With a deep exhale, Hong Yitang turned to the Revolution King. âThis wind chime is very powerful.â He smiled. âAs expected of one of the ten court masters. This is at least an earth level origin weapon. Yama has invested quite a great deal in you.â
The Revolution King beamed and was about to speak when the scene darkened in front of his eyes. He exploded as sword light descended!
Hong Yitang killed the Yama representative with one sword stroke and summoned the wind chime to him. âNot bad,â he chuckled. âNot bad at all. Ah yes, you guys didnât kill Tidal Waveâs scarlet shadow, did you?
âThe blood pearl of a Nova is excellent nutrition.â The man glanced at the golden eagle and snake.
âBrother Hong, what did you kill him for?â He Yong transmitted behind him. âThe origin weapon will go dark with his death. We stood more of a chance with him around.â
Hong Yitang couldnât be bothered to respond and looked at the major monster spirits surrounding him. He grinned broadly. âI really donât want to be in open hostilities with you all. I have no desire to cause trouble on this trip, Iâm just here to look for my daughter...
âIâm decently strong, but I have a small problem. My organs canât withstand an eruption that goes overboard. Theyâll easily rupture, and Iâm only one of many with this problem.
âTherefore, outsiders think weâre all insidious, devious sorts who are hiding our strength. Thatâs not the case. We do this out of resignation because weâre too strong. Who can endure a daily stream of challengers? Constantly fighting for no reason at all will eventually be the death of us.â Hong Yitangâs organs shook under strain as he talked; towering sword intent wafted through a radius of one hundred meters. His smile grew tight. âBut you guys are ridiculous! You want to force me to my death! In that case, I donât mind releasing all of my battle strength. So my organs will break! Iâd like to see if I can kill you four for it!â
BOOM!
Sword intent lashed through the air, making the monster spirits shift uneasily. Shock filtered into the apeâs eyes, the tiger took a slight step back. The snake flicked its tongue and the golden eagle took to the skies.
Behind him, He Yong was also astonished. âSo... youâve... reached that step?â
âWhat step?â Blood bubbled at the corner of Hong Yitangâs lips when he coughed. âDo you know which step is what step? Youâre just a Nova, shut up!â He looked at the monster spirits with a devil-may-care grin. âCough cough cough... Donât force my hand or Iâll let you have a taste of the might of the Earthturner Sword. I couldnât be bothered with Yuan Shuo when he challenged me all those timesâhe suppressed you guys and beat you half to death. Are you trying to act tough with me now?â
âTo think that you would be so strong...â A special ripple emanated from the golden eagle. âForget it, leave behind this man of strong blood qi. You may go...â
He Yong cursed to himself. Are you guys bullying me?! He grit his teeth and punched his heart. Something seemed to shatter from the loud impact; his vibrant blood qi frothed with agitation!
âFuck your ancestors!â he swore loudly. âLetâs do it! I wonât be able to look myself in the eye if I donât butcher one of you today! You absolute fucking bastards, this is my supernatural lock weâre talking about! Fuck it!â
He kept up a litany of hotheadedness. Not only did his blood qi churn, but tongues of flame appeared over his being. He seemed to have broken the lock of his heart.
Unable to restrain his temper, He Yong looked around with a violent glare and snarled savagely. He stared fixedly at the golden eagle hovering overhead and declared with some madness, âFeatherbrain! Itâs not you letting me go anymore, but me working with Earthturner Sword to stick you guys like the pigs you are! There seems to be treasure in that mountain valley, maybe that will make up for our losses...â
The two were already enduring heavy losses. Although their strength had climbed dramatically, theyâd paid a heavy price to do so and even sacrificed some of their future. How would He Yong not be incensed at this?!
âNot bad!â Hong Yitang remarked with surprise. âYouâre able to open it!â
âDo you think youâre the only one whoâs improved these years?!â He Yong spat. âFucking hell, are we doing this or not?! If we kill these four, drink their blood, eat their flesh, and scoop up some treasure in the valley... It might be able to salvage our situation!â
âHe Yong, this personality of yours...â Hong Yitang laughed. He abruptly struck with his sword. âLetâs do this!â
The situation had progressed to the point where heâd unleashed his five organs and He Yong had broken his supernatural lock. Their losses were too grave. He wouldnât go quietly if they didnât do something incredible in return!
Boom!
The ground was ripped asunder by the sword. A fissure several hundred meters long shot toward the monster spirits. The tiger leapt out of the way, but the snake wasnât fast enough to avoid being grazed by it. Its mighty scales were ripped apart like paper; blood and flesh flew through the sky.
