Chapter 787 – After Leaving
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The monster stared at the demons, revealing its sharp teeth. A low growl came from its mouth, apparently intending to warn and threaten.
But in the end, it only feigned a few bites at the air.
It confirmed that these demons were far stronger than it. It had no chance.
With two screeches of pain and hatred, the monster dug into the snow, heading south.
It was obvious that this monster from the Longevity Sect was much weaker than the demon experts present, but for some reason, whether it was the Demon Lord or the Demon Commander, they all reviled yet were also wary of this monster. Only after they were sure that the monster was very far away did they truly relax.
The Demon Lord raised his head towards the head of the Mountain-toppling Fiend and asked, "What of Hai Di?"
If it were his father still reigning, a question would never have been asked this way, as the only existences that should require the Demon Lord to raise their head were the souls of the deceased. Perhaps because the young Demon Lord had no awareness of this or because the Demon Commander intended to make him aware of this, the Demon Commander remained on the head of the Mountain-toppling Fiend, not coming down.
"He died."
"Very good."
The Demon Lord revealed an intimidating smile. "The person Big Brother met on the first night after he entered Xuelao City was him. Did he think We did not know?"
Black Robe indifferently said, "Lord Hai Di still hoped to deceive Your Majesty's eyes."
"When he received Su Li's attack outside Xuelao City, he only lost an arm. Now he's even stronger while Father was heavily injured. Even if the Heavenly Tome Monolith recognized its master, how could he possibly be sent flying into a mountain with one blow? He wanted to take advantage of the chaos to escape, wanted to act out another play? We certainly have no interest in continuing this play."
After saying these scornful words, the Demon Lord took Black Robe's hand and assisted him as they walked north, appearing particularly respectful.
The Demon Commander, seated amongst the horns of the Mountain-toppling Fiend, watched this lord and minister on the snowy plains and let out an extremely soft and mysterious laugh.
Her laugh was very unpleasant, sounding like a broken gong.
The laughter suddenly stopped as she asked the distant Black Robe, "And Princess Nanke?"
"Should be dead."
Black Robe's voice was still flat, but it was different from how he spoke of Wang Zhice, no ridicule or loathing concealed within.
His only successor had died, yet there were no ripples of emotion in his voice, perhaps because there had never been any affection.
"And Chen Changsheng?"
"Should be alive."
The one to answer this question was the young Demon Lord.
The Demon Commander was rather surprised to hear this answer.
The trap the demons had laid tonight could be described as perfect. For this, they had even been willing to use a war to cover and serve as a backdrop to their movements. His Majesty who had escaped the abyss and made all the authoritative nobles in Xuelao City feel like they had swords to their backs was naturally their number one target, but they certainly would not let the Pope of the Human race escape.
At present, His Majesty was dead, Princess Nanke was also probably dead, yet Chen Changsheng was alive. Why?
The young Demon Lord recalled the powerful Qi exuded by Nanke as she awakened her soul for the second time and his eyes narrowed. "A few accidents occurred."
Presumably that little monster will bring the world a few more accidents when it returns to the south, he silently thought.
Black Robe knew what he was thinking and said, "That little monster is not necessarily capable of killing Chen Changsheng."
The Demon Commander harshly reproved, "Is it that it can't, or is it that you don't want it to kill Chen Changsheng?"
"Chen Changsheng is extremely talented in cultivation, has a deep understanding of the path of the sword, and has an endless stream of strategies. Although that little monster is incredibly evil, it will still be very difficult for it to kill Chen Changsheng."
The Demon Lord's original intention with these words was to prevent Black Robe and the Demon Commander from quarreling, but Chen Changsheng's performance in that battle had truly left too deep an impression on him. It had also left him very puzzled. Chen Changsheng did not seem like a Pope, but more like an assassin that walked in the night.
Black Robe ignored the Demon Commander's accusing question and explained, "Although Chen Changsheng is a legitimate successor to the Orthodoxy, he did not succeed Yin or Shang, but Su Li."
With the Demon Lord's status, he naturally knew that Su Li had once been an assassin.
After hearing this, he seemed enlightened and said no more.
……
……
Su Li had already left this world, but his spirit still remained.
The meaning of these words was not to say that he was dead, that chrysanthemums were piled high outside Mount Li's Sword Hall while mourners wailed about how they could still vividly remember his voice and face.
What was meant here was that though he had taken the Holy Maiden to visit the distant other continent, his sword was still showing its use in the world.
He had left his sword in those letters, with the last letter being torn open by Chen Changsheng in front of the Demon Lord.
At the same time, his sword was also gripped in Chen Changsheng's hand.
Of course, his sword had always been gripped in the hands of the disciples of Mount Li and had never once been let go.
Two years ago, the Demon Army had abruptly launched an offensive to the south, swiftly conquering vast tracts of fertile land and fighting their way to the base of Mount Han. It was only at this point that people remembered that humiliating period of history from one thousand years ago, remembered that the Human race had once faced the calamity of extinction.
Besides the Great Zhou Army, all the sects and great schools of the world participated in this monumental war. The teachers and students of the Six Ivies proceeded in an unbroken stream to the frontlines while countless southern cultivators, from South Stream Temple to Scholartree Manor, from the Qiushan clan to the Blazing Sun Sect, traveled to the distant north and began to fight.
Previously, the sects and noble clans of the south had taken only suggestions, not orders. After the confluence of the north and south, this was no longer the case. More cultivating experts took part in the battle, more array masters assisted in realizing strategies, and they all worked in perfect concert. The fighting power of the human armies had experienced an obvious improvement. Besides the morale-raising power of the mysterious Cinnabar Pill, the Human race had been able to achieve a parity of power with the Demon race on the plains, and even engage in the occasional forceful counterattack, due to these changes brought about by the confluence of the north and south.
However, the Mount Li Sword Sect acted the same as it had in the past. Three elders of the Sword Hall brought second generation disciples Gou Hanshi, Guan Feibai, and Liang Banhu, and many more third generation disciples, to the strategic areas of Snowhold Pass and Blue Pass to assist the human armies in battle. However, they rarely listened to orders from the army headquarters, spending the majority of time minding their own business.
This way of doing things naturally drew a great deal of criticism, but the Longevity Sect was currently incapable of affecting Mount Li's decisions. Holy Maiden Peak, on the other hand, had been very muted over the past two years, and South Stream Temple and Mount Li had always had a close relationship regardless, so it naturally would not give orders to Mount Li. As for the Imperial Court…
Ever since Su Li, the disciples of Mount Li only had eyes for swords, so such a thing as the Imperial Court did not exist.
No matter how much talk there was, no one would dare order the Mount Li Sword Sect around. Other than the reasons stated above, the primary reason was that nobody had anything to say.
The places where the Mount Li Sword Sect stood guard, Snowhold Pass and Blue Pass, were places on which the demons had placed the greatest pressure. The disciples of the Mount Li Sword Sect had engaged in extremely bitter close-quarters combat on the battlefield, unwilling to be outdone by others. In less than two years, ten-some third generation disciples had died in battle, Gou Hanshi and Liang Banhu were severely injured, and one upper level Star Condensation elder of the Sword Hall had delayed the demon wolf cavalry for two whole hours in order to cover the retreat of Black Mountain Army's black-armored cavalry before finally dying a heroic death.
Who could say anything about such a Mount Li Sword Sect?
Other than Star Seizer Academy, which was accustomed to having its blood spilled, no other school or sect could match up to the sacrifices made by the Mount Li Sword Sect.
In stark contrast to this was the Orthodox Academy.