Martial Cultivator

The white flood dragon's true form stretched for several hundred feet, like one of the true dragons that had long since vanished from the world. Anyone who saw its true form would inevitably be struck speechless with awe.

But when that boot descended from the sky and stepped onto the enormous flood dragon's head, it still looked insignificant by comparison. Yet at that moment, almost everyone stopped what they were doing to look at that boot.

More precisely, at the person wearing it.

That was a young man dressed in black, a saber hanging at his waist, standing atop the gigantic white flood dragon's head as he looked calmly toward the battlefield below, his gaze casually sweeping across the demon army.

He did not say a single word, yet in that instant, every demon his eyes passed over felt an unprecedented sense of nervousness.

For all those years, they had looked upon the human race as though they were ants, but now, the way this human looked at them was much the same as the way they had once looked at humanity.

Pinned beneath his foot, White Jing's body continuously transformed until he finally took human form, which also meant he had been forced onto the city wall. Unfortunately for him, he still remained sprawled face down on the battlements, with a foot planted firmly on his head.

The young man in black stood atop the wall, casually trampling one of the three strongest demon lords beneath his foot. The other demon powerhouses watched the scene, yet not a single one dared approach.

If he had not already broken through that barrier and become one of the exceedingly rare Fuyun cultivators, they might still have been willing to try. But now, not a single demon lord wished to repeat what had already happened.

Because not long before this, that young man had calmly walked straight through the demon army and killed a demon lord who had tried to stop him.

But one thing was obvious to everyone on the city wall, whether they were Northern Frontier Army soldiers or cultivators alike. The moment this young man appeared, everyone's hearts seemed to settle.

The reason was simple.

After the Great Liang Emperor, this young Lord Warden Commander was the only person who had fought the Demon Emperor and driven him out of Great Liang's borders.

With him here, at the very least, they all felt this war against the demons was still winnable!

Ning Ping glanced at Chen Chao and was just about to speak when Chen Chao shook his head and said softly, "Trouble you to tell her not to worry."

Ning Ping froze, unable to understand what he meant, but in the next instant, he saw Chen Chao kick the demon lord beneath his foot flying, then transform into a streak of light that shot across the city wall toward the distant battlefield.

Not far away, everyone could make out an immense dharma idol towering between heaven and earth.

Endless demonic qi poured down from that direction, turning the distant landscape into a living hell filled with boundless terror.

That towering dharma idol was roughly several hundred miles from the city wall, yet despite the distance, everyone could still feel its terrifying presence. What that implied needed no explanation.

A Fuyun Realm demon powerhouse had arrived.

And that powerhouse was not the Demon Emperor.

Which meant the demons possessed more than just the Demon Emperor, this one Fuyun Realm powerhouse.

Just like the human race.

Everyone who had still clung to the hope that the demons had only the Demon Emperor as their sole supreme powerhouse could not help but feel disappointed.

Even if the Demon Emperor had been the demons' only supreme powerhouse, he had already been a sword hanging over humanity's head. After the Great Liang Emperor passed away, the Demon Emperor had become the strongest being in the world, with almost no one capable of matching him.

And now, the situation had become even worse.

The demons had more than one Fuyun Realm powerhouse, and those other demon Fuyun Realm powerhouses had even set aside their pride and personally come to the battlefield.

Is there any situation in the world worse than the current one?

......

......

Chen Chao rushed to the Northern Frontier, appeared atop the city wall, and then immediately left it.

It all seemed to happen in one seamless motion, but wasn't it also a declaration of Great Liang's current predicament?

The situation had become so dire that this young Lord Warden Commander did not even have a moment to catch his breath.

As Chen Chao swept over the demon army, he did not remain idle. Instead, he casually slashed out with his saber. A snow-white saber light burst forth from the line of the city wall, like brilliant daylight suddenly illuminating the night. Yet that radiance was too dazzling. In an instant, countless demons were cleaved apart by the saber light. From the city wall all the way to the foremost ranks of the demon army, nearly every demon in that stretch was cut in two by that single slash.

