by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
“And so, the thing they believe in the most is strength. Strength is everything to them. As long as they have strength, they can unleash all their desires without limit, regardless of any morality.”
“How could there be such wicked people?” exclaimed Tang Wan-er. They were all humans, but how were their ideologies so different?
Long Chen lightly said, “That’s just because you don’t understand how formidable having a belief is. A conviction in a belief means that your whole mind and spirit is devoted.
“The people from the Corrupt path firmly believe that their actions are the most correct. They believe the rules of the Heavenly Daos make this world a survival of the fittest. And so their actions are in accordance with the Heavenly Daos.
“As for our Righteous path’s actions of guarding and helping each other, that is contrary to the Heavenly Dao’s natural elimination rules, and so they believe we are disrespecting the heavens.
“And so they treat killing disciples of the Righteous path as taking the place of the heavens to punish us. Furthermore, they won’t feel the slightest bit of guilt. Killing people is sacred to them, and they are willing to commit all kinds of things we would consider crimes.
“Even once they die, they believe that since they fought for the Heavenly Daos, the Heavenly Daos will bless them and care for them. And so true Corrupt path disciples do not fear death much at all.”
Long Chen’s words caused a chill to run through them. They had all heard that the Corrupt path’s disciples were savage and cruel; so this was the reason.
“They really are a group of madmen.” One of the core disciples shook his head.
“And this is also the reason why you absolutely cannot show any mercy against them once the fighting starts. Don’t try to act with some kind of noble character, humanity, forgiveness, or hope of reforming them.
“That’s just foolishness, a foolishness that will cost dearly. Not only will you end up killing yourself, but you’ll also end up implicating those behind you, causing them to die with you. That is what it really means to die with your eyes wide open in grievance,” warned Long Chen solemnly.
In particular, he was looking at Tang Wan-er and Ye Zhiqiu. He knew those two women were more softhearted, especially Tang Wan-er.
If they ended up feeling pity for their opponents and ended up restraining themselves, then they really would be done for. And once core disciples died, those disciples behind them would have their morale plummet to rock bottom.
“Don’t worry, I definitely won’t show any mercy.” Tang Wan-er took a deep breath.
Long Chen smiled slightly and nodded. Tang Wan-er’s soft heart also had its good points. She cherished her subordinates, and for them, she would definitely not show any mercy.
Sweeping his gaze over everyone, Long Chen solemnly said, “We still have quite a few members here who haven’t awakened their ancestral marks. Do you want to awaken them?”
The hearts of those core disciples began to pound. Previously, they had heard that Long Chen had used some kind of secret technique to help Song Mingyuan, Li Qi, and Luo Cang awaken their ancestral marks, causing them to be filled with envy.
But Long Chen had kept that technique secret, and he hadn’t shared it with everyone. Now their hearts were pounding with excitement.
“If senior brother Long Chen can help awaken our ancestral marks, we’d be willing to even do a dog’s work for you,” said one of the core disciples excitedly. His family had already begun to decline. By his generation, his ancestral blood had already become extremely faint. If he couldn’t awaken his ancestral mark, their bloodline inheritance would end with him.
The others were also fervently looking at Long Chen. Awakening the ancestral mark was just too important to them, maybe even more important than their own lives. It was a mission their family had given them, and also a kind of glory.
“I can’t help you awaken your ancestral marks. Everything will have to rely on you. Li Qi, you tell everyone about how you guys awakened your ancestral marks.”
Li Qi nodded and told them about what had happened that day. He didn’t omit anything, even telling them how he had felt absolute despair when facing death.
Those people listening were dumbstruck. They were just like how the Song Mingyuan trio had been in the beginning. None of them had thought that this was the correct way to awaken their ancestral marks.
“Now that Long Chen mentions it, I remember back when I awakened my ancestral mark, it was because of my little sister. I had secretly brought her out deep in the mountains to do some hunting.
“But we ended up running into a powerful Magical Beast. I was unable to defeat it, and I saw that my little sister was about to be killed.
“At that moment, I felt as if I had gone insane, and some unfathomable power burst out of me, and I somehow managed to kill that Magical Beast. Only later did I realize I had somehow awakened my ancestral mark.” Gu Yang suddenly realized why he had managed to awaken his ancestral mark.
“When you feel your life is in danger, you’ll be able to explode with ten times the strength. But when you feel someone precious to you is about to die, you’ll be able to explode with a power that surpasses your imagination.
“To protect is also a kind of belief. It can let you advance without fear of death.
“So if you want to awaken your ancestral marks, that’ll require you to erupt with a power that surpasses your body’s limits. Only then will your mind draw out that bloodline power deep within you.
“But if you have nothing to protect, it’ll be impossible for you to erupt with that much power. If it’s just protecting your own life, the probability is very low.
“If you want to awaken your ancestral marks, it’ll rely on yourselves. It depends on whether or not you really cherish your companions, whether or not you cherish their lives,” explained Long Chen.
He had explained it to them as best as he could. As for whether they could succeed, it would all rely on them.
