Bai Zihan did not respond imdiately.
Chong Sheng's words lingered in the air, heavy with intent.
Bai Zihan's gaze lowered slightly.
Not toward Chong Sheng, but sowhere else.
The System Rewards Section.
His eyes scanned it briefly.
(Still nothing?)
A faint thought passed through his mind.
It seed like he would need to kill Chong Sheng to obtain any sort of acknowledgnt from the System.
He lifted his eyes again, back to Chong Sheng.
The latter was still speaking.
"...I can help you understand the Western Region in ways no one else can."
"...people like Qin Lingxiao don't act without layers of preparation-"
Bai Zihan listened calmly.
And he did not deny it.
Chong Sheng was right.
A forr Demonic Emperor.
A man who once ruled over countless demonic cultivators.
Soone who had stood at the peak of the Western Region.
If there was anyone useful against forces from those regions- It would be him!
(He would be an asset.)
Bai Zihan acknowledged that.
There was no denying it.
In fact, his value was imnse, especially against Qin Lingxiao and others from the Western Region.
But Bai Zihan's eyes grew colder.
(Still too dangerous!)
That single thought cut through everything else.
Even the System still didn't give him any sort of reward, perhaps implying that Chong Sheng was still dangerous.
Previously, when Bai Xueqing defeated Nie Fengzhuo, he received rewards.
He ca to the conclusion that it was because if Bai Xueqing had lost, it would have hurt the prestige and influence of the Bai Clan.
On the other hand, Nie Fengzhuo would have gained influence and beco stronger.
By defeating him, perhaps the System considered it as dealing with a potential future threat or cutting off Nie Fengzhuo's wing.
Since there were no rewards from the System now, Bai Zihan took it as a sign
that Chong Sheng was still significantly dangerous to him.
Even if that conclusion was wrong, he didn't want to take any chances.
Chong Sheng's advantage was also his greatest danger.
If he were weak-
If he were insignificant-
Then Bai Zihan wouldn't have hesitated; he would have kept him just for information.
But Chong Sheng was not an ant.
He was a dragon.
In the end...
It wasn't logic that decided this.
It was sothing far simpler.
His own weakness and fear.
Otherwise, if he had confidence that he could kill Chong Sheng whenever he wanted, he would have kept him like Lin Xuan.
Bai Zihan slowly raised his head.
His gaze settled fully on Chong Sheng.
"Sorry!"
A single word.
Chong Sheng froze.
For a brief mont, his mind went completely blank.
He had already said and tried his best.
He was certain that Bai Zihan would realize that keeping him alive was the
better choice.
But that single word destroyed everything he thought.
"What?"
The word barely escaped his lips.
His pupils shrank.
"No-wait-"
He still wanted to prove himself.
To prove that keeping him alive was the wise choice.
But Bai Zihan had already moved.
There was no hesitation.
No second thought after that.
Cold light flickered across the blade.
Slash!
For a brief, frozen instant, ti seed to stop.
Chong Sheng's eyes widened.
Not in fear, but in disbelief.
As if, even at the very end, he still could not accept that this was how it would
end.
A thin red line appeared across his neck.
Then Severed.
His head fell.
His body remained standing for a fraction of a second longer before collapsing
heavily onto the ground.
Thud!
The forr Demonic Emperor-
A man who had once stood at the peak of the Western Region was dead again.
Bai Zihan stood where he was.
His sword lowered slightly.
His expression unchanged. Both choices were bad-
Either kill him and deal with Qin Lingxiao by himself, or keep him and risk being
betrayed one day.
But he chose the one that would lead to less regret.
A faint breeze passed through, carrying with it the tallic scent of blood.
Then a faint flicker appeared before Bai Zihan's eyes.
The System Screen.
This ti-
It reacted.
Bai Zihan knew what it ant.
The rewards for killing Chong Sheng had co.
Bai Zihan's gaze shifted slightly.
Landing directly on the familiar interface.
[Unclaid Rewards Available]
Killed the Reincarnator, Chong Sheng: [ Grandmaster Alchemist Knowledge]
Bai Zihan's eyes paused on the words.
His brows furrowed.
(...Alchemist?)
A strange expression surfaced in his eyes.
Not excitent.
Nor satisfaction.
But confusion.
Grandmaster!
That ant Grade-7 and above.
At that level, one could already be considered among the absolute peak of
alchemists.
Even across the entire Desolate Heaven Empire, he might be the number one.
Such individuals would be revered.
Sought after by countless factions.
Bai Zihan understood that clearly.
The reward was good.
There was no denying it.
But his gaze dimd slightly.
(...not what I need.)
That was the problem.
He had no lack of pills. The Mu Clan-
His mother's clan-already supported him.
They might not currently possess a Grade-7 alchemist, but that didn't matter.
