"Unhand her, you mongrels!" he shouted as he stepped into the clearing. But the moment he saw what was in front of him, he froze.
It wasn't a group hurting a girl at all. Instead, it was a group of girls playing in a shallow pool of water, splashing at each other and laughing loudly.
They all turned to him, covering themselves as soon as they realized he was a man.
"Ahh! What are you staring at, pervert!" one of them shouted.
"A creep!" another chimed in, glaring at him.
[System Notification: 25+ Negativity Points | Nearby targets express anger.]
Hen Zhe stood here frozen unable to think of anything,
"I'm so sor—" he said, but a sharp pain coursed through his body, cutting him off mid-sentence.
Damned system… I can't even be apologetic? he thought, cursing it.
He remembered the system's rules flashing in his mind: [Failure to show disdain = pain, and depending on the circumstances… DEATH.] And worse, [Failure to gain negativity points will result in death.]
Well… guess I have to pretend to be a complete asshole, he thought. Hen Zhe shook his head at the mere thought, but he valued his life too much to do otherwise.
"Relax, ladies. You have nothing to worry about," he said, mockingly. "It's not like you have any assets worth seeing." Just saying the words made him feel like a complete asshole, as a wave of embarrassment coursed through him.
[System Notification: +25 Negativity Points | Nearby targets express anger.]
The girls gasped in shock, their annoyance and anger spiking as soon as he uttered those words.
"How dare you!" another shouted, drawing her sword.
"Child. Calm down before you perish," Hen Zhe said, casually drawing his own sword.
Immediately, the aura of his weapon radiated outward.
[System Notification: +40 Negativity Points | Nearby targets express fear.]
"What… Is that…" one of them muttered, trembling as the oppressive resentment buried in the sword pressed upon them.
"Alright alright, let's calm down, okay, ladies? This is just a simple misunderstanding. Look, I don't want to kill thoses weaker than me… and I'm sure you don't want to die, right? So… let's just calm down." Hen Zhe said, his tone calm and easy, projecting confidence while subtly trying to rack up fear points, all while looking completely unbothered.
What am I even saying? he thought.
[System Notification: +30 Negativity Points | Nearby targets express fear.]
The women's held their swords tightly and trembling uncontrollably as soon as Hen Zhe pulled out his weapon.
"Who are you! Be warned our sect will find hunt you done till the ends of the realms if you dare to harm us!" one of them shouted, trembling, her confidence completely fading.
[System Notification: +20 Negativity Points | Nearby targets express fear.]
Hen Zhe, stood silent as he eyed the Negativity Points that stacked higher and higher.
Foolish juniors. There's no sect that can save you from me. If I wanted, I'd have killed you all already… and tasted each of your flesh…" Hen Zhe said, licking his sword. A flicker of guilt passed through him for pretending to be a creep, but… if it got him points, he'd do it. In his mind, it wasn't like he actually planned to follow through, after all… he was a nice guy at heart, so in his mind, this was totally somewhat fine.
[System Notification: +50 Negativity Points | Nearby targets express fear.]
The group of woman stood there frozen in fear, and in disbelief at the man's words of eating flesh.
"Who are you?!" a shout rang out.
Almost immediately, the moment the group of women heard the voice, a flicker of relief appeared on their faces.
"Second Elder! This man barged in while we were bathing!" one of them exclaimed.
"Who are you?!" the Second Elder repeated, ignoring the woman words.
"Who I am matters not…" Hen Zhe paused, thinking of how to maximize negative points.
"What matters," he continued slowly, "is what I desire."
As soon as he said those words, a chill ran down everyone's spines. From his earlier words and the intensity in his gaze, they could only assume one thing: he desired to devour them, their flesh, to be precise.
[System Notification: +100 Negativity Points | Nearby targets experiencing fear and horror.]
"Ha! It's just a Body Building Stage 1 weakling pretending to be strong," the Second Elder scoffed, a bit embarrassed that she had actually thought he was someone formidable.
"Are you sure? I'm just on the First Stage?" Hen Zhe said, as he clicked to breakthrough.
[Breakthrough Initiating… Negativity Points Consumed: 290]
[Breakthrough Complete: Body Building Stage 1 → Body Building Stage Stage 6]
"Impossible!" the Second Elder exclaimed.
"Nothing is ever impossible, junior," Hen Zhe replied coolly, deliberately using the title to make himself sound like an senior cultivator, even though he clearly looked younger.
The Second Elder's palms began to sweat. Breaking through five realms at once was unheard of, especially mid-conversation. It could only mean one thing: that the man before him had been intentionally hiding his cultivation, and to be able to hide one's cultivation realm required one to be a major realm above anyone trying to sense it.
"Senior… what is it that you intend to do here?" the Second Elder asked respectfully, restraining herself.
The moment everyone heard the Second Elder call Hen Zhe "senior," the relief they had felt shattered and disappeared in an instant.
"I intend to do nothing. It is your disciples who drew their weapons against me," Hen Zhe said.
The Second Elder immediately glared at the group of women upon hearing this.
"Senior, I apo—"
"No. You needn't apologize," Hen Zhe interrupted. "She does." He pointed his sword at the woman who had drawn her weapon.
The Second Elder's eyes shifted to her, and her gaze immediately softened as he recognized her. She looked conflicted, unsure of what to do, it was clear she was someone importance if she hesitated to do anything.
The woman gritted her teeth, understood, and didn't argue. Instead, she stepped forward, trembling and shaking, still nude, as she got closer to Hen Zhe what little pride she had completely left.
"I'm sorry, Senior, for drawing my weapon…" she muttered, kowtowing.
"No. State your rank and name, then apologize," Hen Zhe instructed, looking down at her.
The woman gritted her teeth, humiliated beyond anything she had ever felt in her life.
"Direct Disciple, Lian Yue, apologizes to Senior…" she muttered, barely audible.
"Louder."
"Direct Disciple, Lian Yue, apologizes to Senior!" she shouted, voice cracking under the weight of her own shame.
Hen Zhe showed no expression nor any happiness, well because he couldn't.
[System Notification: +300 Negativity Points | Target experiencing extreme humiliation and fear.]
"Apology accepted," he said flatly, keeping his expression unreadable.
God, I'm such an asshole… Hen Zhe thought to himself, feeling a shred of guilt. But what could he do? He needed these points, and it wasn't like he actually planned to kill anyone gods, no! Besides, if they were dead, how could he farm negativity points from them?
"Is this all you required, Senior?" the Second Elder asked, clearly asking if he wanted something else.
"Hm… Is your sect accepting elders?" Hen Zhe asked casually.
The Second Elder's eyebrows shot up, she hadn't expected such a question.
"I… apologize, Senior, but I do not have the authority to grant you an elder position. Though I am sure if you met our sect leader, she would gladly accept you, Senior!"