...
The storm has struck, flooding the Flame Capital City with a blanket of rain and mist. Yet, no one on the streets propped up their umbrellas, all allowing the violent downpour to pelt on their heads, creating splashes and ripples.
Inside the Flame Capital City, at a hidden and virtually forgotten old constabulary gate, over ten people in black wearing hats were standing under the rain. They each carried a long sword on their backs.
The rain poured down from the skies, washing off every trace of dust from the intricately carved sword guards.
Of course, not everyone was wearing a hat. There was a lady standing in front of them who donned a gorgeous and delicate long dress. Her waterfall-like hair rested on her shoulders. The lightning streaking across the night sky illuminated the lady's snow-white skin, her otherworldly eyebrows and the cinnabar crystal in the centre of her forehead.
The relentless raindrops buffeted her, drenching her dress, but she appeared even daintier and more beautiful than before.
"Wu Yuer, the Shadow Sect Leader has arrived!" A voice called out from opposite her. At the same time, a frail-looking man ambled out slowly from the constabulary gate. He had very ordinary features, but his forehead contained an 'eye' as shiny as a ruby gem.
An eerie glow flickered within the eye, making it extremely mysterious and bizarre.
And behind him, over a hundred masked figures appeared wearing black cloaks over their heads. Tinges of eerie light radiated from beneath their cloaks, seeming extremely unusual.
With only over ten people in hats against over a hundred masked men, the odds seemed greatly skewed. However, with over ten hatted men guarding the gate, only a single man wearing black emerged from the constabulary.
"Ying Feng, Domain Chief of the Dark Region, that's right … Your brother Ying Shan was also from the Dark Region, am I right? But what a pity, he was only the Vice Domain Chief and he died at such a young age." Wu Yuer finally spoke as she watched the man step out of the constabulary.
"Yes!" Ying Feng nodded without any intentions of rebutting or explaining himself. He seemed unfazed, as though answering a question that had no relation to him whatsoever.
"Brothers should still be united along the road to death, that way you'll have a companion." Wu Yuer chided again.
"I heard that the Shadow Sect is engaging in business, that makes you a businesswoman. Can I buy a life for 10,000 taels of gold?"
"Most certainly, but we'll have to double the price, and you'll have to leave behind everything you took!" Wu Yuer nodded.
"What about 50,000 taels of gold, but we keep the things?"
"When the Shadow Sect does business, we only offer prices, we don't bargain."
"Understood, let me think about this!" Ying Feng nodded and took a few steps backwards slowly.
"I'll give you the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn." Wu Yuer didn't stop him.
Just then, another streak of lightning danced across the sky, but this streak was evidently different from the rest.
It was a ray of light, a distorted ray of light.
And soon after … a thunderous roar of a dragon reverberated through the air and rumbled through the clouds.
"Eh?" Wu Yuer's body jerked violently. She looked up instinctively and her calm expression suddenly changed drastically. "Is that … Fang Zhengzhi?!"
Without any hesitation, Wu Yuer's body vanished immediately and in the next moment, her figure appeared on the roof of a faraway building, appearing like a flash of lightning.
"Domain Chief, it seems that Wu Yuer has … left?!" A masked man standing inside the constabulary yard was evidently shocked upon witnessing Wu Yuer's sudden disappearance.
"Is this a trick to lure us out?" Another masked man whispered.
"No, something has happened to Fang Zhengzhi!" Ying Feng gazed at Wu Yuer navigating through the storm, then looked at the light glowing in the horizon. A cold glint flashed in his eyes. "This chance is hard to come by, let's go!"
"Yes!" The hundreds of masked men replied in unison.
And outside the constabulary gates, over ten hatted people in black stood there silently, without anyone following Wu Yuer.
"Qing Yi, they're fleeing. What should we do?"
"If you're the leader, what would you do?" A woman's voice rang down towards them.
"Charge in!"
"And if you were the Offering Lord?"
"I … I can't guess what the Offering Lord would do." The hatted man hesitated and finally shook his head.
"Let's do what our leader would do. Charge in!"
"Yes!"
…..
A downpour raged on at the city gates of the Flame Capital City.
Countless soldiers stood at their positions, their eyes all focused on the distorted path of light. It illuminated the air with such dominance and solitude.
"Boom!" A deafening blast rang.
The distorted ray of light finally struck King Xieluo. The massive collision of both forces tore at each other, releasing waves of shrill and formidable dragon roars.
