Chapter 3: The Killer Was Byron Cutmore!

Nathaniel Urwin's body erupted with golden radiance that speared straight into the heavens. The sight sent everyone along the East Sea Coast into instant panic! "Huh? Are the Sea Beasts going berserk again?" "Waaah… Mom, save me! The Sea Beasts are coming back…" While ordinary people scattered in terror, a figure in black stood rooted to the spot, shock washing over him. "This aura… why does it feel so much like that rubbish Nathaniel Urwin?" "The worthless disciple of that Worthless Sovereign Lord… did they stumble into some kind of fortuitous encounter?" Before the last word faded, the black-clad figure was already heading for the Skysoar Sect. Not long after, he arrived outside its gates. He lifted his gaze to the three characters hanging overhead, "Skysoar Sect," and let out a cold laugh. "Skysoar? What shameless arrogance. You think you can stand above my Cloudpeak Sanctuary?" "Byron Cutmore, you filthy mutt. You deserve to die." "Today, I'll remove you for my father." The moment he appeared at the Skysoar Sect's entrance, Adelynn Cougle sensed him. She sent a voice transmission: "Sovereign Lord, someone's at the gate." A swirl of Spiritual Power gathered before Byron Cutmore, forming a mirrored image. When he saw who it was, he arched a brow. "Larry Quinny?" He gave a soft chuckle. "So Thiago Quinny sent you to kill me." "Bring him in." At the gate, Larry Quinny was in the middle of spewing curses when his vision swam. In the next heartbeat, he had already been whisked onto Skysoar Sect Main Peak. Byron Cutmore stood with his hands clasped behind his back, watching the man in silence. Once Larry steadied himself, he spotted Byron too. Sensing that Byron still carried the aura of an ordinary mortal, Larry's nerves loosened at once. "Heh. Worthless Sovereign Lord. Still alive, are you?" "You ran pretty fast, I'll give you that. This Sovereign Heir chased and chased, all the way from the Sanctuary to this godforsaken wasteland." "Byron Cutmore, since when did you turn into a turtle hiding in its shell?" Larry Quinny was Thiago Quinny's youngest son, third in line, the Third Sovereign Heir. Back when Byron's father had been busy expanding the sect, Byron had been born late. That made Larry and Byron cultivators of the same generation. And for as long as Larry could remember, he had lived under Byron's shadow. Byron was a crippled ruin these days. Larry's mission was to kill him, so of course he intended to savor the humiliation first. Byron didn't answer. He simply watched Larry preen and posture. Three years earlier, trash like this would not have even earned a glance from him. Yet here he was, swaggering up and putting on a show right in Byron's face. "Heh. Even if you crawl to the ends of the earth, killing you will still be as easy as crushing an ant." As he spoke, Larry began circulating his Spiritual Power. The pressure of the Divine Sea Realm made the sand and loose stones atop the peak stir without a hint of wind. Byron finally spoke. "I suggest you don't. You'll die horribly." Larry threw his head back and laughed. "Hahahaha! You're a cripple. What can you possibly do to someone in the Divine Sea Realm?" He strolled toward Byron, and his Divine Sea Realm aura tightened like a net, gradually wrapping around him. If Larry truly wanted Byron dead, all it would take was a twitch of his finger. But he clearly didn't want Byron to die that cleanly. Byron endured it with a mortal body, his bones and organs buckling under the crushing pressure. Sensing the tension, Goldie came sprinting in from afar. "Woof, woof, woof!!!" Goldie launched himself into the air, jaws gaping, and spat a blast of Spiritual Power straight at Larry. "Hm? This mangy mutt has Spiritual Power? Interesting." Larry casually reached out. Goldie yelped, "Awooo!" as if an invisible hand had seized him, his body jerking out of control and flying toward Larry. "Enough." Byron's voice turned flat. "Adelynn Cougle, cripple his cultivation and throw him back to the Cloudpeak Sect." "Been waiting for you to say that, Sovereign Lord." The instant she finished speaking, blood mist burst from Larry's body in multiple places! "Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft!" Larry collapsed like a torn sack, sprawled on the ground as blood bubbled out of his acupoints in thick, gurgling streams. Not a trace of Spiritual Power remained within him. "You… who are you?" "What kind of demonic art is this?" "No… I won't become a cripple! Impossible!" Adelynn walked over at an unhurried pace. "Sovereign Lord, should I throw him back to the Cloudpeak Sect?" The moment Larry saw her clearly, terror snapped through him. "Why is there a Saint Rank expert here?" Adelynn glanced back at him with a smile, her voice sweet as birdsong. "Saint Rank? Heehee…" "Anyone below Saint Rank who sees me is a frog at the bottom of a well, craning its neck to stare at the bright moon." "And those at Saint Rank who see me…" "They'll understand they're nothing but a mayfly facing the open sky." Larry had been confused at first, but as the meaning sank in, his eyes widened violently. A Saint Rank compared to her was like a mayfly compared to the sky? That meant… she surpassed Saint Rank. What lay beyond Saint Rank? Emperor Rank!!! An Emperor who hadn't appeared on the Mystpeak Continent for who knew how many years. And she called Byron Cutmore "Sovereign Lord"? Larry's mind went blank. How was that possible? An Emperor calling a Worthless Sovereign Lord "Sovereign Lord"? While Larry sat there stunned, Byron stepped up in front of him. With Adelynn's help, he carved a sentence into a stone and slipped it into Larry's robe. "All right," Byron said. "Throw him back to the Cloudpeak Sect." "As you command." Adelynn lifted her jade-like hand and flicked it forward. Larry's body turned into a streak of light and shot away in an instant! "Whoosh!" He vanished from sight, truly tossed back like refuse. … Cloudpeak Sanctuary. The sect's protective barrier rippled, as if something had suddenly forced its way inside. Thud! A body slammed heavily onto the sect's central plaza. Disciples hurried over, crowding around in curiosity. "Hiss… That's… the Third Sovereign Heir?" "The Third Sovereign Heir… is dead?" By now, Thiago Quinny was the Exalted Sovereign of the Sanctuary, and his three sons had all become the Sanctuary's Sovereign Heirs. News of Larry Quinny's death swept through Cloudpeak Sanctuary like wildfire. "The Third Sovereign Heir is dead! It's horrific. His cultivation was crippled before he was killed!" "Just after the Exalted Sovereign took the throne, he loses a son. The days ahead won't be easy." "Who did it? Who would dare throw the corpse right onto the plaza like this?" Amid the disciples' chatter, Thiago Quinny appeared on the plaza. "Third…" The word slipped from his lips as he stumbled toward the body at the center, hollow-eyed, moving like a walking corpse. Larry's talent had been among the best of his generation. But because he had cultivated alongside Byron, he had always achieved everything a step later, forever trapped beneath Byron's shadow. Thiago knew that. That was why he had sent Larry to deal with Byron, never imagining the one who returned would be Larry's corpse. Looking at his youngest son in such a state, Thiago's heart turned to ash. "Larry… your father's here…" He gathered the body into his arms, and something hard pressed against his chest. Trembling, Thiago reached into his son's robes and pulled out a stone. Six words were carved into it. "The killer was Byron Cutmore!" Bang! The stone in Thiago's hand crumbled into dust. "Byron Cutmore!" "I'll tear you apart and wear your skin!"