Chapter 404. Ximen Erjin (1)

RAH!!!!

A thunderous roar erupted from the Righteous and Evil Alliance forces.

No one said what they were truly fighting for, but their cries were filled with frustration.

Seven hundred and fifty against two thousand seven hundred.

They were outnumbered. They had no powerful ally bearing the title of Empyrean Overlord.

The fate that awaited them had been decided. Despite this, their morale remained unshaken.

"At least your fighting spirit is worth seeing."

The Dark Heavens Association Lord was relaxed the whole time.

"What should we do about the Abbot and the Thunder Inheriting Saber?”

"Since they've come knowing they would die, capturing them won't lead to anything. I'll handle them."

“Understood.”

“Kill them.”

RAH!!!!

The Dark Heavens Association also shouted in response to their leader’s order.

As expected of martial artists, their roars were powerful.

Flutter!

The birds across the mountain, hiding in every corner, flew up in shock. The sound of their wings beating together sounded like thunder. The cries from their beaks were not chirps, but screams.

“Dark Heavens Association!”

"You ridiculous Shaolin shits!"

"Ximen Family, you pieces of shit!"

"Die!"

Shouts rang from all directions. A fierce battle had begun.

The Dark Heavens Association soldiers thought that the Righteous and Evil Alliance would be pushed back quickly because of the massive difference in numbers, but it couldn't have been further from the case.

The resistance held up surprisingly well.

“Shaolin Temple!”

They weren't called the Highest Peak Shaolin for nothing. As expected from the monks of the Shaolin Temple, known as the center of the Central Plains

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, they were not only imposing, but also skilled.

Due to their determination to die, they weren't easily pushed back.

"It's the Hundred and Eight Arhats!"

Above all, the presence of the Hundred and Eight Arhats, the largest and strongest force of the Shaolin Temple, or rather, the entire

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, was extraordinary. If the Mount Hua Sect had the Plum Blossom Swordsmen, the Shaolin Temple had the Hundred and Eight Arhats.

In fact, its status was higher than that of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen, and it was one of the most powerful groups in the entire

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, regardless of Righteous or Evil.

Without using tricks or deception, they were strong. Even the Warped Valor Star of the Dark Heavens Association would find it burdensome to fight them head-on.

“Die!”

A Seven Stars Division soldier aimed for the back of a monk and stabbed at him with a sword.

"You dare?!"

A Ximen Family warrior arrogantly blocked the sword aimed at the monk's back.

"Die!"

The warrior kicked the ground with the tip of his foot, sending up a burst of dirt that blinded the Seven Stars Division soldier trying to steady his sword.

“Ugh, you cowardly bastard!”

“I know!”

With a snicker, the Ximen Family warrior grabbed the struggling Seven Stars Division soldier by the face and slit his throat.

“Thank you!”

"If you don’t want to get stabbed from behind, use the terrain! There are many trees, so put your back to them, and since the slope is steep, it's good to kick them to make them fall!"

The Shaolin Temple, as befitting the Righteous Faction, was used to fighting according to the established rules because their natural skills were purely strong.

The Ximen Family, as befitting the Evil Faction, applied various tactics to their natural skills and skillfully utilized the environment.

This was the Righteous and Evil Factions, with their mindsets, movements, everything down to even their breathing methods were different.

It was impossible for them to achieve harmony, but they were able to help each other by complementing their strengths and weaknesses.

However, this battle still wasn't easy. The only reason they didn't fall easily was because they had fought fiercely with the determination to die.

“Abbot of Shaolin.”

The Dark Heavens Association Lord leisurely climbed the hill.

“It’s not too late. If you surrender to my Association and open the way, I promise that at the very least, my Shaolin Temple will survive.”[1]

“Namu Amitabha Buddha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.”

Hong Jin clasped his hands together and answered resolutely.

“It’s not too late. Acknowledge your sins, reflect on them, and end this war."

“Yes. I thought you would say that.”

The Dark Heavens Association Lord snickered and drew his sword.

"Come to think of it, the Fist Monk and the Divine Monk were your Senior Brother and Master, right? If we had the time, I would have told you the truth, but it's a shame I can't."

“The truth?” Hong Jin responded.

“Don’t get swayed.”

Ximen Erjin warned the monk while standing next to him.

“You idiot, have you already forgotten that the Dark Heavens Association’s specialty is lying and using ploys to create chaos?”

Ximen Erjin clenched his fists and took up a battle stance.

“Pillar of the Righteous Faction, don’t get shaken so easily.”

“Hahaha, a ploy?”

The Dark Heavens Association Lord laughed as if he found it amusing.

"Use your common sense. Do I really need to put in that much effort just for you?"

It's frustrating, but it's true.

