Sage of Humanity

"The three seniors sought me out because of those captured Blood Race members, right?" Lu Ye spoke up.

Huang Liang nodded, his expression grave, "In the past two days, the Blood Race from the Sky Ravine has shown no activity, but the quieter it is, the more uneasy I feel in my heart."

Although it was the first time they had encountered this extraterrestrial race, just from the fact that they would invade other domains, it was clear that they were not to be trifled with.

Having suffered a major setback at Medicine Valley, Huang Liang and the others had been constantly worried that the Blood Race would return with a vengeance. Yet, surprisingly, there had been no movement from the Blood Race over the course of two days.

Anomalies usually spelled trouble, hence Huang Liang and the others had been monitoring any developments from Sky Ravine.

However, when facing such unfamiliar foes, mere surveillance could not yield much intelligence. The best course of action was naturally to start with the Blood Race itself.

The few Blood Race members Lu Ye had previously captured could undoubtedly play a crucial role. As long as their mouths could be pried open, a lot of intelligence regarding the Blood Race could be obtained.

Since the prisoners were captured by Lu Ye, it was only natural to inform him about the matter.

"The three seniors may do as you wish; my original intention in capturing them was for this very moment."

"Then thank you, young friend," Huang Liang expressed his gratitude.

"However, I would request the seniors allow this junior to listen in." Lu Ye was also very interested in the Blood Race. Everyone was facing this race for the first time, and no one knew more about them than the others.

"There is no harm in that!" Huang Liang agreed on behalf of the group.

A moment later, Lu Ye, together with the three others, arrived at the trap array where the captured Blood Race members were held.

Despite two days passing, those Blood Race members were still exceedingly weak, and with Soaring Dragon cultivators guarding nearby, there was no hope for them to escape.

Seeing Lu Ye and the others, the captured Blood Race members immediately became alert.

During the past two days, they had been simply held captive here, neglected by everyone. The sudden arrival of people clearly indicated that something was about to happen.

As prisoners, the several Blood Race members had already anticipated the worst-case scenario.

Standing outside the trap array, Huang Liang swept his gaze over the Blood Race members and spoke indifferently, "I am Huang Liang, Sect Master of the Imperial Heaven Sect from the Soaring Dragon World, wishing to inquire about certain matters. Is there anyone who would like to speak?"

"Pah!" A Blood Race member spat at Huang Liang through the big array. Some of them chuckled coldly, and the more acerbic ones shouted, "Want to pry into the secrets of our Blood Race? Wishful thinking! If you have the guts, just kill us!"

These Blood Race members, although each was extremely weak, still seemed incredibly fierce and stubborn.

Huang Liang was not surprised by this response. Without a word, he signaled with his eyes to one side. Immediately, a Soaring Dragon cultivator charged into the trap array and pulled out the most vociferous of the lot.

Once outside the trap array, the seemingly frail Blood Race member suddenly lashed out wildly, attempting to break free. However, the Soaring Dragon cultivator holding him was also strong and well-prepared; there was no chance for the captive to succeed.

After a few punches and kicks, the Blood Race member was beaten to the ground.

In the trap array, the other Blood Race members watched with bulging eyes full of rage, shouting incessantly but were ignored by everyone.

Huang Liang stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the Blood Race member in front of him, and asked indifferently, "What is your name?"

Although he was not versed in the ways of interrogation and torture, his experience taught him not to rush these matters. Instead of pressing for intelligence about the Blood Race and Blood World right away, he sought to get the Blood Race member to speak. As long as he could get him to open his mouth, there might be hope for progress.

"Call me grandpa!" The Blood Race member raised his head, his eyes filled with a bloody gleam as he glared fiercely at Huang Liang. His breath was weak, but his demeanor was aggressively unyielding.

Huang Liang nodded lightly, not wasting words with him. He simply raised a finger towards the Blood Race member's forehead. At the tip of his finger, there was a flicker of lightning.

A hint of wariness and fear flashed through the fierce Blood Race member's eyes.

Lightning techniques had a profound suppressive effect on the Blood Race, a fact that the cultivators in the Soaring Dragon World had come to understand. Regardless, the battle at Medicine Valley had given them at least some basic understanding of the Blood Race.

As Huang Liang's finger neared, the Blood Race member wanted to resist, but how could such a weakened body manage to do so?

The moment his fingertip touched the Blood Race member's forehead, lightning surged, enveloping the entire body of the captive.

The crackling sound of electricity filled the air as lightning serpents roamed over the Blood Race member, flickering and vanishing unpredictably. The captive blood race member seemed to endure immense torment and agony, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Amitabha, amitabha," Great Monk Guangjing murmured, with his eyes lowered, fidgeting with a string of Buddhist beads, murmuring some sutra under his breath.

The lightning abruptly converged, and the tormented Blood Race member collapsed on the ground like a broken doll.

"What is your name?" Huang Liang asked the same question quietly once more.

"I... am... your... grand... father!" The Blood Race member responded deliberately, gritting his teeth with each word.

Huang Liang pointed his finger at him again, and lightning surged once more.

After a short while, he withdrew his hand and asked the same question again.

