Chapter 480: The End of the Journey to Beimang (Part 2)

The border of Beimang.

In a desolate little town.

The first in the Martial Evaluation faces the third in the Martial Evaluation.

Two formless auras of Qi rise up.

One is ethereal and vast, the other is fierce and murderous; they collide back and forth.

A roaring sound echoes all around, and the earth seems to tremble.

A pebble located between the two shatters with a boom, turning into dust. The walls on both sides of the alley are also shaking, as if they might collapse at any moment.

The instant their gazes meet, it is as if a string of sparks explodes.

Rumble!!

The Qi keeps clashing, as if it had substance. The force of the energy bursts and roars in succession, the vented power surging in all directions like a hurricane.

With a "Boom," the walls on both sides of the alley finally cannot bear it; cracks bloom one after another, and then they turn into rubble that spills outward.

Whoosh!

A moment later, both auras dissipate simultaneously, and the wind turns light and the clouds calm.

Tuoba Pusa lets out a cold snort, his complexion turning slightly pale.

He was originally sitting on a coffin, but before he knew it, he had stood up, like a high mountain rising from flat ground.

Yet even so, in the clash of Qi, he still lost by a notch. Because of this, this high mountain does not give people a feeling of how tall it is; instead, it is plain and unremarkable, nothing more than this.

"A fine Murong Tonghuang, you are worthy of being first in the Martial Evaluation." Tuoba Pusa looks coldly at Murong Tonghuang, secretly regulating the slightly chaotic Qi within his body.

Yu Liancheng stands with his hands behind his back, smiling slightly: "Great heroes think alike; I also feel I am worthy of being first in the Martial Evaluation."

The corners of Tuoba Pusa's mouth twitch, and he turns his gaze to Tuoba Chunsun's coffin, sighing leisurely: "Since he was walking the Edo, it is only natural that he died; don't you people of the Central Plains have a saying, 'Edo disciples die in the Edo'? Of course, this saying also applies to you. So I specially prepared a coffin for you. As the first in the Martial Evaluation, you shouldn't end up as food for wild dogs."

Yu Liancheng chuckles: "I actually think this coffin fits you perfectly, regardless of length, width, or weight."

"It's just a pity that the only one dying today can be you, the number one in the world."

Yu Liancheng raises an eyebrow: "Oh, you are very confident?"

"Wang Laoguai has been invincible in the world for sixty years; I admit I am no match for him. And since you can defeat him, I am certainly no match for you either. But I am not a Edo martial artist like Wang Xianzhi; I am a soldier of Beimang. So, in order to win, I will use every means possible, bullying the few with the many—I trust you can understand that."

Tuoba Pusa's tone is calm and unhurried, as if he is certain of success and has everything under control.

"Hehe, you are the Murong Wudi whom everyone under heaven knows. If we were to fight one-on-one, it would seem we don't respect you enough." Just then, a clear voice rings out, carrying a slight hint of mockery.

"Us attacking together might be a bit unfair. But fortunately, besides us few here, there are no outsiders, so we don't have to worry about losing face." Another aged voice comes out, sounding slightly shrill.

Following that, one person after another speaks in turn. Each person's voice does not seem loud, as if spoken casually, yet it echoes back and forth in the small town; clearly, they are all people possessed of profound internal energy. Moreover, the voices come from all directions, faint and ethereal, appearing illusory yet real, making it impossible to guess their location.

Yu Liancheng picks at his ear and chuckles: "I thought Beimang was full of rough men, decisive and direct, fighting at the slightest disagreement, but I didn't expect you all to be such nagging hags, so noisy. But I'm not in a hurry; you all might as well continue talking. After all, I've never liked getting angry with people who are about to die."

The entire town falls silent instantly.

"A fine Murong Tonghuang, truly the waves of the Changjiang push the ones in front; you are arrogant indeed. After I take your head, I will make it into a wine vessel for us to enjoy day and night."

"Let me be the first to test Murong Wudi."

As soon as the voice falls, a black shadow descends from the sky with a fierce, blade-like energy, appearing several zhang away from Yu Liancheng, his body spinning rapidly to become a raging tornado.

The walls on both sides of the narrow alley, shattered by the collision of Yu Liancheng and Tuoba Pusa's Qi, now have their rubble swept up. With a long whistle, it carries thousands of fine, fragmented blade energies toward Yu Liancheng. It is overwhelming, like countless arrows piercing the air; the air whistles, and both the momentum and speed exceed common imagination.

"Fifth Hao offers this blade as a tribute; please, Murong Wudi, give your appraisal."

The man who unleashed this blade is a middle-aged man; he is powerfully built with a rugged face, possessing the typical facial contours of a Beimang man, though his attire is closer to that of the Southern Court's remnants. In the man's hand is a black-sheathed blade made of black python skin, with a cord tied to the scabbard and a cluster of golden silk tassels at the end.

