By now, the poison inside their bodies had fully started to take effect. The series of explosions that shook the sect had caused everyone’s heartbeat to rise rapidly. Their blood circulated faster as panic spread among the students. As their blood flowed faster through their bodies, the poison also spread much more quickly.

By the time Aditya descended from the roof of the library and landed on the large open ground below, the effects of the poison had become impossible to ignore. Almost every student was on their knees.

Many clutched their stomachs while others grabbed their chests or throats. Their faces were twisted in pain. Some cried out in agony while others struggled to understand what was happening to them. The entire area had fallen into chaos.

The weaker students suffered the worst fate. Those below the 5th-order cultivation realm died almost instantly once the poison fully spread through their bodies. Their bodies collapsed where they stood, and many did not even have time to react before their lives were taken.

Some Peak 5th-order cultivators managed to survive the initial effects due to their stronger physiques, but they quickly became paralysed and lost consciousness. Without treatment, they too would die within the next few minutes.

As for the 6th-order cultivators, their stronger cultivation allowed them to survive the poison, but only barely. The poison immediately paralysed their bodies and robbed them of their ability to fight.

One after another, they collapsed onto the ground. No matter how hard they struggled, they could not move. Their cultivation could not protect them from the poison spreading through their veins. Without a proper antidote, all that awaited them was five to ten minutes of unbearable agony before death finally claimed them.

Within just a few minutes, the once lively mountain peak had transformed into a scene of despair. Thousands of students who had been eating breakfast and preparing for the Grand Ceremony were now lying helplessly on the ground. The screams of pain, confusion, and fear echoed throughout the sect while thick black smoke continued to rise into the sky from the burning buildings around them.

Anya and his other subordinates came and stood beside Aditya.

"Go find a student named Lin." Aditya ordered them in a cold tone. Meanwhile, he took out a wooden chair and lazily sat down.

Meanwhile, Lin was among the students who had eaten breakfast that morning. Normally, she rarely visited the cafeteria. As Victor’s personal disciple, she had access to much better meals and resources than ordinary students. However, because today was the day of the Grand Ceremony and her schedule was unusually relaxed, she decided to eat with the other students for a change.

Unfortunately, that single decision turned out to be one of the worst mistakes of her life. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected someone to poison the food of an entire cultivation sect. Such a method was ruthless, even by cultivation world standards. Yet that was exactly what had happened.

Compared to most of the students around her, Lin was in a much better condition. Her cultivation was stronger than theirs, allowing her to resist some of the poison’s effects. Although her body felt extremely weak and heavy, she could still move.

Every movement felt difficult, and her limbs no longer responded with their usual speed, but at least she had not collapsed completely like the majority of the students.

Around her, countless disciples were sprawled across the ground.

Others desperately tried to circulate their mana in an attempt to suppress the poison, only to discover that it was completely useless.

The entire Core Court had descended into chaos.

Then, at that moment, a figure descended from the sky and landed on the open ground before them.

Boom!

The impact caused dust to rise into the air.

Lin immediately raised her head and looked toward the newcomer. The moment her eyes landed on him, more specifically on his missing leg, her pupils shrank.

"It was you." Her voice was filled with anger.

Never had she expected Aditya to retaliate against the Night Rider Sect in such a manner. She had known that he would seek revenge sooner or later, but she had imagined a direct confrontation or an attack against the sect’s higher-ups.

She did not expect him to get his revenge like this. She did not expect him to poison thousands of students at once. She did not expect him to turn the entire sect into a battlefield.

As she looked around at the countless disciples lying helplessly on the ground, the anger in her heart grew even stronger.

When the Night Rider Sect attacked Axel City, they had caused damage and taken lives, but compared to what Aditya had accomplished in a matter of minutes, their actions seemed insignificant.

His methods were far more ruthless.

He was far more brutal.

In just a short period of time, he had brought one of the strongest cultivation sects in the region to its knees.

Aditya’s cold gaze landed on the figure who was glaring at him.

