Chapter 394 - 375: The Verdict is In

Chapter 394: Chapter 375: The Verdict is In

"How dare you, you insolent brat!!"

Mr. Celestial Sword’s expression changed drastically, his beard trembling in fury.

He never would have dreamed that this whelp from the Guixi Sect was so utterly insane!

’Isn’t he afraid of death?’

’Isn’t he afraid of the righteous and demonic paths joining forces to annihilate him? Isn’t he afraid of jeopardizing the grand plan and bringing about the future Destructive Beast Tide?’

’All for a single, insignificant city of mortals?’

’When weighing the pros and cons, these mortals were nothing but chaff, ready to be sacrificed at a moment’s notice!’

’Besides, with the power this boy has demonstrated, if he truly wanted a city—or even a supply of blood-food—all he had to do was ask! The higher-ups would surely have granted him one, or even several!’

’Why did he have to choose the stupidest possible path and make an enemy of the entire world, all for this one city of ants?!’

"Since you’re looking for death, I shall grant you your wish!"

Nearby, Xuehe licked his crimson lips, his eyes filled with avarice. "Heh heh heh... It’s been a while since I’ve seen such an arrogant newcomer! I’m actually starting to like you, kid! But taking on three of us at once? Aren’t you afraid of biting off more than you can chew? I’ll be taking that Nascent Soul of yours!"

BOOOOM—!!!

Mr. Celestial Sword formed a hand seal. Behind him, the azure Celestial Sword Dharma Aspect rose from the earth. The giant sword in its hand channeled the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, transforming it into countless bolts of azure Thunder Sword Qi as he roared:

"Celestial Sword: Evil-Slaying Divine Thunder!"

Xuehe let out a savage laugh. The sea of blood at his feet surged, transforming into a ferocious Blood Demon Dharma Aspect.

With a wave of his hands, the viscous sea of blood merged with the Blood River Guards who had accompanied him, forming countless foul blood dragons that roared forth.

Then there was Mr. Youquan’s already-formed Nether Ghost God Dharma Aspect, which opened its maw to spew forth a sonic storm that sounded like the wails of ten thousand ghosts.

Three completely different, yet all equally apocalyptic, Divine Techniques arranged themselves in a triangular formation and assaulted the platinum-gold Sword God Dharma Aspect at the center!

Facing this inescapable killing blow, Lin Qingfeng commanded his Dharma Aspect to take a single step forward.

VMMMM!

The seventy-two swords of light behind the Sword God Dharma Aspect instantly broke apart, transforming into a swirling storm of platinum blades that fiercely shielded Lin Qingfeng at its core.

CRACKLE—BOOM!!

The four streams of energy tore at each other violently in mid-air.

All clouds, air, and birds near the epicenter of the explosion were instantly vaporized upon contact with the overflowing energy, leaving behind nothing but an absolute vacuum—a dead zone!

The ground below instantly caved in by a hundred meters. Magma seemed to spew from the fissures, casting the battlefield in the light of an apocalyptic purgatory.

The desolate, grassy plain from moments before was now scorched earth, utterly devoid of life.

...

「Inside Anhe City.」

Though the scene was far in the distance, it was clearly visible to everyone within the city walls.

Countless players stood with their mouths agape, the items in their hands dropping to the ground.

"...Are we even playing the same damn game?!"

"These special effects! This destructive power! Did the devs blow the entire server budget on this one fight?!"

"Stop talking... Is this the difference between a pay-to-win whale and a free-to-play player? It’s too real. It hurts!"

As for the citizens of Anhe City, they felt nothing but a bone-deep sense of their own insignificance.

’There was only a thin curtain of light.’

’Outside was hell; inside was the mortal realm.’

’What did people like us even count for? Were we just here to make up the numbers?’

’Faced with such immense power, we don’t even have the right to beg for mercy. If it weren’t for the stone stele left by Miss Su’s senior brother...’

’The instant that storm erupted, we would have been reduced to ash, wouldn’t we?’

’That was what it truly felt like to be an ant.’

