The nine sects had dominated the Bitter Star for many years. They had taken the habit of being arrogant. And seldom would they be shocked by a single person.
In a trance, some senior experts of the nine sects seemed to have seen the majesty of the first Sect Master of the Devil Cult, who was also as awe-inspiring as this Duan Shuiliu If it hadn’t been for the arrival of the experts of outer-space sects at the last moment of the battle 100 years ago, the nine major sects would have eliminated from the world since then.
Whether that man was called Duan Shuiliu or Li Mu, it did not matter to the girl in the black gauze.
The name was just a way to address him.
She was hiding in the crowd, disguised as a regular disciple of the sect. She was dressed in men’s clothes, and even her appearance had been altered.
It would do as long as everything was going according to plan.
“The Devil Cult is just a bunch of stray dogs. Now, they actually got themselves a new Sect Master. How ridiculous!” A voice rang out from the Sky-reaching Sword Sect’s flying ship. Immediately, a beam of light zoomed through the air and landed on the floating fighting ring. It was Li Muzi, the Sky-reaching Sword Master. He was a man in his forties, fair-skinned, and had the demeanor of a grandmaster. A gold-silver sword was floating behind him, as though it was an object with a soul.
Li Mu’s eyes fell on Li Muzi.
There was a kind of power above the Void-breaking Realm flowing in his body, which was like a fierce beast, seeming rather impure.
This was obviously caused by external stimulation. It was definitely not a result of his own cultivation, which was just like the case with Qin Rushuang.
It was once again the plot of those extraterrestrial cultivators.
“Duan Shuiliu, today is the day you die. The power of our nine sects can’t be shaken by people like you…” Li Muzi activated the power of the Red Jade Fate-shifting Pill in his body and circulated it around his body. He felt a strong feeling that he had never felt before. It was incomparably wonderful, giving him an invincible illusion.
However…
“Swoosh!”
A jet of white broadsword light tore through the air and cleaved the void.
A great sense of alarm rose in Li Muzi’s heart, but before he could operate the pair of Sky-reaching Swords, he felt that a dazzled moment and the broadsword light had pierced through his body.
“You…” Shocked, he ran the natural qi in his body, but didn’t feel anything unusual as if that broadsword light was just an illusion. He felt relieved, then his lips curled, saying, “Just a small trick. It may be useful to deal with the people of the Western Sea Sword Sect, but when it comes to me…”
Before his voice died away, white flames burst out of his mouth, nose, and ears, but he seemed to be unaware of it, for there was still a smile on his face.
“Bonehead. You talk a lot of nonsense,” Li Mu said.
He looked at Li Muzi with mocking and cold eyes and said, “You are already dead.”
It was not until then that Li Muzi, the Sky-reaching Sword Master, felt that something was wrong with his body. Flames appeared in front of his eyes, which seemed to be spurting out of his body. He did not know when the natural qi in his body began to be out of control and stream away like quicksand. Meanwhile, his vitality was being rapidly sucked away.
“I…” Li Muzi lowered his head only to see his body and hands had been swallowed by silver light.
A look of horror finally appeared on his face.
Then, his sight became pitch-black.
The silver flames seemed to be the punishment hellfire from God’s Court, completely engulfing him.
Li Muzi now became a man on fire. He struggled on the ring for a few moments. Finally, like the disciples of the Western Sea Sword Sect the day before, he turned into a cloud of flying ash and drifted way. All his strength and cultivation returned to heaven and earth. His storage ring, spatial objects, the Sky-reaching Swords in gold and silver colors, as well as three black Darkest Thunders with sinister qi wreathing around them, all fell to the ground and became ownerless items.
These were treasures that were enough to cause a fierce fight on the Bitter Star.
Li Mu, however, did not cast a look at those things at all, nor did he go to get them.
He looked up at the camps of the nine major sects. In a voice as cold as that of Death who reaped lives, he said word by word, “NEXT ONE!”
The experts of the nine major sects were all horrified.
Although they had already expected that the Sky-reaching Sword Master might not be a match for Duan Shuiliu. After all, the day before, Qin Rushuang was crashed by Li Mu and had no power to fight back. Yet, to their astoundment, today, Li Muzi only had time to say some big words before being reduced to ashes. He didn’t even hold himself over Li Mu’s first strike.
“Is Duan Shuiliu’s broadsword-using method already so terrifying?”
“Is that ray of broadsword light really unstoppable?”
The heads of the nine sects knew very well about the inside story. They had personally experienced the power of the Red Jade Fate-shifting Pill. It could be said to be overbearingly mighty. After taking the pill, their strength sharply increased by more than three or four times. Even so, they couldn’t take Duan Shuiliu’s one blow… How strong was this Duan Shuiliu?
Meanwhile, on the divine flying shuttle of Mount Shu, everyone’s spirit was lifted and they couldn’t help but cheer.
They finally got their anger vented!
It felt great!
In the previous days, they had been suppressed by Qin Rushuang and suffered heavy casualties. But today, their Sect Master killed Li Muzi with one strike, which was really impressive. The hot blood that had been oppressed in their bodies couldn’t help boiling. Dragon the Fifth, Mr. Shuiyue, and other high-level members of Mount Shu also exhaled deeply, feeling very satisfied, as though the gloom piling up in their hearts during the previous battles were abruptly swept away.
Qiu Shuiming, Luo Xuanxin, Xiao Dong, Lu Xun, and other martial arts cultivators from Earth, as well as the military soldiers, were so excited that they were trembling all over.
Before that, Li Mu had swept all the forces on Earth without meeting his match. But now they realized that on Earth, Li Mu had actually been suppressing his strength, and he had been suppressing it a lot. Even in the face of immortal sects from outer space, Li Mu was not at a disadvantage at all.
