55: So what if he's a demon? My disciple is the rule!

Above the Western Demonic Lands, blood-colored clouds churned.

Li Daoxuan held Su Mo by the back of his collar like a little chick, leisurely flying toward the Hidden God Sect.

Su Mo, being carried by him, felt a complex mix of emotions at this moment.

Shock, humiliation, resentment, and... a hint of bewilderment that even he hadn't noticed.

In all his life, this was the first time he had been "kidnapped" in such a manner.

Yet, he simply couldn't resist.

The Youth in White Robes, who looked even younger than him, possessed power that seemed like a bottomless pit; no matter how much he struggled, it was like an ant trying to shake a tree, unable to budge him in the slightest.

"Hey, put me down!"

Su Mo squirmed, like a fish out of water.

"I can fly by myself!"

Li Daoxuan glanced down at him and chuckled.

"You can fly?"

"Eighty percent of your Meridians are snapped, and your Dantian is so empty a horse could race through it. Fly, my foot."

"Keep squirming and see if I don't throw you down from this height of ten thousand feet."

Su Mo: "..."

He squeezed out a few words through his teeth: "You win."

After saying that, he simply gave up struggling and let Li Daoxuan carry him, hanging in mid-air like a piece of cured meat.

However, those rebellious eyes remained fixed on Li Daoxuan's back, seemingly plotting how to get revenge once his injuries healed.

Li Daoxuan didn't bother with him.

Just a little brat; what could he possibly do?

He was in a great mood right now.

He had recruited another SS-rank Disciple. Once they returned and he gave a greeting gift, the rewards returned by the System would likely make him a tidy profit.

"Once we're back at the Sect, I'll have this kid carry water and chop wood with Shi Tian."

"Kids need to do more physical labor to temper their character."

Just as Li Daoxuan was planning how to "exploit" his new Disciple...

"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"

Several streaks of light suddenly shot from ahead, blocking their path.

The light dissipated, revealing seven or eight Cultivators dressed in various Daoist robes.

Leading them was an old Daoist with an immortal air, holding a whisk, who appeared to have the demeanor of an expert.

They were all filled with righteous indignation, staring hostilely at Li Daoxuan... and the Su Mo he was holding.

"Halt!"

The old Daoist barked, his whisk pointing toward Su Mo from a distance.

"Fellow Daoist, please stay your steps!"

"This child is an innate demonic fetus, born from the evil thoughts of heaven and earth. Wherever he goes, life is devastated; he is a great scourge upon the world!"

A middle-aged Sword Cultivator beside him chimed in, his face full of stern righteousness.

"Exactly! We are following the orders of the 'Demon Extermination Alliance' and have been hunting this villain for half a month!"

"Fellow Daoist, since you are a person of the Righteous Path, please hand this Devil Head over to us to deal with, lest you lead yourself astray!"

They were clearly the "warriors" among the group that had just besieged Su Mo—those who ran fast and weren't scared off by Li Daoxuan's Aura.

Seeing Li Daoxuan alone and "holding" a heavily injured Su Mo, they felt there was an opportunity and emboldened themselves to give chase.

Su Mo, being carried, saw this group, and his eyes instantly filled with deep-seated hatred and... a hint of subtle self-mockery.

Here it comes again.

The same old rhetoric.

He had heard it so much growing up that his ears were practically calloused.

Wherever he appeared, these so-called "righteous individuals" would raise the banner of "exterminating demons for the Dao" and call for his death.

They didn't even ask for reasons or distinguish right from wrong.

Simply because he was an "innate demonic fetus."

As if his birth itself was an original sin.

Su Mo clenched his fists.

He didn't look at those Righteous Path Cultivators but instead looked up, staring intently at the back of Li Daoxuan's head.

He wanted to see.

What would this man, who was ridiculously strong and acted so inexplicably, do?

Would he be like the others and hand him over for the sake of so-called "righteousness"?

Or would he... Just then.

Li Daoxuan laughed.

