Chapter 1157: Chapter 156: Martial World
Tap tap tap.
The richly dressed young man buried his head and sprinted through the lush forest after the rain.
His mud-covered black boots trampled on the soft, carpet-like fallen leaves,
The black mud on his face was whisked away by the howling gale,
The grime on his body clung tightly to his clothes, sticky and obnoxious,
Yet, there was no irritation in the young man’s heart.
Only tranquility, and rage.
He silently leapt out from the darkness, his hand accurately grasping the neck of an assassin clad in Night Clothes, wielding a longsword and a torch.
Crack.
A dull sound rang out,
The assassin’s neck bone fractured, and his head drooped down like a wilted chicken.
Li Ang’s eyes focused; he hadn’t intended to kill with a single strike, merely to restrain his opponent’s movements.
However, a kill was a kill.
He rushed forward, grabbed the assassin’s left hand that held the torch, and flung it to the ground to extinguish the light,
At the same time, he supported the assassin’s corpse, laying it silently on the ground, and pulled aside the black cloth masking its mouth.
By the faint moonlight, Li Ang clearly saw that the assassin was indeed a young disciple of the Qingcheng Sword Faction. It was he who had previously used the Heart-shattering Palm to break into the crowd, facing the second protector of the well-known Yongcheng Escort Bureau in Quzhou.
The second protector of Yongcheng Escort Bureau was seven feet tall, with a barrel-like waist, and a face full of rogue flesh. Every day, he lifted two stone locks close to a hundred pounds each, swinging them from fist to shoulder, leaping overhead and through the legs, sometimes behind his head, sometimes in front; just watching made one feel intimidated,
The gallant knights of the forests around Fugou County even gave him the nickname, Ke Tongtian.
However, in the face of true martial world experts, Ke Tongtian was utterly defeated,
Directly struck on the wrist by a Qingcheng Sword Faction disciple to drop his weapon, then another blow to the chest ended his life.
Inner strength.
Li Ang recalled his father Lin Zhenan once said, only when one possesses inner strength can they truly be considered part of the martial world.
With inner strength, a person can be as light as a swallow, leaving no trace on snow,
Can outrun galloping horses, covering a hundred miles in a day without tiring,
Those with profound inner strength can even use fallen leaves and flowers as swords, harming others invisibly, being able to fight ten or a hundred people, taking the head of a general in the midst of thousands.
The young disciple lying on the ground was also a rising star of the Qingcheng Sword Faction, his martial arts far superior to the unlearned son of the sect leader, Yu Renyan.
Yet now, he lay dead like mud in the deep mountain forest, all his grand ambitions turned to nothing.
"Senior brother!"
A voice full of grief came from behind. A startled Li Ang turned his head to see another Qingcheng disciple, dressed in Night Clothes, standing not too far away with a torch, face full of sorrow and anger, drawing his sword to stab.
Have they discovered me?
Li Ang’s mind hesitated slightly. Yesterday, he was just a dandy with a good appearance, having learned a bit of superficial martial arts, yet he was discovered.
But it seemed not to matter.
In the forest, firelight flickered, and Qingcheng Sword Faction disciples who heard the call were rushing in,
While Li Ang merely twisted his neck,
Inhale, exhale.
The energy from the "Pulse" drink surged and flowed in his veins,
At this moment, he could feel his weak and powerless muscles and bones being gradually strengthened,
The blood vessels damaged by unhealthy habits were slowly returning to their place,
Just as the Divine Dragon said,
Pulse, can bring one’s pulse back.
Li Ang took the longsword from the hands of the body beneath his feet and stepped towards the enemy.
Their eyes met,
Each could see the deep-seated hatred in the other’s eyes,
A Qingcheng Sword Faction disciple gritted his teeth and said, "Kill him, avenge senior brother, and retrieve the Sword Manual for our master!"
Li Ang chuckled silently; indeed, Qingcheng Sword Faction’s leader Yu Canghai, boastful and deceitful, even after exterminating the Yongcheng Escort Bureau, lied to his disciples that it was the first head of Yongcheng, Li Ang’s great-grandfather, who stole the secret Sword Manual from their Sutra Depository.
He shook his head, casually swept a sword horizontally, deflecting the surprise attack from the right,
And with a flick, he slit the throat of the Qingcheng disciple who attempted the surprise attack.
He had no inner strength, but his strength, agility, and perception far surpassed everyone present,
To the extent that his opponent’s surprise attack,
Seemed so slow, dull, and weak.
The blood spurting from the opponent’s throat splattered on Li Ang’s face, but he seemed oblivious, advancing and kicking.
Thud!
The Qingcheng disciple, who hadn’t even had time to cover his throat, flew backward, slamming into a tree trunk,
Actually breaking the century-old tree, thick enough for a man to embrace, in half,
Shaking loose countless leaves and raindrops.