A breathtaking symphony, followed immediately by silence.
At this moment, the barrage of the storm seemed to have faded, and so has the commotion of the spectating crowd. All that remained was the roar of a dragon – a shrill yet formidable roar.
"Roar!"
Then, an agonizing howl of a beast sounded as well.
A crimson rain of blood poured down from the heavens, melding into the storm and dyeing the dark sky into a ghastly shade of red.
The dragon's roar faded soon after, and a spiraling black figure descended from the skies and landed on the ground with a thud.
"What's going on?!"
"Did Fang Zhengzhi lose?"
"What was that black shadow just now?"
Countless pairs of eyes were focused on the black shadow that just landed on the ground. Then, they opened as wide as they could when they finally ascertained the identity of the black shadow.
Everyone gasped in shock. It was just a front hoof, an unbelievably gigantic front hoof. However, only the front roof reached the ground. Crimson blood spewed out of the severed top of the limb, splattering all over the ground.
"Roar!" Another howl of a beast reverberated through the skies.
Everyone turned their attention towards the enormous figure suspended in mid-air. And that figure was missing a large front hoof.
"How is this possible?!"
"Is that scoundrel really in the Supernatural State?!"
"He's so powerful, he … actually wounded the Demon King?"
The Mountain Breaking Army, Yan Yunqi, and even the Northern Barbarian soldiers were flabbergasted by this jaw-dropping sight as they noticed King Xieluo's wounded state.
A single sword!
The Returning Dragon!
He severed the Demon King's front hoof!
Fang Zhengzhi, in the Supernatural State ….
He actually wounded the Demon King, and not just that … he managed to sever one of his front hoofs. This isn't just worthy of a simple compliment! This is completely unfathomable!
The Demon King! The Demon King with a physical body even sturdier than that of a Sage!
No one could believe their eyes, neither was anyone willing to believe their eyes.
"Fang Zhengzhi!!!" King Xieluo's voice thundered through the air. It was a howl of rage, agony and mostly, humiliation.
As a grand Demon King, he was hoping mad from utter humiliation. Never once was there a time when he was this furious.
And above him, a silhouette stood in the air, wielding a sword in one hand which radiated with a strange purple glow. His black robes became peculiarly conspicuous after being washed down by the rain.
He didn't say a word, much less utter a single sound. He merely gazed quietly at the frantic and exasperated King Xieluo. His pair of eyes, as clear as water droplets, flickered with various images - mountains, rivers, forests, flowers …
However, the corners of his lips were still stained with fresh blood which glistened with a peculiarly radiant glow under the flashes of lightning.
"He was injured after all?"
"But he did manage to slice off one of the Demon King's front hoofs, that's already an incredible feat!"
"Indeed so. But is that the only form of damage he can inflict?"
Just as everyone's gaze was affixed on the bloodstains on Fang Zhengzhi's lips, they all let out soft sighs one by one.
The awe-inspiring sight of the single strike from his sword which severed the front hoof of the Demon King was still replaying vividly in everyone's minds, but that did not mean that Fang Zhengzhi had secured a victory.
After all, he was up against the Demon King - a Demon King who was far stronger than any sage.
"Fang Zhengzhi, you've exhausted all your strength for this single strike, but I have not. Now die!" King Xieluo clearly noticed the bloodstains on Fang Zhengzhi's lips.
Even though his front hoof was sliced right off, he still charged towards Fang Zhengzhi at breakneck speed.
And at the same time, a ray of red light rose up from beneath the city walls and propelled into the sky, releasing terrifying waves of air currents which radiated to the surroundings, sweeping up every ounce of debris.
The crimson luminance inundated the sky, dyeing the dark night sky into a uniform blood red, a sinister and hellish blood red.
A black figure stood at the centre of the red light. His eyes had turned blood red as well, with drops of fresh blood sliding down his lips and falling onto the pale face of someone sprawled on the ground.
"Re… remember what … you .... you promised me …" There was a weak voice trailing off. Then, the pale face slowly turned to one side and his eyes slowly closed shut.
"Ah!!!" A piercing shriek erupted from the black figure. It was a howl that came from deep within his heart, filled with rage, vengeance and grief …
"It's Yan Qianli!"
"Could it be that Prince Li of the First Rank has …"
"My Lord!"
The Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Yunqi immediately turned their attention to Yan Qianli at the bottom of the palace walls upon hearing that excruciating howl. They clearly noticed Prince Li of the First Rank lying there with his eyes shut.
"Boom!" The rumble of distant thunder.
Both the Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Yunqi bowed in respect. They didn't kneel as they were still in the heat of battle, but they still had to bow.
Because … the person who perished was Prince Li of the First Rank, a living legend of the Great Xia Empire. And in the final moments of his life, this legend used both his hands and released the most resplendent radiance in front of everyone's eyes - opening the heavens and burying the earth.
He was a legend that would live in their hearts forever.
"Don't worry, old man Lin. I, Yan Qianli, swear that I will avenge you!" Basking in the charging red light, Yan Qianli slowly looked up to the sky, reeling in the downpour cascading from the heavens and the two battling silhouettes crossing swords in the storm.
Just like everyone had noticed … Fang Zhengzhi was wounded.
"Isn't this enough? I've boosted by strength threefold, and it's still not enough?" Fang Zhengzhi's sword was obviously not aiming for King Xieluo's front hoof, but his head.
But … his sword still missed its mark.
"Boom!" The two shadows distanced themselves from each other. Fang Zhengzhi opened his mouth subconsciously as another mouthful of fresh blood spewed forth, but his hand still grasped the handle of his sword as tightly as he could.
One would be faced with numerous challenges in one's life. Some challenges may even seem insurmountable, impossible to overcome no matter how hard one tries, but still, Fang Zhengzhi wanted to try nonetheless.
The reason was simple - he had no other options.
He was not hoping to flee, but it was his heart that was preventing him from retreating away. He would never choose to retreat, regardless of how many chances of escape he may get.
"Yan Xiu's only friend … doesn't seem too bad after all!" Yan Qianli gazed up at the panting Fang Zhengzhi. His heart palpitated quickly for a moment but he calmed down soon after. At the same time, the pillar of blood red light propelling into the heavens began to disperse again and in the next moment, Fang Zhengzhi had already arrived in front of King Xieluo.
"Die!"
"Roar!"
Both sounded their battlecries.
The blood red light intertwined with the golden radiance, repelling explosively upon impact.
Following that, Yan Qianli arrived in front of Fang Zhengzhi. As a leader with bountiful experience in battle, he was enraged, but he remained calmer than anyone else.
"Fang Zhengzhi, can you still fight?" Yan Qianli ignored Ping Yang, not even sparing her a single glance. Things had already progressed to such a point that there was no purpose in pursuing the matter further.
"Yes!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded weakly.
"Alright then, we … your eyes?!" Yan Qianli was about to propose for both of them to combine forces, but after he noticed Fang Zhengzhi's crystal-clear dewdrop-like eyes, his expression changed drastically.
Fang Zhengzhi's eyes were simply too strange, so strange that it was spellbinding.
"It's an after-effect of the Battle of the Southern Region." Fang Zhengzhi explained briefly but did not elaborate further. He simply raised his hand and wiped off the bloodstain on his lips.
"This after-effect of yours doesn't look too bad!" Yan Qianli's lips twitched. He just gave a casual remark without probing the matter further.
"I'll settle Ping Yang's feud for her!" Fang Zhengzhi exclaimed.
"Certainly, and I'll avenge old Lin!" Yan Qianli replied in a heartbeat.
"Would you like to kill him?"
"Of course!"
"But he can only die once."
"As my junior, you should have some humility!" Yan Qianli chastised as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi.
"As my senior, you should provide more opportunities for the younger generation!"
"What if I refuse?"
"We'll just have to rely on our individual strength."
"Very well, let's see whether Yan Xiu's only friend can still conjure any more miracles!" Yan Qianli nodded.
"Guard the rear, I'll charge in!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded back.
"You'll charge in first? Are you sure?" Yan Qianli instinctively stepped out after seeing Fang Zhengzhi nod back, already preparing to launch himself forward, only reacting when he took his first step out.
He was clearly astonished. Regardless of his understanding of Fang Zhengzhi's personality, Yan Qianli should theoretically be the first one to strike when assessing the disparity between both their levels of strength.
"I'm sure!" Fang Zhengzhi's decision remained resolute.
"Alright then, go. I'll cover you from behind!" Yan Qianli may not have understood Fang Zhengzhi's intentions completely, but he still nodded in agreement in the end.