Húndàn Wang couldn’t stop shaking as he confronted Emperor Cì Shā and his Heavenly Generals. Chills ran up and down his spine. The pressure those three were emitting made it hard for him to breath. He didn’t belong here, on this battlefield, in front of these people. The difference in strength between them was like heaven and earth. He was but an ant standing before giants.

The only one among them who didn’t seem bothered by the intense pressure was Zhe Fēnglì, who calmly glanced at the three through narrowed eyes. He had already summoned his sword. The handle was quite a bit longer than that of a normal sword. Wrapped around it was the finest leather made from the hide of a powerful magical beast. Húndàn Wang had heard rumors that it was hide from a dragon.

“You must be Zhe Fēnglì,” Emperor Cì Shā said in a slow, deliberate voice. “Long have I heard your name. They say you are the strongest core disciple within the Heavenly Sword Sect. Many call you the Sword King.”

“I’m flattered that you’ve heard of me.” Zhe Fēnglì smiled, but then he narrowed his eyes. “I don’t suppose I could convince you all to leave?”

Emperor Cì Shā snorted. “Leave? I’m afraid not. I came all this way for the bounties of this land, and I’ll not leave until I have ceased it for myself.”

“So I see. Then you leave me no choice but to slay you where you stand… float.” Zhe Fēnglì glanced at his two companions. “This is going to be a tough battle. I’ll hold them off. Meanwhile, I want you two to wait until they are distracted and attack with everything you have.”

“I’ll do what I can,” Húndàn Wang said, though he had no confidence in his ability to affect this battle.

“Hmph. Just make sure you don’t hog all the glory to yourself,” said Bèipàn Zhě.

Zhe Fēnglì chuckled. “I’ll try not to.”

Even though he had been looking at them, he hadn’t left any openings for the three from the Zhou Kingdom to take advantage of. He turned back to them, narrowed his eyes, and took a deep breath. As he exhaled, he removed the sword grasped at his side from its sheath. The blade gleamed brightly, illuminated by the many fires burning down below. While the sword did not look like something special, anyone who was knowledgable about swords could tell it was of the highest quality.

“Is that Heaven’s Might?” asked Emperor Cì Shā.

“You know this sword?” asked Zhe Fēnglì with raised eyebrows.

“There are few people who have not heard of that sword. I’ve heard the legends. It is an ancient sword from a bygone era. The legend goes that it was forged by a god. It is strong enough to cut through the heavens, split the seas, and sever space.”

“I don’t know if it was forged by a god, but it is a good sword. I’ll give you a first hand taste of its power.”

“I’ll be sure to take that sword from your corpse when this is all over.”

“Too bad for you. This sword will disappeared the moment I die.”

“...”

Zhe Fēnglì grinned, and even Húndàn Wang almost chuckled when Emperor Cì Shā’s face spasmed. This man was greedy. His insatiable greed was well-known. He would try to claim this sword for himself, without a doubt, but now he was being told he couldn’t achieve that if Zhe Fēnglì died. That was going to make him hesitate.

“Here I come,” Zhe Fēnglì said. He slid his feet apart, despite being in the air, and adopted a stance with his sword held high.

Then he swung it down.

“Cut!”

The air in front of him was split. It was hard for Húndàn Wang to describe what he was seeing. A distortion filled the air in front of Zhe Fēnglì, and it traveled quickly toward the three enemies. This was the sword’s ability to cut through anything.

None of the three attempted to block it, perhaps sensing that even trying would be suicide. They dodged away from the distortion, which soon vanished, though that was not the end of Zhe Fēnglì’s attacks. He appeared before Xuan Su, the weakest among the three, and thrust his sword forward.

“Peirce!”

The attack looked like it was going to connect, but Emperor Cì Shā appeared before them and thrust his own sword forward. He struck the flat of Heaven’s Might, knocking the weapon away. Xuan Su used this chance to close the distance between him and Zhe Fēnglì. His five fingers glowed as he thrust out his hand like they were a bird of prey’s talons. Zhe Fēnglì tried to back away, but Jian Yijun appeared behind him to prevent it.

“Let’s go,” said Bèipàn Zhě.

Húndàn Wang struggled to keep up as the man burst forward. He appeared above Jiang Yijun, a pair of swords appearing in his hands. They were a pair of hudieado, single-edged weapons with hooked guards and shortblades around 16 chih long. Unlike Zhe Fēnglì’s unadorned weapon, these looked ostentatious, with flame-like patterns etched into the blades.