Southern Fist roared with fury and ignored the ape. He launched himself upward, hand extended in a punch that aimed straight for the eagle. The bird might be the leader of the four and it was the one thatâd wanted his head just now.
You want my head, is it? Iâll have yours stuffed and mounted first!
Bam!!
Fist and gigantic claw clashed against each other, erupting in a spray of fiery sparks. The eagle was blasted into the upper reaches of the sky with bloody marks on its undeniably durable claws. Blood also covered He Yongâs fistâbut it wasnât apparent if it was his or the eagleâs. He punched at the ape the second he landed!
Rumble!
The enormous clash far eclipse what had taken place prior!
âAre you still laughing at me for being weak, Earthturner Sword??â He Yong howled as he pummeled the ape.
Hong Yitang swept his sword around him and snorted, âYouâre still a piece of trashâyouâre doing this all from destroying your supernatural lock! Whether itâs Sky Sword or Tyrant Blade, either of them are stronger than you if they do the same!â
âFuck you motherfucking fuck!â
BOOM!
The four monster spirits were caught between a rock and a hard place. Theyâd felt a prickling of unease when the two humans erupted with power. Ceasing hostilities had actually been on their mind. Theyâd only continued the pursuit because they felt they were guaranteed of taking down their prey.
But now, it wasnât that they wanted to conclude the hunt, but that the two were unwilling to stop because theyâd suffered too much damage and wanted compensation for their losses!
After his strength increased explosively, He Yong beat the enormous ape into the ground! Hong Yitang was even more terrifyingâhe chopped off the mammoth snakeâs tail with a few strokes and shoved it underground, like a mountain was sitting on the snake. With a quick flick and turn, his sword entangled the eagle and tiger!
These two were so incredibly strong, but He Yong could only take on one monster spirit. The truly shocking was Hong Yitang going one against three! Unfortunately, a growing amount of blood frothed at his lips. He kept up a violent coughing fit as he fought. He Yong was better off, but the flames around him continuously intensified!
There was no joy to be found in the two despite their prowess, just resignation. They were done for! Even if they won, they were done for. All these years of accumulation and preparation had been destroyed by a few monster spirits!
......
In the distance.
Li Hao was collecting the bodies and storage rings of these Solars when... he paused and peered ahead. Dazed, he shot into the air in the next moment to look further out. Southern Fist and... Earthturner Sword? Werenât they being chased just moments ago? How was this change possible??
The two were now incomparably domineering, but Li Hao looked sternly at the scene. There hadnât been balls of light around the two before, but a fiery ball of radiance had suddenly enveloped He Yong!
âFuck you all!â Southern Fistâs enraged howl echoed through the land. âIf I become a fire supernatural, Iâll butcher all of you bastards!!â
âHeâs... broken the lock of his heart?â Li Haoâs eyes widened. âAnd erupted with his potential?â n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
That was the notion that immediately occurred to him. Hong Yitang was slightly better off, but his ball of supernatural strength thatâd previously vanished had reappeared. Multicolored in its glory, it wasnât as before. What kind of condition were these two in? Would special changes occur if they broke the locks of the five organs?
A tiger was blasted into the air with a loud collision. Sword light also flashed through the air, piercing through heaven and heart to send a golden eagle flying.
âI said I was just passing by,â sounded Hong Yitangâs cool voice. âBut you insisted on attacking. Do you really think that Ash Mountainâs monster spirits are invincible?? To turn the skies!â
The sky seemed to overturn with a low grunt! Indeed, sky and earth swapped places. The eagle had been soaring overhead, but it suddenly dropped to the ground. The tiger was running on the ground, but abruptly found itself hovering in the air!
âROAR!!â Violent combat erupted between six powerhouses. A massive snake burrowed out of the ground only to be punched flying and slam heavily back down!
As the clash grew more out of hand, it afforded more clarity of the situation to Li Hao. He could sense the two powerhouseâs fury and reluctance! It was a mixture of emotion that one did now know how to voice. Their eruption of strength to the point where the four monster spirits could only defend themselves did not satisfy the two. They grew even more enraged in the depths of their anger!
BAM!
A sword descended from the skies and drilled through the eagleâs wing. A quick backhand with the weapon rendered the tigerâs claws a bleeding mess. Some of them were cut straight through!
Entranced by the display, Li Hao wanted to draw closer. He knew what was happening and hesitated, unsure if he should reveal himself and expose some secrets. Hong Yitang and He Yong were decent people, but the latter came from the royal family and Hong Yitang had always hidden himself deeply.
And yet... the young man had once witnessed the kind of despair that was creeping over the two. It was not the despair of impending death, but that of their future being ruined.
Heâd seen it in his teacher before!