Those who had arrived this deep in the wastelands this quickly were all towards the top of their sects in power, and had experienced many things, but even they were chilled by the display before them.
There were quite a few Heavenly Lightning Sect disciples in the crowd as well, but they were all in the Qi Condensation Realm. If someone like Russell, who was in the Core Formation Realm was killed with such ease, they did not want to speak out and make themselves a target as well. They felt rage for Russell's death, as well as shame in themselves for not having the resolve to speak up to the group of Bloodfiend Sect youths.
It was known to all of them that Russell had a lifeline in the spatial talisman, and somehow he still ended up dying. This alone showed that the person who had killed him, one of the Three Emperors of the Bloodfiend Sect, had incredible power.
None of the Five Direct Disciples, or most promising Core disciples were present in the crowd, and so no one had the power to do anything about it. Russell himself was at the top of the Core Disciple strength list, and so only those who stood at the very peak of power in these lands could tread forward without fear.
"Now, if you know what's good for you, you'll all scram out of this city. This ancient city now belongs to the Bloodfiend Sect, and all those who linger within will be slaughtered without mercy," the Bloodfiend Sect disciple continued.
"What? You can't do that!" one of the disciples from the Heavenly Lightning Sect cried out in protest. None of them wanted to give up on an opportunity such as this.
"The Four Kings and Three Emperors have ventured deeper into this city, and only they are worthy of exploring it. Leave now, or face the wrath of the Bloodfiend Sect!"
The boy had a cultivation at the Half-Step Core Formation Realm, making him one of the strongest youths present. While there were several other Half-Step Core Formation youths in the crowd who could fight against him evenly, they would then have to deal with one of the Four Kings or Three Emperors of the Bloodfiend Sect, and few of them had the confidence of doing so.
Only the Soul Sage from the Divine Soul Sect, the two strongest disciples of the Supreme Battle Sect Mark had mentioned, or the Five Direct Disciples of the Heavenly Lightning Sect were capable of fighting against the strongest of the Bloodfiend Sect, and none of them were currently present in this crowd.
Anger washed over the crowd at the boy's remarks, but none of them dared to protest. The Bloodfiend Sect was a merciless group, and those in the crowd knew they would follow up on their threat.
A smile broke out on the Bloodfiend Sect boys face as he watched the crowd begin to turn around and leave. The group of four other Bloodfiend Sect youths, two girls and two boys, all who were in the Late Qi Condensation Realm, also watched the crowd begin to depart with smug expressions.
However, there were several Supreme Battle Sect youths in the crowd that did not back down. One was in the Half-Step Core Formation Realm, while the rest were in the Late Qi Condensation realm. Their strength was relatively even when compared to the group of Bloodfiend Sect disciples, and they stared defiantly at the group before them, and were ready to battle it out. The Supreme Battle Sect valued battle above all else, even their own lives.
It was ingrained into them from young that they could die, but they could never retreat as cowards. The only time they were allowed to retreat was when the odds of winning were completely hopeless. Otherwise, they would fight with all their strength. They were truly a group of battle maniacs.
"Fuck that!" one of the Supreme Battle Sect disciples yelled out. "The worst thing that happens is we die, but we'll never back down to assholes like you."
The lead boy frowned as he looked at the group before him, and he suddenly noticed John in the crowd, who was staring in anger at Russell's lifeless head. An even smugger smile appeared on his face as he spoke out towards John, as he noticed John was from the same Sect as Russell.
"Didn't you hear me? Leave now, or die. Staring at your friends head won't bring him back to lif-"
The boy's words caught in his throat as John's gaze was shifted from Russell's head to his eyes.
A terrifying aura suddenly and violently unleashed from John, making his robes flutter wildly from its power. Blood red eyes stared straight at the group of Bloodfiend Sect disciples, making them feel as if their very souls were frozen.
The crowd of retreating youths all noticed this terrifying aura appear behind them, and they all turned to see what was going on. Even with everything they had experienced, they had never felt something this...sinister.
The Bloodfiend Sect youth took one step backwards as he spoke out to John once more, this time with a voice trembling with fear. Despite coming from a sect filled with blood and violence, the boy was still chilled to his core just by experiencing this aura.
"If..you don't leave...our Four Kings..and Three Emp-"
Boom!
John kicked off the ground with all his might, causing the earth beneath his feet to explode backwards. Lightning coated his legs as he dashed forward in the blink of an eye, dashing directly past the Bloodfiend Sect youths.
John's speed was so great, that all five of the youths had barely been able to keep up with his movements. They suddenly turned around, and noticed John standing there with Russell's head in his hands.
John looked at the lifeless head with ever growing anger and hatred. The crowd heard a low and incredibly cold voice echo out from him.
"Don't worry. I'll bury the entire Bloodfiend Sect for you, as well as the one who killed you...brother."
While John did not say so outright, he had begun to consider Russell like a brother. John stored the head away in his spatial realm, before he once again looked towards the group of Bloodfiend Sect youths.
"Kill him! He's still only in the Late Qi Condensation Realm!"
The lead youth shouted out. They knew reasoning with John in his current state was no longer possible, and figured his aura was overstating his strength. No matter how terrifyingly sinister the aura felt, he was still only in the Late Qi Condensation Realm.
The group snapped out of their stupor, and quickly encircled John from all directions.
"Attack!"
Five powerful Qi attacks were unleashed, each piercing directly towards John. The Qi attacks were blood red, a signature feature of the Bloodfiend Sect. Those in the crowd felt the blood in their body tumble about and their souls ache out in pain just from watching the attacks, let alone taking it head on. None of them present were confident in being able to take on an attack from the lead boy, let alone all five of them at the same time.
Boom!
The attacks all exploded on John's position, engulfing him in an explosion of Qi. The explosion radiated outwards, causing each of the five youths to retreat to avoid injury. The crowd's face filled with disappointment, as they were hoping for the mysterious Heavenly Lightning Sect youth to defeat the group, and carve a way forward into the city.
The Bloodfiend Sect's Disciples' previously fearful faces slowly turned back into confident and smug faces. The lead youth scoffed as he watched the explosion begin to fade away.
"Idiot. An ant who doesn't know how big the heavens ar-"
The boy's voice once again caught in his throat, as he watched a standing figure begin to be revealed from within the fading explosion.