[Flame Blades Dance]

Bèipàn Zhě crossed his arms, then swung them forward, unleashing powerful billowing flames that hid his sword intent. Jiang Yijun had no choice but to block the attacks. Zhe Fēnglì was quick to capitalize on that. He swung his sword at the man. It was blocked by Emperor Cì Shā, but a deft flick of his wrists caused the emperor to tumble into Xuan Su. That was also the moment Húndàn Wang reached them.

[Celestial Swords]

He waved his sword, creating over a dozen glowing white swords, which he launched at Emperor Cì Shā and Xuan Su. The two snorted. They blasted his attacks away with a wave of their hands, but his attack had bought Zhe Fēnglì enough time to retreat. He, Zhe Fēnglì, and Bèipàn Zhě regrouped away from Emperor Cì Shā and his Heavenly Generals.

“It looks like defeating these three won’t be as easy as I had hoped,” Zhe Fēnglì said.

“The fact that you’re thinking of defeating three Deva Realm cultivators just proves you’re in a completely different place than the rest of us,” said Húndàn Wang.

“Ha ha. Maybe. But cultivators must always strive to confront overwhelming odds. We’re constantly going against the heavens by cultivating. If you can’t confront threats greater than you, then you shouldn’t be cultivating in the first place.”

The words resonated with Húndàn Wang, who shored up his courage. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to defeat these three, but who could say until he tried.

“Anyway, it looks like those three are going to attack this time. Get ready,” warned Zhe Fēnglì.

***

Yu Chenguang had been finding himself fighting against more powerful opponents than he ever had before. Fēng Yi was a cultivator at the peak of the Deva Realm. He was one of the strongest cultivators that could be found in smaller nations like the Ming Province. In contrast, Yu Chenguang was only half a step into the Deva Realm, and he had only reached this level of strength recently.

[Rending Dragon’s Claw]

An ornate spear appeared in Yu Chenguang’s hands, and he swung it at Fēng Yi faster than a person could blink. A roar punctured the atmosphere as chi gushed from his spear and took the shape of a dragon’s claw. Fēng Yi gazed calmly at the attack, then summoned a small fan, which he swung precisely when the dragon claw reached him.

Yu Chenguang’s attack vanished.

“That level of attack won’t work on--”

Fēng Yi was forced to leap backward as something crashed into where he’d been standing. He looked at the dazzling spear of black lightning that penetrated the ground. Then he looked at who had launched it.

Li Hu and Liu Heifeng stood back to back, arms outstretched. Black sparks skittered across their skin. He glanced back at the spear, which crackled a few more times before vanishing.

“That was quite the attack. Even I would not escape unscathed from something like that.” Fēng Yi smiled like an amiable old man. “Quite impressive. I see how it is now. Everyone focuses on you, the Shang Kingdom’s most famous cultivator, but the true strength comes from those two.”

Yu Chenguang said nothing, but that was because this old man had the right of it. Yu Chenguang was the strongest cultivator in the Shang Kingdom. However, while his wives might not have had his strength on their own, together, they surpassed him in power. Their unique cultivation method allowed them to synchronize their chi, granting them a many fold boost in strength. He had judged their techniques capable of even killing a Deva Realm cultivator.

Of course, they had to hit their target to be effective.

“Since those two are the true threats, they are also the ones I should deal with first… hmm?”

Fēng Yi took to the skies. He raised his left hand, wind and lightning gathering around him, forming a sphere over his head. Strange eddies appeared in the air. Crackling light blue, they were swirling motes of electricity that had gathered on unseen zephyrs.

[Wind-Lightning Agglomeration]

Fēng Yi threw the sphere at the two women, but Yu Chenguang moved to intercept. The spear disappeared and a sword took its place. The handle was much longer than normal. The sheath was a dark crimson with a golden dragon coiled around it. Taking a deep breath, Yu Chenguang exhaled as he unseathed the blade and swung it in a single, smooth motion.

[Dragon Tears the Sky]

A bright light blossomed from the blade as though something had torn the night sky apart. It wasn’t enough to stop the sphere. The two attacks clashed, and Yu Chenguang’s was overpowered with ease, but he quickly added more slashes. He sheathed his blade, then slashed, then sheathed, then slashed. Sheathed. Slash. He repeated the process multiple times, moving faster and faster with each swing. The sphere became weaker and weaker, until his last attack cut it apart.

