Volume One, The King’s Decree Chapter Ninety-Two: An Irresistible Tide

Could there still be a Langya sword disciple hiding nearby? Duan Ming recognized the origin of that sword technique at once. It was unmistakably from Langya.

The Langya Sword Mountain had its own unique method of channeling inner force, and its sword forms bore distinct characteristics. Having grown up in Langya, Duan Ming knew them well. Just as he thought Sword One was about to have his soul shattered by heavenly thunder and become a powerful ghost general under his command, a sudden surge of sword energy blocked the strike and saved Sword One’s life.

How could Duan Ming not be enraged by that? “What gutter-born bastard is hiding around like a thief? Get out here and fight me!”

Though he shouted, his eyes swept carefully over every corner of the forest, while he commanded the ghost general to hack apart the thickets, determined to uncover the attacker.

“How can a Langya sword disciple be a sneak like you? Too cowardly even to show your face? You disgrace the name of Langya!” Duan Ming was also irritated. Before this, he had focused all his attention on Sword One. He had so desperately wanted to witness the sight of Langya’s mountain gate being broken by the very sword disciples he had nurtured.

The sweeping yin energy searched the forest and found neither the critically wounded Sword One nor the disciple who had saved him. When it was drawn back, it had been depleted a little instead.

“So you were hiding here. I kept wondering why I couldn’t find you. Out you come!”

With a flick of the small flag in his hand, heavenly thunder fell upon a great boulder, blasting it apart. Amid the flying fragments, a figure rapidly retreated, trying to withdraw beyond the range of the ghost generals.

Liu Xiaoyi was carrying Sword One on his back, and his movements were inevitably slowed. As the thunderbolt came crashing down, he lifted his sword in an upward sweep. Emerald light surged skyward and actually deflected the heavenly thunder by a few degrees, sending it crashing beside him.

“What sword art are you using? You can even block heavenly thunder, and you know Sword One’s secret technique too. If I take both you and Sword One, I wonder how much it will pain the elders of Langya?” Seeing that heavenly thunder could not deal with his opponent, Duan Ming did not grow angry; instead, he laughed. The truly formidable figures of Langya had not come. If he could seize more sword disciples now, then when he met those people later, they would have to think twice. Even using them as shields at critical moments would be worthwhile.

Liu Xiaoyi felt awkward. In truth, he had not intended to strike, but when Sword One unleashed that move, Crescent Moon Severance, he discovered that it was exactly the same as the first form of the nameless sword art he himself cultivated.

Out of curiosity, Liu Xiaoyi could not help but block the thunder and save Sword One’s life.

Even for a master like Sword One, there was no way to contend with Duan Ming. The ghost generals were simply too many, and the heavenly thunder in Duan Ming’s hands could be summoned at will, released with ease. To withstand one strike was possible; to withstand ten was not.

But when he saw the thunderbolt veer off course, Duan Ming was somewhat disbelieving. He repeatedly waved the small flag, dark clouds thickening overhead as rolling bolts of thunder fell one after another. Liu Xiaoyi hopped and dodged step by step, his Green Radiance Sword moving with astonishing speed. Whenever the heavenly thunder was about to hit, it would alter course the instant it touched the sword and land beside him instead.

Liu Xiaoyi also discovered that the Soul-Luring Divine Radiance actually worked on those thunderbolts. The yin energy seemed deeply afraid of that light; it only circled at the edges, daring not to come within half a step.

With that radiance as his confidence, Liu Xiaoyi no longer panicked. He pointed the tip of his sword at Duan Ming and said, “Traitor to Langya, dare you march into the capital with me? There, we will settle this in open battle.”

“The capital is certainly where I intend to go. If you two become my subordinates, we can go together!” Thunder gathered into the shape of a dragon and roared toward Liu Xiaoyi, while the ghost generals swayed and surged in as well, hoping to bring him down in one blow.

The Green Radiance Sword drew the divine light into a brilliant blaze. Liu Xiaoyi then walked slowly toward the formation belonging to the Heavenly King Path, and no matter how the creatures formed from yin energy attacked, they could not injure him.

