Chapter 1159: Chapter 158: Landmines
The gale howled as it swept through the flags around the arena,
everyone stared in disbelief at Batman on the stage and Zuo Lengchan, whom he effortlessly lifted in his hand.
It was known that Zuo Lengchan, even before becoming the head of the Songshan Sect, was a young disciple who participated in the Huashan battle involving the Sun Moon Cult’s ten elders alongside Songshan, Hengshan, Huashan, and other factions.
In that battle, the Sun Moon Cult’s ten elders suffered heavy losses, with considerable casualties even among the adept members of the five sects; not only did Zuo Lengchan survive, he gathered the remaining seniors of his sect,
and reorganized and refined all sword moves and techniques that appeared in the Huashan battle,
eliminating the flaws, refining and perfecting them,
advancing the Songshan Sect sword techniques to a new level,
ultimately becoming the head of the Songshan Sect, known in the martial world as one of the top ten masters of the righteous path.
Over the years, the number of demonic outlaws slain by his sword is in the hundreds, if not thousands.
In the martial world, it is speculated that only a few, such as Abbot Xuan Ci of the Shaolin Sect, former Sun Moon Cult Hierarch Ren Woxing, current Sect Hierarch Dongfang Bubai, South Murong, and North Qiaofeng, could rival him.
His martial arts prowess has reached an extraordinary level.
And now, he was surprisingly easily defeated by a bizarre figure disguised as a bat?
Could it be poison or an underhanded scheme?
Or perhaps Batman’s martial arts have reached a depth beyond human comprehension?
As everyone was still in shock and disbelief, several figures leaped from the stage, heading towards Batman.
The Taming Tiger Arhat, Abbot Xuan Ci of the Shaolin Sect,
Head of the Wudang Sect, Taoist Head Chong Xu,
Head of the Hengshan Sect, nicknamed Night Rain of Xiaoxiang, Mo Da.
These three are among the top masters in the world, suddenly leaping and attacking together,
all the people below could see were three flashes of afterimage like a bolt of lightning.
Abbot Xuan Ci unleashed the Donkey Kong Palm, powerful and unrivaled, striking at Batman’s wrist that held Zuo Lengchan’s neck,
Taoist Head Chong Xu wielded his sword, using Tai Chi Swordsmanship, falling like a net upon Batman,
and Hengshan’s Head Mo Da drew a sword as light as a cicada’s wing from his erhu, stabbing toward Batman’s lower back.
The three top masters seemed to have seen Batman’s strange and demonic nature,
not only did their hearts and minds align to attack together with a Combined Ultimate Technique,
there was even a hint of a sneaky assault hidden within their sword and palm moves.
Facing the encirclement of the three masters, Batman remained unperturbed, lifting Zuo Lengchan and swinging him casually as a shield,
blocking the Donkey Kong Palm and Tai Chi Sword.
Step!
The three masters stopped simultaneously, forced to withdraw their swords,
Batman exhibited no inner strength, yet his muscle reaction speed and strength went beyond ordinary imagination,
if the three advanced a step further, the Donkey Kong Palm and Tai Chi Sword would hit Zuo Lengchan, killing him on the spot - the reputable sects are like branches of the same tree and cannot publicly execute a sect leader simply to kill a demon.
"Despicable!"
Taoist Head Chong Xu stood with his sword on his back, cursing softly,
the slender and gaunt Mo Da sighed, a flash of determination in his eyes,
while Abbot Xuan Ci clasped his palms together, sighed softly, and said, "Amitabha,
Benefactor Bai, this humble monk observes that you do not use inner strength, yet your strength is astonishing, and your voice is unusually young.
Among the younger generation in the martial world, whether it is Young Hero Linghu of the Huashan Sect, Murong Fu of the Swallow Dock at Gusu, or Qiao Feng, the Beggar Gang’s six-bag elder,
none could compare to you,
from which sect do you hail?
Breaking into the Martial Arts Assembly, injuring Hero Wen, capturing Head Zuo, what are your intentions?"
Below the stage, Ling Huchong heard the words, his facial muscles tightened,
as the top disciple of the Huashan Sect, he is often compared to South Murong and North Qiaofeng, two rising stars of the younger generation,
those with lesser understanding in the martial world see the three as equals,
yet Ling Huchong himself knows his Huashan sword skills are yet far from mastery.
"Heh,"
Batman chuckled lightly, responding to Abbot Xuan Ci, "Abbot indeed has noble Buddha-nature, just moments ago joined forces with the others to ambush me,
yet now can act as if nothing happened,
in terms of face, you Shaolin monks are indeed thicker-skinned."
Abbot Xuan Ci’s eyes lowered, showing neither sadness nor joy, as though he’d heard nothing.
Batman snorted coldly, lifting Zuo Lengchan high above his head, showcasing to the audience below.