“Haaaaah… haaaah…”

As Yu Chenguang breathed heavily, his two wives raised their hands to the sky. Dark clouds swirled around their palms. Crackling black lightning raced through the miniature thunder cloud. They moved their hands to aim at Fēng Yi, who quickly began soaring away to gain distance.

“You’re not getting away!” they shouted at the same time.

[Black Lightning Eight Headed Serpent]

What shot from the cloud was a serpent with eight heads. Each head was bigger than a person. They flew forward far faster than such a large mass had a right to, and reached Fēng Yi very quickly. The old man spun around in midair as one of the serpent heads lunged at him. While he avoided the first, the second attacked, and he had no choice but to knock it away with his tiny fan. However, the third, fourth, and fifth heads quickly surrounded and attacked him.

[Wind Cutter]

A sphere of cutting winds appeared around his body like a protective barrier. The serpent heads slammed into it and were shredded apart. The remaining five heads quickly backed off. Fēng Yi smiled grimly as he raised his hand again. Fierce gale winds caused the temperature to drop and the area around him to become a storm. Swirling eddies appeared from the sky and crashed into the ground, gathering together and forming a tornado with him at the epicenter.

[Heavenly Cyclone]

The tornado quickly expanded, engulfing the remaining five heads and tearing them apart. Li Hua and Liu Heifeng gasped, staggered, and were forced to a knee. They clutched their chests and coughed up blood as their attack was overpowered.

“Are you two okay?!” asked Yu Chenguang.

“W-we’re fine, dear,” Li Hua said.

“Don’t take your eyes off the enemy!” warned Liu Heifeng.

Yu Chenguang quickly turned back to the tornado, which was continuing to expand. Did he plan to take them all out with that attack? There was a lot of chi packed into it…

I guess I have no choice.

Yu Chenguang stored his sword back into his storage ring, then summoned a pair of gauntlets. They were a bright azure color. The gauntlets were shaped like a dragon’s mouth, the snarling visage of the Azure Dragon God. These gauntlets had been forged for him by a master blacksmith after he ascended to the Human Limit Realm. They were the greatest treasure in his arsenal.

Unlike his rival, Hundan Qie, Yu Chenguang did not specialize in a single weapon. He had mastered the basics of swords, spears, warfans, and gauntlets. What made him so dangerous was his unpredictability. By the same token, he was what many would call a jack of all trades master of none. Since he did not specialize in a single weapon, he could never beat someone at swordsmanship, spearmanship, or any of the weapons he used.

He took a deep breath, spread his feet wide, and tucked his fists into his torso. He gathered as much chi as he dared into his gauntlets, which glowed a brilliant blue. Azure flames engulfed his hands. The jewel eyes on the gauntlets glowed with the luminiscence of stars. As the tornado came nearer and nearer, he threw his fists forward.

[Dragon’s Roar]

This technique was one of his own invention. He unleashed all the chi in his gauntlets in a single attack, releasing a powerful soundwave that shook the air. Of course, this technique on its own would never be enough to defeat a powerful technique created by a peak Deva Realm cultivator.

[Black Thunder]

His two wives had recovered enough to launch their own attacks. They thrust their hands out and launched a powerful bolt of black lightning. The loud cracking of thunder rent the atmosphere and the smell of burning ozone filled Yu Chenguang’s nose as the lightning bolt slammed into the tornado where his attack had weakened it. The tornado split apart and soon dispersed.

“Haaah… ugh… haaaah…”

“Heeeee… hooo…”

“Ngg…”

The three fell to their knees after successfully fending off the technique. They had used most of their chi, and sadly, when they looked up, they saw an amused Fēng Yi staring down at them.

“Do you now see how pointless this is?” asked Fēng Yi. “You are strong and talented, but you are no match for me. Of course, it’d be a waste to kill you three, especially those two young woman. Your lightning techniques are outstanding.” He held out his hand. “Join the Wind-Lightning Pavilion. I can make you three far stronger than you’d ever be if you remain loyal to this pathetic kingdom.”

Those words were enough to galvinize the trio. They stood to their feet, wobbling only a little as they summoned a pill from their rings. They each popped a pill into their mouths and swallowed. A rush of energy filled them as the chi gathering pills did their work. It was dangerous to use chi gathering pills for this purpose, as it could cause chi poisoning, but they truly had no other choice.

“We would rather die,” they said at the same time.

Fēng Yi sighed in disappointment. “So be it. I shall honor you three by at least giving you marked graves after we have conquered this nation.”