WHAT! I Have To Kill Heaven's Son To Live!-Chapter 168: It’s Okay, Cloudia. I Am Selfish!

Reon didn’t feel an ounce of sympathy for Miu Jiang. If anything, he wanted to make him suffer more.

After all, a cultivator of the Golden Core Realm or above cannot be truly killed unless their head is severed or their heart is crushed...

Not unless you severed their head, crushed their heart, or destroyed all their cultivation.

Alternatively, if their cultivation is completely shattered and their limbs are severed, they will eventually die from blood loss, reduced to nothing more than an ordinary mortal.

If none of these fatal wounds are inflicted, then given a month or two, their severed limbs can grow back.

Their healing ability, however, is slower than that of Demonic Beasts, making recovery a painful and prolonged process.

Reon had planned to torture Miu Jiang for a week before ending him.

But now, with Miu Jiang’s Initial Core shattered, he was almost like an ordinary man.

Only his Foundation and Golden Core kept him barely alive.

But, the Golden Core cannot automatically absorb Spiritual Qi from nature like the Initial Core can—unless it is an Earth-Grade Golden Core or higher.

Which Miu Jiang clearly did not possess.

He would survive only until the Spiritual Qi inside his Golden Core ran dry.

So, even if left alone, death would come for him within a week.

Still, Reon was bored. He couldn’t hear Miu Jiang’s screams anymore because his throat was ruined.

"Tsk. I’m done playing with you," Reon said coldly. "I’m bored now."

"I guess this is where I say goodbye."

Miu Jiang’s burnt eyes welled with tears, gratitude shining through the pain.

W... U... U! (Thank you, God. After all these years, I see you truly exist. You heard my prayer.)

Swoosh!

With a swift motion, Reon raised his sword and brought it down in a clean slash.

Miu Jiang’s head rolled across the ground.

Crack!

Reon crushed it under his foot without hesitation.

Then he turned his gaze upward.

A small, bird-shaped artifact hovered silently in the sky—completely invisible to the naked eye.

So how did Reon see it?

When Reon used the vitality to boost his strength, his senses also sharpened to the level of a Golden Core cultivator.

It was then that he detected the faint presence of the hidden artifact.

"I see you’re watching everything, Niu Ling... no, the maid of Niu Ling—Ning Shao," Reon said, his voice sharp and cold.

"If you even whisper a word of what you saw here today to anyone... I promise, you’ll spend the rest of your life wishing you hadn’t, Wan... Qinzhi."

Before the warning could settle, Reon slashed through the air.

Whoosh!

The artifact shattered into pieces, falling like black feathers.

...

In a quiet, shadowy room deep inside the residence, darkness filled every corner—except for the soft glow of a crystal sphere in the center.

A woman sat beside it, watching silently.

The light flickered for a moment... then went out, leaving the room in complete darkness.

Ning Shao sat still in the silence, her eyes reflecting a glint of intrigue.

"Xue Taiyang... oh, Xue Taiyang," she whispered, her voice low and smooth. "I really did underestimate you. You’re more of a monster than I thought."

When Ning Shao first noticed Niu Ling acting strangely, she trusted her instincts.

She secretly sent a video-recording artifact to follow Miu Jiang, carefully carefully positioning it at a distance where it remained hidden and just outside the range of his Spiritual Senses.

It was only after Miu Jiang’s arm was first severed that she guided the artifact closer, allowing her to observe the final part of the battle more clearly.

And what she saw left her breathless.

"What a delightful surprise you’ve brought me, Xue Taiyang," she said, her tone tinged with amusement.

"You’re clever... dangerous... like a monster when it comes to those you care about. And there’s something strange about your power."

"And you even know my real name... how fascinating."

A soft, melodic laugh escaped her lips, echoing gently through the dark room.

"Blockheads like Niu Ling and that arrogant Yang Lie... they’re nothing compared to you."

She tilted her head slightly, her voice dropping to a murmur as her fingers brushed her lips.

"Did I... perhaps meet my soulmate today?"

Then, with a slow, graceful motion, she leaned back into the shadows. Her smile deepened—mischievous, hungry, and laced with anticipation.

"I wonder... how exhilarating it would be to tame a beast as wild as you."

...

