Martial Cultivator

The Great Liang Emperor stood amidst the sea of fire, prompting concern among onlookers. Meanwhile, many civilians who had caught sight of the flames rising from the Imperial City were left astonished.

What was that?

Was it heavenly fire descending upon the world?

For various reasons, the Great Liang Dynasty had always dismissed beliefs in ghosts and gods. Yet, this spectacle unfolding before their eyes was undeniable, leaving them feeling bewildered.

Could this be divine punishment, sent to destroy the Great Liang?

For a moment, unease spread among the populace.

But soon enough, they saw the flames dissipate. The vast sea of fire was extinguished in an instant, and they saw a towering figure appear in the skies above the Imperial City. It was very far away and difficult to see who it was.

But all of the common people knew that that was their emperor.

”Long live His Majesty!”

More and more civilians gathered in front of the Imperial City, gazing upward at the heavens. Someone could not help but shout out.

Then, one voice after another joined in:

”Long live His Majesty!”

Their emperor was definitely not have been a perfect ruler under certain circumstances. The stories surrounding him, when recorded in history books for future generations, might be impossible to judge objectively after a thousand years. But setting those aside, in the eyes of the common people, the emperor before them was the best ruler they could have hoped for. It was because of him that Great Liang had seen rare victories in the war against the demon race. Because of him, they no longer felt as lowly as before when facing those cultivators.

All in all, such an emperor was definitely an excellent one.

……

……

Having dispersed the sea of fire, the Great Liang Emperor descended slowly. With a sweep of his emperor robe, boundless qi sealed the area around the Temple Master, preventing this Temple Master of the Infatuation Daoist Temple. this leader of Daoism in the world, from leaving.

The Temple Master sensed the surging qi surrounding him, remained silent for a moment, and then asked, ”Does Your Majesty truly intend to kill this penniless daoist?”

The Great Liang Emperor replied, ”Why not?”

”If Your Majesty truly kills this penniless daoist, then today’s matter won’t end today.”

The Temple Master was very calm. He represented this world’s daoist sects. He could die, but he could not die at the hands of the Great Liang Emperor. If he truly perished at the Great Liang Emperor’s hands, it would lead to an all-out war between the daoist sects and Great Liang. At that point, even the entire foreign lands might be swept into the conflict. The human race would descend into chaos, and the demon race would march southward, reenacting history.

That would be a terrible consequence.

The Great Liang Emperor said nothing, simply walking toward the Temple Master.

The Temple Master’s expression became rather ugly. Although he did not sense killing intent from the Great Liang Emperor, judging by the Great Liang Emperor’s actions and the overwhelming pressure of heaven and earth, it did not look like he would hold back. 𝔯αℕ∅ВÊ𝙎

Since he would not hold back, how was that different from intending to kill?

Realizing this, the Temple Master did not hesitate further. Countless talismans poured out of his sleeves, their colors bright and varied. Some were very old, while others were freshly made. The ancient ones were left by generations of great daoist sages from the temple, while the newer ones were drawn just before he left the Infatuation Daoist Temple.

The countless talismans swayed in the air, emanating an endlessly terrifying aura as they began to activate, attempting to blast open a path out of this place.

This combination of powerful auras left behind by generations of daoist predecessors briefly tore through a portion of the oppressive qi in front of him. Yet, almost immediately, the surrounding qi surged back in.

Moments later, the talismans all shattered, but it failed to break through the Great Liang Emperor’s qi.

The Temple Master’s expression turned unnatural. Even with the techniques employed by a great daoist sage like him, it actually failed to break through the means of the Great Liang Emperor.

In a single thought, the Temple Master’s figure suddenly dissipated, attempting to escape using another magic ability. Yet, in the same instant, he reappeared in his original position.

He failed to escape.

The Great Liang Emperor glanced at the Temple Master without a word.

This leader of Daoism seemed far too weak in front of him. Right at that moment, a peachwood sword appeared in front of the Temple Master. That peachwood sword had already appeared in the world many times of late.

Because the Sword Sect’s Sect Master had already traveled to many places carrying that peachwood sword on his back.

But, there were few who knew what that peachwood sword was.

The Great Liang Emperor raised an eyebrow and asked, “The Dao Ancestor’s sword artifact?”

The Temple Master remained silent, merely urging the sword artifact forward. Profound auras erupted from the Dao Ancestor’s sword artifact, then it began to tear apart the boundless qi laid out by the Great Liang Emperor.

A moment later, the qi began to dissipate, and a path was carved open.

Following behind the peachwood sword, the Temple Master finally carved out a path and walked out.

However, the next moment, he faced a direct attack from the Great Liang Emperor.

The Great Liang Emperor threw a punch, and the entire Imperial City shook once more. An endless surge of qi emanated from his body and began sweeping forward relentlessly.

