Essence Devouring Art

「Inside Pingliang City.」

With Sikong Lie’s death, a boundless sorrow spread throughout the city.

"Run, Hall Master!!"

"Clan Leader, you can’t fight him!"

When they saw that Yang Wufeng and Nangong Hao, who were only at the Land Immortal level, still chose to fight,

the disciples of the Fangcun Sword Hall and the members of the Nangong Family who were watching completely lost control of their emotions, their eyes turning red as they roared in sorrowful fury.

If not for their elders holding them back with all their might,

they probably would have charged out of the city at once.

The gap was too great!

They couldn’t win!

There was no way to win!

Even Lord Sikong, a Celestial Human Realm expert, couldn’t take a single punch.

What chance did a Land Immortal have?

"Disciples of the Fangcun Sword Hall, hear my command! After my death, whether you stay or leave, you must always remember the oath you took upon joining the hall. As long as you hold a sword, your sword’s spine must not break, and its glint must not be tarnished!"

Atop the walls of Pingliang City, Yang Wufeng gripped his Bladeless Black Sword, his voice like thunder as it echoed throughout the city.

As his words ended, he felt an unprecedented openness in his chest, and not a trace of fear remained.

His Spiritual Consciousness also became unusually calm and serene.

’I have lived a life without regrets, so why should I fear death?’

WHOOSH~

The bloodlust in his eyes dissipated.

Yang Wufeng calmly raised his head, looking toward the distant Shadow of God and Demon beneath the sky-blotting sea of blood, a figure as deep as an abyss, as inescapable as Purgatory.

There was no fear, no dread.

He simply gave a carefree smile:

"Born a child of mud in the mountains, I left my home at twelve with a wooden blade. In old age, I sheathed my edge within Fangcun, and now, my passing shall light the road for a thousand miles. Brother Sikong, I’m coming to join you."

SHIIING~

The sword hummed, like a rustling meteor.

One man, one sword, his black robes whipping in the wind. Though his hand held no edge, his Yellow Court Sword surged like the tide.

"You old coot... Why not go and keep him company together?"

But Nangong Hao just shook his head with a lighthearted curse. The White Feather Fan in his hand bloomed with jade light as he followed close behind. All around him, high-grade purple Spirit Talismans and Spiritual Artifacts began to form an array, surging into a tide of shimmering light.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~

The sea of blood churned, and the long river burned.

The mountain-like Divine Whale, accompanying Wu Dao’s drawn-back fist, once again began to churn the seas and roil the heavens. It broke through the waves at great speed, its tyrannical Fist Intent suppressing all between heaven and earth, forcing all things to bow their heads!

The countless gazes of anger and grief from the city,

the heroic sacrifices of Yang Wufeng and Nangong Hao,

none of it caused the slightest ripple in his heart.

’Beliefs have no hierarchy of noble or base.’

’But the fists in one’s hands have strengths and weaknesses.’

’Who is right and who is wrong?’

’That has never been decided by grand principles.’

’Because principles can become obsolete at any time, overturned and eliminated by those who come after, turning from right to wrong.’

’Therefore, the world has never had good and evil, black and white.’

’There is only survival of the fittest!’

’Those who block my path shall be killed!’

’Those who stand in my way shall be slain!’

’I will extinguish a thousand principles and eliminate every Technique!’

’I am the only truth in this world!’

’Who dares to make a peep?’

’Who dares to be defiant?’

’In the end—’

’I can do whatever the fuck I want!!’

"Hahaha, two pieces of trash dare to block my path? Overlord Whale Fist, kill!!"

A maniacal roar exploded across the heavens and earth!

His smile, splitting his face to his ears, was like that of a Demon God crawling out of Purgatory!

His two rows of perfectly aligned, shark-like teeth were like those of an Ancient Giant Beast that could devour heaven and earth!

He threw his punch!

BOOM!!

The sea of blood surged to the heavens, the Divine Whale dominated the world!

The instant the world-shattering explosion sounded!

An ultimate bloody light submerged the sky and the earth!

The peerless Fist Intent tore apart all resistance!

The exploding shockwave ravaged the firmament like a raging hurricane!

"Ah!"

High in the sky far away, Zhou Zhiyin, who had been watching Wu Dao with her Spiritual Thoughts, suddenly cried out, stumbling backward. Her once-bright, beautiful eyes were filled with alarm and terror, her delicate body trembling uncontrollably.

"Calming God!"

