Even now, Wang Chong had no idea what their background was, who belonged to their group, or what they wanted to do. All the information he had regarding them was blank.
The Demonic Emperor Old Man glanced at the bruised landscape of the Wang Clan Residence and subconsciously furrowed his brow. It was clear that Wang Chong's answer was not one he had anticipated.
"Oh, Master, how did you manage to arrive so promptly?" Wang Chong said.
Once this monster transformed, its strength had begun to madly climb, and even Wootz Steel weapons had been useless against it. If not for the Demonic Emperor Old Man's prompt arrival, Wang Chong truly could not predict the chaos the monster would have caused in the capital.
At the very least, the ordinary civilians living around the Wang Clan Residence would have suffered terrible casualties.
"Haha, don't forget that I was the one who taught you the Little Yinyang Art. I'm more sensitive than anyone to the energy of the Little Yinyang Art, so when you suddenly vanished from my senses, I immediately noticed that something was wrong. The Myriad Spirit Sea Art is one with the heaven and earth. Even from several dozen li, nothing can be hidden from me. At that moment, I knew that some incident had occurred," the Demonic Emperor Old Man lightly said.
This was the first time he had voluntarily brought up the Myriad Spirit Sea Art. Although it had only been a glimpse, the power that the Demonic Emperor Old Man had casually revealed was shocking enough.
To be able to sense activity several dozen li away, the might of the Myriad Spirit Sea Art had already surpassed the bounds of ordinary martial arts.
Wang Chong couldn't conceal his surprise at his master's words. Although he didn't understand what his master meant when he said that the Myriad Spirit Sea Art was one with the heaven and earth, there was one thing that Wang Chong could be sure of: his master truly had recovered his cultivation. Although he still wasn't at his prime where he could shake the world, he was definitely at an extremely high level.
"Congratulations, Master, for recovering your divine strength!" Wang Chong happily said.
"Haha, it's still too early to talk about recovering divine strength, but I truly have recovered a good deal of power. I must thank you for this. The dense spiritual energy on the spirit vein mountain is ideal for cultivating the Myriad Spirit Sea Art. If you hadn't brought me to the spirit vein mountain, I would need at least five years to reach this level."
As the Demonic Emperor Old Man spoke, his eyes looked with gratitude toward his disciple.
After a lifetime of backstabbing and deception, even being schemed against by his own disciple, the Demonic Emperor Old Man felt truly grateful to have received a disciple like Wang Chong in his later years.
Wang Chong not only had made a great name for himself in the southwest, with the Imperial Court conferring the title of Young Marquis upon him, he was also extremely loyal and filial. The Demonic Emperor Old Man had never felt such things in any of his previous disciples.
'There can be no construction without destruction.' To the Demonic Emperor Old Man, this saying not only applied to martial arts, but to personality, to the mind, to a person's complete transformation. Right now, if anyone dared to harm Wang Chong, the Demonic Emperor Old Man would go to the ends of the earth to execute them and grind their bones into dust.
His two disciples, this brother and sister of the Wang Clan, were his greatest hope in his retiring years.
"This is all due to Master's own efforts. Your disciple is merely an embroidered flower on your brocade," Wang Chong sincerely said.
Wang Chong had only sought out the Demonic Emperor Old Man to obtain the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art, but now, Wang Chong had inexplicably begun to treat him as a member of the family, their relationship not something as simple as master and disciple.
Moreover, after all he had experienced, Wang Chong could sense that his master's personality had undergone a comprehensive transformation. From a devil of the evil path, he had slowly returned to the path of righteousness. He was now a man of compassion, a serene elder whose heart could hold the rivers, lakes, and seas.
"Hah, there's no need for you to be humble in front of your teacher."
The Demonic Emperor Old Man smiled and shook his head.
"Other than to find out what had happened, your master's primary reason for coming was to impart to you the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art. Your Little Yinyang Art is already approaching perfection, so it is about time for you to learn this supreme art. This will also allow you to pacify that berserk blood within you. But…"
The Demonic Emperor Old Man stopped and gave a deep sigh, his face fraught with deep concern as he looked at Wang Chong.
"At this time, not even I know if passing on this art to you is good or bad. After all, the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art is an evil art. I cultivated it for the majority of my life and have received a hearty helping of its hardships. In the future, when your meridians begin to flow in reverse, you will have to pay an enormous price."
"Master does not need to worry. All this is your disciple's choice. I have always known what the result will be."
Wang Chong gave a faint smile, apparently unconcerned.
He knew what his master was thinking, but if he could do it all again, he would still choose the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art. He had no other option except to choose it.
As for anything else, he didn't care!
"Ha…"
The Demonic Emperor Old Man could only give a long sigh at these words.
"I spent more than half of my life but could not resolve the conflicts arising from the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art. Right now, I can only hope that before your blood energy condenses and your internal energy backlashes, we can find that legendary technique."
The Supreme and Infinite Origin Immortal Art was the greatest of the ten supreme arts. If he could learn this technique, he could avoid the flaws of the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art for the rest of time.
