Martial Cultivator

Daoist Qian Ji raised a hand, using a terrifying burst of qi to block Chen Chao. But in the blink of an eye, that qi was instantly shattered by Chen Chao’s punch. The sound of it breaking was like a porcelain bowl hitting the ground.

Then Chen Chao punched directly into Daoist Qian Ji’s chest. With a slight exertion of force, the qi in his body converged at a single point, then suddenly erupted.

Daoist Qian Ji’s chest caved in.

A trickle of black blood trickled from the corner of Daoist Qian Ji’s mouth. He frowned slightly, and his five fingers curled like claws, attempting to grab Chen Chao’s throat.

But he was forced to take another punch from Chen Chao, which directly shattered that hand, exposing white bone.

Even though he had come so far, becoming an existence at the end of Nepenthe, in the face of a martial artist like Chen Chao who had forged his body to the absolute peak, his frail physique stood no chance of contending against him.

Black qi wrapped around Daoist Qian Ji’s palm as he began to regenerate his arm, bit by bit. Then he tried to create distance, unwilling to get close to Chen Chao any longer.

But Chen Chao would never give him that chance. Every time Daoist Qian Ji wanted to find an opportunity to break away from the battlefield, Chen Chao would, as a matter of course, throw another punch his way.

At such moments, Daoist Qian Ji would have no choice but to evade the punch. In doing so, he would also lose his chance to retreat.

In this way, even he had already taken several punches from Chen Chao.

At this point, Daoist Qian Ji’s body was already in shambles. If not for a strand of qi within still holding him together, he would have been smashed apart by Chen Chao long ago.

Daoist Qian Ji was powerless in the face of it.

This young martial artist before him was simply too overbearing.

Moments later, Daoist Qian Ji seized an opportunity, turned around, and fled toward Yingchun Commandery.

Chen Chao frowned slightly, as if he had already seen through Daoist Qian Ji’s intentions. He gathered strength and threw another punch. This time, it landed squarely on Daoist Qian Ji’s back, sending him crashing into the city wall ahead.

The city wall instantly burst open with a massive hole, Chen Chao’s punch had shattered it in one blow. Daoist Qian Ji’s body fell into the city below. He narrowed his eyes and sneered. Though his body was severely injured at this moment, he did not seem to care. In his eyes, Chen Chao was not much better off. They were in the same state.

But you’re a martial artist. Do you have the means to recover in an instant?

No, you don’t. But I do.

Black qi spilled from Daoist Qian Ji’s fingertips once again. Countless runes carrying resentful spirits scattered throughout the city, clearly intending to feast on the blood essence of the townsfolk to restore his body.

Once his injuries were healed, the second half of his battle with Chen Chao would already be decided.

Reversing the tide of battle would be just a matter of a single thought.

Chen Chao watched all of this unfold, his expression ugly. But this Lord Warden Commander did not panic. He merely looked up and shouted angrily, “Yu Xiyi, it’s time for you to fucking take action!”

Before the words had even faded, a flash of sword light appeared atop the city wall. It came with a fierce momentum, sweeping across countless streets and alleys, instantly cutting down all those resentful spirits.

Countless wails echoed out, but under this sword strike, they were utterly unable to resist. They dissipated into nothing with ease.

After slaying the spirits, the sword light circled back, heading straight for Daoist Qian Ji.

A flying sword gleaming with a cold light, bringing with it an overwhelming sword qi.

In an instant, the terrifying sword qi filled the entire sky!

A young sword immortal in green robes appeared on the city wall. Forming a sword seal with his fingers, he smiled and said, “Weren’t you looking so brave just now? I thought I’d leave you an excellent opportunity to make a name for yourself.”

Chen Chao ignored the sword immortal. He leaped up, landing behind Daoist Qian Ji, and unleashed a punch. A terrifying blast of fist qi howled forth.

Daoist Qian Ji had originally still been dodging the attacks of that flying sword.

At this moment, he completely failed to notice the incoming punch. Caught off guard, he was struck heavily by this punch.

Chen Chao did not hesitate. As he continued charging forward, Cloud Mud at his waist was unsheathed once again, and he thrust the saber straight toward Daoist Qian Ji.

At the same time, the incomparably sharp flying sword Wild Grass swept in, slashing at Daoist Qian Ji’s arm.

A saber and a sword, Daoist Qian Ji was overwhelmed and could not defend against either.

In just a brief moment, multiple new wounds had appeared all over his body.

Chen Chao seized the opportunity and slashed at Daoist Qian Ji’s arm. With a forceful pull, he directly severed the entire limb.

Then the saber spun and cleaved Daoist Qian Ji in two at the waist.

The flying sword Wild Grass pierced through the heart of this Glaze Temple Master in the very next instant.

Daoist Qian Ji’s face turned ashen as he slowly closed his eyes.

But Chen Chao did not care. He smashed a punch straight at Daoist Qian Ji’s head.

That head burst apart like a watermelon under this punch.

Then, from within the shattered head, a small black figure emerged.

