Chapter 96: This Kid is Just Like Me!

"Great saber technique!"

Watching Wang Ping slash through the air with his saber in Longxing County, directly shattering Old Immortal Bliss's magic artifact and sending the old man flying, Chenlong felt a profound sense of gratification.

"That's my Peerless Slash."

Just looking at the motion of the strike and the rhythm of his Internal Force circulation, he knew that even if he executed the slash himself under the exact same conditions, the power would likely be no greater.

"This kid is just like me!"

After that emotional sigh, Chenlong glanced at Xugou beside him. His previously satisfied expression instantly collapsed. Pulling a long face, he snapped, "Look at Yin Hu, and then look at yourself. Did I not teach you the Peerless Slash? Not only did I demonstrate it personally, I even wrote down the specific techniques and tricks for you. And the result? Your forehand is clumsy, your backhand is weak. Worthless. If word got out, I'd be too embarrassed to even admit I taught you."

Xugou remained silent.

Facing Chenlong's reprimand, Xugou was left utterly speechless. He hadn't received this kind of treatment in the past; Big Brother Chenlong had always been pleasant and amiable toward him.

He used to tell everyone who would listen that Xugou had talent and a promising future.

Yet, ever since he met Wang Ping, Chenlong found Xugou to be more and more of an eyesore.

Back when he thought Xugou was a genius, he called him a 'good little brother.' Now that he had met a true genius, the new replaced the old, and he was suddenly 'worthless.'

'Shameless!'

Xugou cursed inwardly.

But the rumbling boom from outside Longxing County quickly made him toss aside his distracting thoughts and hurry over to watch the battle. After all, a fight of this caliber was a rare sight in Great Shun.

...

Smoke and dust rose like a dragon, rolling up into the cloudy sky.

Old Immortal Bliss stood up from the crater and glanced at his slightly damaged protective magic robes. The corner of his eye twitched, revealing a bone-deep fury.

The reason was simple.

"...A martial artist?"

At first, he thought an extraordinary person was hiding in Longxing County. He had even suspected it might be Chen Luoyan's Dao protector. However, after actually exchanging blows, he realized he was wrong.

Old Immortal Bliss shifted his gaze. High in the sky, Chen Luoyan had transformed into a streak of escaping light, vanishing over the horizon with the speed of lightning. Looking back at the ground, he saw a youth in a tight-fitting martial outfit resting a Dragon-Patterned Great Saber on his shoulder. His expression was completely relaxed as he strolled leisurely toward the old man.

"Hm?"

A moment later, Old Immortal Bliss suddenly froze. As his spiritual sense swept over the youth, he sensed the dense renown gathered on the young man's body and subconsciously pinched his fingers to divine his identity.

The result of that divination felt like a bucket of ice water being poured over his head.

"...Yin Hu? Imperial Tribute Hall?"

Old Immortal Bliss jolted out of his daze, apprehension flashing in his eyes. Martial artists had their own hierarchy, and the martial artists of the Tribute Hall were undoubtedly at the very peak.

Logically speaking, he should retreat. After all, he had been the one to strike first in Longxing County, blinded by his desire for revenge. Now that he had cooled down, he knew he was in the wrong, and the best course of action was to turn and leave. But if he left, what would happen to his revenge?

As Old Immortal Bliss pondered, his anger only grew.

"So what if it's the Tribute Hall?"

He glared at the approaching youth and sneered, "You are just a martial artist in the end. I have cultivated for half my life—should I really fear a bunch of Mortals who can't even fly? If you block my revenge, it will be a fight to the death!"

"I will give you one chance. Step down now, and I will let bygones be bygones."

Facing Old Immortal Bliss's warning, Wang Ping looked resolute. He answered without a shred of hesitation, "If you want to hunt down Luoyan, you'll have to step over my dead body!"

Those words instantly enraged Old Immortal Bliss.

"A martial artist who doesn't know what's good for him."

"You're courting death!"

For a moment, Old Immortal Bliss forgot all about Chen Luoyan. He only felt that his dignity as an extraordinary person had been trampled upon, and he absolutely had to kill this martial artist.

With that thought in mind, Old Immortal Bliss flared his sleeves and drew out his natal treasure. It was a three-legged, six-eared bronze furnace. It hovered in mid-air, and as the old man silently chanted an incantation, it rapidly expanded against the wind. A peach-colored illusory light overflowed from the furnace's mouth, dancing wildly like leaping flames.

"Human Desire Furnace, rise!"

Old Immortal Bliss raised his hand high, then flipped his palm downward. The bronze furnace violently surged like a galloping thunderbolt, slamming down and trapping Wang Ping inside.

Wang Ping didn't react at all throughout the entire process.

Seeing this, a smile bloomed on Old Immortal Bliss's face. This Human Desire Furnace was the sect-protecting treasure of his lineage, a mid-grade magic artifact.

In terms of raw power, it was entirely on par with any Famous Treasure.

