Sundering Nature

TL: ZhaoEditing: Krisaia

As the thunder which shrouded the hammers held by the clones confluenced into a giant lightning bolt above them, it finally dawned on the guardians that they were facing a foe who lived up to the reputation of a sage. Many had begun to plan their retreat, and the guardians started to group up to increase their chance of survival.  

Li Yiming looked up with a frown. He set his eyes on a golden orb shining among the stars, which tightened his chest and made his heart race. 

‘Heaven’s Laws…’ 

After redirecting his attention towards the guardians standing in front of him, he realized that none of them seemed to be aware of the object in the sky. However, he did notice that most of the sages who sat still on their seat had a shift of countenance.

“Are you sure?” Li Huaibei exchanged a glance with Stargaze, displaying a rare look of expectation. 

“To be honest, I’m not sure. Being where I am, I shouldn’t have any desires anymore. But now I’m curious. I really want to see what’s above there.” Stargaze sighed and brushed her hair to the side as she gazed at Li Yiming. 

“You’ll pay quite a price for just having a glance.” 

“I’ve seen everything in this world. It would only make sense to pay to see something new. Qian Mian, take Tian Yan with you and leave. Don’t come back until the domain is over,” Stargaze instructed as she took out a sapphire bracelet and put it around Tian Yan’s wrist. 

“Boss…” Qian Man refrained himself from saying any further after glancing at Li Huaibei. 

“Do your job properly. What’s about to happen isn’t something you can afford to get involved in.” Stargaze tapped Qian Mian’s shoulder and turned her eyes towards the sky. The golden orb had gained a red glow. 

Boom! 

A skyscraper collapsed under the blast of Pan Junwei’s bombardment. A monster, half-human and half-snake with golden irises emerged from the ruins. Its claws all reflected light like a steel blade and he held a massive turtle shell.   

Instead of jumping toward Pan Junwei, Sai Gao looked up. 

“I don’t think we can finish our fight today.” Pan Junwei’s eyes followed suit.

“Don’t worry, it’s not coming for you.” The golden light in Sai Gao’s eyes shone brighter as he prepared an attack. 

“I don’t like the idea of being someone’s pawn. Listen to me, change of plans.” Pan Junwei suddenly put away his portable rocket launcher and turned around, leaving his back exposed. 

“Interesting…” Sai Gao smiled, revealing his abnormally long tongue, and slithered away into the darkness. 

“I don’t think we can continue watching the show.” Mr. Kong extinguished his cigarette and put it inside an empty plastic bottle standing on the table nearby. 

‘You don’t say…’ The young employee was speechless. She was impressed by her own passiveness throughout the entirety of the living hell she was witnessing. Not only was she not fearing for her own safety, somehow she was rather entertained by the fighting that unfolded before her. 

“I have to leave now. Just sit here and you’ll be safe. But I have a favor to ask.” The man turned around and said. 

“You’re leaving?” The employee asked. She remained unscathed all this time due to Mr. Kong’s protection, and she was consternated at having her feeling of safety being taken away. 

“I need to welcome my guest. You see that man over there? That one with the clones.” 

“The one who’s dancing?” 

“Yes. Keep my bag. If you feel like the bag is becoming heavier, go give it to him. You should also give it to him if it looks like he’s about to die. Don’t worry, as long as you have the bag, no one will dare touch you.” Mr. Kong smiled and gave his knit-bag to the girl. 

“But…” Mr. Kong had already left before she could protest. She examined the bag and could tell that it was made from a very smooth material, something resembling silk, and it was almost weightless.  

“Interesting.” Yun Yiyuan looked on as Mr. Kong’s slowly vanished from sight. He pulled his hand out of Ying Mei’s collar and retreated into the darkness. 

Likely, Li Huaibei shot up into the sky in a flash of light. Following him was Stargaze, who shone as bright as a miniature sun. 

“Don’t die too soon, my pupil.” Li Yiming suddenly heard Aunt Wu’s voice in his head. Nine swords took off from a neighborhood nearby and soon overtook Li Huaibei. 

From the other side of the city, two giant carps, one black, and one white, swam across the sky in a yin-yang pattern. Between them sat a young child dressed in a Taoist outfit followed by a walking cane, a Buddhist bracelet, and a dumpling. 

“You have your fight, I have mine.” Li Yiming looked on as the rays of light faded away. Mr. Kong’s plan was unknown to him, but one thing he was certain of was that the guardians were all here for Shao Xian, and his role in this hellish scene was to protect her. 

Li Yiming turned his attention toward Liu Meng, who floated in the air, and he unleashed his power. All of his clones dashed forward, each holding a hammer which contained the power of a thousand lightning. 

