Chapter 1231: An Ignorant Person Is Usually Fearless
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Duan Ling Tian cast a calm glance at the green-robed man who brought two people along with him as they descended from the sky. He asked nonchalantly, “Were the two guys just now your brothers?”
After he came to Ling Xuan Peak, he had killed two men. They were the duo earlier.
“My brother was Lu Yi, a Martial Emperor’s disciple of Ling Xuan Peak!” The middle-aged man answered coldly. His pair of eyes were gleaming with a sharp, bloodthirsty light. Waves of horrifying killing intent gushed out of his body and sent chills down the spines of many of the people there.
A Martial Emperor’s disciple!
Had Duan Ling Tian just killed a Martial Emperor’s disciple?
The moment the words left the green-robed man’s mouth, an uproar burst out at once.
Immediately, everyone had their attention fixed on Duan Ling Tian in unison. Shock filled their faces instantly.
“H-He killed a Martial Emperor’s disciple?” The Third Level Martial Monarch who had come with Duan Ling Tian together with Qiao Zhong three months ago was filled with astonishment when he stared at Duan Ling Tian again.
He still remembered the scene that had taken place three months ago clearly.
At that time, there was no doubt that Duan Ling Tian did indeed demonstrate the cultivation base of the First Level Void Interpretation Stage.
On this day, three months later, the fact that Duan Ling Tian had killed a Second Level Martial Monarch and a Third Level Martial Monarch was already enough to elicit inexplicable shock. He did not understand why Duan Ling Tian could have undergone such exaggerated progress.
Right now, someone with bad intentions was saying that Duan Ling Tian had killed his brother, who was a Martial Emperor’s disciple of Ling Xuan Peak.
“He must’ve mistaken him for another person,” he thought to himself.
Many people at the scene shared the same thoughts with him, including Qiao Zhong and the old man beside him.
“Lu Yi? A Martial Emperor’s disciple?” Duan Ling Tian raised a brow. Instantly, a figure appeared in his mind. “Oh, you mean the leader of the muggers?”
The leader of the muggers!
The moment Duan Ling Tian’s words left his mouth, Qiao Zhong exchanged glances with the old man beside him. Confusion was apparent in both of their eyes.
Lu Yi was a Martial Emperor’s disciple of Ling Xuan Peak.
He loved to bring a few Martial Emperor’s followers out and act as a robber, plundering around Ling Xuan Peak.
Now that Duan Ling Tian uttered the words “leader of the muggers”, they faintly realized that he might have really killed Lu Yi.
“It is indeed you!’ The sharp glint in the green-robed middle-aged man’s eyes shone even more brightly. Taking a stride forward, Origin Energy skyrocketed from his body and seemed to have transformed into milky-white flames that soared up into the sky threateningly.
Boom!
With a stamp of his foot, the entire stone platform floor cracked. A series of horrendous cracks spread out in all directions, transforming into a huge spider web.
One could easily imagine just how infuriated he was then.
The moment that Duan Ling Tian’s words left his mouth, the middle-aged man in the green robe took a stride forward as he was about to make his move on him. A ghost-like figure suddenly stood in front of the green-robed man’s path.
The appearance of this figure took everybody else by surprise.
“It’s him!” In just one glance, Duan Ling Tian instantly recognized the silhouette in front of him. It was none other than Qiao Zhong, the Martial Emperor’s disciple of Ling Xuan Peak who had brought him here in the first place.
“Qiao Zhong, what do you mean by this?” The green-robed man’s face turned dark as he snarled loudly, “You’d better keep your hands out of today’s matter.”
“Lu Zhong.” Qiao Zhong cast a glance at the green-robed middle-aged man nonchalantly. “I don’t care whether your brother died by his hand or not. Right now, he’s here at my place, so he’s somebody I’ll protect. Before the Selection of the Martial Emperor’s disciples and followers takes place, I won’t have any accident happening to him.”
As he reached the end of his sentence, his eyes gleamed brilliantly.
“Qiao Zhong, don’t forget that you’re only my defeated loser!” Lu Zhong snorted mockingly.
As the saying went, when there was a crowd, there would be a brawl.
The same applied to Ling Xuan Peak as well.
At Ling Xuan Peak, there were three Martial Emperor’s direct disciples under the command of Martial Emperor Ling Xuan.
The eldest direct disciple always cultivated by Martial Emperor Ling Xuan’s side. Just like Martial Emperor Ling Xuan, his whereabouts was always a mystery.
