just a moment, all the young boys and girls awakened from their dreams of the Heart Demon.

They were somewhat astonished, somewhat stunned, somewhat unsure what to do.

But, they saw him standing up in front of them first, picking up his weapon.

So they all stood up.

So they all took up their swords.