Chương 42: Final Boss Level Entry

After Ren Xuan leaves the pagoda, he quickly escapes from the palace. As he passes through the battlefield, I observe through [Scan] that the area has been shattered in the fight involving dozens of Martial Emperors, with many nearly intact corpses scattered across the ground. I also noticed the Sect Master and Vice Sect Master of the Martial Spirit Sect, each wielding powerful spirit tools.

The Sect Master holds a flying sword capable of attacking enemies from a distance, while the Vice Sect Master swings a fan that stirs up dust storms with each wave. After so long, the Martial Spirit Sect has lost almost half of its forces, while most of the palace's defenders are dead. Currently, they can barely hold their ground, relying on Huo Tianying and two other Martial Emperors equipped with a dagger and a mirror-shaped spirit tool, respectively.

Suddenly, the situation changed as the Martial Emperor, wielding a dagger-shaped spirit tool, stabbed Huo Tianying and the old Martial Emperor who wielded a mirror-shaped spirit tool from behind. The old man wielding mirror-shaped spirit tools instantly died, while Huo Tianying was heavily injured. The sudden turn of events took me by surprise. I used the [Scan] on the female Martial Emperor from the Martial Spirit Sect that still survived and saw Huo Tianying staring at the dagger-wielding Martial Emperor.

"Prime Minister, how dare you!" Huo Tianying shouted while pressing her wound. After her scream, Huo Tianying whipped her shawl toward the Prime Minister, who easily deflected it with his dagger. Following the deflection, the Prime Minister launched several hidden weapons at Huo Tianying. Her shawl shielded her from some of the flying weapons, but a few slipped past and struck her down.

Although Ren Xuan passed by a melodramatic scene filled with hot blood and betrayal, he didn't stop and kept running. After Ren Xuan successfully left the palace gate, the sky above suddenly changed from bright to gloomy. Using [Scan], I sensed something strange. If I had to describe the sensation, it feels like the surrounding air is being compressed. However, when I check, the air density appears normal.

Ren Xuan also noticed it and looked up at the sky, but instead of curiosity, he muttered, "No way someone could reach that level here," while fleeing the capital even faster. I became curious about what Ren Xuan fears so deeply, so I checked on the other people I've anchored. The source doesn't appear to originate from the Martial Spirit Sect or their enemies. I then observed the librarian, who hadn't participated in the battle despite the chaos.

Currently, the librarian is sitting in the library, holding her spear and looking extremely anxious as she watches the battlefield. Occasionally, she will glance at a specific part of the library before refocusing on the battle. I quickly realized that the spot the librarian is watching is where the strongest Martial Emperor I've ever scanned is hiding. Consequently, I directed my attention toward that area. The middle-aged man remains hidden beneath the library, as before.

However, unlike his calm training earlier, he now appears to be struggling, with his energy fluctuating wildly. Sometimes, his energy escapes his body as winds that damage the secret chamber he's in. When I used [Scan], I discovered that his energy is actually gradually increasing. He continues to grow stronger, and the vital energy within him has vastly surpassed that of a Martial Emperor in both quality and quantity. Eventually, the man suddenly opens his eyes and steps out of the secret passage.

As he departs, vital energy continues to emanate from his body without any sign of stopping. Once he left, the librarian became a bit nervous, "How is it? Did you succeed?" The man simply nodded and vanished from the library. He moved so suddenly and quickly that he broke the laws of acceleration. The sudden movement almost made me feel sick, even though I no longer have a body.

Once again defying physics with his deceleration, the man stopped immediately upon arriving at the battlefield between the Martial Spirit Sect and the palace forces. After a bloody fight, the number of Martial Emperors on the Martial Spirit Sect's side has dropped to just under twenty. Meanwhile, the Martial Lord's forces have been reduced by half. When they saw the middle-aged man and sensed the aura around him, both the Sect Master and Vice Sect Master of the Martial Spirit Sect stiffened.

The Sect Master looked at the wind stirred by the man with fear and asked, "Azure Emperor… Did you truly succeed in transcending into the Martial Emperor realm?" The middle-aged Azure Emperor did not answer. Instead, he seemed to murmur to himself, "Because of the chaos everyone caused, We have forced ourself to break through, but We almost fell in the process. If you had initiated this rebellion a few days earlier, We might have fallen due to insufficient accumulation."

Azure Emperor offered a slight smile, his tone always poised, "But it seems the heavens still wish for Our survival and continue Our quest for immortality." Though the Azure Emperor appears to be a harmless, overconfident chuunibyou who refers to himself with Royal "We," the gusts of wind caused by his unstable energy didn't put anyone at ease.

