Chapter 988: Grandmaster-Level Martial Sage?
The quick death of the white-haired old man frightened Ouyang Long, who was on the ground. As he looked at the white-clad Xiao Chen under the moonlight, he noticed the high-level air of a grandmaster coming from him.
“The air of a grandmaster! When did he advance to grandmaster-level Martial Sage? Wait, that’s not right. His cultivation is far from it; he is not a grandmaster-level Martial Sage yet.”
Ouyang Long did not dare to continue thinking. Disregarding the other Purple Night Sword Sect disciples, he turned to flee.
With a thought, the bright moon in the sky slowly faded. Xiao Chen looked at the fleeing Ouyang Long, a murderous intent flashing across his face.
Xiao Chen stood on two lightning dragons and gave pursuit in a flash.
The purple Lightning Talisman in his sea of consciousness spun continuously. The might of his will supported the lightning dragons underfoot.
Xiao Chen looked like he was standing on a lightning river, merging with the electricity. He was startlingly fast; after accelerating for a moment, he caught up with the injured Ouyang Long.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Ouyang Long no longer had a sword in his hand. Furthermore, he was injured. How could he possibly block Xiao Chen? In less than ten moves, Xiao Chen knocked him to the ground, reducing him to a feeble state.
“Cough! Cough! Xiao Chen, don’t be so happy too soon. This time, not only will you not be able to get to the King conferral ceremony, but you can also forget about living.”
Ouyang Long knew that he would die for sure. So he roared in desperation, “You will definitely die on the way—”
Not waiting for Ouyang Long to finish, Xiao Chen stretched out his hand, and a saber light flashed. A bloody hole appeared in Ouyang Long’s forehead, leaving him with no chance of survival.
Xiao Chen retrieved the spatial ring in the air and weighed it in his hand for a moment before placing it into the Universe Ring.
Ouyang Long’s dying worlds resounded in Xiao Chen’s head. You walk a path of death. A path of death.
Xiao Chen looked into the distance in the direction of the Martial God Palace in the Central Province. There was no hesitation in his footsteps, not instance of shrinking back. He simply continued to walk forward without a care.
The heart of a bladesman, never alarmed, never hesitating, never bending.
----
High in the sky, on a massive warship, people of three of the human Sovereign Noble Clans had gathered.
Yan Shisi and the scions of the Jiang Clan and Lin Clan sat together in the control room. An old man stood behind each of the three—the First Elders of their clans.
A mirror that looked like a screen of water hung before this group. The scene of two great grandmaster-level Martial Sages dying miserably at Xiao Chen’s hands appeared on the mirror.
This scene caused these six to all suck in a deep, cold breath of air. None of them had expected Xiao Chen to have actually grown to such a level.
The Lin Clan scion said with a dark gaze, “We really cannot let this fellow continue living. Otherwise, he will no doubt become the next Azure Emperor. At that time, if he controls the Martial God Palace, our Sovereign Noble Clans will not be able to survive.”
Yan Shisi smiled and said, “Don’t worry. He will not be able to run this time. Who knows, maybe we might not even have to take action ourselves.”
Although they had seen Xiao Chen’s strength, they were still very confident of killing Xiao Chen. Clearly, they were well prepared and possessed means that could definitely kill Xiao Chen.
----
Seven days later, Xiao Chen arrived before a city.
This city was vast and majestic. Located on the border between the Profound Domain and Tianwu Domain, it was called Strange Fire City.
Aside from practicing his Martial Techniques, Xiao Chen never stopped his basic cultivating.
He possessed forty-nine Peak Spirit Veins and the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation, which surpassed a Heaven Ranked Cultivation Technique, so his cultivation speed was rapid.
If not for the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation’s seventh layer making Xiao Chen’s foundations extremely firm, he would have advanced to grandmaster-level Martial Sage long ago without waiting.
