Chapter 236 - 233: The End
The world fell deathly silent.
Under hundreds of gazes,
Shen Changchuan’s figure slowly approached Xu Ziming.
Everyone watched, not daring to blink,
anticipating the historic moment that was about to unfold.
And it was, indeed, a historic moment.
Slaying an expert of the Soul Emergence Realm while only at the Qi Introduction Realm was an incredible feat. It was unheard of in the Border Desolate Forest or the Qing City region; even across the entire Tian Nan Domain, such an event was a rarity seen only once every few centuries!
Bridging the gap between the Qi Introduction Realm and the Soul Emergence Realm to achieve a reverse kill—it was a deed those present had only ever heard of in historical legends!
And now,
an event from those very legends was about to unfold before their very eyes!
At this moment,
the hearts of all the spectating Cultivators were a storm of complex emotions, and many wore dazed expressions.
Regardless of whether the Demon Cultivator calling himself Xu Ziming had been injured or careless, from this day forward, the name Shen Changchuan would surely shake the world!
He was the very definition of achieving overnight fame!
However,
just at that moment,
just as he was about to come within twenty meters of his target, Shen Changchuan suddenly stopped.
He stopped so abruptly
that the crowd was stunned for a moment.
Then,
before anyone could react,
Cyan Wood Sword Light!
With no casting gesture, he raised his hand, and a brilliant sword light suddenly shot out.
The abrupt blade of light tore through tens of feet of air, carrying a terrifying, unparalleled power that seemed to slice through space itself. It flew from a distance, aimed straight for the head of Xu Ziming, who was practically lying on the ground!
Just as the cyan sword light pierced through everything, arriving before Xu Ziming’s head in the very instant before it would have killed him,
Xu Ziming—who had hung his head with closed eyes as if resigned to his fate—suddenly snapped his head up.
His eyes flew open, reflecting the Cyan Wood Sword Light. A sharp glint flashed deep in his pupils and was gone.
’A shame... I couldn’t fool him.’
A flash of regret crossed Xu Ziming’s mind.
As a Demon Cultivator, how could he possibly be some selfless do-gooder, sacrificing his own life to build someone else’s reputation?
For the likes of Demon Cultivators,
a spiteful and destructive nature was the norm.
Even in death,
they would scheme to drag their opponent down with them!
That had been Xu Ziming’s plan all along.
But unfortunately,
Shen Changchuan was extremely cautious.
He hadn’t let his guard down despite the weakness Xu Ziming feigned.
He had stopped eighty or ninety feet away and immediately unleashed a killing blow.
This rendered all of Xu Ziming’s careful scheming
useless in an instant.
’Even if I can’t take you down with me, I’ll be damned if I let you get off easy!’
In a split second,
countless thoughts flashed through Xu Ziming’s mind.
A vicious, savage look flashed in his eyes.
His body began to swell rapidly like a balloon, unleashing an aura of world-ending destruction!
In that same instant,
the Cyan Wood Sword Light struck him!
BOOOOOOM!!!
A blinding flash of light erupted, like a great Meteor crashing to earth, and a world-shaking boom filled the sky!
A terrifying shockwave of energy radiated outward in all directions like a raging tide.
The ground within a radius of hundreds of feet instantly collapsed.
The earth trembled violently, cracking and breaking apart layer by layer.
Within a radius of thousands of feet, houses and trees were torn to shreds by the almost-tangible blast wave!
A terrifying gale, carrying shattered stones and dust, formed a physical torrent that swept across the land!
The weaker Qi Introduction Realm Cultivators watching from the sidelines—those below the Qi Introduction Late Stage—were sent flying by the terrifying blast.
Even those at the Ninth Layer Realm were like lonely boats tossed in a storm, on the verge of capsizing at any moment from the dreadful impact!
The utterly terrifying shockwave lasted for several moments before finally subsiding.
The darkness that had enveloped Dawan Village was completely gone.
The sky above was clear.
On the ground,
the once-thriving village, with its dense rows of houses and bustling pedestrians, had been completely reduced to rubble.
The Cultivators caught in the blast were scattered everywhere—some buried under the rubble of collapsed houses, others draped over the bare trunks of nearby trees...
The stronger Cultivators were already standing atop the rugged ruins,
gazing toward the center of the devastation.
There, not far away,
a massive crater hundreds of feet in diameter had been carved into the earth.
At the center of the crater,
the faint, cyan phantom of a Bronze Bell flickered, looking like a small, indestructible mountain.
Shen Changchuan stood within the phantom bell,
completely unharmed.
Clearly,
Xu Ziming’s final, desperate self-destruction
had caused little trouble for the well-prepared Shen Changchuan.
The Treasure Bronze Bell had completely absorbed the impact from the self-detonation.
Shen Changchuan gazed into the empty crater before him.
There,
there was no longer any sign of Xu Ziming.
’It’s finally over.’
Sensing not the slightest trace of Xu Ziming’s aura, Shen Changchuan let out a long sigh of relief.
He looked up at the sky,
his heart
a swirl of complicated feelings.
A being of the Soul Emergence Realm
had died so easily by his hand.
The entire experience felt dreamlike and unreal.
After a long moment,
taking a few deep breaths,
Shen Changchuan finally withdrew the Bronze Bell.
At that moment,
the sky above was clear for thousands of miles.
It was as if years of suppression
had been released all at once, shattering every shackle and allowing him to see the true expanse of the world.
In that instant,
his future seemed as boundless as the sea and sky!
...
’It’s finally over!’
At this moment,
the crowd of spectating Cultivators was still in a daze.
From the moment Xu Ziming appeared, brazenly unleashing his Soul Emergence Level aura, to the moment he used a Secret Technique to slaughter the masses, the foreign Cultivators trapped in Dawan Village had been plunged into despair, panic, and had even begun hurling curses at the Shen Clan.
They had all thought they were going to die here.
But they never imagined
that the Dawan Village Guardian, whom they had all disdained, was actually a deeply hidden prodigy who could kill a Soul Emergence Realm Demon Cultivator while only at the Qi Introduction Realm!
Even though there had been signs during the battle,
seeing the Soul Emergence Realm Demon Cultivator Xu Ziming actually forced into a corner and ultimately self-destructing still left everyone feeling an overwhelming sense of disbelief!
A legend had come to life right before their very eyes!
The emotions churning within them were too powerful, too exciting to be put into words.
Meanwhile,
in stark contrast to the excitement of the spectating Cultivators,
at this very moment,
Shen Shengliang felt his limbs go stiff.
His heart plunged as if into an icy abyss, and a boundless chill surged through him!
’This boy... he has the power to kill a True Cultivator of the Soul Emergence Realm.’
’What am I supposed to do now?’
Shen Shengliang stood frozen to the spot,
his face completely devoid of its former arrogance,
filled only with boundless regret.