And he himself was also broken in two, his internal organs spilling all over the ground.
The other Qingcheng disciples watched in disbelief as this unfolded,
They had also participated in the massacre of the Yongcheng Escort Bureau and had seen how powerless and small Li Ang was that day, unable to believe that the helpless young master of Yongcheng, who begged Yu Canghai for life in exchange for life,
Could be the nightmarish demon who kills without blinking this night.
"Are you afraid too?"
Li Ang took a deep breath, looking back at his enemies, his overly forceful hands even causing the sword hilt to creak, "Are you afraid too!"
"Run!"
Anger and fear overpowered the Qingcheng disciples’ reason,
They turned to flee in different directions,
But behind them, the sound of a hand tearing through the air rang out.
————
Drip.
A raindrop slid off the eaves of the dilapidated temple,
Li Ang dragged his heavy steps, entering the temple, kneeling silently in front of the iron box without hesitation.
His richly adorned clothes were drenched in blood.
This blood did not come from him but from outside the temple,
The twenty Qingcheng Sword Faction disciples, alive or dead, that he had tied together with torn rags.
"Divine Dragon, you saved my life and gave me the strength to avenge,"
Li Ang choked with emotion, "Your great kindness and virtue, even if I am smashed to pieces, I cannot repay."
"Rise."
The dragon’s head lazily said, "How does it feel to kill?"
"Huh?"
Li Ang was taken aback. He hadn’t expected the Divine Dragon to ask this.
He hesitated, his mind filled with chaos.
Anger? Joy? Pleasure? Relief? Pain? Guilt?
Various words flashed through his mind, finally condensing into a single sentence,
"I didn’t feel anything,"
Li Ang honestly replied, "Just felt a bit less irritated."
"Hahahahaha."
The Divine Dragon laughed heartily, "Did those behind you partake in the massacre of your entire family?"
"Yes."
"Why not kill them all?"
"It is the Divine Dragon who bestowed power upon me,"
Li Ang hesitated for a moment, "The lives of these people should be handled by the Divine Dragon..."
The dragon head noticed the expression on his face and casually smiled, "What else?"
"Also..."
Li Yu bit his teeth, "One of them said, my parents might still be alive.
Yu Canghai deliberately imprisoned my parents and me in the Lin Family dungeon, trying to extract the whereabouts of the sword manual,
but unexpectedly I managed to escape.
At this moment, my parents must be enduring torture and suffering."
"You want to rescue them?"
"I do!"
"How will you rescue them?"
The Divine Dragon said lightly, "Although the Pulse drink is good, it only lasts for a moment, by the time you get back to Quzhou, I’m afraid its effect would be spent.
Yu Canghai himself is not in Quzhou,
but when you become a frail young master again, what will you use to break through the sword encirclement left behind by the Qingcheng Sword Faction disciples?"
"..."
Li Yu paused upon hearing this. He hadn’t really thought about the Pulse drink having a time limit, bowed his head, and gritted his teeth, "Then I will go to Haozhou to seek out the leaders like Gentleman Sword Yue Buqun of the Huashan Sect, and Zuo Lengchan of the Songshan Sect,
and reveal the matter of Qingcheng Sword Faction destroying Yongcheng Escort Bureau,
exposing Yu Canghai’s evil deeds to the public, ruining his reputation, and rallying gallant knights to kill him together."
"Oh?"
The Mirage Dragon tilted its head, "Yu Canghai is the head of Qingcheng Sword Faction,
renowned far and wide, with a righteous reputation,
how will a young master from Quzhou, merely armed with words, slander Yu Canghai for exterminating your family? What evidence is there?
Are the corpses of these Qingcheng Sword Faction disciples lying on the ground your evidence?
Or is it your sword manual?
Will the knights believe you or Yu Canghai?
Even if you can produce solid evidence, what if he claims you killed his son Yu Renyan first and that exterminating Yongcheng Escort Bureau was just an act of retribution?"
"..."
Li Yu was at a loss for words, subconsciously clenched the ground with force, cracking the stone surface.
He took a deep breath and slammed his head heavily against the ground, his forehead breaking into blood, faintly revealing the bone beneath, hoarsely saying, "I beg the Divine Dragon to save my parents,
in return, I will serve like an ox or horse."
"Oh?"
The dragon head smiled lightly, "Do I need a mere mortal to serve as a slave?
Do you know,
when I issued the Dragon King’s Order back then, tens of thousands of soldiers returned,
with a single command, I can bankrupt the Wang family with assets worth billions.
Heavenly and earthly, countless beings in the world, all fear the might of the Dragon King."
