Chapter 114: A Vicious Battle-The Last Demon-Slaying Immortal(Jesting with ease, commanding every conversation)

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Xu Yaozu had won the first round and was still basking in his triumph when another enemy general charged out of the opposing ranks on foot.

The man was built like a black tower. He stood more than ten feet tall and wore neither helmet nor armor, only a loose robe with his belly and chest exposed. His muscles bulged in knots, and a tuft of coarse black chest hair, more than a foot long, made him look even more ferocious.

He wore billowing trousers below the waist, secured by a broad leather warrior’s belt. His feet were enormous—nearly a foot wide and two feet long, like palm-leaf fans—and covered in a thick layer of calluses.

His face was as broad as a washbasin. He had a leopard’s head, round, glaring eyes, broomlike brows, thick lips, and a completely bald skull. Throwing back his head, he let out a strange cry:

“Brother! Your little brother has come to avenge you!”

He raised an iron-shafted club, five feet long and as thick as a bowl, and brought it crashing down at Xu Yaozu.

Xu Yaozu wheeled his horse aside and was about to counterattack when Li Yiqing sprang forward and blocked his path.

Seeing Li Yiqing arrive, Xu Yaozu burst into laughter.

“This fellow is yours!”

He turned his horse and rode back to his own formation.

“Hey! You… you… you big, stupid lump! What… what… what are your name and… and… and surname? Your… your grandpa doesn’t… doesn’t kill nameless men!”

Li Yiqing asked with disdain.

Seeing how short Li Yiqing was, the big fool did not even bother to look at him.

“Get lost! I’m Ironhead Zhou Heita, the younger brother of Zhou Yingjun from just now. Hurry back and bring that old bastard out to fight. I’m going to pull out his tendons and strip off his skin to vent the hatred in my heart!”

“Heh! Heh! Heh!”

Li Yiqing gave a grotesque laugh.

“You… you… you think you can do that? First… first… first defeat your grandpa, then talk!”

With that, he crossed his arms over his chest and waited for Zhou Heita to make the first move.

“Boy, you’re courting death!”

Seeing Li Yiqing’s arrogance, Zhou Heita ground his teeth in fury. He lifted his iron club high into the air.

Whoosh!

The club came hurtling down with tremendous force.

But although the club struck the ground, Li Yiqing had vanished.

Terrified, Zhou Heita looked frantically in every direction.

Where had that little runt gone? Could I have smashed him into mincemeat? No, that can’t be. There should be blood if he had been crushed. Could I have driven him beneath the earth with a single blow?

He immediately searched the ground where the club had landed, digging away the soil, but he could not find even a trace of Li Yiqing.

Then he heard another burst of strange laughter.

“Heh! Heh! Heh!”

Zhou Heita followed the sound and looked up.

More than thirty feet away, Li Yiqing was swinging from a vine on a great tree as though he were playing on a swing.

“Boy! You can’t escape!”

Furious, Zhou Heita swung his iron club at him.

Whoosh!

Three more blows followed, each carrying the weight of a thousand measures.

Yet he could not even touch Li Yiqing’s shadow.

The great tree was smashed apart, its trunk breaking and its branches and leaves scattering across the ground.

“Big fool, I believe it’s your grandpa’s turn now!”

After saying this, Li Yiqing gave another series of eerie laughs. He drew a small black hammer and a little steel spike from his belt.

Zhou Heita had never seen such tiny toys before.

What were they supposed to be? They were not even large enough to fill his hand. What could they possibly do to him?

He stood there stupidly, utterly bewildered.

“Strike!”

With a loud shout, Li Yiqing leaped more than ten feet into the air.

He held the little steel spike in his left hand and the black hammer in his right. Taking aim at Zhou Heita, he brought the hammer down hard upon the spike.

A thunderous crack exploded through the air.

Sparks shrieked and flashed. Lightning and thunder erupted, sending out a sheet of arcing light that illuminated half the sky.

The arcs quickly gathered into a single straight line and shot toward Zhou Heita.

Boom!

Black smoke billowed upward, and the air filled with the stench of something scorched.

When the smoke cleared—

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Zhou Heita’s entire body was blackened, burned like a lump of charcoal. His limbs did not move at all.

“Fall!” Li Yiqing shouted.

Slowly, Zhou Heita toppled to the ground.

He shattered upon impact, sending a cloud of dust high into the air.

