Chapter 1166 - Retribution
Above the Sea of Falling Stars.
The crowd gradually recovered from their daze and came back to their senses.
A moment later, the deathly silence broke. Cries of uproar rose throughout the crowd, like a pot blowing off its lid. Shouts reverberated throughout the dome of heaven.
The crowd was whooping with joy and excitement.
“He won! He won!!!!”
“How fortunate are we, to have His Excellency Su to protect us?”
“I won’t lie to you all. Earlier, I was really on the verge of breaking down...”
What happened earlier was just too stifling. Over a hundred factions of the stars beyond had formed an alliance and descended into the Wilds, fierce, forceful, and murderous.
Even the Emperors felt despair, anguish, and helplessness over and over again, never mind the ordinary cultivators.
Now, everything was finally over!
Those experts capable of sweeping across the Wilds uncontested had all been executed.
Only the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force remained standing proudly between heaven and earth!
Who wouldn’t have been excited?
“Praise Amitabha! Oh, how merciful the Buddha of Eternal Life!” Buddhist Master Inkstone Heart clasped his fists and smiled.
“So, you were nervous all along too, you old bald donkey. And here I thought you’d kept your cool this whole time,” teased the old glutton. He’d just noticed that Buddhist Master Inkstone Heart’s robes were drenched with cold sweat.
“This battle will surely enter the annals of the Wilds’ history, becoming the most splendid flourish on their pages. It shall be remembered throughout the ages!” Ancestor Peng said with conviction.
“I can’t say for sure that no one will ever surpass Old Monster Su’s accomplishments in the Grand Dao, but I can say that he’s unique and unprecedented,” the Border Mountain Yao Ancestor said wistfully.
The old-timers’ hearts swelled with emotion. The fate of the Wilds had been riding on this battle, and Su Yi had single-handedly turned the tides, destroying the descending storm!
Even if the factions of the stars beyond wanted to come back for revenge, they’d have to weigh the consequences of doing so first!
“Are you okay, Brother Su?” The Heavensdeath Demon Empress immediately charged over and asked with concern. Her dress was as red as fire, her skin as fair as snow, and her beauty was sufficient to bewitch the masses.
“Do I look injured?” laughed Su Yi.
“You look fine, but who knows if you’re just putting on a tough act or not?” The Heavensdeath Demon Empress shot him an amorous side glance.
Suddenly, a panicked cry emanated from afar.
“Your Excellency Su, this humble one was wrong! Please, be magnanimous!”
A thin cultivator threw himself to the ground, terror written all over his face, his voice choked with sobs.
The crowd instantly realized who this was. He was the first to speak up and encourage the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force to go to his “death!”
“Your Excellency Su, we were wrong!”
Immediately afterward, countless cultivators knelt on the ground. All of them were terrified and uneasy, their faces full of regret.
There was even an old man who started ruthlessly slapping himself in the face.
The initial excitement and revelry disappeared without a trace as countless eyes focused on the kneeling cultivators.
Some of the onlookers found this satisfying; in their eyes, these spineless cravens deserved this.
Others looked conflicted. Is this really necessary?
“With sufficient strength of character, even the humble can stand as proud as the heavens. Without it, they’re no more than ants clinging desperately to life. Disgraceful,” sighed Ancestor Peng.
“What do you think, Old Monster Su?” The old glutton looked at Su Yi.
“You don’t really think I’d punish them, do you?” asked Su Yi.
The old glutton shook his head. None of the old-timers thought Su Yi would do such a thing; it would only lower his status.
“They’ve realized that too. You could say they regret what they’ve done and are confessing their sins, but it’d be more apt to say that they’re afraid others will disdain, reject, and even oppress them,” Su Yi said plainly. “After all, what happened here today will soon spread throughout the Wilds, including everything they’ve done. If it were just a matter of others calling them spineless, it’d be one thing, but it will surely implicate their friends, family, and actions. They might well face retribution too.”
The old-timers nodded. That was indeed the case. Given Su Xuanjun’s status, there was no need for him to say so much as a single word, nor did he need to express his stance. The countless experts of the Wilds would do his bidding of their own volition!
When word got out, the kneeling cravens’ friends, family, and sects... were sure to face widespread criticism, curses, and potentially even retribution.
When they heard Su Yi’s words, the kneeling cultivators reacted as if struck by lightning, their faces ashen.
That was indeed what they were most afraid of!
“But I went into battle to dispose of my own enemies. I never let them use righteousness to compel me into action,” Su Yi said flatly. “Let’s end this here.”
With that, he put his hands behind his back, turned, and left. From beginning to end, he didn’t so much as look at the kneeling cultivators.
The old glutton and the others looked at each other, then followed him away.
“Feh! Shameless scum. His Excellency Su might disdain to punish you, but we can’t bear to look at you any longer!”
“How about... we kill them all?”
“Wouldn’t that be letting them off too easy? Seems to me that we’d best capture them alive, break their spines, take them back to the capital of the Middle Province, and hang them from the gates for all to see. That’ll tell the world what happens to spineless cowards!”
“Excellent idea!”
A clamor of voice rang out in the distance, and a group charged over, surrounding the kneeling cultivators.
The kneeling cultivators instantly gave in to panic. A single thought arose in their minds: “We’re finished!”
None of them had expected that their retribution would come for them this quickly!
