Stranger Danger

Chapter 729: Suppressing Grandmasters

If a divine holds up the sky, one might say that he’s holding an entire world in his palm. The Herald of Fortuity practiced a cultivation art known as the “Joy Heaven Sutra”. At the adept level, the practitioner could summon the Skyholding Divine and manifest a Blissful Land in their palm. The Skyholding Divine was supernaturally strong—they could supposedly hold up the sky after all—and the Blissful Land could summon Bliss to influence one’s spirit and bewitch one’s mind.

The Skyholding Divine extended his left hand to catch the Mountain Tunneling King. At the same time, he threw the divine kingdom on his right palm at Ye Qing.

If a Kingdom of God collapses, it would be as if the sky itself had collapsed. The force behind such a fall was mighty indeed. On top of that, the incessant laughter possessed the power to bewitch one’s mind, so it was clear that the Herald of Fortuity wasn’t holding back.

Ye Qing didn’t bat an eyelid. He ran like the wind while overflowing with fist intent.

The moment the Skyholding Divine caught Mountain Tunneling King, the earthen armor Mountain Tunneling King was wearing abruptly exploded into smithereens, dissolving the Skyholding Divine’s left arm and threatening their balance. Because of this, their aim was thrown a little off as well.

Not about to let such an excellent opportunity pass by, Ye Qing grew twice as fast and appeared above the Skyholding Divine’s head. Then, he punched down at the creature.

Buzz!

There was a dull, buzzing noise, and the Skyholding Divine froze in place. Then, cracks spread out from where Ye Qing had struck until it covered the creature completely. Finally, the Skyholding Divine dissolved soundlessly into nothing.

“Pwack!”

The Skyholding Divine was also the Herald of Fortuity’s Yin God[1]. Losing it caused him to throw up a hefty amount of blood.

The Herald of Fortuity was laughing though. It was because his brother, the Harbinger of Doom, was nowhere to be seen.

The Harbinger of Doom hadn’t run away, of course. While Ye Qing was destroying the Skyholding Divine, the Harbinger of Doom had appeared behind his back with a long stick in his hands. The long stick looked impossibly frail like it was made of paper, but it was also giving off a dark, evil energy. It was clearly a high-grade Strange Artifact.

As the Harbinger of Doom swung his stick, thirteen stick-wielding silhouettes appeared around the young man as well. At the same time, ghastly wails drowned out all sound in the area.

“Thirteen Sticks of Doom”

Bang bang bang!

The thirteen silhouettes struck Ye Qing at the exact same time, but nothing happened. Somehow, the dark yellow aura surrounding Ye Qing was able to neutralize the forces perfectly.

Astonishment and anger flashed across the Harbinger of Doom’s face. He let out a roar, and the stick he was holding abruptly grew as big as a pillar. At the same time, a dharma[2] over ten meters tall appeared in the sky, grabbed the enlarged stick, and swung it at Ye Qing.

Such was the force behind the swing that spatial cracks appeared along its trajectory, the air turned as cold as ice, and ghastly wails that sounded like a million people’s screams filled the ears.

“Thirteen Sticks of Doom: Ten Thousand Cry”

The “Thirteen Sticks of Doom” was an offensive-type stick art that specializes in killing, and “Ten Thousand Cry” was its most powerful technique. In the martial arts manual, “Ten Thousand Cry” was described as being strong enough to take ten thousand lives at once.

However, the Harbinger of Doom’s eyes widened like saucers the next moment. It was because Ye Qing had caught his signature move with his bare hands.

When “Ten Thousand Cry” descended, all Ye Qing did was cross his arms above his head and waited. Considering how small Ye Qing was compared to the enlarged stick, his guard looked as childish and futile as an ant trying to block a falling tree.

In reality, Ye Qing did not budge even an inch after taking the hit. Invisible ripples appeared beneath his feet like he was standing on a lake, and rumbling thunder broke out from the point of impact, but that was it. No matter how hard he pushed, his “Stick of Ill Omen[3]” refused to move any further.

“The technique is great, but your strength is lacking. Watch this.”

Ye Qing shot the Harbinger of Doom a smile and grabbed the enlarged stick with both hands. Then, he twirled on his feet and swung it straight at the thin man.

Neither the enlarged stick nor the dharma could resist Ye Qing’s strength. They could only flail helplessly in the air before slamming into their owner.

The Harbinger of Doom fell from the sky like a meteor and struck the Herald of Fortuity head on.

Rumble!

The ground cracked like an egg, and both brothers exploded in a shower of blood and gore.

Since the Harbinger of Doom was dead, the dharma in the sky gradually disappeared like a bubble, and the Stick of Ill Omen returned to its normal size. After Ye Qing landed back on the ground and gave the stick a tentative swing, he shook his head and crushed it into a million pieces. He clicked his tongue disdainfully as he said, “What did I say? Pack of worthless rats, all of you.”

Feng San, the sword-eating man, and the blind Taoist were shitting their pants at this point. Realizing that not even the Grandmasters might be able to defeat Ye Qing, they turned around and tried to escape. However, they had just lifted a foot when Ye Qing stomped the ground and started a mini earthquake. Their energies abruptly dissipated, and they immediately lost their balance.

