Chapter 1009 - The Majesty of the Temple Master Slapping Someone’s Face

Su Yi looked a bit dazed. He’d unleashed the full extent of his cultivation base, disregarding his own life and death as he prepared to unleash his strongest possible attack.

But before he managed to unleash it, something entirely unexpected happened.

When he saw that roughly ten-foot-streak of saber qi crumble and dissipate three feet away from him, Su Yi couldn’t help but be surprised.

Then, he sensed the Sword of the Nine Hells trembling within his sea of consciousness gradually return to dormancy.

However, one of its divine chains was dancing about like mad!

Whoosh~

The divine chain was mysterious and inscrutable, and it seemed as if it were trying to break free of the Sword of the Nine Hells.

At the same time, an indescribable, obscure power emanated from the chain.

Then, Su Yi heard a sigh rife with loneliness. His gaze focused, and he suddenly looked up.

There, at the center of the lake, at the head of the black ship, the distinctively shaped Sword of the Human Realm seemed to have awakened from its long dormancy, and the blade slowly took to the skies!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The impassioned sword hum was boundless and heavy. As it reverberated throughout heaven and earth, unstoppable, forceful, austere killing intent spread outward. As vast as the Reincarnation Grounds were, a suffocating aura enveloped them in their entirety.

It was far too terrifying.

An inimitable, utterly tyrannical majesty of the Dao of the Sword seemed to bear down on the dome of heaven and shatter all Daos. Even Su Yi couldn’t help but gasp.

Only then did he realize that the blazing starlight formerly enveloping the entire area had been crushed. Nothing remained!

“This…” The man in the conical hat was bewildered.

His clothes billowed around him, and his aura soared. His eyes blazed like golden lamps as he stared intently at the rising Sword of the Human Realm. His formerly calm face willed with complete and utter disbelief.

There was no doubt about it. This sudden development had caught him completely off guard!

“Hmph!” He snorted coldly, and his eyes blazed with murderous intent. He stretched out his hand and grabbed.

A boundless river of stars surged into being, manifested into blazing saber qi, and slashed at Su Yi once more.

The man in the conical hat had already realized that the Sword of the Human Realm’s strange movements were almost certainly connected to Su Yi. He was incomparably solemn, and he dared not delay. Instead, he attacked directly, hoping to snuff the problem out quickly.

Boom!

Heaven and earth were in disarray.

The saber qi like a blazing river of stars shone as brilliantly as the sun. It was even more terrifying than his last attack! But in that moment, a streak of sword qi flashed into being and swept through the air. The saber qi popped, offering no more resistance than paper as it scattered into starlight and dissipated into nothingness.

The sword qi was like a streak of ethereal floating light. It was extremely simple and direct.

Yet it struck with unstoppable force!

Su Yi was impressed. What a tyrannical slash!

The Netherworld King had already started to recover from her dazed state, but when she saw this, her charming, starry eyes widened. So… this is the power of the Sword of the Human Realm!?

The man in the conical hat could no longer be bothered to pay Su Yi any heed. His pupils constricted, and he turned to gaze at the floating Sword of the Human Realm. His amiable expression flickered erratically, and he said, “Is… is it you?”

He sounded hesitant, and his voice contained subtle hits of dread.

Everything throughout heaven and earth was terrifying. A stifled, oppressive atmosphere bore down on the entire area.

Dense, austere sword force emanated from the Sword of the Human Realm, enveloping the entirety of the Reincarnation Grounds. The sword now seemed like the sovereign of the entire hidden realm. Even gazing upon it from afar, those who looked upon it felt irrepressible awe rise within their hearts.

However, Su Yi’s brow furrowed slightly. This was because the one divine chain dancing wildly within his sea of consciousness was emanating an aura that produced a wondrous resonance with the Sword of the Human Realm!

But before Su Yi could give the matter any further thought, a voice rife with mockery and contempt rang out. “All these years, and you still don’t know how to do anything but catch fish and tend to your nets. You’ve really got no prospects, you old codger.”

The voice was hearty and clear, like natural music, with a transcendent, ethereal quality.

The austere aura enveloping heaven and earth trembled slightly, as if unable to withstand the power within that voice!

