Chapter 4: The First Victim
15 years later
Fang leaped through the trees, jumping off each branch with a wild abandon. Tilting forward, he somersaulted and landed on his feet. The wind gently breezed across his shoulders as he stepped forward onto the soft grass. With a smile he stepped forth.
A pack of banshee wolves prowled around the entrance of a cave. They had never forgotten their earlier humiliation after that pitiful human had come in and ruined everything for them. Gritting their teeth, they sighed.
Fang smiled. It was time to see how much he had grown. It had been fifteen years since he had first come to this very cave. He would never have come back if not for the fact that these pesky wolves had been coming down to the village and destroying crops. This hurt his farming business and thus he was here to teach them a lesson. Those who stood in the way of his peaceful life would be exterminated!
Smiling devilishly, he began to creep out slowly. Suddenly, there was a loud bang.
A strong man leaped out in front of the wolves. He wore extravagant clothes and carried a sword with a foreboding aura. Grinning, he drew the weapon out, it's glittering splendor shocking both the wolves and Fang.
"Oh no....this man is what we fear the most...a protagonist!" the wolves collectively thought.
"Hmmm...what an interesting sword. It should be worth quite a bit of money." Fang thought.
"AH HA HA HA! I am Liu Xiong, from the Heavenly Sword Sect! You fiendish wolves are murdering all of these poor villagers! I shall liberate them from this menace, gain riches, and become the strongest cultivator in the entire land!" he shouted.
"&*@!...this dude is definitely a protagonist!" both parties thought instinctively.
The wolves whimpered and Liu Xiong made his move. Rushing forward, he chopped towards the two sentries.
"Heavenly Deity's Star Slash!" he cried.
There was an enormous flash of light striking down towards the wolves.
"AOOONNHHH!!!" they cried in pain.
The two wolves whimpered and wailed in pain. Gashes spread across their bodies and they slumped to the floor, dead. Meanwhile, Fang looked at the crazy cultivator with an odd expression in his eyes. Liu Xiong simply laughed madly and proceeded to entire the cave. Screams of pain and misery could be heard echoing through the cave. Eventually, the "hero" emerged from the cave looking spotlessly clean.
"Ahhhhh....now I can finally breakthrough to the next level," he spoke.
Fang stared at the mad cultivator. Shaking his head in disbelief, he rubbed his eyes to rule out the possibility of this strange scene being an illusion. The man quickly sat down and began to circulate Qi.
Having seen enough, Fang exited the bushes and coughed dryly. He was certain. This man... had a system!
The cultivator, startled, looked at Fang. Frowning he spoke.
"Hmmm...what do you want villager?" he asked.
"Why did you kill those wolves?" Fang asked.
"Ahhh...I killed them because they annoyed me! Plus they were villains and all..." he replied.
"But...they have a purpose in the ecosystem!" Fang beseeched.
"..."
"If you exterminate all the wolves, the rabbits will overpopulate and drive us all to starvation by eating our crops!"
"..."
"You realize that you've just doomed this entire village to ecological disaster? By removing an apex predator, you just offset the fragile balance that we had worked so hard to cultivate! Are you an absolute buffoon?"
"..."
Fang stared at the cultivator with an incredulous expression. The cultivator stared at him with an equally gaping mouth.
"I...um.. I didn't... I meant to...THEY WERE WOLVES!!!" he cried.
"So what? Just because they are wolves doesn't mean you get to kill them! Yeesh!" Fang sighed.
Whipping out a token, he pressed the center.
"Hello guard hotline, how may we help?" a dry voice sounded on the other side of the talisman.
"Hi, I'd like to report a gross violation of Environmental Protection Agency's violations by what seems to be a rogue cultivator who has just wiped out an entire wolf population in the nearby forest...mhm..yes...yes...of course...yes he is here...he is a tall and quirky man with very odd features...yes...no I don't know if he has insurance..."
After several minutes, Fang finally hung up. Sighing, he gazed at the cultivator with pitiful eyes. The cultivator stared back, dumbfounded.
"Sorry buddy. The EPA's on their way here to imprison you for violating their standards. They should be here in five minutes," Fang remarked.
Shaking his head, the cultivator came to. Growling menacingly, he advanced for Fang.
"You little bastard...how dare you...! Enough...once I kill you, there will be no witnesses. Everything will be fine for a just and fair protagonist like me," he growled.
Fang smiled. Sighing, he placed his palms together. Energy burst out of his body in massive shockwaves. Thrusting his hand forward, he grabbed something soft and pulled it back.
"AGHHHHHHHH!" Liu Xiong screamed.
Forcibly pulling back, Fang ripped his cultivation system out of his body. Smiling greedily, Fang quickly consumed the entire system. Belching, he patted his stomach. In front of him, Liu Xiong stood with a stupefied expression of being in a massive amount of pain. He was petrified.
Hooves thudded on the ground and soldiers quickly arrived to the scene. They carried long silver spears and they surrounded the duo.
"Sir, please step back and leave the civilian and put your hands behind your back," the captain called.
Fang smiled and turned around. As he was leaving, he saw Liu Xiong being clapped in heavy chains out of the corner of his eye. Shaking his head, he left the cave.
"Sheesh...it seems like a cultivator is nothing without their system huh?" he remarked.
Slowly walking forward, he gradually digested the stolen cultivation system within his body with an evil grin on his innocent face. Stealing and then devouring systems was a wonderfully satisfying hobby.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
AzureTear
AzureTear Hey guys! If you like my story so far, please leave a comment and tell me what I can do to make it better!
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