They felt a strong sense of pride rising inside them.
Because this was the God of War who came from Earth.
Around the floating fighting ring, the air suddenly quieted down.
The girl in the black gauze hiding among the crowd lowered her head and began to rack her brain. Li Mu’s broadsword-using method made her feel slightly threatened. It was beyond the scope of Broadsword Intent, but was already a rudiment form of the “Way”. The speed of Li Mu’s growth made her feel a little intimidated.
She must kill Li Mu as fast as she could.
With the secret voice-transmitting technique, she ordered the next candidate to come to the stage.
The jet of light flickered.
Zhu Nong, the head of the Zhu family best at tactical deployments, appeared on the floating fighting ring.
Zhu Nong was dressed like a scholar, but he had a pointed-mouth and monkey-like face, which gave the others an impression that he was a devilish man with imposing attire.
This man was good at scheming. In the field of tactical deployments, he was second to none on the Bitter Star. All the experts in this world knew that they walked in a deployment set up by Zhu Nong, even those in the Void-breaking Realm would not be able to pass it effortlessly. That was the power of the master of tactical deployments.
“Sect Master Duan, we met again,” said Zhu Nong with a smile. Holding a fan made of white feathers, he continued, “Only a couple of days ago, Sect Master Duan disguised yourself as a disciple of the West Sea Sword Sect and came here to participate in the construction of the floating fighting ring. Back then, I failed to spot your true identity. I never expected a cowering servant to be a supreme expert.”
Li Mu looked at him impatiently, killing intent swirling in his eyes.
Zhu Nong was staggered at his expression and so quickly got to the point. “Sect Master Duan, I am from one of the nine major sects that specialize in tactical deployments. Today, why don’t we compete in the non-violence field—devising tactical deployments? I have a miraculous deployment at hand that comes from outer space. Sect Master Duan, if you can crack this tactical deployment, I’m willing to admit defeat and to give you the map of this tactical deployment!”
He was quite confident in this competition.
That speech was something he had prepared beforehand.
The so-called miraculous deployment from outer space was, in fact, the deployment map that the black-robed fairy had given him the day before, which contained hidden killing intent.
As a matter of fact, he had supervised the entire construction of this floating fighting ring. Since none of Mount Shu’s seven branches was particularly prominent in tactical deployments, Zhu Nong had deliberately planted some tricks in the floating fighting ring. In addition to the deployments that could strengthen the construction, prevent the aftermath of the battle between experts in the Void-breaking Realm from spreading, there was also a hidden deployment that could both attack and defend. Once the hidden formation was activated, Zhu Nong was confident that he could escape unscathed.
“Competing in tactical deployments?” Li Mu looked at him with a hint of mockery in his eyes.
Zhu Nong replied, “Yes, yes, yes. Fighting and killing are harmful to the harmony of the heavens. Our cultivating against the heaven is to fight for our lives against it, so there’s no need to harm each other. I’ve always hated killing. Why don’t we…”
Before his voice died away, Li Mu raised his broadsword and hack.
The broadsword light flickered, as if the vast Milky Way falling from sky.
In a flash, it struck Zhu Nong, who had been droning on and on, and passed through him.
“You… Why…” Zhu Nong’s body stiffened, and he suddenly realized that something was wrong. He screamed, “Duan Shuiliu, you sneak attacked me! How despicable and shameless this is! You… Aargh…” He shrieked in horror and furiously accused Li Mu. Then, his body, like chalk on a blackboard that had been wiped off, he gradually faded and turned into nothingness, leaving vapor spreading in the air.
“Idiot.” Li Mu even didn’t bother to argue with him.
Once stepping on the fighting ring, one would be facing a life-and-death battle. Who would have a prolonged argument about civil and savage battles?
Li Mu would never agree on that unless he was crazy.
What was more, Li Mu himself was a master of tactical deployment. The Heavenly Deployment Sect, which once dominated the Brilliance Immortal Star Region with their tactical deployment, had been vanquished by Li Mu. So, how dare a master of tactical deployment family on the small Bitter Star to play games in front of Li Mu?
It wasn’t like that Li Mu didn’t know Zhu Nong planted some tricks when the fighting ring was under construction.
To Li Mu, those means were just ridiculous. Even if they were to compete in tactical deployments, what could the result be anyway? Li Mu could crack it in just a second and killed Zhu Nong, the trash with an ape’s face, all the same.
Only that today, Li Mu only wanted to kill people in a simple and direct way.
In the end, Zhu Nong’s face, which had screwed up in shock and fury, gradually turned transparent and disappeared into the void.
At last, his body also turned into a wisp of mist and dissolved between heaven and earth.
Zhu Nong’s cultivation, natural qi, and power, which had been accumulated for hundreds of years, turned into the purest energy and went back to nature.
He went back to where he came from.
“Next!”
Li Mu looked at the nine sects and commanded.
His voice was not loud, but it sounded like a clap of thunder, making all the members of the nine sects frightened, and their faces change dramatically.
Hiding in the crowd, the girl in the black gauze cursed in her mind. “Li Muzi and Zhu Nong, those two good-for-nothings died so fast. It’s a waste of my Red Jade Fate-shifting Pill. Besides, they even didn’t get to use the Darkest Thunder, nor did they injure Li Mu a bit or consume Li Mu’s strength… Idiots, slackers!”
She felt a chill in her heart, so she sent a message to Duan Feng, Lord of Peerless City, asking him to come up and fight.
At this time, Duan Feng was already immensely terrified.
He had been defeated by Li Mu once, so he had experienced the despair when facing Li Mu’s magical broadsword-using method.
However, since the black-robed fairy had ordered him to fight, he would still have to come up even though he knew that he was doomed.
