Chapter 990 - Crushing

The four Profound Serenity experts’ hearts quivered.

They’d once surrounded Su Yi here. How could they fail to realize that the strange tribulation that had taken place within the Burial Ground of the Dao had most likely come for Su Yi?

The thought of the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force and his legendary, dazzling accomplishments left the four of them feeling utterly stifled.

A man’s reputation was like a tree’s shadow. Neither came out of nowhere.

Even though the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force standing before them was just a reincarnation, and even though he’d only just become an Emperor, who would dare underestimate him?

But when he heard Su Yi’s words, Huo Yao inwardly sighed in relief. His eyes flashed, and he stared intently at Su Yi. “Your disciple is untalented, but he’s willing to see whose grasp of the Grand Dao is superior!”

This was the heart of the Divine Cave of the Six Paths, and Ye Luo was watching him closely. If Huo Yao wanted to live, he had to do everything in his power to defeat his master!

Clang!

A sword hum rang out. With a swoosh of Su Yi’s sleeves, the Scarlet Dome of Heaven shot into the air.

Huo Yao’s expression shifted dramatically. “Master, are you going back on your word?”

Su Yi’s eyes flashed with a hint of disdain. He raised his hands and tossed the sword, which blurred into a streak of light and shot toward Huo Yao.

Huo Yao’s expression was unsightly, and his aura burst around him. However, just as he was about to attack, he was flabbergasted to discover that the sword had stopped three feet in front of him. It was just hovering there.

“I’ll give you a chance to swing your sword,” Su Yi said coolly. “Otherwise, I’m afraid you’ll know no peace even in death.”

Only then did the crowd realize that he’d prepared the Scarlet Dome of Heaven for Huo Yao!!

Su Yi’s casual tone was full of utter confidence and contempt.

Huo Yao’s expression filled with uncertainty. Su Yi’s disdainful attitude made him feel as if his dignity were being trampled all over.

But in Ye Luo’s eyes, there was a lot hidden behind his master’s simple gesture!

If Huo Yao accepted the sword, it would mean that his heart was full of fear, and that he dared not fight his master bare-handed. But if he refused, he’d be missing out on an enormous source of support! After all, Huo Yao had taken the Scarlet Dome of Heaven as his natal weapon for the past five hundred years, and he’d poured his heart into tempering and cultivating it. Having it would increase his strength by a considerable margin.

When he realized this, Ye Luo couldn’t help but recall a certain phrase: “When you kill someone, kill their heart first!”

Master isn’t just trying to kill Huo Yao. He wants to completely crush him mentally, too!

This makes it clear just how disappointed he is in Third Senior Apprentice Brother!

After a moment’s silence, Huo Yao said, “Master, you took this sword from me effortlessly. If I use it, I’m afraid it’ll drag me down.”

There was no doubt about it: he’d learned from his miserable defeat at Su Yi’s hands, and he was extraordinarily careful and on guard.

However, his words enraged Ye Luo. “Huo Yao, are you disparaging Master’s character!? Besides, if Master really wanted to kill you no matter what, he’d have no need to promise you anything. He could destroy you with a flip of his hands!”

His heart ached. He couldn’t imagine how Huo Yao had turned out like this.

Huo Yao’s face was expressionless, and he ignored Ye Luo completely.

“Relax. Even if I lose, I won’t reclaim the Scarlet Dome of Heaven,” Su Yi said coolly, without the slightest ripple of emotion.

Huo Yao’s behavior had deeply, utterly disappointed him.

“Very well! I know my master is a man of his word and that he’s sure to keep his promises.” Huo Yao took a deep breath, stretched out his hand, and took hold of the Scarlet Dome of Heaven.

Clang!

The humming of a sword swept outward with a blast of firelight.

Huo Yao’s aura underwent a dramatic transformation as perfectly round circles of dazzling divine flames revolved around him. His terrifying majesty was such that even the four Profound Serenity experts felt suffocated.