But even now, no one knew where this legendary art was!
The legendary technique had vanished in the river of history far, far too long ago!
"Master, the backlash of internal energy is a matter for the future. As long as it's not in the present, why should I worry about it?"
Wang Chong grinned.
While his master was grave, Wang Chong had maintained an easygoing and relaxed state. It was like those things the Demonic Emperor Old Man spoke of were happening to someone else, of no relation to him.
The Demonic Emperor Old Man shook his head, sighed, and said no more about it.
"I have already imparted the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art to you, so it is about time I leave. If you need anything, come to the spirit vein mountain to find me."
With a wave of his sleeve, the Demonic Emperor Old Man prepared to leave the Wang Clan Residence.
"Wait a moment!" Wang Chong called out to stop him.
"Master, there's a matter that I need your help for."
The Demonic Emperor Old Man came to a sudden stop.
……
Time slowly passed, and Li Siye succeeded in turning away the city guards and Imperial Army. Even so, the disturbance in the Wang Clan had garnered a great deal of attention in the capital.
After all, many people had heard that furious roar last night.
However, the Wang Clan quickly managed to suppress the incident. The collapsed walls were quickly repaired so as to prevent outsiders from looking in.
Meanwhile, the Wang Clan outwardly stated that now that Wang Chong had been made a marquis, Madam Wang had decided to rebuild the Wang Clan Residence in celebration.
Although many people still felt it strange and this reason was not utterly persuasive, at least an explanation had been provided.
As a result, people slowly began to focus on other things.
In addition, on the next day, the Wang Clan truly did begin to call over many architects and craftsmen and have wood sent over, erasing many o
f the people's doubts.
As night fell, a single lantern illuminated Wang Chong's study.
In last night's battle, Wang Chong's study was one of the few structures to be spared.
"You called over my master?" Wang Chong said.
Across from him stood a man wearing a mask of black iron with no features carved on it, revealing only the two eyes.
Although the Demonic Emperor Old Man had not specifically said anything about it during the daytime, he had told Wang Chong the answer through his actions. The Myriad Spirit Sea Art truly had allowed his master to sense the abnormality in the capital and the disappearance of Wang Chong's and his little sister's auras, but this was not the primary reason for his prompt arrival.
The main reason was that someone had run off to the spirit vein to find him: Zhang Qiantuo, the now faceless man who stood before Wang Chong.
Ever since they had returned from the southwest, the faceless man had not entered the Wang Clan Residence and Wang Chong had placed no restrictions on his movements. Amongst all his subordinates, he alone was not being watched by the black-robed men, and he was the only one who had not been imprisoned in the black shroud.
"Yes!"
The faceless man nodded, his voice firm and forthright.
"Ever since we returned from the southwest, I knew that they would start a new operation, and everything proves my conjectures. Young Master, you have already entered their list of must-kill targets."
"I know."
Wang Chong gave a light nod. The resolve of those people was evident simply from the monster that they had used to deal with him.
"If I'm right, that massive bell on the street was also their handiwork, but the assassination attempt afterward probably wasn't. You were nearby at the time. Did you see anything?"
"I only saw a silhouette in the sky. It was moving too fast to see very clearly," the faceless man replied with a shake of his head.
"These people are too secretive, leaving behind no chance for us to get any clues. In addition, even though I saw them last night, they had too many people with them and were too strong. Even if I did show up, I wouldn't have been able to change anything. If I was too impulsive, the only thing I would have accomplished was adding to the body count."
"Mm, your actions were correct."
Wang Chong nodded. Although the black-robed men had been targeting him, the faceless man's decision in that situation was absolutely correct and rational.
"So, have you found their trail?"
"Mm!"
The faceless man showed no emotion, only gave a firm nod. This simple motion caused the atmosphere in the study to suddenly change. In the lantern light, Wang Chong's lips curved into a faint smile.
He had been waiting a long time to hear this news from the faceless man. They could finally begin to move.
Chapter 676: Counterattack II
Chapter 676: Counterattack (II)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
In the southern part of the city, a massive estate stood by the Yuan River. This estate was even larger than the estates of many nobles and ministers.
This was the residence of a Philanthropist Yang. All the people living in the southern part of the city knew of Philanthropist Yang as a famous man of wealth involved in many fields of business: mining, butchery, precious gems, tea leaves… He had accumulated enormous wealth, but he was also very kind and charitable. He would often set up porridge kitchens to feed the city's beggars and impoverished.
To those tenant farmers facing difficulties, he would often generously excuse them from paying rent.
As a result, he had an extremely high reputation in this area of the city.
But at this moment, no one knew that Philanthropist Yang's residence was covered in corpses. The bodies of maids and servants were scattered everywhere.
A group of black-robed people had gathered amongst the corpses.
"Damn it! An entire day has passed, so why hasn't Lu Wu returned?"
"Could Lu Wu really have been killed? That's impossible—Lu Wu is impervious to weapons and has a powerful vitality. What sort of person would be able to kill him?"
