The Heaven-Cursed Costs Life, But I Have Infinite Life-Chapter 17: The Butcher’s Revenge, Students Arrive
Allen glanced over at Lilia, who was staring blankly at the bonfire.
Last time, the Art of Immortality unexpectedly broke through to the second layer because Lilia had sucked his blood, consuming his lifespan and threatening her own life.
He wasn’t sure if he could try it again.
"Hey, why are you staring at me?" Lilia noticed his gaze and frowned.
"Nothing," Allen replied. He turned away, deciding against taking the risk.
The previous breakthrough to the second layer of the Art of Immortality had been a total accident. He wasn’t about to gamble on it. Letting Lilia suck his blood was actually life-threatening.
"Hmph, I’m going to sleep. Try not to get any ideas," Lilia huffed. She shifted closer to the fire and found a comfortable spot to lie down.
Allen sighed silently. He couldn’t get away from this dangerous woman fast enough; he certainly wasn’t going to lean on her voluntarily.
The night was quiet.
Allen had no desire to sleep. He tried practicing both the Art of Immortality and the Martial Sect Cultivation Method. The Art of Immortality ran automatically, continuously cultivating itself, but the Martial Sect Cultivation Method required his active guidance.
So far, his proficiency in the Martial Sect Cultivation Method was still zero.
Allen sat cross-legged, cleared his mind, and began to cultivate.
...
Blackspire, The Butcher’s Meat Shop.
Inside the underground casino, the air was still thick with smoke and chaos.
The Butcher leaned back in his chair, his brow furrowed deep with unease.
Mason had gone out to capture Allen and had gone missing unexpectedly. It had been two days with absolutely no word.
He already knew that Allen had entered the Academy’s Beginner Dungeon. He couldn’t make a move again until Allen left the dungeon.
"Sir!" At that moment, a subordinate rushed in, breathless. "We found news about Sir Mason."
"Where is he? How is he doing?" The Butcher jumped up from his chair, his fat body shaking with sudden energy. The worry in his eyes didn’t look like a fake.
The subordinate swallowed nervously before speaking. "We found Sir Mason’s wolf tooth pendant in the dump. Next to it was a pile of ash, left from a burned body. Sir Mason might be..."
"What?" The Butcher gasped, his fat body swaying as he slumped back into the chair. His face muscles twitched, his expression turning fierce and cold. "What exactly happened? Explain yourself!"
The subordinate swallowed hard and detailed what he had found regarding Mason’s body.
When he finished, the Butcher clenched his fists, his eyes turning terrifyingly cold as he sat in silence.
The subordinate glanced at him and hesitantly said, "Sir, maybe Sir Mason is still alive."
"Hmph!"
The Butcher snorted, his murderous aura exploding outward, nearly knocking the man off his feet.
He knew how important that wolf tooth pendant was to Mason. He would never lose it; if it did go missing, he would find it. But Mason had been gone for two days. It was likely he was dead.
"The Heaven-Cursed... they are truly powerful!" The Butcher gritted his teeth, forcing down the rage boiling inside him.
"Sir, what should we do? If that student really killed Sir Mason, we must avenge him. Why not ask Mr. Kyle for help?" the subordinate suggested.
Kyle was the richest man in Blackspire. Although he was just an ordinary person, his influence was no less than that of the Lucas City Lord, backed by a huge number of strong men.
The Butcher took a deep breath and slowly shook his head. "The City Lord election is coming soon; he might not help me."
"Then what do we do?" the subordinate asked worriedly. Mason was the strongest fighter here. If even he couldn’t handle that student, the Butcher trying to do it himself would just be sending himself to die.
"Go to the Assassin’s Guild. Offer a bounty of one million gold coins. I want this Allen captured alive. I want him to suffer, unable to die!" The Butcher’s face twisted into a grimace, his voice cold and sharp.
"One million gold coins!" the subordinate gasped. Such a huge bounty could even hire a Stage 5 expert.
The man seemed to be overestimating that student.
The Assassin’s Guild was a massive underground organization, with influence spread across every corner of the continent. Rumor had it that their strength was no less than that of the Church of Light; they even had bounties posted on the Pope.
However, they lived deep underground, much like this casino.
"Rest assured, Sir. I’ll handle it right away," the man said respectfully, not daring to add more words before turning and leaving.
...
Inside the Academy Dungeon, Allen had no idea he was being targeted.