Zuo Lengchan, the head of the Songshan Sect, famed for many years, with high martial prowess, is a strong contender for the position of martial arts alliance hierarch, harboring great ambitions, often caring about his reputation,
being lifted like a roast duck now, naturally filled him with uncontrollable rage, humiliated beyond measure.
Yet despite his struggles, Batman’s hand remained firmly clamped around his neck, stifling his breath.
Deprived of air, unable to gather inner strength,
Zuo Lengchan’s face turned red, unable even to bite his tongue to end his life, wishing he could pass out to escape the torment.
"What I intend to do is simple: I wish to tell all the martial heroes present a story."
With Zuo Lengchan as a hostage, Batman began his unhurried recounting.
He started from Lin Yu and Lin Pingzhi’s encounter with Qingcheng Sword Faction disciple Yu Renyan on the mountain path,
continuing to how Yu Canghai led his men to exterminating the entire Yongcheng Escort Bureau, over a hundred lives,
imprisoning Lin Zhenan and his wife from the Escort Bureau, torturing them to uncover the whereabouts of the Bane Sword Manual.
Batman’s tone was deep, his voice hoarse, narrating unhurriedly,
the more he narrated,
the more eyes turned towards Yu Canghai below the stage.
Yu Canghai, alongside other Qingcheng Sword Faction disciples, stood with Huashan Sect’s Yue Buqun and his wife,
throughout Batman’s recounting, he remained motionless and expressionless,
regardless of the shock and disbelief on the faces of those surrounding, including Yue Buqun and his wife, he made no move.
"...Finally, Lin Yu barely escaped from the sealed room of the Yongcheng Escort Bureau, fleeing towards Haozhou."
Batman concluded his story, coldly surveying Abbot Xuan Ci and the others, "What do you think of this story?"
"..."
Abbot Xuan Ci and the others exchanged a look and slowly said, "Benefactor Bai claims that Head Yu slaughtered over a hundred people of the Yongcheng Escort Bureau for a sword manual,
is there proof?
Although Head Yu and I have been on good terms for years,
wanton slaughter is not the conduct of a reputable sect.
If Benefactor Bai’s words are not false, this humble monk, along with the martial heroes present, will not spare the treacherous and evil."
"Evidence, evidence, evidence,"
Batman shook his head, saying, "Abbot Xuan Ci, having roamed the martial world for so many years, do you still not understand such petty and conniving matters?
Yu Canghai, to avoid suspicion, traveled between Haozhou and Quzhou, attending the martial arts assembly in Haozhou,
that day, it was under Yu Canghai’s indirect instructions that Qingcheng disciples let Lin Yu escape, to find out the whereabouts of the Bane Sword Manual,
yet because he was in Haozhou, Lin Yu managed to get away."
At this moment, if there were no disturbances, the disciples of the Qingcheng Sword Faction left behind at Yongcheng Escort Bureau would certainly have set it on fire to prevent any leaks of information, burning all the dead and the evidence to ashes.
Are there not enough such unsolved cases?"
Abbot Xuan Ci hesitated upon hearing these words. Indeed, disputes in the martial world are endless and killings are incessant,
Even if the martial arts conference coordinates contradictions, privately, there are still people in the martial world who use martial arts to break the law, committing various massacres and exterminations.
For instance, when the Golden Lion King Xie Xun slaughtered innocent civilians.
It’s not just the Demon Sect villains, even the reputable sects,
In the midst of various tangled hatreds, have committed many unsolved exterminations—even Abbot Xuan Ci himself is involved.
"Chivalry often breaks the law, when martial artists have power, they naturally want to exercise and release it."
Batman said coldly: "Release it on the authorities, on enemies, on the powerless common people.
Among you, proclaiming yourselves as reputable heroes, yet how many can stand up,
and declare that they have been truly righteous their whole life, never having engaged in petty theft or sordid deeds?
Never having been lost in money, power, and martial strength?
Today, I will give you all a fair trial, rewarding good and punishing evil."
Batman took out a peculiarly shaped metal device from the cloak on his back,
The device resembled an iron box, with a palm-shaped indentation on top, seemingly meant for placing a hand inside.
"This is called the Benevolence Detector,"
Batman introduced coldly: "All of you present will soon undergo interrogation by it,
If you can pass, you may live.
If you can’t pass the test, then I will execute you on the spot.
First, let’s start with Yu Canghai."
Yu Canghai under the platform suddenly widened his eyes, swiftly kicked the ground, and leaped forward like a lone goose, pouncing towards Batman on the platform.
Ever since Batman began speaking, his disciples had been looking embarrassed and weak,
Only Yu Canghai was fearless.
Batman could defeat Zuo Lengchan in one move and stand his ground against Abbot Xuan Ci and the other three combined without retreating; his martial arts are probably comparable to those of the Sun Moon Cult Hierarch Dongfang Bubai.
