Bloody Monk

I didn't expect something like this. Lu Gao and Lurker's stunts are beyond my expectation. The 'pilgrimage' I am seeing through my Mind's Eye formed a scary amount of people. Everyone who listened to Lu Gao's speech was moved.

As the pilgrimage moved, more joined… There is this bandwagon effect as the people heard of the stories of how a young cultivator offered his life to a mortal so that people would understand… Cultivators are just humans too.

Now, a problem presented itself to me… How in the world am I going to feed these people with my balance?

[Quintessence: 0]

I guessed this only leaves me with drastic measures… Ugh…

I wanted not to do this but desperate situations call for desperate measures. I arrived before my PC computer and personally dived deep into my avatar through the Art of Possession using my Telepathy. This is only possible because the Mindless Monk doesn't have any consciousness. It is still not within my capability to possess the body of anyone, not even a mortal.

It is like playing VR as I explored the Mindless Monk's body. I feel for my bloody shawl, and the many artifacts I have in my possession. My Art of Possession through telepathy is not perfect so my five sense is a little bit limited except the eyesight and sense of smell… I don't know if it has any correlation but since I don't have access to the sense of touch and taste, it looked like as I remain in the body of the Mindless Monk, I would remain mute.

This is a good way to keep me in check so that it wouldn't interfere with my act… on the Mindless Monk's character. As I am now the Mindless Monk, I now have a role to play.

In the vast Sandwyrm Desert just adjacent to the Azuon Empire, I stand at a peak of the boulder. I used the Monk's superior eyesight to sense my surroundings.

If I remember correctly, the Monk has superhuman strength, speed, agility, and balance. On top of this, he has the Mystical Cursed Art of the Seven Deadly Sins in which I drew inspiration from my past life.

As long as Seven Deadly Sins are mentioned, I am pretty certain, it should have quite powerful abilities. I've tested it with Lurker but I don't know if it will fare well with stronger opponents. The Sandwyrm desert is a good place for me to hunt stronger enemies as this place has requirements of at least the 3rd stage.

"Oho, who do we have here? A monk of all places?" Appearing at my flank is a jeering voice. I look around only to see a bunch of thugs led by one man, the very Scarface who jeered at me.

They look like bad guys… Don't get me wrong… I am not trying to play hero or anything, but the 'bad guys' are actually quite a sumptuous and safe meal for me. One, no one would really care if these bad guys suddenly vanished as they are criminals and thugs that no one would even want in their country. Two, these guys are the most common inhabitants of Sandwyrm.

Even if this bunch of thugs had the backing of a mountain king, I'd still fight them as whoever it was, they'd at least have a connection with a fearsome brigand group or even a mountain king. So, what is in front of me are actually opportunities…

I kindly smiled at them. While I cannot speak, it looked like I still have control over the smallest gesture the Mindless Monk can do… At least it comes as a consolation that I had pre-recorded dialogues for the Mindless Monk.

"Amitabha…" I said to the hooligans.

To their eyes, I might have appeared as annoying and ignorant.

"You monk, do you know where are you? You are on the road of Cut Sword Gang under the rule of a 5th stage master, Bu Bu!"

The thugs laughed, entertained by what they thought was me being stupid. I had more prepared dialogues than just Amitabha though.

"The antidote to anger is loving and compassion…"

The thugs shut their trap at my benevolent words. Sometimes, it is so fun just to see the looks on their faces. Not that I'd spare them just because I found them entertaining.

"What got into you, you stupid monk? Are you going to offer us repentance?" Scarface mocked me with his same jeering voice.

It is time I play my role well… I will show them all my love and care.

"WRATH!" Unleashing one of the curses among the Surging Seven Sins, I unleashed an angered voice. Burning light started enveloping my body, the monk's body!

At the sight of this, all of the thugs' eyes burned except Scarface who seems to be in the 4th stage.

Scarface covered his eyes with qi, he could continue to do so, but the light is burning away his qi too much. This forced him to put his arms in his eyes and then disengaged the qi covering his body.

