Condemning the Heavens Chapter 74: Bloodlust

Xue Wei had previously seen the fear in other Fierce Beasts' eyes and knew that they would avoid him when they had the chance, but to see one commit suicide right in front of him shocked him to the core.
"What happened?" someone asked. "He must have used another Spiritual Technique and taken control of the Fierce Beast," someone answered hesitatingly.
Even the commander was frowning, and finally he reached the same conclusion as the speaker from before.
That Fierce Beast had committed suicide. It had to have been done by Xue Wei somehow.
Xue Wei's eyes glittered. He knew that he had done nothing. "What is it that scares them to the point of killing themselves?" Xue Wei wondered to himself.
"I don’t think Fierce Beasts are this horrified in front of a Primordial Beast even, so why are they so fearful of me? I have already been examined by a Diviner and a prophet – it’s clear that I am not a Primordial Beast, but what am I then?"
Xue Wei shook his head and decided not to dwell on it too much. Right now, he was in a life-and-death battle. If he were too preoccupied, he would fall to enemies he usually did not hold in high regard.
Having decided not to think about it any longer, Xue Wei's mind descended into complete concentration again. He sat down for five minutes and pretended to be restoring his energy, but the truth was that he had not used any so far, and thus he just sat down and contemplated the fights.
The third battle was about to begin, and Xue Wei looked at the figure that appeared in front of him. This time, it was a deserter, the same category as the enemy that Xue Wei had faced back when he had been taking the trial to join the Genius Camp.
Xue Wei observed his opponent. So far, he had faced two opponents where both battles had had some sort of unknown factor to them.
Since this was the case, Xue Wei did not dare slight the opponent in front of him. Each individual had their strengths, and this expert was likely to also have some hidden strength. If Xue Wei allowed for him to use it, then it was likely that the fight would drag on and he would spend more energy than needed.
Since this was the case, as soon as the deserter appeared on the stage, Xue Wei launched the Forbidden Rush movement technique.
Azure Light Finger!
An azure beam shot through the arena and headed straight for the deserter who, with a shocked expression, tried to avoid the beam by throwing himself to the side.
Right at that moment, Xue Wei appeared in the air right above the deserter who had thrown himself sideways and was losing his balance.
Shattering Mountain Palm!
The palm descended with an azure gleam to it. The power of this palm made the air tremble and cracking sounds could be heard.
Xue Wei descended like a god of death; the deserter could feel nothing but his heart tremble when he lifted his arms and covered them with Qi to protect himself.
Unfortunately, this was far from enough to stop the Shattering Mountain Palm after Xue Wei had perfected the ability together with Lan, and the sound of arms breaking could be heard followed by the deserter being slammed into the ground. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and his eyes bulged out in shock.
Xue Wei used the Forbidden Rush Movement Technique to once more vanish into the thin air, and then he emerged right next to the deserter.
Kick of the Forgotten Kings!
This time his leg swept out and landed squarely on the chest of the deserter. More blood sprayed from his mouth as the sound of bones breaking could be heard.
The man’s body was forced into the arena ground, and soon the eyes that were filled with shock and disbelief slowly turned dim.
Life had left the deserter after only two attacks. It had been an overwhelming victory, and Xue Wei had displayed two abilities that were of at least the superior rank.
The audience was quiet, and everyone was reeling in shock.
"I thought he specialized in spiritual arts?" someone muttered, and as the words left his mouth, an uproar exploded on the stands. Xue Wei had truly shocked them all with his display of raw power and ruthlessness.
What scared them, even more, was that, unknown to Xue Wei, a sinister grin had spread on his lips as the blood had splashed onto the stage.
With a final glance at all the gore that was on the stage, Xue Wei sat down and started cultivating.
This time he had used a bit of his energy to dispatch the deserter as soon as possible, but not enough to truly be of an issue.
Still, to ensure that he was at peak condition for each battle, he did not waste time, and five minutes had quickly passed before he stood up, his eyes blazing with the will to do battle and his lips curled in a cruel smile as he wished to kill.
He wished to kill everyone that he could find on the arena floor. He wanted to test his skills, and he was even more-so eager to smell the scent of blood.
Xue Wei felt it again. His body was boiling as if it was on fire. He could not stop before he got to fight, but another part of him was calm and collected, observing everything that was happening.
This calm and collected part of him was capable of stopping the bloodlust if it pleased, but Xue Wei wanted to try his best. He wanted to let go and fight. To test his limits and to see how far he could go. What was his strength equal to?
Thinking like this, he allowed for the bloodlust to take root, but he still kept an eye on it, ensuring that it did not cloud his judgment. That he did not go berserk.
