To kill or not to kill (2)

Ed stared at the crowd before him, with a frown. He could see many powers appearing and taking away their young ones, while other cultivators and even Elders waited on one side. He only needed to look to understand what was happening. Those without clans no longer had the luxury of staying back in the great spill with the elders and thereby, avoiding this hungry crowd. They will be questioned and have whatever treasure they had taken out of the astral roots taken from them. Ed sighed at this and turned away. He had no interest in this struggle and was not sure how he was going to handle this bunch of hungry wolves.

Just as he turned away, he heard someone say, "That's him," he looked toward the speaker and recognized this man. He had been watching him the moment he walked into the spill. The person he was talking to was an elderly man in grey robes. The man glared at Ed in anger.

"Boy, did you kill my niece?" the man asked and Ed looked at him incredulously.

"Does everyone know who your niece is?" Ed asked and others snickered. Ku Nam saw the situation before he heard his name.

"Young master Nam. Please come with us," he was called. A woman by the side looked at Ku Nam with care, before speaking up.

"Do you wish to come with me, boy, I know you have a treasure bound to you. I can smell its anger in the air," the woman said. Everyone turned their attention to Ku Nam, who but glanced at her and continued walking towards his clansmen.

"Do you know who I am boy, I am a messenger from the Jade Phoenix Alliance. You should just come with me," she said with a smile. Others that wanted to call out to Ku Nam to come to them, paused. The Jade phoenix alliance is here?

"That is the only reason why I have not had you killed," Ku Nam said with his usual smile, but this sent a chill down her spine. She looked at the elders beside Ku Nam and those by his side and her eyes shrunk. She immediately calmed her heart and chuckled.

"The Ku Clan. Forgive me for not noticing," she said and Ku Nam walked away, not before glancing at Ed, who had used the shift of attention from him, to walk away.

"Young master, do you know that boy?" one of his clan elders asked.

"Yes, why?" Ku Nam asked.

"He is the one Lady Jian is interested in. The one she wants to kill Elder Hu for," he answered and Ku Nam smiled.

"What a coincidence," he said and they all entered a portal and vanished.

The Tze clan, who had turned away for a second to see the conversation between the Jade Phoenix alliance and the Ku Clan, looked back to find Ed no more standing where he was.

"Boy, stop!" it was not the Tze clan elder that had spoken. Ed turned to see someone he did not recognize come out from the crowd.

"Who are you?" Ed asked.

"Hand over the Devil's cage technique," the old man said dangerously. Ed almost sighed. Did he have a target on his back, that everyone wanted to harm him?

"No," Ed said and rotated his energy and activated the shifting space technique, appearing behind the crowd. People were confused at first before they spotted him behind them.

"How did he move?" 

"Blink? No, it's slower than blink," 

"He is one of those who came out of the astral roots, he should not be that high in cultivation," 

"How can someone use his energy inside the demon lands?" 

"Has the restriction lifted?" As these questions were passed around, Ed was walking away. Seeing his calm back move further away, the Tze sect and the other elder grew angry.

"I accept that you may be an anomaly, but you are still a youngster. Energy or not, you are not leaving this place alive," the Tze sect elder said and dashed towards Ed. Ed did not try to evade or blink away, he continued walking. As the Elder was about to touch him, he spun around with a sword in hand and descended upon the Elder.

At this moment, many were thinking that Ed had gone mad. Did he think he could fight the Tze sect elder?

Ed's sword could not be clearly seen. The elder could feel there was a sword coming toward him, but could not see it. His eyes shrunk at this. This skill, slicing the sky, cutting the earth! He retreated immediately, but Ed had no intention of letting him go. He rotated the shifting space technique and matched the elder's retreating form.

The Tze sect members panicked at the sight and rushed in to help the elder. Ed had taken them into consideration. As they hurriedly surrounded him, he increased his speed. The elder felt the sword enter him and a foreign energy rush into him. 

Panic. One could not describe the feeling that rushed through him at this moment, more than that.