It was a one sided-battle, as with every insult hurled out by one of Li Yiming’s blow, the guardians’ rank would thin out. Most of them had regretted their decision, but there were still many who continued to fight fiercely, compelled by a tremendous will to live. 

Boom! 

A giant mecha landed into the stadium, blasting away the thunder in front of it with its hollow cannon tubes. One clone leaped toward the cockpit, only to be cut into two by Qing Linglong’s blade. Another targeted Qing Qiaoqiao, but he suddenly paused in his attack, as if he was hypnotized. A second later and his dream was interrupted by two daggers, one which plunged into his heart and another which slashed open his throat. Eyeglasses nodded in Qing Qiaoqiao’s direction and vanished, seeking his next target.  

As the flames on the stage died down, a more destructive one lit up where Li Yiming stood. It was Liu Meng, who had only one person in sight: the real Li Yiming. By now, Li Yiming’s former teammates had become the main driving force in resisting Li Yiming’s onslaught, as the latter did not dare use all of his strength against his teammates. Other guardians seemed to have noticed Li Yiming’s reticence and gradually approached Liu Meng’s group to seek refuge. 

“He’s not a sage…” Mr. Xie, who was still observing the scene from afar, suddenly realized something. His jade thumb ring began to shine with a green light. 

‘You will die today!” The fire around Liu Meng suddenly shrank into her body and re-emerged as a phoenix with black flames. Everything within a thirty-meter radius was instantly evaporated, which included nine of Li Yiming’s clones and three bystanding guardians. 

“Neon Disruption!” Qing Qiaoqiao yelled as a ray of pink light shot out of her eyes toward Li Yiming. The effects of the attack were instant as his head began spinning and his breathing became ragged.  

“Soul-Crushing Cannon!” Big Beard’s mecha raised its left arm. The forearm portion fell off, revealing a barrel surprisingly small. A shadow shot out of the rifle-sized barrel and shot toward Li Yiming. 

“Heart-Consuming Moonshadow!” Qing Linglong spun in place, creating a flurry of blows which forced back two of Li Yiming’s clones. As her weapons lit up, a giant, luminous replica of her weapon appeared in front of her and made for Li Yiming.  

“Nine Stars Chasing the Moon!” Nine streaks of light shot up from a corner in the battlefield. Three of them met Big Beard’s strike while three more were aimed toward Qing Linglong’s attack, and the last three were directed at Liu Meng. 

“Fang Shui’er, you dare?!” Liu Meng raised her hand, creating a wall of flames which intercepted the projectiles. 

Three low thuds were heard as Fang Shui’er intercepted the attacks aimed at Li Yiming. However, Qing Linglong’s blow was only slightly deflected off-course. It grazed past Li Yiming’s shoulders, leaving behind a large cut. Li Yiming rolled to the side, dodging an attack from another guardian. Two clones who stood behind jumped to his rescue and were sacrificed, blocking Eyeglasses attack with their body. 

Boom! Boom! Boom! 

Big Beard’s mecha approached and resumed its bombardment. Li Yiming frowned and smashed forward with his hammer, breaking it down in the process but still unable to stop Big Beard as the mecha was about to crush him. 

With a savage growl, Sai Gao appeared in the stadium and knocked on Big Beard’s mecha back, engaging it in vicious combat.  

“Phoenix Dancing in the Skies!” Liu Meng had finally finished preparing her technique. A loud shriek was heard as the black phoenix flew up and then came crashing down at Li Yiming. 

“Go!” Li Yiming’s clones jumped up one by one and continued shouting insults as they swung their hammers against the oncoming dive. The weapons were immediately burned to ashes upon contact, but the interception succeeded in weakening the phoenix. 

“Visiting Phoenix!” Liu Meng’s countenance sank as she could feel her attack losing its effectiveness. She pointed at the phoenix, and what looked like a miniature black hole appeared at the tip of her fingers. Her own body gradually grew transparent as the black hole grew in size. When Liu Meng vanished completely, the black orb shot up into the air before crashing down like a meteorite. 

“Heaven’s Punishment, I’ll make you pay for this…” Li Yiming gritted his teeth and retreated while all of his clones leaped toward the black hole to buy some time. 

Suddenly, a flash of light ran across the sky. A blade cut the sky into two halves, the intensity of its power sending shivers down Li Yiming’s spine. He had no doubt in his mind that this was the work of a sage. 

“Heaven’s blade?” Mr. Xie’s hand shook, almost dropping his thumb ring. 

Yun Yiyuan let out a long sigh of relief and put down his spear. ‘Wu Yun, here? Who is he after…?’