Supreme Emperor of Swords

“So it’s really you, you old die-hard. Let’s have a life or death showdown today.” This new Martial Sage expert from the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect was a hoary-haired old man. His face was creased with wrinkles, deeply furrowed, and his body was wiry like a bundle of firewood. An air of death and decay permeated his body. There was little vitality in him, and his Qi and blood seemed to have withered.

“Ho ho, you old murderer, you ought to have died by now.” The Martial Sage expert from Extermination Swordsmanship Sect gave a weak smile. He unleashed a silvery, raging beam of light, enveloping the sky.

These old men were leaders of a former era. They had become eminent, sagely presences of the realm. All of them had exceptional abilities: great perseverance, lucky encounters, and powerful destinies. Unfortunately, time had not been kind to these proud sons of heaven. The era of which they were a part was already over.

Now their Qi and blood were on the wane. They were in the sunset of their lives. To brutally unleash their combat prowess was really draining the last ounce of vitality from their bodies.

“Kill them!”

Bai Quanshui, Song Que charged forward with the others to destroy them.

A bloody massacre unfolded in the heavens.

The two most powerful warriors of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect had been blocked. Although they had numerical advantages and had been living in this mountain chain for thousands of years, they were still inferior to their attackers in terms of personal strength. The men Song Que and Bai Quanshui brought along with them were the elite of elites—like scorching iron tongs plunging into cheese, they were totally unstoppable.

Ding Hao charged unhesitatingly into the thick of the fray.

He, Song Que and Bai Quanshui formed a three-pronged attack. Everywhere they attacked, they routed their enemies.

Song Que raised his Blue Cloud Formation-Shattering Cauldron, the quasi-supreme weapon which could be used to crack all defense inscription codes. Everywhere he charged, formations painstakingly erected by the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect were destroyed. There was a slender silver sword in Bai Quanshui’s hand. It looked ancient, and a whitish brilliant blur accompanied every slash it made. All-conquering, it was another quasi-supreme weapon.

They could be considered their trump cards.

A quasi-supreme weapon was just a little short of a supreme weapon. When unleashed totally, its destructive prowess was quite terrifying, on a par with that of a Martial Sage expert.

Every now and then, an expert of the Martial Grand Emperor class would emerge from the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect, with many Precious Weapons of the top-grade Qi category. Unfortunately, they could not survive the thunderous onslaught of those two quasi-supreme weapons, disintegrating instantly.

By now, one could see the differences between these supreme Sects.

Given the strength of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect, the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect should not have provoked them. Yet before supreme sects like the Blue Cloud Sect and the Extermination Swordsmanship Sect, the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect was still not quite good enough as a challenger.

Ding Hao brandished his rusted sword and devil saber. He had not unleashed all the forbidden supreme power of his weapons, yet he had already done enough for self-preservation.

“Don’t be over-zealous in combat!”

Song Que bellowed, sprinting with the disciples of the Blue Cloud Sect into the Heaven-Splitting Mountain Range, leaving behind a trail of blood as they fought their way in.

Bai Quanshui did the same.

Both the Blue Cloud Sect and the Extermination Swordsmanship Sect had dispatched enough men to fight the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect. They were not so much doing Ding Hao a favor than hoping to plunder the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect. The treasure hoards such a large sect had amassed over millions of years would definitely be sizeable.

The disciples from these two supreme sects were not fundamentally merciful. They were no better than murdering bandits.

In the twinkling of an eye, Song Que and Bai Quanshui had stormed into the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect with their men.

Explosions and fighting created loud clamors. Buildings were destroyed in terrifying combats. Idols were overturned, as mountain chains toppled.

“Exterminate only the leaders. Don’t hold responsible those who surrender. Kill everyone who puts up a stubborn resistance.” Song Que bellowed loudly, his thunderous voice billowing in all directions.

The powerful warriors of the two supreme sects also bellowed, imitating him.

The effect was clear.

When they realized that they were on the losing end, more and more members of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect turned and fled. They did not want to die fighting for the sect. There was nothing to hesitate before death. Only very few warriors continued the fight and were soon slaughtered.

“The warriors from these so-called supreme sects are far inferior to ordinary members of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect in loyalty and bravery!”

Ding Hao shook his head and sighed.

BOOM!

There was an intense explosion in the distance.

A black hole-like cavity appeared in the sky, amidst black vapors. The surrounding space distorted, and a circular abyss spanning several hundred meters appeared in the virtual sky. Horrific energy fluctuations permeated in all directions. Innumerable warriors were sucked into this collapsed black hole. Several dozen black mountain peaks on the earth were uprooted and engulfed…

It was a terrible scene. The whole universe seemed to have turned topsy-turvy, as everything plunged into the sky.

A staggering figure stumbled out of this black hole, spewing blood. His entire body was drenched in blood, as he tottered in the sky. He was badly injured. It was that Martial Sage expert from the Extermination Swordsmanship Sect. Yet he had managed to survive this horrific battle.

The Highest Elder of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect was ultimately inferior. He battled to the end and, despite detonating his body, could not overcome and eliminate his opponent. He was destroyed in a cataclysmic scene in the heavens.

For a long time, that horrific black hole did not dissipate.