The second and third disciples usually controlled the entire Ling Xuan Peak.
As time went by, some frictions inevitably happened between the two of them, causing the Martial Emperor’s disciples and followers below them to wage a tit-for-tat war against each other as they formed two great factions at the peak.
Other than being the strongest person among the top three of all the Martial Emperor’s disciples at Ling Xuan Peak, Lu Zhong was also a member of the faction of the Martial Emperor’s second direct disciple. Due to his powerful strength, the Martial Emperor’s second direct disciple greatly trusted him.
Qiao Zhong, on the other hand, was under the Martial Emperor’s third direct disciple.
Due to the different factions that they were in, the two of them already did not get along well with each other.
Today, now that Lu Zhong wanted to take Duan Ling Tian away under Qiao Zhong’s nose, of course, Qiao Zhong would not let him do as he wished.
Whoosh!
As Lu Zhong laughed out loud tauntingly, a gale blew past and right away, a figure appeared beside Qiao Zhong. That was the none other than the old man who had been standing together with Qiao Zhong just now. He was also the Martial Emperor’s disciple of Ling Xuan Peak who was responsible for monitoring the people who would join the Selection of the Martial Emperor’s disciples and followers.
This Martial Emperor’s disciple was in the same faction with Qiao Zhong.
“Lu Zhong, if you’re confident of winning against the coalition of the both of us, you can attack us,” Qiao Zhong said nonchalantly. His tone was carrying a hint of provocation.
Lu Zhong’s face turned grave right away.
He really did not have much confidence in winning if one asked him to fight against two by himself, let alone fight the two Martial Emperor’s disciples in front of him.
Although his strength was ranked in the top three among the group of Martial Emperor’s disciples at Ling Xuan Peak, it was actually more or less on par with the two people in front.
If he fought them alone, he could defeat any one of the two people in front of him.
However, if the two decided to attack together, he knew that he was no match for them.
As for the two people that he had brought along with him, they were merely Martial Emperor’s followers. They could only serve as cannon fodder fighting against two Martial Emperor’s disciples; they were completely no help to him at all.
“Qiao Zhong, do you want to fight in numbers now?” Lu Zhong’s eyes shone coldly, as he was already prepared to ask his men to get more people to come.
“Fight in numbers?” Qiao Zhong seemed to have guessed Lu Zhong’s thoughts. Taking a good look at Lu Zhong, he warned, “Lu Zhong, if I were you, I wouldn’t be so dumb as to get more people to come here… Don’t forget, the Lord Martial Emperor himself sets the rules for the Selection of the Martial Emperor’s disciples and followers. It was also Lord Martial Emperor’s order for us to protect the people joining the Selection of the Martial Emperor’s disciples and followers! However, I’d really like to see… What kind of consequences would you face after obeying the Lord Martial Emperor’s orders? By that time, I only hope that your master will be willing to ask for mercy on your behalf!”
As Qiao Zhong reached the end of his sentence, a mocking grin was apparent on his face.
“You!” Qiao Zhong’s words pissed Lu Zhong off so much that he was instantly filled with flames of fury. However, he suppressed it in the end.
He also calmed down after hearing Qiao Zhong’s warning.
Then, ignoring Qiao Zhong, Lu Zhong glared at Duan Ling Tian coldly and threatened him loudly, “Fine then! I’ll let you live for another three months more! Three months later, I hope you’ll be able to pass through the Selection of the Martial Emperor’s disciples and followers and by that time, I’ll personally kill you and avenge my brother!”
After he finished, before waiting for Duan Ling Tian to reply, he hastily left with the two Martial Emperor’s followers behind him. Coming and leaving like the wind, it was as though he had never once appeared before.
From the beginning till the end, Duan Ling Tian remained calm and collected.
His emotion was not even affected by Lu Zhong’s threat.
In fact, he did not even put Lu Zhong in his eyes.
“Duan Ling Tian, did you really kill Lu Yi?” Very soon, Qiao Zhong looked at Duan Ling Tian and asked with a complicated look.
“I guess so,” Duan Ling Tian shrugged as he answered unconcernedly.
He did not whether that person was Lu Yi or not, but he remembered that after he had killed the man, the person beside him seemed to have called him “Senior Brother Lu”.
I guess so?
Upon hearing Duan Ling Tian’s words, everyone, including Qiao Zhong and the old man beside him, was rendered speechless.
“I made a wrong judgment three months ago… You don’t belong here at all. However, now that you’ve offended Lu Zhong, just continue to stay here then,” Qiao Zhong said with a complicated look.
