Martial Cultivator

Cloud Mud was a saber somewhat different from ordinary ones. Its blade was nearly straight, looking more like a sword.

If one said being pierced through the heart with a saber didn’t sound very elegant, then one could say that at this moment, Autumn had been pierced through the heart by Chen Chao’s sword.

Chen Chao gripped Cloud Mud’s hilt and glanced at Autumn before him. Her face was pale, and in the pallor of her eyes there was, at this moment, a particular significance.

The next instant, Chen Chao’s grip on Cloud Mud tightened further. He thrust forward with force, driving that straight saber named Cloud Mud a few inches deeper, then ruthlessly twisted it, completely shattering Autumn’s heart.

But he had no intention of letting the woman before him go. Years ago, in that battle in the desolate north, Chen Chao had also pierced Autumn’s chest, yet still had not managed to kill her.

The woman before him was built differently - she had two hearts.

Ordinary people had only a single heart. But this woman was different - two hearts, one on the left, one on the right.

Merely crushing one of her hearts was not enough to kill her.

So Chen Chao pulled Cloud Mud toward the left, intent on grinding apart Autumn’s other heart. If he destroyed both, then even if an immortal from the heavens descended to earth, it would be nearly impossible to save her.

Autumn’s snow-white eyes faded, returning to their normal hue. When she looked this way, there flashed within her gaze some indescribable emotion.

Chen Chao met her eyes for an instant, and for a moment he too lost focus.

The two of them could be said to have known each other for quite some time, and even to have experienced life and death together. Aside from standing on opposite sides of the river, there was little that truly demanded they decide each other’s life or death.

But standing on opposite banks was already enough to explain everything.

At the very least, a great river lay between them, and neither could ignore that fact.

Thus, personal feelings could never be allowed to override such a matter of importance.

Chen Chao took a deep breath and once again swept Cloud Mud toward her.

Autumn reached out her hand, pressing against the saber’s edge. Her palm was instantly split open by the blade, blood dripping down without end until the ground beneath was dyed a deep red.

Chen Chao narrowed his eyes.

The next moment, before he could act further, Autumn suddenly slammed a fist onto the blade. Cloud Mud slid downward, cutting free from beneath her ribs.

And so, half of Autumn’s body was left in an almost cleaved-apart, wretched state.

This was without doubt a scene of grievous, brutal injury.

Chen Chao clicked his tongue. Although the choice he made now was without doubt the best choice - to use a severe injury to exchange for a situation where his opponent looked certain to die.

Being able to decide so swiftly in the blink of an eye was no easy feat.

But Autumn had never been someone indecisive. That she could make such a decision now was not particularly strange, though anyone who saw it would secretly admire this demon princess.

A madwoman who was ruthless to others, but just as ruthless to herself!

Yet even so, in truth, it would not change much in the grand scheme, at least not in terms of Autumn’s life and death.

It was nothing more than the difference between dying early or dying late.

Having already lost the strength to fight, Autumn now had virtually no way to respond to Chen Chao.

She could still stand at this moment, but clearly could do nothing more.

From the ghastly wound across her lower abdomen, blood continued to pour onto the ground, soon staining it a deep red.

At this moment, Autumn was at the weakest point of her life.

Chen Chao looked at her, emotions flickering in his eyes, but he quickly wiped it away himself. Looking at the young genius who had been entangled with him the longest, his lips moved, but he did not speak.

Things had reached this point, there was nothing left to say.

Chen Chao stepped forward, raising Cloud Mud in his hand, its tip soon to press against Autumn’s chest.

After so many clashes between the two of them, again and again, it seemed that at this moment, the story would finally reach its conclusion.

“Chen Chao, do you think you’ll be able to defeat me the next time?”

Autumn suddenly spoke, her voice calm, without the slightest trace of fear, just like Xie Nandu before.

Chen Chao shook his head. “There won’t be a next time.”

Autumn did not answer, only looked at Chen Chao quietly.

Chen Chao looked at her, then at Cloud Mud as he thrust it forward, when suddenly, he saw a strange smile curl upon Autumn’s lips.

Chen Chao narrowed his eyes. In that instant, a sudden chill of dread surged in his heart.

All at once, between heaven and earth, the wind and snow erupted violently.

A terrifying pressure spread from the north. In that instant, Chen Chao felt as if an incomparably towering mountain was pressing down on his head. The dreadful might made it so that he could not even swing that saber strike.

What kind of terrifying thing was this?

One must know, Chen Chao was already a cultivator at the end of Nepenthe. In this world, there were absolutely not many cultivators who could be mentioned in the same breath as him. One could even say there were few who could be certain of defeating this young martial artist before him.