“Who… who… who else dares… dares come… come forward to die?”

Li Yiqing roared, sweeping his tiny, mouse-like eyes over Feng Rusong and the other generals opposite him.

Feng Rusong and all his commanders were completely stunned. Not one of them dared answer.

“Your Highness, King Ying, withdraw your troops! We are all members of the righteous armies. Why slaughter one another?”

Murong Yan shouted loudly. She hoped that after witnessing the strength of her side, Feng Rusong would be frightened into retreating, sparing them another battle.

But Feng Rusong thought otherwise.

So the old hatred has not yet been settled, and now a new grievance has been added! Murong Yan, you vile little wretch—you have slain two of my generals today. From this day onward, you and I are sworn enemies!

You may have powerful warriors, but your soldiers may not be so formidable. As the saying goes, even the fiercest tiger cannot withstand a pack of wolves, and even the strongest hero can be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

You have brought only a small force, and you have come from far away. Your men and horses must be exhausted. With my army charging all at once, I will leave not a single one of you alive!

At the thought, he clenched his teeth until they cracked loudly. With a ringing sound, he drew the treasured sword from his waist and shouted:

“Murong Yan, you despicable wretch! Stop spouting nonsense! You killed two of my generals today. Unless I avenge them, I am no true man! Commanders, soldiers, my brave warriors—charge!”

He slashed his sword through the air and spurred his horse forward.

The generals and soldiers behind him urged their mounts onward as well.

In an instant, the two armies collided in a chaotic melee.

Generals fought generals, soldiers fought soldiers. Swords and spears clashed with a wild clanging.

As the saying went, an army’s strength lay not in numbers but in quality.

Murong Yan’s cavalry had been tempered on countless battlefields. Their movements were swift, and they killed with ruthless precision. Whenever their sabers flashed, enemy heads fell as easily as gourds being chopped apart.

Feng Rusong had many more soldiers and generals, but they were good only at bullying commoners and fighting poorly trained troops. Against such a fierce army, they quickly found themselves outmatched.

They were driven back again and again, unable to hold their ground.

Murong Yan urged her horse straight toward Feng Rusong. Still hoping to persuade him to end the battle, she clasped her fist and called out:

“King Ying, look at these soldiers. Every one of them was born to human parents. Do you truly wish to see them die on the battlefield like this? If they were dying while fighting demons, perhaps their deaths would have meaning. But this is merely slaughter between our own people. It is not worth it!”

Feng Rusong cursed furiously.

“You take advantage of others and then pretend to be virtuous! Do you think I will ever make peace with a treacherous wretch like you?”

He raised his plum-blossom spear.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

A storm of thrusts flew toward her.

“King Ying! King Ying! Listen to me—stop fighting! It isn’t worth it!”

Murong Yan dodged repeatedly.

But evasion alone could not continue forever. If anything went wrong, the consequences would be disastrous.

With no other choice, she raised her embroidered saber and met his attacks.

Feng Rusong wielded his plum-blossom spear like a soaring dragon. He blocked, caught, thrust, cleaved, swept, jabbed, pierced, coiled, and deflected, his weapon flashing up and down in endless variations.

Murong Yan’s embroidered saber moved like a startled swan. She swept, cleaved, deflected, sliced, skimmed, hacked, slashed, and lunged, swift as lightning and heavy with force.

After fighting for some time, Murong Yan was drenched in sweat and breathing hard.

This is bad. Feng Rusong truly knows how to fight. If this continues, I am still a woman, and I will eventually lose through lack of strength and breath.

Perhaps I should use the splitting-body technique I have only just mastered and see what it can do.

When the two horses crossed, she suddenly gathered her mental force and shouted:

“Spirit Division!”

In an instant, a fiery phoenix appeared in the air. It opened its beak and spewed raging flames toward Feng Rusong.

Feng Rusong’s heart lurched. He hastily unhooked his precious carved bow, drew three eagle-feather arrows from his quiver, and nocked one in his right hand.

Taking aim at the fire phoenix, he summoned the power within his mind and drew the bowstring to its full extent.

Then he released it.

Whoosh!

The three arrows flew toward the phoenix along its upper, middle, and lower paths.

They streaked like meteors, swift as lightning.

The fire phoenix remained unhurried. With a sweep of its wings, it rose more than a hundred feet into the air and evaded the arrows.

Before Feng Rusong could recover, the phoenix let out a long cry.