“As for that pavilion… Just stay there,” Qiao Zhong said while looking at the pavilion on the stone platform behind the staircase and was surrounded by an almost-solid Heaven and Earth Origin Energy.
Very soon, Qiao Zhong rose up into the air and went to the front of the pavilion. His mouth quivered a little as nobody knew what he was going to speak about.
The next instant, a man flew out of it, a plain-looking middle-aged man.
“Sir, I thought this pavilion is the winner’s. If you do this, shall I take it as you abusing your power for your personal gains?” Unlike Qiao Zhong’s soft-spoken words, the middle-aged man deliberately spoke loudly. His voice clearly entered everyone’s ears, including Duan Ling Tian’s as well.
For a moment, most of the people had a strange look on their faces.
Abusing your power for your personal gain?
This guy really dared to speak so wantonly.
“I merely suggested that you vacate this pavilion. If you’re willing to, everything will end peacefully, but if you’re not willing to listen to my advice, have a duel with him and fight for the ownership of this pavilion then.” Qiao Zhong also raised his voice while he turned to look at Duan Ling Tian.
As all eyes shifted towards Duan Ling Tian, making him the spotlight of the crowds, the middle-aged man from the pavilion also looked at him right away.
The middle-aged man rose up into the air and soon arrived at the air above Duan Ling Tian in just a blink of an eye. Looking downward at Duan Ling Tian, he said in a deep voice, “Although I have no idea what relationship you have with this man to the point that he would actually ask me to vacate this pavilion… If you really want to stay here in this pavilion, you must attack and kill me first!”
Upon hearing the middle-aged man’s words, along with the behavior that he was putting on, everybody on the scene had a strange look on their faces right away.
“An ignorant person is usually fearless!” The same thought rose up to their minds at once.
Many people even looked at that middle-aged man in pity.
Right then, they were almost sure that it was true that Duan Ling Tian had indeed killed a Martial Emperor’s disciple from Ling Xuan Peak and that his brother had even pursued him till right there and then.
However, at this moment, facing Duan Ling Tian who had the ability to kill a Martial Emperor’s disciple, the middle-aged man who walked out of the pavilion and was also the strongest among all the Third Level Martial Monarchs, had now publicly declared a battle with him without knowing his strength, let alone the deeds that he had done before.
Although there were many people present, none of them warned the middle-aged man at all.
Perhaps, they were also feeling displeased towards him for being able to stay at such a lovely place for such a long time, so they wanted to see him make a fool out of himself.
“I don’t like people standing above my head.” Right at this moment, Duan Ling Tian finally opened his mouth. From the beginning till the end, he did not even attempt to lift his head.
Chapter 1230: Are You Sure He’s A Void Interpretation Stage Martial Artist?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Chapter 1230 Are You Sure He’s A Void Interpretation Stage Martial Artist?
While Duan Ling Tian was cultivating, he did not forget to raise his Fused and Sword Profundity.
Now that he was interrupted suddenly and broken out of his intense concentration, it was no surprise that he was pissed.
Because of this, the moment when he regained his senses and opened his eyes, Duan Ling Tian’s face darkened instantly.
“Get out!” A boisterous voice rang impatiently from outside the thatched cottage. With a slam, the door was kicked open.
A chilly glimmer flashed across Duan Ling Tian’s eyes as he sat cross-legged in the air. He gradually descended and stood on the floor before walking out of the thatched cottage slowly.
After he exited, in just one glance, he saw the sole person standing outside the thatched cottage.
It was a brawny man with a sturdy body but a wretched and ugly face. The man had a pair of triangular eyes that were glaring at him with an icy, sharp light gleaming in them.
“Boy, I really must admire you… Just a mere First Level Void Interpretation Stage martial artist and you still dare to join the Selection of the Martial Emperor’s disciples and followers.” The ugly, muscular man had nothing but mockery for him.
“Oh?” Upon hearing him, Duan Ling Tian frowned right away.
Not many people knew about the fact that he was a First Level Void Interpretation Stage martial artist. At that rundown place, only two people knew about it.
At once, Duan Ling Tian cast a glance at his surroundings. He noticed most of the occupants walking out of the thatched houses. All of them were looking at the commotion happening at his place right then.
Soon, he recognized two people among those who were watching the commotion. They were the Third Level Martial Monarchs who Qiao Zhong had brought there together with him. They were also the only two people there who knew about his identity.
One of the men was looking at him in pity, while the other was watching him with a face full of derision.