As he spoke, the dragon head’s eyes in the liquid crystal panel gradually emitted two beams of red light,
the Dragon’s Beard moved without wind,
the dragon head’s voice became extremely hoarse and deep, like echoes rising in an empty valley, accompanied by rolling thunder special effects, appearing extremely dignified and sacred.
Li Yu bowed even more devoutly, although he didn’t know what the Dragon King’s Order was, nor what the Wang family with assets worth billions was.
"However,"
the dragon head suddenly softened his tone, the surrounding special effect lights dissipated along with it, "Since we’ve met, it’s fate.
If you can meet me, it proves your destiny and luck are quite good.
How about this, if you promise me one thing, I will give you the power to save your parents and avenge your grievances."
"Please speak, Divine Dragon!"
Li Yu said eagerly, "No matter what the task is, as long as it can save my parents, even if I have to go up the mountain of blades or descend into a sea of fire, I will go."
"Haha."
Divine Dragon shook his head, "Agreeing casually without knowing the contents of the transaction can lead to endless bad consequences.
How about this, go drag those people inside."
Li Yu immediately complied, turned and dragged the bound Qingcheng Sword Faction disciples into the temple,
among them, those still alive had their tendons of hands and feet severed by swords, mouths stuffed with scraps of cloth,
but Li Yu was still a bit young and didn’t cut off their tongues,
after the rag was pulled from their mouths, the living Qingcheng Sword Faction disciples were either wailing, screaming, or crying for mercy,
some keen ones immediately kowtowed desperately toward the terminal vending machine, begging for their lives.
The dragon head instructed, "Throw their weapons, silver, and any valuables into the coin slot."
Li Yu obeyed,
not knowing what material the coin slot was made of, it seemed like an invincible hole, able to accommodate more than twenty longswords.
Along with these valuables being thrown in, the numbers on the vending machine’s liquid crystal panel kept changing, finally settling at 170.
"Only worth a hundred spirit energy points?"
Li Ang murmured to himself, he was actually using it for the first time too, not quite familiar with the vending machine’s pricing rules, "According to the principle of equivalent exchange, it’s not enough...
Try chopping these people up and throwing them in?"
"Ah?"
Li Yu was stunned upon hearing this,
the group of Qingcheng Sword Faction disciples with severed tendons were trembling all over, losing control of their bladder, and begging for mercy incessantly.
"..."
Li Yu pursed his lips, took a deep breath, drew his sword, and finished off these people’s lives,
his arm trembling slightly as he placed the corpses in front of the coin slot, letting the coin slot pull them in.
"175, 180, 200...
Dead bodies are actually worth less than broken sword and silver pieces?"
Li Ang pondered for a moment, then said to Li Yu, "Come forward, choose what you can buy."
Li Yu, who had just taken the lives of over ten people, regained his senses, walked to the terminal vending machine,
following the dragon head’s instruction, pressed the [Self-service selection] button on the liquid crystal panel, turned the wheel, browsing the product catalog.
The products in the terminal vending machine were all procured in bulk by Li Ang from the mule trader,
all-encompassing, all-inclusive,
almost covering the majority of items available in the low-end market of the killing ground game,
aiming to solve a variety of customer needs facing different tech trees in different worlds when using the terminal vending machine.
[Buddha’s Wrath Tang Lotus], Tang Sect’s supreme peak hidden weapon, created by Tang Sect founder Tang Kun as his lifelong masterpiece. Once triggered, hundreds of hidden weapons will launch in the surroundings, capable of killing Sealed Title Douluo, causing divine-level experts to turn pale, a peerless weapon.
[Dream Shattering Knife], a cyan-colored ring-headed broadsword, seemingly ordinary on the surface, with rustic material, not very sharp, but its effect is eerie and amazing. Whenever the user experiences emotional setbacks, betrayal and harm by loved ones, it can strengthen the user’s martial arts. The greener the stronger, the stronger the greener, known as the Dream Shattering Knife, commanding heroes, who’s not compliant in the martial world.
[Overlord Spear], appears to be a long spear without a spearhead, in reality, when the user presses the mechanism on the spear shaft surface, it will cause the spearhead part to erupt with blazing flames, commonly known as "Salute for the birth of the king."
...
A dazzling array of product listings, unheard-of supernatural effects,
making Li Yu overwhelmed, mouth-watering, speechless, eager to immediately take these divine weapons,
return to his hometown, rescue his parents who have been tormented in the dungeon,
and kill the enemies of deep blood feud.
However, upon noticing the prices on these items, Li Yu calmed down again,
Buddha’s Wrath Tang Lotus priced at more than 2000 points, Dream Shattering Knife priced at 1000 points,
none of them are items he can afford now.
Li Yu hesitated in his choices, unable to make a decision, eventually looking to the Divine Dragon again, seeking guidance from him.
"Can’t decide?"
Li Ang smiled, "Then buy this one."