Five minutes went by, and Xue Wei stood up once more. His eyes were clear, but a malicious gleam could be seen within.
Then a figure appeared on the platform once more. This time it was a second layer Earth Warrior – a human. "Criminal or deserter?" Xue Wei mumbled to himself. "I don't know," he finally concluded. "I better assume it is a deserter," he grinned and flicked his hand. Qi gathered in his palm, and suddenly a razor-sharp sword appeared in his hand.
A real sword had to balance sturdiness with sharpness. Although they wished for the blade to be incredibly sharp, it might not be possible due to it breaking after a clash or two.
But Xue Wei's sword was made from Qi. It was different from a sword made from metals and could be as sharp as one wished for it to be.
Xue Wei once more depended on Forbidden Rush and flashed into the wind. His figure was elusive and near impossible to catch a glimpse of. It was as if he was teleporting around the entire stage, appearing here and there for a short moment in time.
The eyes of the human opponent constricted when Xue Wei appeared right behind him. He could not see him, but he felt a sudden and very intense feeling of danger.
He dodged to the side without thinking of what to do, fully relying on his instincts. Just as he did, he felt something sharp slice down past his throat and instead embedded itself in his shoulder.
Blood sprayed everywhere, dying Xue Wei's clothes red, and even a few drops landed on his cheek, running down, looking like bloody tears.
These bloody tears mixed with the sinister grin on his face made him seem completely insane, and everyone who watched the sight in front of them shuddered in fear.
Even the commander was worried about the display of ferociousness that seemed almost bestial.
Xue Wei flicked his hand and the sword that he had created vanished, causing even more blood to spray from the wound. Instead of relying on the Forbidden Rush, Xue Wei just called forth another sword and slowly stepped towards the wounded human enemy.
Clutching his wounded shoulder, the human got to his feet and retreated as fast as he could, but with every movement he made, more blood dropped onto the ground.
His face was pale, and his body trembled. He could feel the killing intent in Xue Wei was constantly growing, and it felt as if he was up against a Primordial Beast that had transcended the strength of the Heping Kingdom.
He felt despair. He felt so much regret for having been a criminal in the past, and he felt like weeping, but no tears appeared on his cheeks.
Xue Wei smirked as he took the final step towards the criminal. With a casual slash of his sword, the criminal’s head went flying in the air. Xue Wei coldly looked at the rest of the body as it slumped to the ground, a fountain of blood spraying out from the neck.
Xue Wei gave a final glance at the body before he found a clean place on the platform and sat down, starting to meditate.
Once again, he had not spent a whole lot of energy, but he understood that the next battle would be harder. Therefore he needed to be as prepared as possible.
The commander was torn. On one hand, he wished to allow for Xue Wei to continue this bloodbath. He wanted to see where the limits lay with this youngster that was so obsessed with killing, but at the same time he feared the bloodlust that could be seen and felt when it came to Xue Wei.
Bloodlust was good in battle. It allowed for one to use all of one's potential while frightening and intimidating others. Unfortunately, it could grow too dangerous and take over the control of one's mind, making them into senseless killing machines on the battlefield, not caring for friend or foe, just slaughtering through anything that comes into sight.
Whenever the commander looked at Xue Wei, he saw a cold and callous person who enjoyed slaughter, but he also saw someone who was still in control. It was clear that he had not lost himself to the bloodlust but was using it to improve himself.
"Xiao Lei, what exactly have you done to this child?" the commander muttered under his breath. "He is merely a fifteen-year-old child, but he is already much more terrifying than most soldiers in the army." Fortunately, no one heard those words, but they had all felt the killing intent that was billowing out from the arena. Those that came into contact with it felt their bodies tremble, and their faces turned pale. It was as if they had been dropped into a bucket full of ice cold water.
Five minutes went by in a flash, and then it was time for the next battle to commence, where one more Fierce Beast appeared on the stage. Xue Wei looked curiously at this Fierce Beast, curious as to what exactly it would do to him. Was there a limit to how strong a beast could be before his unseen power would no longer frighten them?
He looked straight into the eyes of the beast and saw how it covered in fear, trembling as it retreated backward while crouching low with a growl.
"Interesting," Xue Wei muttered to himself. "Very interesting." he continued.
"Maybe I need to attempt my Mind Infestation anyway? It might backfire, but if it does not, then I might be able to get some clues as to why it fears me." Xue Wei had been worried about the beasts being specialized in spiritual energy and the soul, but he understood that if he wanted answers then he needed to take a risk.
Taking a deep breath, he launched the Mind Infestation.