Chapter 8: Decisions

All of them went silent after one of the guards who received the text read the words that formed inside his barrier.

"What does that mean...?" Wen Jian murmured.

Suddenly, the guard noticed that the words began to dissipate slowly. He doesn't know the reason why, but he felt that something seems off. His anxiety grew stronger as the words were disappearing in front of him.

"What should I do... What's the meaning of these words!?" The guard spoke while trembling.

On the other hand, the words that also appeared on Ling began to dissipate. But instead of panicking, Ling calmly assessed the situation, looking for the possible outcome and how to deal with this problem.

(Stay or die... Although I don't know exactly what's the actual purpose of these words, I am sure that the one who built this place arranged all of this like a game. And a game consists of rules that us, the players, should follow.)

Ling looked around, searching for possible clues that might give a hint. He noticed that there's a huge platform below them.

(That platform... It looks like a battle arena. Does the creator of this game wants us to duel each other? Or fight some monsters and those who survive will live?)

Ling looked back at the words floating in front of him. The words was about to disappear completely at any second.

(These words were shown to us, so it means that it is one of the important rules of the game. Either one of them could trigger a sequence, and if my assumption were correct, both of these words should've opposite outcomes.)

Ling decided to choose one of the words in order to test his assumptions.

"Stay." Ling answered.

The words vanished completely after Ling gave his answer. On the other side, the guard couldn't answer on time due to his confusion and ignorance of the situation.

Suddenly, the guard's barrier slowly vanished on its own and disappeared. The guard was shocked by the barrier's deactivation.

"Am I... free?"

Ling witnessed the situation and was puzzled by it.

"Damn it. Was choosing neither of them was the correct answer...?" Ling murmured.

BOOM!

All of them got startled when a huge burst of energy pulsated. They immediately covered their eyes when a blinding light followed afterwards. A loud boom echoed throughout the area that made their ears ring. Despite the confusion, Ling managed to catch a glimpse before the explosion happened, and he found out that the source of the explosion was the star-like object.

(What was that? Did that star-like object released such huge energy blast!?)

Seconds later, the blinding light began to disappear, and what they saw left them in daze.

The guard whose barrier was deactivated got wiped out in a flash, leaving only few of his skeletal remains. His entire flesh melted away from the huge explosion, and his clothes burned into smithereens.

"Wha... ha... haa!?" One of the guards who witnessed the death of his comrade shouted in disbelief.

"Did he just...!?" The other one exclaimed.

Wen Jian also witnessed the death of one of his guards and couldn't believe at what he saw.

(What happened to him? What sort of game is this..!?)

Wen Jian remembered that before the words disappeared, he heard Ling uttered something.

(I remembered that Ling uttered the word "Stay" before those words vanished. He survived after that, while that unfortunate guard of mine got killed after his barrier deactivated and was followed by that explosion...)

Wen Jian pondered for a moment, and a conclusion came to his mind.

(Wait... Does that mean that choosing to either one of those words could trigger a sequence, and refusing to answer would lead to your death?)

The star-like object emit another set of strange lines that flew towards the other guard. Like before, it permeated through the barrier easily, forming into words similar to the ones that the deceased guard received.

Meanwhile, Wen Jian was focused on his thoughts. He couldn't figure out the reason of the existence of the word "Die" as one of the choices.

(But, if I'll choose the word "Die" instead of "Stay", would it be the same as refusing to answer either one of them? Or does that word had another function?)

Wen Jian noticed that one of his guards was chosen. He thought of a way in order to verify his assumption.

"Hey. You're Jiang Xian right?"

The guard named Xiang, who got chosen by the star-like object, heard his name being called. He looked around and saw the patriarch calling for his attention.

"Y-Yes patriarch. I'm glad that-"

"Enough chitchat. I order you to choose the word 'Die'." Wen Jian said without hesitation.

Xian was stunned by the patriarch's order. He was suppose to choose the word "Stay", fearing that the word "Die" or refusing to answer either one of them would lead to his death.

"B-But patriarch...!"

"You dare defy my orders!?" Wen Jian exclaimed.

