After leaving his ‘gift’ for the Gray Rock Sect, Anton waited for them to arrive to deal with their grievances. While nobody wanted to be forced into a battle to the death, the potential losses to the Gray Rock Sect were much lower if things were dealt with this way. That wasn’t including Anton, where there was the potential they would be completely and totally annihilated without even being able to see him. They hadn’t gone so far off a reasonable path that he would do that… but their cooperation in the current endeavor was a conditional part of them being able to walk away without grudges.

Elder Anuja was one of their two peak Spirit Building cultivators, and she led the group- including the reluctant ones who had tried to escape. They were unwilling to face the consequences of their actions, but they didn’t have a choice. Most of them would at least have the chance to survive. Technically, as long as they could win a single battle all of them had that chance. The battles weren’t rigged, exactly, but the challenges had all come from people who believed they could win. There was little chance that all of them were correct. Some would probably get unlucky, and some might have poor estimates of their own abilities. But they all had to deal with the results themselves.

First was Hiram. He was the strongest of the challengers, and of everyone in the area Anton had trained. His determination had driven his cultivation forward. While he had grudges with Birita like the rest of the area, the triggering event was a conflict with the Gray Rock Sect. His wife had called out their disciples as they came to collect ‘taxes’ while they wouldn’t even protect anyone from Birita. She was killed, and he lost an arm trying to protect her. One disciple had been easily able to do all that in a moment, but the others were equally at fault, approving the act. Thus, Hiram had challenged the four who had been together- all at once.

They probably thought they were lucky. Any one of them had no chance to beat him, but together… there was so much more they could do as a group. And they were right, in a way. Their chances of defeating him as a group certainly increased.

Hiram stood across from the four disciples, glaring. He held out his arm, gesturing for them to come at him. “Let’s see how you do against someone who has some training… cowards.”

The words weren’t merely his opinion being expressed, though he did so wholeheartedly. It was also a method of achieving tactical superiority. They reacted just as he intended, rushing towards him in anger. They had the good sense to split up to come at him from every side, but that wasn’t going to be enough.

An orb of intangible energy formed in his hand, not quite dark nor light but a mixture of both. As he flung it at one of them, the man held his arms in front of him to block. The defenses of the Gray Rock Sect were nothing to laugh at with bodies trained to be harder than stone. The early Spirit Building cultivator knew he should at least be able to take one hit from a late Spirit Building cultivator like Hiram, enough for his allies to get in position.

His energy defenses did him well, resisting a good portion of the attack. Unfortunately, his body itself was of no use against the deathly energy. Black lines drove into his body, pulling something out of him and sending a line of power back to Hiram. The attack still took more out of him than he regained, but he was not shy about launching another attack immediately at a different target.

Seeing what happened to the first disciple, the second dodged out of the way- but Hiram was able to trigger the orb to explode nearby. Once again it tore through energy defenses, though the damage was not as bad as the direct hit. The first disciple was unsteady on his feet as he tried to circle around to his position, but the second merely felt a bit fatigued.

A moment later they were all around Hiram, each taking a stance with their heavy hammers held towards him. They attacked together in a maneuver that was clearly practiced for this exact situation.

If they had taken Hiram any less seriously, they would have all died in that moment. Even so, a cloud of deathly energy formed about him. Instead of trying to retreat from the attacks, he chose to charge towards the third disciple, sweeping over him with the greater speed his cultivation afforded him. Hiram slipped under the hammer swing as he passed, his hand trailing down the man’s arm as he went. Even as Anton watched the limb shriveled until it was barely functional.

The Deathly Heart Technique was not something to be practiced lightly. It was horrible to any touched by it, crippling whoever it did not kill. It was the sort of technique that could easily be called a forbidden technique. It had dangers to its own user as well, roadblocks that couldn’t be surpassed without side effects- or killing someone. Yet it also didn’t necessarily cross into an unforgivable line, as Anton saw it. The harm it caused would certainly be painful, but as it was followed up with a swift death it wasn’t unnecessarily sadistic in function. With the end result being death, it wasn’t much different from other techniques performed correctly. And sometimes… people needed to die. Hiram had been fortunate enough to have access to elder Naheed’s corpse to avoid side effects, but Anton believed he wouldn’t have killed anyone in an unjustified manner to progress. Thus, the negatives would have all fallen on his head.

As it was… Hiram was now simply getting revenge for his wife who was killed unfairly. The Gray Rock Sect had been no less thieves than the group led by Birita, and hypocrisy was possibly even worse than open evil.

With three of the disciples injured in various ways, Hiram pushed his advantage. He stayed away from the healthiest of them and found the swiftest opening to finish one of them off. The second and third followed suit. The final of the four then had to face off against an only somewhat fatigued Hiram.

And then it was over. The faces of those from the Gray Rock Sect were grim, while the others were hopeful. Hiram picked up the withered corpses of the four disciples and tossed them towards their sect, ignoring the equipment they had. He hadn’t challenged them for the sake of receiving wealth, and he wouldn’t do them the satisfaction of giving into his greed.

