"Father has always said that I wasnât your equal, Ling Wenlong, but I refuse to accept that."
Ling Wenyuâs left sleeve hung empty, his body covered in scars, but he fought like a lion, slashing in and out of the enemyâs encirclement, utterly disregarding his own safety.
Suddenly, Ling Wenyuâs frame shuddered, abandoning his opponent and charging toward the side. Swords and knives thrust at him from every direction, and although he parried and weaved, some still grazed him, severing his left leg at the root.
Ling Wenlongâs adversary was a Forbidden Martial Emperor from Outer Heaven, but their abilities fell short of his. After tens of thousands of exchanges, Ling Wenlong seized absolute initiative.
In an instant,
A shadow of a staff surged out; another Forbidden Martial Emperor from Outer Heaven launched a sneak attack on Ling Wenlong from the side. Ling Wenlong, unable to disengage, was about to meet his end under that staff.
With a thud!
A mist of blood diffused, a figure was sent flying backward, with a chest pierced through and through. It wasnât Ling Wenlong, but Ling Wenyu.
"Die!"
With a roar of venting rage, Ling Wenlong shattered his opponentâs head with a palm, and the staff-wielding Martial Emperor, who had not yet recovered his strength, also had his heart crushed by Ling Hu coming from behind.
"Why, why would you save me?"
Ling Wenlong held Ling Wenyu in his arms.
"All my life, Ling Wenyu never owed anyone anything. I lost last time; you didnât kill me, but this life, Iâm still giving it back to you."
Ling Wenyu smiled tragically.
Tears rolled down, as Ling Wenlong cried out loud to the heavens.
Who would have known that Ling Wenlong and Ling Wenyu, brothers who fought over the position of family head like fire and water, were actually very close? It was only because their father always deemed the elder brother superior that Ling Wenyu developed a rebellious streak, opposing his brother at every turn.
Ling Wenlong said, "You donât owe me anything. When I sealed my power for cultivation, you could have easily killed me if you wished to."
With a weak smile, Ling Wenyu said, "I clearly won, I did win. The only thing I lost at, was not having a grandson like that... The one who ambushed Yu Ji was the Black White Master, the Gongyang Ancestor... If your grandson is still alive, please tell him. Iâm going to see our father now..."
Ling Wenlong looked at his brother, whose expression was frozen in death, feeling satisfaction, sorrow, and finally, a sense of release in his heart.
The one who was truly owed was Yu Ji, and the numerous innocent Ling Family masters who died senselessly, not himself. But with Ling Wenyuâs death, this complicated web of gratitude, grudges, and emotions had finally dissipated.
Carrying Ling Wenyuâs body on his back, Ling Wenlong continued to press into the thick of the Outer Heaven Army.
"Yu Zhao!"
"Li Zifeng!"
"Yu Wen Cang!"
In a battleground showered with blood rain, three young men saw each other, as if time had reversed, forgetting their pain and sorrow.
Decades ago, they were the three great talents of Xuanwu State, one hailed as the âLittle Lordâ, one with a mighty reputation as the âUndisputed Sword Marquisâ, and another, the âFist Kingâ, unrivaled and unbeatable.
Without Shi Xiaole, that yearâs Linjiang Immortal Meeting would undoubtedly have been their stage to contend for supremacy.
Years passed, and all three had become Earth Immortals of the Divine Barrier Realm, each reigning supreme in their own domain, never to meet again. Perhaps it was fate that brought them together here, on this battlefield.
"Yu Zhao, your fists arenât fierce enough, Li Zifeng, your sword isnât fast enough," Yu Wen Cang said with disdain as he smashed a swath of Outer Heaven beings with a single punch.
Sword light whistled, and dozens of heads soared into the air, not at all outdone by Yu Wen Cangâs fists.
Immediately after, countless grey shadows densely flooded in, laying waste to the Outer Heaven Army where they passed, their killing power even surpassing Yu Wen Cang and Li Zifeng.
"I never accepted defeat to you back then, and I still wonât now, unless you kill more demons than me."
Leaving behind a trail of laughter, Yu Wen Cang plunged into the enemy tide, clearly prepared to die.
To protect him, an uncle who had raised him by hand had died at his feet, and he sought to use the blood of more Outer Heaven Demons to appease their spirits.
"You think Iâm afraid of you?"
Li Zifeng followed closely behind.
"What a couple of maniacs, but maybe this is the last madcap, Iâll join you in our final battle," Yu Zhao leapt forward to join them.
Once rivals, competing against each other, the three men were now working together for the first time, like three tridents piercing into the enemyâs belly, without regard for their own lives.
"Mo Rou, retreat!"
The master of Pudu Peak, Ci Xin Yao, released her sword, struggling to fend off the encirclement of three Forbidden Martial Emperors, while simultaneously sidestepping to the right, taking the heavy hammer of a fourth with her back, collapsing her spine and rolling on the ground.
In this moment, she was drenched in blood, disheveled; any semblance of aloof sanctity was nowhere to be found.
"Master!"
Ji Morou cried with tear-streaked cheeks, but a serene smile lingered at the corner of her mouth.
Her master often said the most important things are being content and complete; when you give everything you have to something, youâll feel this sense of contentment and completeness.
Ji Morou was experiencing it now.
Life and death, fear, all faded away from her. Never before had her heart felt so peaceful, as the cold wind blew, Ji Morou gently swung her sword, its light like the waters of spring, as white as snow, soft, yet unavoidable.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
Sword Qi slashed at the four Forbidden Martial Emperors, not gravely wounding them, but causing them to stagger, wearing smirks of disdain.
Whoosh!
A black blade light came slashing from the left, quick as an antelopeâs horn, leaving no trace, bisecting all four.
