Book 12: Chapter 34: Life is Fickle, And So is the Battle Situation
Book 12: Chapter 34: Life is Fickle, And So is the Battle Situation
When Zhang Qiuxuan raised his head towards the sky, Li Zhenshi instead hung his head.
In this instant, he thought of many things.
He thought about how when he was still a young man, after he became a cultivator, he entered Central Continent Imperial City harboring the upright great ambition of achieving a great career.
In Central Continent City, he encountered a youngster of similar age as himself, cultivation level also similar. Then, they entered a certain faction in Central Continent City together. They fought a lot, but ended up becoming friends. Later on, many more things happened, one side finally entering the imperial palace, becoming the crown prince’s teacher and later on becoming the teacher of Yunqin’s Emperor.
Meanwhile, he followed that faction’s earliest big bro… that faction’s big bro ended up sitting behind the layers of curtains. However, he instead gradually became more and more estranged from that youngster he used to fight all the time back then.
That youngster from the past was precisely Zhang Qiuxuan who was right in front of him right now.
When Li Zhenshi lowered his head, reminiscing about these things, he seemed to have returned to the past. He returned to a time when Yunqin Empire still hadn’t been established yet, Central Continent City only a fraction of its current size, yet crooks already mixed in with honest folk, the time when his big bro fought against another formidable faction in the long alley.
He remembered the most intense battle where in the end, only four of them survived.
Li Zhenshi laughed, laughing at the fickleness of life, laughing at himself… laughing at the fact that someone extremely ordinary, someone who often ate noodles from large rough bowls while standing under the veranda eaves, sneaking looks at attractive girls who came and went, this type of third-rate vagrant, would actually become one of the pillars of Yunqin together with his big bro, becoming one of the most influential figures in the governing of such a massive empire.
He laughed at how Zhang Qiuxuan, who was also one of those four individuals who survived after countless blades and hatchets waved about, now became his enemy in this long valley.
He laughed because he seemed to have smelled the bloodiness from back then in that alley.
The long grass that grew between the stone cracks all around him was like solid swords, directly snapping, suddenly shooting out. The yellow sand on the ground and between the stone cracks, suddenly pulled back like a tide with speed hard to make out with the naked eye, and then rapidly expanded outwards.
His hair and beard all began to spread out, his clothes also fluttering outwards. A wave of domineering aura that seemed like it would cut down ghosts and deities alike was released from his entire body, as if it was going to crush this entire Sanskrit Passage!
Zhang Qiuxuan only sat on that horse, not moving. The aura around his body didn’t change in the slightest either.
At the very peak of Sanskrit Passage, wind sounds rushed out from a severely weathered rock cave.
Within an ordinary canyon, all cultivators and troops had to constantly worry about an ambush from the side. However, this type of canyon was extremely wide, not even large scale wooden pillars and rocks able to reach the center, the two sides also having holes one could flee into, which was why right now, even though Jiang Family’s people were already vigilantly raising their heads to watch the two canyon walls, not even those ordinary elite soldiers were that worried.
These ordinary elite soldiers all understood extremely clearly that regardless of which side of theirs represented Yunqin, if Zhang Qiuxuan’s side won, Zhang Qiuxuan definitely wouldn’t leave any of them alive. They naturally didn’t have any other choice but to fight to the death.
…
The ordinary soldiers got into position to avoid arrows, crossbow machines and other military equipment, but the Jiang Family cultivators scattered behind Li Zhenshi instead only waited with grim expressions. None of them were ordinary experts, so they naturally didn’t have to fear ordinary military equipment. However, after less than a breath of time, most of these soldiers’ pupils immediately contracted.
There were no arrows or crossbow bolts that descended.
What descended were only cold metallic figures… These figures were actually cultivators dressed in soul weapon heavy armor.
The soul weapon heavy armors were all extremely heavy. When they leapt down from above, the cultivators inside couldn’t endure the impact at all… Even if these were armors with flexible steel inside, some of the elastic steel would snap the instant they descended, and then the bones of the cultivators inside would break, their flesh tearing apart. Yunqin didn’t have any type of soul weapon heavy armors that could jump down from a city wall and directly enter enemy forces this way.
However, what these cultivators wore wasn’t any type of Yunqin heavy armor they were familiar with. What they wore was an armor full of a flesh and blood feeling, the black and gold surface having a bit of blue colored radiance flowing through it like blood.
This type of armor was completely sealed, even the eye portion was sealed with two transparent white crystals, looking just like stones. Right now, they were also flickering with white light.
The arms, elbows, knees, legs… all of these parts had flying wing-like blades around them. Behind their helmets were long braids, these braids actually were blue gemstone colored sharp blades as well.
The most crucial part was that these heavy armors all had long black and dark gold colored metal cloaks behind them. Right now, the runes on them were all shining.
These were Sky Devil Heavy Armors![1]
These were the most powerful heavy armors in Great Mang until now, weapons of slaughter only cultivators who were State Knight level or higher could use!
Xu Tianwang’s expression was still cold and callous. However, the shock in his eyes instead became a bit stronger.
