The Steward Demonic Emperor

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The dragon tail, seeping scarlet light, frivolously flicked about, yet the pressure it exerted felt like hell on the poor disciples of the Universal Righteous Sect.

It was because this light tail swipe had their entire barrier shaking all over.

"I never thought his heaven dragon soul would exhibit such a change. Just what kind of enlightenment did he have to give birth to such a powerful heaven dragon soul? It's by far dozens of times stronger. Bai Mei, I don't think even we could pull it off."

Exalted Hei Ran's eyes glittered in shock. Exalted Bai Mei echoed his amazement, "So young, yet his realizations brought the heaven dragon soul to such a level. His future is bound to be glorious. Now I want to see who will be the winner between him and Ye Lin. Who will be worthy of being the best in western lands?"

Raising an eyebrow, Exalted Hei Ran gave a nod of approval, his eyes shining with excitement.

They were unaware that Zhuo Fan and Ye Lin were sacred beast inheritors. Their understanding of the soul was fundamentally different. Their praises were nowhere near enough.

Zhuo Fan had fused the power of the strongest sacred beast, Qilin, with the heaven dragon soul, resulting in the Almighty Scarlet Dragon King. While it was leagues above the previous dragon soul in terms of strength, a dragon soul came from the dragon race. And the one who knew dragons the most was the Decimating Dragon Ancestor.

In his capacity as an inheritor, Ye Lin's Golden Heaven Dragon King had been molded to the best form for the heaven dragon soul to reach its full potential. In terms of power, it was naturally stronger than Zhuo Fan's halfbreed.

It was a truth Zhuo Fan was most aware of and had taken into consideration. He thought, for now, showing this much was enough…

Sporting an evil grin, Zhou Fan flexed his mind, and the scarlet dragon flicked its tail. Like a steel sword, it went right through those illusory chains. With all the chains on Zhuo Fan snapped off, he could move again while Zhao Dezhu's team was puking blood, looking at the dragon in fear.

The scarlet dragon king's power was beyond their imagination. The ten of them united could do nothing to hold this dragon back, even for a second.

They were entirely on the receiving end now. Unable to do anything to fight it, it would soon crush their barrier.

With this monster's power, it was unknown how long the barrier would last. Once it collapsed, it spelled the destruction of their souls.

This thought drove all of them to the verge of crying. They wouldn't have gone all out if they knew this would happen.

Now they were going to die for their folly…

Zhao Dezhu's brow shook, his face looking worse for wear, having lost his arrogance. He was even pleading, "Uh… Zhuo Fan, can't we talk about this? We admit defeat. Let's just stop it here. Demon Scheming Sect can go on challenging while we will be stepping down."

The other nine disciples bobbed their heads. Never before had they been more in favor of their senior brother's decision.

The onlookers all huffed at the display. Wu Qingqiu even looked at them with disdain.

[Some people just never change. They want to shirk back again.]

Only this time, they had set up such a large array.

The battle continued as long as they did not take down the array. Talking at this point was no use.

[What if you lied about your defeat, planned, and duped your opponent at the end?]

On the other hand, if they were to take down the array, Zhuo Fan could use this chance to break the barrier when they were at their weakest. With the barrier tied to their souls, its destruction meant their deaths.

So they had to talk it out with Zhuo Fan first so that both sides stopped fighting. Or Zhuo Fan would kill them the moment he saw a chance.

Because of this rotten Soul Chain Array, their momentum and advantage proved to be their fatal weakness. The one in complete control of the situation was none other than Zhuo Fan, the one they had just tried to trap.

[Talk about cruel irony. That's what you get for being cocky all the time. You got what you deserved!]

Zhuo Fan eyed them coldly as he said, "Now you want to back off? It's a little late for that. Weren't you so bossy before? You ruined so many of my heaven dragon soul's scales, and now you just want to flee? As if!"

Bam!

With a loud sound, the scarlet dragon's tail flicked again, smashing the barrier and shaking the ten disciples. They spat blood again and could feel their insides boiling in pain.

The barrier was shaking all over, ready to topple at any moment.

