Chapter 73: Spare Him

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Streaks of light flew through the air.

The blade strikes were filled with an chilly energy that gave them quite a bit of penetrative power.

Miao Changqing was accidentally hit by one of the blade strikes. Three percent of the energy penetrated his barrier and slammed into him. Even though it couldn’t get through his Source-Returning Armor, it still gave him quite a surprise.

These people weren’t simple!

Their attacks only seemed so-so, but what was that strange glow emanating from their bodies? Why did it give them seemingly exceptional power? Even Miao Changqing felt surprised and a hint of fear.

When faced with these kinds of circumstances, Miao Changqing knew that he was probably going to lose if he held back any longer.

As such, he drew his blade.

The General-Beheading Night Blade.

The General-Beheading Night Blade was an exceptionally useful tool when fighting at night because its attacks were invisible.

When Miao Changqing attacked, no one could see where his blade landed. They would only see him wave his hand, causing the darkness of the night to thicken in some specific places. The darkness would then seep into the target’s body and swallow them up.

However, Miao Changqing was in an unusual situation today.

He waved his General-Beheading Night Blade, but he couldn’t see any of his opponents falling apart.

A glistening yellow light began to shine on their skin.

“Cliffrock Armor?” Miao Changqing frowned.

How had this Ancient Arcana Skill, which had been abandoned for centuries, suddenly reappeared in the hands of a normal guard?

But that didn’t really matter.

He continued to attack.

Only this time, he switched targets.

Unexpectedly, yellow light began to glow again.

Dammit, still another Cliffrock Armor user.

What’s with these guys? Why are their cultivation paths identical?

Some apprehension was beginning to seep in. He unleashed eight strikes in a row against eight different targets and was greeted by eight flashes of yellow light.

Cliffrock Armor, Cliffrock Armor, and Cliffrock Armor yet again!

Miao Changqing was completely dumbfounded.

Their bulging and expanding muscles caused their clothing to tear, revealing dense tattoos that almost looked like they had been inscribed into their skin.

“This is......”

Miao Changqing was stunned.

These tattoos glowed with a strange light that flowed through the lines. They seemed to pulsate with an incredible amount of Origin Energy, giving off a terrifying amount of pressure.

In that moment, the ten or so Origin Qi Scholars stood together and swung their blades simultaneously. An enormous blade took form in the air and began to descend, seemingly with the intent to bisect the whole earth.

This all happened so quickly that Miao Changqing felt as if he were facing a Light Shaking Realm cultivator.

‘NO!’ he yelled in his heart as he rushed forwards to defend himself with all his might.

The two sides collided violently, and Miao Changqing was sent flying with a grunt, as were the ten Origin Qi Scholars, who all fell to the floor in a crumpled heap.

“Pu!” Miao Changqing spat out a mouthful of blood. He was unable to get back to his feet.

Thankfully, his opponents weren’t much better off. All of them were seriously injured.

In this exchange, both parties had suffered losses.

“Young Master......” Miao Changqing said with labored breath, “Forgive my uselessness......”

Zhou Qingkuang said coldly, “You were indeed a bit useless. Even a bunch of trash like this could injure you to this point. But this is not that bad, since now......”

He stared at Long Shaoyou as he said, “Only you and I are left.”

As he spoke, he walked forwards slowly. “I must admit that your performance surprised me. Even so, that’s as far as you go.”

“Oh?” Long Shaoyou laughed. “Your strongest subordinate can’t even get up due to his wounds, but you still want to act this arrogantly?”

“Of course.” Zhou Qingkuang stopped advancing. “That’s because I am stronger than him!”

As he spoke, Zhou Qingkuang’s entire body began to emanate with energy.

This energy began to surge and increase as a Scarlet-Eyed Cinnabar Crane illusory image appeared behind him. It stretched out its wings, manifesting the imposing appearance of a Demonic King.

Whoosh!

Zhou Qingkuang attacked.

This movement was so fast that it was as if he had disappeared into thin air. Long Shaoyou didn’t even see him move before he found himself being launched into the air.

