The Lustful Young Master starting with Holy Maiden.
Chapter 72 - 13) The Celestial assembly.

Chapter 72: 13) The Celestial assembly.

The blood began to dry on the disciple’s forehead.

But the memory of her collapse, the clean, surgical strike Zhao Fan delivered, lingered like a ghost in the air, too sudden to scream and too final to process.

As they were teleported to another stage.

* *

Lu Qingyan,

She walked slowly beside Ling’er, her gaze lowered but her mind alight.

It had to be done... Without the death of one, we couldn’t move ahead.

And since we are ahead we have more opportunity to gather more treasure.

Alas, it was the misfortune of that disciple.

That was what she told herself and it was the absolute undeniable truth.

She had seen it happen, Young Master Zhao’s strike, decisive and unblinking... The girl didn’t even struggle perhaps she was trying to process after getting free from the illusion with the arrival of the white rabbit.

One life for twelve. Simple arithmetic. No struggle. No drama.

But even so, her throat was dry. And not from fear, but from understanding.

An autumn wind blows from the west, a monk sleeps silently unaware of the impurity of the world.

This is why he leads. Not because he’s stronger, but because he doesn’t flinch.

He knows the path, the price, and the process... If it were me I would have hesitated after all, they are the disciple of our sect.

Ughh... What is this, I can’t shake this feeling.

Zhao Fan had not explained himself, nor did he offer any condolences. There was no eulogy, no look back just the path ahead.

And in that moment, Lu Qingyan understood: the trials weren’t about morality.

They were about momentum, and Zhao Fan would not be slowed.

She cast a glance at Ling’er, who walked quietly beside her, as a soul wandering realm above cultivator, it’s not hard to tell when a woman’s pure Yin essence is gone.

She can’t help but swallow knowing what they have done and guessing what the Ling’et might be thinking, or even what other disciples must be thinking.

After all, the White rabbit was clear on his voice thus, it’s only natural for other disciples to fear as the enemy isn’t far away but is walking with them.

At any moment, they can be killed to pass the trial without mercy.

Yes, they can buy extra lives like plucking an apple, but none of them have any points, and almost everyone has lost 2 lives.

The axe is already is their neck ready to chop the next with ease any moment now.

Mm... So profound, I hope I can survive till the end. Even if we do to calculation... We would need to lose around 93 more lives, and with 15 of us, we have around 150 in total.

And we have already lost 22 lives... Tch, tch, tch so many lives without testing the depth of water.

At the maximum, only 12 people can survive till the end, calculating when people won’t have to lose their lives when it’s less than 3 people.

And if we remove, Holy envoy, Ling’er and that mature woman called Maid Yi, we would have around 9 survivors till the end, and if I don’t wanna lose a single life then it’s 7, and if we also add this Jia Mei, who is following Holy Envoy, we will have exactly is 5 surviours till the end, with most losing 2 lives.

The best course would be to let 3 people climb to the top till the 90th trial and let them revive others to collect the treasure.

But is that even allowed? I feel like when there are exactly three or fewer people, this domain will force us to revive a fellow person, and choose another one to die.

Let me recalculate, total, we will lose 91 to 92 additional lives, if even the last trial requires us to remove one life.

In total, we have 150 lives with 3 initial lives and seven additional lives that we can purchase or revive.

So, we will be losing 115 lives so only 35 lives will remain till the end.

And since Holy Envoy and Maid Yi won’t sacrifice themselves as their strength is most valuable... We will have 15 lives remaining. Which means, I am fated to die at certain points, and if even Ling’er won’t sacrifice herself till the end we will have 5 lives.

I don’t wanna die... I hope we all can work together and save ourselves but it’s just a futile dream... With 5 lives in our hands for upcoming trials, at certain points, the rest will probably die... So, in conclusion, it’s very likely because of stupidity only 3 people can survive till the end.

But who could those three be? Holy Envoy is strong, Maid Yi is also strong, as for the rest... We are all dead weights holding those two backs.

Is this the difference between highly talented and true monstrous talent, like the difference between Heaven and earth.

It’s very likely to be Ling’er since she is already a Holy Envoy’s woman.

No... At some points, I have to seduce him.

This is hell and we are all fated to die, only by the Envoy’s grace can I survive till the end.

We need to use others’ food stocks... They can’t die meaninglessly, only then, we can progress forward.

So, if I want to survive till the end, not only do I have to seduce Holy Envoy, I will also have to make sure others are kept as pets.

But... What if the person who is revived won’t be counted even if killed for the next round, or even the next 5 rounds, or, 10 rounds?

Certainly, it was purely her conjecture, yet it was quite rational, and logical as nothing is granted here.

* *

Ling’er,

Ling’er’s robes swayed like drifting snow, but her mind was a flurry of conflicting winds.

She had seen death before, a few brutal ones seeing the disciple being eaten alive by a fierce beast or even messier ones, but few so calm.

She couldn’t even scream, she didn’t even move, he just... killed her.

Ling’er hadn’t known the disciple well. But she knew the feeling of being helpless, lost in illusion. To die like that, without ever knowing, it stirred something cold and wrong in her chest.

And yet... Her fingers curled around the hem of her sleeve.

We made it through, without hesitation and any delay.

Wasn’t that... the right decision?

Young Master Zhao didn’t waste time. And that’s what terrifies me the most.

She looked at his back—broad, steady, utterly unreadable. There was no joy in him, nor cruelty, but only certainty.

And somehow, that made her want to follow him even more.

Indeed, not everyone perceives art in the same manner, as its beauty lies in the eyes of the observer.

Lu Tian had observed enough to form a conclusion.

He walked behind them all, slightly apart, his fingers twitching now and then with restrained Qi.

He didn’t have his usual swagger anymore; now he seemed all tight and wound up.

He did not eveninated her with the same nonchalance one might display when dismissing an insect.

While he harbored animosity towards Zhao Fan, that would have been a relatively straightforward response.

What he experienced, however, was something far more profound: fear.

One death per trial. We need to clear Trial Seven. Then Eight. Then Nine. That means... more and more deaths.

And I... just who am I?

Another bug waiting to be crushed.

Lu Tian’s breath caught.

He won’t hesitate to kill again. And it might be me next.

He looked around at the others: Ling’er, serene but unreadable. Jia Mei, trembling. Lu Qingyan, strangely still. Yi Xin Xue, glowing with some strange hunger.

None of them could stop him.

And Lu Tian knew then: it wasn’t a question of if Zhao Fan would kill again.

The uncertainty loomed over him like a heavy fog, a nagging dread gnawing at his insides. He couldn’t shake the feeling of despair, wondering who might be chosen next, and if they would even sense the looming threat.

His legs felt weak beneath him, trembling uncontrollably, as beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.

Haah*

He let out a shaky breath with a heavy heart, as he stared blankly at the ground.

His fists trembled at his sides, and he felt the weight of the world pressing down on him, he hated it, he hated his helplessness.