Die, Replay, Repeat

The woman's voice quivered despite the defiance she tried to muster. "Fang Xiu, I'm an ambassador of Isleland. If you kill me, you'll bring war between our nations!"

Fang Xiu stared at her, unaffected. His calm gaze bore into her, cold and unwavering. 

"War, you say?" His tone was laced with apathy, as if her words were nothing but noise. Then, his expression twisted—a haunting, monstrous grin spreading across his face.

"Who do you think you're to throw threats on ME?"

SWISH!

A flash of silver.

"Arghhhh!" the woman screamed as Fang Xiu's attack tore into her.

Fang Xiu leaned in close, his voice venomous and low, dripping with malice. "As a fourth-tier psychic, surely you've been familiar with pain… Let me help deepen your understanding."

The Pain Manifestation ability surged to life, and with it came an overwhelming torrent of agony. 

Invisible waves of torment ripped through her, amplifying every nerve in her body into a thousand screaming voices. Her mind, once a fortress of will, crumbled under the onslaught.

Tears streamed down her face, unbidden and uncontrollable. For the first time, she experienced a fraction of the torment Fang Xiu carried—a torment that reshaped her understanding of suffering.

"You're crying?" Fang Xiu sneered, tilting his head mockingly. His crimson and black eyes glinted with a twisted amusement. "Finally, you get it. There was a time when I, too, cried like you—curled up, drowning in despair."

His voice cracked, raw hatred pouring out like a flood. His face contorted, his voice rising with fury.

"But SHE didn't care. That woman… she caused my pain, fed on it, crushed me under her heel again and again!"

Fang Xiu's breathing turned ragged, his rage growing louder, more primal.

"Crying is useless!" he roared, his voice reverberating like a thunderclap. "Get up! Fight back! FIGHT BACK AGAINST ME!"

The intensity of his fury made the air itself seem heavier. The woman quivered beneath him, her lips trembling as she barely managed to whisper, "Pl-please… spare me…"

Her feeble plea seemed to pierce through Fang Xiu's storm of anger. 

Slowly, his expression shifted, the feral rage draining from his face. His eyes returned to their usual cold indifference, as if nothing had happened.

"Boring," he muttered, a note of disappointment in his voice. "I liked you better when you had some fight left."

He stood, the scalpel in his hand vanishing into thin air as though it had never existed. Fang Xiu stared down at her, speaking with detached finality.

"Beg. Beg for your life. Make it entertaining, and maybe—just maybe—I'll let you live for a few more minutes."

The woman, gasping for air, struggled to push herself up. Her once-proud demeanor was shattered, leaving her pale and trembling. Her pride as a fourth-tier psychic, and her arrogance as an envoy, all had been obliterated.

"Please…" she stammered, her voice cracking with desperation. "We didn't come to kill you… We wanted to invite you to Isleland… as a guest…"

Fang Xiu arched an eyebrow, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "Invite me? And you thought ambushing me was the best way to extend the invitation?"

Her hands trembled as she pleaded. "It wasn't meant to be like this! Please, I'll do anything if you let me live! Anything!"

Her final words spilled out in a desperate rush. "I'm still a virgin!"

Fang Xiu's lips curled into a grin, bright and unnerving. He laughed—a cold, humorless sound.

"Virgin or not," he murmured, leaning down until his face was mere inches from hers, "what does that matter to me?" His voice turned soft, venomous, each word cutting deeper.

"Even if you were a beast, a god, or something in between… falling into my hands means only one thing."

His tone suddenly dropped, guttural and monstrous.

"You. Will. Die."

SWISH!

A blur of motion. The scalpel reappeared, its blade gleaming like frozen moonlight.

The woman's eyes widened in horror, filled with an unwillingness to die and a desperate yearning to live.

THUD!

Her body collapsed heavily to the ground, landing in a growing pool of blood. The pink robe she wore spread out beneath her, resembling a cherry blossom blooming amidst the crimson stain.

At that moment, Fang Xiu opened Taotie's projection mouth, consuming the faint traces of Spiritual Energy that drifted from her dying body into the air.

The surge of energy coursing through him brought an almost intoxicating sense of pleasure as he exhaled deeply, releasing a long breath.

With the global rate of Specter invasions increasing rapidly, Fang Xiu knew he had no time to waste. He needed to grow stronger, and faster.

Being stuck at the third tier was far too limiting.

His gaze turned distant, his thoughts drifting toward the future. He couldn't help feeling a flicker of anticipation. 

He wondered what kind of Domain he would have once he advanced to the fourth tier.

His current abilities at the third tier had already been a pleasant surprise. The next stage could hold even greater potential.

Shaking himself out of his musings, Fang Xiu retrieved the encrypted phone issued by the Investigation Bureau and dialed.

"Send someone over. The envoys from Isleland attempted to assassinate me tonight. There were two attackers. One is dead, and the other escaped. The one who fled is named Gongben Teng'er. Issue a nationwide warrant for his capture."

Without waiting for a response, he hung up. There was no need to specify his location; The Headquarters could track the phone's GPS signal.

He wasn't planning to let Gongben Teng'er get away. After all, if you're going to kill, it's best to do it cleanly. Leaving just one alive was bad luck.

Fang Xiu, however, didn't consider himself a mindless murderer. He always gave people a chance.

Take tonight, for instance. When those two dared to block his path in the middle of the night, he had already given them an opportunity—to leave.

They didn't take it.

So, whose fault was it that they ended up dead? Only their own, for ignoring his warning.

As for whether killing an Isleland envoy would provoke a conflict between countries… Fang Xiu couldn't care less about such trivial matters.

If Isleland failed to apologize for their envoy's actions today, he wouldn't hesitate to trample them beneath his boots. After all, every mistake has a price, and someone must pay it.

Translator's note: Come on, just admit it, Xiu. You just want to kill them, no excuse.