Monarch Of Time

Chapter 1060 Shadow over Iron Dawn (4)

Ma Renwu’s eyes were still filled with disbelief as he stared at the azure-robed old man.

A Dao King had come to assassinate him?

No, in the first place, how was it possible for a Dao King to have such power?

And yet, the aura pouring off the old man’s body wasn’t something that could fool Ma Renwu. It was unmistakably the aura of a peak sixth-stage body refiner.

For a brief second, the pressure in Ma Renwu’s chest deepened... but then, it flipped. He let out a hoarse, deranged laugh that reverberated throughout the room.

”Hahaha! You foolish bastard!” he spat, blood still dripping from the corner of his lips. ”So what if you’ve comprehended sword aura? I might’ve been a bit wary of you if you were also a rank 3 Dao Emperor... but a measly Dao King?! You’ve signed your death warrant!”

Without waiting for a response, Ma Renwu extricated himself from the wall and picked up his thin silver sword. Then, his aura burst out like a torrential wave, as he lunged again at the azure-robed old man.

Before he even approached him, Shun Long could see the flames around the man’s sword and his earthen armor that had already started to form again around his body.

...Naturally, how could a Dao Emperor fall from a single strike?

Shun Long met Ma Renwu’s strike with brute force again.

Sword against sword.

Once again, he didn’t use any of his qi, just the power of his body refinement cultivation and his comprehension of the sword.

But surprisingly, Ma Renwu wasn’t sent flying this time.

BOOM!

The clash rang out like a peal of thunder in the room as the Ma patriarch slid backward a few meters before digging his heels into the cracked floor, forcefully coming to a halt.

And Shun Long—

He took a step back as well.

”Hahahaha!” Ma Renwu’s laughter rang louder this time, his bloodstained face twisted into something between triumph and madness. ”Let’s see how long you can last!”

His voice turned sharp with mocking scorn.

”I wonder what’ll happen first... will your puny Dao King reserves run dry, or will the city guards arrive to drag your corpse away?! How long do you think you can keep this up before my clan members notice the commotion?”

Despite being on the losing end of the exchange, Ma Renwu didn’t seem the slightest bit worried. HE even had time to taunt Shun Long before turtling back to his earthen shell.

And he wasn’t bluffing either.

From Ma Renwu’s perspective, for a Dao King to have this level of absurd strength, it could only be the result of a forbidden technique or something similar.

Either the old man had to burn his lifelorce to match Ma Renwu’s power, or he was burning through his reserves of essence at a terrifying rate, and would only be able to last a couple of minutes at most.

For the average early rank 3 Dao Emperor, such an opponent might have proved a bit problematic, but for a defense specialist like Ma Renwu... this was an ideal fight.

Besides, even if the city guard didn’t catch wind of this fight, his family members would sooner or later notice the commotion and send someone to check up on him. In the end, this battle was only a matter of time.

...

In the span of onlya minute, Shun Long and the Ma patriarch had exchanged more than a hundred blows.

Sparks flew and blades of sword qi howled through the underground chamber, each clash sending fresh cracks through the reinforced crimson stone.

Soon enough, Ma Renwu even managed to stabilize the situation and was no longer getting pushed back.

Sure, the old man’s comprehension of the sword was leaps and bounds above his own—that had barely reached the realm of sword qi—and the bastard was even using a forbidden technique, but Ma Renwu still had one major advantage.

His Dao comprehension.

Both his Dao of Earth and his Dao of Fire were at the level of an early-stage Dao Emperor. In fact, they were at the peak of the early stages and would sooner or later break into the middle stages too. So even against someone with monstrous physical strength, they allowed him to firmly stand his ground.

And yet...

The longer the fight dragged on, the uglier Ma Renwu’s expression seemed to become.

Not only because the old man wasn’t getting any weaker, but also due to the sudden realization that had suddenly dawned upon the Ma family patriarch!

That single, inescapable realization that was beginning to sink into his bones and make his heart grow cold.

”This bastard is not using any Daos!”

Forget about high-level Daos, he wasn’t using anything at all!

He was fighting him with pure brute strength and just his sword comprehension!

Even if the old man was using a forbidden technique to boost his power, matter of fact was that they were actually even. They were even while Ma Renwu was going all-out!

The Ma patriarch gritted his teeth, his fury swelling when he realized this.

How did he not notice this earlier? Was he getting complacent?

With a sharp shout, he slashed out his sword, summoning a wide arc of flames, forcing the old man to defend himself, and taking the chance to open up the distance between them!

Ma Renwu took that moment to retreat to the other side of the room, breathing heavily for a moment.

As expected though, the azure-robed elder had already dealt with his strike and was just staring at him... before he stepped forward again, ready to continue their battle. It was as if that last strike had been nothing but a minor inconvenience to him!

But Ma Renwu didn’t seem to care about that. He had already seen this coming. His face had already contorted into anger and disbelief as he barked furiously

”You bastard! Are you messing with me? Why are you not using your Dao?!”

At that moment, the old man’s footsteps finally paused.