Chapter 429 - The God of Broadswords
They were tens of kilometers away from the scene. Deliberately concealing their aura, they watched the whole event in the city from a great distance. Bloody-moon Evil Master was pale with fright, the corner of his mouth twitching uncontrollably. He reckoned that Li Mu was destined to be his nemesis, for he did not die even in that kind of danger.
“Fu*k! That Li Mu is too cunning. He pretended to be seriously injured and enticed so many people to snap at the bait, and then killed them all!” Bloody-moon Evil Master swore despite himself. “He is sure a little sick vermin!”
The Saint of the Blood Sea gradually steadied his breathing. He glanced at his company without speaking.
Bloody-moon Evil Master went on, “This time, thanks to Your Highness’s wonderful foresight, we’ve long guessed that Li Mu might be fooling us and so left Longcheng Pass in advance. Otherwise, though Your Highness would definitely pull off a getaway, I would be doomed... I can never think Your Highness enough for saving my worthless life!”
Saint smiled and said, “Well, I appreciate that you noticed it.”
With a sincerely awed look, Bloody-moon Evil Master said, “Li Mu is indeed very difficult to deal with, but everything is as Your Highness has expected. This time, we’ve known Li Mu’s trump card. Thus, we already have a head start in the competition for the treasures in the Tomb of the God of Sin. I’m really amazed by Your Highness’s wise!”
At that, Saint’s face started burning.
But judging by Bloody-moon Evil Master’s extremely sincere look of admiration, Saint knew he was not making a sarcastic retort. Thus, he nodded and said, “Well, it’s good enough that you can understand my intentions. Let’s leave here first. It’s urgent to restore our strength. Your Highness, here we are, finally.”
Sitting on the back of the flying beast, Zhao Ji yelled joyfully.
Ahead of them was Longcheng Pass. Having traveled day and night, they finally arrived there.
They hoped that it was not too late.
No matter what, no matter what the price was, Wang Shiyu was going to save Li Mu. Even if... Li Mu died, she was determined to die with him. In that alien world, she could not let him die alone.
Wrapped in a red trench coat, Wang Shiyu was sitting on the back of a six-winged dragon.
Howling wind blew her long hair behind. Her beautiful eyes were filled with worries and fixed unblinkingly at somewhere ahead. As she saw the outline of Longcheng Pass, her eyes suddenly glinted.
“It’s gonna be fine. He will definitely be fine.”
The girl muttered to herself.
Watching the Countess’s reaction beside her, Zhao Ji felt a little sorry for her.
After hearing the news that Li Mu might be seriously injured in the fight against Emperor Qin Ming, the Countess rushed desperately towards Longcheng Pass at once.
On the way, Wang Shiyu was anxious. She did not eat or drink for days because she had no appetite. She just kept her eyes wide open and stared ahead. Her original gorgeous lips had blistered... The number one beauty of the Northern Song Empire was now like a flower fluttering in the wind and rain and might wither at any time.
Zhao Ji had never seen the quick-witted and energetic Countess so haggard before.
She had traveled day and night, exposed in the wind and the rain. But she was just an ordinary person and could not practice martial arts. He could imagine what kind of fatigue her delicate body had endured.
Also sitting on the back of the six-winged dragon were Qing Feng and Ming Yue.
Qing Feng looked calm and quiet as he always was, whereas, Ming Yue was noisy along the way. She had been yelling that if anyone dared to look at Young Master for a little bit longer, she would squash his or her bones...
“Sister, don’t worry. Nothing can happen to Young Master.” Ming Yue comforted. She did not have a good vibe for Wang Shiyu at first. But seeing Wang Shiyu so worried about her master along the way, she began to see the Countess from the Northern Song as one of them.
Finally, the six-winged dragon flew into Longcheng Pass and landed on the ground.
By that point, all the dust had settled.
“What a pleasant surprise!” Li Mu greeted Wang Shiyu with a smile.
Seeing that Li Mu was safe and sound, the joy in Wang Shiyu’s heart was beyond words, and she suddenly became radiant. However, as she noticed that Shangguan Yuting was standing next to Li Mu and holding his arm, the light in her eyes quickly dimmed.
