Rumble!
A boulder rolled down from the top of the mountain with a trail of dust. It smashed through several halls, but it showed no signs of slowing down. Instead, it moved faster and faster, destroying everything in its path. The monks fled in all directions like the world was ending.
The Annihilum Light Chan Master arrived before it in a flash, shattering the boulder with a palm strike. He looked up and saw a pair of iron hooves that resembled columns, as well as a pitch-black body that seemed to be cast from black iron.
Great Buddha mountain seemed to have grown taller, gaining a new peak out of thin air. Towering over the mountain, his wide wings were unfurled magnificently, blotting out the sky like clouds, but what it cast was not a shadow, but whistling winds and luminous firelight.
Great Buddha mountain was burning!
“Wretched daemon!”
He was filled with fury, wanting to step forward and face him in a battle to the death, but he knew that would only be futile. He could not even withstand the repercussions of their battle.
The various head monks took action, blocking the boulders. They were all renowned monks in the Green province, but right now, all they were capable of was minimising the damage that the battle could cause to the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga.
Boom!
A bolt of lightning lit up a range of several hundred kilometers and struck Li Qingshan’s head. He tilted his head slightly and felt his entire body grow numb. The King of Chu’s Seal pressed a few meters lower.
“Fellows, use this opportunity to slay the daemon!”
Before the grandmaster of the school of Daoism had even finished what he was saying, several Puppet Kings took to the sky. They were humanoid or bestial in appearance, and they could be as large as buildings or as small as half an adult.
“Heh, you’re taking advantage of my situation!”
Li Qingshan widened his eyes and exhaled gently. A wisp of air whistled out, blowing the grandmaster of the school of Daoism away. With a swing of his tiger tail, it swept out with the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path’s End. The shrill winds were wrapped in sword aura, sucking in two Puppet Kings and immediately pulverising them. They exploded loudly.
The music drifted over as the curses and chants rang out endlessly, throwing his mind into disorder. Looking back, he saw the grandmasters of the school of Music and Names standing extremely far away, afraid to approach him again.
“Two flies!” Li Qingshan turned around and composed himself mentally. He released waves of the power of tremors through his hands, constantly varying the strength and frequency such that the King of Chu’s Seal resonated with it. The glow it gave off subsided in the process.
The Fierce King of Chu said, “Commander Jin, general Yue, I think you’re much more capable than just this!”
Ji Fugui and Yue Wuyang exchanged glances. When it came to fighting and slaughter, schools of thought like Music and Names stood no chance against the Military or Legalism, except they had not used their full strength at all. Jin Fugui had quite a friendship with the Unraging monk, and he also found the details of this matter to be suspicious, while Yue Wuyang had quite a good impression of Li Qingshan. Because of Han Qiongzhi too, he was reluctant to make an attempt on his life.
Originally, they wanted to go with the flow and watch the others slay the daemon, but they never expected Li Qingshan to be so powerful, killing Zhu Fuzi right before everyone and even making fellow Feng of the school of Agriculture vanish without a trace. The Fierce King of Chu had even taken out the King of Chu’s Seal, but he still struggled to kill him. If they still did not use their full strength, it would be quite difficult for them to explain themselves.
“Black Sand hell!”
Jin Fugui extended his hands, and a few wisps of fine, black sand appeared from the centre of his palms. His appearance no longer seemed so friendly or mediocre at all. His face had darkened, like a cruel official from hell. Raising both hands, the sand spiraled through the air like a surging black cloud, flowing towards Li Qingshan.
Li Qingshan turned his head, and his breath whistled over. Originally, he wanted to disperse the cloud of black sand, but the sand constantly churned and surged over, enveloping his surroundings. Even his breath was not all-conquering. When the black sand landed on his body, he felt an intense sensation of pain that reached the depths of his soul, which made him furrow his brows. This was a domain specially used for battle. It could not be compared with the school of Agriculture’s Secret Realm of Gardens and Fields.
Yue Wuyang narrowed his eyes and locked onto the blade that whistled through the air madly. He leaned forwards with his tall, straight body like a vicious beast about to pounce. He pressed down on the spear in his hand, and with a flash through his eyes, he thrusted it through the air. It was like the rise of a black dragon.
Clang!
The blade and spear collided, and a notch immediately appeared on the tip of the spear. Yue Wuyang experienced a tremendous force from the blade, which pushed him backwards. He was alarmed. Just a single tail possesses such great strength? However, he soon became determined. How could I lose to a single tail? Muscles rippled across his arms, pinning down the blade as hard as he could. The whistling storm came to a halt.
“Nicely done, fellows!” The grandmaster from the school of Daoism called out, “Rain of Lightning!”
Lightning coiled into the figure of the Lord of Thunder. Suddenly, he unfurled his wings and let out a cry that resembled both a hawk’s and an ox’s, releasing thousands of bolts of lightning that slammed into Li Qingshan’s body.
Li Qingshan was unable to dodge with his colossal size, so he could only take on the attacks. Under the state of the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon, he could not use any defensive abilities at all, so he was forced to endure everything with this body. His tall, straight back immediately hunched over.
“This guy sure is troublesome!”
“Kid, have you lost your manhood? They’re trying to kill you! So hurry the fuck up and kill them! Even if they’re your fathers, is this a time for you to hold back? Do you really think you’re invincible?” The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower that had remained silent since the beginning of the battle suddenly cursed aloud.
Li Qingshan shuddered inside. The incidents today had been dangerous, but it was nowhere close to being considered as dire straits, so he did not have the determination for a battle to the death. Instead, everything had occurred because of the Sword Collection palace, so he did not have much killing intent towards these grandmasters that he was not familiar with. Instinctively, he would always hold back and leave some room for him as if he was only testing out his abilities.
He could have killed the grandmaster of the school of Agriculture with a single punch, but he planted him in the ground like a joke. He could have cut down Zhu Fuzi in a single slash, without even giving him the opportunity to escape with his soul nascence, but he did not feel like Zhu Fuzi had harmed him in any way. He only loathed his foul mouth.
He refused to kill anyone from the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga. Even when he faced the Fierce King of Chu who was determined to claim his life, he could not help but think, He’s Xiao An’s father. I can’t kill him!
It was exactly these subtle beliefs that served as invisible shackles to his actions, such that all of his abilities and bladesmanship just lacked a little something. Even in a battle among two mortals, if one had the determination to kill and the other did not, it could decide their very lives.
The palace master looked at Li Qingshan and became even more stern. This power basically made no sense at all. Even most of those great Daemon Kings that had lived for millennia did not possess such battle prowess.
“Palace master, do you understand that when you play with fire, you get burnt? I’d advise you to return to the Sword Collection palace quickly. With the protective sword formation, perhaps you still might be able to protect your life,” said Gu Yanying.
“If he doesn’t die here today, then my Sword Collection palace will never be at peace. Since you’re running out of patience, then I’ll give you a quick one!”
Abruptly, the Heaven Leaning sword rose high into the air. Its glow whistled and extended. By the time it swung down, it had already turned into a huge sword of three hundred meters long, slashing towards Gu Yanying and Hua Chengzan who was in the Hot Wind hell, except the final target was Li Qingshan.
“I’d like to see if you save him or not!”
