Tycoon War God

Blacklands, in the middle of the desert.

An elderly man staggered through the whirling sands, looking as though he was in his final years and about to pass away.

A figure tore through the air and arrived.

”Rui!”

The newcomer prostrated on the ground, kissing the old man’s toes.

”Praka, it’s you. Why do you disturb my arduous cultivation?” The old man, Rui, stroked the newcomer’s head, a benevolent smile gracing his wrinkled face.

Praka said respectfully, ”Most exalted Rui, in the East, the Shen Lang you have been observing has left his seclusion.”

”Oh? Has he broken through? No, that’s impossible. If he had succeeded, the power would be so vast that I would have surely sensed it.” Rui was puzzled.

Praka said, ”All-knowing Rui, you are truly peerless in your wisdom. Shen Lang has not broken through. He has left seclusion to challenge the contemporary myth, Lin Wudi.”

”When?”

”Today. Right now.”

”What a shame. I am going to miss the pinnacle battle of our time.”

”Your inability to watch is their loss, O supreme Rui.”

”Haha, perhaps.”

Rui, in the Ancient Pyramid language, is the name of the Sun God.

***

「Western Europe, Olympus.」

A streak of water shot into the heavens.

”Fire God, Thunder God was slain by Lin Wudi. Perhaps this is our chance to retrieve the Zeus Tri-God Artifact.”

***

「Northern Europe, the Dark Church.」

A dark shadow hovered above the church, looking down on the Satan worshippers inside.

”The day of our Lord’s return will be the day of the East’s demise.”

***

「America, Area 51.」

”Marvel! Quick! Redirect all satellites to Huaxia, to the East Mountain Great Wall!”

”Captain, what’s happening?”

”The contemporary myth, Lin Wudi, is facing the Huaxia Sword Deity, Shen Lang, in a decisive battle atop the Great Wall!”

”Ah! I have to call Jack and Super Green! We can’t miss this ultimate confrontation.”

***

The battle between Lin Mu and Shen Lang was too abrupt.

Ninety-nine percent of the world’s powerhouses were unable to witness it. Only a handful of mighty beings closest to the borders of the Huaxia Country forcibly broke through, rushing toward the East Mountain Great Wall near the Capital City.

***

”Master, is that Shen Lang up ahead?” Li Xiaotian, Li Lingqing, and Li Linglong all wore expressions of shock.

They had practically grown up listening to the legends of the Huaxia Sword Deity, Shen Lang. In contrast, the youngest among them, Leng Feng, seemed rather indifferent.

”I don’t care if he’s Shen Lang or Shen Tide, we just have to knock him down.”

Lin Mu patted Leng Feng on the head.

”Master, can you please stop patting my head? I’m not a kid anymore.” Leng Feng tried to dodge but failed.

”When you can finally dodge my hand, I’ll stop.”

That day feels impossibly far away, Leng Feng thought. I’ll probably never see it in this lifetime.

BOOM!

Atop East Mountain, Lin Mu’s figure soared into the air, his robes fluttering as gracefully as an immortal’s.

On the Great Wall, Shen Lang unsheathed his longsword. Its brilliant radiance blazed like the sun as the Sword God descended upon the mortal world.

Lin Mu’s celestial might was as vast and boundless as the ocean.

Shen Lang, dressed in white purer than snow, possessed a divine might as sharp as a sword!

The two occupied opposite sides of the heavens and earth, their auras equally astounding.

”Lin Wudi, I believed I had gained some insight from watching your battle with Zhang Daoyun. However, despite my seclusion, I have failed to take that final step!” Shen Lang declared. ”To battle you today is truly one of life’s greatest joys!”

”If I win, I shall break through to Reaching the Divine and achieve the God Realm.”

”If I lose, I shall die by your hand, and you will take control of the Dragon Protection Hall.”

Shen Lang spoke with complete candor, openly stating his intent to use Lin Mu for his breakthrough. He didn’t even mention the destruction of the Shen Family or the death of Shen Cheng.

”Shen Lang, you have, in fact, already broken through. It is simply a pity that you are constrained by your own heart and have failed to grasp the true essence of this level. The God Realm is merely an extension of the Martial Way. You already stand at its pinnacle, just one step away from attaining immortality!”

Lin Mu floated through the air, his words deliberate and measured. His tone was calm, yet his statement was earth-shattering.

Already broken through to Reaching the Divine? Constrained by his own heart? Are Lin Mu’s words meant to disturb Shen Lang’s focus, or does he have another motive?