Wang Shiyu managed a smile and said, “Yeah, here I am. I can finally rest assured as I see you are doing fine.”
“Young Master, are you okay...” Ming Yue, instead, dashed to Li Mu like a whirlwind.
Yuan Hou, who had assumed the form of a young footman in cyan robes, pushed the wheelchair and brought Qing Feng forward. The result of the battle in Longcheng Pass bandied across the entire Divine Land with great momentum.
Although all the forces that came to the Longcheng Pass to challenge Li Mu were completely annihilated, that only delayed the spread of the news for one or two days.
When those ancient factions and reclusive clans found that their heads and patriarchs’ life cards and soul cards were shattered, enormous shock and terror caused them to be completely lost and fall into chaos and panic.
Meanwhile, the army of the Great Moon Empire made no effort to block the news. On the contrary, they encouraged the spread of more details about the battle to the outside world.
“Wave-making Master and Evil Sword Demon are dead! They’ve long been killed in the Wolf Temple.”
“Wei Wubing, the Mad Scholar, has also been killed by Li Mu.”
“The Nine Superbs are dying out.”
“How terrible!”
“Qi Huai, the Southern Chu’s second-best, has also gotten killed.”
“Li Mu has cast a fraudulent scheme and killed 367 experts from assorted old factions and reclusive clans who had come to Longcheng Pass. Among the victims are four Top-Sages, 26 Sages, and 31 Semi-Sages...” The man who did the calculation was almost frightened out of his wits at the statistics and couldn’t go on.
Pieces of news exploded in the Divine Land like nuclear bombs. The deafening explosions had blown many people’s minds. All the people were left stupefied, dumbstruck.
It felt like that Li Mu alone had finished off all the strong martial arts practitioners in that world at the time.
When Li Mu just beheaded Emperor Qin Ming, it could be said that many people still questioned whether he was worth taking the seat of the world’s top one. Yet, by now, even those that hated Li Mu to the marrow had lost the nerve to question him and were all shivering in fear.
It was indisputable that Li Mu had become the strongest in the world.
Some daring people even went to the ten cities and nine counties to check out the news. They saw the mountain Wei Wubing transformed into after his death. Those smooth, mirror-like cliffs were the cuts Li Mu’s marvelous broadsword had left in his body. The mountain stretched a 100 miles, and most parts of it were constituted by precipices, which looked like naturally carved by God’s ax.
“Wei Wubing was dismembered by a broadsword. Such an exceptional broadsword-using method seems to come from heaven. Only a deity could have employed that method. Li Mu must be the God of Broadswords!”
A rogue cultivator in the Sage Realm sighed in awe.
Shortly after that, the title of the God of Broadswords was made known all over the world.
Li Mu’s broadsword-using method was invincible.
His boxing skill was also invincible.
So was his combat ability.
In short... Li Mu was invincible.
That immediately made many people dumbfounded.
The major reclusive clans and ancient factions all took different stands. Some fiercely advocated for revenge. They said if they could not avenge their heads, masters, and leaders openly, they could still do it stealthily. But most people shuddered at the news and began to discuss how to make amends to Li Mu, the God of Broadswords, and ask for his forgiveness.
Many of the forces that had previously been hostile to Li Mu also shivered in fear and began to consider running away.
In Taibai Mountain.
After hearing the news, Zhao Yu, the top genius of the Taibai Sword Faction, stood alone on the Sword Cliff in silence for half a day.
“I’ve fully mastered the art of the Star River Sword and stepped into the Celestial Being Realm, however...” He laughed bitterly. He had been following the example of Li Mu and working hard practicing martial arts. So far, Li Mu had already become a marvelous broadsword master and the top one practitioner in the world, but what had Zhao Yu achieved then?
The wind blew gently, the autumn leaves drifted off elegantly.
The mountains stretched too far to be seen. The world was too large to have a boundary.
“The road to pursuing martial arts has no end. However large you think this place is, you will find larger places when you get out of here. In this world, there is never a shortage of geniuses. Only the perseverance can remain unforgotten in history. And there are quite a lot of people who are late-blooming or can outstrip their opponents at the last moment.”
Zhao Xue’s voice fluttered over.
Zhao Yu turned back, his heart quaked with inspiration.
His eyes gradually brightened.
