Chapter 1223: Fighting The True Lord

“Yes!”

The heavenly soldiers responded at once. While the drummers struck the drums to boost morale, the heavenly soldiers and heavenly generals charged toward Ye Qing.

“Hmph. Give me a horse!”

Ye Qing yelled, and a handsome bronze horse appeared beside him. He leaped onto its back, held his bronze halberd on one side, and charged straight toward the soldiers[1].

He was just one man, but his charge looked positively unstoppable and invincible.

It was like he was a one-man-army.

BOOM!

The two sides impacted, and it was the heavenly soldiers and heavenly generals that were flung away.

At the same time, Ye Qing swung his halberd left and right, cutting down dozens of heavenly soldiers and annihilating hundreds of heavenly generals.

No one could stop his charge. No one was a match for him.

Before him, the heavenly soldiers and heavenly generals might as well be chickens and dogs. Neither could take a single hit.

“Exhilarating!”

After killing the last soldier, Ye Qing let out a battle cry and pointed his halberd at the Sacred True Lord Erlang. “It’s your turn now.”

“Very well. I shall face you myself!”

Sacred True Lord Erlang wiped his forehead, causing his third eye to open and unleash a sheen of clear light.

Incredibly, both Ye Qing’s bronze halberd and bronze mount began melting bit by bit under the light. It wasn’t long before they were completely gone.

Ye Qing himself was unaffected though.

Seeing this, Sacred True Lord Erlang took a step forward and appeared in front of Ye Qing all of a sudden. Then, he swung his three-pronged fork at Ye Qing’s head.

Ye Qing blocked the blade with his left arm and punched Sacred True Lord Erlang’s chest with his right.

Bang!

Two bangs erupted at the same time. Ye Qing was pushed back thirty meters with a small wound on his left arm, while Sacred True Lord Erlang retreated twenty seven meters with a fist imprint on his chest.

Both the wound on Ye Qing’s arm and the fist imprint on Sacred True Lord Erlang’s chest disappeared in an instant though. Then, they clashed against one another once more.

Ye Qing was bare-handed saved for the dark yellow light surrounding his person. He abruptly closed the distance, blocked another swing with his shoulder, and punched Sacred True Lord Erlang squarely on his forehead.

Sacred True Lord Erlang bent backward like a prawn, but at the same time, he thrust the pole end of his fork forward with his left hand and hit Ye Qing squarely in the chest.

Instead of retreating, Ye Qing pushed forward and punched Sacred True Lord Erlang on the shoulder, staggering him with the weight of mountains. Before he could press the advantage, Sacred True Lord Erlang turned his halberd around and stabbed Ye Qing in the throat faster than expected, forcing him backward.

Ye Qing’s retreat was Sacred True Lord Erlang’s advance. He swung his three-pronged fork three hundred and sixty degrees and performed a downward strike that looked like it could split even the sea in half.

While Ye Qing was backing away from Sacred True Lord Erlang, he left behind footsteps that were surging with hidden force. They acted like obstacles that obstructed the flow of Sacred True Lord Erlang’s strike.

Even an ocean-splitting strike must come to an end eventually, and Ye Qing’s strength was infinite.

After Sacred True Lord Erlang’s strike reached its endpoint, Ye Qing pushed forward and forced him back instead.

For a time, the duo exchanged blows with each other non-stop. Neither attempted to dodge or retreat. You take a punch, I take a swing. Your punch reached the heavens and pushed me back three hundred meters, my swing split open the heavens’ gate and pushed you back a kilometer or two.

There were no glorious explosions of elements, no unimaginable occurrences of phenomenon. There was only a pure clash of strength and will.

That was enough to shatter the sky, split the earth, and blot out the moon and the stars.

For a time, both sides were locked in a stalemate. It looked like they were equally-matched with each other.

Not only that, their clash was only growing fiercer and more intense with each passing moment.