"Have you sent someone to investigate?"
"No! The area around the Wang Clan is under heavy guard. It's not even possible to get close."
……
A group of black-robed people walked into the main hall, appearing greatly annoyed and uneasy. Lu Wu had 'disappeared'. Not even if they were beaten to death would they have ever dared to believe that such a thing could happen.
A short black-robed person, around 1.5 meters tall, fearfully said, "Leader, if those above learn that we've lost Lu Wu, we'll probably all be killed!"
"What are you afraid of? They still don't know, right?" said the black-robed leader wearing the demon mask impatiently.
"No one can kill Lu Wu, no one. Send someone to go and see. I need to know what happened after we left!"
"If you want to know what happened, I'll tell you!"
The candles in the hall flickered as a bright and young voice came from outside. Upon hearing this voice, the hall fell into an uproar.
"Who is it?!"
With a shout, all the black-robed people turned to the door, several of them immediately jumping toward it. But before they could get very far, boom! The doors fell inward as the corpse of a black-robed man was thrown through them like a stone, crashing into the center of the hall.
"Everyone, long time no see!"
Outside the door in the flickering light, Wang Chong stood smiling in a purple cape and confidently strode over the threshold.
"It's you!"
Although the black-robed people were stunned at the sight of Wang Chong, they immediately noticed that they had made a mistake. They had never 'seen' Wang Chong before, and their words just now had essentially been a confession.
But none of this was important now. Wang Chong should never have appeared here in the first place.
"Hmph, after so long and all the gifts you've given me, it's about time we met," Wang Chong said with a grim smile.
Even though he had been attacked by these black-robed people three times now, this was Wang Chong's first time seeing their true selves.
"Li Siye, strike!"
At Wang Chong's command, the walls of the hall collapsed and countless people charged in.
"Shit! Run!"
The leader of the black-robed people paled as the hall collapsed. He shot a hurried glance through the clouds of dust and saw that the yard outside was full of people. Wang Chong had brought thousands of people with him, and all of them were top-notch experts.
This was the strength of an elite clan. Since Wang Chong had discovered their nest, he naturally wouldn't come alone, instead calling over all the helpers he could find.
With the Wang Clan's current status, Wang Chong only needed to give the call for thousands of experts to respond. Wang Chong had only brought a small portion of them.
In dealing with these black-robed people, Wang Chong was a lion going all-out against a rabbit, sparing nothing. Since they had dared to attack him, they shouldn't think about leaving alive.
Bang! The black-robed leader stomped on the ground, sensing that something was wrong and immediately leaping out of the hall, quickly vanishing into a cloud of dust.
"Hmph, can you escape?"
Wang Chong made no attempts to pursue as he looked in the direction that the leader fled. He had gathered so many experts to deal with these black-robed people that it would be stranger if they actually managed to succeed in their escape.
"Everyone, don't be afraid. Work together and kill this brat."
"As long as we can capture this brat and use him to coerce the rest, we can still escape."
“Kill this child of destruction and those above will definitely reward us."
……
Seeing that they were surrounded, the black-robed people in the hall felt rage blossom in their hearts, t
heir foul situation stimulating their daring. Shouting, the black-robed men lunged at Wang Chong like hungry wolves.
The air vibrated with the clanging of steel, strange pitch-black Halos of Thorns emerging at the feet of the black-robed men.
The energies of these ten-some people swelled as they savagely assaulted Wang Chong.
"Not knowing your own strength!"
Wang Chong sneered as he shot forward. Bangbangbang! Each of the black-robed men was struck by a single palm from Wang Chong. Time seemed to stop, and all of them seemed to freeze, stuck in place.
Buzz!
In the blink of an eye, a bloody mist suddenly burst out of their bodies, flowing to Wang Chong's body like rivers returning to the sea.
With thud after thud, the black-robed men dropped to the floor, their large bodies withering into dried-up husks.
"What evil art is this?"
"Run!"
……
A few of the black-robed men who had planned on assisting their comrades saw them being sucked dry. Their faces became covered in fear as all their courage and ferocity vanished into nothing and they swiftly turned to flee.
Boom! His eyes glimmering with cold light, Wang Chong made a snatching motion with his right hand. A fierce gale stirred as a powerful attractive force emerged from Wang Chong's body.
Before these people could make it a few zhang, they were stuck in place, the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art absorbing their blood energy and causing it to surge into Wang Chong's body.
Bloody mist madly surged through Wang Chong's pores, and he instantly sucked them dry. After absorbing all this blood energy, Wang Chong once again received a significant boost in strength.
This was the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art. At this level, the Little Yinyang Sword was no longer needed, and when the gap in strength was significant, Wang Chong didn't even need to touch his opponent to use the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art.
Thud! Thud!
The withered husks of the black-robed men dropped to the ground.
Such was the might of the supreme evil art!
So powerful!
Wang Chong looked at the surrounding corpses, a feeling of abnormal power welling up inside him. This was Wang Chong's first time using the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art in battle after using Lu Wu to cultivate the evil art.
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