Jiang Family’s intelligence would be far faster and more accurate than any of the other elders behind those layers of curtains. A large portion of Yunqin’s intelligence network was within Jiang Family’s control to begin with. As early as when Mu Chenyun[2] encountered Lin Xi, Jiang Family already knew that the emperor’s people carried out some secret military equipment transactions with Great Mang in the dark, including Sky Devil Heavy Armors among those transactions.
However, evein in Great Mang, Sky Devil Heavy Armors were extremely rare. The first reason was that the materials were rare and precious, creating them difficult, the amount Purgatory Mountain gave Great Mang’s military not that great. The other reason was that cultivators at State Knight level or higher were extremely rare no matter where you looked.
Ever since the southern expedition until now, during this entire battle’s process, the amount of high ranking military officers dressed in Sky Devil Heavy Armor didn’t exceed twenty.
In Jiang Family’s suspicions, the amount of Sky Devil Heavy Armors the emperor possessed wouldn’t be too great either.
However now, the metal figures that descended from above already exceeded forty!
…
There was an individual dressed in Martial Sector major third rank official robes, around his waist a vermilion jade belt, who drew a jade colored long blade. When facing a Sky Devil Heavy Armor that rapidly descended towards him, he reacted instinctively, releasing a slash.
It was because he was a State Master level cultivator.
In this world, State Master level cultivators could already be considered incomparably powerful existences. People like Master Painter, for many years, already left Yunqin’s Judicial Sector and military extremely helpless. Meanwhile, even when Wenren Cangyue made a request to Purgatory Mountain, all of Great Mang Dynasty wishing to kill Lin Xi, out of the hundreds of Great Mang cultivators who pursued Lin Xi, the number of State Master level cultivators wasn’t that many either.
Powerful strength will naturally create powerful confidence. That was why normally speaking, when one cultivated to State Master level, they would all involuntarily possess a type of great master like attitude.
This was just like how one who remained in a high position for most of his life would naturally have a type of dignified presence.
This military intelligence official’s first reaction originated precisely from the confidence in his cultivation that had existed for a long time.
However, before his blade even hacked out, his confidence already completely vanished.
What the Sky Devil Armors carried wasn’t only the strength of the cultivator within, it also carried the impact of descending from high above.
In that instant, just the crazy winds that blasted down blew him until it was a bit hard for him to stand steadily.
As such, he didn’t dare follow through with his slash, instead evading in horror.
He dodged the sharp blades on the arms and legs of the incoming Sky Devil Heavy Armor, but the edge of the cloak behind this Sky Devil Heavy Armor instead sliced past his body.
The metal cloak made of Night Devil Gold was also just like an extremely thin, extremely sharp soul weapon.
This Yunqin major third rank official’s body was suddenly severed at the waist. He cried out in horror, his longsword falling from his hands. His hands tried to grab his body, but no matter how he grabbed at his lower half, it still separated from his body.
Only in this instant did this horrified and heartbroken major third rank military intelligence official react to many things… Originally, in his and many others’ eyes, Yunqin Emperor Changsun Jinse was an extremely laughable monarch, just like a small child who only knew how to throw a useless tantrum when he couldn’t get any candy. However, in this instant, he realized that the only one that was laughable was instead himself.
Sky Devil Heavy Armors were hard to obtain… and not just any cultivator could wear them. More than forty State Knight level cultivators were a terrifying force no matter where they appeared. Moreover, what was even more terrifying was that this power was a hidden force, a force belonging to the emperor that didn’t appear on the surface.
That emperor who looked laughable like an idiot in so many people’s eyes already secretly accumulated such a great military force during all these years!
…
Cloaked metal sky devils plowed through Jiang Family’s formation one after another, drawing out deep waves of blood.
Out of all of the cultivators and soldiers who faced the descent of Sky Devil Heavy Armors, only two people could block their assassination.
Li Zhenshi raised his head. His right hand moved slightly, as if he was just brushing his sleeves.
It was as if countless flowing clouds rushed out from within his sleeves.
A handleless, extremely short, but extremely wide black flying sword appeared in this world.
Only a crash splitting sound could be heard.
The metal cloak of that Sky Devil Heavy Armor that rushed straight at him was directly cut through by this flying sword. This wide flying sword continued to attack swiftly, striking down on this Sky Devil Heavy Armor’s back.
An explosive hong noise sounded.
The heavy metal body suddenly flew even higher, flying out high above his head, and then crashed heavily into the ground.
At the same time, Xu Tianwang seized a scarlet red python patterned mace from someone near him.
Under the powerful infusion of soul force, the scarlet mace instantly became perfectly straight like a burning spear. It fiercely smashed into the body of a Sky Devil Heavy Armor that was currently rushing at him. Under a boom noise, this Sky Devil Heavy Armor momentarily became sluggish. The scarlet long mace suddenly became flexible, wrapping around this heavy armor whose momentum was already mostly dispelled, and then it flung it out fiercely!
The heavy soul weapon heavy armor released a shaking noise. Then, like a boulder flung out by a Stone Catapult Cart, it flew out who knew how many steps, fiercely smashing into a rock cave, into a stone buddha that had already been eroded considerably. Countless rocks collapsed, filling in that cave.
1. Purgatory Mountain soul weapons only elite Purgatory Mountain disciples with power above the peak of State Master level have a chance to obtain.
2. Deer Forest Province,’s Military Prison Commander Lin Xi killed.