High up in the sky, the battle between the two mighty cultivators had reached the climax. Wang Kang and Huo Kong were just about to unleash their final attacks.

“Dark Devil Spear: Annihilation!” Wang Kang roared, powerful energy surged into his spear as he thrust it forward. A massive black spear appeared in the sky, surging with dreadful black energy. The massive black spear let out an almighty roar, seeming to split the sky in half as it flew toward Huo Kong like a black lightning bolt.

“Burning Heaven: Supreme Dragon Blaze!” Huo Kong roared and waved his saber multiple times as hundred meter walls of flames were released from his body. The flames then surged together and merged into one, forming a massive flaming dragon. Huo Kong pointed his saber at Wang Kang, and the flame dragon let out an ear shattering roar that caused the earth to shake and the clouds to part as it flew toward Wang Kang’s incoming attack.

Boom! A massive explosion was sent out by the collision, dark energy on one half, and scorching flames on the other. The air trembled and the surrounding several kilometers were leveled flat by the massive shockwave. Anyone still within the blast radius was instantly annihilated, turning into dust along with any buildings that were still standing.

The black and white robed Mu Chens were also standing within the radius of the blast, but were completely unaffected. The energy waves merely passed through them, not harming them in the slightest.

A shadow fell from the sky like a dead bird, blood trailing from his body. With a loud boom, the shadow fell onto the ground, farming a large crater below him. Huo Kong lay motionless within the crater. He had been grievously injured, his entire right arm had been completely destroyed and both his legs were gone. His hair was disheveled and his breathing was shallow. His saber had broken into two and was stuck in the ground next to him.

Wang Kang also descended from the sky soon after, landing heavily on the ground. Blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth and his body was burnt and his clothes were torn. He was panting heavily and clearly exhausted but his eyes were shining. Using his spear to support himself, he walked over to the fallen Huo Kong.

“Huo Kong, you’ve lost.” Wang Kang said as he looked down expressionlessly at his defeated foe.

Huo Kong coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood. He opened his eyes with much difficulty and glared at Wang Kang.

“Damn you…just kill me already.” He said in a hoarse voice.

“You shouldn’t have come after me. You have caused your own death because of your greed. What a pity.” Wang Kang sighed and shook his head.

“Wang-” Huo Kong started to speak, but his throat was suddenly pierced through by Wang Kang’s spear. For several seconds, he made gurgling noises as he glared furiously at Wang Kang one last time before his head dropped to one side. He had died. Just like that, a powerful Saint realm cultivator had passed away.

Wang Kang smiled lightly as he pulled out his spear, causing a stream of blood to spurt from the hole in Huo Kong's throat.

Wang Kang's tattered black robes fluttered in the wind as he turned and walked away, disappearing into the smoking ruins of Crimson City without looking back.

“Why do you not spare him? He was already defeated, he could not even defend himself.” The black robed Mu Chen asked.

“He tried to kill me, so he must die.” Mu Chen simply replied.

“But he had failed and was already crippled. Why did you not show him mercy?”

“Mercy is a fool’s game, and I am no fool. If you leave a thorn in your side, it will eventually fester. Thorns must be removed."

"You see human lives as nothing but numbers. You perceive this world as nothing but a stepping stone. Then what is life and death to you?" The black robed Mu Chen asked.

“Life is a curse and death is nothing but a consequence.” Mu Chen replied. "I did not ask to live, but since I am alive, then I will not die so easily."

The black robed Mu Chen fell silent once more as the two of them watched quietly as the once majestic, flourishing city burned to ashes.

......

Somewhere in the depths of Thousand Beast Forest, a cloaked figure was walking in the shadows of the tall trees. It was a man dressed in black robes and a black hooded cloak. As he moved, his cloak shifted slightly, revealing a crimson red ‘九’ (Nine) character emblazoned on his sleeve.

At this moment, the man suddenly stopped, looking left and right, he seemed to be searching for something.

“Sniff sniff. That scent, it's unmistakable. I smell…blood.” The man muttered in a raspy voice as he sniffed the air with his nose. He seemed to notice something as his eyes widened.

Whoosh! The man suddenly accelerated, moving at extremely high speed in a certain direction. He moved swiftly as he leapt from place to place, easily avoiding any obstacles, such as branches and fallen logs that were in his way. Soon, he had reached a small rock face and stopped once again. Looking up, he spotted a small cave around ten meters up a steep slope.

“The stench of blood...it’s coming from that cave.”

The man jumped, reaching the entrance of the cave in a single leap. Some sunlight shone through the cave entrance from behind him, slightly illuminating the dark interior. Lying motionless on the ground were two youths, both dressed in identical black robes, with a crimson red ‘九’ (Nine) character emblazoned on their sleeves, similar to the man’s. Their eyes were rolled back and blood trickled from the side of their mouths.

Putting one finger on each of their noses, the man checked for breath. There was none. The two youths had already died some time ago.

“Someone actually has the nerve to kill the disciples of my Nine Demon Gate. Only the disciples of my Nine Demon Gate are allowed to kill their fellow disciples!” The man muttered.

He raised his head slightly. Although half of his face was obscured by his hood, you could see many small scars criss-crossing the man’s face.

"Whoever you are...you cannot escape me. I have already picked up your scent."

An eerie grin appeared on his face as he licked his lips.

Whoosh! The man leapt out of the cave and disappeared into the forest once more.

.....

Zhao Feng was extremely bored. It had already been four days since Mu Chen had gone into a catatonic state, floating motionlessly in the water. The only thing that reassured Zhao Feng that his big brother was still alive was the beating of Mu Chen's heart and the steam rising out from the water.

On the first day, he had already explored the entire cavern, and in the process he had actually found a small crack in the cavern wall that led outside. His curiosity piqued, Zhao Feng decided to see what was outside. Using his spear, he had widened the crack until it was just large enough for him to squeeze through. After crawling through the crack, he found himself in a small secluded valley. He had no clue where they were, but he knew they were still somewhere in the core region.

Zhao Feng spent the past few days exploring the valley. To his disappointment, there was nothing there except a few Mortal rank spiritual herbs. Despite that, the scenery was nice, and the place was serene and relaxing. With nothing else to do, he started to train in the [Overlord Spear Art].

As a saint ranked technique, the [Overlord Spear Art] had terrifying attack strength, but at the same time, it also had very high requirements on one's physique and was extremely hard to comprehend. Before, when he had executed the first move, Piercing Heaven, it had taken a considerable strain on his body. He reckoned that with his current bodily strength, he could only execute the technique a maximum of 3 times.

Zhao Feng understood that saint ranked techniques were powerful yet difficult to learn. He had also realized why Mu Chen had also given him the saint ranked body refining technique, [Sun Tyrant Scripture]. He knew that he had to find a balance between body refinement and spear technique in order to achieve the best result.