It was like Armageddon. Many were horrified and overcome by panic.

Ding Hao raised his head to watch the scene. Waves of terror overwhelmed him. Had he himself been overtaken by these collapsing energy tremors, he would have been torn apart instantly.

Even Song Que and Bai Quanshui were terrified.

The Martial Grand Emperor was one level up from the Martial Emperor, and the Martial Sage one level up from the Martial Grand Emperor. Right now, they could not imagine what it was like to be fighting Martial Sage experts two whole levels above them. Were they to fight these ancient creatures, they would have been exterminated instantly.

By now, they had completely broken down the mountain gate of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect.

Chaos was everywhere.

With their knowledge of the terrain and the buildings, some disciples of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect were plundering the libraries amid the chaos. Others set fire to create more mayhem. Battle cries were heard everywhere, as flames and the stench of blood stank to the skies.

Song Que, Bai Quanshui, Ding Hao and the others did not linger in combat. They fought their way into the largest library of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect. On the way, they found disciples of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect turning against one other. They were slaughtering among themselves, in the hope of plundering wealth. Dead bodies piled up everywhere.

“How can a sect like this survive?”

Ding Hao sighed.

The image of these so-called supreme Sects in Ding Hao’s mind completely collapsed.

They were far inferior to minor sects like the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect or the Tranquility Academy.

At least disciples from such sects did not fear death when confronted with great calamities. They would step out and fight to the death bravely. There were men like Kong Yiru in the Tranquility Academy. Most of their disciples were tough and unyielding. Yet the disciples of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect, when faced with such ordeals, did not protect their sects and fought among themselves, slaughtering one another.

The battles in the skies were still intense and horrific.

Dozens of elders from the Blue Cloud Sect and the Extermination Swordsmanship Sect had blocked the paths of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect elders. The heavens were dim and dusky as the heavenly bodies lost their glimmer. Energy fluctuations permeated madly outwards, Many disciples of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect could not escape in time, and were disintegrated instantaneously.

This was the reason why the two supreme sects had chosen only a few elite members to take part in this operation—

At least they could prevent scenes of fighting divinities implicating the mortals.

When the trees topple, the monkeys scatter.

As the real powerful warriors of the sect were being held up in fights, the ordinary disciples of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect were plundering and fleeing like panicky birds and beasts.

Amid deafening explosions, black mountain peaks collapsed one after another. The structures and buildings on those peaks disintegrated, razed to the ground.

Smoke and pebbles scattered into the skies, shrouding the earth within a radius of several hundred kilometers.

A fissure extending deep into the earth cracked open. Red lava spurted out from the fissure like a flowing scarlet river on the ground. Soon, it solidified into black granite. Saltpeter smoke permeated the air, with the sharp tang of sulfur assailing the nostrils.

The sky used to be a deep cerulean blue. Now, it was covered by flashing lights and fires.

The horrific prowess of the old generation of warriors had completely wrecked the vacant space. The transparent spatial barriers had splintered, with shards flying everywhere. Black fissures in space appeared, like the mouths of humongous beasts. They released immense suction power, as innumerable shards, pebbles and dust on the earth rose slowly into the heavens. The sight was incredibly eerie, as though gravity had suddenly been suspended.

The energy field of space had been totally warped by these intense battles.

It was like the mythic battlefield between the gods and the demons.

“Brother Ding, why are you still staring blankly into space? The libraries won’t wait for you. Don’t you want a share of them?” They were about to break into the largest library of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect. As Song Que turned around, he found Ding Hao staring blankly at the sky, watching the battles which resembled the fights between gods and demons. He had to remind Ding Hao of this.

Ding Hao’s heart fluttered and he said, “Ha ha, of course I won’t be worried over you and Brother Bai. But something has cropped up. You guys better move ahead first.”

“Okay then. Hurry up.” Song Que stormed into the building, leading a troop of warriors from the Blue Cloud Sect.

Since they had long decided to attack the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect, the Blue Cloud Sect and the Extermination Swordsmanship Sect had made all sorts of preparations. They had learned from the many spies they planted all the important intelligence, so they easily located the largest library of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect. The treasure trove amassed for millions of years would soon be theirs!

The Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect was obviously overwhelmed. They had not expected a sudden allied attack from the two sects, and were completely routed.

When he saw that all the men from the two sects had stormed into the library, Ding Hao grasped his rusted sword and devil saber, slightly unleashing their energy within. He turned instead towards the distorted energy field of the battleground and inched closer.

This degree of combat was not unfamiliar to core members of large Sects like Song Que and Bai Quanshui. In order to nurture them, the Blue Cloud Sect and Extermination Swordsmanship Sect had let them experience such power at the Sage level. But for disciples of minor sects like Ding Hao, such an experience was extremely rare.

Ding Hao must experience the energy fluctuations of such Martial Sage experts. Perhaps it might trigger a revelation.

The closer he approached that distorted energy field, the more labored Ding Hao’s breaths became. His formerly unimpeded Qi began to stagnate, flowing slower within his meridian channels. A transparent radiation of light streaked past him. Ding Hao gave a cold snort, and found his body plunging involuntarily and instantaneously towards the sky like lightning.