âSect Leader, I want to become an Emperor!â
Murong Xuan said determinedly.
Chu Kuangren initially reacted with a strange look in his eyes, but he soon nodded with a smile. âAlright. Iâm happy that you have some ambitions in you.â
There was nothing better than seeing Murong Xuan persevering.
Murong Xuan possessed an unyielding Daoist core, hence such an incident would not hamper his motivation.
âIâm definitely going to become an Emperor! Itâs only through becoming an Emperor that all can be overcome. By then, the Sword Tribe and Melodious Void Sect can all go to hell!â
Murong Xuan glanced toward the end of the Emperor Road and was overpowered by a boost of morale.
âThe power of love is indeed magnificent.â Shang Qingxue observed aside.
After the trio left the Melodious Void Sect, they went to stay at one of the guesthouses of Seven Chord City.
Although Springtime Lightning, the Emperor Weapon, had acknowledged Chu Kuangren as its owner, he still needed to refine the weapon further to maximize its potential.
Fortunately, due to the Springtime Lightningâs acknowledgment, Chu Kuangren did not take long to refine it.
On top of Chu Kuangrenâs cultivation level, he had managed to fully refine the Springtime Lightning within two days.
During that period, Chu Kuangren had also received a piece of sudden news.
Jian Changfeng of the Sword Tribe had wished to challenge Chu Kuangren to a duel at Blaze City, a location not far away from Seven Chord City.
The people of Seven Chord City were shocked, to say the least.
Although Jian Changfeng was an excellent sky-pride of the Emperor Road who possessed remarkable abilities, Chu Kuangrenâs display of power during his battle against Guqin Demon and Art Ghoul had far surpassed that of Jian Changfeng. Just how did he muster such courage to challenge Chu Kuangren?
Shang Qingxue and Murong Xuan were puzzled too.
âHas he lost his mind?â
âThings arenât as simple as they look. There must be something that weâre unaware of.â
Murong Xuan and Shang Qingxue were discussing in the guesthouse.
At that moment, Chu Kuangren had already exited his closed-door meditation.
Murong Xuan told Chu Kuangren everything he knew about Jian Changfengâs challenge.
After listening, Chu Kuangren looked rather mischievous. âChallenging me? Since when did he get so brave?â
âSect Leader, there must be foul play involved.â
âHeh, thatâs for sure. However, I have nothing better to do anyway. Iâll just drop by quickly and see what games they have for me.â
Chu Kuangren said keenly.
He then instructed Murong Xuan and Shang Qingxue to remain in the guesthouse.
Chu Kuangren left a strain of sword qi each for Murong Xuan and Shang Qingxue for their safety.
The sword qi could be used to defend against enemies and allowed Chu Kuangren to track their whereabouts. That way, they could keep in contact, unlike before.
After making the necessary preparations, Chu Kuangren ventured into the Blaze City to check out the situation.
â¦
Blaze City was a smaller city than Seven Chord City.
However, Blaze City had cut off all connections to the outer world a few days ago, as if the entire city was engulfed by an invisible form of energy.
Peering into the Blaze City from the outside, one could only see an abandoned city that was void of all human presence.
Chu Kuangren arrived above the Blaze City and could sense that something was off.
âAre these⦠traces of a formation?â
Chu Kuangren had acquired a decent amount of knowledge about formations from having previously set up the Astonishing Cloud of Seas Formation.
Although his expertise was still below mastery, Chu Kuangren could observe clear traces of formation around the Blaze City.
âSomeone has surrounded Blaze City with a mega formation. Could it be Jian Changfeng?â
âThatâs not right. The Eye of Revelation did not reveal any information about the personâs ability to set up formations. This must be the doing of another person.â
Something was clearly not right in the Blaze City.
With that, Chu Kuangren vanished in a flash and stepped into Blaze City.
He seemed to have arrived in a completely different world.
This was⦠a living hell!
Chu Kuangren glanced at his surroundings. The citizens of Blaze City were all lying on the ground, devoid of any vitality as the foul stench of blood permeated in the air.
Chu Kuangren frowned and mobilized his spiritual thought.
The elderly, the children, the women, the cultivatorsâ¦
Not even the dogs, the birds, nor any animals had managed to survive!
There were still people in Blaze City!
However, they were all dead!
It was such an unbelievable scene.
Blaze City may not be huge, but it was still home to more than ten million people. Yet, all of them are dead now!
Furthermore, there was no news about it.
âWho did this? Did they do all this just to spike me?â
Chu Kuangrenâs eyes were burning with brutal murderous intent.
In a flash, he arrived at the central part of Blaze City.
A youngster in white clothes stood above a tower. The handsome man had a long sword strapped to his waist and a guqin on his back.
He was none other than the person who challenged Chu Kuangren to a duel, Jian Changfeng.
âSince Iâm here, why donât you ask your partners to show themselves too and make this quick?â Chu Kuangren said nonchalantly.
âOh, arenât you curious why this entire cityâs dead?â
âTheyâre already dead anyway. What can I do if I know about it?â
âPfft, you truly are a heartless b*stard. Iâll have you know that all of these people died for you!â
Jian Changfeng laughed maniacally with his eyes fixed on Chu Kuangren. He was keen to observe Chu Kuangrenâs reaction.
To his disappointment, Chu Kuangren was utterly unfazed.
âYouâre very wrong if you think this might shake my Daoist core.â
Chu Kuangren said calmly. His Daoist core was as solid as rock, and no one had been able to affect it ever since he began his cultivation journey.
Jian Changfengâs taunts were useless.
âEven cultivators who are trained in the Merciless Dao arenât as heartless as you. Arenât you afraid the ghosts of these victims will come back to haunt you?â
âYou speak too much nonsense.â
Chu Kuangren stared coldly at Jian Changfeng. Without drawing his Self Descendant Sword, a surge of devastating sword qi unleashed from his eyes.
Caught off guard, Jian Changfeng retaliated with a similar surge of sword qi by sheathing his long sword.
However, his sword qi was much feeble and weak compared to Chu Kuangrenâs.
Jian Changfengâs sword ray instantly reduced into dust as Chu Kuangrenâs remaining attack fell onto Jian Changfengâs Sage Physique.
Without much resistance, Jian Changfenâs body was sliced into halves!
Yet strangely enough, there was no blood spurting from Jian Changfenâs body.
As smoke curled up, Jian Changfengâs body turned into a wooden dummy and fell onto the ground.
The wooden dummy was inscribed with a mysterious rune. After it was severed by Chu Kuangrenâs sword qi, the strange runic energy on it soon disappeared.
âOh, a wooden dummy thatâs inscribed with a rune. Iâve never seen such a form of runic energy before. How interesting.â
Chu Kuangren smirked and looked into the distance.
The real Jian Changfeng was standing dozens of kilometers away, staring at Chu Kuangren in fear as cold sweat drenched his forehead.
âThis is so scary. If I didnât switch my body with the wooden dummy in time, the sword qi mightâve sliced me in half.â
âEven without drawing his sword, Chu Kuangrenâs single ray of sword qi is capable of such destruction. Heâs also renowned for his abilities in guqin Dao, but his expertise in sword Dao is much more impressive than mine, or perhaps even sitting at the same level as the Daoist. Heâs such a terrifying figure.â
Jian Changfeng said with unease.