“This man is here looking for trouble with me… Are you the ones who instigated it?” Duan Ling Tian glared coldly at the latter and asked in a deep voice.
It was needless to speculate because he knew that the stocky man had come looking for him after somebody had leaked his identity on purpose.
Upon hearing him, the man, who was looking at Duan Ling Tian mockingly, admitted straightforwardly, “So what if it’s me?”
“Duan Ling Tian, the thatched houses here are all already full with people… This brother just arrived and he has no place to stay. By right, you, who are only the Void Interpretation Stage martial artist, should clear out the thatched cottage for him.” As he spoke, the ridicule in his expression became even more apparent.
He particularly emphasized the five words “Void Interpretation Stage martial artist”.
“Boy, since I’ve made a breakthrough to the Martial Monarch Stage, I’ve yet to cast any attack on a Void Interpretation Stage martial artist before. Today, let me have a taste of what crushing an ant to its death with just one finger feels like!” The ugly, brawny man slowly grinned. His wretched face twisted with a crooked smile that was even uglier than a crying expression.
At the same time, he took a stride forward towards Duan Ling Tian.
Boom!
At that instant, his Origin Energy transformed into milky-white flames that soared up as it emitted a vast, heavy aura, causing the surrounding air to vibrate as it set off a series of faint detonations.
As 3,000 silhouettes of ancient horned dragons appeared above the brawny man’s head, he thrust out a palm and swept downwards towards Duan Ling Tian like a fanned leaf in full fury.
Using just his Origin Energy, he managed to mobilize the Heaven and Earth Energy together to form 3,000 silhouettes of ancient horned dragons.
That was an indicator of him being on the Second Level Martial Monarch Stage.
The onlookers thought to themselves, “He’s going to die!”
“He’s only at the First Level Void Interpretation, yet he still dares to join the Selection of the Martial Emperor’s disciples and followers? Isn’t he afraid of dying?”
…
In the sky, two old men were hovering right there.
Looking at how the brawny man made his move towards Duan Ling Tian, one of the old men told the other, “Qiao Zhong, it looks like he won’t be able to make it to the Selection of the Martial Emperor’s disciples and followers in three months.”
The other old man was none other than Qiao Zhong, the person who had brought Duan Ling Tian there.
The moment Qiao Zhong heard his companion, he replied nonchalantly, “That’s his decision.”
Then, losing their interest, the two old men retracted their gazes. In their opinions, there was no suspense in whatever was going to happen next.
They had no doubt that Duan Ling Tian would definitely be killed by the muscular man who possessed a Second Level Martial Monarch Stage cultivation base.
Boom!
In the next second, a loud sound reverberated. Everyone’s ears echoed with a deafening noise.
The two men shifted their gazes towards the bottom again.
“T-This…” They froze almost at the same time as a shocked expression crept upon their faces tacitly.
What they saw completely went beyond their imaginations.
The person, who they thought would have died, did not die. Instead, the person who should have triumphed had succumbed to death! To be more precise, he had transformed into a bloody mist that enveloped the entire sky. He had died without even leaving a corpse for burial.
As the ugly man transformed into a widespread bloody mist, Duan Ling Tian stood in the same spot and spat out a single word nonchalantly in a calm tone, “Idiot!”
At that moment, everyone present could see that although the brawny man had exploded into a bloody mist at only just a foot away from the purple-clad young man, not the slightest trace of blood could be seen at all on the latter.
“H-He’s a Void Interpretation Stage martial artist? You must be joking!”
“That guy on the Second Level Martial Monarch Stage didn’t even have the time to react before he perished by his hand.”
“Did you see his moves clearly?”
“I only saw a residual image that disappeared the moment it appeared.”
…
A commotion broke out on the spot.
The way the group of people viewed Duan Ling Tian had changed by 180 degrees. They were filled with respect and fear.
“How is this even possible?!” The Third Level Martial Monarch Stage martial artist who had betrayed Duan Ling Tian turned pale. He could not believe all this to be true.
The very person who had demonstrated a cultivation base of First Level Void Interpretation Stage just three months ago could now kill a Second Level Martial Monarch in just one blow!
In addition to that, the speed at which he launched his assault was so fast that he could barely catch any trace at all.
Soon, the Third Level Martial Monarch narrowed his eyes. Before he could even make out what was happening, a familiar figure had already appeared in front of him.
“D-Duan…” Opening his mouth, he tried to speak, but he did not have the opportunity to finish his sentence at all for Duan Ling Tian had already made his move and killed him.