Yet even so, the current Chen Chao still felt a deep sense of powerlessness from the bottom of his heart.

It was just like a child, no matter how much he lorded over his peers, once he encountered a big and tall adult one day, he would still be at a complete loss.

A flicker of emotion flashed deep within Chen Chao’s eyes. He had no choice but to withdraw that Cloud Mud, forcefully thrust it into the snow, and press down on the hilt with all his might, preventing himself from collapsing to his knees.

But in that instant, crackling sounds still rang out all over Chen Chao’s body. His bones snapped and cracked in unison, and many of them had already fractured under this pressure.

He could truly feel that an unimaginably heavy mountain, weighing tens of millions of catties, was pressing down on him.

Yet he was powerless.

Chen Chao was utterly certain, though he had not yet seen it, that there must be someone standing beyond his sight.

The leader of myriad demons, the emperor of the entire demon race.

Perhaps even the strongest existence in this mortal world.

These things could not be determined for certain. But there was one thing Chen Chao could confirm: at this very moment, that Demon Emperor had truly surpassed the end of Nepenthe and stepped into a new realm.

Otherwise, such a thing would have been absolutely impossible.

This Demon Emperor might not even appear on the battlefield under normal circumstances, and perhaps was not even in the desolate north right now. Yet across tens of thousands of miles away, he had still taken action, which Chen Chao had never imagined.

But very quickly, he understood the reason.

He lifted his head and glanced at Autumn.

The latter only looked at Chen Chao in silence.

Then she turned and began walking into the distance.

The Demon Emperor’s most beloved daughter was here. His most beloved daughter was about to die. At this moment, the Demon Emperor was not acting as the emperor of the demon race, but as a father. For him to intervene was only natural.

Except, this was something no one had considered beforehand.

That the Demon Emperor would intervene personally.

In fact, this matter had long, long ago become a major concern weighing on everyone in Great Liang.

Long ago, Great Liang had considered what to do if the Demon Emperor appeared, but the emergence of the Great Liang Emperor quickly gave everyone an answer. At that time, everyone’s hearts were at ease. After all, they had their emperor to rely on.

But after the Great Liang Emperor set off on a northern expedition, the question resurfaced before everyone once again.

Who would face the Demon Emperor?

Who could face the Demon Emperor who was stronger than ever now?

Previously, it had been a matter of worry. But now, with the Demon Emperor’s intervention, it was a clear warning bell for everyone present.

The outcome of that battle mattered little. The situation now was simple: the Demon Emperor was stronger than before. Perhaps the strongest in the world, perhaps not. But regardless, who among the human side could stand against the Demon Emperor?

The Northern Frontier Great General Ning Ping?

Or the young Lord Warden Commander now?

Neither seemed sufficient.

At this moment, Chen Chao could barely lift his head. Just not kneeling was already the result of his utmost effort. Anything beyond that was nearly impossible.

All he could do was watch Autumn slowly walk into the distance, dragging a long streak of blood across the snow.

She was so close to death, yet somehow so far from it.

The Demon Emperor had not yet arrived, but with just a thought, he rendered everyone present powerless. They could think what they wished, but what they needed to do was forbidden.

To kill Autumn? Impossible.

This was the lesson the Demon Emperor conveyed to the world.

Illogical, yet the only truth left.

Chen Chao gritted his teeth. Sweat dripped down his forehead, bead after bead, unrelenting.

His eyes soon became blurred with sweat. When he finally managed to open them, all he could see was Autumn receding further into the distance.

“St...op...”

Chen Chao suddenly spoke. This simple word took tremendous effort to utter.

The voice was soft, strained under the immense pressure. Even the tone itself had shifted, yet Autumn heard it.

She stopped, slowly turned around. Blood still flowed from her body, though far less than before.

She looked curiously at the young man who could barely straighten his waist, her eyes questioning: “You tell me to stop, what can you actually do?”

Indeed. Though the Demon Emperor had not yet reached the desolate north, a person like him, simply by not allowing you to act, rendered all attempts meaningless.

Chen Chao gritted his teeth, straightened his body with difficulty, gripped Cloud Mud, and forcefully pulled it from the snow. He began to pant heavily. The young martial artist made a decision that no one had anticipated.

After glancing at Autumn, he started moving forward. Slowly, but arduously, he walked over.

Under the endlessly terrifying pressure, no one present could move, including Chen Chao. But that was only at first. After a brief moment, Chen Chao stepped forward.

Not just one step. More than that.

He was not thinking of just moving a few steps ahead. He intended to keep Autumn here.

Of course, it was not to keep this demon princess’ body here.

But her life.