Chapter 574: Heroic Ode, East Wu Tian
“Is that so? Let me tell you, the Chen Clan is the master of the Eastern Domain.”
Within the Saint Prince Mansion, a young voice rang out, faintly carrying a tone of arrogance and dominance.
“Roar!”
Suddenly, the cry of a savage beast sounded. Above the Saint Prince Mansion, howling winds brewed, scattering the dark clouds in the sky.
A massive Bi'an beast, its body radiating golden light, charged out from the Savage Beast Lake deep within the Saint Prince Mansion. Its four hooves trod upon the void as it swiftly rushed past the mansion walls, charging straight at Ghost Saint.
On the back of the Bi'an beast sat a man who appeared quite young. He wore a suit of silver battle armor and carried a cyan-colored square-headed halberd. A red mole marked the center of his brow, and his eyes were like two blue thunderous orbs, emitting beams of light that pierced through the pitch-black clouds.
Seeing the man charging out, the members of the Chen Clan erupted in excitement.
“That’s... Saint Wu Tian...”
A young woman of the Chen Clan, upon spotting Chen Wu Tian on the Bi'an beast’s back, nearly fainted from excitement.
“Since Saint Wu Tian has stepped in, Ghost Saint is as good as dead. Provoking our Chen Clan will not end well.”
Saint Wu Tian, Chen Wu Tian, was the youngest saint of the Chen Clan, hailed as the clan’s greatest prodigy in thousands of years. At the age of seventy-two, he had stepped into the Saint Realm, earning the title “Wu Tian.”
Now, at just ninety-four years old, he was considered quite young among saints.
In the Kunlun Realm, there was a saying: “One cannot become a saint before a hundred years old.” This meant that reaching the Saint Realm before the age of one hundred was nearly impossible.
Those who could achieve sainthood before a hundred were invariably extraordinary talents.
Chen Wu Tian’s ascension to sainthood at seventy-two demonstrated just how astonishing his talent was, making him a spiritual pillar among the younger martial artists of the Chen Clan.
Seeing Chen Wu Tian charge out, Ghost Saint adopted a wary expression, beginning to fully mobilize the saintly qi within his body, channeling it into the Blood Soul Ghost Banner.
The Blood Soul Ghost Banner fluttered in the wind, emitting a “whoosh” sound.
In an instant, the world between heaven and earth was filled with yin winds. Ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine blood-red ghostly figures surged out from the Blood Soul Ghost Banner. Some stood in the void, others on the ground, taking on myriad bizarre forms, like a scene of ten thousand ghosts devouring a god.
“Chen Wu Tian, a mere junior like you dares to fight me? Today, I’ll teach you a lesson on behalf of the Eastern Domain King.”
Ghost Saint stood in the void, swinging the Blood Soul Ghost Banner outward. Instantly, the yin soldiers and ghost generals between heaven and earth surged toward Chen Wu Tian in overwhelming numbers.
Looking up from the ground, one could only see a patch of black yin clouds transforming into a clawing, bizarre shape, as if about to devour Chen Wu Tian.
It must be said that Ghost Saint’s cultivation was indeed profound, and the Blood Soul Ghost Banner he had forged was a remarkable battle weapon. Only now was he truly unleashing the power of the saintly path.
The people below all felt suffocated, as if the gates of hell had opened before their eyes.
“Ghost Saint’s strength is so formidable. No wonder the imperial court has sent troops to besiege the Nine Death Cavern multiple times without eliminating him,” said Third Senior Brother Wan Ke.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “So, is Chen Wu Tian a match for him?”
Wan Ke just smiled without answering.
From the clouds, a thunderous roar erupted.
“Break for me!”
Chen Wu Tian raised his square-headed halberd, gathering saintly qi, and struck forward. In an instant, he shattered the ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine ghostly figures, turning them into wisps of green smoke.
Ghost Saint maintained his cold, skeletal expression, but terror surged within him. He had never imagined Chen Wu Tian could be so powerful.
With just one strike, he had broken the Ten Thousand Ghost Formation.
Just as Ghost Saint retreated a step, he found Chen Wu Tian already before him. The tip of the square-headed halberd, like a streak of meteor light, thrust toward his face in an instant, aiming straight for his pupil.
Ghost Saint immediately swung the Blood Soul Ghost Banner to block.
“Rip!”
The square-headed halberd spun rapidly, forming a massive vortex that tore the Blood Soul Ghost Banner apart like a piece of tattered cloth, sending it flying away.
Ghost Saint tried to counterattack, but Chen Wu Tian was faster, swinging the halberd in a horizontal sweep.
“Pfft!”
The tip of the halberd tore a long, bloody gash across Ghost Saint’s abdomen, nearly cutting his body in two.
“If you’re called Ghost Saint, you should be a ghost. Why live as a human?”
Chen Wu Tian, brimming with heroic spirit, flickered and appeared before Ghost Saint. He struck out with his palm, hitting Ghost Saint’s chest, piercing straight through it, causing the flesh on his back to burst open.
Even from dozens of miles away, the sound of Ghost Saint’s ribs and spine breaking could be heard.
“Bang!”
Ghost Saint’s body was sent flying, crashing to the ground, severely injured and nearly half-crippled.
“Roar!”
From another direction, Hammer Saint’s body erupted with endless flames, turning a hundred miles into a sea of fire.
His body swelled, growing ten times larger, transforming into a giant war god. Every vein bulged, like iron chains buried beneath his muscles.
