Chapter 1269: East Radiance Mountain, Heroes' Arena

“Ghost... Ghost King of Mount Mang... Yin Wufa...?”

“Twenty-ninth on the Earth Champions Ranking...”

“The Mad Lord... he... he defeated the Ghost King of Mount Mang? But the Ghost King’s a Half-Sage... this... this must be a mistake, right?”

“He didn’t defeat him, he

killed

him!”

“No, the Mad Lord both defeated

and

killed the Ghost King of Mount Mang. Read the notice carefully. It mentioned that the Mad Lord first defeated Yin Wufa fair and square before using the Earthly Sovereign Bell to kill him. In other words, a Great Grandmaster had defeated a Half-Sage. What an unbelievable feat it was!”

“It must have been, what, sixty years since this last happened? Maybe even longer?”

It was not unusual for a Great Grandmaster or a Great Trueman to overcome their cultivation gap and defeat a Half-Sage, but the Ghost King of Mount Qi was no ordinary Half-Sage. He was a Half-Sage on the Earth Champions Ranking. Named Half-Sages had killed other named Half-Sages since forever, but there hadn’t been a single Great Trueman or a Great Grandmaster who defeated a named Half-Sage in the past sixty years or so. That was because the gap between the top thirty champions of the Earth Champions Ranking and everyone else below was like heaven and earth.

But now, Ye Qing had broken that record. He had done what no one had done for at least sixty years.

“To gather all the sunlight of the sky into a punch that suppresses evil... this battle deserves to be remembered for ages to come!”

“To think that a record that has stood for at least sixty years was finally broken once more... It is my honor, no, the world’s to witness such an achievement during our lifetime!”

“That battle must have been like no other, and the Mad Lord... I only wish I was there to see it! What a shame! What a shame!”

The crowd could not help but exclaim in astonishment and wonder for a time.

“Grandpa... who’s the Ghost King of Mount Mang? Is he strong?”

It was at this moment an innocent voice asked a question.

“The Ghost King of Mount Mang is a very strong, very bad person. He harmed many people and did many evil things. When you grow up, Nan Nan, you must take care never to become a bad person like him. Otherwise, a great hero like the Mad Lord will come and kill you one day.”

“Nan Nan doesn’t want to be a bad person. Nan Nan wants to be a great hero who kills bad people just like big brother Mad Lord!”

“Good. That is why you need to study hard now, Nan Nan.”

“But why? Nan Nan wants to learn martial arts. How else can Nan Nan become like big brother Mad Lord?”

“Because those who study know what is right and what is wrong. Those who didn’t may be strong, but they will become a bad person like the Ghost King one day. Only by studying can you become a great hero.”

“Okay. Nan Nan will study. Nan Nan will become a great hero like big brother Mad Lord when he grows up!”

“You must study hard then, Nan Nan!”

“Mm! Nan Nan will study hard!”

The young child shouted while waving his fists.

......

The crowd could not help but break a smile after listening to the child’s innocent declaration.

At the same time, the conversation made them realize that Ye Qing had done a great service not just to the

jianghu

, but also the ordinary people with his killing of Yin Wufa.

After all, the Ghost King of Mount Mang Yin Wufa was one of the most notorious villains not just in Wei, but also all four realms of Spring and Autumn.

He was ranked way higher on the Black List than he was on the Earth Champions Ranking, the eighteenth to be exact.

So heinous and numerous were the Ghost King’s misdeeds that one could not fit them all in one scroll.

Yin Wufa was a practitioner of the ghastly ways. By chance, he received the inheritance of the ancient Great Emperor of Mount Mang and obtained two Strange Artifacts. It was a Judge’s Brush and a Book of the Underworld.

The Judge’s Brush could judge a person’s good and evil, life and death. The Book of the Underworld could show one’s living name and yin lifespan.

After obtaining the two treasures, Yin Wufa killed countless innocents in order to further his cultivation. He once transformed not one, but several commanderies into a living hell and made the people living in them into his ghastly slaves.

Later, Yin Wufa’s ambition swelled to greater proportions. He desired to emulate Fengdu and create his own office of the dead. He wished to name himself the king of the dead. So, with the Judge’s Brush and the Book of the Underworld, he transformed thousands and thousands of kilometers of land into the land of ghosts. He founded his own ghost kingdom of Mount Mang and called himself the Ghost King of Mount Mang, ruler of countless living and dead.

