Chapter 115 - A Rain of Demon Hearts
Chapter 115: A Rain of Demon Hearts
Changan, Royal City.
White Jade Square. Snow was falling from the sky.
The atmosphere before the Taiji Palace was deadly silent and oppressive like it had frozen over.
The first prince had left along with Pei Liao and the many warriors of the Imperial Court of Judicial Review. He left with a belly full of anger as he rushed to the Youzhou Demon Portal in order to uncover the truth of this matter.
However, the atmosphere in the square had not calmed down. On the contrary, it had become even tenser.
The fifth princess gently patted the second prince who was smiling like an idiot next to her. She would occasionally cough and use a silk handkerchief to cover her mouth. Her complexion was pale and when she released her hand, a hint of red tinged her silk handkerchief.
Her gaze looked a little dazed. It was as though she could not fully understand what was happening before her eyes.
The third prince’s expression looked indiscernible.
Among the hundred officials, some were clenching their fists while others were stroking their beards.
“Youzhou Demon Portal is recently pacified. There should not be demon swarms in the outer boundary. This should have never happened.”
“Unless… Unless a spell master of the seventh-class and above had used their spiritual sense to startle the beasts, chasing them until they formed a demon swarm. However, the likelihood of being able to control a demon swarm is low. This action can’t have been done in order to target the disciples of the Sword Guild. Of course, the other possibility is that someone had used the extremely precious Beast Dispelling Pearl to expel the demons and attract the less intelligent demons to form a demon swarm.”
“The Beast Dispelling Pearl is hard to come by. There are a couple in the Secret Treasures Pavilion. However, the Secret Treasure Pavilion cannot be entered without the Emperor’s permission. Only a few influential officials in the entire Changan City could get their hands on the Beast Dispelling Pearl. The third prince enjoys hunting in the demon portals… Perhaps the third prince’s palace might have a Beast Dispelling Pearl gifted by General Asi Luoshan!”
…
Whispers reached the ears of the third prince, Li Liancheng.
The third prince, Li Liancheng, viciously clenched his fist. His fingernails dug into his palm.
‘It wasn’t me!’ roared Li Liancheng in his heart.
He abruptly raised his head. The grim look in his eyes was terrifying. However, he did not make a sound or try to explain himself.
Perhaps, at that moment, the Beast Dispelling Pearl in his palace was already missing.
Li Liancheng looked at the sect leaders from the various sects and saw Nan Yehuo.
Nan Yehuo was looking straight at him. However, the focus of his eyes moved away. He did not meet the eyes of the third prince.
Li Liancheng continued looking calmly. There was enmity between him and the Sword Guild. He did not get along with Martial Arts King Jiang. He had previously acted out against the grand champion Fang Lang…
The Beast Dispelling Pearl in his palace might have disappeared. As soon as the third prince thought about it, his heart sank like a rock. It seemed as though he was being set up.
Who was behind this?
Was it his older brother, the first prince, who had left? Or was it this harmless royal sister of his?
An uproar rang out from the White Jade Square.
The image within the Thousand-Mile Mirror changed once again.
Every gaze was fixed on the Thousand-Mile Mirror, Chao Xiaojian was included among them. Coincidentally, an unbelievably shocking image appeared in the Thousand-Mile Mirror.
At the same time, everyone’s gaze turned to land upon the third prince, Li Liancheng.
…
Youzhou Demon Portal.
The storm continued to rage.
The gloomy, dark clouds enveloped the entire sky within the demon portal. The atmosphere was suffocating and oppressive as it hung over the hearts of each of the warriors within the demon portal.
The raindrops splashed into the muddy puddles, forming multiple ripples. From the entrance of the demon portal, there would be a Resource Station at every 1,000 miles. There, the disciples of the various sects could replenish their resources with the resource tokens in their possession.
As the rain poured down, a figure walked up to the Resource Station.
Multiple figures were dressed in pale blue robes. They were prim and proper and walked swiftly. The curtain of rain seemed to fall at an angle over them, as though some formless energy was parting it.
Li Yuanzhen’s figure could be seen among the crowd. This was the team of disciples from the Main Path Guild, the top sect in the Tang Dynasty.
They traveled at a breakneck pace, rushing across the thousand-mile distance to become the first team to arrive at the first Resource Station.
As the first person to set foot in the Resource Station, Li Yuanzhen wore a slight smile on his lips. He had not seen a hint of Fang Lang at this Resource Station. Neither did he see the team from the Sword Guild.
It seemed like he had won—the Main Path Guild had won.
Ever since he had lost to Fang Lang in the Imperial Examination, Li Yuanzhen had been battling internal demons. He was used to receiving glory. However, Fang Lang had given him a huge shock during the battle in the final section in the most spectacular fashion.
The once highly-regarded spell disciple had ended up becoming the butt of the joke.