Long Chen continued, “This time it’s a true, bloody battle. The goal of each one of your attacks is to kill your opponent. It is vastly different from when you normally fight. If you can’t change your habits, the one to die will be you.
“And in order to allow as many disciples as possible to survive, it’ll require your encouragement to increase their confidence.
“Each time when the battle just starts, bring out your best display of power. Use your full force to kill your opponents in as a perfect way as possible, understood?”
“We understand. We’ll do it at all costs,” they hastily replied. Long Chen had unstintingly told all of them his secret technique. Those people, who still had been a bit against him, immediately felt all of their displeasure fade away to be replaced with gratitude and respect.
Long Chen nodded. He turned to a certain woman, “Senior apprentice-sister Qi Yue, it’ll be up to you guys to provide support. I’ll keep a group of people to protect you guys.”
That woman was the Healing Hall’s Qi Yue who had come to the Heaven Earth Faction in the very beginning to heal their wounds.
But at that time, a little mishap had occurred because Lu Chuan had wanted to show off his skills in front of Tang Wan-er, and ended up being slapped in the face by Long Chen.
“Don’t worry. We’ll go all-out,” nodded Qi Yue.
She had brought all the disciples of the Healing Hall. This was in hopes that any disciples who ended up injured could be healed promptly.
One reason was to maintain everyone’s peak combat strength, while the other reason was in hopes of reducing how many disciples would end up dying this time.
If a disciple ended up taking a heavy, life-threatening injury, medicinal pills wouldn’t be enough. But if a disciple from the Healing Hall immediately went to help, there was a high chance that the person could be saved.
However, the members of the Healing Hall didn’t possess high combat ability, and so there needed to be some people to
protect them from danger.
“That Lu Chuan has also come. Make sure to tell him that if he dares play any shady games, I’ll immediately chop off his head to use as a kick ball,” said Long Chen.
Qi Yue laughed, “You don’t need to be worried about that. After you killed Wu Qi, he’s become completely well-behaved. He definitely won’t do anything.”
Long Chen nodded. He wasn’t that worried about him pulling any tricks, but he had been a bit worried about him not bringing out his full abilities to heal everyone. However, with Qi Yue to keep an eye on him, he wasn’t so worried.
“On the battlefield, every disciple must carry at least three signal flares. Furthermore, they cannot keep them in their spatial rings, or they won’t have the time to take them out at a critical moment.
“And when using the signal flare, remember to shoot them at a slanted angle. If you see any signals going straight up, assume disciples of the Corrupt path have stolen the signal flares and have set up a trap…”
Long Chen continued to explain a large heap of strategies and tactics used on the battlefield. The Corrupt path’s disciples were all cultivators and not a regular army, and so it wasn’t likely for them to know that many tricks, but it was best to be prepared just in case. Perhaps something he was telling them would be enough to save a disciple’s life; then his long-winded speech would all be worth it.
As Long Chen explained their deployment, the flying Magical Beasts didn’t pause for the slightest rest. Third rank flying Magical Beasts were extremely fast and didn’t need much rest.
A range of mountains was slowly replaced with large plains. There were a couple of small villages there.
As they flew over a certain village, they all sucked in a cold gasp. Seeing corpse after corpse, the blood in their ears began to pound and killing intent surged out of them.
“These goddamn bastards!”
Some people cursed through gritted teeth. A village of hundreds of people was now only filled with corpses. There were old seniors who were already white-haired, and there were also babies who were only a couple of months old. Not one of them was still alive.
“Charge forward!”
Long Chen suddenly stood up and roared “Brothers, the Corrupt path’s disciples are just up ahead slaughtering innocent commoners!
“Today’s battle is not a trial, but a true life and death battle!
“This battle is not for points or glory. This battle is just to bear witness to our hot blood! Use the weapons in your hands to cut off their heads! Slaughter them all!”
“Kill! Kill! Kill!”
The scene below them immediately provoked all their hearts. All their eyes were completely red.
They were originally nervous about fighting, but after hearing Long Chen’s battle cry, they all began to crazily shout, a murderous aura surging through the sky.
Suddenly, a small town appeared before them. There were dozens of red-robed Corrupt path disciples cutting down the innocent commoners with their sabers. The entire town was dyed red. Howls of grief filled the air.
Long Chen was the first to jump off the Magical Beasts, directly charging over to the Corrupt path’s disciples.
“KILL!”
Chapter 236 Bloodied Saber
The inside of the small town looked like a scene straight from hell. Dozens of Corrupt path disciples were incessantly slaughtering the innocent commoners.
The weapons in their hands were covered in blood, but it didn’t drip off. Instead, the blood quickly faded as it was absorbed into their weapons.
After absorbing blood, those weapons would release an incredibly sinister air as though they were bloodthirsty fiends that had smelled something delicious. A greedy desire could be felt from those weapons.
Furthermore, each time one of those Corrupt path disciples killed a commoner, a trace of bloody mist would be absorbed into their body as well. That blood was like some kind of drug, making them even more excited, and their eyes were filled with a bloodthirsty light.