When gods fought, mortals weren’t even qualified to watch. Without protection, their lives were more fragile than a candle in the wind against the battle’s aftershocks.

However, as the battle raged on, someone began to feel that something was not quite right.

That someone was Mr. Youquan, now fully merged with his Dharma Aspect.

As he directed his Ghost God to attack, a sense of unease grew within him.

’Something... isn’t right here.’

’When I was fighting him one-on-one just now, it was an even match. I felt like he was only a sliver stronger than me.’

’Now that old man Celestial Sword and that old fiend Xuehe have joined in, it’s three against one. So how is it *still* an even match?!’

’Wait, are you two holding back? Or has he been hiding his true strength this whole time?’

No matter how relentlessly the three Nascent Soul experts bombarded it, Lin Qingfeng’s platinum Dharma Aspect held firm. The defensive ring of platinum swords, though it seemed on the verge of collapse, never broke. It would even launch a surprise counterattack from time to time, forcing the trio to scramble.

’How is this possible?!’

A blast of Sword Qi sheared off half of his Dharma Aspect’s shoulder, forcing Xuehe to spit up blood and retreat, his face a mask of shocked disbelief.

"This brat’s Spiritual Power is incredibly condensed! To reach the Nascent Soul realm at such a young age... could it be? Has he formed the legendary Golden Seal inside him?!"

Mr. Celestial Sword also stared at Lin Qingfeng with a solemn expression.

"Impossible! If he had a Golden Seal, the aura of the Great Dao would be leaking from him! It’s a passport to the Divinity Transformation realm; you can’t hide it during a fight!

But there’s no trace of a Golden Seal aura on this boy... Could it be that he’s practicing some Cultivation Technique that can conceal his Origin Dust?"

Unless he possessed a Nascent Soul forged from Origin Dust into a Golden Seal, they couldn’t comprehend how the gap between cultivators of the same realm could be so immense.

...

Hearing the whispers of the three cultivators opposite him, Lin Qingfeng sneered while commanding his Dharma Aspect to parry their attacks.

"Is this the result of your hundreds of years of cultivation?"

"Weak. So utterly weak."

"Unstable foundations, impure Spiritual Power. Have you all just pissed away the last few hundred years?"

"With this level of Cultivation, you dare call yourselves pillars of the righteous and demonic paths? If you’re the standard, then both paths are just pathetic."

For the elder from the Celestial Sword Pavilion, those words dealt more damage than any sword strike had.

Mr. Celestial Sword, a man who prided himself on his "slow and steady" approach to cultivation, was so enraged his face turned beet red and his beard trembled violently.

’Unstable?!’

’He could accept that the cultivation of those two demonic fiends was unstable, but his?’

’He began practicing the sword at five, achieved Core Formation at one hundred, and reached the Nascent Soul realm at five hundred! He had taken every step carefully, tempered by countless life-and-death battles, to achieve his great Dao today! And now some self-taught nobody from who-knows-where dared to call *his* foundation unstable?!’

However.

To Lin Qingfeng, it was an irrefutable fact.

’After all, their Cultivation was built up through normal training, leaving their foundations hopelessly unstable.’

’His, on the other hand, was raised step-by-step by the game system, making his foundation rock-solid. The difference between their realms was like night and day; the victor was obvious!’

Just as Lin Qingfeng was wondering if all the people he had intended to lure out had arrived, the situation changed abruptly!

...

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

On the horizon, three more terrifying auras arrived in quick succession!

A colossal golden Spirit Talisman blotted out the sky as it tore through the air, stilling the chaotic elements—the Orthodox Profound Talisman Sect Elder!

The sky filled with the light of the Buddha, yet it carried the mixed stench of coin and blood—an old monk from the orthodox Golden Light Temple!

A vibrant, five-colored poisonous miasma surged forth like a sea of clouds, corroding all life in its path—a crone from the demonic Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons!

The masters from the other three sects had finally arrived!

Meanwhile, the Corpse-Driving Sect was still on its way.