Coupled with an extraordinary person's innate advantage over martial artists, once someone was trapped inside the furnace, they could forget about escaping unless they were a Martial Master ranked in the top five of the Armament Manual!

"Refine him!"

Old Immortal Bliss channeled his spiritual sense, ready to fully activate the profound power of the Human Desire Furnace and burn Wang Ping alive to vent his hatred.

Of course, this meant he would not have the time to chase after Chen Luoyan.

In the past, as an evil cultivator of the Myriad Demons Cave and a veteran fiend, he understood the principle that delays invite trouble. He absolutely would not have dragged this out.

"But times change."

Old Immortal Bliss looked positively optimistic. 'She was hit by my Bliss Poison. Even if she survives, her innocence will be utterly ruined. There is no need to rush.'

"It won't be too late to go after I refine this martial artist to death!"

Meanwhile.

Inside the Human Desire Furnace, Wang Ping was busy basking in the self-satisfaction of being the hero saving the beauty. He felt his mind had never been so crystal clear.

"I didn't act brainlessly to play the hero."

"In fact, I only stepped in because I was certain this wouldn't be a problem for me. I have the strength to resolve it. You could say my actions were completely logical."

The more Wang Ping thought about it, the more he felt like a true genius.

Even so, when the peach-colored illusory light inside the Human Desire Furnace closed in, calcining his body like boiling oil over a raging fire, he still felt annoyed.

"I really don't have a good impression of furnaces."

Wang Ping slowly lowered his stance.

"In that case... just consider yourself unlucky."

Previously, when he mastered the Martial God Pictorial Record, he had held back from pushing his speed to the absolute limit out of concern for his surroundings. Now, he didn't have to worry about that.

"First, color is unnecessary."

Wang Ping's eyes narrowed slightly. The world faded into black and white as he withdrew the mental energy required to process color, redirecting it toward something much more important.

"Second, anything other than the target."

His Divine Intent surged, piercing straight through the barrier of the Human Desire Furnace to lock onto Old Immortal Bliss's position. Everything else was completely scrubbed from his senses.

"Finally, the self."

Having eliminated every distraction and focused the entirety of his energy, Wang Ping's consciousness sank deep into his own body, driving his flesh and blood to accelerate toward their absolute limits.

Boom!

The sound barrier shattered. Layers of shockwaves exploded outward as Wang Ping's physical speed breached the sonic domain, continuously soaring ever higher.

Mach one, Mach two, Mach three... in a thousandth of a second, Wang Ping's speed reached Mach five, which was his previous limit. Then it kept climbing, soaring until he neared Mach ten. At that point, it felt as though he had slammed into an iron wall, making it difficult to push any further.

Was this the limit?

"Not enough!"

Wang Ping squeezed out even more energy. Concentrating his mind, it was as if he held a torch to a powder keg buried deep within his core—and ignited it!

"Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Art!"

Unlike before, he had now successfully mastered the Martial God Pictorial Record and possessed a constitution reinforced by Internal Force, allowing him to finally deploy this self-mutilating secret art.

And even that was not all.

"Still not enough!"

Wang Ping looked inward, watching his flesh and blood continuously disintegrate under the immense strain of the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Art. Immediately, he circulated his spiritual sense and triggered a spell.

'Qi Restriction!'

Vigorous True Qi surged through his entire body, rapidly knitting back together the flesh that the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Art tore apart. Between the destruction and the mending, a perfect balance was formed!

This bizarre equilibrium allowed Wang Ping to ignore his own safety and push the output of the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Art to its absolute maximum. The resulting boost multiplied his power exponentially, allowing him to violently shatter the iron wall in his path and advance beyond Mach ten!

In a trance, Wang Ping saw it—that beam of light.

That glimmer of light he had only managed to touch back when he exhausted all of his magic power through the form of the Six Desires Heavenly Demon King... it was finally opening its embrace to him once more.

Although it was still far out of reach, at least he could see it.

"Mach one hundred!"

Compared to the absolute limit his physical body could endure on its own, the combination of the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Great Art and Qi Restriction granted him a full ten-fold multiplier!

While it wasn't as exaggerated as approaching the speed of light, it had undeniably surpassed the mortal realm entirely. His mere existence at this velocity was a natural disaster for Mortals.

In this state, there was only one thing he needed to do.

Swing his saber.

"Hm?"

Almost simultaneously, Old Immortal Bliss, who was sitting in front of the Human Desire Furnace, felt his vision blur. The spiritual sense he had injected into the furnace saw nothing but a blinding expanse of blazing white.

What just happened?

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out—or rather, a sluggish thing like sound had already been left far behind by what was happening.

Only spiritual sense was fast enough to capture it.

It captured a streak of intent that was unspeakably fierce and domineering to the absolute extreme. Merely coming into contact with it was enough to obliterate all of his senses.

At that moment, Old Immortal Bliss was completely blinded. His spiritual sense registered nothing but searing white light, and his voice failed him. The tactile sensation of his skin was overwhelmed by a wave of scorching heat and agony, instantly severing his connection to the outside world. He didn't even know what was happening. Had he been attacked?

