One of the figures was someone he knew very clearly and the reason why he wanted to come.

“Captain Zhang, why are you doing this!?”

****

That’s right. The figure in question was Captain Zhang, the subordinate of Commander Da Jun.

“Sir, I don’t understand where I went wrong,” Zhang said with a mocking expression.

“What do you mean you do-”

“Alright, end this! I could care less about your little mortal squabbles!” Another said with a frenzied expression.

“And remember who you serve!” he said to Captain Zhang.

This was the vice-elder of Nether Immolation War Temple’s Enforcement Hall. Accompanying him were a few disciples who appeared middle-aged. They were from the enforcement hall as well.

The enforcement hall was primarily made up of disciples who were too old to remain normal disciples but were just strong enough to make others comply with the rules and regulations of the temples.

They wouldn’t be able to do much of anything outside the sect, but here they could continue cultivating with the stipend given by the sect.

“Tell the boy to get over here!”

They appeared somewhat impatient, their breathing was haggard and rushed. Commander Da Jun was aware of what was taking place here.

Long Di’s attacks probably awakened the battle lust within most, if not all, of the disciples within Nether Immolation War Temple.

Though they were able to keep their rationality, for the most part, their insatiable battle lust was both a blessing and a curse due to the effects of the cultivation technique they practised.

It was a special technique granted only to those who were a part of the Nether Immolation War Temple.

“I’m sure we can talk about this!” Da Jun wanted to end this without further bloodshed.

”We’re far beyond that point now!” one of the disciples pointed to Shidashi Mao, ripping several of their elders a new one. “Now get out the way!”

Shu!

One of the enforcement hall’s disciples couldn’t restrain himself and rushed out from the group, making a beeline straight for Long Di.

“Long Di, watch out!” Commander Da Jun tried his best to warn Long Di ahead of time.

Before he could do anything else, the enforcement hall’s vice-elder approached the stalwart Commander in a flash and had his grip around the latter’s neck!

“Do you wish to die, fool!?”

D-Dum!

The disciple that was heading for Long Di came dangerously before the pressure of Long Di’s cultivation technique assaulted him!

The weight of it was great, but as he was a fairly strong body cultivator, it didn’t slow him down too much.

However, this was all that was needed. By this time, Long Di’s eyes had opened. He took in all that was happening with an impassive gaze.

Shing!

His bronze saber rang with a deep hum as it danced in his hands before he levied a blow at the disciple careening towards him!

Bam!

The disciple flew back with a harrowing injury as cracks appeared all over his body.

The disciple landed with a deep crash in a deep ditch of his own design. Long Di then stood up and eyed the vice-elder holding Da Jun like a non-deserving, misbehaving child.

He saw through the vice-elder and the other’s cultivation base in an instant and made his proclamation.

“All of you, come at me at once,” Long Di’s declaration was beyond arrogant and it angered the vice-elder, taking him from zero to hundred!

However, though his lust for battle was quickly taking over, he didn’t act too rashly. He tightened his grip on Commander Da Jun’s neck as to impose some handicaps on Long Di, “We’ll fight you all at once alright, however you need to promise that you won’t use that strange lightning body thing from before.”

Long Di’s expression didn’t change, “Don’t worry, you’re not worth me using that move.”

A vein throbbed on the vice-elder’s forehead, “Why you!”

“What you?” Long Di waved him off. “Just come at me,” he assumed a battle pose to ready himself.

“Not so fast!” The vice elder’s grip tightened on Commander Da Jun’s neck.

“What now?” Long Di questioned. “What? You want me to stand around and let you kill me in exchange for his life?”

“Oh no, not at all,” the vice-elder licked his lips. “I want to fight you full-force.”

“Yuck,” Long Di’s stomach churned when he saw the older than middle-aged demon lick his lips.

“However,” he went on. “I want you to swear on your dao that you-”

“If you spare him, I swear on my dao that I will not use my physique in my fight against you,” Long Di said.

“Or ever!” the vice-elder urged him on.

“No,” Long Di refused.

“Do it!” The vice-elder held the helpless Da Jun before him with a malicious smile, whose face was now dark purple.

“No,” Long Di remained steadfast in his decision and took slow measured steps towards the vice-elder.

The vice-elder was a bit flustered at this, “Y-You!”

“I refuse, so kill him,” Long Di apathetically strolled towards the aged demon.

“D-Don’t you care what happens to him!?” The vice-elder refused to believe that a young child could be so heartless.

“Maybe I do, maybe I don’t. I don’t have much of an impression of him. I don’t necessarily want him to die. But the alternative is me dying, sooo, not gonna entertain that,” Long Di explained.

