Fenrir's Journey : I Shall Devour The Heavens!

Upon devouring Geng Chao's Golden Core, Fenrir felt a rush of energy enter into her body that made her own power increase by nearly twenty percent. Since eating thousands of monster cores would have had a similar effect, this showed that Geng Chao had been significantly powerful. Now, however, all that remained was the upper body of an old man who was trying to use the remnant Qi within his body to try and avoid bleeding out. This didn't last long though as, upon realizing his Golden Core was completely destroyed, Geng Chao coughed up a mouthful of blood before the light completely faded from his eyes...With the death of their Supreme Elder, many of the Disciples of the Heavenly Moon Sect fell to their knees in disbelief while some, generally those who only joined the Sect for personal benefits, immediately ran away. Though the majority remained behind, this was only because their Palace Leader, Wen Xiulan, was still present. During the entire battle, she had watched from the side with a solemn expression on her face, never once stepping in to assist the Geng Chao during the battle. Many of them had seen her talking with the terrifying blue-haired girl previously and harbored some small hope that they would not be slaughtered indiscriminately.Since she had already killed the annoying man who had looked down on her so much, Fenrir's bloodlust had settled down quite a bit. The amount of energy contained in his Golden Core had almost completely rid her of the hunger she had felt and, like a person who just wanted to relax after a large meal, Fenrir slowly restrained her Devouring Energy until it was only a thin layer around her. She couldn't completely restrain it just yet and, with how it allowed her to absorb the energy in the air very quickly, Fenrir had no need to.Once she had finished reigning in her shroud, Fenrir turned to Wen Xiulan and said, "One thing I learned from watching my Master is that, if the system of power is broken, there is no need to keep it from falling apart. It is better to establish a new system that can better the lives of people instead of trying to keep a status quo that only benefits a few...the Cultivators of this world are arrogant and haughty, looking down on people as if they are beneath them. True power is something wielded to protect others, not keep them down because you are afraid they may one day overtake you...the only reason people even think that way is because the system itself is broken from the start..."Fenrir believed that it was the policies and practices of those at the peak of power that determined how those at the lower rungs of society would act. If those in power were greedy and cruel, using people for their own benefit without any remorse, then why would those beneath them act differently. Nobody wanted to be the one exploited so, in order to make sure they could grow fast enough to avoid that outcome, people would instead exploit others for their own growth. Fenrir had watched her Master help 'normal' people become very powerful in just a few short years. Though there were certainly advantages to be had, based on lineage and race, her Master had taught her that people were fundamentally without limits...so long as they had a genuine desire to grow stronger, and were able to manifest that with their intent, nothing was impossible...If the circumstances were different, Fenrir would have tried to fix things with the Heavenly Moon Sect as her foundation in this world. However, things were already too broken and, with the Heavenly Moon Sect lacking the power to even protect itself, Fenrir knew it would be better for 'everyone' if she started someplace else. Even so, she looked into Wen Xiulan's eyes and said, "In exchange for your Cultivation Technique, I will protect this place as a guardian until I have been able to master its use. You will be the new Sect Leader and I will have you remove the cancer that has rooted itself in this place...if Cultivators are going to act dignified, they should at least have dignity themselves..."Though she didn't regret defeating Geng Chao, Fenrir still recalled the words Wen Xiulan had spoken before the old man interrupted them. If she left things as they were, the few good people that were within the Heavenly Moon Sect would become victims to other Sects that wanted to seize their resources. Fenrir didn't think it was fair to the 'innocent' that their lives had been ruined because of the decisions of a few people. Though she wouldn't do something troubling like becoming their new leader, Fenrir would still protect this place, at least until she could get a better understanding of the world and master a Cultivation Technique...(Fenrir's Commentary: 'Even if it is ultimately unneeded, I still want to learn how Cultivation works...')