In just the blink of an eye, Duan Ling Tian had already exterminated two people, making everyone regard him as the Killing God. Each of them was looking at him with dread.
“I’m lucky that I didn’t scheme against him like that idiot did.” As the other man who arrived with Duan Ling Tian previously gasped in horror, he secretly rejoiced at the same time.
“The guy who’s just been killed spread the fake news, saying that the purple-clad young man was a First Level Void Interoperation Stage martial artist… It must’ve never crossed his mind that not only had he caused the death of somebody else, but he also expedited his own death too!”
“If such a powerhouse is already on the First Level Void Interpretation Stage, then wouldn’t I be even worse than the Void Prying Stage?”
“Judging from his strength, he shouldn’t belong here with us at all.”
…
The group of people buried their heads in a heated discussion as they peered at Duan Ling Tian with terror.
These people had either arrived there before Duan Ling Tian or after him.
However, they all had one similarity — all of them were martial artists below the Fourth Level Martial Monarch Stage.
In the sky, the old man dressed in a green robe was looking at Qiao Zhong peculiarly as he asked, “Qiao Zhong, are you sure that he’s only a Void Interpretation Stage martial artist?”
“Impossible!” Qiao Zhong ignored the green-robed old man. He stared at the purple-colored figure with bafflement and disbelief.
Three months ago, the cultivation base that this purple-clad young man demonstrated was at the First Level Void Interpretation Stage. He had witnessed it with his own eyes and did not think that it was fake.
However, now that the purple-clad young man had made his move, he demonstrated a strength that was nowhere below the Fifth or Sixth Level Martial Monarch Stage. He had also witnessed this with his own eyes, so it must be true as well.
For this very reason, he was confused.
What exactly could have accelerated a First Level Void Interpretation Stage martial artist’s strength to such a horrifying level three months later?
“D-Duan Ling Tian.” Suddenly, a Voice Transmission entered Duan Ling Tian’s ears.
The moment Duan Ling Tian heard this, he immediately turned to look in the direction of the voice. He soon noticed that the person who was interacting with him through the Voice Transmission was the other person who had arrived together with him and Qiao Zhong.
“Anything?” Duan Ling Tian asked through his Voice Transmission.
“Duan Ling Tian, with your strength, you could’ve completely defeated everyone at that pavilion behind the staircase and taken that pavilion for yourself. The environment there is much better than here,” resonated the Voice Transmission again.
“The pavilion?” Upon hearing this, Duan Ling Tian looked at the higher section of the other side of the staircase. There stood another stone platform and there was an exquisite pavilion sitting atop the stone platform.
When he first arrived, he had already seen the pavilion.
At that time, he thought that the residence belonged to Qiao Zhong and another Martial Emperor’s disciple of Ling Xuan Peak. For this reason, he had not given it much thought anymore.
However, somebody had just told him that he could have actually defeated the people inside the pavilion and wrested that pavilion as his own?
“From the very start, we were wrong… That pavilion was a residence for us to stay too. However, the strongest among us is qualified to stay there,” continued the person who reminded Duan Ling Tian as if he read the question in his mind.
Even though Duan Ling Tian did not gather his Heaven and Earth energy to become the Heaven and Earth Phenomenon earlier during his two attacks, he could see that Duan Ling Tian’s strength was far from that of the person who had taken the pavilion for himself. No matter how strong that person was, he was only on the Third Level Martial Monarch Stage.
That person did not necessarily possess the strength to kill the two men in just one blow as Duan Ling Tian had done.
Right at this moment, Qiao Zhong’s words seemed to echo in Duan Ling Tian’s ears again, “If you really find it dirty, you can change your accommodation as you see fits.”
That day, Duan Ling Tian had wondered why Qiao Zhong would have uttered such peculiar words.
Now, he finally understood.
“Looks like there’s a show for us to watch.”
“That guy has taken that pavilion for himself for two entire months… It’s time he moved his nest away.”
…
Many people noticed Duan Ling Tian looking at the pavilion above the stone platform behind the staircase. They could guess what he was thinking about and at once, they were consumed with excitement and anticipation.
Under the watchful eyes of the others, Duan Ling Tian was prepared to make his move.
“So, it’s you who killed my brother.” A cold voice resonated from the sky, halting him in his tracks as he looked towards the direction of the voice.
In the air, three figures were descending from the sky. The leader was a middle-aged man in a green robe who was glaring at him with sharply.