Ximen Erjin gritted his teeth and thought.

I heard he was a monster, but I never expected him to be this strong...

Sweat rolled down his cheeks.

Summer was said to be over, but it was still too cold.

Ximen Erjin felt chills over his body, like he was standing in midwinter. Just facing the man before him made his muscles tremble.

I can't see the end of his Realm.

It was said that an Absolute Master achieved the Return to Origin, and that they looked like an ordinary person. That was how different the man in front of him was compared to him.

It's not that he can't control his strength. This monster just doesn't care enough to do so in the first place.

The abyss.

The more he looked into it, the more he couldn’t escape.

"Abbot. Remember our purpose. We defend, rather than attack."

Defeat was certain. It was doubtful whether they could even inflict a single wound, let alone fatal damage, on the Dark Heavens Association Lord.

“So, do your best to stop him as much as..."

He couldn't finish his sentence.

“Stop me?”

The Dark Heavens Association Lord appeared in front of him.

When did he—?

Ximen Erjin’s mind froze.

The Thunder Inheriting Saber was one of the few masters in the Evil Faction. As the head of the Ximen Family, he was in the Harmony Realm and was one of the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven.

Not only his cultivation, but his physical abilities were also extraordinary.

While his vision was incredible, his ability to sense aura or the presence of a being with his perception was also incredibly sensitive.

However, he hadn't even sensed the man before him at all.

Just like the legendary assassination group the Valley of Phantoms, the man's body disappeared and reappeared.

"Even if he's reached the ultimate point in martial arts, he's still just a person."

Hearing the man say exactly what he was thinking, as if he had read his mind, made his heart sink.

"If you think you can stop me, then go ahead."

The Dark Heavens Sword’s figure grew hazy.

I'm really going to die like this?

Ximen Erjin regretted his own decision once again.

It seemed foolish to have spoken so arrogantly to Hong Jin just now.

They couldn’t stop him. They wouldn’t even slow him down.

They were like ants being trampled by a person.

Still, Ximen Erjin didn’t give up.

His body, which had been trained for a long time, reacted to the enemy’s attack, but it was too late. No, more accurately, it wasn't particularly late.

The Ximen Family's saber technique was brutal and fast. Far from being slow, it was lightning fast.

However, of all the people, the one before him was the worst for him to face.

Of all the enemies, the one before him was the worst for him to face.[2]

Among the Six Empyrean Overlords, the Dark Heavens Sword was the fastest.

Ah, damn...

Before he could continue his thoughts, a dazzling light burst out, illuminating the darkness.

Clang!!

Right as the light blocked his vision, an explosion erupted, with a loud noise that rattled his skull and struck his eardrums.

His vision went white for a moment. As expected of a master of the

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, his senses quickly returned to normal.

Only then could he figure out what had happened.

“Hong Jin!”

“Are you okay?”

Before the Dark Heavens Sword reached his neck, a hand-shaped afterimage pierced through from the side and barely blocked it.

It was a peerless martial art of the Shaolin Temple and also a martial art renowned as the art of the Abbot of the previous era, the Divine Monk.

“Thousand Hands Salvation Art.”

The Dark Heavens Association Lord looked at Hong Jin with interest.

"That's not really a martial art known for its speed, is it?"

It wasn't for nothing that the Coruscant Realm was likened to the heavens.[3] Starting with basic physical abilities, everything about them surpassed ordinary humans.

Hong Jin was not an Absolute Master, nor was he skilled in any speed-based techniques, so it was remarkable that he had managed to block the Dark Heavens Association Lord's strike at just the right moment.

Hong Jin didn't answer the Dark Heavens Association Lord’s question.

What they were facing wasn't just a disadvantage, but a desperate situation. There was no way he would say anything that would be helpful to the enemy.

“Ah, that's right."

The Dark Heavens Association Lord suddenly spoke as if something had just come to mind.

Unfortunately, in addition to overwhelming strength, he also possessed a keen and calculating mind. He quickly deduced the reason.

"I commend you not for reacting in time, but for preparing for my blow in the first place. I don't know how you predicted it, but you actually protected the Thunder Inheriting Saber instead of yourself.”

Ximen Erjin opened his eyes wide in surprise at those words.

Hong Jin neither agreed nor denied it.

“Giving up your life for others, is that it?"

The Dark Heavens Association Lord sneered.

“What a noble and upright belief, but because of that, you've ruined your life.”

No!

Ximen Erjin gritted his teeth and slashed diagonally with his saber.

Although it might have been a low-leveled technique and a basic strike, it was made using the Triple Lightning Strike Saber, which was perfect for urgent situations because it could be quickly unleashed.

Clang!

Saber clashed with sword, ringing out in a long metallic screech..