“Yeah, maybe I am not more gifted than those brilliant practitioners in the past or the current days, but I can make use of my tenacity.”
In the imperial palace of the Northern Song.
“Drag Li Mu to our side at all costs!” The young emperor of the Northern Song declared, his eyes gleaming feverishly.
The new top one of the world had risen. That meant that the era of the Nine Superbs was completely over, and it had entered the era of Li Mu ruling the world with his broadsword alone. Although the royal family of the Northern Song was on the verge of toppling over, it would only take one word of Li Mu to enhance its power.
Lord Virtuous the Eighth answered, “Your Majesty, I’ll do my best.”
The lord was also quite thrilled when taking the task, but he was also a little confused about where to start. Even though Li Mu and his adopted daughter were very close, the two had not been as close as to marry each other. Come to think of it, that was quite reasonable. After all, how could the top one in the world get lost in women’s charm?
The emperor of the Northern Song said, “That’s not enough. I’ll go to the ancestral temple and pray to our ancestors. I’ll ask them to enlighten me and guide the way ahead.”
He was really excited for the moment. In the imperial palace of the Western Qin.
“Lord Ming Shan, that useless moron! How can he mess up such an easy job? He even lost 10 Heavenly Demon Guards.” An imperious voice came from under the imperial palace. “I, emperor of the empire, have trained him in person. But all my efforts poured on him turned out to be in vain. Even after I’ve taught him the first tier of the Heavenly Devil Tactics, he still couldn’t get the better of that injured barbarian!”
Several princes of the Western Qin, as well as some figures, were kneeling on the cold floor of the Imperial Palace, shivering.
50 black-armored demonic guards stood in the darkness and remained motionless like statues. Only the horrible dark red light swirling behind the eye holes of armors could prove that those people were not real statues but living men.
“Lay low and don’t compete with Li Mu anymore. The tomb hiding the treasures might open earlier than we’ve expected.” That majestic voice rang again from under the imperial palace. “I will open the Heavenly Devil Pool. And you enter the pool, refine the body of devils, and get ready to go on an expedition with me.”
It was in Lord Qu’s residence in the Southern Chu.
“Li Mu must have come from Earth. It’s just that how come the planet depleted of Spiritual Qi has fostered such a strong practitioner? Is it possible that Earth has recovered its Spiritual Qi? If not, why does Li Mu have such overwhelming power that even Master could not rival in his prime days... What kind of changes has happened to Earth during the past 1,000 years?”
A slender figure in white stood by the window and looked up at the moon.
“Your honor, the leader of the black-clothed men has arrived.” A guard came in and reported respectfully.
The figure in white nodded.
In the extreme south.
Two Holy Clans— the Great River and the Diancang Faction— were in chaos.
Because their worst fear had come true.
The news that Wave-making Master and Evil Sword Demon were dead had leaked.
Without the presence of the two Nine Superbs, the strength of both the Great River and the Diancang Faction had shrunk by at least half, and they were no longer able to suppress the witch tribe in the extreme south. Therefore, the two factions were facing an era of an overall decline.
The place in the extreme south would soon be in a new round of blood and rain.
By that time, the rest of the world had learned that when Li Poyue the Guanshan Master and Dao Chongyang the Taoism Master died, the alliance of the witch tribes in the extreme south once threatened to launch a counterattack and enter the central area of the Divine Land. But later, they abruptly ceased that ambitious activity because the two Nine Superbs they had already met their downfall at that time.
One day, in the far south, the largest tribe of the Witch Alliance— the Holy Witch Tribe— was dazzled by a jet of holy light descended from heaven, which was also sighted within 1,000 miles.
The beloved daughter of the patriarch of the Holy Witch Tribe was 16 years old. She was not yet married and was still a virgin. But the moment she was exposed in that mysterious holy light, she felt extreme pain in her stomach and then fainted. Moments later, her abdomen swelled like a blown balloon. Two hours after that, she gave birth to a baby boy.
“I am the reincarnation of Witch Saint.”
The child had come to that world with a small jade plate in his mouth. When he took it out and held it in his hands, he instantly began to talk and walk. And what was more incredulous was that he also possessed a load of magical powers of the witch tribes. That was rather abnormal.