Chapter 1848: Holding Your Head Up High

The chains spun with a loud howl as they shrouded Si Han and King Daxi, carrying them into the air, turning into a streak of light to break free from the Eastern Region Holy City’s atmosphere.

Murong Yefeng gave chase, fading into a black dot and disappearing into the clouds.

Mr. Godcliff’s condition was so frail now that he was weaker than many martial-art demi-saints.

He was badly wounded from the last battle. Half of his head was crushed, and his skull was exposed. Saint Path Power penetrated his abdomen, shattering his organs. He was bleeding and wretched.

What made things worse was, he suffered trauma to his saint heart, from which his spiritual power was leaking.

“Let’s get the hell out of Eastern Region Holy City!”

Mr. Godcliff said aloud.

He took out an escape talisman and stuck it on his body. It instantly gave him the ability to fly at a-thousand-time the speed of sound as he fled Eastern Region Holy City.

When even Si Han and Mr. Godcliff was fleeing, the other saint-level cultivators who attacked the Eastern Region Holy City could not help but scramble to get away. Some of the smarter ones, knowing that fleeing was impossible, performed a highly stealthy technique to hide inside the city.

If they lay low, it was nearly impossible to detect them in Eastern Region Holy City, especially when there were so many cultivators around.

“Trying to flee? It’s not that simple!”

As Zhang Ruochen struck out his Yi Huang Bone Scepter, it turned into a thousand-foot-tall black skeleton in the air.

After devouring four Six-Tribulation Ghost Lords, it had become even stronger. Although not as powerful as a Precept Domain-level cultivator, it was considered powerful among the Nine-Step Saint Kings of the Greater Precept World.

Boom!

The black skeleton struck out a punch and hit two Saint Kings out of the sky.

It devoured the saint souls of the two saint kings and broke out of Eastern Region Holy City’s atmosphere to pursue the fleeing saint-level cultivators.

As Zhang Ruochen looked into the distance, he saw what might look like the shadow of Luo Yi.

He was a self-proclaimed cultivator of the Shangyuan Sect from the Yuan Realm. Yet he was so ruthless that he killed a cultivator from the Heavenly Realm with each strike. He was also lunging out of the atmosphere as if he would not give up until he killed everyone.

Zhang Ruochen could not help but frown in suspicion.

It was understandable why the cultivators from the Kunlun Realm hated the Heavenly Realm so much. It was because the Heavenly Realm had been attacking the Kunlun Realm ruthlessly. There were deep-rooted grudges between them.

In contrast, there should not be any bad blood between the cultivators of the Shang Yuan Sect and the Heavenly Realm.

“That guy is really questionable.”

Zhang Ruochen just reminded himself to be wary of this man.

Not far away from the Tower of Flames, Jueyan Hu had broken away from the sword net of the Rain Sword. Saint blood spurted out of his mouth, and his injury worsened, sword wounds all over his body.

He was still in human form, but handsome no more.

Jueyan Hu gritted his teeth and shot a glare at the Fairy of Chutian. “You will pay for what you have done today, Luo Yi! After recovering from my injury, I promise I will make you pay a thousand times for what you did to me!”

“Thousand-Illusion Escape Technique!”

Jueyan Hu performed an intermediate saint escape technique. His body split into a thousand clones of himself in the air.

Each clone was flying in different directions.

It was hard for ordinary cultivators to spot which was which, and Jueyan Hu would have gotten away.

But his opponent was the Fairy of Chutian.

She activated her vertical eye on her forehead and found Jueyan Hu’s body. With the flick of her hand, Rain Sword shot out and struck Jueyan Hu like the tail of a dragon.

Jueyan Hu groaned in pain when he lost his left leg.

Yet, he did not stop but kept going. His face was hideous, while his roar was filled with anger, pain, frustration, and many other emotions.

If he got away today, he would surely take revenge against her next time.

Jueyan Hu was already in midair, nearly leaving Eastern Region Holy City’s atmosphere. He was elated. “No one can stop me as soon as I leave the atmosphere.”

Right then, the atmosphere above him suddenly burst into flames, turning into a sea of crimson fire.

A gigantic foot appeared and crushed down as if heaven was collapsing.

Jueyan Hu appeared as small as an ant under the gigantic flaming foot.

“No, no…”

Jueyan Hu roared, and his was voice filled with indignity.

Boom!

The flaming foot came down on Jueyan Hu and crushed him to the ground and sent a shock wave through the earth.

The flames rose like waves that were several dozen feet high, carrying with it dust and debris as it spread in all directions.

When the flames finally subsided, a ten-thousand-foot footprint appeared on the ground. The earth surrounding the impact crater had risen as high as a thousand feet from the impact.

The impact center had turned into a pool of golden lava.

Zhang Ruochen dragged Jueyan Hu out of the crater. He stood on the crest and looked around. “I, Zhang Ruochen, will be the King of the Eastern Region from now on. I am in charge. Whoever breaks my rules will receive death!”