The Dark Heavens Association Lord’s gaze was fixed on the descendant of the Divine Monk. The Triple Lightning Strike Saber’s splendid lightning didn't catch his eye.

The Dark Heavens Association Lord stretched out his left hand. No, it would be more accurate to say that it had already stretched out.

"Now, should we see if you can hold onto that belief of yours without your eyes?"

His fingers, the middle and index, extended like blades, cold and sharp as they hovered over Hong Jin’s clear, calm eyes.

Squelch!

“AGH!!!!”

Hong Jin released the clasped hands of the Thousand Hands Salvation Art, covering his face with his palms as he let out a scream.

It was a guttural scream, the primal pain of losing a part of his body.

From between his fingers, his eye sockets could be seen.

There was nothing beyond his eyelids. Instead of tears, blood gushed out.

“Abbot!”

Ximen Erjin grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back.

“Abbot of Shaolin, do you still see any sentient beings that need to be saved?”

Reality truly wasn't so easy.

"Of course you don't."

"It was bitter, not sweet."

"If you lift your eyelids, you'll only feel the pain of being burned by fire, and you won't be able to see anything else."

If you rely on someone, you'll get betrayed. If you hope for something, you'll despair.

A miracle was an unattainable hope, a lie.

"Because, those eyes which can't truly see reality are right there, rolling in the dirt."

Hong Jin and Ximen Erjin were Harmony Realm Masters.

They were as strong as their determination to die, but in the end, they were still just at the Harmony Realm.

They couldn't reach the Absolute Master who was at the level above them and had surpassed the limits of humans.

If something like this could have been achieved with just dreams or willpower, there would have been many Absolute Masters in the

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long ago.

“Did you think that if you died, something would change?”

The Dark Heavens Association Lord slowly lifted his sword.

“How ridiculous."

The sneer vanished from his lips.

What replaced it was an indifferent expression.

They couldn't tell if it was because of the change in the Dark Heavens Association Lord's mood, but they had the feeling that the surroundings were getting darker.

Shadows gathered under his hair. The whites of his eyes appeared unnaturally dark.

"If Yama, the King of Hell, asks why you've come to his doorstep, answer that it was because of your ignorance."

At the moment the Dark Heavens Association Lord’s sword was about to disappear...

“Urgent news! Urgent news!” An urgent shout stopped the Dark Heavens Association Lord’s movements.

“An order from headquarters to retreat for operational reasons!”

The Dark Heavens Association Lord’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

It wasn’t because he was annoyed that someone was giving orders to the master of the Dark Heavens.

So something must have happened.

His strategist, Blessed Existence, never issued an order without a reason. Just as every outcome had a cause, this command had one too.

While the Association Lord was undoubtedly the highest authority, the military and operational command had been entrusted to Blessed Existence.

The reason he gave Blessed Existence command wasn't because he was afraid of discontent or rebellion due to his prolonged dictatorship, nor was it because his operational authority had been forcibly taken away according to the leadership of the Association.

He had handed over command willingly to the scholar named Lu Cun, a Hanlin Academy graduate, because he knew better than anyone how valuable Lu Cun’s intellect was.

That was what made the Dark Heavens Association Lord truly terrifying. Not just his power, but his ability to let go of pride for the greater cause, even if he seemed like an arrogant dictator.

If Li Yicai was powerful because he knew what people wanted and handled that well, the Dark Heavens Association Lord was powerful because he knew how to place the right people in the right roles.

"Anything else?"

“The southern front was defeated. The Righteous and Evil Alliance in the south is currently moving north toward Hefei’s headquarters.”

“With the Yangtze River, it won’t be easy to cross it.”

“After Hong Xialang’s defeat, the Sixteen Stockades of the Red Forest were defeated!”

The Dark Heavens Association Lord frowned, seeming to be in a bad mood.

If they recapture Hefei, the morale of the Righteous and Evil Alliance will soar again. More importantly, Blessed Existence is there...

It would be a pity to waste the military supplies and weapons they had carefully stockpiled, but he was more worried about Blessed Existence's life.

He couldn't afford to lose Blessed Existence, the brains of the Dark Heavens Association, and the foundation of their great cause.

It was regrettable, but he decided to withdraw his troops.

Have we survived?

Ximen Erjin felt hopeful for a moment.

“How many enemies are left?”

"At a glance, around three hundred to four hundred."

"Good. The Blessed Existence Star will take command of the unit until I return.”

“Association Lord?”

“You go on first. I’ll catch up with you shortly.”

1. He's already assuming the temple will be his. ☜

2. This line is repeated with the change from other person to enemy. ☜

3. Empyrean Overlord literally means above the heavens. ☜