In the Forest—

"Hahh... Hahhh...! T-That bastard’s a real devil!" Wei Lin gasped, stumbling through the thick undergrowth, fear driving every frantic step.

"He was pretending back at the Adventurer Guild... I don’t want to die at his hands!"

He had watched everything—from behind the bushes, hidden in the shadows. He saw it all.

The way Reon had slaughtered opponents who were hundreds of times stronger than him... with terrifying ease.

If Reon ever found out that he was the one who had secretly guided those enemies to him...

He gulped.

His head would roll next.

But just as that thought struck—

He froze.

Reon was already standing before him.

Wei Lin’s blood turned to ice. His knees nearly buckled. His eyes widened, trembling with terror.

"Y-Y-You...? H-How are you here?" he stammered, voice shaking like a brittle leaf in a storm.

Reon had noticed his presence long ago—watching silently from the shadows like a rat.

He hadn’t acted then... because, at the time, Wei Lin was nothing but an ant.

But even ants shouldn’t escape punishment. freёweɓnovel_com

Reon’s voice was quiet. Cold.

"You don’t need to know. Just accept your punishment."

"Wait, please—!"

Swoosh!

With a single, effortless slash, Wei Lin’s head fell to the forest floor.

Reon knelt down, retrieved the man’s small spatial pouch, then walked calmly back to the battlefield.

He collected the spatial rings from the corpses of Miu Jiang, Min Shing, and the others who had followed Niu Ling’s orders.

He looked down at himself—his body soaked in blood, like a demon risen from hell.

’I should wash up.’

With that thought, he made his way to the pond near his Spatial Tent.

The water was small and still, hidden among the trees, but its surface shimmered like polished glass.

Crystal clear. Peaceful.

He removed his blood-stained Hanfu and stepped into the pond.

Splash.

The cool water wrapped around him like a balm, cleansing the blood, the grime, the exhaustion.

It soaked into his skin, washing away the remnants of battle.

Minutes passed.

Reon now leaned against the mossy fringe of the pond, gazing up at the sky, his eyes half-lidded.

A thought drifted into his mind.

With a flick of his wrist, a swirl of fog appeared beside him—and from it stepped Cloudia.

The little tiger was still fast asleep inside the Inner Beast Domain.

Reon didn’t wake her.

Cloudia’s wounds were fully healed now. The scars that once marred her face and body had vanished, revealing her radiant beauty again.

But her expression was far from cheerful.

She was sulking.

"Master... why didn’t you listen to me?" she said, her voice soft, but edged with hurt.

Reon remained quiet for a moment.

"...I’m sorry, Cloudia. I had to do it. For what they did to you... and the little tiger."

"No—not that," she said, frowning. "Why didn’t you let me fight by your side, Master? I was almost healed!"

She puffed up, cheeks puffing like a grumpy child’s. Her pout made her face look round and adorably furious—like an angry little potato.

Reon looked away, slightly embarrassed.

"I... I was afraid that if you saw me like that—covered in blood, consumed by rage—you might start to hate me. For being a Bloodthirsty Demon."

He turned his eyes back to her.

"And you call that almost healed? You could barely lift your finger."

Suddenly—

A warm hand slipped around his shoulders.

Cloudia pressed her cheek gently against his, her warmth melting into his cold skin.

Reon stiffened for a moment, surprised—but said nothing.

"There’s no way I would ever hate you for something so trivial like that, Master," she whispered.

Her voice was soft, sincere. Full of warmth.

"I’d only hate you if you pushed me away—if you hid your pain and worries from me, or faced life-and-death battles alone without letting me stand by your side."

Reon felt a pang of guilt.

He had been selfish. Again. And once more, he had made her worry.

But he didn’t say anything—deep down, he believed what he did was the right choice at the time.

Instead of apologizing, he took her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it gently.

"It’s okay, Cloudia. I am selfish... because I just can’t bear the thought of you getting hurt."

Cloudia’s heart skipped a beat.

Her breath caught, her cheeks flushed—and he could hear her heart pounding through her chest.

"F-Fine... I’ll forgive you this time," she mumbled shyly.

Then, her voice turned playful. Mischievous.

"So what are you going to do to make it up to me, hmm?" she asked, smirking, eyes twinkling with teasing expectation.

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