At this moment, he was just one step away from grandmaster-level Martial Sage. With just a little effort, he could advance.
However, Xiao Chen was even more ambitious. Grandmaster-level Martial Sage was not what he needed.
He wanted to use this opportunity to arrive at great grandmaster-level Martial Sage in one go when breaking through peak Superior Grade Martial Sage.
Xiao Chen intended to use absolute power to suppress the White Emperor City’s Xia Houjue and chop down all the people who were planning to cause problems and destruction.
Doing so was not impossible. He did not lack resources, and he still had forty-nine Peak Spirit Veins on him. Even the inheritors of the Holy Lands would not be able to compete with him.
What Xiao Chen was lacking in was his comprehension and his perception.
Those older-generation great grandmaster-level Martial Sages had all developed their comprehension in the way of Martial Cultivation and perception over hundreds of years.
The thing that Xiao Chen needed to do was to use this test as his opportunity, to finish walking a path that others would take at least a hundred years to walk.
This was why Xiao Chen rejected Ying Qiong’s offer to escort him. He could only walk this road by himself.
Otherwise, even if he made it to the Central Province and appeared at the King conferral ceremony, he would just be an embarrassment.
Collecting his thoughts, Xiao Chen started to size up the city before him. It was too quiet, which seemed very strange.
He checked using his Spiritual Sense and discovered no one at all in the streets, both big and small.
Xiao Chen raised his feet and stepped into the city. There was only some dust on the broad streets, the stalls, the shops, and restaurants. This city had not been empty for long.
“Boom!”
When he arrived in the center of the city, sharp and cold killing Qi surged out from the quiet city and soared into the clouds.
Elite soldiers holding powerful crossbows leaped out onto the roofs of the buildings. They all had cold expressions and emanated killing Qi into their surroundings. There were many of them densely packed together, at least fifty thousand.
A careful look found hints of some secret behind their positioning as if they composed some kind of formation.
All these soldiers pointed their weapons at Xiao Chen, a huge number of them.
Even Xiao Chen felt uncomfortable with this. His muscles tensed as he quickly circulated his Law Energy.
He frowned slightly, finding this development somewhat incredible. Earlier, he had checked the city with his Spiritual Sense but found it empty, devoid of people.
“Clip-clop…! Clip-clop…! Clip-clop…! Clip-clop…!”
The sound of horses galloping rang out in the distance. Many tall horses kicked up dust as they raced down the street.
Rushing the horses forward quickly with whips, one hundred riders arrived before Xiao Chen in a few breaths.
The black armor that these hundred horseback riders wore was even more solid and heavier than that of those elite troops.
Occasionally, light flashed in the chinks between the inlays and the armor, which were clearly high-quality Sage Grade Secret Treasures.
A complete set of high-quality Sage Grade Secret Treasures was much stronger than a single ordinary King Grade Secret Treasure.
Outfitting one hundred horseback riders with one set each would be difficult without at least twenty million Black Astral Coins—a massive expenditure. Furthermore, even with sufficient funds, it might not be easy to achieve.
Even this cavalry’s mounts were not ordinary beasts. Given their distinctive features, they were clearly peak warhorses known as Qilin Horses. Just one of these black horses alone already rivaled a Martial Sage.
The group stopped in an orderly fashion one kilometer from Xiao Chen. The riders did not say anything, only looked at Xiao Chen with cold expressions.
Xiao Chen racked his mind for information about Strange Fire City.
Strange Fire City was a big border city managed by the Martial God Palace. Originally, it was responsible for defending the Tianwu Domain. The warriors on the roofs were all battle-hardened elite troops, even stronger than the disciples of many Rank Nine sects.
The City Lord, Wang Feng, was a quasi-Emperor. It was quite possible that this cavalry before Xiao Chen was his own personal troop.
[TL Note: This Wang Feng (王锋) is different from the Wang Feng (王风) of the Rising Sky Pavilion, found in ch. 657. Their personal names use different Chinese characters.]
