Chapter 876: Black and Naked
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
There was an old saying that went, ‘A general should make judgements accordingly instead of following all of the emperor’s orders when he’s at the battlefield’. The same logic could be applied to killing a deserter without seeking permission during the critical times of war.
However, everyone was surprised when the old man thrust his sword forward but he ended up as the victim instead of that panicking disciple.
Shock, and horror.
The old man opened his eyes wide and spurted out a lot of blood from his mouth. He looked like he was overwhelmed with extreme disbelief.
That was because he couldn’t believe that his sword was slower than the disciple in front of him. After all, in his memories, the few disciples before him had never done anything extraordinary in the sect, especially the one who stabbed and killed him. He had always been quiet and mediocre.
“You…” The old man wanted to say something but his throat was clogged by his blood so he couldn’t finish his sentence.
Slas.h.!.+ That disciple removed the sword from the old man’s heart and threw it on the ground in a panic At the same time, the old man saw a smirk on that disciple’s face. It was very well-hidden and quickly disappeared completely after a split second.
Boom! The old man’s body collapsed onto the ground heavily. His face was purple, blood was gus.h.i.+ng out of his mouth nonstop, and even his body was shaking.
At this moment, that panicky disciples started freaking out even more. He kept wiping his b.l.o.o.d.y hands on his face and it looked gruesome.
“No… I don’t want to die. I want to live, I’m still young!”
“Hurry up and go, brother Li!” While that disciple was yelling, the disciples around him quickly grabbed him and ran towards the foot of Heaven Zen Mountain after going around the old man’s corpse.
All of these took place so suddenly and rapidly. The few disciples who had escaped disappeared from everyone’s vision in mere moments.
They successfully got away!
When a few disciples had succeeded, what would happen next?
It was obvious.
“Run, hurry up and run!”
“Don’t kill me, I don’t want to die too!”
“Hurry up and go!”
Soon, there were lots of shouting and yelling. The disciples that had already started backing off finally descended into chaos. They started running away in all directions without any hesitation.
Once the disciples started escaping…
The ministers and generals of the Four Great Empires who had been waiting for this moment all this while naturally wouldn’t wait any longer. Under the soldiers’ escort, Radiant Moon Empire was the first to leave, followed by War Pinnacle Empire and Holy Barbarian Empire.
“The Four Great Empires have already retreated. Shall we?”
“Go, go now!”
A single push would set everything in motion, not to mention if they were the Four Great Empires. Even though Great Xia Dynasty didn’t retreat, it didn’t matter if they did because three out of the Four Great Empires had already left.
Once the Four Great Empires left, the numerous sects of varying sizes couldn’t sit tight anymore.
These sects were mediocre and they were only here to join in on the fun. Were there any experts in these sects? Even the best amongst them only had a single Sage.
These sects were considered extremely powerful within the territories of the Four Great Empires and they were even the preferred choices of the n.o.bles.
However, in the Holy Region…
They were truly not worthy of mention. Even powers like Xuanji Sect and Shadow Sect had more than one Sage, not to mention the Five Sects of the Holy Region.
To put it simply, the addition of their power was insignificant. The tide of the battle wouldn’t change with or without them.
Most importantly, they were up against the Monster race.
There was a staggering number of 30 to 40 Monster Kings in the sky, led by the strongest master in the Holy Region, Monster Emperor Baizhi. With such an elite force, they could effortlessly annihilate these sects.
Fight?
That would be suicidal!
Every person was selfish. Although not everyone wanted to escape, when a portion of the people started to demonstrate their selfishness, the outcome would be uncontrollable.
“Sect master, are we going to fight?”
“Fight? My a.s.s! How could a small sect like ours join the fight? Even Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shans.h.i.+ are going to die! Tell the disciples to retreat now!”
“Yes!”
All the sect masters started ordering their sects to retreat. Once the first sect was gone, more sects followed suit… Soon, the stream of people escaping started growing and eventually turned into a ma.s.sive flood. They were running down Heaven Zen Mountain in all directions crazily as if they wished they had another pair of legs so that they could run faster.