He raised his sword and struck down. Jueyan Hu’s head flew up as it was separated from his body.

Zhang Ruochen immediately performed a palm, striking at the head and shattering it into a cloud of blood mist.

Executing a Precept Domain-elite in front of other cultivators sent a clear and powerful message to other cultivators.

“Your Majesty, the King of Eastern Region!”

“Your Majesty, the King of Eastern Region!”

…

Starting from the Eastern Region palace, all cultivators from the Kunlun Realm came down on one knee to bow to Zhang Ruochen.

These people submitted to Zhang Ruochen not just because they feared him, but also because Zhang Ruochen was the only one fit to become the Eastern Region’s king. Zhang Ruochen was the only person who could protect them from the bully and threats from foreign cultivators.

They believed power was the foundation of having the right to live. So they worshipped the powerful.

At that moment, Zhang Ruochen saw something. The Fairy of Chutian was leaving. Her white dress fluttered in the air as if a fairy walking through the battlefield. Her shadow slowly faded into the distance.

“She didn’t even want to talk to me. Does she think that after helping me defeat Mr. Godcliff and other enemies, she has paid off her debt and that now we are even?”

Zhang Ruochen felt sad.

Fool cupped his hands to say his goodbye, then carried Butcher, who had passed out on his shoulder and quickly caught up with the Fairy of Chutian.

“Go after her if you like her. She wouldn’t have risked her life to help you if she doesn’t have a feeling for you. You should know that we were the underdog. We could have been completely annihilated.”

Jiang Yunchong’s voice came beside Zhang Ruochen.

He was looking at the Fairy of Chutian, admiring her beauty.

Zhang Ruochen was moved. But just when he was about to make a move, he suddenly shook his head. “I shouldn’t force it. Our feelings for each other haven’t reached that point yet.”

“Screw it, you don’t lack women surrounding you anyway,” said Jiang Yunchong with a smile.

Jiang Yunchong might have only known Zhang Ruochen less than a day, but it seemed as if he knew him very well.

“Who are you, really?” asked Zhang Ruochen.

“Jiang Yunchong, from Jiang Clan of the Kunlun Realm.”

“You are no older than a hundred years ago,” said Zhang Ruochen.

“That’s right.”

“But the Kunlun Realm only started to awaken two years ago. Before this, the precepts of the Kunlun Realm were incomplete. Attaining sainthood in just a hundred years is extremely difficult. It is impossible to achieve what you have achieved within a hundred years,” said Zhang Ruochen.

“What are you trying to say?”

Jiang Yunchong put his hand behind him.

“You are not of this era,” said Zhang Ruochen.

“You are right. I don’t belong to this era. Nevertheless, it is a secret that no one should know.,” said Jiang Yunchong after a long silence.

“Why?”

“Because the outside world doesn’t know the actual strength of the Kunlun Realm. By keeping them underestimating us, the Kunlun Realm could reap the most benefits in this chaotic era.”

“But if people know that the cultivators of the Kunlun Realm are awakening, it would surely arouse fear. If that happens, what lies ahead for the Kunlun Realm will not be the Battle of Merits but a war of destruction.”

Jiang Yunchong let out a long sigh and continued, “Right now, you have to be the Kunlun Realm’s frontman. I know this is unfair to you, but we have no choice. The Kunlun Realm before us is no longer at its glorious days; it is declining. If we delude ourselves, it would be no different than handing the realm to others on a silver platter. I would rather die than see that happen.”

“How many cultivators like you are there?” asked Zhang Ruochen after a long while.

“I am not sure.”

Jiang Yunchong shook his head. “We are hibernating in different locations. But by the looks of things, I must be one of the cultivators waking up the earliest. All those hibernators would only wake up when the Kunlun Realm fully recovered. It is not easy to get up from hibernation. Many cultivators die in their hibernation.”

“You are not alone, Zhang Ruochen. Some selected elites, the Chosen Ones, are fighting alongside you in this era.”

“The Chosen Ones?”

Zhang Ruochen thought of Murong Yue. Could she be one of the Chosen ones?

“Some living beings in the Kunlun Realm have been living since the Middle Ages to this day.”

“They are not humans. They have a long lifespan.”

“They were the ones who selected the Chosen Ones to bear the heavenly mandate and sent them into some special training ground. They used the power of time as an aid to train the Chosen Ones as Supreme Saints and even God. When they finally emerged, they will be your best comrades in arms.”

“But I am no longer a cultivator of the Kunlun Realm,” said Zhang Ruochen.

“Aren’t you back now?” Jiang Yunchong asked with a smile.

They both fell into silence.

After a long while, Jiang Yunchong patted Zhang Ruochen on his shoulder. “Fleeing and refusing to return to the Kunlun Realm is something a coward would do. Real men should return and take up the responsibility to revive the Kunlun Realm and do something that not even Empress Chi Yao could achieve. You will be a real man who can hold your head high after you force Empress Chi Yao down the throne and rule over the Kunlun Realm.”