Chapter 302: The Death of the Vampire Prince (I)

What's this?

Gucci Vlad, a prince of the Vlad family, a family of vampire nobles, felt an intense suffocation and rage.

From all directions came sudden bursts of sword phantasms, and from every side appeared the cultivator from the Hua Republic. As a prince, he possessed overwhelming power. He could slice apart anything in his path, yet he could not even catch a trace of his opponent's shadow.

The vampire could only distribute most of his strength throughout his body to withstand the relentless waves of attacks that surged around him like the tide. He had essentially been reduced to nothing but a noble sandbag.

To retaliate, Gucci Vlad continuously drew upon the power within him, hurling one devastating blood-colored energy sphere after another at the figures surrounding him. However, the sword phantasms easily pierced through half of his attacks. The remaining half landed hundreds of meters away, blasting apart a few abandoned factory buildings and leaving uneven pits across the desolate ground.

In this unbalanced battle, the prince felt like a dull-witted gargoyle.

Gucci Vlad felt stifled. Having long heard of the various "spells" of the Hua Republic's cultivators, finding himself forced into such a passive position was due more to his own lack of preparation and to the opponent's undeniable strength and far more ingenious fighting style.

What truly infuriated the prince was the enormous jump in Wang Sheng's strength. Just moments ago, the two equaled each other in speed and power, forcing Gucci Vlad to take him seriously. He had even believed that their fight would be fierce and exhilarating. Rushing from the Saros border to the Saros capital and then going out of his way to meet in this empty wasteland had all been worth it.

Sure enough, in the first few minutes, Wang Sheng gradually excited Gucci Vlad. In fact, to show him respect and give him a dignified death, Gucci Vlad had used spatial blink—a secret technique of his bloodline—while they were still evenly matched to successfully "gravely wound" the Hua Republic cultivator.

Gucci Vlad was well aware of the destructive power within the two energy spheres that he had condensed with his full strength. Hence, he had assumed that the cultivator had been severely injured.

From there, he was supposed to prove the nobility of the vampires and his own greatness. He would then make the difficult choice between killing the Hua cultivator or making him his slave.

But the sword cultivator had defied his expectations. Having already gauged the strength of his Dao Body, Wang Sheng quietly made Flying Haze gravely wound Gucci Vlad, sending the vampire crashing down from the sky.

Gucci Vlad looked at Wang Sheng in disbelief.

That's impossible.

He had spent two and a half years perfecting his ultimate technique—the two energy spheres—and had unleashed them with all his strength. They had struck the Hua Republic cultivator squarely, with the massive crater on the ground serving as proof of his success. However, they appeared to have barely even damaged the cultivator's clothes.

Now, with an utterly calm gaze, Wang Sheng looked at Gucci Vlad with an expression that seemed to say, "Game over, Little Gucci."

Gucci Vlad grew enraged. He felt as though his noble life had been subjected to the gravest insult and slander. Unfortunately, before he could repair his wings, a flood of Flying Haze's phantasms flew toward him like a torrent, enveloping him completely.

A storm of ferocious attacks followed. The vampire prince was forced to spend most of his strength protecting himself. He even had to use the power of blood to shield himself from the destruction that the ancient longsword wrought. Otherwise, Wang Sheng would have dismembered him in an instant.

The vampire prince realized that Wang Sheng had completely suppressed his speed on land and crushed his combat techniques by an immeasurable margin.

What was that "fierce exchange" just now for, then? Was he merely testing my fists and wings? Was he only toying with me? Unforgivable! This is absolutely unforgivable!

"I will tear you apart! I will grind your bones into powder! I will feed your filthy blood to the lowest slaves!"

Wang Sheng's brow furrowed.

This bat fiend... doesn't seem to be speaking Gelan.

Wang Sheng had a meager Gelan vocabulary, but even that proved useless since the vampire prince was using an entirely different language. Nevertheless, the prince's fury was conveyed perfectly.

The vampire roared again and again as he hurled dark-red spheres with increasing speed. Smoke and dust billowed for a thousand meters around.

Although Wang Sheng seemed somewhat at ease, he was not being careless. This calm state of mind allowed him to attack more fluidly and think more clearly.

Chi Ling's intelligence had been accurate. Compared to the duke-level vampire he had previously slain, Gucci Vlad was certainly a tier stronger. However, vampires seemed to put too much emphasis on speed and strength, disregarding techniques or spells.

Wang Sheng had to acknowledge two things, though. Firstly, the Daoist heritage passed down from the Heavenly Court had a distinct advantage over the bloodline inheritances and other cultivation methods found on Earth. Secondly, thirteen years of heavenly tribulation tempering had strengthened his Dao Body so much that he could now confront a vampire prince head-on.