"He-he-he, weren't you always yelling that good and evil can't coexist, purging demons and whatnot? Yours truly shall help you fulfill your lifelong mission and gain glory. Either you kill me, or I kill you. From this small valley, only one side can walk out alive!" Zhuo Fan shouted, his face twisted in savagery.

Demon Scheming Sect's team snickered and taunted them. While the Universal Righteous Sect disciples were feeling worse than ever.

Zhuo Fan clearly wanted them to fight to the last breath. If they both ended up losing, they would have a bargaining chip.

But Zhuo Fan was just too strong, with a high chance of breaking away, destroying the barrier in the process.

Everyone turned their eyes to Zhao Dezhu with a hopeful gaze, waiting for his orders.

Zhao Dezhu frowned, looking around in thought, before he shouted with bravery, "Demon scum, don't get carried away. Do you think we have no way of defeating you? We thought of letting you live with respect for the heavens that care for life. But you forget, you are alone while we are ten united. You can never match us in a fight to the death! "

"Junior brothers, fight! Let us show him that Universal Righteous Sect's justice is not something you can profane!"

Zhao Dezhu looked at the nine disciples as he roared, "Remember this, with me, Zhao Dezhu here, victory is grasped. No demon shall ever succeed!"

Roar!

That speech enlivened all disciples; once again, conviction burned in their chests. Their hands went through signs, and their power grew.

Even the audience was touched by their valor, feeling awe.

Wu Qingqiu took a deep breath and said, "Aside from Zhao Dezhu's bigotry, his valor is truly rare. I never thought that he would be able to show his heroic side in the end."

"I see no hero here, only a clown giving his last performance." Yan Mo mocked like he saw through it all.

Wu Qingqiu started, giving him an odd look. Yan Mo smiled, "Brother Wu, you're a righteous cultivator and the Ultimate Clarity Sect hardly ever resorts to treachery. You won't understand the meaning of a dignified hypocrite. In layman's terms, all bark and no bite. Would you ever start blathering all kinds of reasons when you try to encourage your fellow brothers to fight? What universal righteous? What grasping victory? Ha-ha, it's nothing but a load of bullshit! Who here doesn't know that the one to truly grasp victory is the one with the bigger fist? If he'd been able to do that from the start, the matter would've been over and done with ages ago. Why waste time with such nonsense?"

"Then…" Wu Qingqiu began.

Yan Mo snickered, "He's using them to pave his exit. Wait and see."

"This is the symbol of righteousness, standing against the vile demons!" On Mystical Heaven Sect's side, Xuan Shaoyu saw the Universal Righteous Sect's disciples united against Zhuo Fan and could not help but cheer.

The girls rolled their eyes. Chu Qingcheng even gave him a mocking smile, "Just some petty trick. Universal Righteous Sect's loss is certain. Zhao Dezhu is such a revolting coward."

"Why do you say that, Qingcheng? Isn't he valiant?" Shui Ruohua looked at her.

Qingcheng shook her head, "You hardly see it used among cultivators, but among common people, betraying each other is commonplace. He speaks of justice just to arouse other people to fight while he is the only one who doesn't follow his own preaching. What does this say about him I wonder?"

The girls scowled in understanding…

Bam!

Another loud explosion and hundreds of chains shot for the scarlet dragon. Universal Righteous Sect's disciples were now fully invested in this fight, filled with battle spirit.

However, a tail swipe blew them all away.

What followed was blood from everyone's mouths.

"Don't falter, people. With me, Zhao Dezhu, here, victory is in our grasp!" Zhao Dezhu once again shouted, stirring them up into gritting their teeth and fighting again.

No one here doubted how their valiant senior brother could be filled with such valor even after he was struck back by the scarlet dragon.

People did not care that much though. They were willing to lay down their lives to uphold their righteous justice as they shot hundreds of chains once more.

The scarlet dragon did not move this time, letting the chains coil around it.

Seeing a glimmer of hope, they raised their heads. Maybe just a little more push and they could win this!

However, they then noticed Zhuo Fan's mocking eyes.

Two snapping sounds echoed. They all stood dumbstruck, turning around to see Zhao Dezhu breaking his connections with his fellow disciples and running away as he apologized.

"Forgive me, brothers, your senior brother has… ungrasped victory this time…"