Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

The Golden-Winged Roc, known as the fastest of all Divine Beasts!

A single flap of its wings can cover ninety thousand li!

Although Jiang Chen’s Golden-winged Roc Body Technique had not yet reached Perfection—he only had Wind Wings and had not yet formed the Golden Wings—his speed was still far greater than that of other experts at the same rank.

It took him less than the time for half an incense stick to burn to travel from the Celestial Demon Canyon to the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect.

His eyes were filled with anxiety. ’Brothers, hold on! I’ll be there right away!’

「Meanwhile...」

「At the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect.」

Black Yama sat imperiously atop the city wall, a nonchalant look on his face. His fingers drummed lightly on the armrest—TAP, TAP, TAP. He glanced at the Vice General beside him. "Is it time?"

"Reporting, General. The time has just come," the Vice General said respectfully.

Black Yama nodded, his indifferent gaze sweeping below the city wall toward the tall wooden tower from which the members of the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect were hung.

Black Emperor, Little White, Lui Yifa, Bai Lingfei, and the others were all trussed up and suspended there.

Their bodies were covered in gruesome wounds. Every day, soldiers from the Black Demon Army would viciously flog them with long whips. But Black Yama wouldn’t let them die; after torturing them to the brink of death, he would force-feed them pills to keep them hanging on by a thread.

Even Black Emperor, who was usually the most energetic, was now hanging upside down from the wooden tower, barely breathing.

The wounds on Little White’s back had already begun to fester.

They were swarming with maggots and flies.

Lui Yifa, Bai Lingfei, and the others were in a similarly wretched state—filthy and disheveled, their bodies covered in wounds. They were truly in a state where they could neither live nor die.

A smirk touched Black Yama’s lips. "The sixth day is here, and the Jiang Chen you’ve all been waiting for still hasn’t shown his face, hiding like the coward he is. How about this? In a moment, you will all shout that Jiang Chen is a cowardly, spineless weakling. The ten thousand people for today’s blood sacrifice will be chosen from the side that shouts the quietest!"

"In your dreams!"

"We’d rather die than submit to you."

"The Sect Master is invincible! He’s just been delayed. When he returns, you’re dead!"

The members of the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect all glared at Black Yama, their eyes bloodshot and burning with venomous hatred.

「Over the past five days.」

Every day, Black Yama had executed ten thousand disciples of the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect. Day and night, he had his experts inflict brutal torture upon them, only to use pills to keep them clinging to life.

This torment, a living hell where death was a release they couldn’t find.

It made them wish they could tear the Black Demon Army’s experts apart with their teeth and devour them whole.

Black Yama raised an eyebrow and sneered. "Quite the backbone on you. Since you’re all so eager to die, I’ll be happy to oblige! Men! I’m in a bad mood today. Kill thirty thousand of them to cheer me up!"

One of his Vice Generals quickly interjected, "General, since you’re in a bad mood, why don’t we try a new game?"

"Hmm?"

Black Yama looked at his Vice General with interest.

The Vice General offered a cruel smile. "There’s an old saying about killing two birds with one stone, and it gave me an idea for a fun game. We’ll pick out the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect members we’re going to execute and line them up. Then we take aim with bows. No True Essence Power is allowed—only pure physical strength. We’ll see who can kill the most people with a single arrow. The loser has to drink three cups of wine as a forfeit. What do you think, General?"

"Excellent!"

Black Yama clapped his hands in approval and urged, "Well, what are you waiting for? Go get me a greatbow!"

"Right away!"

The Vice General left excitedly.

「A short while later...」

He had selected thirty thousand people and arranged them into ten rows. These disciples of the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect had their cultivation sealed and were bound together.

They were unable to move.

Despair was etched on every face.

Black Yama and nine Vice Generals stood in a row, each facing one of the ten lines of Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect disciples.

Black Yama smiled. "You all go first."

"Then allow me to demonstrate my poor skills," one of the Vice Generals said.

He drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

TWANG!

An arrow whistled through the air and struck the disciple in front of him with perfect accuracy, piercing through his head and causing it to explode.

The arrow, possessing immense power, continued onward.

SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!

Head after head exploded.

In total, a hundred people were killed by that single arrow, their heads blown apart.

The Vice General shook his head. "Fuck! What shit luck. My hand slipped."