He looked at the group of Cultivators before him, who spoke with such righteous conviction as if they represented the Righteous Path of heaven and earth, and laughed so hard he doubled over, tears nearly coming to his eyes.

"Hahahaha!"

"Demon Extermination Alliance? What a grand title."

"With just you few misfits?"

The old Daoist's face darkened. "Fellow Daoist, watch your words! We are doing this for the common people of the world!"

"For the common people?"

Li Daoxuan's laughter stopped abruptly, and his gaze instantly became bone-chillingly cold.

"Then where were your 'common people' just now when over a thousand people were besieging a mere child?"

"Where was your 'Righteous Path' when he was being hunted by both righteous and demonic factions with nowhere to run?"

"Now that you see he's heavily injured, you jump out to take advantage?"

"Acting like a whore while wanting a monument to your chastity—don't you find yourselves disgusting?"

His words were extremely blunt, essentially tearing away their facade and grinding it into the dirt.

The faces of those Cultivators instantly turned the color of pig liver.

"You! Stop your nonsense!"

"This boy is a demon! Every person has the right to execute a Devil Head; this is the law of heaven!"

"The law of heaven?"

Li Daoxuan laughed again, as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world.

"What is a demon?"

He extended a finger and pointed at his own fist.

"In this world, might makes right."

"If I say he is right, then he is right. If I say he is wrong, then even if he is right, he must be wrong."

Then, he shook the Su Mo he was holding as if displaying a rare treasure, a smile of extreme arrogance on his face.

"Today, I'll put it this way."

"From now on, this kid is a Disciple of my Hidden God Sect, he is Li Daoxuan's person."

"Whether he is righteous or demonic is not for you trash to define."

Li Daoxuan suddenly looked up, his gaze like lightning as it swept over everyone present. His voice, like the decree of an eternal God King, echoed through the clouds!

"My Disciple is the rule!"

"Who agrees?"

"Who objects?!"

Boom—!!!

The moment his words fell...

An indescribable, terrifying pressure flashed from Li Daoxuan's body.

That pressure wasn't directed at anyone, yet it seemed to make the entire world submit.

The blood-colored clouds were instantly torn apart.

The earth trembled.

Space itself wailed.

Those seven or eight Righteous Path Cultivators, who were just moments ago aggressive, didn't even have time to groan.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Like dumplings being dropped into a pot, they all fell from mid-air in unison.

They didn't just fall.

They knelt!

Their knees smashed into the hard, scorched earth, their kneecaps shattering instantly. They lay prostrate on the ground in an extremely humiliating posture, trembling like chaff in a sieve.

The leading old Daoist was especially terrified, his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, as a wet heat spread through his crotch.

Great Emperor!

No, this is definitely an existence beyond a Great Emperor!

Just a trace of his breath made it impossible for them to even think of resisting!

How was this a fellow Cultivator?

This was clearly a god or demon walking among mortals!

"Sen... Senior, have mercy..."

"We... we have eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai..."

"We won't ever dare again..."

Pleas for mercy rose one after another.

Li Daoxuan didn't even bother to glance at them again.

He simply carried Su Mo, turned around, and continued flying toward the Hidden God Sect.

As if he had just crushed a few ants blocking his way.

And behind him...

Su Mo, being carried by him, was now completely stunned.

He stared blankly at that back, clad in snow-white robes.

The words "My Disciple is the rule" were still echoing wildly in his mind.

All his life.

For the first time.

For the first time, someone chose to stand by his side when the whole world reviled him.

For the first time, someone was willing to make an enemy of the entire "Righteous Path" for his sake.

For the first time, someone... treated him as "one of their own."

A strange, never-before-felt emotion, like a seed, quietly took root and sprouted in his cold, hate-filled heart.

That feeling... seemed to be called... a sense of belonging.

"Hey."

Su Mo's voice was a bit hoarse, no longer as aggressive as before.

"What... what is your name?"

Li Daoxuan didn't look back; his voice drifted over lazily.

"Remember this."

"From now on, I am your Revered Master."

"My name is... Li Daoxuan."