Apart from his identity as the son of Administrator Li Puyi, his cultivator reputation had taken a beating.
Hence, his loss in the Imperial Examination was a recurring nightmare to Li Yuanzhen.
Regardless of the hopes and expectations of the third prince and his father, Li Yuanzhen could not reconcile with his failure.
He was a genius spell master, yet he had been defeated by Fang Lang with a flight sword tactic!
How could this… even be possible!?
Hence, this Resource Battle was a continuation of his battle with Fang Lang after the Imperial Examination. Li Yuanzhen was secretly competing with Fang Lang in his heart. He silently swore to himself, this time, he must win!
When he saw the Sword Guild team had not appeared at the first Resource Station, Li Yuanzhen instantly relaxed.
A large hand landed on Li Yuanzhen’s shoulder. The leader of the Main Path Guild team—a senior who was a ninth-class phantasm realm cultivator—gently patted Li Yuanzhen.
“Junior Li, you should relax. I heard the grand champion of the Imperial Examination had many tricks up his sleeves and snatched a victory from you. I know you still suffer from the trauma and plan to achieve a win over him. No worries, with us by your side, all you need to do is keep clear.”
An Fan, the leader of the Main Path Guild team laughed as he spoke, “Junior Li, you need a win to dispel your internal demons. That is the only way you’ll be able to cultivate freely without restrictions. You’re a disciple who the sect leader looks highly upon. Hence, don’t let a small loss affect your state of mind.”
An Fan was handsome and elegant. His hair was tied up at the ends with a velvet ribbon. His blue Main Path Guild robes billowed loosely, making him look especially cool.
Li Yuanzhen nodded his head. He felt a measure of respect as he said, “Thank you, Senior An, for your advice.”
An Fan smiled warmly. “My spell mastery is different from sword mastery. The might of my spell mastery can destroy the world. This is the true road of cultivation. No matter how powerful one’s sword mastery and blade energy are, a single forbidden spell can cause total destruction!
“However, in the beginning, sword mastery is superior to spell mastery. As long as a sword disciple is able to get close, we will undoubtedly lose. That’s why you shouldn’t take your previous loss to heart.”
Li Yuanzhen nodded his head sincerely. His eyes seemed to reveal his feelings of yearning. Forbidden spell… that was a tactic only senior spell disciples of the eight-class realm can master!
In the face of a forbidden spell, all fancy moves or tactics would be rendered useless, the opponents would be like sitting ducks.
As time continued to pass, more and more figures made their way to the Resource Station. The teams from the Immortal Martial Association, the Meridian Guild and other great sects gradually appeared. There were even a couple of teams from the first- and second-class sects that arrived.
The team from the Sword Guild still did not appear.
Li Yuanzhen, Ximen Xianxian, Wei Sheng and the others all frowned—they felt something was up. With the ability of the Sword Guild team, it was impossible that they were behind the first and second-class sects…
The sound of thunder continued to boom as blade energy tore through the curtain of rain. The Donglu’s Sword League disciples scurried in. They were saddled with swords and looked a little embarrassed.
The disciples of the Donglu’s Sword League all looked ill at ease. They had waited for a long time but their leader, Lin Muzhe, had still not returned. In the end, they decided they could wait no longer and rushed to the Resource Station.
Without their fourth-class sword intent realm leader, the Donglu’s Sword League disciples found it extremely challenging as they faced the powerful demons in the forest. None of them were unscathed from the encounter.
The disciples of the Donglu’s Sword League circled the area once and when they realized the disciples of the Sword Guild were absent, they all let out a sigh of relief.
Some of the disciples’ eyes sparkled. Lin Muzhe definitely went to stir up some trouble for the Sword Guild. From what they witnessed, the outcome was evidently to their favor.
If the Sword Guild was not able to gain resources to match that of the ten great guilds, the sect would weaken and the Donglu’s Sword League would be able to catch up to them. The Sword Guild would be removed from the pedestal of the ten great guilds!
“The Sword Guild has not arrived. They’re not even a match for these second-class sects. The Sword Guild has really been a disappointment this year.”
In the distance, the leader of the Nanhai Sword Association team frowned as he remarked somewhat disdainfully.
This year might be the Nanhai Sword Association’s year! After all, the Sword Guild had not arrived and the Donglu’s Sword League was pretty ordinary. It looked like this year, the Nanhai Sword Association might be able to crush the Sword Guild and force its way into the ten great guilds!
Numerous disciples of the various sects were excited.
The Sword Guild was one of the ten great guilds so naturally, their performance would draw everyone’s attention.
However, the Sword Guild’s performance this year was extremely disappointing. Where were they? This standard was ridiculously low!
Rumor had it the grand champion of the latest Imperial Examination was among the disciples of the Sword Guild team. What was this result then?
