Hidden passages in dark cultivator bases usually led to either treasure vaults or ritual chambers. Either option could contain valuable resources.

And besides, Levi's meridians had recovered enough during his meditation. Right about now, he could exert at most 50 percent of his full strength. While it wasn't his full strength, it was at least better than his previous weak strength.

"Alright, Let's see what's down there."

He stimulated his Astra energy and they collided against each other, the friction cause a small combustion that created a small ball of condensed light that floated above his palm and emitted soft blue light.

Levi descended the stairs slowly, with his other hand clenched tightly against his saber.

The passage was narrow, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side. The air grew colder as he went deeper, and the smell of decay started to enter his nose.

Then finally, after about fifty steps, the passage opened into a larger space.

Levi stepped into the underground space and immediately froze.

"What… the fuck?"

The underground space was enormous—at least a hundred meters across and thirty meters high. But that wasn't what shocked Levi. It was what was inside those cages that made Levi's face change slightly.

Cages.

There were dozens of metal cages in the underground space. Each of this cages are barely large enough for a person to stand in.

And inside those cages were men, women, children, elderly. In total, they were all at least two hundred individuals trapped in this underground prison.

But the shocking thing was that they weren't just imprisoned.

Every single captive had needles inserted into their arms, connected to tubes that drained their blood into tanks. The blood flowed slowly but constantly, drop by drop, filling glass containers that lined the walls.

Most of the captives were unconscious or barely conscious, too weak from blood loss to even move. A few stared at Levi with hollow, hopeless eyes as though they had given up on fighting back and just wants to die.

And moving between the cages were three dark cultivators, collecting the blood filled tanks in a hurry and killing the humans as they passed by.

As Levi watched with cold expression in his face, one of the dark cultivators, a thin man with greasy hair, approached a cage containing an elderly woman whose blood tank was nearly full.

He opened the cage casually, grabbed the woman by her hair, and slit her throat swiftly.

The woman didn't even have the strength to scream. She just gurgled quietly as blood poured from the wound, and her body went limp.

The dark cultivator tossed her corpse aside like trash and moved to the next cage.

Levi's hands clenched around his saber so tightly that the weapon's handle creaked.

His Slaughter Marks activated instinctively, resonating with the rage building inside him. The rune between his eyebrows began to glow with crimson light.

"Die."

Levi's voice was quiet, but it echoed through the entire chamber like thunder.

The three dark cultivators turned toward him, their eyes widening in shock at the unexpected intruder. This place was a hidden theh didn't expect for others to have found out about this place.

"Who—"

The greasy-haired cultivator didn't get to finish his words when Levi transformed into crimson thunder.

"Crackle!"

He crossed fifty meters in less than a second, his saber already in motion!

"Slash!"

The greasy-haired cultivator's head separated from his body before he could even register what was happening. His corpse collapsed, blood spraying non stop from the severed neck!

The other two dark cultivators's exoesion changed and theh instablt reacted as they fee their weapons.

"You dare?!"

"Kill him!"

One was a Level 7 Genetic Soldier with earth affinity. Stone armor manifested around his body as he charged forward with a war hammer raised high.

The other was a Level 9 Genetic Soldier with shadow affinity. His body flickered and became translucent as he circle around Levi for a flanking attack.

Levi didn't even slow down.

"Water Manipulation: Ice Spear."

"Whoosh!"

Moisture condensed from the air into liquid form, then instantly crystallized into a spear of pure ice. Levi flicked his wrist and the ice spear shot forward with bullet-like speed, stabbing directly at the earth cultivator's face.

"Clang!"

The ice spear struck the stone armor and shattered, but the impact was enough to make the cultivator stagger backward, disrupting his charge.

In that moment he stalled, Levi's figure flashed as he appeared behind the cultivator.

"Inferno Strike!"

"BOOM!"

His saber blazed with compressed fire energy as it descended in a vertical slash!

The stone armor, which might have protected against normal attacks, melted like butter under the intense heat! The blade carved through the defense and bit deep into the cultivator's shoulder, nearly severing his arm!