Just as Xiao Chen was thinking, a black-clad man stood on top of the tallest tower of the city and said, “White Robed King Xiao Chen, I am Strange Fire City’s City Lord, Wang Feng. I have long heard of your name.”
The tall tower was ten kilometers away from Xiao Chen. Using just his eyes, Xiao Chen could only see a black figure and not the man’s appearance.
Xiao Chen extended his Spiritual Sense. However, a certain aura interfered with it, so all he could make out was still just a vague silhouette.
Wang Feng only stood on that tall tower. He did not do anything, but wind and clouds surged behind him, creating a grand atmosphere akin to that of vast and majestic mountains and rivers.
This was a quasi-Emperor, who would stand at the top anywhere in the Kunlun Realm. With another step forward, he would be able to enter the great Dao and become a Martial Emperor.
Xiao Chen wondered what the other party was up to, laying down such a vast formation but not rushing to attack.
He responded to the shifting events by sticking to his fundamental principles. He said, “Supreme Sky Sect’s Xiao Chen greets City Lord Wang.”
Ten kilometers away on the tall tower, Wang Feng smiled and said, “Despite meeting with such a situation, you can still be so calm. White Robed King Xiao Chen, you are quite courageous.
“This Wang will not bother speaking nonsense. I was asked by the White Emperor City’s Holy Master to keep you here in this small city for one month. One month later, you may roam free and go anywhere you please.”
Although these words sounded nice, the King conferral ceremony would end after one month. By then, everything would be over.
Xiao Chen asked calmly, “What if I refuse?”
Wang Feng already anticipated Xiao Chen’s response long ago. He smiled faintly and replied, “In that case, my fifty-thousand-strong army that guards the border will crush you to the point where not even your corpse is left.”
Wang Feng’s tone was calm and carefree.
However, once Wang Feng spoke, the originally chilly killing Qi in the city became glacial.
Fifty thousand pairs of eyes on the roofs stared at Xiao Chen, the elite troops oozing cold killing Qi from their pores.
Ordinary people would not be able to endure such a formation for long. Fear would spread to every part of their body. It would already be incredible if they could bring out half their combat prowess.
Strange Fire City guarded the border. As long as Xiao Chen entered the Tianwu Domain from this direction, Wang Feng’s forces would have immediately discovered him.
Entering the city or not would have had the same result.
“Sorry for the offense, then!”
Now that things reached this point, there was nothing much more to say. Even if Xiao Chen had to charge through armies of thousands, he had to do it. He had to get to the King conferral ceremony.
“Whoosh!”
Xiao Chen pushed off the ground. However, even before his feet left the ground, countless sounds of air being torn rang out. Many black arrows flickering with light produced a piercing whistle as they flew at Xiao Chen.
Without even needing to look, Xiao Chen could guess that these were not ordinary arrows. They would definitely be able to injure grandmaster-level Martial Sages. Strange Fire City’s fifty thousand elite troops, which guarded the border, were not just for show.
Arrows covered the sky like rain; there was no dead angle. The piercing sounds of air being torn blended together. The stored-up killing Qi from earlier exploded forth, shaking heaven and earth.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
A boundless saber intent surged out from every part of Xiao Chen’s body, shattering all the arrows in the air into powder. The arrows could not get anywhere near him.
As he stood on a lightning dragon, he moved as fast as lightning, flickering in the air without stopping and sending out saber winds everywhere.
The black-armored soldiers on the roofs leaped around, moving nimbly.
Arrows flew like meteors, flying out continuously and chasing after Xiao Chen tightly. If he dropped his guard, ten thousand arrows would pierce through his heart.
The hundred-strong black-armored cavalry stared at Xiao Chen’s figure, not saying anything. No expressions could be made out on their faces.
Farther away in the tall tower, Wang Feng smiled faintly as he stood upright with his hands clasped behind his back.
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