Ed did not wait to see his outcome, as he lowered backwards, allowing the axes coming at him to slide above him. He immediately manifested two daggers from the Yhenxia sword, allowing the other sword to return into it, and slashed at the thighs of those whose axes had glided above him. All he needed was his energy to touch theirs.

On the roof, Old Iba and Tie Nse were watching the fight.

"Oh, he has improved," Tie Nse commended.

"That's him?" Old Iba said, "I thought you said he was a boy? He looks no older than twenty-five," Old Iba said.

"Still a boy in my eyes," Tie Nse said. He saw as Ed easily disposed of the Tze sect and frowned, "This is too easy for him, he is not gaining any experience with this little fight. Maybe I should help him out," 

"Huh? Why do you need to help him out if it's too..." Before Old Iba had finished speaking, Tie Nse had disappeared from his spot and now hovered in the air.

Many were preoccupied with Ed, looking at him with incredulity. The other elder was just the same. Even though he was not as weak as those Tze sects, nor could they be compared to him; an elder of the Falcon sect, one of the five great sects below the alliance, he could see that this boy was special.

"Boy, how would you like to join my Falcon alliance as my disciple?" he asked Ed.

"You are not worthy," Ed said so slowly, that it struck the elder where it hurt.

"You have the clan's devil's cage with you. Your only way out is to become my disciple," the elder narrowed his eyes.

"He already has a master. Boy, come," Tie Nse said, hovering in mid-air. Many looked up at the person who had spoken. A soul realization being. This boy, using his energy in the demon lands is odd enough. They could not believe that there would be another person. If he was just using his energy, it would be a different thing. But he was also hovering in the air. There was no doubt, this was a soul realisation being!

Ed glanced at Tie Nse for a second and turned to follow him. Everyone was stuck in place, especially the falcon sect elder who had just threatened Ed. Seeing Ed walking away, he hurriedly explained himself.

"Senior, I was wrong, forgive me," he said and Tie Nse glanced at him coldly and turned away.

"It's patriarch Tie Nse of the heaven alliance," someone recognised him. Tie Nse continued moving, but Ed paused.

"Doesn't that mean this is his new disciple?" another said.

"Using his energy in the demon lands, he is really as they say," Ed turned to the crowd coldly. His entire being suddenly turned dark releasing dark energy into the air. They all shivered at the look in his eyes. He rotated his energy and started making rapid hand signs.

"Those hand signs," the falcon sect elder frowned, "He is activating the devil's cage!" 

Tie Nse noticed the dangerous energy expanding and rushed out of the city with Old Iba and a slightly helpless boy.

"Why are we leaving so fast?" Old Iba asked as Tie Nse grabbed him and left through the air. Just as they got outside the city, a shield expanded like a dome around the south side city.

"What are you doing?" the falcon sect elder asked cautiously as the light of the sun was cut off from the city. This devil's cage was really as one would imagine. It was a cage. How could he learn this technique that even he had not truly understood to this extent? He practised this technique so he could somewhat see in the darkness. He could tell that Ed had executed it far beyond what he could ever do. If he knew that Ed had surrounded the entire city. He would have died on the spot

"What is going on?" 

"Why can't I see anything?" 

Tie Nse looked at the dark dome and could not see anything through it and sighed.

"Where did he learn such a dark skill, taking the entire city even? Well, this level of fighting should give him some experience," Tie Nse said to Old Iba's horror.

Inside the city, Ed could see them all clearly. He knew that old pervert did this on purpose. as Ed was still only at spirit-picking and had managed to stay out of the spotlight or at least not to be associated with the old pervert, he could move around with ease. That old pervert knew how much he valued this and decided to reveal himself, forcing him to deal with those in the city. he had never fought with people of this calibre, but the demon realm was definitely the place to do it, while they were at a disadvantage.

"You have seen my face. You cannot leave," his voice echoed through the city, into their hearts and silence descended with fear as a friend.