“Second Hallmaster, shall we stop them?” The old man standing beside Dao Xin held his sword tighter as he watched the sect masters and disciples escaped.
“That isn’t necessary… It’s already too late. Stopping them would only lead to more pointless casualty and hatred.” Dao Xin glanced at them and shook her head softly. Then, she raised her head and said thoughtfully, “I’ve always heard about Demon Race’s Yun Qingwu, who is weak but extremely scheming. The Demon race trusted that she would become their hope. Now that I’ve seen her… I realized that she’s truly terrifying!”
“Terrifying? Second Hallmaster, is there anyone in the Holy Region who would dare to compete with your wisdom and gambit? Why would you have such a high opinion of Yun Qingwu?”
“What do you think is the main criteria for judging a person’s wisdom?”
“Well… I suppose it’s control over the overall situation?”
“No, it isn’t too difficult to control the overall situation with as long as there is enough information. You always have to look at the details to judge a person’s wisdom.”
“Details? I don’t understand.”
“What do you think of the disciple who panicked and ran away just now?”
“That disciple? Second Hallmaster, are you suggesting… Wait a minute, are you suggesting that his escape wasn’t coincidental?” The old man jolted at this moment with a mixture of emotions in his expression.
“There are many coincidences in this world, but this is definitely not one of them!” Dao Xin shook her head and replied. Then, she clenched her fists and continued, “Her plan is so meticulous that she had even arranged for people to initiate the escape beforehand. I’m afraid that Yun Qingwu… Is more terrifying than Monster Emperor Baizhi!”
“Second Hallmaster, Yun Qingwu has disappeared!”
“What?!” Dao Xin’s expression changed dramatically.
…
The fierce fight at the top of the Tree of G.o.d was still ongoing.
However, unlike before, the stalemate had already been broken. Due to Monster Emperor Baizhi’s insane counterattack, both Mo Shans.h.i.+ and Mu Qingfeng were already severely injured and pale as a sheet, and their aura was alarmingly unstable.
If Yan Yin and Qian Yu didn’t exert all their might to keep Baizhi in check, Mo Shans.h.i.+ and Mu Qingfeng would be dead already.
Although the fierce fight was continuing, the outcome was already predetermined.
Just as the escaping disciples underneath had thought, this battle would end with mankind’s defeat. After this battle, the Monster race that had hidden inside the Great Swamp for over a decade would finally regain freedom.
Most importantly, the result of their defeat wasn’t as simple as that. That was because Nangong Hao was still in Monster Emperor Baizhi’s hands.
“Mother.” At this moment, they heard a soothing voice from the other side of the Tree of G.o.d. It was sudden but not unexpected.
“Mother?!”
“She called Baizhi ‘mother’? Just as expected, she is the daughter of Monster Emperor Baizhi and Emperor Yun of the Demon race from back then!”
Mo Shans.h.i.+ and Mu Qingfeng, both severely injured, obviously spotted the person on the other side of the tree. Her long, snow-white dress was hardly unnoticeable.
Although they had both speculated about Yun Qingwu’s ident.i.ty since the beginning, they were still a little surprised when they found out about the truth.
“Hmm? Why did you come up?” Monster Emperor Baizhi looked somewhat astonished and slowly turned towards the source of that voice.
“He’s dead. I’m here to take a look.” Yun Qingwu’s answer was exceptionally simple. In fact, it was so simple that they could hardly believe it.
However, that was Yun Qingwu’s actual answer.
‘He’s dead…’
‘I’m here to take a look.’
It was such a natural answer, but was it really appropriate under such a condition and in the midst of such a fierce fight?
Baizhi’s lips moved. A variety of emotions flashed across her jade-green eyes. There was surprise, anger, and confusion. However, she only said a single sentence ultimately, “Well then, take a look.”
‘Well then, take a look.’
‘… Take a look.’
Baizhi’s words echoed in the air. When Mu Qingfeng, Mo Shans.h.i.+, Yan Yin, and Qian Yu heard that, it was as if a rock dropped into a peaceful lake.