With a powerhouse like Fenrir passing down 'judgment' upon them, there wasn't much the Heavenly Moon Sect could do to refute her. Wen Xiulan, under almost any other circumstance, would have never turned over her Cultivation technique to another. However, after witnessing how powerful Fenrir already was, it seemed rather senseless for her to treat it as something sacred. She had already dedicated decades of her life to supporting the Heavenly Moon Sect and, now that she had become the Sect Leader, Wen Xiulan didn't want to see it brought to ruin because of the foolishness of the deceased...Much like she had stated, Fenrir had absolutely no interest in seizing the Heavenly Moon Sect for herself. After getting a copy of Wen Xiulan's 'Sacred Heart of the Divine Phoenix', she moved to the top of the mountain where Geng Chao previously resided and went into her own seclusion. She did, however, promise to help protect the Sect and, should Wen Xiulan have any issues, Fenrir allowed her to bring the problem to her attention. In truth, her impression of Wen Xiulan wasn't that bad and, much like the women that surrounded her Master, Fenrir could tell she was a good person who cared for others...Contrary to what Fenrir's expectations may have led her to believe, Wen Xiulan had immediately taken decisive action in order to preserve order within the Heavenly Moon Sect. With some of their more opportunistic disciples choosing to flee after Geng Chao's death, she passed the order to detain them on sight should they reemerge. At the same time, excommunication orders for each member were issued within the circles of other Sects and, if it was found they were harboring former Heavenly Moon Sect members, Wen Xiulan promised divine retribution would descend upon them.Wen Xiulan was trying to manipulate information to make it appear as though their standing hadn't simply been reduced, but they had instead come under the protection of a more powerful force. It was impossible to prevent word of Geng Chao's and Tian Gengxin's death from spreading, meaning there would certainly be more than a few Sects who would seek trouble with them in the future. By putting on a strong front and taking decisive action, Wen Xiulan wanted to cause these forces to hesitate by making them believe the Sect wasn't weakened but had instead become much stronger.To emphasize this even further, one of Wen Xiulan's first decisions as Sect Leader was to change the Sect's name to the 'Devouring Moon Sect', with their emblem becoming a wolf's head with a crescent behind it. They had needed to update their Sect tokens so that the various runaways wouldn't be able to claim they were still members, causing their reputation to take a hit if they decided to exploit their former status. To prevent this possibility, Wen Xiulan sent out several messengers and servants to pass her decree to the smaller Sects while giving limited information about what exactly had happened...In Wen Xiulan's words, the former Grand Elder and the Sect Master had conspired against the student of a powerful Senior named Vahn Mason. As a result, the student had slaughtered both of them but, being a righteous practitioner, she and her Master had become Guest Elders and Protectors of the Devouring Moon Sect. Though Wen Xiulan felt a little cheap, using the name of Fenrir's dead Master to try and scare people, the fear of an unknown Senior who could raise a student capable of easily defeating a Golden Core Cultivator would cause them to exercise extreme caution...(Fenrir's Commentary: '??? Someone is saying good things about Master...???')

After finding her footing, Fenrir had stopped for a few moments, absolutely silent as the tense atmosphere around her became even more so. She had her head down, eyes glimmering blue as a very subtle blush reached her cheeks. For the first time, Fenrir was glad that her Master wasn't in this world since it would have been very embarrassing for him to see her slip. Though he would have undoubtedly praised her for pushing her limits further, it still made her feel giddy imagining her Master laughing at her mistake...As if to take advantage of this slight lull, Geng Chao stayed standing on the air and said, "It seems these old eyes of mine have grown hazy with age...you know, young Fenrir, if you stayed here at the Heavenly Moon Sect, we could teach you how to control your power. At the very least, I'm sure we could teach you how to stand on the air without issue, hahahaha~." Though Geng Chao had intended his remark in good spirit, the temperature in the air immediately dropped several tens of degrees as Fenrir's eyes locked onto him.Fenrir had spent the moment of silence trying to figure out what other abilities she didn't have access to while in her 'Devouring Shroud'. None of her external magic had responded to her and, though she could still influence the Elemental Energy in the air, it was all absorbed by her shroud. It seemed that the trade-off for using the very powerful ability was the cost of nearly all of her other skills. However, Fenrir believed this was a fair trade and, instead of shaping the energy around her as ice, she began trying to change the shape of her shroud itself. Since she had already experienced it during her previous attacks, Fenrir knew it was possible...Geng Chao realized he had made a mistake and cursed himself for forgetting the rather 'wild' nature of the girl below. He quickly evaded to the side as three hypersonic wolf maws came barreling towards him. They were still connected to the devouring energy, however, and began to chase after him very quickly, leaving tendrils of pure devastating in their wake. The Sect itself was also suffering a great deal of damage, as the chaotic energy and freezing temperatures were quickly reaching a degree that most Disciples wouldn't be able to tolerate.Knowing things were essentially irreconcilable at this point, Geng Chao was seriously considering giving up an arm or a leg just to try and appease the voracious woman below. He needed to buy time to get the news out to the other Sects about how dangerous she was or it may be too late to stop her once she figured out the true horror of Devouring Laws. Within recorded history, those that had been able to master the use of such Laws were almost invincible existences, requiring great power and artifacts from higher realms to oppose directly.While these thoughts were racing through his mind, Geng Chao dodged another one of the wolf maws with relative ease, only to find another maw break off from the 'tendril' and home in on his position. At the same time, all of the other tendrils 'exploded' into hundreds of smaller wolf heads that began to surround his position. Geng Chao's eyes widened in horror for what felt like the first time in more than a century as the Devouring Energy formed a sphere around him. He mustered up the majority of his True Qi to try and break through one of the thinner membranes but his connection with external energy was completely cut off. This meant he needed to use his own reserves to break through, something that would cripple his Cultivation progress for many years to come...As this outcome was better than outright dying, Geng Chao mustered up a large portion of the True Qi in his Golden Core and tried to shatter through the surrounding sphere. The protective aura around his body managed to shield him decently enough as he charged forward and, for a brief moment, Geng Chao harbored hope that he had escaped. At this moment, however, the 'hole' he had made gained jagged edges like teeth...and clamped down on him, separating the upper half of his body as his remains within the sphere were broken down...Golden Core included...(Fenrir's Commentary: 'Don't you laugh at me...!')

Chapter 66: Compromise