By rough estimate, at least several thousand demons perished in that instant.

The lingering force of that slash continued onward, seemingly about to crash into the main body of the demon army, but fortunately a demon lord intervened. A vast expanse of demonic qi swept across the sky to block the attack.

The result, of course, was that the demonic qi was torn apart. But after cutting through it, the slash had already lost most of its force and no longer posed any real threat.

Even so, that casual slash still left countless demons trembling with fear. After all, if someone of such terrifying strength could unleash such power with a casual swing of his saber, then if he truly plunged deep into the army, could he slaughter the entire million-strong demon army before his strength ran out?

Demon Lord Redsleeve looked up at Chen Chao's departing figure without finding it surprising. She had long expected him to appear here. Humanity's overall strength was inferior, and they had far fewer powerhouses than the demons. Once the demons launched an all-out assault on the city, Chen Chao was bound to appear.

While humanity had been thinking about how to deal with the Demon Emperor, she had been thinking about how to deal with this young martial artist.

The reason she had remained stationed in the desolate north without advancing was precisely because she had been waiting for the Demon Emperor to bring a Fuyun Realm powerhouse into the war. Otherwise, she could have continued waiting indefinitely.

Although this war would ultimately be decided by the accumulated strength of both races, the outcome at the level of these supreme powerhouses was what truly mattered.

She did not know how the Demon Emperor had managed to persuade such a powerhouse to intervene, but since they had agreed to act, that was enough.

Humanity might have someone like Chen Chao. But how many Chen Chaos did they have?

Demon Lord Redsleeve glanced at White Jing, who had just climbed back to his feet in the distance, and smiled, "You're hard to kill."

White Jing was now covered in dust, with none of his earlier immortal-like bearing remaining. Chen Chao's kick had clearly been intended to kill him, but at the moment it landed, White Jing had circulated every ounce of his life's cultivation. On top of that, although his white robes appeared ordinary, they were in truth a genuine secret treasure, and his physical body was tough enough as well.

Had he lacked even one of those advantages, he would already have been dead beyond any doubt.

Or to put it another way, if Chen Chao had not been in such a hurry to leave the city wall for the battlefield several hundred miles away, White Jing would never have survived a second strike delivered with killing intent.

The difference of a single realm seemed like only a narrow gap, but in reality, it was anything but simple.

White Jing looked at Demon Lord Redsleeve without saying anything. He appeared calm, but inwardly his emotions were in turmoil. Earlier, when the Demon Emperor had been wounded, he had considered whether he might seize the opportunity to contend for that throne. Had it not been for the demon High Priest and Autumn stopping him, he would probably have acted.

Looking back now, fortunately he had not. Had he really gone, the outcome would have been no better than today.

As though seeing through his thoughts, Demon Lord Redsleeve said indifferently, "Becoming the Demon Emperor and sitting on that throne was never easy. It was difficult in the past, and now it's simply impossible."

She looked at White Jing meaningfully. Speaking of contending for the throne, she herself had once tried. And what had been the result? Her nephew was not merely extraordinarily talented; his cunning and strategic mind were second to none.

She had lost by a narrow margin back then, and now she had no intention of trying again.

At least not before she crossed into that next realm.

White Jing brushed the dust from his clothes without saying a word.

The humiliation he had just suffered was the first of his life. Back when he roamed human territory, he had done so with complete freedom and boundless confidence. Yet how many years had passed? Somehow a younger man had overtaken him from behind, leaving him without even the ability to fight back.

Demon Lord Redsleeve smiled, "Don't be so unwilling to accept it. At least until you break through, don't entertain thoughts like that. You should also thank that senior in the distance. If that young martial artist hadn't been rushing over there, you'd definitely have died here."

Demon Lord Redsleeve had heard that White Jing had once truly attempted to assassinate Xie Nandu. Would that young man simply pretend such a grudge had never happened?

Impossible.

White Jing remained silent.

Demon Lord Redsleeve smiled, "If I didn't have to stay here and keep watch, I'd actually rather go and watch that battlefield instead."