The next moment, Ye Qing appeared behind the trio and punched the blind Taoist in the back. The poor fuck instantly exploded in a shower of blood and gore.

Next, Ye Qing threw an elbow at Feng San. Scared shitless but not out of his wits, Feng San raised his flaming saber and gathered all of his power to guard. It was the best and only action he could take.

It wasn’t enough. Ye Qing wasn’t even trying, but the saber containing all of Feng San’s power still snapped like an old twig. Then Ye Qing’s elbow and the broken blade sank into the man’s heart.

By now, the sword-eating man was ten meters away from Ye Qing. He was surrounded in sword qi and running toward the edge of the basin with all he got.

Ye Qing tapped the other half of the broken saber with his finger and sent it flying toward the sword-eating man. In response, the sword-eating man half-turned toward the flying saber and fired a sword beam at it.

The sword beam howled like a cyclone. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed impossible for the broken saber to cut through it.

As soon as the broken saber made contact with the sword beam, it abruptly exploded into a million pieces and scattered fragments anywhere, turning the cyclonic sword beam into a pincushion.

When the sword beam faded, it was revealed that the sword-eating man had been turned into a pincushion as well. Blood sprayed out of countless holes as he slowly collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

After Ye Qing withdrew his stance, he looked at Defeated at the Holy Son of Maitreya and said, “Did I say you can leave?”

The duo was just about to make a retreat until Ye Qing called them out. Despite their apprehension, they thought better and stayed where they were. No one said a thing.

At the edge of the basin, Zhang Lingyang was staring at the battlefield with shocked, disbelieving eyes. “Bei... Beiqiu, can you slap me? I need to know if I’m dreaming.”

Slap!

Mo Beiqiu happily obliged him and slapped him as hard as she could. She then shook her hand a little and said, “You’re not dreaming. My hand hurts.”

For once, Zhang Lingyang did not try to flirt with Mo Beiqiu. He muttered dumbly, “He just overcame his tribulation, and his power hasn’t stabilized yet. And yet, he’s already strong enough to kill not one, but two Grandmasters? Is he even human?”

His confusion was understandable. In less than a minute, the young man had endured a Demonic Blade of Six Yins from Six Yins Boy without a scratch, grievously wounded Mrs. Basket and Mountain Tunneling King, and killed both the Herald of Fortuity and the Harbinger of Doom. No one was expecting this outcome at all.

After all, the guy was fighting Grandmasters, not defenseless piglets!

In his shoes, they were certain that they could defeat one or even two of the Grandmasters present. It wouldn’t even be difficult. But to injure two, kill two, and withstand an ultimate attack from a veteran Grandmaster who was named on the Earth Champions Ranking with the level of ease the young man had displayed so far?

They knew better than to put themselves on the same pedestal as him.

Whoever that guy was, his strength was out of this world to say the least.

“I’m no match for him!”

Yun Qingxiao let out a deep sigh. He was a Dao Child of the San Qing Temple and a godlike genius. Although he was “just” the fifth warrior on the Human Champions Ranking, he was certain he wasn’t inferior to anyone who was higher than him on the list. His power and everything he had achieved until now were the wellspring of his confidence.

But not this time. For the first time in his life, Yun Qingxiao conceded that he had a peer who was well and truly out of his league.

Greenlake Bai did not offer a comment. She was staring at the young man making waves in the basin with a strange face.

Is it him?

But it can’t be. It’s hasn’t even been a year since we parted ways, has it?

“This is just the beginning.”

Mo Beiqiu suddenly spoke up, “Six Yins Boy and Blood Rakshasa would not allow him to walk free.”

Everyone fell silent upon hearing her spoken and unspoken words.

The young man had humiliated them, and no Grandmaster could bear to be dishonored. Naturally, Six Yins Boy and Blood Rakshasa were going to kill him if only to cleanse their name.

That wasn’t the biggest reason they wanted him dead, however. The biggest reason they would do everything in their power to kill the young man... was fear.

It wasn’t the current him that they feared. No, it was who he might become in the future.

The young man had just overcome his tribulation, and the power he displayed was already out of this world. He was guaranteed to make it on the Earth Champions Ranking, and there was a good chance he might become a Sage in the future.

Would the young man allow them, powerful threats who had tried to take his life while he was still weak, to live after he had fully grown into his power? Obviously not.

That was why Six Yins Boy and Blood Rakshasa weren’t going to go easy on him. By hook or by crook, they would eliminate the hidden threat with everything they got.

Therefore, Mo Beiqiu was right. Ms. Basket, Mountain Tunneling King and more were just the appetizer. The real battle was just beginning.

1. It looks like a Yin God is still a Yin God until the Grandmaster reaches a certain level or something. You’ll discover a chapter later that Ye Qing still has a Yin God as well. ☜

2. You know, I think I finally figured it out—yes I’m just the translator sometimes even I don’t get the author lol—dharma is a specific image/expression that manifests when a martial art is executed. Yin God is the image+power the warrior creates and acts like a body double with special powers and abilities. ☜

3. I was going to translate it as doom stick or stick of doom, but then I thought better LOL. ☜