My Monster-Derived Skills Are the True Power
Chapter 36: Killing One to Warn the Others

The audience dispersed about fifteen minutes after the match.

Gongsun Jie and the others who had chased after Murong Kaixin returned, their heads hanging low.

Wen Renchuan and the rest rushed forward to ask about the battle’s outcome, only to hear the worst answer—they had lost track of him.

It made sense. Even heavily injured, Murong Kaixin was still a Grandmaster. He was far beyond what these Innate Experts could handle. The fact that they had even dared to chase him spoke volumes of their courage.

What truly shocked Wen Renchuan and the others was their injuries.

When they had charged out of the valley, they were all battered—broken legs, shattered arms, limping in all directions. But less than half an hour later, they looked almost completely healed.

It was nothing short of a miracle, leaving Wen Renchuan and the others burning with envy.

Wen Renchuan wanted to ask about their newfound power and what exactly had happened on the battlefield, but no one was willing to answer.

Shi Xiang and the others were already die-hard followers of Li Ye. With their leader now in Murong Kaixin’s hands, his fate uncertain, they had no interest in discussing anything else.

Left with no choice, Wen Renchuan and the others could only join them in waiting at the valley entrance for Li Ye’s return.

---

Another thirty minutes passed.

A tiny black figure appeared on the distant official road, racing toward them at incredible speed.

In the blink of an eye, he had already arrived.

Who else could it be but Li Ye?

He looked utterly battered—his face covered in bruises, his hair and eyebrows stained red.

One of his arms hung limply, twisted and misshapen.

His clothes were in tatters, drenched in blood.

He looked like a demon crawling out of a sea of corpses, exuding nothing but raw vitality from his bright, lively eyes.

But no one paid attention to him for long. Their eyes quickly shifted to the person he was dragging behind him.

Judging by the torn garments, it was Murong Kaixin.

At least Li Ye still looked human—Murong Kaixin, on the other hand, was barely recognizable.

His once-flowing hair had been nearly yanked bald, with blood oozing from his exposed scalp. Both his eyes were swollen shut, his nose caved in, and a chunk of skin was missing from his face.

His lips were split, three of his teeth were gone, and his limbs were bent in grotesque angles—clearly broken.

If not for the faint rise and fall of his chest, no one would have believed he was still alive.

The gathered martial artists gasped, their faces frozen in shock.

A Grandmaster, the Heavenly Master of the Chu Kingdom, had been utterly defeated.

And his opponent was an unknown twenty-something-year-old.

As much as they wanted to deny it, the truth was right before their eyes.

Wen Renchuan, the Scarlet Flame Sect’s Protectors, the elders of the Heavenly Dao Alliance—all of them exchanged uneasy glances, swallowing hard.

When they looked at Li Ye again, their eyes were filled with fear.

"Li Ye has returned safely… A great weight has finally been lifted from my heart," Wen Renchuan was the quickest to recover, immediately putting on a smile. "That wretched old bastard Murong Kaixin—how dare he try to block our path to immortality! If not for the rules of the tournament, I would have taken him on myself! But it seems I was too late—thankfully, Li Ye has already handled him."

"…" Zhong Wenhao glanced at his master in disbelief. You were singing a very different tune just moments ago!

"Li Ye, I have a rare healing elixir, effective for both internal and external injuries. Please, accept it." The Scarlet Flame Sect’s Xu Chuan stepped forward, offering a porcelain bottle with both hands.

"Li Ye, this old man is quite skilled in bone-setting. If you do not mind, I could help realign your broken bones—lest they heal incorrectly." The Third Elder of the Heavenly Dao Alliance chimed in eagerly.

The fall of Murong Kaixin had turned the tides.

Now, both righteous and evil factions alike were scrambling to curry favor with Li Ye.

Watching this unfold, Wei Mingze felt bitter. He opened his mouth to speak but found himself at a loss.

Thanks to Murong Kaixin’s reckless actions, anything he said now would be meaningless.

With no Grandmaster to keep Li Ye in check, what was stopping him from rallying the people and overthrowing the Chu Kingdom?

---

"I’ll take the medicine, but I don’t need my bones set."

Li Ye took in their reactions and was quite satisfied. Still dragging Murong Kaixin behind him, he headed deeper into the valley.

"You’ve all seen the wonders of Spiritual Energy for yourselves. It’s time to spread the league across the land."

The crowd hurried to follow.

Watching Murong Kaixin being dragged along like a dead dog, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

Only one thought echoed in their minds:

Never, ever make an enemy of this man.

He was young—and reckless.

Anger a normal Grandmaster, and you might still have a chance at survival.

But anger him? He would utterly destroy you.

---

Wei Mingze’s heart clenched as he took in Murong Kaixin’s miserable state.

"Li Ye, Murong Kaixin is still a Grandmaster. Shouldn’t we…"

"Shouldn’t we what?"

Li Ye turned back, smirking coldly. "Show him respect? I respected him—who respected me?

If a rabid old dog bares its fangs at me, should I pamper it instead?

The best way to deal with such a dog is to hang it up, skin it, gut it, and throw it into a stew. Then, display its hide for all to see—to warn the rest what happens when they cross me."

With a scoff, he tossed Murong Kaixin onto the ground.

"Wang Zhenghui, come here."

The former Vice Lord of Wolf Valley—now its Head of Security—hurried over. "Yes, Li Ye! Your orders?"

Li Ye casually tossed him the pill bottle from Xu Chuan.

"Keep him barely alive. Lock him in a cage and hang him at the entrance of Wolf Valley. Let the world see what happens when they oppose me. If they think they can handle the consequences, they’re welcome to try."

"Understood."

Wang Zhenghui hesitated briefly before calling over two disciples to take Murong Kaixin away.

"Wait," Xu Chuan suddenly spoke up.

Li Ye narrowed his eyes. "You have an issue with this?"

Xu Chuan flinched, quickly explaining, "No! He deserves his fate! I simply wanted to offer a sealing technique to restrict his internal energy. He is a Grandmaster, after all—if he escapes or gets rescued, it could be dangerous for you…"

"Not bad." Li Ye smirked. "Give me the technique later. I’ll seal his cultivation myself."

Wei Mingze’s face twitched. "Li Ye… Murong Kaixin has many disciples and great influence in the martial world. If you do this…"

"Don’t worry, Wei. That’s exactly why I’m keeping him barely alive."

Li Ye grinned. "I want to see who dares to save him.

Once I’m done setting things up here, I’m going to wipe the Heavenly Master’s Mansion off the map.

I specialize in cutting the weeds and pulling out the roots."

---

Wei Mingze felt his heart sink. Looking at Murong Kaixin’s pitiful state, he couldn’t help but sigh.

What an utter disaster.

If Murong Kaixin had truly planned to take Li Ye down, he should have at least done his homework.

Now, thanks to his reckless actions, the entire Chu Kingdom was in jeopardy.

And the worst part?

Li Ye wasn’t even from this world.

He couldn’t be swayed by loyalty or patriotism.

Now, all Wei Mingze could do was pray that Wan Peng would reach the capital in time—and that the Emperor would make the right move.