At his current level, Grade-5 pills were more than sufficient.
Even Grade-6 pills, he already had plenty.
And more importantly, he didn't need to refine them himself.
Why would he?
When others could do it for him.
Ti was his most valuable resource.
Spending it on pill refining...
When he could cultivate, comprehend, or strengthen himself instead was
inefficient.
Only those without a strong background would choose to beco alchemists
just to obtain cultivation resources.
Bai Zihan's eyes lingered on the reward.
A faint, almost imperceptible dissatisfaction surfaced.
"Isn't this a bit useless?"
He muttered quietly. There was a trace of regret.
Compared to what Chong Sheng could have offered, this reward seed a bit
underwhelming.
He could have gained more from him alive.
The thought surfaced naturally.
But it faded just as quickly.
Bai Zihan closed his eyes briefly.
Then exhaled slowly.
There was no point in thinking like that-
Or regretting over spilled milk.
He chose to receive the reward.
The mont he did, a surge of information flooded his mind.
Formulas.
Processes.
Fla control.
Countless years' worth of alchemical knowledge, compressed into an instant.
Bai Zihan's body remained still.
But within, his understanding transford completely.
From ignorance to mastery.
From observer to Grandmaster.
After a few breaths, the surge subsided.
Bai Zihan stood there quietly.
His gaze distant.
Then it widened.
He has completely underestimated the knowledge of when the System labelled
it as Grandmaster.
It wasn't Grade-7 but Grade-8, the best in the world.
Even in the Western Region, as far as he knows, such alchemists would be
highly sought after and respected.
Of course, it was still just refining pills hence Bai Zihan didn't consider it as
highly as it deserved.
(It's not entirely useless.)
Even if he didn't plan to refine pills personally-
This knowledge had value.
With such knowledge, he was certain that with the formulas he gained, he
could easily help the Mu Clan take over the market share of the Desolate
Heaven Empire's pill industry.
Not to ntion-
"Fire control."
Since gaining the knowledge of a Grandmaster Alchemist, his mastery over fire
had greatly increased.
And such skill was not only useful for refining pills but also for combat.
Obviously, he didn't have any special fla apart from what his Qi could produce, which wasn't particularly powerful.
It could be used for pill refining but the quality wouldn't be as good as those using higher-grade flas.
If he wants to refine High Grade pills with good quality, obtaining a Good Fla was necessary.
Obviously the System Store has them, though it was ridiculously expensive.
Spiritual Flas which is one tier better than ordinary fla was 25,000 System Points.
Then there was Beast Flas and Earth Flas which had more than 70,000 System Points.
Although he understood that it would be good not only for refining pills but
also for battle, he didn't want to invest so much System Points right away. Moreover, right now he only has 50,000 Points.
Then there was also Qi control, which he could clearly feel had improved.
After all, to refine pills, precise control over Qi-both internal and external- was essential.
So while he initially thought his battle power wouldn't be affected, it actually
has.
With control over Qi, he can fight more efficiently without expanding more Qi than needed though with his Supre Dao Bone, there was no need to worry much about that.
Bai Zihan stood there quietly, his gaze still lingering on the System interface.
The initial disappointnt that had surfaced within him had already begun to
fade.
(It's not as useless as I thought.)
Bai Zihan slowly lifted his gaze.
It fell upon the corpse lying not far away.
Chong Sheng!
Head separated from body.
Blood had already begun to pool beneath him.
Bai Zihan stared at it for a mont.
Then a faint flicker of Qi gathered in his palm.
A small fla ignited.
It was not a special fla.
Just ordinary fire ford from Qi.
Without hesitation, Bai Zihan flicked his wrist.
The fla shot forward. Landing directly onto Chong Sheng's corpse.
Whoosh-
Fire spread instantly.
Clothes burned.
Flesh blackened.
Bones crackled under the heat.
Bai Zihan did not look away.
His gaze remained fixed on the burning body.
Even though the System had already confird Chong Sheng's death-
He did not trust it completely.
Not when it ca to soone like him.
(A reincarnator...)
Soone who had already defied death once.
Who was to say he couldn't do it again?
No!
Bai Zihan would not leave even the slightest possibility behind.
The flas intensified. Under his precise control, they consud everything.
Ti passed quietly.
The crackling of fire was the only sound.
Bit by bit-
The body disintegrated.
Flesh to ash.
Bones to dust.
Until finally-
Nothing was left.
Only a small pile of grey ash scattered across the ground.
Bai Zihan watched for a few seconds longer, confirming that nothing of Chong
Sheng is left.
Only when he was absolutely certain, did he retract his Qi.
The flas vanished.
A faint breeze passed by, dispersing so of the ashes into the surroundings.
As if the man nad Chong Sheng had never existed at all.
Bai Zihan turned around and left with satisfaction.
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