"See no Evil!" I uttered these words through the same prerecorded dialogues which further sets up the atmosphere. I have no plans of murdering Scarface. In fact, I want Scarface here to live so that he can spread the word, and maybe while at it, gather an army in an attempt to subjugate me.

The other thugs' eyes burned to hollow sockets. It is not just the eyes though, but also the pores in his body bursting with heat elements that burned them mercilessly from the inside and outside. Only Scarface survived the monk's, mine, wrath!

I could have burned Scarface too with my Wrath but as I said, he has more worth to me than dead.

"Amitabha…" Benevolent words, but an ominous face… This is what must be appearing to Scarface's eyes. And thus… I begin my bandit hunting in the Sandwyrm desert.

…

Scarface ran with all his might. That scared the shit out of him. Rather than being Scarface, it is more apt to just call him Scared face just by his appearance alone.

Sweating and gasping for breath, he arrived by his the Cut Sword gang's cave. Inside, he met his leader. He looked like shit, but his leader didn't mind as the situation Scarface presented is as if he were running from a demon.

"What is it!? Scarface? Did the soldiers of Azuon do a sweep? What is it? Where are our brothers? Did you leave them behind without putting a fight back!? Huh!?"

Cutting Maniac, Bu Bu, the feared ex-lieutenant of Azuon Empire berated Scarface. Contrary to his rather aggressive behavior, Scarface fought back quite aggressively.

"Kill me! Just kill me! If it is you and not that evil monk, then that would be better! Leader, please kill me!! I beg you!"

Scarface started crawling on his four limbs begging his leader to just kill him. He recalled his fellow companions burning to their ashen remains which even now served quite a heavy reminder of the impossible gap between him and that monster!

"You fucking fool! You have become an idiot because of fear!"

"It is because you don't know! The absolute despair is menacing—"

Before Scarface could even say more words, the Cutting Maniac beheaded him with one swift slash from his sword. Cutting Maniac started thinking that maybe it is now time for them to relocate. If such a fearsome character really did appear in the Sandwyrm desert, then it could only be bad news for him and his gang.

…

I was so fucking disappointed. Luckily, I followed Scarface. From what I heard, it looks like I nailed his name right! To think he actually goes by Scarface is amazing. Now, I have to deal with business.

It is time to earn more points!

With a malicious grin, I alighted walking slowly by their cave with an untested curse from the Seven Surging Sins! The CURSE OF SLOTH! The mysterious aura of sloth pervaded around the 5th stage gang leader, who immediately recognized the unnatural force invading his mind.

When the Mindless Monk fought with Lurker, I only was able to test five out of the seven curse arts which are Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Greed, and Wrath. Sloth and Lust are still to be accounted for!

Now, I am seeing the full effects of the power of sloth. I cannot help but feel elated. It takes some time to be in effect but it creates more dread in the atmosphere that way so it wasn't that bad.

As I slowly approach the battle-ready gang leader, one by one, the thugs whom I passed by mysteriously started falling like dominoes as if their life connecting to their bodies were severed like strings.

The other thugs started losing their minds as they blindly rushed at me only to fall unconscious under the effects of sloth. My only power move at this time is to smile thus contributing to the psychological terror hovering above the thugs' minds.

Don't worry dead yet, they are still alive, just sleeping… I really wanted to tell this to the nervously sweating gang leader, but as I have mentioned, the Mindless Monk is mute… I am mute…

So again, I can only say the pre-recorded dialogues of the Mindless Monk.

"Not wanting to do anything, feeling unworthy, and being busy with worldly things. That is called being lazy…"

With a solemn tone, the monk spoke his piece and thrust his fist.

Cutting Maniac defended with his treasured sword only to find himself falling into irresistible dizziness. It seems to be on purpose, that only on the brink of such 'sleepiness' did the monk, I, delivered the final blow.

That way, the Cutting maniac died a painful death not even given the luxury of not knowing pain by sleep.

Meanwhile, the other gang members, all died peacefully as one by one, I, the bloody monk methodologically proceed on killing them one by one by stabbing them with a single finger strike.

It will take the pilgrimage for at least a month or two before they arrive, which is impressive already as these people are only walking and don't even possess any cultivation powers.

I have to possess the necessary amount of quintessence by then…