Can I share this method of "bathing" with my master and senior sister?

Wang Sheng thought about it and decided to consult them later. After all, heavenly tribulation was a taboo for cultivators, and calling one down just to temper his master or senior sister would be quite odd.

'Senior Sister, would you like to bathe together using lightning tribulation?' That image... Ahem. I should focus on my formidable opponent.

Vampire princes were almost at the peak of their race. They were undoubtedly strong and fast. Following normal progression, a Daoist sect cultivator would have to be at the Nascent Soul Realm to guarantee victory against them. Such an enemy would be a nightmare even for a Golden Core Realm cultivator.

However, realms alone were not enough to measure a cultivator's strength. Most Daoist heritage techniques did not require close combat.

Wang Sheng imagined other Heavenly Abode Realm cultivators facing the vampire prince. A talisman specialist could suppress him with a talisman formation, a formation specialist could trap him within formations until he perished, and a sword sect cultivator could defeat him with Sword-Controlling Art alone.

Different Daoist heritage branches all had methods to counter foreign devils as long as they were not caught by surprise. On the other hand, the vampire's straightforward fighting style would restrain those who specialized in curse arts, forcing them to retreat.

Wang Sheng could completely suppress the vampire prince thanks to the Heavenly Ziwei Sword Intent's precision and Spiritless's sharpness. Now, all he had to do was wait for the opponent to exhaust his defenses and then end the fight with ease. Unfortunately, he had to maintain this relentless pressure, preventing him from unleashing the full power of the Heavenly Ziwei Sword Art.

It's fine. This place is deserted anyway; I don't have to worry about anyone interrupting us.

The Seven-Star Sword Formation, the technique that led Wang Sheng into the Dao of the Sword, was now even more potent. Now that he was at the peak of the Heavenly Abode Realm and had a high-quality Golden Core, he had no fear of running out of enchanted power.

Although draining the opponent to death was less satisfying, securing a guaranteed victory was better than taking unnecessary risks.

Wang Sheng never stopped monitoring the wounds on Gucci Vlad's right wing, which Flying Haze had nearly severed and were now more than half repaired. A vampire prince's regenerative ability was truly astonishing.

However, Wang Sheng's Dao Body defied common sense. In terms of resistance to heavenly tribulation alone, he utterly outclassed his foe.

The vampire was secretly mending his wings. Although Wang Sheng could clearly feel the prince's rage and frustration, he was certain that the prince would not just sit still until he died. If it were him, Wang Sheng would already be thinking of ways to escape.

As a vampire prince, his means of escape would surely surpass those of lesser vampires. With the effect of the Prince's Eye still fresh in his mind, Wang Sheng did not dare let his guard down for even a moment.

The more the opponent seemed to falter, the more alert Wang Sheng became. Flying Haze waited at his side, ready to intercept at any moment.

Hundreds of meters above, Mu Wanxuan smiled faintly. She no longer watched in constant worry. The battle had become a one-sided slaughter. The moment her junior brother had "remembered" that he was a sword cultivator, he had firmly taken control of the battle.

She leisurely took out her phone. While scanning the area with her spiritual consciousness, she recorded the fight below to send a short video to their master and mistress.

It was a pity that aside from her recordings, no one else was around to witness the fight. Otherwise, the name of Wang Sheng, the young Daoist priest who wielded a sword, would have shaken the entire cultivation world of Earth within hours.

A minute passed, then three.

Wang Sheng's onslaught did not weaken even for a moment. Having nearly exhausted his strength, the vampire prince now appeared to be a spent force.

Gucci Vlad understood that if he did not risk everything now, Wang Sheng might just be able to truly dismember him in two more minutes. In the face of survival, pride, self-possession, and noble bloodlines meant little, especially to a race famed as "undying" like the vampires.

As the wounds on his wings finished healing, a surge of dense blood light erupted around Gucci Vlad. The blood light condensed into hundreds of arrows, which shot indiscriminately in all directions.

Wang Sheng seemed to have anticipated such a move, however. Sword phantasms burst forth as he unleashed the Seven-Star Sword Formation to its fullest potential. Forty-nine strands of sword radiance also converged on Gucci Vlad, shattering half of the blood arrows.

Gucci Vlad suddenly threw back his head and let out a shrill screech. A strange energy wave pulsed from his body. Before the forty-nine sword rays could converge, he vanished and reappeared in the air fifty to sixty meters away.

Teleportation?

With a flap of his flesh wings, the vampire prince fled without looking back, cursing as he went.

"I will make you pay! Just you wait!"

Wang Sheng frowned slightly. With a light motion of his left hand, the long-prepared Flying Haze appeared silently in Gucci Vlad's path, its seven-colored radiance shimmering as it sped toward the prince.

Trying to escape?