Chapter 4: I am his Younger Brother!
Translator: QuiescentNight Editor: GGP
The demons revealed their true natures, and began to physically change appearances. Some of them began to grow yellow fur from their skin as their eyes became dark green. Some of them began to grow a thick hide of skin on their faces as horns sprouted from their heads… All of them were manifesting demonic characteristics. Furthermore, some held two sharp thorns in their hands, while others were grasping large battle axes or using flexible swords… These were the weapons that the demons were most proficient in. They had extraordinary strength but their speeds varied. Some were fast, while others were slow. But even the slowest ones were still leaving phantom images of themselves in mid-air. One could well imagine the speeds they were going at!
The demon that had dispersed into a cloud of mist was even more peculiar. It was hard to discern where exactly it was. The sudden disappearance of one of the demons caused tremors in the heart of the black-robed elder who was observing from the side. "Invisibility? How is that beatable? These demons are too horrifying."
Although the yellow-robed fatty, Chu Yong, had delivered the order, he maintained his original position by standing in place. "My seven subordinates are not that weak. The collective effort of the seven will be sufficient in ascertaining the strength of this mysterious expert."
When experts met in battle, there was only a fine line separating victory and defeat.
Understanding the limitations of the mysterious expert in front of him could help him gain the upper hand when they engaged in combat.
"Seven?" Qin Yun stood there, motionless.
"Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!"
His right hand unsheathed his sword for a split second before putting it back in.
Several ice-cold beams scintillated mid-air like swimming snakes. The five demons that had pounced quickly fell to the ground. The mysterious mist demon similarly collapsed into a corpse that quickly transformed into a panther. Behind Qin Yun, a woman's corpse also appeared and immediately transformed into a snow mink in mid-air… All seven demons fell to the ground one after another. Their weapons clanged to the ground as they escaped the demons' grasps. All the demons eventually morphed back into their true forms—wolves, panthers, etc… All seven of their corpses were significantly larger than that of regular beasts. Yet, they only laid there motionless.
The faces of the black-robed elder who stood afar without daring to move and the lady in pink went pale.
"They died, just like that? The seven demons died instantaneously?" The black-robed elder found it unbelievable, "His strike, I couldn't see it at all!"
"What a fast sword. Did you rely on your Dharma Eyes to see through the invisibility technique?"
The yellow-robed fatty, Chu Yong stood there as he spoke with a deep voice. "It's no wonder you have the guts to saunter in here alone. However, coming to my territory was your worst mistake." As he said this, he slammed his left hand onto the armrest of his throne. He had used a tremendous amount of strength in the strike, causing the armrest to crack with a loud sound and sink down.
All the side doors in the audience hall abruptly slammed shut. Simultaneously, the walls and ceiling became filled with numerous holes.
"Oh no." The black-robed elder's expression revealed a look of panic and despair.
"Master." The pink-robed woman felt despair as well.
However, the yellow-robed fatty sported the same ferocious grin as his head transformed into a hideous boar's head and he grew a thick layer of hair all over his body. His height swelled up until he was nearly ten feet tall. His clothes tore apart as he grew.
"Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!"
From the dome of the hall, countless spikes in the form of black beams of light shot through the holes in the walls. Each was the length of a human palm, but the black beams of light were densely packed together in a shroud that left no room for escape. Even the place where Chu Yong was standing was enveloped by the poisonous spikes.
Innumerable spikes shot through the hall, penetrating the black-robed elder and the pink-robed woman. Instantly, more than a dozen holes were bored through their bodies. They had died on the spot, eyes filled with despair.
Puah! Puah! Puah!
Even the long narrow table that was made of stone was easily penetrated by the poison spikes! The floor of the hall that was made of granite was also penetrated, leaving behind a series of cavities.
"When I built this underground palace, I filled it with mechanisms for the sole purpose of taking on true experts." The wild boar demon, Chu Yong, watched in anticipation.
However, Qin Yun slowly stepped forward.
His footsteps would occasionally speed up, causing a poisonous spike to graze past his back.
At times, his footsteps would slow down, allowing a poisonous spike to fly past his chest.
Sometimes, he would tilt slightly to the left and a poisonous spike would graze past his ear.
Sometimes, he would tilt slightly to the right and, once again, a poisonous spike would graze past his neck.
The poisonous spikes came from every direction, and yet Qin Yun moved like he had eyes on the back of his head. He easily avoided all the poisonous spikes.
"How is this possible?" The wild boar demon, Chu Yong, widened his eyes, "How did he dodge the poisonous spikes that shot from behind him without being able to see them? Could it be…"
...
Qin Yun strode through the main hall in a relaxed manner. He did as he pleased as he emanated his psyche, covering a region of fifty feet in diameter. Everything inside it, even a speck of dust which could not be seen by the naked eye, was within his perception. With the fifty-foot buffer, it made avoiding the poisonous spikes a lot easier.
He only needed to make minute movements to avoid the incoming poisonous spikes.
