Chapter 170
Chapter 170
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 170
Chapter Title: When Did I Say I Came Alone?
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Of course, the Nostalgic Sword Emperor was no pushover.
Even if I donned the Ghost King's Battle Robe and unleashed the full might of the Ghost King's power, it was questionable whether I could take him down.
No, the odds were far greater that I couldn't.
Even if I did manage it, I'd have to brace myself for years of recovery. I might even lose a few limbs.
That was the nature of pinnacle experts.
Those who had begun to transcend the realm of mortals.
Those who could infuse every swing of their sword with their full intent and will.
Even within the transcendent realm, people never lumped pinnacle experts together with ordinary transcendent masters.
Their caliber was simply on another level.
They were the absolute rulers who dominated and represented the martial world.
Of course, there were star-track experts classified as superhumans or half-immortals.
But they were exceedingly rare in the world, hardly ever involving themselves in mortal affairs.
The Dark Venerable and the South Palace Clan head were rare exceptions.
Thus, pinnacle experts—still burdened with human emotions and ambitions—were the worst possible foes any ordinary martial artist could imagine.
And now, one such ultimate adversary had appeared here.
"I was well aware that the Demonic Cult and the South Palace Clan were moving as one—"
"It seems the Phantom Sect is even closer to the South Palace Clan in their collusion."
"Given the Phantom Sect's origins near the distant northeastern Shanhaiguan, forming an alliance would have been far easier!"
"But the Nostalgic Sword Emperor is no easy opponent. You should consider alternatives."
"You claim to know me, so this should make things straightforward."
The Nostalgic Sword Emperor crossed his arms and let out a cold laugh. His gums were hollow where a tooth was missing.
"Kneel right there this instant and hand over what's on your shoulders—along with that Northern Bright Sword."
Of course, I wasn't one to buckle under such threats.
Instead, I tossed back a sneer.
"Did you eat your age out of your ass? Why beat around the bush when you could just say 'hand over your head'?"
"You're not even thirty yet, as I understand! Did your parents teach you to speak to your elders that way!"
The Nostalgic Sword Emperor scowled and bellowed.
When had he ever endured such insolence?
He was used to nothing but flattery and fear from those around him.
But my mouth was already running wild before I could rein it in.
"At least I didn't have parents like you."
"Your mouth is utterly vile!"
"Yours reeks like hell."
"You little shit! I'll have to cleave that head off to shut your trap!"
"You're pushing ninety, aren't you? Got the strength to lift my head? Gramps, you okay?"
"You insolent braaaat!!"
Rumble!
The ground trembled violently with his roar.
Meanwhile, the spirits were cackling in the background.
"Of all people to provoke, you pick the Young Cult Leader... tsk tsk!"
"His insides must be churning! Might croak from a ruptured artery before a death match even starts!"
The Nostalgic Sword Emperor's face—and eyes—were flushed blood-red.
"Don't even dream of running! I'll personally hack off your limbs and toss them to the Tang Family Fortress and Nine Dragons Branch Family myself!!"
The other four personal guards slowly encircled me.
Each was a master long rumored to have vanished or gone missing from the martial world.
"All old geezers here too. Why not rename the South Palace Clan the South Palace Nursing Home while you're at it?"
"What a savage mouth you've got. I've been bored tailing that South Palace punk for months, itching for a fight. Hope your skills match that tongue."
The Lightning Silver Spear narrowed his sleepy eyes and lowered his spear.
"Hahaha! Silver Spear can wait. I'll smash this arrogant punk in one strike!!"
A hulking giant over eight feet tall, his upper body wrapped in iron chains like some grotesque fiend—the Great Power Divine Demon.
"No need for long speeches. Let's finish this fool and crash the exam grounds. They must've noticed something odd by now."
A scrawny five-footer in a loose robe that hid his unremarkable frame—Long Rainbow.
"Massacre... is my... specialty... Leave it... to me...."
With sunken, hollow eyes and a gaunt face, yet radiating the most ominous aura among them—the Heavenly Tribulation Death Hand.
They now unleashed their pent-up killing intent without restraint.
It was a mystery how they'd concealed their presence and hidden near the Tang Family Fortress all this time.
"Black道 heretics, unorthodox scum, even demonic outcasts from beyond. Is this the sacred city under Tang rule, or a demon den? Tsk tsk!"