To onlookers, this punch was already terrifying beyond imagination. But to the Temple Master who was about to face it head-on, what kind of scene could it possibly be?

The Temple Master felt as though heaven and earth themselves were pressing down upon him.

Cultivators could borrow the power of heaven and earth, so they understood this sensation very well. Yet what he felt now was not the so-called power of heaven and earth.

It was... an actual world.

The Great Liang Emperor seemed infinitely tall, infinitely vast. At this moment, it was as if he was the entire world.

As the mortal emperor of the world, he could be said to represent the entire world in some sense.

The Temple Master felt unprecedented pressure.

He did not dare to walk forward and could only retreat.

His retreat was very swift. In the blink of an eye, he had already reached the far wall at the edge of the plaza.

In the next moment, he crashed through the vermilion wall and fled into the distance.

Yet the Great Liang Emperor was always in front of him.

The Temple Master urged the Dao Ancestor’s sword artifact forward, which landed in front of the Great Liang Emperor. But the Great Liang Emperor blocked the sword’s tip with a single palm.

It could not advance an inch further.

A hint of blood already seeped out of the corners of the Temple Master’s mouth.

While the Great Liang Emperor was expressionless.

Chen Chao watched as the two figures moved further away from the Imperial City’s plaza. He leaped up and landed on a high wall. After some thought, Yun Jianyue also flew over.

The two stood side by side.

Yun Jianyue’s expression was complicated, the aura within his body mysterious. He had already vaguely fallen into a mysterious realm. If it continued like this, he would probably seize the opportunity to break through to the next realm, and step into Nepenthe, becoming a daoist sage.

Chen Chao sensed this but did not attack. He just looked ahead.

……

……

The Temple Master shattered countless buildings within the Imperial City, but still could not stop.

Because the Great Liang Emperor did not want him to stop.

It was a very frustrating situation, and also a situation filled with humiliation. With the Temple Master’s status, how could he ever have encountered such a thing?

The Great Liang Emperor’s expression remained unchanged, only continuously pressuring the Temple Master.

The aura within the Imperial City grew even more terrifying. In the places invisible to the naked eye, countless streams of qi intertwined and burst forth at this moment. At this time, not only ordinary cultivators but even powerhouses at the Nepenthe Realm would be instantly torn apart by the overwhelming qi if they appeared beside the two.

The Temple Master spat out a mouthful of blood and suddenly accelerated, finally creating some distance. Then, several brilliant magic artifacts appeared before him.

The Great Liang Emperor arrived in front of the magic artifacts and struck with a single punch.

The painting in front was shattered in an instant by this mortal emperor, followed by the second, then the third...

The fragments of the magic artifacts scattered in all directions, and the surrounding palace walls collapsed within moments, raising clouds of dust.

The Temple Master was still retreating non-stop, finally summoning a seal. In fact, the seal had been hanging from the Temple Master’s waist the entire time. But at this moment, it suddenly detached and flew in front of the Great Liang Emperor.

It was the Infatuation Daoist Temple Master’s seal, an item that only the successive temple masters could wear.

It bore the blessing of the past temple masters, making it one of the most powerful magic artifacts in Daoism; second only to the Daoist Ancestor’s sword artifact.

At this point in the battle, the outcome between the Great Liang Emperor and the Temple Master had already been decided.

The Temple Master had already used countless means and magic artifacts, yet still found himself at a disadvantage. On the other hand, the Great Liang Emperor did not use a single thing.

A martial artist like him did not rely on external objects to begin with.

The Temple Master looked at the seal, it was his last remaining hope.

If he was defeated again, there was a high possibility that he would die here.

But looking at the momentum of the Great Liang Emperor, it was hard for him to think optimistically about surviving.

……

……

On top of the Divine Capital’s city wall, Zhou Gouqi stood atop the city wall, gazing at the distant sky.

A sword intent came from afar.

Zhou Gouqi waved his large sleeve, meeting that sword intent head-on.

In an instant, a fierce wind whipped across the entire city wall. That sword intent carried endless sword qi as it surged toward him.

The sound of rustling filled the air.

Several rips immediately appeared in Zhou Gouqi’s robes.

A middle-aged man appeared on the city wall, it was precisely the Sword Sect’s Sect Master.

The Sword Sect’s Sect Master glanced at Zhou Gouqi and did not pause at all. He merely flicked his fingers, sending a sword strike, and a flood of sword qi surged in front of Zhou Gouqi, trapping him in place.

The Sword Sect’s Sect Master swept past, directly entering the city.

Zhou Gouqi struggled within the endless sword intent, but he could only smile bitterly.

The Sword Sect’s Sect Master’s Sword Dao cultivation was already unmatched in the world. When it came to killing power, he might even be stronger than the Infatuation Daoist Temple Master.

If someone like him was bent on entering the city, there were likely few in this world who could stop him.

Zhou Gouqi was not among those few.

So, he could only watch.