He had been enduring until now, always searching for an opportunity to strike. As long as he could assassinate Batman and narrate the incident of his son’s murder by Yu Renyan to the people of the martial world,
He believed that his many years of reputation in Jianghu would still enable him to gain people’s trust and he wouldn’t be executed on the spot by the other reputable sect people.
In the martial world, which sect doesn’t have its scandals?
As long as he could barely cover them up.
"Abbot Xuan Ci, Mr. Mo Da, Taoist Head Chong Xu, join me in executing this enemy!"
Yu Canghai shouted loudly, his longsword directly stabbing towards Batman, completely ignoring Zuo Lengchan blocking Batman’s front, willing to risk killing Zuo Lengchan to hit Batman.
Abbot Xuan Ci and the other three hesitated slightly,
But Batman moved first. He suddenly reached his left hand behind his cloak, grasping something, and took out a strange rod-like weapon.
Yu Canghai was curious about the weapon’s use,
Batman had already pulled the trigger,
"Da da da—"
The M16 assault rifle fired mercilessly, four bullets precisely hitting Yu Canghai’s limbs,
The latter felt a sudden pain in his body, his longsword flew out, and he fell to the ground, blood gushing from his limbs.
The sudden situation rendered the martial artists below the platform dumbfounded,
Batman’s rod-like weapon, being able to spit fire,
if called a hidden weapon, where in the world would there be a hidden weapon so large and inconvenient to hide,
If not a hidden weapon, yet it can easily overpower Yu Canghai, the leader of the Qingcheng Sword Faction.
The people on the platform, including Abbot Xuan Ci, were also startled,
But Batman ignored them, putting the M16 assault rifle back under the all-encapsulating black cloak,
He squatted down and placed the iron box on the ground,
Dragged Yu Canghai over,
Forcefully pulling his palm and pressing it over the indentation on the iron box, and shouted aggressively: "Tell me, are you a good person?"
"You evil fiend, slandering the innocence of the Qingcheng Sword Faction, the righteous sects should jointly attack you!"
Yu Canghai’s limbs were broken, yet he continued to resist and curse.
"Beep beep beep!"
The indicator light on the Benevolence Detector lit up red, and a gentle female voice emerged from the iron box, "
On the sixth of May, the ninth year of Zhengde, taking advantage of the Lingnan earthquake, pillaging the farmers below the mountain, killing four people.
On the tenth of October, the ninth year of Zhengde, under the cover of night, ambushing traveling merchants with companions, killing three people,
On the seventh of July, the tenth year of Zhengde, joining Qingcheng Sword Faction, out of jealousy causing senior brother Wei Liang of the Qingcheng Sword Faction to fall off a cliff and die,
..."
The female voice within the iron box reported in detail Yu Canghai’s criminal exploits, from his childhood bullying of other children, to seizing wealth and extorting wealthy households as the leader of the Qingcheng Sword Faction,
Covering everything and with great detail.
Ultimately, the female voice in the box gave an evaluation, "Your evil value is detected at 80 points, evaluated as heinous, recommended punishment: Lingchi."
Batman snorted coldly, took a bat dart from his waist belt, and threw it onto Yu Canghai’s back.
The dart landed on the ground and instantly split apart, transforming into a lifelike bat-shaped mechanical creation,
Using its sharp teeth to tear apart the clothes on Yu Canghai’s back,
Gnawing at Yu Canghai’s skin and flesh,
As if a very professional executioner, methodically applying Lingchi punishment on Yu Canghai.
A series of terrifying screams erupted from the people below the platform,
If Batman defeating Zuo Lengchan in one move and using hidden weapons to knock down Yu Canghai was still within the understanding of the martial artists,
Then the dart transforming into a bat monster had already exceeded their comprehension,
Only legendary demons could achieve that.
On the edge of the crowd, several burly men with facial hair wearing fur clothing thought of their own recent raids on villagers and their expressions quickly changed, silently turning away,
Moving towards the woods,
In the crowd, several renowned heroes in the martial world also remembered their experiences similar to Yu Canghai’s, their expressions altering, and they squeezed towards the outside of the crowd.
However, as they fled into the woods, the ground beneath them issued a crunching sound.
BOOM!!!!
A violent explosion erupted skyward, blasting those attempting to escape among the martial artists sky-high,
Scattered limbs and indistinct flesh splattered everywhere, some fell onto the clothing of well-dressed heroines, causing them to lose their composure and scream loudly.
"I told you, I have already hijacked all of you."
Batman said coldly on the platform: "I’ve planted countless ’This Side Faces Enemy’ mines in the woods,
You can also understand them as Palm Thunder or Thunderbolts.
As long as you escape into the woods, you’re bound to trigger them, blasting you to smithereens.
No one can escape from here, no matter how good your lightness skills, or how high your martial arts, it is absolutely impossible.
Next, it’s your turn, Mr. Mo Da."