An instant later, Zhou Qingkuang reappeared in the same place, as if he hadn’t moved at all.

By the time he had returned to his original position, Long Shaoyou was still tumbling through the air.

Bang!

He rolled along the ground before coming to a stop and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

“So fast!” Long Shaoyou spat.

“Do you recognize the gap between us now?” Zhou Qingkuang walked forwards arrogantly with his hands clasped behind his back.

Long Shaoyou clutched at his chest as he retreated. “I get it now. You’re very fast, but you’re quite weak. You live up to your reputation of having a Demonic King Bloodline that is good for nothing but fleeing!”

Killing intent flashed across Zhou Qingkuang’s face. “You’re asking for death!”

The Scarlet-Eyed Demon King had quite the reputation, but it was the most well-known for its ability to flee. Of course, the Zhou Clan didn’t appreciate this moniker one bit.

Long Shaoyou laughed when he saw Zhou Qingkuang’s expression. “I admit that I’m not your opponent in a one-on-one fight, but you shouldn’t think that you’re something special. A person like you, who specializes in speed to the point of neglecting physical strength, must also have weak defenses. If you get hit even once, you won’t be able to withstand it at all.”

Zhou Qingkuang laughed loudly, “So what? My movements are as fast as lightning, and I can come and go like the wind. Who can hit me? You?”

Long Shaoyou sighed, “Of course I can’t. The person behind you can, though.”

Zhou Qingkuang trembled as he quickly spun around and leapt backwards. However, he didn’t see anyone behind him.

He viciously snarled, “Trying to trick me, are you!”

However, he then heard a voice speak, “He wasn’t tricking you.”

Zhou Qingkuang was badly startled as he instinctively leapt into the air.

His Scarlet-Eyed Demon King Bloodline allowed him to move at what seemed like the speed of light, but at this point it was already too late.

An attack that seemed to emerge from the depths of Hades itself charged towards him, the pressure it exuded threatening to shatter every bone in his body.

“Armor Piercing Awl!”

“AH!” Zhou Qingkuang yelled as he flew through the air, blood spraying from an open wound on his back.

Even though he had been badly injured, his speed activated at this moment. In the blink of an eye, he had escaped from his attacker, whose Raging Inferno Fist had yet to be unleashed.

Even so, he had unwittingly run in the wrong direction.

“Shadow Flame Claw.”

A voice spoke coolly from in front of him, followed by a hand covered in shadowy flames slamming into his chest.

Zhou Qingkuang yelled loudly in pain. The jade charm he wore around his neck shattered as a jade-green glow began to suffuse out. The Shadow Flame Claw slammed into the jade light instead, causing a blinding explosion of light to burst forth.

The white light gradually faded.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Zhou Qingkuang continued to retreat as he shot into the air before the person chasing behind him could catch up.

However, he didn’t expect there to still be more people waiting for him even in midair.

It was the Shadow Servants.

“Erupting Firehawk!”

A large, flame-winged hawk appeared in the air.

It slammed into Zhou Qingkuang’s midsection, causing him to spit up a mouthful of blood as he flew through the air.

He hadn’t died yet.

He lowered his head as a cyan leaf flew into his mouth. A faint green light began to crawl over his body and illuminate it, causing the wounds he had just sustained to rapidly recover.

Just at that moment, however, two more streaks of light glinting off of two blade strikes arrived.

Whoosh.

These two blade strikes slammed into Zhou Qingkuang’s legs.

“AH!” Zhou Qingkuang howled out of desperation.

This time, he was no longer able to jump into the air and toppled to the ground.

Five people walked out of the darkness. Because they were shrouded in darkness, it was impossible for Zhou Qingkuang to identify them. They very quickly tied him up.

One of the people smacked him with the flat of the blade. The cyan leaf came flying out of Zhou Qingkuang’s mouth.

Without the aid of this greenish-blue leaf, Zhou Qingkuang’s recovery ability ceased.

The other four people simultaneously raised their blades.

Despair flashed across Zhou Qingkuang’s eyes.

But just at that moment, a voice spoke.

“Spare him!”