THUMP!
The sound of ribs breaking was loud and clear. It sounded like a bundle of dry sticks being snapped mercilessly.
The Elder's body went limp. He was now held up only by the T-800's iron grip on his destroyed wrists.
The T-800 brought his knee again, with maximum force, straight into the Elder's face.
CRUNCH!
Bone, cartilage, and teeth gave way. The Elder's head snapped back with a wet, pulpy sound.
Then the limp and barely breathing body, the T-800 let go of the wrists. But before it could hit the ground he grabbed the Elder's head and without any dramatic pause, showing to others or savoring his win like any other human.
He twisted hard.
SNAP!
A final, dry sound. The neck broke cleanly.
The T-800 let go. The body crumpled to the ground in a messy heap. There was no victory cry. No boast. He just stood over the corpse, silent and still.
The whole fight lasted less than ten seconds.
[Scanning…Target still alive.]
"Impressive…very impressive!" Before T 800 could step forward and finish the job, Elder Jin's praising voice stopped him.
Elder Jin had a look of cold satisfaction on his face.
"That's enough, Tie Yuan, You've proven your point. And your strength."
Everyone was relieved for some reason. T-800 cold bloodlust was too otherworldly and suffocating for all of them.
"The target is not terminated," T-800 coldly and yet calmly gave the fact.
"Terminated?" Elder Jin felt a little weird at the choice of word, then he laughed, dismissing it as some form of Northern dialect.
"No, Tie Yuan. To kill him now is mercy. To let a Core Formation expert live as a crippled slave in the dark mines? That is the true punishment of the Shadow Wolf Sect."
He waved his hand dismissively at two trembling disciples. "Drag this trash away. Throw him in the slave pits."
"Yes, Great Elder!" The disciples hurried forward, grabbing the unconscious Elder Feng by his legs to drag him off.
"My kill," the T-800 said, stepping forward to block their path, his systems urging him to acquire the energy.
"Your victory, my decision," Elder Jin stepped in, his smile vanishing as he glared at Tie Yuan. "You have passed the test. Do not push your luck, Enforcer. Now, go register before I change my mind."
[Calculations complete. Probability of conflict with Elder Jin 98%. Stand down.]
The T-800 lowered his hands and turned away without a word.
T-800 defiance was not something out of character, because this is the Boundless Seal Realm, filled with mad killers who do not need any motive to murder.
So T-800 claiming his kill and not finishing his kill was not at all surprising for them at all.
Elder Jin watched him go, a thin, cruel smile on his lips. "A fine weapon." a faint scheme in his eyes too, he is thinking something deep.
Lin Feng scrambled from his hiding spot, his legs still shaking. "Master Tie Yuan... the... the Main Hall for registration... it's this way!"
The crowd of disciples parted as they walked past, whispering in hushed, terrified tones.
"...Did you see his eyes? No emotion at all..."
"...Broke Elder Feng's wrists just like that. I didn't see him use any Qi..."
The T-800 walked on, following the boy. His sensors logged every word. The data was useful. The energy from the uncrippled Elder, however, was a calculated loss.
The two of them reached the Martial Hall.
T-800's presence instantly attracted everyone's attention and the slow murmur got snuffed out.
A suffocating silence as everyone glared at him. The news of T-800 just killed a Core Formation bare hand hasn't reached them yet.
Lin Feng quickly guided him to the counter.
The old scribe behind the counter finally looked up from his ledger, his eyes barely registering the giant man before him. It seems he has seen it all and T-800's presence does not shock or amuse him at all.
"Yes? What do you want?" he asked, his tone dripping with boredom showing his lifelong bureaucrat life.
Lin Feng quickly stepped forward, bowing respectfully. "Honorable Scribe, this is Master Tie Yuan. Head Enforcer Wei Tuan recruited him as an Enforcer. He's here to register."
The scribe took the token and looked the T-800 up and down with clear disdain. "Another vagrant," he sighed as shook the ink out of his brush.
"Name?"
"Tie Yuan."
"Rank: Enforcer. Any sect affiliations?"
Lin Feng looked up at T-800 for an answer but T-800 stayed mute.
"None?" Lin Feng answered in return.
"Thought so," the scribe muttered, making a note.
"Mark: Twenty strokes... on the shoulder?...heh Already?" The scribe snorted as if he was looking at a fool.
Then he pulls out a small pouch and tosses it at the T-800 without looking up.
"Your weekly stipend, Ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Now get out. Next!"
The T-800 caught the pouch with one hand. He felt the familiar low-level energy radiating from the stones inside.
This was a valuable data point. This organisation, this sect pays its members with concentrated energy sources.
Lin Feng quickly bowed to the scribe. "This way, Master Tie Yuan! Now we can get your new robes! Then your room and other…" he said, leading the T-800 out of the hall and towards another building.
"Next, the Quartermaster's Hall, Master!" Lin Feng chattered nervously, leading him away. "You'll get your Enforcer robes."
"And the Spirit Stones… you can use them in the town market! For better weapons or even cultivation pills! It's a great help, really."
The T-800's internal processor logged every piece of information as they reached the Quartermaster's Hall.
The Quartermaster's Hall was a large, cluttered warehouse that smelled of oiled leather, sweat, and cheap metal. A one-eyed old man sat behind a counter, polishing a greataxe with a dirty rag.
Lin Feng bowed nervously. "Honorable Quartermaster, we're here to collect the new Enforcer robes for Master Tie Yuan."
The old man spat on the floor. "Another one? Sect's burning through you boys faster than firewood." He looked the T 800 up and down, his single eye widening slightly at the sheer size. "Gonna need the biggest one we have. Wait here."
He disappeared into the backside dark aisle.