He sat cross-legged, practicing his cultivation technique. The process was dry and boring.
The bonfire died out, and the sky began to lighten.
Allen was dozing with his head down when a faint, sweet scent filled his nose, and a wave of heat brushed against his cheek.
He jolted awake and opened his eyes. A stunning face was right in front of him.
It was Lilia.
Here again!
Allen was shocked and angry, raising his hand to slap her away.
But this time, his wrist was grabbed by Lilia.
"Hey, don’t you know how to be gentle with a beauty?"
Caught red-handed, Lilia didn’t look panicked at all. Instead, she acted superior, as if Allen were the one who did something wrong.
"What do you want?"
Allen was enraged. Spreading his other palm, he began condensing a colossal fireball.
Lilia was startled. She let go and backed away quickly, glaring at him fiercely before swallowing hard. "I’m hungry."
"Wait here. I’ll go hunt a wild rabbit. Don’t even think about drinking my blood," Allen said, fleeing the area with a bit of panic.
"Ah, I almost made it work," Lilia sighed, watching his retreating back. She frowned, wondering if she could find some kind of sedative to knock him out so she could feast properly.
"He’s such a stingy guy!" She muttered resentfully, her heart racing with agitation, then relit the bonfire.
Soon, Allen returned, carrying a cleaned-up wild rabbit.
The fire burned brightly, filling the air with a delicious aroma. Lilia turned her frustration into hunger and quickly devoured most of the rabbit.
She let out a satisfied burp, showing no grace whatsoever, and asked, "The Academy assessment should be starting soon, right?"
As soon as she spoke, the ground in front of them shimmered.
The space twisted slightly, and a line of figures appeared.
They were the graduates participating in this assessment.
The group looked around curiously until their eyes landed on Allen and Lilia.
Or rather, the piles of crystal cores sitting in front of them.
There were ten piles of crystal cores in total, stacked by level. From Stage 1 Level 1 up to Stage 1 Level 10, each pile contained thousands of cores. Altogether, there were over 40,000 cores!
"Where did so many crystal cores come from?"
The students gathered around, staring greedily at the piles and licking their lips.
Allen stepped forward, blocking their path with a wide, fake smile. "Classmates, there are basically no goblins left in the dungeon. You might just be wasting your time."
"What?" one student gasped, frowning. "Then what about our assessment?"
"If you can’t reach Stage 1 Level 5 within the dungeon, you can’t graduate," Allen replied calmly.
The students began to murmur, their expressions filled with worry.
"Allen, you killed all those goblins, didn’t you?" one student demanded, pointing at him.
With so many crystal cores, they must have all dropped from goblins. Only Allen, who had awakened the Heaven-Cursed, had the power to do this.
Others grew furious, staring at him with hatred, ready to swarm and tear him apart.
But Allen kept smiling, unbothered. "Do you really think I’m that powerful? That was that guy over there."
He pointed to a broken, scarred body nearby.
"It’s a Demonic Soldier!"
A student shouted, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"How is that possible? Where would a demonic soldier come from?"
"This is the Academy’s beginner dungeon! The weakest demonic soldier is Stage 5 Level 1. How could someone so strong be here?"
The crowd murmured in confusion.
"Everyone, quiet!" Lilia stepped forward.
The talking stopped instantly as everyone turned to look at her with curiosity.
Allen felt a twinge of irritation. When he spoke, no one listened, but Lilia had everyone’s full attention.
As the top beauty and the only daughter of the City Lord, no one dared to disrespect her.
Lilia continued, "Allen is right. A demonic soldier appeared in the dungeon and slaughtered many goblins. Luckily, the two of us joined forces and managed to kill it."
"You killed it?" one person asked, frowning. He clearly didn’t believe her.
Both Lilia and Allen were SSS-rank Rare battle-class Awakened, but they were both beginners. There was no way they could take down a Stage 5 demonic soldier. Even if Allen used his Heaven-Cursed power to unleash a Forbidden Spell, it still wouldn’t be enough.
"Maybe some of the credit goes to the goblins," someone guessed from the crowd.
"Even though there are no goblins left, at least we have all these crystal cores. They’ll make up for it a bit," another student said, stepping toward one of the piles of crystal cores.
Boom!
A massive fireball exploded right in front of him. The scorching heat wave blasted forward, throwing him straight into the air.
A giant, deep crater formed on the ground, filled with roaring flames.