Even just hearing it was enough to make one’s mental state shake, and it bore down on their very souls!

This was unquestionably far too terrifying.

After all, it was just a voice. Yet it seemed to contain the magic power to transform heaven and earth and shake the human heart!

The Netherworld King’s delicate frame quivered slightly. She could tell that this mysterious voice emanated from within the Sword of the Human Realm.

Su Yi’s eyes flashed. Don’t tell me the power of that divine chain awakened the existence dormant within the Sword of the Human Realm?

No prospects!

Even after being insulted like this, the man in the conical hat didn’t seem upset or angry. Rather, he reacted with unprecedented solemnity, and his frown gradually deepened.

“It really is you,” he said softly, his voice solemn and grim. “Have you… been within the Sword of the Human Realm this entire time?”

“Did I scare you? Heh.” That mysterious voice rang out, sounding contemptuous to the extreme. “Relax, I’m not the least bit interested in whatever it is you’ve been doing. What you see in front of you is nothing but an imprint of will left within the Sword of the Human Realm.”

An imprint of will?

The Netherworld King was completely dazed. How could an imprint of will possess such terrifying power!?

Su Yi was stunned too.

But the man in the conical hat visibly relaxed. “As expected. How could someone as lofty as the Temple Master skulk and hide himself within a sword?”

The Temple Master!

Su Yi and the Netherworld King’s hearts shook as they finally realized just who the owner of that voice was.

The Master of the Temple of the Human Realm!

The one who’d ruined half a lifetime of the man in the conical hat’s cultivation, as well as the terrifying existence who’d said, “Even if gods and immortals really exist, they too must avert their gazes before me!”

The man in the conical hat was already so strong that it was downright unbelievable. In that case, how strong was the expert who’d destroyed his half a lifetime’s worth of effort?

“‘Skulking’? You’re asking for a beating!” The Temple Master’s voice rang out.

Boom!

The sword of the human realm pierced through the air, and the man in the conical hat was sent flying.

He coughed up blood, and he cut quite a sorry figure.

Just one strike, and Su Yi realized on a visceral level that even if the man in the conical hat were stronger, he couldn’t resist even a trace of the Temple Master’s remnant will!

But the man in the conical hat was neither upset nor panicked. Instead, he laughed coldly, “If you’re just a remnant of his will, you’ll expend all your energy soon. When that happens…”

His eyes flashed, shining as bright as the sun. “You’ll use the power within the Sword of the Human Realm. I’m afraid it won’t be able to suppress my little boat much longer. Without the sword restricting it, what could possibly stop me from returning to the starry skies?”

Shockingly, a hint of a smile tugged at his lips. “I’d actually just love to see that happen!”

He’s been unable to return to the starry skies all this time because the Sword of the Human Realm is suppressing his little boat? Su Yi’s eyebrows rose. There had to be secrets behind all this.

Su Yi said nothing. He simply watched coldly from the sidelines, but he felt a bit strange. One of the Sword of the Nine Hell’s divine chains was still flailing like mad and resonating with the power of the Sword of the Human Realm.

Su Yi was already starting to piece something together.

“So what if you return to the stars? You weren’t a match for me then. Don’t tell me you think you’ll be able to defeat me later?” The Temple Master’s voice rang out once more, and he spoke languidly, without any overt mockery. However, this casual disregard came across as utterly contemptuous; it seemed he didn’t take the man in the conical hat the least bit seriously.

The man in the conical hat was obviously startled, and he said with alarm, “You… didn’t you die a long time ago?”

The Temple Master burst into laughter. “So you never even considered the possibility of defeating me and just assumed you could do whatever you wanted now that I’m dead?”

After a moment’s silence, the man in the conical hat took a deep breath and said gravely, “But if you’re still alive, why did you disappear inexplicably?

“And why weren't you there when the Painter appeared? Don’t forget: you’re the one who said that so long as the Painter dared show his face, you’d cut off his head and feed it to the dogs.

“And why would the Antique Dealer, one of your closest friends, proclaim that you’d never return?”

A rapid-fire series of questions!

