Chapter 888: Outstanding Military Merits; Conferred a King
Chapter 888: Outstanding Military Merits; Conferred a King
This was too easy. With one exchange, Xiao Chen regained a resource star. With five hundred thousand military merits, he left everyone else far behind.
If Xiao Chen won another match, would that mean he would get a total of one million military merits?
When thinking of this, everyone started breathing faster. One million military merits were enough for Xiao Chen to be conferred a King. The Martial God Palace would give him territory in the Tianwu Domain as his land.
In the history of the Martial God Palace, there never had been such a young King. Nevertheless, Xiao Chen had such an opportunity.
Bai Wuxue’s expression appeared extremely despondent. Ever since Xiao Chen saved him at Heavenly Wind Island, he had been in a bad mood. In the battles that followed, he looked rather frantic.
Now that he had seen Xiao Chen undergo rebirth and the strength that Xiao Chen displayed, he could not take this blow.
Everyone was shocked. Most of the cultivators of the three competing factions in the sky had not expected Xiao Chen’s battle with Wei Hua and Kui Dou to go as he said—completely not within his sights at all. The only exception was Long Fei.
Starlight drifted down like snow, and the sound of a zither and a flute rang out in concert. The White Bone Sovereign’s descendant, the scholarly, white-faced Long Fei, arrived within one kilometer of Xiao Chen from fifty kilometers away within the blink of an eye.
Xiao Chen raised his head, feeling cautious in his heart. This is not the first time he met Wei Hua, so he was familiar with Wei Hua’s strength. However, he had only heard of Long Fei and never met him in person before, so he could not afford to underestimate him.
“This Long will congratulate Brother Xiao first. You managed to obtain a resource star without having to waste the life of any troops. You are truly worthy of obtaining five hundred thousand military merits.”
Long Fei waved the folding fan in his hand, and the snow-like starlight danced around him. It looked very beautiful in the night sky. Not many people could feel that aura of ruin within.
Xiao Chen’s heart was as calm as a mirror. The air and his clothes remained still. He asked indifferently, “Young Master Long, are we still continuing with the bet?”
“Naturally, we are. I can’t let the world keep laughing at my Corpse Race for being incapable, relying only on Demonic Corpses.” Long Fei smiled faintly before his tone turned frosty. Then he closed his folding fan and pointed it downward.
“Brother Xiao, be careful. I’m going to make a move.”
Falling Snow Drifting Song; Zither and Flute in Concert. When Long Fei pointed with his folding fan, the sound of a zither and a flute spread for hundreds of kilometers. Then, it suddenly focused into a sonic beam. The sound of the zither and flute, amplified a thousand times, pressed towards Xiao Chen.
Indeed, Xiao Chen had guessed correctly. The sound of the zither and flute was focusable. It would be even easier to do so with the starlight in the sky.
This sound wave came without any warning. Furthermore, it was not a Quintessence or Heavenly Sage Law attack, so it could easily penetrate regular defenses.
Xiao Chen had long since made mental preparations and thought of a countermeasure. When he noticed this ruinous sound, he circulated the Dragon Tone Art, using both his Magic Energy and Quintessence.
Intangible airflows gathered above Xiao Chen’s head and formed a ferocious dragon head. Dragon’s Might spread with the rest of its body hidden in clouds.
When Xiao Chen opened his mouth, the jaws of the dragon head with ferocious eyes gaped wide. Then a tornado created by the dragon’s roar surged out.
It crashed into the sound of the zither and flute. Only motes of light were visible. When the sound waves met, the resonant and piercing sound disappeared. The pleasing and moving tones of the zither and flute faded into a beautiful melody. Every mote of light represented a note.
“Ding ding dong dong…”
After the two tested each other out, they stood in midair and charged towards each other at the same time. Everywhere they passed, a strong wind displaced the drifting motes of light, turning them into a song of the mighty storm.
This impassioned tune tugged at the heartstrings as blood surged.
The instant the two brushed shoulders, they exchanged glances. Their hands did not stop moving. In a breath of time, they traded hundreds of moves.
Xiao Chen continuously alternated between the claw and the fist. However, his sharpness never changed. He was like an unstoppable sharp saber. He sent saber winds dancing everywhere.
The scholarly, white-faced Long Fei seemed to be directing the flower-like starlight with his white bone folding fan, making them bloom in the air. When the petals opened, ruinous energy surged out, clashing violently with the sharp saber winds.
After one breath, the two brushed by each other. They were so fast that many people were unable to react. By the time they realized it, Xiao Chen and Long Fei had already swapped positions.
Qi Wuxue stood at the bow of his warship. The scene of the two brushing by each other lingered in his head. He sighed and said, “These two people are truly demonic geniuses. A regular Superior Grade Martial Sage would have died a hundred times over in that instant.”
However, Bai Wuxue and the other outstanding talents opened their eyes wide, not wanting to miss anything.
At this moment, their emotions were very complicated. As humans, they naturally wished for Xiao Chen to win. However, as cultivators of the same generation, they felt that there were enough peak demonic geniuses already. If there was another one, they would have even more difficulty.
Only Jin Lin and the other Supreme Sky Sect disciples, who were on the Dragon’s Gate’s warship, were lively and excited.
These people found it difficult to keep up with the battle. They could not easily follow Xiao Chen and Long Fei’s exchange. However, they had no intention of looking away.
Amid the tune of storms, which sounded like the song “Ambush from Ten Sides,” Xiao Chen exhibited his Flawless saber Dao. He executed everything that he learned as he exchanged thousands of moves with the scholarly, white-faced Long Fei.
