The Steward Demonic Emperor

Proofreader: Papatonks

“Gu Yifan and his son sure know how to have fun. It’s such a weird signal that it makes no damn sense!” Shangguan Feiyun shook his head at the twitching, crushed and seething Shangguan Yulin.

Baili Jingwei was just as clueless, so he just shook away the thoughts, “It’s how oddities are, or maybe it’s just a way to obfuscate others from randomly guessing the signal. There’s no point reading into it.”

“At least we now know his response and can make the deal. Young master Shangguan, you should be going. Weren’t you on the clock?”

Baili Jingwei smiled at the depressed Shangguan Yulin with the intention of kicking him out.

Shangguan Yulin got his meaning of sealing the deal fast so he stood up and bowed to them, “Then I shall go to Gu Yifan with the reply. I shall be the first to congratulate Prime Minister getting the Soaring Sword from the punk.”

“Why thank you, young master!”

Baili Jingwei smiled, as did the other two. While this guy had lost all his value, he was still smooth. Such flattery was neither forced nor overblown, said just right to make others feel good.

[Maybe he’s still of some use after all, ha-ha-ha…]

With that done, they all went out of the cave, giving no attention to the weakened Gu Santong on the bed.

Gu Santong eyed them and smiled. He let out a breath and closed his eyes, though muttering, “Dad’s coming to save me, ha-ha-ha. But did he get what I meant?”

Thump~

Baili Jingwei and the two Sword Kings led Shangguan Yulin outside, being nice and friendly with him, like he was a real guest of honor. He was cautious as he walked, the rows of powerful guards giving him a bad feeling every time their aura flared.

Staying just one extra second in this accursed place felt as if his life would be over. The peculiar thing was, the closer he was to the exit, the more pronounced it was.

Hum~

Shangguan Yulin shivered out of nowhere and halted.

They had only reached halfpoint of the tunnel and still had a way to go.

Shangguan Feiyun paused, giving him an odd look, “What is it? Why did you stop?”

Shangguan Yulin just stood there, frozen in panic with horror in his eyes. He did all he could to move his jaw, but it felt he had lost control.

Shangguan Feiyun scanned him since he was acting even weirder.

[What’s he playing at?]

Shangguan Yulin gave them some hopeful looks, trying to convey something, impossible in a gloomy place such as this, and the others walked over.

Just as Shangguan Yulin was feeling terror, a hundred miles away, in a dark corner outside the manor, someone was using those same eyes as he waited for the target to approach.

Squinting, Zhuo Fan was like a patient hunter on the prowl. He made a sign to nail Shangguan Yulin on the spot, while using the Blood Infant’s eyes to see Shangguan Yulin taking slow steps towards him. The closer it got, the colder his gaze was.

Boom!

The instant Shangguan Feiyun reached Shangguan Yulin, Zhuo Fan’s hands shifted.

Hu~

Shangguan Feiyun’s senses flared with grave danger coming from within Shangguan Yulin, something he hadn’t felt in ages.

Though sensing did not equal reacting. Shangguan Yulin’s sudden explosion as a Soul Harmony expert swept everything in its path, most of it focused on Shangguan Feiyun in front.

Though a peak Genesis Stage expert was far from defenseless. As one of the very best in this world, it would bring about endless disgrace from being even hurt by a Soul Harmony Stage self-destruction.

On the instant the explosion was triggered, Shangguan Feiyun’s strong Yuan Qi was unleashed to shield him from the blast and leave him untouched.

It did not go as well for the guards though. Sure, they copied him to resist the blast, but the worst off among them were the Soul Harmony Stage guards.

In a narrow place like this, with no place to hide, they could only rely on their Yuan Qi. Survival and death came to one simple fact, whether they were just a bit stronger than the suicide bomber or weaker. Some would come out with heavy injuries while some never got up again.

In but a blink, of the fifty guards in the tunnel, a dozen fell victims, and that was ignoring the many others who were now too weak to fight.

It went to show just how devastating a blowout of a Soul Harmony Stage cultivator could be. It had to be, or no one would be doing it.

But this was just the start. As everyone rejoiced the worst had passed, black thunderflames shot from the center of the blast. It was Zhuo Fan’s third trump card he stashed in Shangguan Yulin, the apocalyptic thunderflame.

Not even the likes of Sword King Feiyun saw this one coming. It was common knowledge that a self-detonation used one’s Yuan Qi, something a Genesis Stage expert had to spare just based on the difference in stages.

But when the black thunderflame was included, one with the power of total destruction, it was fundamentally a universal killer, all ending up suffering the same miserable fate until its power ran out.

Like a claw from hell, the black thunderflame shot like lightning in all directions. Anything it touched, be it flesh or hard bedrock, all burned, wiped out of existence.

The Genesis Stage guards hardly registered when the black thunderflame touched their Yuan Qi shields, and only heard as it sizzled and was eaten away. The flames then crept on them, swallowing each one as it devoured.

It was so deadly, there was no cry released as their souls got submerged in this terrifying black thunderflame.

And so, the rest of the guards, thirty plus in number, all met their end in some unknown tunnel.

Even the two Sword Kings were panicking around such deadly force. The worst off was Shangguan Feiyun, who was closest, now surrounded by this dark burning killer.

His only saving grace was the strong Yuan Qi that kept the flames at bay, away from his body.

Though this was not meant to last. He felt as his Yuan Qi was sapped every moment around this thunderflame. He had to leave at once.

Sss~

The crackling of the flames reached their ears, adding to the fear this black fire incited even in the likes of a Sword King.

Shangguan Feiyun was not alone in this peril, with Baili Jingwei and Dancing Shen being in danger as well.

Baili Jingwei was only in the Ethereal Stage and could not muster a token of resistance against the hell’s beckoning. It was all thanks to Danqing Shen for surviving as he used his Yuan Qi to protect them both. Judging by the tense brow and shocked eyes, it was not easy at all, he was also fearful of this strange black fire.

[That boy’s eerie flame has grown to such an extent already. The more I feel it the more terrible it becomes.]

Danqing Shen’s heart tensed as he watched the ravenous black flames. It felt like just yesterday Zhuo Fan used just a finger-sized dark flame in the Double Dragon Gathering to harm Ye Lin despite him being under Exalted Hei Ran’s protection. This earned his title as best disciple in western lands.

That tiny flame now became a sea of fire, swallowing anything in its path.

[The boy has become terrifying in just a few years…]

Danqing Shen took a deep breath and sighed…