“How is this possible? Why can’t I wound you?” Duan Ming watched helplessly as Liu Xiaoyi walked out of the encirclement unharmed, completely disregarding the techniques he had unleashed.

Liu Xiaoyi was also forcing himself to stay calm so the other side would not see through him. The Soul-Luring Divine Radiance consumed soul power, and in just a few minutes it had drained the soul energy in his sea of consciousness dry. It would take quite a long time to recover.

Within the Heavenly King Path formation, soldiers had already rushed up and, carrying the severely injured and unconscious Sword One on a stretcher, continued to withdraw.

The front line was being battered into chaos by the ghost generals. No unit could hold its ground before the yin soldiers of Mount Songfu. From the heights of Longjoy City, all one could see was a vast, misty gray.

Song Shuzai was already so frightened that his face had gone deathly pale. His legs had lost all strength, and he could barely remain standing. He had no choice but to grip the battlements with both hands to stay upright. “A calamity! A once-in-a-century calamity for the Iron Dynasty! General Xun, quickly evacuate the people in the city and withdraw with your forces!”

As a scholar, he had never witnessed such a thing as sorcery. All he saw in the field was a young man riding a bizarre horse, waving a flag idly, while heavenly thunder moved as he wished and obeyed his command. If such divine might were to fall upon Longjoy City, how could it possibly endure?

“Lord Song, do not panic. If the Iron Dynasty feared such things, the realm would have changed hands long ago. I am the imperially granted Tiger Might Grand Marshal. Today, either Longjoy City stands with us, or city and lives alike are lost. Soldiers, heed my order!”

Xun Yong drew his iron sword and lifted it above his head. Behind him, two hundred thousand soldiers answered as one, and Longjoy City itself seemed to condense into a single body centered upon him.

“Iron Guard, prepare to meet the enemy!”

“By command of the Grand Marshal! Prepare to meet the enemy!”

The city gates of Longjoy City, sealed shut for many days, finally opened. Xun Yong leaped straight from the walls and crashed heavily onto the firm ground outside the city. The dense force of his qi and blood protected him, so when he rose, he was unscathed. Golden streams of energy flowed from the army behind him and into his body.

Daoists had their arts, martial artists their prowess, and generals their own methods.

Duan Ming had not expected the defenders of Longjoy City to choose this moment to strike. He himself was not near the city, so the ghost generals there were acting entirely on their own instincts. Under the sharp advance of the Iron Guard led by Xun Yong, they were utterly unable to withstand the assault.

The iron spear in Xun Yong’s hands weighed more than a hundred jin, a weapon that matched his broad, powerful build perfectly. His whole body was wrapped in golden energy, making him appear solemn and sacred.

Led by him, the Iron Guard pressed down upon the enemy ranks, scattering the dark clouds and forcing the yin energy back. They had not even made direct contact with the yin soldiers and ghost generals, yet they had already gained the upper hand in momentum by a full measure.

“The foundations of the Iron Dynasty are far deeper than I imagined. I had only heard of Tiger Might Grand Marshal’s renown; today, seeing him in person, it is exactly as the tales said!” As the overall commander, Li Qing naturally knew how difficult it was to unite a whole army’s spirit and vigor into one. Every soldier in the formation had to think and act as one.

Moreover, the person chosen as general had to be able to bear that immense force; otherwise, before ever going into battle, he would be crushed by his own side’s momentum.

Duan Ming hurried back, but a clay figure grown from the ground blocked his path. “Who is causing trouble now?”

“In Mount Songfu’s records, do they mention this old man’s name?” Bai Yiting had recovered some of his magical power by now, so he came out to work sorcery again, leading several hundred clay figures to bar Duan Ming’s way completely.

“An earthen jar? The Daoist from White Cloud Temple who mastered the art of the spoken word made law?” After seeing the clay jar he was carrying, Duan Ming grew tense. Since this man had been recorded by Mount Songfu, he could not be young. With such a formidable foe appearing, he, this little minnow, had to tread carefully.