The Heaven-Shaking War Hammer in Hammer Saint’s hand also grew enormous, like a small crimson mountain.
The Heaven-Shaking War Hammer was forged from a celestial meteorite, and few among the saints could even lift it.
In terms of pure physical strength, Hammer Saint was among the top tier of the Black Market’s saints.
As his arm descended, the Heaven-Shaking War Hammer plummeted toward Chen Wu Tian’s head.
“Whoosh!”
Chen Wu Tian advanced instead of retreating, swinging his square-headed halberd with one hand, striking the Heaven-Shaking War Hammer and sending both the hammer and Hammer Saint flying.
“Hammer Saint’s strength is nothing special.”
Chen Wu Tian delivered a second strike, the halberd slamming directly into Hammer Saint, driving him into the earth, leaving a massive crater on the ground.
When Hammer Saint crawled out of the pit, everyone saw that the left side of his head was a bloody mess, with cracks visible in his skull.
Moreover, his left ear and left arm had been severed by the halberd, leaving half his body a bloody ruin.
Fortunately, he had dodged the vital points; otherwise, that strike would have killed him.
The younger generation of the Chen Clan was boiling with excitement, feeling a sense of exhilaration. Offending the Chen Clan would inevitably come at a heavy price, and even saints were no exception.
What is a true strong one?
This was a true supreme strong one!
Ghost Saint and Hammer Saint were both old demons who had been famous for over three hundred years, known throughout the Eastern Domain. In the eyes of ordinary martial artists, they were like gods and ghosts, and no one dared to disrespect them.
Yet, as soon as Saint Wu Tian made his move, he defeated both saints with lightning speed, naturally bringing great joy and boosting the morale of the Chen Clan.
“East Wu Tian, West Wu Fa. Truly a reputation well-earned; one can’t help but admire it,” Third Senior Brother Wan Ke sighed.
“East Wu Tian, West Wu Fa” was the first line of the “Heroic Ode.”
“East Wu Tian” referred to Chen Wu Tian of the Eastern Domain.
The complete “Heroic Ode”:
East Wu Tian, West Wu Fa. South Xin Shu, North Yu Tian. Central Domain Nine Provinces, countless billions. Ten years, a small era; a hundred years, a great era. A hundred years of Kunlun, who rules the rise and fall? In the “Heroic Ode,” the world unfolds.
The “Heroic Ode” encompassed the five most outstanding talents of the Kunlun Realm over the past century, and Chen Wu Tian was one of them.
For the five figures in the “Heroic Ode,” being ranked first on the “Heavenly List” was like a group of children fighting for first place—something they had long outgrown.
Chen Wu Tian rode on the back of the Bi'an beast, arriving before Ghost Saint. He pointed the square-headed halberd at Ghost Saint’s chest and said, “Just the two of you dare to cause trouble at the Saint Prince Mansion? Have you weighed yourselves?”
“Just the two of them? Of course, they wouldn’t dare to cause trouble at the Chen Clan. But what if I join in?”
At the edge of the sky, from within the dark yin clouds, an old man with a gaunt figure emerged.
The old man appeared to be in his seventies, dressed in simple gray-blue cloth robes, with long black hair and a pair of plain straw sandals on his feet. He looked utterly ordinary, with no trace of powerful energy emanating from him.
An old man like this could be found anywhere on the street—throw a stone, and you’d hit a dozen.
“Greetings, City Lord.”
Bu Qianfan and the various evil path cultivators of the Black Market all knelt on one knee, bowing respectfully to the old man.
Even the severely injured Hammer Saint immediately lowered his head and bowed.
Chen Wu Tian showed an unprecedented look of gravity, his eyes narrowing into slits. “So it’s the Nine Nether Sword Saint. If you, senior, were coming to the Eastern Domain Sacred City, why didn’t you notify us in advance?”
The Nine Nether Sword Saint was one of the three great sword saints of the Eastern Domain, as well as the city lord of Nine Nether City, a top-tier strong one of the evil path, a figure who commanded the wind and rain.
With just a stomp of his foot, the entire Eastern Domain would tremble.
“As expected of ‘East Wu Tian.’ The younger generation is truly formidable!”
The Nine Nether Sword Saint smiled faintly and continued, “This old man has come to the Eastern Domain Sacred City mainly for that junior from the Saint Academy. That brat killed this old man’s disciple, Huang Shenyi. Naturally, I cannot stand idly by. As long as the Chen Clan hands him over, I will turn and leave right now.”
Without needing the Nine Nether Sword Saint to name him, everyone knew he was referring to Zhang Ruochen.
It must be said that Zhang Ruochen had indeed offended the Black Market too deeply. The Black Market had invested great effort in cultivating a Young Master and seven Star Envoys, yet one after another fell at Zhang Ruochen’s hands.
First, Zhang Ruochen had dug out Di Yi’s demon heart, nearly killing the Black Market’s Young Master. Then, he had captured Ghost Saint’s disciple, Orange Moon Star Envoy, and killed the Nine Nether Sword Saint’s disciple, Yellow God Star Envoy.
Green Robe Star Envoy had not died at Zhang Ruochen’s hands, but he had perished in the Black Tortoise Ruins Realm, and the Black Market’s saints naturally blamed Zhang Ruochen for that as well.
Zhang Ruochen’s actions were essentially slapping the Black Market in the face, again and again.
How could the evil path martial artists of the Black Market continue to tolerate this?