"The Demonic Cult's discards, gathered like treasures."
"What a literal trash heap. The South Palace Clan must be stark raving mad."
I agreed, letting out a hollow chuckle as I loosely stretched my limbs.
Crack! Pop!
I too dreamed of a Demon Dao World without distinction between righteous or demonic, black or white—but not like this.
The hegemony I envisioned was righteous at its core, governed by law and order.
A world where the strong were revered and the weak protected.
Where experts honed themselves, and the lowly admired and followed their paths.
A realm where chaotic wars ended, and all lived in harmony under order.
That was my ideal utopia.
Naturally, there was no place in it for villains.
But the South Palace Clan saw things differently.
The Lightning Silver Spear was a murderer who tortured and slaughtered over a hundred innocent mountain folk.
The Great Power Divine Demon had committed unspeakable acts against his daughter-in-law and own daughter before killing them—a utter degenerate.
Long Rainbow had assassinated his master and stolen his sect's secrets before fleeing—a criminal.
The Heavenly Tribulation Death Hand specialized in slaughtering children until caught and forced to flee beyond the borderlands—a public enemy of the martial world.
All of them no better than the Nostalgic Sword Emperor—fiends and archdemons.
Trash that needed purging from the world.
Yet the South Palace Clan had welcomed them as honored guests, even assigning them as personal guards to their direct bloodline.
They'd drag in anything to grow stronger.
The South Palace Clan had crossed the line—by miles.
Gaaaaaah!
The Heavenly Demon Roaring Heart Technique rapidly circulated my inner energy.
Along with the far more demanding full-body great circulation, the pure demon's ferocity awakened from the abyss.
Whoosh!
Violet ghostly flames erupted above my eyes.
Grooooowl!!
An earth-shaking roar echoed, as if an invisible demon beast bellowed in fury.
"!!!"
"!!!"
"!!!"
"!!!"
The guards, who had been casually forming their encirclement, froze with rigid expressions.
The Lightning Silver Spear and Long Rainbow flinched back a step without realizing it.
The Heavenly Demon Roaring Heart Technique's pure demon was the pinnacle of all demonic arts.
The more vicious the foe, the more overwhelmingly it pressed upon them.
"It's just an illusion! Kill him!!"
Long Rainbow, shamed by his momentary intimidation, flushed crimson and shrieked.
Swish! Swish!
Shiiiing!
The Lightning Silver Spear and Heavenly Tribulation Death Hand shot forward like bolts of light, silver spear and blackened claws poised.
The Great Power Divine Demon unwound the chains around his torso, whipping them like a lash.
The meteor hammer at the end looked heavy enough to pulverize flesh on impact—dozens of pounds at least.
Three ferocious assaults converging.
"I—"
But I only sharpened the pure demon's ferocity, baring my fangs in a grin.
"—ever say I came alone?"
I raised my foot high and slammed it down with all my might.
Boom!
The ground sank in a concentric circle nearly ten paces wide.
At the rim, the earth upheaved, forming towering dirt walls.
The attackers' advances stuttered for a split second.
"Foolish trick!"
The Lightning Silver Spear shattered the wall with Silver Surge Twelve Flashes' Silver Flash Path, lunging with projected energy.
But as it crumbled, another figure dropped from the sky.
Boom!!
"!!"
Silver energy clashed against blue-tinged sword aura.
The Lightning Silver Spear's eyes widened.
He'd thrust with full power—never dreaming it'd be so easily blocked.
"Being around you means trouble never ends, huh?"
Blocking his path was none other than Dang Gyujin.
She glanced back at me with a scolding look.
I replied with a light chuckle.
"Tell me about it. It's killing me. Perils of being a popular guy."
"Keep being this popular, and I won't live long enough to complain."
"Right?"
"Just when did you...?!!"
The Lightning Silver Spear's shrill scream cut our banter short.
Dang Gyujin turned a cold smile on him.
Blue ghostly energy gathered over her face, forming a demonic mask.
"When do you think? Heh! From the start. Hehehehehe!"
Of course, that was a lie.
More precisely, we'd prepared ever since confirming they were from the South Palace Clan.
* * *
When I learned Gongson Beom's backers were the South Palace Clan,
I immediately ordered Onma to fetch Dang Gyujin and her group.