"Ahhh!"

The earth cultivator screamed m, dropping his war hammer as blood poured from the wound.

Levi didn't give him time to recover. His blade flowed like water as he sliced through the cultivator's neck in one clean motion.

Another head rolled across the floor.

"Shadow Bind!"

The shadow cultivator attacked from behind, his technique creating black shadows that erupted from the ground and wrapped around Levi's legs and torso!

The shadow ropes were incredibly strong, tightening like steel cables and restricting Levi's movement. More shadow ropes emerged from the darkness and wrapped around Levi's body, tightening his legs, arms and even his weapon.

"Got you!" the shadow cultivator growled as he laaughed happily.

"You're too reckless, instead of calling your fellow students, you proceeded to charge in alone against—"

"Golden Blood Explosion."

"BOOM!"

Power erupted from Levi's body as he detonated one of his golden Astra drops!

His muscles bulged, his strength increased exponentially, and the shadow tendrils binding him shattered like brittle thread!

"What!?"

The shadow cultivator's eyes widened in disbelief!

Levi's figure blurred as he activated Thunder Step again, crossing the distance between them before the cultivator could retreat into the shadows.

"Star Annihilation Slash!"

"WENG!"

Dark energy swirled around Levi's blade as he performed a horizontal cut!

The slash released a crescent of compressed darkness that carved through the air with devastating force!

"No—"

"Bang!"

The shadow cultivator was bisected at the waist, his upper and lower halves falling in opposite directions. His shadow affinity tried to keep him alive, darkness writhing around the severed pieces in a desperate attempt to reconnect them.

But Levi's struck out again.

"Inferno Strike."

"WHOOSH!"

Flames erupted as it incinerated through the entire flesh. Within seconds, nothing remained but ash.

Silence fell across the chamber.

The entire fight had lasted less than twenty seconds.

Levi stood among the three corpses, his chest heaving slightly. He hadn't even needed to use his Divine Tiger transformation.

He absorbed the their celestial mark as their essence tranfeomed into pure slaughter energy that embedded its self on his neck.

The patterns had filled his face and now going down his neck.

Levi took a deep breath, forcing his killing intent to subside. His Slaughter Marks gradually stopped glowing, the crimson pattern on his face and neck faded.

Then he turned his attention to the cages.

The captive humans, were staring at him with shock and disbelief.

"P-please…" one man whispered hoarsely from his cage. "Are… are you here to save us?"

Levi walked toward the nearest cage, his saber still in hand.

"Yes."

He raised his blade and struck the lock.

"Clang!"

The lock shattered, and the cage door swung open.

The man inside, a middle-aged worker covered in bruises and needle marks, stared at Levi with tears streaming down his face.

"Thank you… thank the Federation… thank you…"

Levi moved to the next cage. And the next. And the next.

His blade rose and fell repeatedly, shattering locks one after another. Each time a cage opened, another captive was freed.

Some could walk on their own. Others needed to lean on each other for support. Many were too weak to even stand and had to be carried by those who were stronger.

Levi worked methodically, opening cage after cage. As he did, he called out instructions.

"Remove the needles from your arms carefully. Apply pressure to stop the bleeding. Help anyone who can't walk. We're getting everyone out of here."

The captives obeyed, moving as quickly as their weakened states allowed. Some were crying. Others were too shocked to show emotion. A few were unconscious and had to be dragged out of their cages by fellow prisoners.

After ten minutes, Levi had freed approximately two hundred people.

"Thank you so much sir!"

"Sob, thank you!"

"You saved us!"

"We are finally free thanks to this young man!"

They all cried, laughed and with tears streaking down their faces. They never expected to be saved from this torture and they crowded Levi, kneeling, bowing and touching his legs as they thanked him.

"Watch out!"

A young boyeho appeared ten years old with dried skin and thin body knelt down before Levi, thanking him with tears in its eyes.

He suddenly lunged at Levi from within the crowd!

His small hand moved with speed even faster than genetic soldiers! There was also a dagger coated with sickly green liquid in his hands too!

"Die!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.