......
The stars beyond the Wilds.
A barren stretch of space.
“Little Heavenly Prayer, did you see that? That’s the majesty of the Temple Master.”
A ship silently floated through outer space. There was a bronze kettle at the head of the boat, and Nine Planets’ voice emanated from within. “I said it a long time ago. It never ends well for those who oppose him!”
The woman identical to Qing Wan, Heavenly Prayer, remained silent.
The earlier battle had been extremely far away, but Nine Planets had used a secret art and borrowed the power of the bronze kettle, letting her see it all in perfect clarity.
He stepped forth, and cut down a whole group of World Kings!
As mighty as Ming Yong, Yang Qi, Zhai Jiuyao, and He Mingliu were, they too had been trapped in that world of swords. Not one had survived!
Even more unbelievably, even an existence on the level of the Tailor ultimately dared not reveal himself and duel the Temple Master!
This came as far too great a shock to Heavenly Prayer. A long time passed, but she couldn’t calm down.
She was, of course, well aware of how terrifying an expert the Temple Master was. Rumors of his exploits were no different from legends.
Still, she wouldn’t have expected that a mere remnant of his power that he’d left for his reincarnation would be this strong!
So strong, so terrifying! Suffocating!
Finally, some time later, she murmured, “Uncle Nine Planets, you were right. Even if the Temple Master has reincarnated, becoming enemies with someone like him would be exceedingly unwise.”
Within the bronze kettle, Nine Planets let out an obvious sigh of relief, and he sounded gratified. “I can tell that you’ve finally understood why I’m so afraid of him.”
“....” Heavenly Prayer couldn’t help but say, “Uncle Nine Planets, the Temple Master you’re afraid of is no longer here. He’s reincarnated, and he’s now Su Xuanjun of the Wilds.”
Nine Planets’ voice was instantly solemn. “You still don’t understand? That just means the Temple Master is pursuing an even more terrifying Dao of the Sword than before!”
Heavenly Prayer’s expression shifted, and she sank back into silence.
It was true that the Temple Master had once traversed the various star realms, all but invincible. That someone of his caliber had undergone reincarnation to cultivation anew unquestionably implied that he would soar to prominence once more, and that this time, his Dao would be even stronger!
“Little Heavenly Prayer, I’m warning you: Whatever you do, don’t try to avenge the fallen experts of the Nine Heavens Pavilion,” Nine Planets said solemnly. “They were acting on your master’s orders; he sent them to their deaths. It’s no wonder the Temple Master showed them no mercy. And your master... I’m afraid he let the Tailor manipulate him!”
Heavenly Prayer nodded. “I’ve come to the Dark and Gold Star Realm to retrieve my other half. All other enmities have nothing to do with me.”
Only then did Nine Planets relax. “That’s for the best. It’s always best to proceed with caution. Even if others accuse you of cowardice, it’s better to avoid all conflict with the Temple Master.”
Heavenly Prayer pursed her lips slightly, a hint of exasperation on her face. She’d already lost track of how many times she’d heard similar warnings since the two of them set off for the Dark and Gold Star Realm.
She then directly changed the subject. “Uncle Nine Planets, could you discern that spearwoman’s origins?”
The spearwoman’s sudden appearance had ruined the Tailor’s attack. She’d even teleported across space to settle the score with him.
Witnessing this came as quite a shock to Heavenly Prayer. She couldn’t even imagine who the spearwoman was, to be so domineeringly strong.
“I couldn’t, and I dared not look too close for fear she’d sense me,” Nine Planets said solemnly. “But that just proves how terrifying she is. After all... I’ve never heard of anyone but the Temple Master daring to seek out the Temple Master to settle the score directly...”
Here, Heavenly Prayer couldn’t help but sigh. “The rumors say the Dark and Gold Star Realm has become the Celestial Ruin. Who’d have thought it hid such strange and mysterious secrets?”
The secrets of reincarnation!
Dark and Gold Essence!
The reincarnation of the Temple Master!
That mysterious spearwoman!
Any one of these at random would have been enough to astonish the countless worlds of the stars, drawing widespread attention.
Yet now, all of them had appeared in the Dark and Gold Star Realm, a place they’d almost forgotten. Who wouldn’t have been astonished?
“This is, after all, the Ancestral Origin of the Ten Thousand Daos of the Starry Skies. No matter how far it’s fallen, its foundations are incomparably extraordinary,” said Nine Planets. He too was wistful.
“But that just makes it even more interesting.” Heavenly Prayer quickly steered her treasure ship toward the Wilds.
....
In the depths of outer space, in a desolate world covered in lava.
“Shit!”
A startled cry rang out, and a figure charged explosively out of the magma.
Upon closer inspection, he was an old man covered in wrinkles. He wore simple cloth robes, and there was a silver needle in his hair.
This was none other than the Tailor, one of the most dangerous experts of the Stars!
However, his expression was grim, and he seemed overcome with anger and frustration. His figure flashed, but just as he was about to leave this world of lava...
Boom!
Space tore open, and a spear blocked his path.
The Tailor abruptly stopped in his tracks and retreated several thousand feet back. When he looked over, he saw a spearwoman standing in the distance, spear in hand, her icy purple gaze locked directly onto him.
She said icily, “Where can you run this time, you old bastard?”
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