Chen Chao thrust his saber through the little figure, sneering, “Everyone knows you’re not the type to admit defeat so easily!”

The tiny black figure’s face was filled with hatred and unwillingness. After all his years of cultivation, he had never imagined he would die at the hands of two youngsters.

Chen Chao could not be bothered to say more. With a twist of his saber, he crushed the last trace of Daoist Qian Ji’s vitality. Only then did he take a deep breath and exhale a mouthful of white mist.

After that, Chen Chao forcefully drove his saber into the ground. Only then, did he notice that the flying sword was slowly returning to the city wall. The flying sword returned to its sheath.

Yu Xiyi leapt down from the city wall and made his way over, clicking his tongue as he said, “Chen Chao, I hadn’t realized it before, but you really do have some skill. That was a powerhouse at the end of Nepenthe, a great daoist sage. Without me, you’d still have been able to kill him, just would’ve taken you more time.”

Chen Chao gave Yu Xiyi a tired glance and raised an eyebrow as he said, “Don’t give me that damn sarcastic nonsense. That guy was just a Nepenthe, plain and simple - an unorthodox heretic path with a shaky foundation. If I’d really run into those powerhouses who are truly at the end of Nepenthe, someone like the Sword Sect’s Sect Master, he would’ve been sent straight to heaven with a single sword strike.”

Yu Xiyi clicked his tongue again. “No matter what, he was someone at the end of Nepenthe.”

Chen Chao let out a turbid breath and asked softly, “What about the Glaze Temple?”

Yu Xiyi grinned. “With me around, what’s there to worry about? That Galze Temple, every single cultivator there was slaughtered, not a single one escaped. I destroyed their ancestral hall with a single sword, but that wasn’t enough to vent my anger, so I followed up with another slash and took down half the mountain peak along with it. I’d wager within the next hundred years, no blind fool would dare to establish a sect in that damn place again.”

Chen Chao raised an eyebrow, just about to speak.

Yu Xiyi added with a chuckle, “Then your Great Liang’s people who were still unsatisfied set the place on fire.”

Chen Chao’s face darkened. Goddammit, the Glaze Temple was already destroyed. That mountain now belonged to Great Liang. Burning it down like that was totally unnecessary.

Those guys, don’t they even know how to cherish their own territory?

Yu Xiyi chuckled as he helped Chen Chao up. “You should have seen it, when the killing started, those guys worked even harder than me. Their eyes were bloodshot from killing.”

Chen Chao sheathed his saber and said flatly, “They’d been bottling up that resentment for a long time. It’s only normal.”

Yu Xiyi nodded. Those animals from the Glaze Temple deserved to die.

The two of them walked slowly down the long street. Yu Xiyi kept waiting for Chen Chao to say something. But after watching him for a while and realizing Chen Chao did not seem to have any intention of speaking, he finally could not help but ask, “You planning to rest a bit before heading off to kill Yinii?”

Chen Chao glanced at Yu Xiyi and shook his head. “Yu Xiyi, if you’re not gonna use your brain, why even grow one?”

Yu Xiyi frowned. “Are you courting death, punk?”

Chen Chao shook his head and did not tease him further. Instead, he got straight to the point. “Yinli isn’t that stupid. Why would he wait around for us? He’s already on his way here. I’d guess he’ll arrive within an hour.”

Yu Xiyi froze for a moment, then asked, “What about that guy Yun Jianyue?”

The plan to have the three of them fight Yinli together had been decided from the start, but Yun Jianyue still had not shown up.

Yu Xiyi suddenly looked shocked. “He’s not planning to wait for Yinli to kill us and then swoop in to clean it up, is he?”

Chen Chao was rather speechless, “Don’t assume he’s as shameless as you.”

Yu Xiyi muttered under his breath, genuinely starting to find this brat in front of him a bit annoying.

Chen Chao pulled out a sheet of paper from his robes and handed it to Yu Xiyi. “That old bastard Yinli’s seen this thing before, he’ll definitely be wary of it. You take it, catch him off guard when the time comes.”

Yu Xiyi narrowed his eyes at the page, then grinned. “Good idea.”

Then Chen Chao handed him a demon bead and said, “There’s something inside here that Yinli definitely wants. That means when the time comes, he’ll be even more eager to kill you. Use that page then, but you only get one chance. Be careful.”

Yu Xiyi nodded to show he understood. But quickly reacted, belatedly realizing something. “The hell, both of those things are on me. Am I gonna be the first one to die?! You punk, did you do that on purpose or was it an accident?”

Chen Chao said in surprise, “You figured it out?”

Yu Xiyi looked depressed.

Damn it, why does this stinking brat always treat me like an idiot?!

Chen Chao patted Yu Xiyi on the shoulder, smiling earnestly. “With great power comes great responsibility. A sword immortal like you, the greater your strength, the greater your burden.”

Yu Xiyi opened his mouth to speak.

But Chen Chao suddenly turned his head toward the horizon and said, “He’s here.”