He was just too strong!

They were in the Profound Serenity Realm too, but Huo Yao’s strength made them feel stifled, and their hearts shook.

The reincarnation of the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force had only just broken into the Imperial Realm. Without relying on external treasures, how could he possibly be a match for Huo Yao?

Ye Luo’s expression, on the other hand, was the very definition of calm. He’d never worried that his master might lose. This was a type of conviction that had been carved into his bones over countless years!

Su Yi didn’t waste time talking. He simply approached Huo Yao, his presence calm and ethereal, as if he’d achieved a return to simplicity.

And his gait was light and leisurely, as if he were out for a stroll.

But as Su Yi drew near, Huo Yao felt more uneasy than ever.

“Forgive me for what I’m about to do, Master!” Huo Yao bellowed. Then, without the slightest hesitation, he attacked first.

Boom!

The Scarlet Dome of Heaven blazed with radiant firelight, like the river of stars sweeping furiously outward. Its murderous power shook both heaven and earth, as if intent on incinerating everything!

Su Yi’s gaze was as calm as ever, but within his body, his Grand Dao Profound Wheel revolved explosively, and his cultivation base coordinated with his Grand Dao Profound Qi to draw out the power of his body and soul.

An overflowing, unblockable sword force burst out of Su Yi’s tall, upright figure. His right hand shot forward, and he pressed his fingers into a sword and slashed through the air.

Kcch!

A streak of sword qi flew forth, as radiant as if it had been forged out of divine gold; its sharpness was such that the air in front of it naturally parted, offering no resistance.

The flames filling the sky shattered.

Two streaks of sword qi, each with a starkly different force and majesty, were flying at each other. The two seemed evenly matched, and it was a direct confrontation, force against force, with no bells or whistles to speak of. Then, beneath the onlookers’ astonished gazes, Su Yi’s streak of sword qi slammed into Huo Yao’s, cleaving into it as if it were made of rotten wood.

Bang bang bang!

Huo Yao’s sword qi exploded, inch by inch, scattering misty light. And Su Yi’s sword qi continued toward Huo Yao, its power undiminished.

Like an axe through bamboo!

Huo Yao’s eyes widened, and he furiously swung his sword. Divine flames instantly surged, and the power of the Laws ran rampant. Unmatched sword qi burst, and sword force raged. This power could slay an Emperor of the same realm with ease!

Although Huo Yao managed to block Su Yi’s slash in the end, it sent him staggering back. His face alternated white and green, and despite himself, his expression filled with astonishment.

He knew that his master had just undergone an unmatched grand tribulation to become an Emperor, and he knew that Su Yi’s strength was surely far greater than before.

Still, he would never have guessed that a casual streak of sword qi would break through his killer move, much less force him to retreat!

“How…” The four Profound Serenity experts’ hair stood on end.

Is it even possible for an early-stage Profound Illumination Emperor to possess such power? And the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force is fighting barehanded, without any treasures at all!

How utterly terrifying!

Meanwhile, Ye Luo’s eyes lit up, and he felt deeply shaken. How enormous is the gap between the early-stage Profound Illumination Realm and the mid-stage Profound Serenity Realm? The power and sword intent within that strike practically seized fortune from the heavens!

Even he couldn’t imagine how his master had displayed such unbelievable power of the Dao of the Sword in that attack.

“Die!” Huo Yao bellowed and rushed in, sword swinging. His gaze was utterly vicious, and his aura was increasingly violent and explosive. He poured practically the entirety of his cultivation base into his swordsmanship.

He simply didn’t dare to hold back!

In the face of this onslaught, Su Yi naturally wouldn’t show mercy.

In the past, despite the countless secret arts and wondrous methods at his disposal, his cultivation had limited him. Many of his divine abilities had been difficult for him to realize. But things were different now that he’d broken through and become an Emperor!

A new realm came with newfound strength. He could finally use all of the supreme abilities he’d mastered in his past life!