“Do not fear. So long as you step back and do no harm to the Iron Dynasty, I will let you go.”

Duan Ming offered no reply. Instead, he summoned heavenly thunder to smash the clay figures apart and surged toward Xun Yong’s position. Bai Yiting did not stop him again, simply allowing him to leave.

“Master, why didn’t you stop him? If he kills all the soldiers here, how many more ghost troops will he make?” Meng Qiaoqiao waved her little fists, baring her teeth and wishing she could rush over and land a few blows on Duan Ming.

Bai Yiting smiled helplessly. “I would like to stop him, but I must have the strength to do it.” The earlier battles had already exhausted his magical power; what he had done just now was nothing more than a delaying tactic.

He only needed to buy the Iron Guard enough time to adapt to the battlefield. They had never seen a scene like this before, and even if they knew the method of uniting ten thousand troops as one, its power would inevitably be greatly diminished.

As expected, with Duan Ming present, the ghost soldiers and ghost generals were not something Xun Yong could contend with. The yin energy swept back and crushed the Iron Guard. Xun Yong thrust out his iron spear, gritting his teeth as he stood at the very front and withstood the bombardment of heavenly thunder.

Even more perilously, from behind Longjoy City a gigantic stone tortoise suddenly emerged and slammed headlong into the city wall. The thick, sturdy wall was rammed into a huge hole by the tortoise’s head. Cold wind poured through the breach, sending the tents inside Longjoy City flying. In the choking haze, nothing could be seen clearly.

For a moment Xun Yong was divided in mind, and that lapse of focus gave Duan Ming his opening. A thunder dragon struck and sent him flying into the air. Below him, the ghost generals raised their blades, knives and swords held upright, waiting for Xun Yong to fall.

“This is bad. I can’t hold them off!” Xun Yong tried his utmost to gather true qi, but he knew in his heart that he could never block those weapons. “My life is forfeit!”

He closed his eyes, clutched the iron spear, and plunged downward, using as much true qi as he could to shield his vital points and meet the ghost generals head-on.

But then, from atop the walls of Longjoy City, a sheet of golden paper flew over and blocked the many blades, supporting Xun Yong and drawing him back.

“General Xun, get up quickly. The Iron Guard cannot do without you.”

The speaker was Song Shuzai. He no longer wore his former timid expression; instead, he held a gold-leaf book in both hands. The sheet of golden paper that had saved Xun Yong had flown out from one of its pages.

Xun Yong was so stunned he could hardly close his mouth. No matter how he calculated, he never would have imagined that Song Shuzai was the one to save him, and that he possessed such Daoist powers!

Everyone, including Duan Ming, fixed their eyes on the sheet of golden paper. Though they did not know what kind of magical artifact it was, its grade had to be extremely high. To block ghost generals from such a distance, Bai Yiting himself probably did not have many items of that caliber.

“With that giant tortoise present, Longjoy City can no longer be held. You should take the Iron Guard and go,” Song Shuzai said with a sigh. He had not wanted to use his power, but he could not bear to watch two hundred thousand Iron Guards perish here, so he broke his own rule and stepped in to save them.

A cultivation method like his required long accumulation. To shape golden paper with magical power, this thick gold-sheathed book must have cost him untold years of effort.

Song Shuzai tore off more than ten pages from the gold-sheathed book in succession, blew once, and sent them flying toward the giant tortoise.

Ouyang Yan, seated on the tortoise’s back, saw this and looked as though he had seen a ghost. He hastily slapped at the tortoise shell and twisted his body, trying to flee.

But with a body so immense, how could it simply leave at a word? The golden paper caught up to its rear and stuck there in a dense layer.

The heat radiating from the golden paper disintegrated the back half of the stone tortoise. Its short tail snapped off cleanly at the root, and the shell developed many cracks as well. Fortunately, its hind legs were not injured, and it hurriedly withdrew from the range of Longjoy City.