Black Yama roared with laughter. "If you wanted a drink that badly, you should’ve just said so. Why go easy on purpose? Only a hundred people? Pathetic. Next!"

The second Vice General’s arrow pierced two hundred people.

The third...

The fourth...

The fifth...

Their faces were all wreathed in triumphant smiles, smug and ecstatic.

They treated human life as if it were worthless grass.

Killing was just a game to them!

This spectacle made Lui Yifa and the others, hanging from the high tower, burn with uncontrollable rage. But after five days of cursing, they had already screamed themselves hoarse.

Watching the disciples of the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect die one by one, they could only feel helplessness and despair.

’I hate it! I hate how weak I am!’ Tears of blood streamed from Lui Yifa’s eyes.

Bai Lingfei shut his eyes in despair. "Kill me... I’m begging you, just kill me! Stop hurting them! There are children among them..."

Tears streamed down the weathered faces of Yuwen Zheng, Prince Gong, and the other elders.

It is said that a hero does not shed tears lightly, but only because their heart has not yet been broken.

Those were the disciples of the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect. They were living, breathing people!

Now, they were being used as living targets.

Yet they were powerless to stop it. How could they not be heartbroken? How could they not blame themselves? How could they not be—furious?

They wished they could take their places.

But...

They couldn’t.

"Jiang Chen, are you going to wait until every last one of us is dead before you come back?"

"Sect Master, where are you...?"

The experts of the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect cried out one by one in despair.

"Hahaha, Jiang Chen?" Black Yama sneered. "Even if he knew what was happening to you, he’d be too busy hiding like the coward he is to dare show his face." He licked his lips, then glanced at his Vice Generals and jutted his chin. "All of you, watch closely. I’ll demonstrate what true marksmanship is!"

"The General’s power is divine! I bet this arrow will pierce a thousand men!"

"A thousand? I bet he’ll kill all three thousand with a single shot!"

The Vice Generals roared with laughter.

Black Yama chuckled, drew his bow, and took aim at the row of Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect disciples before him. With a soft grunt, "Go," he released the string.

TWANG!

The bowstring vibrated as the arrow shot forth.

The arrow flew with incredible speed!

It was just about to strike and kill the disciple at the front of the line when, in that split second, a sharp whistling sound suddenly tore through the air.

And then...

A figure descended from the sky, appearing in front of the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect disciple. With two fingers, he plucked the incredibly sharp arrow right out of the air, stopping it dead!

VMMMM!

The arrow’s fletching vibrated violently.

The disciple from the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect, certain he was dead, had squeezed his eyes shut. But when the killing blow never came, he cautiously opened them a crack. He saw the familiar figure standing before him. The despair on his face shattered, replaced by wild joy and excitement. His hoarse voice erupted in a near-roar, "Sect Master? The Sect Master is back! Hahaha, brothers, the Sect Master is back! We’re saved!"

"What? The Sect Master is back?"

"It really is the Sect Master! We’re saved!"

The crowd roared in succession.

Many felt the profound relief of surviving a catastrophe, their eyes welling with tears.

But at this moment, Jiang Chen was filled with an ultimate rage.

His heart twisted as if pierced by a knife when he saw the rows of bound Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect disciples, used as living targets, unable to even resist being shot down. He looked at them and said in a heavy voice, "I’m sorry I’m late. But rest assured. Now that I am back, no one will harm you again. As for our fallen brothers, I will make the entire Black Demon Army join them in death!"

"Hm?"

Black Yama was stunned for a moment. He frowned at Jiang Chen, a mocking sneer spreading across his face. "I was wondering who would dare ruin my fun. So, you’re Jiang Chen. You want my Black Demon Army to join those mongrels in death? Are you joking? My Black Demon Army has a million experts. You can’t even save yourself. What makes you think you can take us down with you?"

"A million experts?"

Jiang Chen gave a cold smile, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Black Yama. "Are you sure you want to compare numbers with me?"

Black Yama’s eyebrow twitched, and he grinned. "So what if we do? What can you possibly do to me?"

"Heh."

Jiang Chen let out a cold laugh. "Since you want to compare numbers," he said slowly, "then let’s compare."

Black Yama was about to retort but suddenly snapped his mouth shut. His eyes flew wide, filled with utter shock and disbelief.

For in Jiang Chen’s hand, a Soldier Token had appeared. Right before Black Yama’s eyes, he slowly raised it...