Su Yi’s blue robes and long hair billowed around him as he took a step forward. With a casual gesture, indomitable sword qi burst into being, and a clanging sword hum reverberated throughout heaven and earth.

One streak of sword qi was as radiant as the sun sweeping through the skies.

Another was as fleeting as rain or smoke, as ethereal as a flowing beam of light.

Another was like the river of stars pouring down from the nine heavens, or the moon rising over blue seas.

Every streak was full of sword intent rife with profundity and immeasurable divine majesty. Their power spread as far as the eye could see, as if an immortal of the sword had descended upon the world, swinging his weapon throughout the human world.

So ethereal and transcendent, yet so forceful and tyrannical!

Even more terrifying was that no matter how ferociously Huo Yao fought, and no matter what level of swordsmanship he displayed, Su Yi broke through in a direct confrontation.

Just a few breaths of time later, Huo Yao’s offensive was falling apart. He was so thoroughly suppressed that he couldn’t even lift his head.

He fought increasingly conservatively. He had no choice but to passively block Su Yi’s attacks.

As time passed, the situation worsened. Beneath the power of Su Yi’s Dao of the Sword, it didn’t matter how much power Huo Yao pumped into the Scarlet Dome of Heaven. He still seemed unbearably weak, and he was still relentlessly stifled.

Su Yi’s expression remained calm from beginning to end. His entire body surged with sword intent, as if there were no end to it. Every time he attacked, his overflowing sword intent left Huo Yao with nowhere to run or hide. He could only steel himself and clash with it directly.

But after each such direct confrontation, Huo Yao’s predicament worsened.

Ten snaps of the fingers later, Huo Yao was riddled with wounds, and his clothing was in tatters. Crisscrossing gashes covered his skin, and his flesh was ripped open and bleeding.

Thirty snaps of the fingers later.

Huo Yao’s hair was disheveled, and he repeatedly coughed up blood. His face was as white as paper, and his bloodshot eyes were full of lingering astonishment. He was becoming hysterical. He started yelling, as if he’d gone insane with bitterness, as if he were a caged beast.

Outside the battlefield, the four Profound Serenity experts felt chills in their limbs.

The reincarnation of the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force was just too strong! Huo Yao had been thoroughly suppressed since the start of the battle. His attacks had fallen apart, and he was covered in injuries. He was completely helpless to fight back!

In stark contrast, Su Yi hadn’t been scratched once from beginning to end, nor had he been stopped for even a moment. Even his calm expression had never so much as wavered. And it was this very air of invincible, one-sided suppression that shook everyone watching to the core!

From the moment Huo Yao began his cultivation, it was Master who guided him and helped him establish his foundations. It was Master who taught him his cultivation technique and swordsmanship, too. Given the circumstances, how could he possibly be a match for Master?

Ye Luo’s sharp, unblinking gaze was locked onto the battlefield. And besides, when it comes to swordsmanship, no one in the Wilds can compare with Master. Huo Yao was foolish to think his superior cultivation meant Master couldn’t beat him; that’s nothing but the ravings of a madman. It’s ludicrous to the extreme!

However, witnessing Su Yi’s display of power left Ye Luo incomparably astonished too. It’s actually possible for early-stage Profound Illumination Emperors to be this strong?

Just what kind of taboo, heaven-defying path is Master walking down now that he’s reincarnated?

Suddenly, Huo Yao’s hysterical roar boomed throughout the battlefield. “What are you lot just standing there for!? Quick, attack him! If I die, you won’t be getting out of here alive either!”

The four Profound Serenity Emperors shuddered from head to toe, as if awakening from a dream. They looked at each other, then immediately took out their treasures, gnashed their teeth, and shot into the fray.

It was just as Huo Yao said. If they didn’t combine their powers, none of them would escape this calamity alive! Even fleeing wouldn’t do the trick, because Ye Luo was eyeing them hungrily from a distance!