Then Hiram turned and walked away. Anton moved to walk beside him. “How do you feel?” Anton asked.

“Awful,” Hiram spat.

“Good. Killing people shouldn’t bring joy. Later we can talk about what will actually make you reach peace. Or at least, what works for me.”

Anton knew it would be best for Hiram to be alone for a time, and he would let that happen… but that didn’t mean he would take his eyes off of him. Or at least a strand of energy. Unless Hiram charged out into the wilderness as fast as he could, Anton would be watching over him.

Anton quickly returned to the conflict zone. “Well then. With the first match concluded, there is another.” Anton called forth the participants. “Will you fight?”

Both nodded. The disciples of the Gray Rock Sect might have been intimidated by Hiram’s victory, but they knew that the others weren’t him. Most of the others wouldn’t outclass those they challenged… but then again, they also were only going to fight one opponent.

“Very well then. Begin.” Anton kept his expression neutral as he watched the fight. This was almost as important as the first match, because if the Gray Rock Sect won they would regain much morale. That would shape how everything else happened.

It came very close, but in the end the final blows exchanged resulted in a crushed shoulder for the man seeking revenge- and a punctured heart for the disciple of the Gray Rock Sect, his defenses having been chipped into a little bit at a time before they were broken through entirely. The challenger barely managed to walk away on his own two feet, but that set the tone for the following matches.

After the first few, the most grievous grudges were settled. One resulted in the death of the challenger. Anton wanted to interfere, but if he was going to throw away the rules there was no point. Nobody else would feel justified in their victories if they knew that their efforts meant nothing and someone else did all the work. Revenge wouldn’t settle their hearts, but the other results would be worse.

“After this point,” Anton announced, “Matches will not be to the death. The grudges between the parties are somewhat lesser than that point. However, accidents may still happen. Think carefully about whether you wish to persist.” Anton didn’t point out that the chances of him missing a deadly blow from cultivators in mid Spirit Building or earlier were basically impossible. People needed to understand the seriousness of what they were doing- on both sides. Sometimes it was better to accept losses and move on with your life. Anton had done that, at least before he became a cultivator. After, he had been able to overcome most obstacles. But he hadn’t been even close to strong enough to prevent Grand Elder Vandale’s death.

Some people chose to settle the battle with payment. Some fought before reaching that point, others continued until they were so injured they couldn’t continue. Serious enough injuries were probably worse than giving up resources, but not everyone from the Gray Rock Sect believed that they would lose or get injured.

Anton stepped in to stop things were necessary. That included saving a few members of the Gray Rock Sect from what would have been deadly blows. He wasn’t a neutral observer, but he at least wanted to be something close to fair. If possible, he wanted to avoid the situation where the Gray Rock Sect just formed deeper grudges with the other locals and ended up in a war at a later date. Some people would still hold anger in their hearts, but this was the best that could be managed without someone watching over the area for years and managing disputes.

The final grudge was settled with an apology. The cultivator’s whole body was pressed to the ground, and for all of Anton’s insight it was sincere. The Gray Rock Sect wasn’t made up of just one type, after all. If they went around killing everyone who slighted them in any way, they would have attracted much more attention. Eventually, some righteous sect would have come to deal with them- once they were well known enough. Unless they grew strong enough. Unfortunately, cultivators who were evil but strong enough often were able to get away with their activities for a long time, as nobody was willing to go against them. Such instances were rare as far as Anton knew, but still very real.

-----

“So what are you going to do with the rest of your life?” Anton asked Hiram. “I don’t believe it would be a good use of your efforts to continue with your prior plan to wipe out the Gray Rock Sect. It would undermine the whole effort we made.”

“I knew that already,” he nodded. “I got my revenge. But I’m certain there are many more who have not been able to get theirs. I plan to seek them out.”

“Be careful,” Anton said. “Not only for your personal safety- that cultivation technique makes you a target, if people don’t know who you are. Or perhaps if they do. In addition… not everyone’s grievances are as honest as yours. Take special care to hone your insight. If something seems suspicious, it would not hurt to delay acting for a time of investigation. At the very least, you will be watching in case further harm is attempted.”

Hiram waved his one hand, “I know, I know. I’m not a kid. Sometimes people are out to manipulate you. I get that.”

“Pfft, not a kid? What are you, not even sixty?” Anton leaned forward. “That’s basically a kid. So make sure to watch out for strangers.”

“Yeah? There’s an old guy I saw who carries a bow everywhere. Think he’s dangerous.”

“Oh, absolutely. Be careful with that one.”

Anton continued to joke with Hiram for a time. The man seemed to be making the effort to move past his pain, but Anton knew it wasn’t just gone- not with the seven years before, and it would still linger into the future. But at least he might prevent other harm in the future- or give people the chance to avenge themselves.