A glorious and majestic Fist Intent enveloped her,

dispelling Zhou Zhiyin’s terror.

Gu Qianhuang took a deep look at the Shadow of God and Demon outside Pingliang City, a figure punching the heavens, a mad, fierce, and wild tyrant.

Within his mind,

there still remained the tyrannical, crazed, and utterly domineering Fist Intent he had felt just a moment ago—an intent that acknowledged no one but itself!

’A madman like this...’

’Could he really become a companion to our lord?’

At this moment,

Gu Qianhuang was filled with anxiety for the future.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~

The violent backdraft of air once again formed a howling gale.

One punch to quell the storm, no enemies to be seen in any direction!

As expected, there were no surprises.

Under a punch at the Celestial Human Second Floor Level,

Yang Wufeng and Nangong Hao.

One was first on the military roster of Guangqing Prefecture.

The other, first on the immortal roster of Guangqing Prefecture.

Even if they erupted with all their power and unleashed the most brilliant attacks of their lives, it was still like a praying mantis trying to stop a chariot!

The instant the Divine Whale struck!

All their techniques melted like snow, instantly shattered into countless microscopic particles, which were then swept up by the exploding shockwave and vanished completely from the world.

CRASH~

The sea of blood dissipated, and the Divine Whale faded away.

The galloping, roaring Qi Blood River also disappeared from the sky.

BUZZ~

The Magnetic Field Power retracted.

The chaotic magnetic fields of all things quickly returned to normal.

THUD, THUD—

On the ground below,

the thirty thousand soldiers, completely drained dry by Wu Dao, collapsed like a row of dominoes as the magnetic link was severed. Each one had a vacant expression, their bodies withered and as feeble as old men on the verge of death.

The world fell into an unprecedented silence.

Inside Pingliang City,

the gales from the aftershocks of the two punches still howled and raged, kicking up dust and dirt.

Whether in the outer city or the Inner City,

commoners or high-ranking officials,

the Fangcun Sword Hall or the Nangong Family,

the streets and alleys were deathly quiet!

The seven to eight hundred thousand people all felt a chill to their bones, their bodies trembling as they stared at Wu Dao in the distant sky. The undissolvable fear in their eyes was as if they were looking at a world-ending Demon God.

"Surrender and live, fight and die!"

Wu Dao’s abyss-like gaze swept over the whole of Pingliang City, his voice like thunder from the Nine Heavens, booming and echoing:

"Who will fight me?"

"..."

There was no response, no Battle Intent.

Until—

no one dared to meet his gaze anymore!

A moment later...

"We surrender, we surrender!!"

As the first shout, filled with trembling sobs, rang out.

"Please, don’t kill us."

"*Sob sob sob*~ I don’t want to die."

"Have mercy, Immortal! We’re just common folk, this has nothing to do with us."

"Fangcun Sword Hall, Nangong, why haven’t you surrendered yet? Do you want us all to die with you?!"

Pleas, wails, the sound of kowtowing, angry curses...

All the myriad forms of life, a cacophony that boiled over and filled the sky.

One punch to kill Sikong Lie, the Celestial Pillar of Pingliang City!

Another punch to crush two figures who were like Immortals in the hearts of countless people in Pingliang!

Just two punches!

After those two punches were thrown,

the spiritual pillar in the hearts of most people in Pingliang City had completely collapsed, replaced by an endless fear of death, leaving not a single trace of the will to resist.

Even some of the diehards from the Fangcun Sword Hall and the Nangong Family could no longer muster a shred of Battle Intent.

The gap was too great.

Blind rage was meaningless, other than getting oneself killed.

Most importantly,

they had already lost the hearts of the people...

"Heh... The people are like water, and the ruler is like a boat. One has only ever seen the boat pass, when has one ever seen the water change."

An elder in the Fangcun Sword Hall listened to the public anger directed at the Fangcun Sword Hall and the Nangong Family, and slumped to the ground, shaking his head with a self-deprecating smile.

He didn’t hate the people of the city.

If he were in their shoes,

he wouldn’t have the heart to resist either.

The world had always been this way.

For ordinary people,

in a society where the Innate realm divided people into various classes, no matter who sat on the highest throne, they were still just the lowest of the low—commoners like grass.

In their eyes, the rise and fall, the glory and shame of Dali were just a group of higher-ups fighting for power and profit.

What did that have to do with them?

It was just a matter of getting a new master over their heads.