It folded its wings, and its entire body plunged downward like a falling meteor, diving straight at him.

Feng Rusong retreated in panic.

But as he fell back, Murong Yan on horseback did not hesitate. She spurred her mount forward and raised her great embroidered saber.

Swish!

The blade swept toward the back of his neck.

The strike was as fast as lightning and ferocious in its momentum.

Hearing the wind behind him, Feng Rusong knew he had no choice but to turn and block. He hastily drew back his spear and held it horizontally behind his head.

Clang!

Murong Yan’s saber struck the shaft, sending sparks flying.

But just as Feng Rusong deflected her attack, the fire phoenix’s talons descended from above.

Scalding heat seared him as though his flesh were being torn from his body.

For a moment, he was thrown into utter confusion, struggling merely to defend himself, with no strength left to counterattack.

Cold sweat broke out across his brow. His hands and arms began to tremble, and his vision blurred.

Knowing he was no match for them, he wheeled his horse around and fled in disarray.

Once the commanding general fled, his soldiers lost all will to fight.

“Father! Mother! Run! His Highness the King has fled! Staying alive is what matters!”

They abandoned their swords, spears, and weapons and scattered like rats.

The righteous army’s morale soared. Every soldier fought bravely, each striving to be the first, as they spurred their horses into pursuit.

Those among Feng Rusong’s troops who had no horses knew they could not escape. One after another, they raised their hands and surrendered.

Those with horses lashed them so fiercely that the whips cracked like thunder. They no longer cared whether their mounts were frightened, nor did they care in which direction they fled. They only urged them onward, wishing the animals could grow two more legs.

“Soldiers, stop! Do not pursue them!”

Murong Yan shouted, halting the pursuing troops.

Xu Yaozu, Li Yiqing, and Xiao Ling stamped their feet impatiently and asked why they were not giving chase.

“Everyone, whatever else may be said, the forces of Dream-Connecting Mountain are also part of the righteous army. We come from the same lineage, and we must not exterminate them to the last man. Let us return to the city.”

She turned her horse toward Black Earth City.

But Xu Yaozu stopped her.

Blowing out his beard and glaring in anger, he said bitterly:

“Yan’er, if you fail to eliminate the roots, the weeds will grow again when spring comes! That bastard Feng Rusong simply needs a beating. If you let him escape like this, he will come back and cause us trouble the moment he gets the chance.”

Murong Yan’s brows rose sharply, and her almond-shaped eyes widened.

“Master, you are no longer a young man. How can you be so foolish? Back then, Deputy Marshal Ye ordered you to release Zhang Jixian. How could you kill him without cause? If you had not brought about such a calamity, why would Feng Rusong have invaded our borders for no reason? You even kept it hidden from us—we have only learned the truth now!

“Now the Myriad Demon Kingdom and Dream-Connecting Mountain have placed us in a pincer attack. Have you spared a thought for our Deputy Marshal Ye? He is leading a lone army against the Myriad Demon Kingdom. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”

Her questions struck Xu Yaozu like knives. He lowered his head, too frightened to utter a word.

“Marshal Murong, this… this… this cannot be blamed on Uncle Xu! I… I… I was the one who stepped on Zhang Jixian and killed him. If anyone must be punished, then punish me alone!”

Li Yiqing stepped forward, clasped his fists, and immediately dropped to his knees.

Xu Yaozu was instantly enraged. He glared fiercely at Li Yiqing.

“You boy, this matter has nothing to do with you!”

He urged his horse forward, clasped his fists, and said:

“Yan’er, your master knows he was wrong. But this has nothing to do with Li Yiqing. The decision was mine. If someone must be punished, punish me!”

He dismounted at once and knelt on the ground as well.

Murong Yan looked at the two ridiculous men and grew even angrier.

Part of her wanted to punish them both severely. But their leader was her own master, Xu Yaozu. If she punished them lightly, the penalty would mean nothing, and they would only grow more reckless. If she punished them harshly, she would bear the accusation within the Demon-Slaying Realm of showing no respect for her elders and betraying her teacher and creed.

Furious and frustrated, Murong Yan gave a cold snort, turned away, and viciously struck her horse with the whip.

The peach-red horse stretched out all four legs and raced toward Black Earth City like a whirlwind.

Left behind were Xu Yaozu and Li Yiqing, kneeling side by side in lonely silence.

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