After more than ten such scenarios, the already weakened Blood Race member had not a hint of life left, having been tortured to death.

But even in death, he did not yield to Huang Liang's will. His resolve was beyond imagination.

The Soaring Dragon cultivators guarding the area were chilled to the bone as they watched. They silently reflected that if placed in the same situation, they might not possess the Blood Race's fortitude and might have confessed under such brutal torture.

This has nothing to do with the height of one's morality, nor with the fear of life and death, it's simply that when the torture exceeds one's limits, the will collapses.

A member of the Blood Race was tortured to death, and Huang Liang did not care; from beginning to end, his expression was as calm as still water, giving the Blood Race the impression that "this person kills without blinking, with a fierce nature."

But in fact, Huang Liang had never done such a thing in his long life.

In the past, even if he encountered the most odious of people, he would just kill them outright, never bothering to torture them.

But the Blood Race was tied to the future of the Soaring Dragon World, so even if he was displeased internally, even if he had never done this before, he had to adapt and show no flaws on his face.

Only like this could he make the Blood Race fear him, dread him, when his image in their minds turned into someone even more ferocious than they were, the psychological defenses of the Blood Race would crumble without being attacked.

The process of torturing the Blood Race was also a psychological game, and Huang Liang, who was as sly as they come, would not fail to understand this.

Another Blood Race was brought out, his expression still fierce, but his eyes, when they looked at Huang Liang, clearly hid a tinge of fear.

Seeing their companions tortured to death by the lightning technique, even if their Blood Race bones were exceptionally tough, they could not remain indifferent.

Same method!

Huang Liang posed a question, then granted the Blood Race another jolt of the lightning technique.

However, no matter what kind of torture these Blood Race faced, they never loosened their lips, there were those who cursed Huang Liang loudly, those who attacked Huang Liang hoping for a swift death, and there were Blood Race who clenched their teeth from beginning to end, not making a sound, even biting their teeth to pieces...

After such an hour, there were four more corpses of the Blood Race.

However, not a single piece of information about the Blood Race had been obtained, not even the names of these Blood Race members.

The expressions of everyone became grave.

If one Blood Race was so resolute, it might be due to individual temperament, but if every Blood Race was like this, then it was a trait of their race.

These outsiders were not only extremely aggressive, with cunning methods, but also had extremely tenacious wills, facing such an enemy was undoubtedly a nightmare.

After the fourth Blood Race died, Huang Liang turned to look at the remaining few, his expression becoming hesitant.

It wasn't a matter of moral burden; as a cultivator of the Soaring Dragon World, and Sect Master of the Imperial Heaven Sect, he would have not a shred of sympathy for these invaders, because sympathy for the enemy is cruelty to his own people.

If he could extract information about the Blood Race, he might be able to prevent a lot of casualties in the Soaring Dragon World.

But he saw that, given the current situation, even if he tortured all the Blood Race here to death, he might not be able to extract any useful information.

Capturing members of the Blood Race alive was difficult, and missing this chance might mean never finding another way to obtain intelligence.

The few Blood Race clearly saw his hesitation and started to taunt and shout provocatively.

"Ah," Huang Liang sighed. Momentum is such that once you hesitate, it weakens. His momentary hesitation had undoubtedly made all his previous efforts futile. He turned his head to look at Yuen Changcun, "Does Haoran Academy have anyone skilled in interrogation and torture methods?"

He didn't ask Great Monk Guangjing, as the monks of Vajra Temple have always been compassionate and would not possess such methods.

Yuen Changcun spoke leisurely, "Everyone in the academy is a scholar!"

How could scholars engage in interrogation and torture? That would be beneath their dignity.

In the end, the Three Great Overlord Sects were all superior sects, and none had expertise in such unspeakable methods. It was only when the need arose that they realized there was no one suitable.

"From a distance, I heard the screams over here, and wondered what you were doing."

A gentle voice suddenly came from behind.

Everyone followed the gaze to find Little Miracle Healer walking slowly over. She stood beside Lu Ye and spoke, "Have you found out anything?"

Huang Liang shook his head with a wry smile, "Nothing at all."

Little Miracle Healer's demeanor was gentle, "Let me try, shall I?"

Huang Liang was astonished, "Fellow Daoist can certainly try, but these Blood Race have very tough mouths."

Little Miracle Healer smiled amiably, "Trying won't hurt, and just because their mouths are tough... doesn't mean they can't be pried open."

Lu Ye narrowed his eyes, instinctively increasing the distance between him and Little Miracle Healer.

Noticing this, Little Miracle Healer looked at him, "What's the matter, young friend?"

"Nothing much, just reminded of an old acquaintance," Lu Ye replied, his eyes twitching slightly.

Both healing cultivators, with the same features and showing the same kind smile, it was inevitable that Lu Ye would recall some rather unpleasant memories.

"Your acquaintance must be quite an interesting person to be so memorable," said Little Miracle Healer with a light and beautiful smile. She looked at the guards, "Please bring them all out."

The guards looked at Huang Liang, their eyes seeking direction. After a moment of contemplation, Huang Liang gave a slight nod.