On the Great Wall, Jin Shisan’s gaze flickered. I always felt the Hall Master’s aura was strange... could it be...

But Shen Lang’s martial heart was resolute; he would not be swayed by a few words from Lin Mu.

”Since you claim I have reached the God Realm, I shall let you see if my strike possesses the might of one.”

Shen Lang’s white robes danced in the wind, his presence as overwhelming as a rainbow. A sword-shaped mark slowly materialized on his forehead.

”Sword, come!”

In the sky above, clouds began to gather. As Shen Lang waved his hand, countless white clouds condensed into swords. They were grand and lofty, spanning the sky as they traveled for miles to smash down upon Lin Mu.

Where the sword light passed, the air ruptured, rocks were sent flying, and the winds churned violently, creating a scene of apocalypse.

Watching this, Jin Shisan muttered to himself, ”Lin Wudi was right. This isn’t the God Realm. This isn’t a Martial Artist Reaching the Divine... this is clearly the work of an Immortal.”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A thousand cloud swords plunged directly toward the mountain peak where Lin Mu stood.

”The First of the Twelve Forms for Slaying Gods, Demons, and Punishing Immortals!”

”Godslayer Finger!”

Previously, against Han Xian, Lin Mu’s Godslayer Finger had borrowed the power of the sky, using the clouds to form the finger. This time, against Shen Lang, he used the mountain’s rocks.

The colossal finger formed from stone clashed with Shen Lang’s thousand cloud swords.

Three hundred cloud swords shattered.

The Godslayer Finger cracked.

Six hundred cloud swords shattered.

The Godslayer Finger was whittled down.

A thousand cloud swords broke into pieces.

The Godslayer Finger dissipated into nothingness.

In the distance, Li Xiaotian, Li Lingqing, Li Linglong, and Leng Feng all stared, their eyes wide with shock. For the first time in their lives, their master Lin Wudi’s Godslayer Finger had failed to defeat an opponent.

”Excellent!” Shen Lang roared to the heavens. ”You are truly worthy of your title, ’Wudi’! Lin Wudi, now take this sword!”

Shen Lang struck once more. This time, he truly drew his sword.

It was slim, edgeless, and entirely pitch-black. He thrust it forward with a simple, unadorned motion that looked like a fencer’s lunge in a sporting match.

Yet, this thrust struck Li Xiaotian and the others with an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

”Master’s ’Returning to Simplicity’,” Li Linglong, who had seen Lin Mu settle accounts and Qin Luoli knit sweaters, blurted out.

Yes, Returning to Simplicity. Shen Lang’s strike possessed the same profound subtlety as Lin Mu’s technique.

”The Huaxia Sword Deity is truly worthy of his name.”

Far away, atop a mountain ridge, a figure dressed in ninja attire with a covered face exclaimed with sincere admiration in the language of the Island Country.

This single strike from Shen Lang fully displayed the grace of a Sword God.

Jin Shisan was completely dazzled, wishing he could be the one in Shen Lang’s place. A sword thrust with no fanfare, its killing intent perfectly concealed within. What incredible power.

”Hahaha! A fight like this is worth breaking my self-imposed restraints and making a move!” Battle intent flared in Lin Mu’s eyes. This was the most exhilarating fight he’d had since his rebirth, even though it was only the second exchange.

Between masters, a mere clash of auras could shake the heavens and earth.

This Shen Lang... what a pity he was born in the wrong place. If he were in the Immortal Realm, a genius like him could have become an Immortal King as easily as reaching into a bag.

”I shall borrow a thousand miles of these green mountains!”

Lin Mu stomped on the ground and clawed fiercely at the empty air. As if by an Emperor’s Decree, heaven and earth submitted.

All across East Mountain, the trees instantly withered, their life force gone. Rocks crumbled and collapsed. The very peak beneath Lin Mu’s feet was shaved down by ten feet.

The might contained in his words was terrifying.

The phantom of a mountain range gradually took shape in Lin Mu’s hand. The hundreds of miles of East Mountain were seemingly condensed between his fingers.

”Borrowing a thousand miles of green mountains” was a literal name for a literal technique.

”Lin Wudi has drained all the Spiritual Energy from a thousand miles of East Mountain with just a single declaration! Such power... I’m afraid not even a Foundation Establishment Immortal could manage that!” Mo Ran, the Deputy of the Dragon Protection Hall, was utterly dumbfounded.