"Ci Xin Yao, how did you train your martial arts over these years? Theyâre truly useless!"
The black-clad beauty Ren Xiaoxiao, leading the Dreamy Sect experts, charged over.
"No, retreat quickly!"
Ci Xin Yao let out a piercing scream.
Just as Ren Xiaoxiao rushed forward, a lance shadow fell from the sky. The power at the tip of the lance condensed into a point, like a white steel ball, leaving a soul-shivering trail of white light behind.
Clang!
A few droplets of blood splattered out, insignificant on the vast battlefield, yet they dyed Ci Xin Yaoâs eyes red.
The tip of the lance pierced the ground, and then burst out from the other side. Only then did several Dreamy Sect experts fall apart, while the main target Ren Xiaoxiao staggered, her abdomen a blurred mess.
"Demon Wind Transforming Rain!"
Pale-faced, Ren Xiaoxiaoâs body spun, her layered knife light mimicked continuous fine rain, penetrating everywhere.
"Such petty tricks, you think they can stop me?"
The master of the long lanceâs mouth split into a grin. His arm quivered violently, and the lance shadow branched out into countless offshoots. From the side, it looked like a giant fan filled with numerous blades, easily cutting into the knife glow and attacking Ren Xiaoxiao directly.
"Sword Crossing the Common People!"
At the critical moment, a long sword touched the lance shadow. With a clink sound, Ci Xin Yaoâs arm bled, her veins bulged as if her right arm would explode at any moment.
"Seeking death!"
The master of the long lance sneered continuously. With the vibration frequency of the long lance, unless possessing absolutely greater strength than his, anything it touched would be ground to dust.
"Youâre the one whoâs going to die!"
A flash of sword light zipped by, and suddenly, the master of the long lance saw his own body, but his body was missing a head.
Many years ago in the Martial World, the master of Pudu Peak had two proud disciples, known for their combined prowess of sword and knife, said to be capable of subduing the superior and slaying countless evils.
Many people didnât know that these two fairies were now the current master of Pudu Peak and the Grand Protector of the Dreamy Sect.
"Junior Sister, hang in there..."
Ci Xin Yao supported Ren Xiaoxiao, fending off attacks from all directions, feeling her Junior Sisterâs breath growing weak. Having run out of medicinal pills long ago, she was desperately unsure of what to do,
Ren Xiaoxiaoâs face was deathly pale, her wound in the abdomen bleeding ceaselessly, she weakly said, "If, if I die, donât leave my body in this world. I donât want, others to see my death state. My little Xiaoyao, Grandma is afraid she wonât see you again..."
"No, Junior Sister, Junior Sister..."
Ci Xin Yao wept profusely, her vision blurring, and her voice growing distant. All she knew was to keep swinging her sword, slashing, hoping to escape the predicament with her Junior Sister.
Nobody could recognize the current Xuanyuan Di.
He was the leader of the fifty monarchs, the foremost individual beneath the overlords, and as such, he was being targeted heavily, attacked by eight invincible experts beneath the overlords, pushed to the most dangerous brink.
"Reincarnation, what is reincarnation? Is it life and death, prosperity, and decline, gatherings and partings, or the transformation of the sea into mulberry fields? No, itâs none of these. The true cycle of reincarnation is seeking constancy in change, using the unchanging to check the changing."
Yet another attack, swords and spears slashing upon Xuanyuan Di, but he continued unwaveringly. At the last moment of his life, he finally took another step forward from a hundred feetâs progress.
The vast aura of reincarnation diffused from Xuanyuan Di. Under the astonished gaze of the eight Outer Heaven experts, Xuanyuan Di healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
His Reincarnation Martial Way had not broken through to the late stage of 110 percent, but it was infinitely close to that step. Between life and death, there are great terrors, but also great opportunities.
"Reincarnation Fist Seal!"
Xuanyuan Diâs movements were as fast as lightning, throwing eight punches in an instant, each with the same devastating power.
Bang!
The eight Outer Heaven experts were sent flying back, a flower of blood blossoming from their chests.
At this moment, even if Xuanyuan Di was not yet an overlord-level figure, he was not far from it. He roared and charged towards the high-altitude battlefield, drawing gasps of awe and rounds of applause from the onlookers.
"The sword, my sword. If it cannot cut down a strong enemy, whatâs the use of learning the sword?"
Liu Ruofei was covered in blood, his flesh mangled, not a single spot intact.
His killing intent reached a limit, like a volcano about to erupt, on the verge of spewing, just waiting for a trigger. Beneath his feet were the bones and corpses of Outer Heaven Demons.
"My child, try your best to live!"
The aged voice reached him, and Liu Ruofei turned in shock, only to see his grandfather surrounded by three Forbidden Martial Emperors, with ruptures in his chest, abdomen, and throat.
In his last glance, the old manâs eyes were still full of loving pride.
"Grandpa, I want to become the strongest swordsman one day."
"Good, my Feiâer will surely do it. Grandpa will watch you become the number one swordsman in the world."
The laughter still lingered in his ears, yet the old man had already collapsed to the ground, becoming one of the countless bodies on the field.
"Ah..."
Liu Ruofeiâs eyes were blood-red as he looked at those three self-satisfied Forbidden Martial Emperors. They, too, were plunged into a blood-red world.
A hellish will descended within the red, as sword light flashed by.
Three heads were obliterated.
âHellâs Breaking Extreme Killing Swordâ!
In that moment, Liu Ruofei finally transcended himself, becoming a stronger swordsman, yet he felt no joy, only a heart full of uncontainable killing intent.
Kill, kill, kill â he would kill all the Outer Heaven Demons!