This person is none other than Fifth Hao, Mountain Master of the top-tier Beimang sect, Tibing Mountain. He is among the top experts of Beimang, having entered the Finger Profound Realm ten years ago, and has close ties with the Beimang Dynasty.

Facing the incoming rubble and shattered blade Qi, Yu Liancheng taps his palm lightly into the air. The space in front of him immediately begins to vibrate violently, as if turning into a massive tidal wave, surging back and forth.

And the flying pebbles and blade Qi, once swept into this space, seem to fall into a quagmire, instantly stagnating and motionless.

With another burst of Yu Liancheng's palm force, the blade Qi and rubble immediately rebound and fly back, their speed several times faster than before, instantly enveloping Fifth Hao.

Fifth Hao clearly did not expect this, but his reaction speed is extremely fast, and he draws his precious blade once more.

The blade is named "Dragon Tendon." After the Beimang Female Emperor ascended the throne, she rewarded her meritorious officials, and Fifth Hao was bestowed this famous blade, which symbolizes the number one warrior of the Imperial Tent—a distinction not even the battle-hardened Tuoba Pusa received.

Swish! The blade light instantly turns into a brilliant, dazzling radiance, firmly protecting his entire body.

Bang bang bang!!

The rubble and blade Qi impact that mass of blade light, which is like flowing mercury, shattering one after another, but the blade light is also constantly dimming.

When the rubble and blade Qi disappear completely, the blade light collapses at the same time.

This Mountain Master of Tibing Mountain has exhausted his Qi and kneels on one knee, gasping for air. On his face and clothes are traces left by the blades; he is in a wretched state, a far cry from his earlier composure.

"The blade is good, but the blade technique is a complete mess. It's a pity that such a big name as the Mountain Master of Tibing Mountain is, after all, just a case of an empty reputation." Yu Liancheng shakes his head, ignoring Fifth Hao's extremely ugly expression, and slowly turns around, looking around the surroundings: "Come out, all of you. Do you still need me to invite you one by one?"

"Good, if you want to fight, then fight. All this chattering before killing someone—it's not like we're old lovers."

On the roof to the left, a slovenly middle-aged man sits, looking unkempt. He is burly with a thick beard. Seeing Yu Liancheng look over, he smiles and cups his hands in greeting: "Zhong Liang of the Zhong family, greetings. Tsk tsk, Brother Murong is truly handsome; you must have many lovers. It's a pity that if we weren't here to fight to the death today, we would definitely have to exchange notes."

Zhong Liang, one of the Ten Great Devils of Beimang.

Luoyang once spoke to Yu Liancheng about this person; among the nine devils behind her, only this person could make her look at him with respect.

This person's own strength is already astonishing, not to mention that his uncle is one of the twelve Great Generals of Beimang.

Swish! At this moment, a sword light breaks through the air and lands on the roof to the right. It is a middle-aged man carrying a sword, his face solemn and unsmiling. He coldly spits out five words, five words as sharp and cold as a sword.

"Chess Sword Music Mansion, Sword Qi Near, Huang Qing."

The Chess Sword Music Mansion is the massive sect where Huang Baozhuang resides, recruiting disciples based on Ci poetry titles. Among them, "Sword Qi Near" is one of the two most famous three-character Ci titles, representing the Master of the Sword Mansion.

The person before them is Sword Qi Near, Huang Qing.

One sword's cold light covers the thirteen provinces of Beimang; he is one of the few Sword Dao Grandmasters in the world, carrying the famous sword "Settling the Wind and Waves," and is known alongside Qi Jiajie of the Dongyue Sword Pool in Liyang as "Qi's Technique, Huang's Dao."

After that, several more people appear, namely Tieqi'er and Kouke'er from the Ten Great Devils of Beimang. This pair is a giant paired with a dwarf, with Kouke'er riding on Tieqi'er's shoulders. These two are notorious, similar to their fellow devil Xie Ling who enjoys eating human hearts, and they have a penchant for drinking the fresh blood of the living.

There is also the Web assassin nicknamed "One-Section Willow."

To deal with Yu Liancheng, the number one in the world, nearly half of Beimang's top experts have been dispatched this time, not to mention that among them is the Third in the World, Tuoba Pusa.

Yet this group of people still did not make a move.

They did not even look at Yu Liancheng.

Instead, they cast their gazes outside the small town.

At this moment, the setting sun was sinking, like an elderly person in the twilight of their years. Yet, unwilling to fade away just like that, it experienced a final burst of radiance; vast swathes of fiery clouds crowded the western sky, burning with incomparable brilliance.

At the end of the skyline, a golden figure suddenly appeared.

Although it was originally hundreds of feet away and could only be seen as a small dot, it still gave people a feeling of being tall, burly, and as sturdy as a Divine Human of the Heavenly Court.