“I’ll really kill him, y’kno!” He took a step backwards in the face of Long Di’s expressionless demeanour and lack of empathy.

“Even if I wanted to save him,” Long Di decided to grace the vice-elder with an explanation.

“If I did that, the oath I mean, and lose and die, he’ll still die. If I do that, and win, I’ll be permanently handicapped, which could cause people I really do care about to die. So no. Now kill him,” it was now Long Di’s turn to urge him on and that terrified him.

“But know this,” Long Di went on. “You kill him, the oath will be void, and I will kill you with it.”

The vice-elder nearly shat himself when he heard this, and oddly enough…. he liked it.

He was low-key freaky.

Long Di didn’t really care much about oaths and swears on his dao or anything. But ever since he learnt that the heavenly daos in this cultivation world was unusually active, he didn’t want to tempt anything.

He was well aware that in some cultivation worlds, depending on your mindset, if you made such an oath, it was not the heavenly daos that crippled your cultivation path; it was the fear of it watching that caused one to develop a heart-devil, which would put one in extreme danger when attempting to break through to a higher level.

He was also aware that in other cultivation worlds, the heavenly daos were quite active and would smite the living faeces out of you if you decided to test them.

So he didn’t want to set up an oath of locking down his own physique with the sole credence being, him not caring will exempt him, only to learn that the heavenly daos was as petty as he is, which would deliver swift retribution with a force equal to or greater than a 2x4 (piece of lumber) landing on the broadside of his head.

With all this taken into consideration, Long Di was prepared to pay the price of letting the commander die to provide the services of propelling his foot firmly within the confines of the vice-elder’s glory hole.

Seeing the level of conviction Long Di held onto, the vice-elder didn’t struggle too long with his internal dialogue to know what the right choice was.

Thud.

He dropped Commander Da Jun wordlessly and prepared himself. He was able to get Long Di to seal off his physique in his bout against them. As far as he was concerned, that was enough.

D-D-Dum!

His cauldrons exploded into being behind him. All nine of them spun fiercely, a clear exhibition of their exertion!

All nine were red, an indication of the high grade they achieved. Moreso, four of them flashed brilliantly with their star cores on clear display!

“Hmmm, a four star core martial master,” Long Di stated, unimpressed.

“Don’t act brave!” The vice-elder sneered. “Without access to that strange physique of yours, you’re just a regular two star core martial master brat!”

“Everyone! On me!” The vice-elder roared.

Dum!

The disciple that was knocked back got back up on his legs and rushed to his vice-elder’s side!

The other two disciples readied themselves as well, prepared to engage Long Di at any time.

Long Di took a look at the cultivator he swatted away earlier and could see that the latter had healed and grown even stronger.

“Is it your innate ability that you’re able to grow stronger after each injury?” he asked.

“What you’re experiencing is our most coveted cultivation technique. The Demonic Divine Masochistic Battle Lust Technique!”

Long Di blacked out for a good hot minute when the name he heard finally registered.

When his brain finally rebooted following its forced shutdown. He shot the vice-elder a strange look with the same expression.

“Ain't nothing divine about what you just said.” He commented.

“Hmph!” The vice elder sneered. “Ignorant! Get him!”

Shu!

Following the vice-elder's command, the two accompanying disciples shot off towards Long Di leaving cracks on the ground in their wake.

“Seriously, it's more depraved than anything else,” said Long Di whilst dodging the duo's attacks.

“Shut up!” The duo was being increasingly aggravated at Long Di's words.

At no surprise to anyone, the members of the Nether Immolation War Temple were fanatics of war. They were religious in their worship of it.

"Why?" He asked as he kept dodging their attacks. "Ooh, do you guys use whips and masks? Or do you just stick to spanking? Asking for a friend."

"Silence!" Their movements were getting wilder and wasted in their execution.

"Oh, y'all doing silence play then?" He wondered. "Y'kno what? I'll advocate for you guys. Stick the rod out and let it flap."

The disciples were caught off guard by Long Di’s last declaration, “Wha-”

He then clarified himself by saying, “Let your freak flag fly.”

"Kill!"

A roar of supreme fury laced with killing intent echoed from above.

Long Di's gaze snapped upwards to see the vice-elder descending with a somatic essence powered punch!

Krrsssh!

Lightning furiously danced along the edge of his blade in the face of this, a faint whisper from his lips, the only clue to his method of opposition.

“Breaking Mundane Forging Heaven, first variation, nine tempers.”