Had they been Phantom Sect, I wouldn't have called them—I'd have unleashed the Ghost Hell Formation and purged them myself.
But against the South Palace Clan, it was different.
The more witnesses to this incident, the better.
The Qingcheng Sect, Emei Sect, and Azure Flower Manor survivors would serve as ironclad proof.
Plus, I'd calculated they'd have significant forces infiltrating the Tang Family Fortress directly.
And my prediction had hit the mark.
Fortunately, the Three Phantom Assassins seemed uninterested in this illusion.
They must've assumed it was some secret formation from the South Palace Clan. A convenient misconception—no need to explain.
Screeeeech—
Clang clang clang!!
"Kyahahahaha! Thrash around! Thrash some more!!"
Dang Gyujin unleashed killing intent and ghostly energy far fiercer than against Hori Jung, relentlessly pressing the Lightning Silver Spear.
Her malice, deadlier than a murderer's, left him disoriented, limbs flailing wildly.
The Heavenly Tribulation Death Hand and Great Power Divine Demon fared no better.
Flash—
Screeeeeam!
"The stench is unbearable. I want to clear them all out."
A thick ink-black fragrance trailed where the Ink Demon Sword passed.
The overpowering aroma subtly transformed the barren wasteland.
Weeds sprouted from cracks in the earth, dandelions and forsythia bloomed and swayed.
"Is this Tian Shan or the sacred city? Unbelievable!!"
Yu Sumin rampaged across the grassy patch conjured by the Ink Demon Sword.
Each sword swing scattered severed blades in the air, petals raining like snow.
Simultaneously, flashes of sword light spread the Demon-Banishing dharma power, washing away the demons' demonic and murderous auras like filth.
Boom boom boom!!
Sword winds and fragrances whirled, sword auras and energies stabbing like rain.
And I.
Whoosh!
Wreathed in flames from the Crimson Dragon Aura and Tiger Wind Technique fused together, I fiercely kicked off the ground.
Crimson Dragon Demon Body
Fire Dragon Demon God
A secret art fusing Reverse Mountain's muscle power, Aura Mountain's energy, and Mara manifestation into one.
I resembled a dragon-man clad in fiery scales, fangs, and clutching a wish-fulfilling orb.
This too blurred the line between sorcery and martial arts—a sorcery-martial fusion.
Boom!
Screeeeech—
From gale-like speed to thunderbolt swiftness in seamless motion.
My duel with Gongson Beom taught me that "speed"—easy to dismiss—was a devastating weapon.
"Wha—"
I appeared before Long Rainbow in an instant.
Stunned by the new arrival, he hastily defended, but my twin palms struck his face first.
Left palm: Gale Blast loaded with pinpoint destructive force.
Right palm: Thunderclap Sword Flash unleashing lightning in a burst.
Wind and thunder merged as one, amplified by the Fire Dragon Demon God's demonic power.
Dragons had ever commanded winds and hurled bolts—divine punishment incarnate.
BOOM!!
Long Rainbow vanished in the erupting storm.
No time even to scream.
Not even a proper corpse left behind.
Only chunks of flesh pattering down proved he'd been there.
But even those incinerated in the following heatwave.
I'd already executed Phantom Shift, appearing behind the Nostalgic Sword Emperor.
'Take them out as fast as possible.'
The Fire Dragon Demon God devoured inner energy at monstrous speed.
But in trade, it granted power far beyond my realm.
My entire nervous system—from sensory to motor—ignited in fervor.
The upper dantian flared open wider than ever, unveiling senses beyond the five—a sixth sense realm.
Foresight.
A new ocular technique guided me to a new world.
Dozens, hundreds of scenarios flickered: his moves, my counters, branching paths and techniques.
I surrendered my body to the sixth sense's direction.
Swish!
I unleashed Demonic Wind Severing Kick. Like drawing a honed divine sword, pale energy flashed from my instep.
The Nostalgic Sword Emperor twisted his torso, sweeping his sword horizontally.
Kunlun's signature—Mount Sumeru Sword Gang—whipped up massive shockwaves, cleaving the world asunder.
Vertical and horizontal energies crossed in an X.
Rumble—
Craaaash!
Rending energies and scattering waves swirled in a vortex.
The world filled with violet mists.