Boom! Boom!

That golden figure came from the extreme distance, striding forward. With every step taken, it was as if a muffled thunderclap echoed between heaven and earth, kicking up rolling smoke and dust that blotted out the sky and sun. A single person was actually more imposing than a cavalry force of a thousand.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Every step this person took covered a distance of several dozen feet. It appeared slow, but in reality, it was approaching from afar like a flash of lightning. In the blink of an eye, the footsteps grew louder and louder, roaring heavily like a mountain collapse or a tsunami, with smoke and dust filling the sky. When the thunderous sounds ceased, everyone looked up and immediately saw a giant like a God standing impressively before them.

He was nearly a zhang tall, majestic as a mountain, his muscles bulging like Iron, displaying incomparable explosive power. Every inch of his skin was golden, and under the reflection of the setting sun, it shone even more brilliantly, emitting a sacred light as if a God had descended to the world.

He simply stood there, and it was as if he possessed a world-shaking power and presence. Yet, he gave people a feeling of depth and tranquility, like a vast, boundless ocean.

"Greetings, Ancestor Bronze Man."

Whether it was the number one swordsman of Northern Mang, Sword Qi, or the Military God Tuoba Pusa, who was Third in the World, all were very respectful toward this Bronze Man, cupping their hands in salute.

This was not only because this Ancestor Bronze Man had a terrifyingly high seniority, but also because he had once chosen to Open Heaven Gate himself; his strength was extraordinary, placing him among the very top in the world.

No matter where one is, strength is the most important benchmark.

Moreover, the influence of Ancestor Bronze Man went far beyond this. If Wang Xianzhi had been the whetstone for the Liyang martial arts world, then Ancestor Bronze Man was the whetstone for the Northern Mang martial arts world. From Tuoba Pusa to Murong Baoding, Sword Qi, and others, all without exception had sparred with Ancestor Bronze Man and had received his guidance and instruction.

Of course, unlike the Wudi City monster Wang Laoguai, who had been invincible in the world for sixty years and defeated all manner of experts, Ancestor Bronze Man was somewhat inferior. No matter who he faced, he only sought not to lose and not to win, almost never displaying absolute strength to crush another expert, as if every battle was fought with great difficulty.

But experts who had fought Ancestor Bronze Man knew that when he faced an enemy, he never used his full strength. Because he was preparing for the final battle against Heaven; that was the one battle he had to win.

Ancestor Bronze Man's eyes, as large as copper bells, stared at Yu Liancheng, his breath like thunder and his voice like a great bell: "What a brilliant and talented Murong Wudi. You have been in the martial arts world for only a short year, yet you have risen like a comet, unstoppable. Even that monster Wang Xianzhi was defeated by your hand. With your achievements in Martial Dao, you may not necessarily lose to the Lv Zu who appears once every five hundred years in the future. It is only a pity, it is only a pity that your future will be cut short by us today..."

Yu Liancheng did not pay him any heed, merely lowering his head with a look of contemplation, completely forgetting everything in the outside world.

With Yu Liancheng as the center, the eight great experts each chose a position, faintly forming an array.

Immediately following, eight streams of Qi surged and converged. Even though they had no prior experience working together, and perhaps had never even met, at this moment, the eight streams of Qi merged perfectly, forming a seamless whole.

Seeing Murong Tonghuang still lowering his head in thought under the pressure of the eight people's Qi, Demon Seed Liang could not help but ask: "Hey, Murong Wudi, what are you thinking about? We are about to start fighting, could you please be a bit more serious."

Yu Liancheng slowly raised his head and said word by word: "I am thinking, there are so many of you, but there is only one coffin left, it is not enough to go around."

"You..." The expressions of the crowd changed, their faces covered in a layer of frost.

Good fellow, facing the siege of a group of experts, this person not only did not think about escaping, but was actually thinking about wiping them all out.

"Truly young and vigorous." Ancestor Bronze Man said coldly: "Do you think that just because you are first in the Martial Evaluation, you are truly invincible and no one can deal with you? I might as well tell you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yu Liancheng's figure suddenly vanished, appearing before Ancestor Bronze Man like a teleportation. He raised his arm, his five fingers spread, his large hand blotting out the sky and sun, surging and roaring as it pressed downward, landing on Ancestor Bronze Man's hard, massive head.

Boom, boom, boom!

The veins on his palm bulged slightly.

In an instant, a power capable of overturning mountains and rivers and reversing the heavens and earth erupted.

Before Ancestor Bronze Man could even react to resist, his head had already been smashed heavily into the ground, and his entire massive body was buried into the soil. For a time, the ground trembled violently, mud and dirt flying everywhere, like an earthquake of the eighth magnitude.

"No need to say more, I don't want to listen." Yu Liancheng raised his palm, looking at the blood on it: "Now, I just want to have a good fight. Or... a good kill."