Healing System

[ERROR USER HAS—]

[COMMENCING RAPID REGENERATION]

As the system messages fell, Michael snapped back to reality, immediately using Sanctuary.

The surroundings were immediately lit up with a golden light, and now, he had full control over the entire area, Sect Leader Ji included.

Yet the problem of his heart currently being out of his body was not very pleasant.

But just as those thoughts fell, he felt a lump form in his chest, which suddenly began growing at a rapid pace until, eventually, it formed some kind of makeshift golden heart.

It seemed to do the job of pumping blood, but it was hollow, as though a single push could make it break.

"Oho, you can regrow your heart—interesting." Sect Leader Ji mused before clenching his hand, crushing Michael's heart.

The blood oozed down his wrist and onto the floating ground Michael had made.

Nonetheless, this fight just became personal.

"We could've done this a bit more peacefully, I'd say," Michael remarked and suddenly raised his hand.

Before Sect Leader Ji could even react, he brought the hand down, and the entire sky turned golden as thousands, if not millions, of swords began hurling down.

Michael had taken the liberty of constantly stockpiling all of his golden swords in the sky—just in case an emergency like this arose.

The moment those Swords of Light entered his Sanctuary barrier, their power was increased immensely.

Even more so, Sanctuary seemed to feed off a tiny bit of his other locked affinities, increasing the strength of the Swords of Light exponentially.

They crashed onto Sect Leader Ji—the same person who had been so confident just a moment ago.

Yet now, he was visibly panicked, dodging each sword as even a single skim was enough to sever his head.

But obviously, Michael would not let it come close.

A willing sacrifice presented itself—therefore, he would take this chance.

Due to the overwhelming amount of swords assaulting Sect Leader Ji, he was unable to avoid Michael's mana influence, making him halt for a moment.

Yet that moment was enough for Michael to use his imagination to the fullest.

Similarly to how Sect Leader Ji had taken out his heart, Michael imagined taking out his mana core instead.

And surprisingly, it worked—though the strain on Michael's mind was a bit too great, immediately making him feel dizzy.

Nonetheless, he used Sanctuary to preserve this mana core, creating layers upon layers of mana that would make it so that even if Sect Leader Ji died, the core would still function.

"You!" Sect Leader Ji shouted in horror, his strength zapping down to the point where the swords began piercing him left and right.

His regeneration was no longer as great as it was a few moments ago since Michael was able to essentially turn it off using Sanctuary.

But there was one last thing he wanted to try, and that was—mind control.

Charm would be a good skill to test, but the constant upkeep of mana made it nearly impossible for Michael to maintain control over a target as strong as Sect Leader Ji.

Therefore, he imagined an alternative—carving out a piece of Sect Leader Ji's mind and replacing it with Michael's wishes.

That too seemed to be a bit overboard, as Michael could feel his own Flow mana core cracking—yet slowly healing itself at the same time.

But he knew that if he went any further, irreversible damage would be done to his body.

However, he would not need to go that far, as his imagination seemed to be enough.

Sect Leader Ji was foaming at the mouth. Meanwhile, Michael was imagining his memories disappearing, leaving only obedience behind.

His sole goal? To survive long enough to repay the debts and act as a sacrifice.

And by the time the Sanctuary skill ended, Michael had full control of this supposedly Tier 5 powerhouse.

'Or at least, I hope.'

[You do. I can't see any problems since the skill automatically fills up any flaws your imagination might have,] the system added.

'Hmm.' Michael hummed before asking, 'How did he survive my earlier attack?'

[Rapid regrowth of cells or something along those lines. His head was detached, but the moment you looked away, it reattached. He seemed conscious during the process too, so he was likely expecting it. But I highly doubt he was expecting you to turn him into a vegetable forcibly,] the system chuckled.

'Well, it's not my fault—I didn't exactly want to risk it,' Michael said and looked at the mana core in his hand.

It was just one small glowing marble that emitted a good amount of mana.

However, he did get an interesting idea.

'Do you think I could absorb it?'

[No. If you try, you'd likely be killed from the backlash. Plus, only monsters can feast on mana cores—high-level monsters. Just keep this mana core for the sacrifice,] the system replied.

'Fair enough.' Michael nodded and held the mana core in his palm. 'Can you store it?'

[...Probably?] the system said after a short pause, and immediately, the mana core disappeared. [I guess I can. Neat. I'll hold onto it so you don't do anything stupid and eat it by accident.]

'Yeah yeah, do that.' Michael waved the system off and turned his gaze toward Sect Leader Ji.

"Can you hear me?"

"Yes," Sect Leader Ji replied in a monotonous voice.

"Good. I'm sure you already know your role, but just in case you don't, I will repeat it," Michael stated and cleared his throat. "You are a sheep, and I want you to live like one until I come to butcher you. You can't leave your sect grounds, and you must uphold the prior bet we've made."

He was met with a nod in response, and Michael took this chance to finally glide down to the ground, holding Sect Leader Ji by the wrist.

"Go back to your sect and stay there. Say you entered closed cultivation, and come back right after the tournament is over," Michael ordered before making his way toward the Azure Dragon Sect.

Sect Leader Ji was following him, and since he didn't want to be seen walking with their sect leader, he gave him one more order.

"Head in later. I'm going first."

He was met with a nod again, and soon, Michael headed inside, spotting his group talking amongst each other.

"Master Mujin," Hu Rong greeted. "The tournament was already announced."

"What is it going to be?" Michael asked.

"A tag-team capture-the-flag, from what I understand," Hu Rong explained, pointing off into the distance. "Each team will have a leader, a defender, and two attackers... However, since the other teams have less than four people, they have free reign and can stay or move wherever they want."

'Hmm... So it's rigged again—but this time, it's rigged only for us,' Michael thought. 'I wonder... did Sect Leader Ji predict this?'

But he did not have much time to ponder further, as the Azure Dragon Sect's elder stepped up.

It was a woman who had replaced Chu Dong, and from the looks of it, this wasn't Sect Leader Ji managing to disguise himself. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire

Therefore, Michael let out a relieved sigh and proceeded to listen.

"Welcome, everyone. I've come to announce the rules now that you all have gathered," the elder said before continuing. "This is a fair game, much like the last tournament. However, it's fair to all—therefore, killing is allowed, teaming up is allowed as well. The only sect that has four people is the Golden Dragon Sect, therefore, they have the restriction of needing to follow the original rules."

She trailed off, looking at the other sects. "As for you all—whether you team up or not does not concern us. The failsafe our sect leader had come up with, in case someone died prior to the tournament, was this."

"After all, we are seeking fairness," she finished with a grin that made Michael's brows twitch.

'Fair my ass, you hag,' he really wanted to exclaim but held himself back as she pointed to each of the four flags in the distance.

They were colors that matched their sects, and since the Azure Dragon Sect grounds were flat, seeing every single person was not difficult.

But at the same time, the downside was that his entire team could be seen too.

"Golden Dragon Sect disciples, there will be notes by your flag. It will detail your positions. I want you to pick one out and stick with it for the rest of the tournament. Am I clear?" the elder stated.

"Of course. We'll be sure to make it as fair as you claim," Michael replied with a soft, saintly smile that sent shivers down everyone's spine.

'Guess my saintly allure is gone—most people would've fainted just at the sight of my smile.'

[Yeah, I think your charisma stat decreased, or maybe people finally opened their eyes,] the system remarked—to which Michael ignored, walking up to the flag.

"May the tournament begin!"