Even though there were times when it was difficult to dodge the spikes, Qin Yun would simply extend his right hand and, with a light flick, send the poisonous spikes that were flying at him to the side.
In a few seconds, all the poisonous spikes were expended. The grand hall resumed its silence, with holes nearly everywhere.
The wild boar demon, Chu Yong, removed his huge hands that resembled cattail-leaf fans from his eyes. All the hair on his body was quivering, as the poisonous spikes fell from his body onto the ground.
"I've heard that the hides of wild boars are fairly thick. For a wild boar demon like you to actually use your body to resist those poisonous spikes is quite an impressive feat." Qin Yun gave a rare compliment.
"Hmph, you easily deflected those poisonous spikes, which means you have reached the perfected Seamless realm. You can even release your psyche, can’t you?" Chu Yong continued, "When you are capable of releasing your psyche, you are not that far from the realm of Heaven Man Unity. I never imagined that a great expert such as yourself would come to my territory."
Chu Yong stretched his hand out to grab a metal column beside his throne. With a rumble, he ripped out the thirteen-foot metal column and brandished it. However, it did not appear out of place. He looked almost like a regular person holding a staff. He twirled the column with one hand, stirring up a howling gust of wind. The stance and momentum were terrifying. "A high cultivation level doesn't necessarily mean strength! I've killed many human experts who were at a higher cultivation realm than me."
Just as his voice faded, Chu Yong rushed forward and fiercely swept the metal column in his hands, creating a loud ring. The metal column weighed at least a thousand pounds. A single sweep of it seemed like it could carry him to victory. A graze would result in serious injury and a direct strike would leave one dead.
"Sou!"
Qin Yun abruptly bent down and avoided the swinging column above his head. In a moment, he unsheathed his sword.
"Wah!"
The sword blade drew across the demon's stomach diagonally. At the instant of the slash, Qin Yun felt an immense amount of resistance. His sword managed to cleave off a few hairs with great difficulty and, when it finally reached the demon's thick hide, the momentum barely left a white mark before dissipating.
"Woosh." Chu Yong instantly retracted the metal column before suddenly stabbing downwards at his target.
Qing Yun quickly brandished his sword and immediately rushed forward to dodge before returning with a surprise attack.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Qing Yun raised his speed to his limits while Chu Yong wielded his metal column. Chu Yong's staff techniques were rather powerful, but he could not even lay a finger on Qin Yun. At the same time, Qin Yun was slicing, stabbing, and slashing Chu Yong's body continuously. However, even his strongest strike only managed to pierce two inches into the thick hide. He failed to penetrate the entire depth of the thick hide.
"What a thick hide of skin." Qin Yun retreated to the side and sighed with a click of his tongue. "The hide is too thick, just too thick."
"Haha, I've already said it. A higher cultivation realm does not mean higher strength. How will you fight me if your sword cannot penetrate my skin? I just need to hit you once and you're dead." Chu Yong laughed boisterously.
"Your hide is indeed thick. Perhaps it is worthy of meeting my ‘Misty Rain Sword,’" said Qin Yun. "This is a sword technique I came up with on my own."
"On your own?" Chu Yong guffawed, "A sword technique needs to be properly tempered and honed with multiple revisions. So what if you came up with it on your own?"
"Is that so?" Qin Yun advanced forward.
"Come over and die!" Chu Yong swung the metal column forward, but Qin Yun easily dodged it. He also struck out with his sword, creating a hazy sword beam that flashed like the misty rain in spring. It was ethereal and hazy.
Chu Yong pushed his metal column up, tipping the column down to rapidly block.
Pu!
The hazy sword beam and the metal column collided, and the metal column slowly changed directions. The sword beam swung around the column and proceeded forward. With a sharp lacerating sound, the hazy sword beam tore through Chu Yong's abdomen! Chu Yong originally ignored it because he was confident of his physical defense. However, he immediately widened his eyes and frantically grasped at his abdomen.
With a loud tear, his body was split into two. The upper half of his body separated from his lower half as his dismembered body fell to the ground, covering it in fresh blood.
Only then did Qin Yun sheathe his sword, putting it back into his scabbard.
Chu Yong had very robust vital strength. He raised his head to look at Qin Yun, "How…how is this possible? You couldn't penetrate my hide before so how…how did you do it with one strike… It's not possible, the hide I was born with is incredibly thick. I was even taught a body-tempering cultivation by a water god, so how could a single strike of yours split my body apart? This 'Misty Rain Sword' technique...was self-taught?"
"Yes." Qin Yun nodded.
The lower half of Chu Yong's body had already reverted to its true form and the upper half was beginning to revert back as well. He continued to stare at Qin Yun. "You killed me today because of that Qin An? Who exactly are you?"
He could not take his defeat lying down.
He had been settled in Grand Dominance City for sixty-eight years, and yet here he was, killed by a mysterious expert without even knowing why.
Qin Yun looked at the wild boar demon and said, "That's right. I killed you because of Qin An! It's because I'm his younger brother!"