“It is impossible for one such as you to know of the stone. Even more so of its wretched state. Unless what you say is true.”

William kept his mouth shut, waiting for the Seedling to continue. In fact, he would welcome it the longer it took to speak.

Spiritual Energy: 196/440 (20% per Hour)

Just a little under three minutes. All he needed was to keep it talking for just a little more time, and there was a real shot he would be able to pull through this.

“Did my lady tell you why you need possession of the stone?”

“Not directly, but I can make a good guess. Empress Sophia mentioned that the secret realm is being drained. I can only assume that would stop if I have control of the realm stone.”

More seconds passed in silence, with William again rooting for it to last longer in his mind.

“It will not be necessary,” the Seedling declared, “The time has not come for such drastic actions.”

He stared at it, wondering why it was suddenly willing to do something counter to what Sophia wanted. It had been ‘my lady’ this and ‘my lady’ that the whole time until now.

William would have loved to sate his curiosity but smartly kept his mouth shut when the Seedling fell silent again as it stared at him, as if studying the meaning of his existence. He didn’t care. A sentence was repeated in his mind.

Whatever was needed to waste time.

Besides, it was easy for William to focus on other things, though he wished it hadn’t been something that was a little worrisome.

The horrific damage he caused to the Seedling’s body was recovering quickly, not enough where all the wounds would be healed, but it would be in his best interest to reactivate his martial skill when possible to kill it without delay.

“You will be spared.”

William blinked, wondering if he had heard correctly. “What?”

The Seeding ignored him.

“But your companion is required to stay. The damage caused must be reversed. I am sure if what you say is true, she will be glad to sacrifice her life to help my lady’s goals.”

Spiritual Energy: 199/440 (20% per Hour)

It was almost ready. Just a bit more time.

“That was not Empress Sophia’s goal!” William said loudly when the Seedling seemed to be done talking to him. It was focused back on Princess Jin, “The only thing she ever mentioned was getting the realm stone. How did that turn into killing my friend?”

He was ignored. It was standing over the princess, and more worryingly, the constant golden glow that her body emitted suddenly changed. It started pulsing.

“How much can she help anyway?” William tried to keep the panic out of his voice as he glanced at his Spiritual Energy, “She’s too weak to replace whatever was broken.”

The Seedling gave him a quick glance, and though its face didn’t have any features other than the red eyes, it felt to him like it was amused.

“You underestimate the potential inside a soul. This one, in particular, will be the key to restoring what was taken by the abomination placed by the traitors.”

“Then use me!” William yelled when a tether was created between the princess and the Seedling. One that originated from where Princess Jin’s heart was located. “Mine should be of better use to you!”

All he needed was a few more seconds. It would give him more than enough time if it took his offer.

“I think not. Even if you did not possess the mark and it was more palatable to use you, your soul can not compare.”

Spiritual Energy: 200/440 (20% per Hour)

Finally.

A precious second was wasted as he prepared his Qi, spreading it evenly through his body as quickly as possible. In that time, the tether made of light grew stronger, and the glow that Princess Jin’s body gave off dimmed minutely.

[-200 Spiritual Energy]

The familiar flames of Qi erupted around his body, returning the strength that had been sorely missed.

William grunted in surprise when the vines constricting his limbs actually put up a fight when he tried to free himself. However, that was only for a moment. He let out a frustrated growl as he ripped the vines to shreds before forcing himself to fall to the ground faster.

All actions that wasted time. The Seedling only spared him a glance, but instead of preparing for battle, it continued whatever it was doing with Princess Jin.

“If you truly wish to help the Empress, you will not interrupt.”

William no longer found it in himself to care for what it said. He was already well within striking range, and his fist was heading right at the Seedling’s head. He very much intended for that head to turn into a bloody mist.

It sounded like his fist collided with a rock. Thankfully, he was nearly indestructible with the Fury of the Five Heavenly Dragons active. Instead of the rock winning the collision, it was more comparable to a sledgehammer meeting a rock.

The Seedling’s face was rocked back violently, the strange orangish-red blood pouring from the newly created open wounds. William was disappointed that this was the extent of the damage, but he would do his best to complete his goal of killing this damn thing in the subsequent attacks.

Besides, the movements of the Seedling were slowed down to the extent that even his regular state without the martial skill activated would be enough to deal with.

“It is already too late for your companion. This will only end her life at a quicker rate.”

That was inconsequential, even if true. The other option was to let the princess die slowly. Right as it finished its sentence, William landed another punch under its jaw, shattering the bottom part of its face before it crumbled into pieces, falling away from its face.

For the first time, he saw an emotion other than anger in the Seedling’s eyes.

Fear.

William felt a dark satisfaction at causing that. It meant he was on the right path. With a roar, he pummeled the Seedling’s ruined head, his fists crashing into it relentlessly as he released his frustration.

“Empress Sophia will punish you. Even death will not be able to save you.”

“I doubt that,” William snarled as he wrapped his hand around the Seedling’s neck in a crushing grip, “I might have made some mistakes with our interaction, but refusing to follow Sophia’s wishes brought us to this point.”

Its voice already sounded faint. As if it barely had the energy to convey those few words. Not even twenty seconds had passed since he activated the martial skill, and he would end it now.

The Seedling barely had a head to speak of after the damage it had taken, with most of it missing or the few areas left damaged beyond recognition. It was more of a crater filled with blood than a body part resembling anything a humanoid would possess.

“Either way, it would have led to my end.”

William was a little thrown off by that admission, but it didn’t stop him from what he had planned.

He used his other hand to grip what little was left of the jaw before pulling up with a titanic amount of effort. The vines that had constricted him at the start were nothing compared to the needed strength now.

With a savage snarl that made William sound more like a beast than a human, he ripped the head off the Seedling’s body, laughing psychotically when he immediately felt the life in them disappear.

[+217000 XP]

[Trait Activated | -21700 XP]

[Level Up! | 5 Stat Points Added] x7

He ignored the system alerts and dropped the head to the ground before stomping hard enough to shatter it into rubble, leaving an imprint below. As for the body, the golden tether still connected it to Princess Jin. However, the decapitated body was visibly losing its form.

It took no longer than a few seconds before it disintegrated into sand. William watched it drop between his fingers before looking at the princess, discouraged when her state hadn’t changed.

He shuddered at the rush he got from ending the Seedling's life. He slowly sat next to the princess before pulling out the Vitality Restoration Pills. All he could do now was wait and hope that the sacrifice of his cultivation for the foreseeable months would be worth it. And it would be, as long as Princess Jin recovered from whatever was happening to her.