Chapter 273 - 270: Fighting Soul Emergence Again
As a voice filled with amazement rang out, a figure clad in night clothes with a black scarf concealing his face appeared in midair.
With a beckoning motion of his hand,
the flying sword that had been sent flying shot back into his grasp.
His eyes were fixed on Shen Changchuan,
and a powerful aura emanated from him.
A pressure like a small mountain
suffused the air.
"To contend with, and even overpower, someone in the Soul Emergence Realm while only in the Qi Introduction Realm... I originally refused to believe someone so formidable truly existed. Now... now I’m a believer."
The man in black gazed at Shen Changchuan,
his eyes a mixture of admiration and pity.
It was the kind of pity one feels when watching a genius on the verge of death.
"And which member of the Shen Family might you be?"
"Setting a trap here to ambush your own kin... Aren’t you afraid of the Ancestor’s punishment for such a transgression?"
The Array Light Curtain that had risen around them had already cut off Shen Changchuan’s escape route.
With the Soul Emergence Realm cultivator in black hovering high above,
he was now trapped in a hopeless situation.
But Shen Changchuan showed little fear.
His expression remained calm.
’Panicking is pointless.
A calm analysis is the only way out.’
After a moment’s thought,
Shen Changchuan already had a guess as to the identity of the figure in black before him.
’My whereabouts...
...must have been reported by that person from Huangshi Village.
Shen Shiyin has the Communication Talisman I traded with him two years ago.
So he was used as bait...
...to lure me into this trap.
And for someone to be able to command both the Huangshi Village chief and Shen Shiyin...
...this person must be a member of the Shen Clan.
And an Elder, at that.
If it’s someone from the Shen Family...
...and considering who stands to gain...
...then the most likely culprit is the First Madam.’
"So, you work for the First Madam?"
As Shen Changchuan’s words fell,
the figure in black in midair paused for a fraction of a second.
"You truly live up to your reputation as the number one talent of the younger generation in the Tian Nan Domain. You’re as clever as they say!"
"Then again, if you weren’t, you wouldn’t have survived this long."
"All those years of forbearance, never showing your hand, even deliberately neglecting your cultivation to hide your talent. Only after you were sent away, free from watchful eyes, did you soar to prominence... Did you know that after you left, the Clan Leader’s other illegitimate sons and daughters were all ordered to return to Tian Nan City?"
"Your brilliance has brought a great deal of trouble for those half-siblings of yours."
"Do you feel any remorse for them?"
The figure in black sighed with admiration again, not bothering to deny Shen Changchuan’s accusation.
In his eyes,
this young man before him
was truly a chosen one of the heavens!
Setting aside his later achievements,
the forbearance and maturity he displayed as a child in Tian Nan City alone
was enough to put many others to shame.
"What does that have to do with me? I’m not the one who caused their trouble."
"You wouldn’t blame the blacksmith who forged the sword for the murder committed by the swordsman, would you?"
Shen Changchuan showed not a hint of remorse in the face of the man’s questions.
He glanced up at the man in black,
his gaze profound.
"Since you know I’m a genius, why are you trying to kill me?"
"I am the most outstanding prodigy of the Shen Clan’s next generation. Across the entire Tian Nan Domain, I am peerless among my peers... Perhaps in the future, I could be the one to lead the Tian Nan Shen Clan to greater heights..."
"The First Madam is ultimately an outsider. She doesn’t share the Shen name. What could you possibly gain by following her orders?"
"Besides, I won’t lie to you. I have met the Ancestor. He thinks very highly of me and even personally arranged for my entry into the Dragon Cloud Sect."
"Is it really worth it... to risk being discovered by the Ancestor and facing the clan’s justice, just to assassinate me?"
Shen Changchuan’s voice was haunting.
In the sky above,
the man in black fell silent for a moment.
"I have to admit, you’ve got a silver tongue... but I have my reasons, and now that I’ve committed to this path, there’s no turning back."
"Besides, the Array here seals off everything. Unless you can kill me, you won’t be sending any messages out."
Anyone who could cultivate to Soul Emergence
would not be so easily swayed by a few words to change their allegiance.
True, if Shen Changchuan were allowed to reach his full potential, the Tian Nan Shen Clan would likely benefit greatly.
But those benefits would be for the entire clan; the share for each individual would be miniscule.
The First Madam’s promise, by comparison, was far, far more substantial.
As for the Ancestor’s justice,
in this remote wasteland, miles from civilization, with an Array blocking all communication, once he was dead,
the world was a vast place. In an area of millions of square kilometers, it would be impossible to even locate the scene of the battle!
Who could possibly trace it back to me?
"Enough talk. Die!"
High above,
the man in black wasted no more time on words.
With a wave of his hand,
the winds and clouds surged. Vast clouds of qi roiled and churned as immense Magical Power gathered high in the sky. It finally coalesced into a colossal hand of wind and clouds, dozens of yards wide, that descended with a great roar, seeking to crush Shen Changchuan!
At the same time,
his powerful Divine Sense spread through the void, blanketing the area.
An intangible, formless will
locked onto Shen Changchuan in that instant!
Caught in the path of the attack, Shen Changchuan felt there was no escape, nowhere to run!
’This Divine Sense... it has to be at least Soul Emergence Second Layer. And this technique... it’s a Tier Two Magic!’
Shen Changchuan’s heart sank.
His expression grew incredibly grim.
The Demon Cultivator he had killed, Xu Ziming, had only been at the Soul Emergence First Layer Late Stage, and heavily injured at that.
Even Mo Lingfeng of the Heisei Domain had only fought to a draw against a True Cultivator who had just barely stepped into the Soul Emergence Realm.
Although there was only a one-layer difference in cultivation between the Soul Emergence Second Layer Realm and the Soul Emergence First Layer Realm,
and just like in the Qi Introduction Realm, the First, Second, and Third Layers were all considered the Early Stage of a major Realm,
But,
a Cultivator at the Second Layer Realm was always a whole level stronger than one at the First Layer Realm!
Whether in the quantity of Magical Power or the strength of their Divine Sense,
they were a cut above a Cultivator of the First Layer Realm!
What was more troubling,
was that this man before him
was at his absolute peak!
This meant that if he couldn’t secure a swift victory, getting drawn into a battle of attrition would guarantee his defeat!
Though his mind raced,
Shen Changchuan’s movements didn’t slow in the slightest.
"Cyan Wood Sword Light·Triple!"
With a flick of his wrist,
a triple-layered Cyan Wood Sword Light erupted in an instant. The sword light shot toward the heavens, illuminating the world!
In that same instant,
Shen Changchuan’s Divine Sense merged with the attack, taking command of the three streams of Cyan Wood Sword Light. He linked them together in a Minor Three Talents Formation and sent them surging upward to meet his opponent’s strike head-on!