None of them made any sense to Su Yi or the Netherworld King. They had no idea who the Painter was, or why the Temple Master wanted to feed his severed head to dogs. They also had never heard the name “the Antique Dealer,” nor had they known that he’d announced that the Temple Master would never return.

They were completely in the dark.

The Sword of the Human Realm hovered in the air, the pitch-black blade emanating an unsurpassed, oppressive sword force.

The Temple Master said with an air of secrecy. “You’re asking all those questions to determine whether I’m alive or dead. Well, I’m not telling you anything.”

“....” The man in the conical hat laughed coldly. “You’re the lofty Temple Master, the Slayer of Immortals who dazzled the countless worlds dispersed throughout the stars, but you refuse to even announce whether you’re alive or dead? Since when did someone who dared disdain even gods and immortals… become so pathetic?”

“I know you’re trying to provoke me, but I have to say that you’re really asking for a beating,” sighed the Temple Master’s remnant will.

The Sword of the Human Realm rumbled, then disappeared into thin air.

A moment later, the cross-shaped sword slammed into the man in the conical hat.

Crack!

The conical hat split, and the pieces exploded into ash.

The man formerly wearing a conical hat tried his best to resist, but this strike still left him battered. Fresh blood sprayed through the air, and many of his bones snapped.

And as the Sword of the Human Realm attacked, it descended like a rod, spanking him in the face. His cheek caved in as he was sent flying backward.

This bloody scene made the Netherworld King’s heart quiver, and she gasped.

Earlier, the man in the conical hat was like a sovereign from the starry skies. How mighty and contemptuous was he? He’d even dared proclaim that he could slay Imperial Apex cultivators with ease.

Yet now, he seemed downright pathetic in the face of the Temple Master’s Sword of the Human Realm.

To the point that he couldn’t even fight back!

This was unquestionably unbelievable.

Even Su Yi was at a loss for words. How lofty is the Temple Master’s cultivation, for him to be this strong?

“Ludicrous! At our cultivation boundaries, we’ve long since set aside thoughts of honor and disgrace, and we no longer fear death. Temple Master, why must you humiliate me like some kind of intercity hoodlum?” The man formerly wearing a conical hat laughed.

His hair was disheveled, and his battered body gushed fresh blood. He cut an extremely sorry figure.

But he was just as calm as before, as if he knew nothing of pain. His lips even carried a hint of mockery. “I truly look down on such behavior.”

The Temple Master’s voice resounded from within the Sword of the Human Realms. “I’ve tested it, and I know that the crudest, coarsest methods of humiliation tend to prove unexpectedly effective against old-timers like you.

“After all, you’ve occupied a lofty position for far too long. When have you ever taken a slap to the face? When has anyone ever trampled you beneath their feet?

“Alas, this place has none of the ordinary mortals you see as ‘lowly ants.’ Otherwise, it would definitely be interesting to watch them slap you across the face.”

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, the Sword of the Human Realm clanged, hummed, and smacked the man in the conical hat once more.

Bang!

The other side of his face caved in, and he staggered back.

But before he could stabilize himself, the sword struck once more.

In the time that followed, the Sword of the Human Realm struck relentlessly. Every time, it struck the man in the conical hat in the face. Low, muffled impacts rang out, the sound rising and falling in waves.

Before long, his face was an indistinct, meaty pulp. All of his features had been ruined.

Even just watching, Su Yi and the Netherworld King’s expressions turned a bit strange.

They would never have guessed that the Temple Master would humiliate the man in the conical hat like this.

The man in the conical hat had been beaten so badly that they almost couldn’t bear to look at him. Both of them felt a bit dazed. Is this… the same lofty and contemptuous ‘sovereign’ of the river of stars we met earlier?

Finally, it seemed the man in the conical hat couldn’t take it any longer. He cried out frantically, “Enough!!!”

Before his infuriated roar had even finished echoing throughout heaven and earth…

Bang!

He took yet another blow to the face, staggered back, and fell to the ground. For a moment, everything went black.

He was truly angry now, and so ashamed that he almost wanted to die!

When you hit someone, you weren’t supposed to target their face.

But the Temple Master was deliberately targeting his face! To the point that all of his features had been pulped!

This was blatant bullying!