The ripples represented the shock in their minds.
Monster Emperor Baizhi, a Nine-Tailed White Fox who was so powerful and arrogant, and even rumored to have abandoned Yun Qingwu right after she was born, was somehow so ‘gentle’ today.
‘What exactly have Yun Qingwu done?’
Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shans.h.i.+ glanced at each other, both seeking an answer, but to no avail.
Only when Yun Qingwu slowly walked out from the other side of the Tree of G.o.d and headed towards Fang Zhengzhi, did they discover that there were several people following her.
They were all shrouded by black cloaks.
Each of them exuded a chilling aura. Unlike the Monster race’s demonic aura, their aura was colder and more arrogant.
“Are all of the Elders of the 10 Devilish Domains here?” Mu Qingfeng asked while suppressing the undulation of his chest with one hand. He looked deeply worried.
“Pavilion Master Mu, that is a meaningless question. Did you think that I, your enemy, would unveil all my hidden aces before the outcome is determined?” Yun Qingwu replied with a question instead.
“Before the outcome is determined?” Mu Qingfeng squinted. He glanced at the armies and disciples that had completely lose their fighting will below, then at Monster Emperor Baizhi, who had fully transformed into her Monster Body, before smiling bitterly and continuing, “If you call this an undetermined outcome, I guess that this battle is already a lost cause for mankind.”
“Pavilion Master Mu, are you giving up?”
“No, I definitely won’t!”
“However, you have already given up in your heart, haven’t you? If you haven’t given up, why are you chatting with me instead of fighting?” Yun Qingwu responded calmly.
“You… Hahaha. Good job, Yun Qingwu. Turns out that I’d not taken you, the Young Lord of the Demon race, into consideration for so many years.”
“It wasn’t just me that you did not take into consideration. It was the entire Monster and Demon race. I’m afraid that us lying dormant for over a decade had long given you the idea of a peaceful era, isn’t that right? As the saying goes, ‘It’s easy to conquer the world but hard to defend it’. I believe that Pavilion Master Mu didn’t have an easy time guarding the world over the past dozen of years!”
“You’ve definitely secured the position as the Demon Young Lord just with that insight alone!” Mu Qingfeng was a little startled when he heard that, but he quickly turned grim.
“Haha, humans are the same as always, including Mu Qingfeng. I’m afraid that no one could beat you guys in conforming to the same old rules and traditions.” At this moment, Monster Emperor Baizhi scoffed and said. Then, she took a step forward, with purple lighting coiling around her paw, and continued, “Mu Qingfeng, what if I told you that the true leader of this battle is actually Qingwu, and even I would have to obey her orders? How would an old conformist like yourself feel?”
“What?! That little kid is the leader?!” Mo Shans.h.i.+ already exclaimed with extreme shock before Mu Qingfeng could say a word.
In fact, even Yan Yin, as well as the Sages and disciples below, couldn’t believe what they had just heard.
The true leader of the Monster race and Demon race…
Was the fragile Yun Qingwu rather than the strongest master in the Holy Region, Monster Emperor Baizhi.
“How is that possible?”
“How old is she… How could she have the authority to lead both the Monster and Demon races?!”
“Even if she’s the leader, it should only happen after the Monster Emperor step down, right? How could she be the leader when the Monster Emperor is still in command?”
The Sages and disciples obviously couldn’t believe that.
However, when they saw the Monster Kings’ emotionless expression, they were truly shocked to their cores.
That was because they didn’t look surprised at all.
Yun Qingwu!
An exceptionally weak and young woman, was actually the true leader of the Monster race and Demon race, the highest in command behind the scenes.
That was the fact, but it was also an unbelievable fact.
Yun Qingwu remained calm and peaceful despite their reactions. She had focused on Fang Zhengzhi all along.
“Fang Zhengzhi, are you really dead?” Yun Qingwu looked at his body and mumbled softly.
Fang Zhengzhi’s body was pitch black.
He was burnt by fire, and his long, blue robe had been reduced to ashes a long time ago. Even his skin was so scorched that smoke was coming out. He was basically naked.