'But... by who?'

Old Immortal Bliss's consciousness abruptly cut off there. Under the dual devastation of a plasma explosion and a high-pressure shockwave, his protective magic robes shattered in an instant.

The Human Desire Furnace was no exception.

Any physical object lacking the reinforcement of magic power could not defy the laws of reality. The moment the furnace was breached, it vaporized with a thunderous blast, sweeping outward like a tsunami.

Only then did the hum of the saber and the deafening roar finally catch up.

"Purging the Immortals' Side!"

Inside Longxing County, Chenlong and Xugou narrowed their eyes, watching the sun that had suddenly bloomed high in the sky. It was so bright it stung their retinas.

"What an intense aura of rebellion."

A moment later, Chenlong offered his heartfelt praise. "The Divine Intent behind that slash feels like it wants to overthrow the world at all costs. It's truly perfectly suited for a rebel."

"He... he just killed him like that?"

Beside him, Xugou felt a bit dizzy. "The evil cultivators of the Myriad Demons Cave are like a plague—kill one, and a whole swarm pops out; kill the young, and the elders show up. Especially since this was a battle of spells between extraordinary persons. Logically speaking, the Tribute Hall shouldn't have interfered. At most, he should have just scared the old man off. How could he just kill him..."

At that thought, Xugou couldn't help but look at Chenlong.

"Big Brother, how are we going to explain this? Besides, he even used your Peerless Slash. If word gets out, people will say Yin Hu is your subordinate..."

"What nonsense are you spouting!"

Before Xugou could even finish, Chenlong vehemently denied it on the spot. "What Peerless Slash? It just looks similar! I have absolutely no connection to this Wang Ping!"

Meanwhile, Wang Ping plummeted from the sky. With a heavy thud, he smashed a large crater into the ground outside Longxing County, his entire body charred black.

Fortunately, as his Qi Restriction circulated and the Martial God Pictorial Record kicked in to autonomously heal him, the charred, dead flesh quickly sloughed off to reveal pristine new skin beneath. After just a few breaths, Wang Ping was basically back to normal, though his face was still pale from exhaustion.

Yet at this moment, a sliver of doubt lingered in his mind.

'Did I push myself too hard?'

A slash at Mach one hundred wasn't an easy thing to execute, even for the current Wang Ping. After delivering that strike, he would need to rest for at least three or four days to recover.

All for Chen Luoyan... well, there was nothing wrong with that.

Wang Ping quickly shook off the doubt. Love was a supreme virtue! Defending it even at the cost of one's own life—that was what it meant to be a true romantic!

Besides, he hadn't walked away completely empty-handed.

"Yin Hu."

Chenlong and Xugou hurried over. Looking at Wang Ping, Chenlong couldn't help but suck in a breath through his teeth. "You were a bit extreme this time."

"Extreme?"

Wang Ping focused his mind and projected his consciousness into the Great Peace Mortuary. There, upon the towering tome, a brand-new portrait had manifested on the fifth scripture scroll, Invoking Deities.

Old Immortal Bliss.

The consciousness fragments of the evil path extraordinary person had scattered everywhere the instant Wang Ping killed him. Naturally, Invoking Deities had scooped up every single piece.

'It works like that, too?' Wang Ping was mildly surprised.

Although I ended your life, you can still begin anew as human livestock!

"...Hm?"

Suddenly, Wang Ping froze.

An intense sense of incongruity struck him—as jarring as walking outside and seeing a sow smoothly climb a tree. This bizarre feeling left Wang Ping rooted to the spot.

Wang Ping glanced around and pondered for a moment before finally pinpointing the source of the anomaly.

Courage of the Noble Gentleman.

As long as his motives aligned with the principle of upholding righteousness and adhering to justice, this scripture scroll was supposed to light up immediately, entering a state ready for use.

Yet at this moment, it was completely dim.

"Why?"

Old Immortal Bliss clearly wasn't a good person, and he had just risked his life to save Chen Luoyan. Theoretically, his act of a hero saving a beauty should have been enough to light up the scripture scroll.

Unless...

"...!?"

A second later, Wang Ping's consciousness withdrew from the Great Peace Mortuary. He slumped down onto the ground with a thud, his emotions rapidly twisting into a bone-deep, icy dread.

What did I just do?

Before he could even process his thoughts, a voice filled with praise rang in his ears.

"Good! Well done!"

Wang Ping looked up to see that Chenlong had appeared beside him at some point. The man's face was brimming with surprise and joy, and he firmly clapped Wang Ping on the shoulder.

"Among those below the Martial Dao Grandmaster Rank, not even one in ten martial artists can regain their clarity after being influenced by destiny. In the entire Tribute Hall, I was the only one who had ever managed to do it back in the day."

As he said this, Chenlong looked at Wang Ping with utter, unbridled satisfaction.

"You kid, you really are just like me!"