Bad Blood

The group following Liang had disbanded.

The news spread through the underground cave after Liang had not returned for twenty-four hours. Many were surprised; others felt even more anxious.

The bodies of Liang and his followers had been found, dead and stripped of any signs of life. Those who still fought over the scarce remaining food were stunned by such a discovery.

Death was common in this place; murders had become a macabre routine as resources dwindled. However, the death of so many children at once, and especially Liang's, was hard to process.

No one could ignore Liang's importance, not even those who had once despised him. He had been one of the strongest, even respected by Cheng, who hadn't expected much from him after losing an eye but was still surprised by his skills.

But now, Liang and his followers lay dead. None of the other children dared to admit their involvement.

Lin and Cheng, along with the other groups, held a meeting to determine who had killed so many people.

"That was Jun." Some of the leaders murmured what was obvious.

"That guy killed all the strongest from Liang's group."

The children knew. They knew that Liang had openly talked about killing Jun and that he would visit him someday to exact revenge.

But now, Liang was dead, and Jun was probably still alive.

How strong is he?

Many wondered; others said they didn't want to get involved with being enemies of Lin because they had no problem with him, as he had stopped coming to demand food.

They knew that logically, Jun would starve to death; no one in this cave was a cannibal, so that discussion was not brought up.

Fear of Jun had deeply rooted itself in their hearts. From that moment on, even though the struggles for food continued and more children kept dying, no one dared to approach the place where Jun was hiding.

"We need to kill him; that guy is too strong," Cheng suggested as an option; everyone knew Jun was strong and considered it.

From Cheng's perspective, Jun was a member of his clan, someone who was likely stronger than he had imagined.

If Jun survived in the infernal section where the weakest slaves were sent, it meant someone had judged him very wrong.

"We can't follow that idea," Lin outright refused. He was also the leader of a group that had diminished significantly. From the twenty members he once had, only seven remained.

Time and necessity had hardened all who survived. Children who once feared killing now did so without hesitation.

Food was scarce, and the need to survive had turned them into beasts.

Some children tried to propose peaceful solutions.

"It's a terrible idea," another group leader murmured.

"The problem was with Liang. Now, why would we unite to kill Jun when he hasn't done anything to us?"

"Well, then you leave me no choice, seeing that you're not intelligent." Cheng said, standing up while pulling out a knife identical to Jun's from his pocket.

Cheng knew these were futile dreams. Food distribution was decreasing, and the reality was that, to survive, they had to kill.

When Cheng made his move, his subordinates began attacking the other children, leading to a bloody battle as everyone united to fight against their attackers.

It wasn't an incredible idea, but for future killers, like those selected from the first cell sections, the children of killers had a place in the clan.

The others would be orphans or slaves with no connection to the clan of their birth, making them bad blood that needed to be exterminated, and that was Cheng's mission.

The Haiyue Clan always exterminated most of the slaves who were their equals in this place during the final days of the trials to show the elders that they were still strong, better than anyone.

But Jun was different. Cheng discovered that he couldn't kill him, at least not in this place.

"Then it will be in the trial to become the new Black Moon," Cheng murmured coldly.