Suddenly, a black dog leaped out from underneath Ye Qing’s feet and clamped its full mouth of teeth around his right leg. Then, it pulled mightily.

The black dog was strong, and its appearance was sudden. Ye Qing never noticed its presence until it was too late. As a result, a punch that should have landed on Sacred True Lord Erlang missed completely.

The god wasn’t going to miss out on this golden opportunity, of course. His three-pronged fork shone brightly, and what sounded like the roars of dragons and serpents deafened the ears. Then, he landed a solid hit on Ye Qing’s forehead.

Boom!

Ye Qing flew backward and crashed into a mountain peak. The peak instantly collapsed and triggered a landslide.

Ye Qing did not linger though. He quickly flew away from the collapsing peak and stood in the air once more.

Ye Qing wasn’t looking very good though. The dark yellow light protecting him was dim, and both his face and his arms were covered in wounds. There were a pair of bite marks on his right leg, and the blade wound on his forehead was so deep that it exposed his skull.

On the other hand, Sacred True Lord Erlang looked perfectly fine. His black armor was intact, and his silver robe was flapping to the wind.

Beside his feet, a black dog was crouching and sticking out its tongue. The black dog looked small, but it was impossibly vicious. Its eyes were bloodshot, and its teeth gleaming an intimidating light. It was quite scary to say the least.

“The Howling Celestial Dog?”

Ye Qing glanced at the black dog crouching next to Sacred True Lord Erlang and grimaced instinctively. That bite had been seriously painful.

“Arf arf!” The black dog barked twice as if responding.

“You sure have a tough body...”

Ye Qing then shifted his gaze to Sacred True Lord Erlang and sighed wistfully.

“I practice the Eight Nine Profound Art. Eight transformations return to pure yang, and nine turns return to one. Therefore, my primordial spirit is eternal, and my body cannot be damaged by myriad tribulations. Who do you think you are to lay a hand on me?”

Sacred True Lord Erlang said disdainfully, “Now that you know of my power, surrender and submit to your fate already!”

“You know, you’re the kind who pants if someone calls you a fatty.”

Ye Qing sneered. “Do you really think you’re the real Sacred True Lord Erlang just because your body is tougher than normal, and you have a dog companion?”

“Check your reflection in your dog’s piss and ask yourself again if you’re worthy!”

“I will make you wish you were dead!”

Enraged, Sacred True Lord Erlang spun on his feet and grew another two heads and four arms on his body. Then, he charged toward Ye Qing. At the same time, the black dog hid itself in the darkness once more. It was obvious that it was plotting to give Ye Qing another bite when he wasn’t looking, the dog.

“You won’t live to see that moment.”

Ye Qing sucked in a deep breath, and the dark yellow light surrounding him thickened once more. His injuries immediately healed at an accelerated rate, and his height increased as he manifested the Earthly Sovereign True Body. Then, he charged toward Sacred True Lord Erlang.

Ye Qing became much stronger after manifesting the Earthly Sovereign True Body. He ripped off one of Sacred True Lord Erlang’s arms at the first exchange and exploded his head with the second. Then, he sent the headless body flying through the air with a punch.

Not done yet, Ye Qing stomped the ground like he was trying to shake all nine provinces. The black dog had just leaped out of the darkness when Ye Qing’s foot squashed it into paste.

However, Sacred True Lord Erlang immediately regenerated his broken arm and shattered head, and the black dog also returned to life in just the blink of an eye. The god laughed loudly, “Hahaha... I have mastered the Eight Nine Profound Art, so my divine body is indestructible. A mortal like you can never kill me!”

“Is that so? Let’s try again then.”

Unmoved, he clashed against Sacred True Lord Erlang once more.

Nothing changed though. Every time he severely injured Sacred True Lord Erlang, the god would instantly return to normal. It was as if he was a true god of war of the ancient Heavens.

1. And this is straight out of Dynasty Warriors. Specifically Lu Bu. ☜