This town only had a bit over ten thousand people. There weren’t many cultivators. Even the soldiers were only at the Qi Condensation realm. That cultivation base might as well have been nothing in front of these Tendon Transformation disciples. They didn’t even have the slightest ability to resist.
The Corrupt path disciples were crazily killing the commoners who were frantically fleeing. But only a small portion of people managed to flee out of the town.
The majority of people were all stuck in the town with no path of escape. Heads continuously flew through the air, blood splashed everywhere, and all they could do was let out helpless cries and weeping.
In their eyes, these Corrupt path disciples were absolute fiends that were completely unstoppable. The adults were tightly holding their children, covering their vision. Even they couldn’t bear to watch that cruel scene in front of them, and they simply waited for death.
The sounds of anguish filled the air, as well as the sinister laughs from the Corrupt path’s disciples. They all revelled in this kind of feeling.
After blocking the few exits, they began to slowly brandish their weapons, savoring this sensation. Those expressions of despair and terror filled them with excitement.
“You fiends, I’ll take you down!”
A child only seven or eight years old suddenly charged out with a small, wooden sword.
That wooden sword was extremely crude. It was clearly just a child’s plaything. But that child charged forward in anger with that little wooden sword at a Corrupt path disciple.
“Little Hu-zi, come back here!”[1]
A woman let out a sharp cry as soon as that child charged out. But it was already too late. That child had already arrived at that disciple.
That disciple laughed sinisterly. The longsword in his hand slashed out mercilessly onto that child’s neck.
His favorite thing to look at was a person’s head flying through the air. The expressions on those faces delighted him.
Blood splashed, dyeing that child’s entire body red. The reek of blood was nauseating.
But that child wasn’t afraid and continued charging forward with that wooden sword, stabbing it at that Corrupt disciple.
What shocked everyone was that before that wooden sword touched his body, he split in two.
Once the two portions split apart, people saw a figure holding a saber still dyed in blood, his robes fluttering and his hair dancing in the wind, looking just like a celestial god.
After Long Chen cut apart that Corrupt disciple, he looked at that stubborn child. It was like looking at his younger self who used to play with a wooden sword as well.
“Good kid. Once you grow up, you’ll definitely be an amazing man.”
With one hand, he threw the child back to his mother, immediately once more charging out at another Corrupt disciple.
“Kill them all!”
Long Chen’s roar shook the nine heavens, and his saber had already arrived at another Corrupt disciple.
The saber he was currently using wasn’t the one Cang Ming had made for him, but something senior apprentice-brother Wan had loaned him. The one Cang Ming had made him was too heavy, and he wasn’t able to use it without summoning his divine ring.
Furthermore, it was extremely exhausting to use. Unless he met extremely powerful opponents, he would prefer not to use it. As for these disciples before him, they were obviously not worth him bringing out that saber.
Tang Wan-er and the others all jumped off the Magical Beasts, bringing out their weapons and charging at the Corrupt disciples.
They might have been a bit nervous before, but seeing the corpses of these innocents, they immediately forgot any fear they had. Rage and killing intent surged out of them.
“Frigid Wind Slash!”
Tang Wan-er started off with a full power attack. The Corrupt disciple in front of her was only an outer disciple. Although he was also in the Tendon Transformation realm, there was no way he could block a f
ull power attack from a core disciple.
He was immediately cut into broken pieces by a huge wind blade, his blood filling the sky. If it was a normal time, Tang Wan-er would definitely feel uncomfortable with that scene.
But today was not the same. Seeing that Corrupt disciple’s broken flesh and blood fill the sky, Tang Wan-er was filled with an indescribable satisfaction. Just as she was preparing to attack again, she noticed the other dozens of Corrupt disciples had already been killed.
“Get on the Magical Beasts! We’re leaving!” shouted Long Chen. He directly jumped onto one of the flying mounts and the others followed. From the time Long Chen jumped down to when they finished slaughtering them, only a few breaths’ time had passed. Those Corrupt disciples had all been killed in a flash.
The other disciples of the monastery hadn’t even had a chance to attack before the fight ended. But their hot blood was surging from seeing the core disciples fight.
“So the Corrupt path’s disciples aren’t that much.”
Everyone’s confidence grew. Long Chen and the others had killed all those Corrupt disciples in a flash.
A dozen people jumped off the Magical Beast as Long Chen led it flying out again. Those people would comfort the commoners and lead them to withdraw to a safe distance.
Those dozen of people were the ones who had failed the final disciple trial of the monastery. They had decided to stay behind as essentially workers, and they would be in charge of dealing with the aftermaths of these battles.
This battle would not end in just one or two days. For everyone’s safety, they needed to withdraw.
Long Chen looked at the map gravely. “That was just a small squad. We didn’t even have any news about them, meaning they weren’t worth reporting.
“In other words, this time the Corrupt path’s invasion is much greater and fiercer than before.
“So don’t get careless. Don’t think that the Elders and law enforcers will protect you from any danger!”
“Long Chen, you mean…?” Song Mingyuan was startled.
Long Chen nodded. “According to this record, the experts from the Righteous and Corrupt paths will watch from a distance during these battles. Unless there is a danger of complete annihilation, none of them will take action.