"That must be her." He pointed at her.

"Go bring her here."

Seeing several powerful cultivator figures charging at her, Lin’s face turned pale. She knew that she was in deep trouble. And because of the poison, she could not even escape because her body won’t have the strength to run or fly away. She herself could feel it that with each passing second she was slowly becoming paralysed.

Before anyone could react, Anya moved. Her figure blurred and disappeared from where she was standing. The majority of the students could not even follow her movements with their eyes. One moment she was beside Aditya, and the next moment she was already standing directly in front of Lin.

Despite the poison weakening her body, she still tried to fight back. She gathered what little strength she had left and attempted to attack Anya. Unfortunately, in her current state, she was nowhere near strong enough.

Anya looked at her with cold eyes. Then she casually raised her hand.

Slap!

The sound echoed across the area. The force behind the slap was overwhelming. Lin’s head snapped to the side as the world around her spun violently. Her vision blurred instantly, and a loud ringing filled her ears. For several seconds, her mind went completely blank.

She could not think. She could not react. She could not even understand what had just happened.

Before she could recover, Anya grabbed her by the shoulder. Like a helpless child, Lin was dragged across the ground.

Everything happened so quickly that she could not resist. By the time her senses began returning, she found herself being forced down onto her knees.

The surrounding students watched the scene unfold with pale faces.

Many of the students wanted to help. How could they allow the student of their leader to kneel before a man? It was about protecting the honour and pride of their cultivation sect. But Aditya had poisoned them, and it was impossible for them to move.

None of them could even stand properly. The poison had robbed them of their strength, leaving them completely helpless.

Meanwhile, Aditya remained seated in his chair. His expression was calm, and his eyes were cold.

He simply looked down at Lin as she knelt before him, making no attempt to hide the authority and pressure that radiated from him.

"You were among the group that attacked Axel City that night." Aditya did not ask her the question. He simply stated what he knew.

Facing death, Lin chose to be brave. She hid her fear and bravely nodded her head.

Aditya had learned about her true identity from Athena. During the attack on Axel City, Athena had fought against one of the members of the organisation. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Although the battle had not lasted very long, Athena still remembered certain details about her opponent. She remembered the woman’s voice. She remembered the colour of her eyes. Those were details that were difficult to forget, especially for someone like the Goddess of Wisdom.

Yesterday, while they were secretly moving around the Night Rider Sect and gathering information, Athena happened to spot Lin among the disciples. The moment she saw her, she immediately recognised her.

At first, she was not completely certain, but after observing her for some time and hearing her speak, all doubts disappeared. She was the same woman who had participated in the attack on Axel City.

Before learning the truth, Aditya already intended to kill her. As Victor’s personal disciple and one of the most important members of the younger generation of the Night Rider Sect, she was naturally his enemy.

However, despite everything that had happened between them, there was still a small part of him that might have shown mercy.

The possibility of mercy was extremely small. At most, there might have been a ten per cent chance that he would spare her life. However, that small chance completely disappeared the moment Athena confirmed her identity.

The moment he learned that Lin was not merely Victor’s disciple but also one of the people who had personally participated in the attack on Axel City, any remaining sympathy vanished from his heart. The attack had nearly cost him his life. It had brought suffering to his family, his allies, and countless innocent people who had been caught in the middle of the conflict.

Most importantly, his uncle lost his cultivation and was in a comatose state.

From that moment onward, Aditya no longer viewed Lin as an innocent disciple who had become trapped in a struggle between two opposing sides.

In his eyes, she had willingly become part of the people responsible for everything that had happened. She was no longer someone who deserved understanding or compassion. She was one of the enemies who had helped bring destruction to his home. And for people like that, Aditya had absolutely no intention of showing mercy.

Aditya took out a red butcher knife. It was the same red butcher knife that Wahid used.

At the same moment, Victor appeared at the edge of the core court peak. Seeing Lin kneeling before Aditya, he was beyond horrified.

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