Jiang Xian felt Wen Jian's intense gaze from afar. His entire body shivered in fear, indicating that defiance isn't an option. He looked around to his fellow comrades, and saw that they try to avoid their gaze towards him.

(If I try to choose the word "Stay", even if I survived after this mess, he'd still kill me for defying his orders!)

Xian noticed that the words began to dissipate. He was conflicted, whether he'll choose to follow his instinct or the orders of the patriarch.

"I... I...!"

His anxiety grew when he saw that the words were about to dissapear. With nothing left to do, he chose to follow his own answer as his last resort.

"Stay! I choose to stay!" the guard named Xian exclaimed.

Wen Jian heard Xian's answer and got furious.

(That damned idiot! How dare he refuse my order!)

Xiang noticed Jian's anger towards him and immediately bowed his head.

"Patriarch! I'm sorry, but I chose to follow my own free will!" Xiang shouted.

Wen Jian calmed down and looked away. Xian raised his head slowly.

"You already know the consequences of your actions, right?" Wen Jian uttered.

Xian gulped upon hearing the patriarch's words.

"Y-Yes... Patriarch..." Xian said, feeling a sense of helplessness.

Meanwhile, Ling got confused as why only one got the question instead of two.

(I thought two people should receive those question? Why does that only one person received it?)

Suddenly, Ling noticed something unusual. He felt a feeble vibration surrounding him.

(What is it? It's the same feeling as before when I opened my space ring. Could it be...!)

Out of nowhere, Ling vanished in an instant. Yao Tian noticed Ling's sudden disappearance and widened his eyes.

On the other side, the guards near Xian was also shocked when Xian also vanished into thin air.

"Xian... He's... He's gone!"

Wen Jian noticed the commotion and looked back where Xian's platform were situated at. He saw that Xian wasn't there.

"Where did he go?" Wen Jian asked one of the guards who witnessed the incident.

"P-Patriarch... All of the sudden, Xian instantly vanished!" The guard said.

"Patriarch! Ling also vanished along with Xian!" Yao Tian exclaimed.

Wen Jian looked towards Ling's platform and saw that he was gone too.

"L-Look! Xian and Ling was there! They're alive!" One of the guards whose platform was placed beside Ling's shouted.

All of them looked at where the guard pointed his finger. Below them, they saw a huge arena, and Xian and Ling was standing at the opposite sides.

The arena had a diameter of fifty meters, enough for the contenders to fight with their full power. It was floating up in the air, surrounded by barriers in all direction.

Inside the arena, Ling and Xian were standing several meters away from each other. On the left side, Ling was seen standing with a relaxed posture. When he found himself on that situation, he immediately understand one of the game's rules.

(That's it! If both of the players choose the word "Stay", they will be pitted against each other on this arena! Or maybe...)

Ling observed around the arena. He noticed that there were no monsters appeared inside the arena.

(Well... It seems like fighting some monsters isn't on the rules then.)

On the other side, Ling also understood the game's mechanics. But what worries him is that his opponent was the one who slaughtered all the Wen Clan's six Qi Saturation Stage elders and could stand toe-to-toe on Wen Clan's top experts, Yao Tian and the patriarch itself, Wen Jian.

(Why my luck's so rotten!? I may survive if I'll fight an opponent with a cultivation level similar as mine, but a Qi Saturation Stage expert like Ling!? You've gotta be kidding me...!)

Xian got nervous and his entire body won't stop shaking.

(That devil incarnate Ling slaughtered the entire Wen Clan's elders like it was nothing.... Not to mention that he managed to escape from the patriarch's grasp when he infiltrated the house. How am I supposed to win with that opponent!?)

Suddenly, Xian noticed a fast object approaching towards him. He tried to dodge the object, but it was too fast to avoid it. The object managed to hit his right leg.

"GRAHHH!"

Xian fell to the ground as the wound paralyzed his movements. He tried to stand up, but the wound was too deep, severing the muscles on his leg.

The object slowed down, and all of them saw that the fast-moving object was a purple qi dagger.

"That's...!"

Yao Tian realized that it was the High-Rank Qi Foundation technique, the "Three-Dagger Killing Formation" that Ling learned and used to injure Jiang Xian.

