Chapter 124: The Way of Slaughter

In Ziwei’s office, Ziwei’s assistants served spiritual tea to the group, while a secretary opened a laptop to prepare files for Li Yunfei and Honghong.

These so-called assistant and secretary were actually Ziwei’s niece and nephew-in-law, both in their twenties—the same age as Li Yunfei and Zhang Ziying—yet both possessed cultivation at the late stage of the Spirit Movement realm. The man was named Yan Hexiang, and the woman was Guo Qilin. Before joining Zixiao, they had cultivated at the Deyun Temple on Kunlun Mountain under the guidance of Ziwei’s junior fellow apprentices. Guo Qilin was the daughter of Ziwei’s junior brother Guo Tegang and junior sister Yu Qin, while Yan Hexiang was their most favored disciple and future son-in-law. Entrusting their daughter and prize pupil to their senior brother was their way of ensuring a promising future for them. Due to his status, Ziwei had not taken any disciples himself; his junior brother and sister, however, had many followers, and the Kunlun Sect’s traditions were largely preserved through them. But this meant that the Kunlun Sect’s cultivation resources were fragmented and lacked a significant advantage. Following Ziwei, however, was a different story—everyone understood the logic, so it went without saying.

Ziwei turned to Li Yunfei and said, "Your background and origins are clear, and your family history is untainted; these are already in your basic file. Now, we mainly need to record your specific abilities and current level of cultivation."

"This is not to strip you bare, but to ensure that when we arrange your future placement, we can be as accurate as possible. As a former scout, I believe you can understand."

Li Yunfei did indeed understand. Much like in the military, a soldier skilled in long-range precision shooting is best suited as a strategic sniper; placing him in the role of an assault trooper would be a waste of his talents. Conversely, someone adept at rapid-fire movement, agility, and quick reactions is better suited for an assault role, and might struggle—or even cause trouble—if placed in a sniper’s position.

"Yes, I understand. Please ask away, sir."

Ziwei nodded with satisfaction and smiled. "There is no need to call me 'sir.' Zixiao is a national organization led by our Party, not a martial arts sect."

"It didn’t matter before you joined, but now that you are an official member of Zixiao, we are all comrades. Do you understand what I mean?"

Li Yunfei straightened his posture, sitting as still as a bronze bell, his hands resting on his knees. "I understand. Please proceed with your questions, Comrade Ziwei. I will report everything truthfully."

A flicker of appreciation crossed Ziwei’s eyes. He preferred superhumans who had served in the military, not only because he had been a general before becoming the leader of Zixiao, but also because those from the military possessed a level of discipline and political awareness far superior to those from sects or civilian backgrounds.

As for why Li Yunfei had not joined Zixiao the moment he began his cultivation, Ziwei trusted there was a specific reason and that it was certainly not due to a lack of awareness—this was his confidence in the military.

"First question: Where did your cultivation techniques come from? Of course, this is an optional question. You may decline to answer, and it will not affect anything."

"After all, in this era of spiritual energy resurgence, everyone has their own fortunes. Many sects have had their techniques scattered among the public in the past, and many have gained inheritances this way."

"There are also those who, for specific reasons, cannot disclose the source of their inheritance. We understand this."

What Ziwei said was true. In the past, various manuals had been scattered among the public, but with no spiritual energy to fuel them, no one could actually master them. Half a century ago, one could often find such manuals at stalls selling old books. Some rural folk even tore the pages out to use as toilet paper. After the resurgence of spiritual energy, those who still held onto these manuals found that, by some stroke of luck, they could actually practice the techniques within them.

Hearing this, Li Yunfei immediately replied, "There is nothing I cannot disclose. As you said, the techniques were obtained from my family’s ancestral home, exactly one week before the state announced the spiritual energy resurgence and conducted the nationwide physical examinations."

As he spoke, Li Yunfei flipped his hand, and a wooden box appeared in his palm. He opened it to reveal three ancient, thread-bound books—the very volumes the system had granted him upon his class advancement. What impressed Li Yunfei most was that the paper of the three books appeared extremely aged, looking every bit like genuine antiques; the system was truly meticulous.

Ziwei and He Ming took the books and leafed through them. They were indeed authentic manuals from the Shangqing lineage of the Maoshan Sect. Combined with what they already knew, they had no further doubts about the origin of Li Yunfei’s techniques. After discovering that Li Yunfei was the mysterious expert in armor, Zixiao had naturally conducted an investigation. Ziwei was well aware that during the time of the nationwide physical exams, Li Yunfei had indeed returned to his hometown for a week, during which he had resolved an incident involving a malicious spirit terrorizing a village.

He Ming asked with surprise, "The national physical examination was two months ago. Does this mean you went from zero to the late stage of the Yin Spirit realm in just two months?"

Li Yunfei pretended to be lost in thought, his brow furrowed. Ziwei did not rush him, simply watching him quietly. Guo Qilin, her hands hovering over her keyboard, looked at him with curiosity, as did A-Bao and Xiao Bei, whose eyes were fixed intently upon him. Their logic was simple: the more extraordinary Li Yunfei was, the more promising their future prospects would be as his subordinates.

After a moment, Zhang Ziying tentatively asked in a soft voice, "Da Fei, is there something difficult to say?"

Li Yunfei snapped back to reality and said with hesitation, "Regarding this, I have always been deeply worried. It is actually the reason why I did not join Zixiao to serve the country sooner."

Ziwei stated, "Rest assured, as long as this matter does not endanger the country or society, nothing else is truly important."

Li Yunfei quickly added, "Naturally, it will not endanger the country. After all, abilities themselves are neither good nor evil; it is the people who wield them that are."

Hearing this, Ziwei and He Ming exchanged a glance, their hearts sinking simultaneously. He Ming asked cautiously, "Yunfei, you haven't... practiced some kind of evil art, have you?"

Li Yunfei frowned. "It is not an evil art, but rather a special constitution I possess. It sounds quite bizarre, but as long as I kill, my cultivation inexplicably increases by a significant margin."

Yan Hexiang, sitting beside Guo Qilin, stood up abruptly and exclaimed, "The Path of Slaughter from the Demonic Sect?"

Ziwei and He Ming’s expressions shifted slightly. If it were truly the Path of Slaughter, things would be troublesome. If one could increase their cultivation solely through killing without other side effects, it wouldn't be a problem; in fact, Ziwei would be more than willing to promote such a method. After all, there were plenty of demons, ghosts, and monsters in this world; killing them would not only invite no condemnation, but the more one killed, the greater their merit.

The critical issue was that those who practiced the Path of Slaughter were typically consumed by baleful energy, which grew deeper as their cultivation progressed. Gradually, this energy would erode their mind and soul, turning them into cold-blooded, unfeeling monsters who recognized no kin. In the eyes of such practitioners, all things in heaven and earth could be slaughtered, and eventually, they would become a demon who knew only murder and existed only for the sake of killing. And if one were to use external force to dissolve this baleful energy, it would cause their cultivation to plummet, leaving them with nothing to show for their efforts.