Not to mention...

the Overlord Whale Alliance wasn’t some violent and lawless faction that gave people no way to live.

That being the case,

if they continued to resist,

the Fangcun Sword Hall and the Nangong Family would become the unforgivable villains.

"Tsk, how boring."

No one stepped up to fight for a long time.

Wu Dao, in the sky outside the city, felt a wave of boredom.

He had thought there might be one or two reclusive masters hidden in Pingliang City who would step out for the sake of justice.

Now it seemed he had been overthinking it.

However,

Wu Dao didn’t leave Pingliang City right away.

This place was practically overflowing with wealth.

Fangcun Sword Hall, the Nangong Family, and the many other Extraordinary Influences...

If he swallowed them all,

the foundation of the Overlord Whale Alliance would increase dramatically.

Thinking of this,

Wu Dao took out his Communication Jade Talisman and sent a message to Zhao Jianji, who was overseeing the battle in the direction of Changning:

"Pingliang has fallen. Come and plunder the city at once!"

The message had just been sent.

A moment later, he received an excited and sycophantic reply from Zhao Jianji: "Alliance Leader, you are mighty and your Magical Power is boundless!!

I was just wondering why the general of the Pingliang Army over here suddenly lost his will to fight. It seems he must have found out that Pingliang has already fallen."

"Lost his will to fight?"

Hearing this, Wu Dao narrowed his eyes and replied: "Tell the people from the Black Dragon Commerce Association to capture him alive. After you have him, travel at full speed. The piece of meat that is Pingliang is the main prize."

The generals guarding the arrays of the Pingliang Eight-direction Military Camp were all Innate First Step Grandmasters from the Royalist Faction.

If he could make them his own,

by converting them all into Primordial Demons!

Then the Overlord Whale Alliance’s high-level combat power would no longer consist of just him alone. In the future, he would have a batch of high-quality lackeys!

It was precisely because of this idea

that the eight Innate experts he hired from the Black Dragon Commerce Association were all at the peak level of Innate First Step Grandmasters!

If the Great Grandmasters of the Black Dragon Commerce Association hadn’t, for some reason, stopped accepting bounties recently, he would have wanted to hire only Great Grandmasters.

It was only eighty million.

To the current Overlord Whale Alliance, that was just a drop in the bucket.

Wu Dao didn’t have to wait long.

RUMBLE—

Along with a rumbling, thunder-like tremor, dust surged on the horizon as a tide of men and horses appeared.

The Dragon Whale flag could be faintly seen flying high.

Beneath the flag,

hulking, ferocious, blood-red figures averaging ten feet in height galloped forth, shattering the earth. They carried a tragic, baleful aura, like the Hell Demon Army on the march.

Behind them,

were the members of the Overlord Whale Alliance.

WHOOSH~

A gust of wind whipped past.

"Greetings, Alliance Leader!"

Carried by a Grandmaster, Zhao Jianji flew in at a low altitude, arriving first.

Because he was being held by the scruff of his neck,

his attempt at a salute looked somewhat comical.

In the Black Dragon Commerce Association Grandmaster’s other hand,

he was dangling a Blood Gourd in armor whose face couldn’t be seen clearly. Its Essence, Qi, and Spirit were depleted, and it was bound motionlessly by a rope glowing with black light.

But when he saw the Pingliang Army lying on the ground, their auras fading, his eyes nearly split with rage. He looked up at Wu Dao and cursed through gritted teeth, "Wu the bandit, you’ll die a dog’s death!"

"Believe it or not, by tomorrow you’ll be on your knees calling me Alliance Leader,"

Wu Dao just smiled faintly, his dark, profound gaze making the Blood Gourd tremble involuntarily.

BUZZ~

At this moment,

his Communication Jade Talisman vibrated.

Wu Dao’s mind stirred, and he sent his consciousness inside.

Zhou Zhiyin’s voice, clearly forcing itself to be calm but tinged with a hint of timidity, sounded out:

"Heh... Alliance Leader Wu is truly... a man of his word. I’ve certainly had my eyes opened today. Tomorrow, I will have a grand gift to present to Alliance Leader Wu in return."

Tsk~

’Am I really that scary?’

A playful look crossed Wu Dao’s face. He looked up at the white dot vanishing in the distant sky, a hungry glint appearing in his eyes, like a Fierce Beast that had smelled meat.

’A grand gift?’

’Let’s see just how fat of a prize it is!’