Within the station, numerous disciples sat down to rest, watching the unending storm outside the station. The thoughts of many of the disciples were running wild.
The minds of the Nanhai Sword Association disciples were filled with certain optimistic ideas.
All of a sudden! A couple of disciples with keen senses noticed the rustling sound of footsteps coming from the forest.
In the next moment, the sitting disciples got to their feet. Their eyes were filled with shock and disbelief!
“This…”
Li Yuanzhen squeezed his eyes tightly.
The Nanhai Sword Association disciples were astonished as they fixed their eyes intently at something in the rain.
The rain continued to pour down accompanied by booming thunder.
Six figures slowly made their way over. Huang Ying, Ni Wen, Geshu Yuehua and Li Bubai were all dressed in white. Even though they were drenched from the rain, their robes were still pure white.
Looking further down, Jiang Linglong could be seen covered in a large amount of blood. Lastly, there was a youth saddled with three swords in his sword box.
A youth dressed in bloodied robes.
A champion dressed in bloodied robes.
An uproar broke out in the station.
What on earth had happened!?
A couple of the team leaders’ eyes flickered with realization. It appeared they had figured it out. They had sensed a faint hint of a demon swarm with their abilities.
After all, the rippling of demonic energy formed from numerous demons congregating did not go unnoticed by them. Even if they wanted to challenge the demon swarm, they would not have the ability to do so. Hence, all the leaders had led their teams further away from the demon swarm. After they had killed individual demons, they quickly continued their journey.
It looked like the demon swarm was related to the Sword Guild! The disciples of the Donglu’s Sword League were utterly shocked. A couple of them rushed out into the rain.
“There’s no way!”
“What about Senior Lin!?”
“The disciples of the Sword Guild are here? What happened to Senior Lin?”
Among the Donglu’s Sword League disciples, there were a couple who had an idea about Lin Muzhe’s plan. They all looked extremely pale as they cried out.
“You mean that b*tch, Lin?”
Geshu Yuehua who arrived at the first Resource Station bared her teeth, looking extremely fierce and intimidating. Her body was bent like a bow. In the next moment, she sprang out, running frenziedly in the rain. As her footsteps landed on the ground, it was like geysers erupting!
In an instant, she appeared right in front of a disciple of the Donglu’s Sword League! She threw a savage kick!
“How dare she schemed against us!”
Geshu Yuehua vented in a crazed manner. All the fear she experienced because of the demon swarm was being released at this moment!
The Donglu’s Sword League disciple let out an angry roar and took his sword out of its scabbard. He swung at Geshu Yuehua’s long legs.
However, Geshu Yuehua did a flip in the air and a broadsword appeared in her hand. She swung hers in retaliation.
Despite her natural talents, she had been tricked by Fang Lang. However, when pitted against ordinary disciples, it was practically abuse!
With a single swing, the disciple’s sword shattered into pieces and his body was covered in blood. Half of his body was nearly sliced off.
Blood spilled everywhere as that disciple was sent flying 100 feet back. His blood stained the rainwater and the surrounding mud.
Fang Lang in his bloodied robes did not do anything to stop Geshu Yuehua from venting her feelings. He considered this foreign girl who did not run away when they faced the demon swarm a teammate.
All around, numerous eyes were focused on them.
Fang Lang continued to trudge ahead in his bloodstained robes. He waved his hand.
Instantly, a ripple spread through the air. In the space before Fang Lang, multiple fresh demon hearts appeared. As they hovered in the air, they looked like frozen raindrops.
In the station, every disciple blinked their eyes in disbelief.
Whoosh! The hearts dropped like rain and clattered all over the ground!
The Nanhai Sword Association team leader, who had previously thought his guild had a chance of winning this year, watched as Fang Lang made it rain demon hearts. He subconsciously raised his hand and fanned himself.
‘Disappointing performance!? So you really thought the Nanhai Sword Association had a chance this year!? This group of ruthless teens from the Sword Guild slaughtered the… demon swarm!?’
Li Yuanzhen’s pupils contracted. He had felt a little smug as the Main Path Guild was the first team to arrive at the Resource Station. However, the pride was gone when he saw Fang Lang shower the entire area with demon hearts. It was like that moment at the Imperial Examination battle ring when Fang Lang’s flight sword trick skill destroyed his confidence and obliterated his faith.
The demon heart rain made Li Yuanzhen’s newly regained confidence go up in smoke.
Did he kill so many demons single-handedly!?
He must be a monster!
All of a sudden, something different fell down from the sky. Everyone’s eyes widened. The disciples of the Donglu’s Sword League looked as pale as snow.
That was a human head!
Dark flowing hair and beautiful features that had streaming blood and tears…
Lin Muzhe’s head!
Thud!
The head fell to the ground and laid among the demon hearts. At the same time, it also crushed the heart of every disciple.