Anyone whose name was written into the Book of the Underworld and judged by the Judge’s Brush would enter his ghost kingdom after they perished. They would turn into his ghost slave, damned to never enter the cycle of rebirth for eternity.

That was why the ordinary people of the Wei and the

jianghu

had suffered in the hands of the Ghost King of Mount Mang for a long time.

For obvious reasons, the imperial court of Wei, Lanke Temple, Ling Xiao City and more orthodox sects had tried to take out Yin Wufa. Unfortunately, by the time they took action, Yin Wufa had already cemented his power. Not only that, he was as strong as he was cunning, despicable, and shameless. By using his own ghost kingdom and countless innocent lives as hostages, he was able to threaten the imperial court and the orthodox sects of Wei into restrained measures, meaning that they could never go all out and wipe him out once and for all. They could only watch as he continued to abuse his power as he pleased.

Therefore, Ye Qing’s killing of Yin Wufa definitely counted as an act of justice, virtue, and good karma. Countless people of Wei owed him a favor.

“Quiet down, please. Quiet down!”

Basking in the noise, the old shopkeeper of Jade Capital Teahouse gave himself a nod of satisfaction before declaring, “This old one has one more thing to inform you all!”

The shopkeeper of the Jade Capital Teahouse could not be ordinary. His voice easily overwhelmed the noisy clamor.

“The Mad Lord requested the White Jade Capital and Jade Capital Teahouse to inform all heroes under the heavens that he would be holding a heroes' arena at East Radiance Mountain on the thirteenth of April. Anyone and everyone is invited to challenge him.”

“Heroes' arena?”

“What is the meaning of this? What is the Mad Lord planning?”

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

“Patience, my friends. Allow me time to elucidate.”

After motioning the crowd to quiet down once more, the old shopkeeper began, “Everyone wants the Earthly Sovereign Bell, so the Mad Lord is offering everyone a chance to obtain it. Hence, the heroes' arena.”

“Heroes are expected to duke it out in the heroes’ arena. It will be a no bars hold battle where victory or defeat, life or death are solely decided by the combatants. No matter the reason, anyone who travels to East Radiance Mountain can enter the heroes’ arena and challenge the Mad Lord. Anyone who manages to defeat and kill the Mad Lord in the heroes’ arena shall receive the Earthly Sovereign Bell from himself. They may lay claim to all other opportunities and fortunes as well.”

“What happens in the arena stays in the arena. This will be a battle witnessed by all four nations and people under the heavens.”

“Heavens... is the Mad Lord saying that he will challenge all warriors and heroes under the heavens singlehandedly?”

“That’s... just insane. He has completely lost it!”

“How bold and audacious! And yet, how unwise!”

For a time, no one could move a step. Ye Qing was basically declaring that, yo, you all want my Earthly Sovereign Bell, right? You all want my life, right? Okay! I’m not running anymore. I’ll be waiting for all of you at East Radiance Mountain. Come if you dare, fuck off if you don’t. Those who manage to defeat me or kill me shall receive my Earthly Sovereign Bell, my possessions, everything.

If before Ye Qing still had a few slivers of hope to escape with the Earthly Sovereign Bell alive, now he had just dug his own grave.

Ye Qing was impressive, yes. There hadn’t been a single warrior who managed to kill a named Half-Sage as a Great Grandmaster or Great Trueman in the past sixty years or so. However, there were plenty of heroes under the heavens, and people stronger than Yin Wufa were everywhere. Ye Qing might not necessarily be a match for them.

Not only that, Ye Qing’s declaration was quite provocative if you really thought about it. Before this, there were those who were strong but did not think it was worth the trouble going after Ye Qing over the Earthly Sovereign Bell only. But now, Ye Qing had offended

everyone

with his so-called heroes’ arena.

Jianghu

people were hardly known for their sweet temper, and they were almost certainly going to pay Ye Qing a visit if only to prove that they were no cowards.

In other words, Ye Qing was challenging everyone under the heavens to a fight. The young man was dreaming of turning the entire

jianghu

upside down, singlehandedly.

Was this a realistic dream?

Of course not.

This was before mentioning the Sages as well. Sure, most Sages would not lower themselves to interfere with a “child’s quarrel” like this, but not all Sages were saints. Take the Boss of Westwind Inn or Ghost Taisui of Taisui Mountain for example. If they showed up, forget keeping the Earthly Sovereign Bell, even staying alive might be an impossible task for Ye Qing.

How foolish was that? How unwise?