"Hmm... I thought the speed was enough to deal you..." Ling murmured.

The dagger began to move by itself, pointing its tip towards Xian who was still on its knees.

Since he couldn't stand and dodge the dagger, he decided to confront it by parrying the dagger with his sword. Just when he tried to unsheathe his sword, Ling's second dagger flew and severed Xian's left hand.

"GAHHH...!"

Due to his failed attempt to parry the dagger with his sword, the first qi dagger flew directly to its forehead and exited at the back of his head, puncturing a hole through his brain. Xian died on the spot.

All of them were silent and didn't dare to curse Ling. They knew already the outcome of the battle, and they couldn't help but watch their companion die at the duel.

Ling got teleported back in his platform, but they saw something that was floating from the top of his head. It was similar of that star-like object at the center of their platforms.

Ling also noticed it, but he didn't know the purpose of its appearance.

(It appeared after I won that duel. Maybe it only serves as an indication of your total wins on duels. Or there's something more about it...)

The game continued as the players were trying to reach the game's conclusion. They fought ferociously till the end, desperate to survive the battle.

Throughout the game, only 5 of them was alive, while the others died from the duels.

Wen Jian and Ling managed to defeat two opponents, garnering two stars as a mark of their victory. Meanwhile, Yao Tian and one of Wen Clan's guard managed to obtain one star each.

The star-like object released another sets of lines, heading towards Wen Jian and the other guard who wasn't still chosen before. Upon knowing that he has been chosen as Wen Jian's opponent, he fell to his knees.

(I thought that I would fight that guard with the same cultivation as mine and live a little bit longer. But why am I pitted against the patriarch whose cultivation level are two steps ahead of me!?)

Wen Jian noticed the guard and ordered him to hasten up his decision.

"Choose the word 'Stay'! I will offer you a quick death afterwards." Wen Jian said.

The guard, who knew that his fate was set in stone, was about to choose to have a duel with the patriarch when he realized something.

(Wait a minute. So far no one chose the word "Die" as an option, since we all thought that it could mean as "to die" literally. But what if it had a different function? Since refusing to answer the question leads to death, and choosing the word "Stay" would trigger a duel?)

The guard closed his eyes for a brief moment.

(Ngggh! I'd choose to gamble my life by choosing it rather than dying in the hands of others!)

"Die! I'll choose Die!" The guard shouted.

Wen Jian got furious upon hearing the guard's decision.

"That stupid one! I'd be able to verify my assumptions if I obtain another star and make it three in total!" Wen Jian exclaimed.

(I don't know, but my gut was telling me that if I obtain another star after this, I would gain something that would be extremely beneficial to me...)

Out of nowhere, a mass of green energies emanated from the guard's body.

"What... is this?"

All of them witnessed the sudden change on the guard. His healthy body withered in an instant, similar to a dried cucumber.

"H-Help... me...!"

The guard fell to his knees and died on the spot. Meanwhile, the green mass of energies flew towards the star-like object and combined into a single mass of energy.

The mass of green energy then scattered into four sections, rushing towards each of the remaining players. Upon receiving these energies, all fo them felt that their lifespans extended into ten more years.

Ling quietly observed as he felt the sudden changes within his body.

(It seems like choosing the word "Die" would not kill the one who answered it, but it'd also take all of its vitality and add it to the remaining player's lifespans.)

On the other side, Wen Jian smiled as he finally answered one of of his questions.

(Humph. I thought that no one would choose that word since they wouldn't risk their lives to unveil the meaning behind it. But there were some fools who did it anyways...)

(Well, finally that one of my questions that's been bugging me got finally answered, all that remains was the function of these stars... I wonder what it is?)

The star-like object released another set of lines, and Yao Tian was surprised when he noticed the directions of these lines was heading to.

Ling saw that one of these set of lines flew directly towards Wen Jian. The other set of lines flew towards him, indicating that both of them were chosen by the star-like object.

Upon seeing that he and Ling got received the questions, he smiled widely.

"Finally! This moment came at last! The heavens granted me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" Wen Jian exclaimed.

Wen Jian clenched his fist tightly.

"This time, I'll make sure that brat will be wiped out from the face of the continent!"