Chapter 458: Choice
"What should I do?" Looking at Ling Tian, who only minutes ago had been so overbearing, now transformed into a headless corpse in the blink of an eye, An Na's eyes were filled with confusion.
She didn't care what world-changing event was unfolding on the other side of the planet, in the Pacific Ocean; the mess right in front of her was the central focus of her thoughts now.
An Na was Ling Tian's lover. She usually lived alone in the villa, and, preferring quiet solitude, hadn't even hired a full-time maid, only occasionally having a cleaner come in by the hour.
This habit of loving to live alone had, ironically, now saved her life.
If Ling Tian's death were to become known to others, even if everyone understood she couldn't possibly have killed him, she would still be embroiled in immense trouble.
After reluctantly breaking through to the Five Tiers with the Zerg base's help, Ling Tian, believing he could simply lie back and level up with its assistance, had become increasingly immersed in a life of debauchery and extravagance, convinced he should fully enjoy life.
Luxury cars, mansions, yachts, antiques... all sorts of opulent goods became common acquisitions for these power-wielding nouveau riche. Those capable of maintaining arduous cultivation amidst such temptations were truly few and far between, and Ling Tian was clearly not among them; "flaunting wealth at night" was hardly his style.
A five-tier powerhouse could casually make astronomical sums of money in numerous industries. Even if they possessed no other skills, their sheer power alone could be converted into vast wealth.
They were also frequently invited by shipping companies to serve as the ultimate deterrent on vessels, safeguarding maritime transport along a select few highly profitable routes. This was because, in terms of cargo volume, air freight and sea freight were not on the same order of magnitude; some bulk commodities still required shipping.
And this was merely the lowest tier of odd jobs; things like tributes from various regions, gifted properties, and so on, were simply countless. These individual oligarchs amassed money, power, and influence, concentrating all three into an eternal ruling class.
Ling Tian was, after all, a young man. With money and power at his disposal, the women around him grew in number, as he pursued his harem dreams.
He bought villa after villa, all to "keep a beauty in a gilded cage."
He didn't care that these beautiful women were there for his money, because all he needed was a sense of self-satisfaction, fulfilling his thirst for conquest and collection. One could say it was a relationship of mutual benefit.
His early experiences of poverty had subjected him to the torment of being looked down upon. Once he became successful, it was natural for him to flaunt it, eager to tell everyone about his rise to prominence.
But none of that mattered now. With Ling Tian's final self-destruction, everything vanished into thin air.
"I can't stay in this house any longer. He was supposed to go to Meili's villa two days from now; by then, I won't be able to hide it anymore."
Ling Tian, wanting to indulge in the life of an emperor, had created a "card-turning" schedule for his "harem," rotating who would accompany him every three days.
An Na's current time was her second day.
Once the fourth day arrived and Ling Tian still hadn't appeared, Meili, the next in line who knew the schedule, would discover the truth.
"I need to quickly gather the valuables in the villa and leave immediately." She knew full well that, having come from an orphanage with no background, she was merely an ability user who had fortuitously broken through to the first tier.
"Those greedy hyenas would stop at nothing to uncover the truth of Ling Tian's death!"
"In this house... besides all this, what else is valuable?" Gazing at the pile of jewelry, cash, and various spirit materials on the table, An Na continued to earnestly contemplate her escape.
"Right... blood!" The coppery taste hadn't fully dissipated from her mouth yet; the fresh blood that had splattered onto the corner of An Na's lips after Ling Tian's head exploded reminded her.
Ling Tian had only managed to break through the limits of his aptitude and reach the Five Tiers after consuming a vast quantity of natural treasures and rare elixirs. Therefore, a considerable portion of medicinal power still lurked within his blood.
As the coppery smell gradually faded, a refreshing sensation, deeply invigorating, slowly began to replace the iron-like taste of blood, causing her spirits to lift.
Of course, this was also because An Na was too weak; thus, even a single drop of blood could give her a faint sensation of actively cultivating.
"The greatest fortune is indeed him..." At this moment, An Na, having savored the taste of marrow, naturally turned her attention to the headless corpse.
"Abandon your moral bottom line, eat him... and you will gain immense power, no longer needing to rely on men."
"The reason humans are human is because we possess morality! We absolutely cannot commit such heinous acts as cannibalism!"
"What do *you* think?" The angel and demon within An Na's heart were locked in a constant battle. She was somewhat indecisive, and subconsciously opened the pocket watch she had been fiddling with in her hand.
"Sister, will you protect me?"
Looking at the photo inside the pocket watch, a clear, young girl's voice suddenly echoed in her mind.
An Na recalled every little detail from their time together at the orphanage, but an unforeseen tsunami had erupted, killing the girl she had always considered her closest family.
"Of course I will!" Her own unhesitating reply from back then was still vivid in her memory.
"It's a pity I didn't keep my promise..." As she murmured this to herself, An Na's eyes welled up with tears, which began to stream down her cheeks.
The tears, mixing with the blood on her face, washed away a portion of her makeup.
"But Big Sister will definitely avenge you!" To exact revenge on the instigator of the tsunami, she ultimately chose power, preparing to take Ling Tian's corpse and transform it into the fuel for her own ascension.
The corpse of a five-tier powerhouse, if she could stomach digesting most of it, would be enough to propel her to the upper echelons of the Four Tiers within half a year.
A cultivator who had consumed a large quantity of natural treasures and rare elixirs during their cultivation process was, in themselves, an excellent spirit material. It was just that five-tier corpses were exceedingly rare, and consuming lower-tier ones resulted in too low a conversion rate.
Aside from the few Bai Mo had killed at the time, for over a decade, most five-tier superhumans had kept their battles to a point-and-stop approach, with almost all encounters being sparring-style exhibition matches.
Possessing extended lifespans, momentary impulses were no longer enough to make these "old geezers" stake their lives. The intensity of their battles was firmly controlled to a degree where there would be no life-threatening danger among them.
"No matter what, I want to become stronger!"
Although her power was still far from being able to utterly destroy that scourge, no matter what, hope must remain.
PS1: Well~ Bitcoin took a big dive today, had to deal with the coins in my hand, so the update is late.
PS2: Recommending a book, "Super Incinerator." The title initially shocked me....
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