[TL note: “Ambush from Ten Sides” is a classical pipa solo piece. It is considered a masterpiece of Chinese classical music, and its difficulty means that it is played almost exclusively by virtuosos. This piece of music depicts the battle where Liu Bang defeats General Xiang Yu in 202 BC. I highly recommend you play it while you read this battle scene; here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fMEaj7kkDA. Here is also another version played by the same guy when he was much younger but as a solo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rx5uqX4mBA.]
The ruinous energy contained in the starlight flowers clashed with the formless saber winds sharp enough to slice through Frost Iron. After a thousand moves, Black Patterned Island, which was below, had already collapsed and disintegrated, disappearing without a trace into the surging ocean.
However, victory was not decided yet. Neither side showed any signs of losing or being at a disadvantage.
Long Fei squinted and did not want to continue dragging things out. He closed the folding fan and pointed it at the sky. Two famous ominous stars—Ketu and Rahu—in the distant starry heavens suddenly released dazzling red light.
[TL note: Kehu and Rahu are stars from Vedic astronomy (ancient Indian astronomy written in Vedic Sanskrit) that depict disaster.]
Ketu Rahu Chop!
Instantly, two blood swords fell out of the sky. They followed Long Fei’s finger and chopped down at Xiao Chen.
“Ketu Rahu Chop! Long Fei actually knows this move? Did I see wrong?!”
“Ketu and Rahu, these two are rumored to be demonic stars in the Ancient Era. They are ominous stars, an inauspicious sign. During the Ancient Era, someone strong created this Ketu Rahu Chop. These two blood swords will not disappear without seeing blood.”
In the crowd, many of the older cultivators who saw this move were astonished. This was the Ketu Rahu Chop, an infamous evil move from the Ancient Era.
The blood swords would not return until they saw blood. However, once they saw blood, even if it was just a tiny wound, they would suck dry the cultivator they struck.
After Long Fei executed this move, his white face flushed somewhat. Clearly, his complexion looked somewhat off. A crack appeared in the bone fan he held, which then shattered and turned into powder.
When Long Fei saw this, he felt heartache. Every time he executed Ketu Rahu Chop, it would not only exhaust his Qi and blood but also require the sacrifice of a King Grade Secret Treasure, a great price to pay.
However, the people within the same cultivation realm who had survived its execution could be counted with one hand.
When Xiao Chen looked at the two blood swords, he sensed extreme danger in his heart. Before he could think much, the blood swords had already arrived before him. His figure flashed, and they brushed by him.
Before he could breathe, the blood swords turned around and charged towards him again.
Xiao Chen executed Thunder Dragon Steps to the limit. He stood on two thunder dragons and moved up and down in the air, moving so fast that he left no shadow. In one breath, he changed directions a hundred times. However, even after all that, he still could not evade the two blood swords entirely.
When Wei Hua saw this, he could not help but smile. He said softly, “Long Fei is great. He hid himself so well. Even I didn’t know about this. Using the Ketu Rahu Chop without any warning, he is surprisingly a hundred times more ruthless than me.”
Cultivators from various places could not help but frown heavily. The Ketu Rahu Chop was infamous. Unexpectedly, there was someone who successfully practiced this evil move. This Xiao Chen was really in great peril now.
“Ka ca! Ka ca!”
Xiao Chen tossed out a few Secret Treasures and also used a few clones made from the Life Bestowal Spell to try and block them. However, even after the blood swords tore through the Secret Treasures and clones, they did not show any signs of stopping.
Without seeing blood, the blood swords would not return. However, death would follow after they saw blood.
Long Fei rubbed his temples, and his flushed complexion seemed to improve somewhat. As he watched Xiao Chen fail to achieve anything after trying various plans, a smile appeared on his face.
Metamorphosis and rebirth. This was Long Fei’s best chance to defeat Xiao Chen. If he waited until Xiao Chen perfected the Flawless saber Dao, his chances of victory would become increasingly smaller.
It was very unfortunate that Xiao Chen met him. If there was no Long Fei now, he might actually have become a Sovereign Martial Emperor that could rival the Azure Emperor, using a path no one had taken before.
Unfortunately, there were no ifs in this world. It was time for this fight to end.
Xiao Chen looked up and saw the two ominous stars in the sky. Then he turned his head around and considered at the blood swords flying over quickly. Finally, he seemed to understand something.
Heaven and earth might not be benevolent, but they were not cruel. Nothing was absolute; there would always be a chance.
With Ketu Rahu Chop, the blood swords would not return without seeing blood. Death would follow after they saw blood. This was a result that could not be changed.
All things had their own reasons for existing. There definitely would be a reason for the two blood swords’ relentless pursuit.
If Xiao Chen’s guess was right, the reason was in the sky, the Ketu Star and the Rahu Star. There was nothing that the blood swords could not follow under the starlight. He suspected that as long as the light of these two stars kept shining, he would never be able to escape.
Thinking of this, Xiao Chen found the countermeasure. If it was no longer night, the starlight would naturally vanish.
Seeing the two blood swords charging over again, Xiao Chen gently spun around. A flash of light came from his forehead, and a purple talisman soared into the sky.
Burn! Immortal will of thunder!
Then, Xiao Chen shot a strand of flame from his fingertip. The fire struck the purple talisman, which ignited and illuminated the entire place.
The higher the talisman soared, the brighter the light became. The vast Magic Energy in his sea of consciousness burned without pause, providing endless energy to the purple Lightning Talisman.
When the flaming ball broke through the sky, the heavens suddenly lit up. It was a miraculous feeling. The night retreated at a rate visible to the naked eye, like the receding tide.
The vague human figures became clearer as the night fell back.