A Martial Emperor tried to test the waters by attacking, but the Azure Emperor just waved his sleeve, and an unseen force struck the attacker like a hammer, knocking him back. The attacker flew like a cannonball, smashing through multiple walls before coming to a stop. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

According to the [Scan] I used on the Azure Emperor, this invisible strike appears to be an extremely condensed vital energy that is unleashed externally. The surrounding people could only watch in awe as Azure Emperor directly killed a Martial Emperor with a single hit. Seeing their ally struck down with a single hit left everyone wide-eyed. I also felt overwhelming shock. The Azure Emperor has definitely gone beyond the Martial Emperor level as a martial artist.

After the initial shock, everyone quickly recognized the Azure Emperor's threat and launched a fierce attack for survival. The first to act were the Sect Master and Vice Sect Master of the Martial Spirit Sect. The Vice Sect Master waved his fan, stirring up a dust storm and forming wind blades that obscured the Azure Emperor's vision. Meanwhile, the Sect Master's sword shot towards Azure Emperor at incredible speed through the dust storm. Despite this, Azure Emperor only clapped while using his vital energy.

That clap generated a powerful gust, dispersing the wind blades and causing the flying sword to veer off course.

"Stop the heavenly Parasol from covering the capital! We need all our strength," the Vice Sect Master ordered after witnessing how easily Azure Emperor blocked his attack. Suddenly, Azure Emperor appeared behind him and struck him with a punch. The punch, accompanied by a sonic boom, landed directly on the Vice Sect Master's back, smashing half of his body into pulp. Azure Emperor swiftly charged at the Sect Master again, preparing to strike.

As before, his punch generated a sonic boom, but this time, a forcefield intercepted it. Next to the Sect Master, an elderly woman held up a parasol, releasing a bowl-shaped blue forcefield that shielded herself, the Sect Master, and several other Martial Emperors. The forcefield successfully deflected the Azure Emperor's attack.

Those outside then immediately targeted him with their techniques, including the female Martial Emperor, afflicted with dementia, and the suspicious-looking Martial Emperor, whom I have anchored with [Scan]. Azure Emperor slightly frowned when he saw the swarm of martial artists. He threw several punches in the air, with every punch releasing some vital energy that shot toward the swarming enemies. Those at the Martial Lord realm instantly died when struck, while the Martial Emperor was injured to varying degrees.

Seeing this scene, the Sect Master shouted, "Continue the attack! He has grown tired and couldn't defeat a Martial Emperor instantly as before." The Sect Master then directed his flying sword to strike the Martial Emperor, accompanied by the prime minister and the old man with a whip from the Martial Spirit Sect.

The three launched their attack simultaneously, with the sect master shooting his flying sword, the old man fiercely swinging his whip, releasing several wind blades, and the Prime Minister waiting for an opening before suddenly flashing forward, stabbing his dagger at the Azure Emperor. In response, the Azure Emperor deflected the flying swords and wind blades, then pushed the Prime Minister away. The Prime Minister flew back but didn't die. Even so, he is gravely injured and can no longer join the battle.

Finally, Azure Emperor flashed and struck down the whip-wielding old man. Before dying, the old man desperately activated his spirit tool, causing it to explode. I observed through [Scan] as spirit qi burst outward chaotically with him as the epicenter. The blast engulfed both the old man and the Azure Emperor, resulting in burns and cuts for the Emperor. Despite his injuries, the Azure Emperor remained focused on attacking the forcefield surrounding the Sect Master and several other Martial Emperors.

The Sect Master attempts to control the flying sword, but it only wounds Azure Emperor once before being destroyed by a punch from him. The other Martial Emperor also ignores their injuries to attack, but all efforts are in vain. Soon, the Azure Emperor breaks through the Heavenly Parasol's forcefield, causing the old woman holding the umbrella to faint from the backlash. Without hesitation, he immediately fought the Sect Master, who was killed after three moves.

The Azure Emperor then stomps on the fainted old woman's head and kills her. With their Sect Master dead, I notice some Martial Emperors beginning to flee, including the suspicious-looking Martial Emperor. Azure Emperor didn't hesitate and immediately pursued everyone who escaped, killing all, including the suspicious-looking Martial Emperor. When I saw the shady Martial Emperor die and felt our connection vanish, I became sure that when someone died, they would no longer be connected to me.

Meanwhile, the remaining Martial Emperors that hasn't escaped made a last stand, but they didn't last over half an hour. Still, they successfully injured the exhausted Azure Emperor. Causing his robe to be torn into tatters, and wounds his arms, torso, stomach, and chest. After the Azure Emperor defeated all of his enemies, I also lost my connection with the Female Martial Emperor. What a pity that she died. I personally think she's pretty interesting.

I've prepared to remove my attention and focus on reading some books I've scanned when I realized there's still another person alive from Azure Emperor's genocide.

"Do you have anything to say?" Azure Emperor asked calmly to the heavily injured Prime Minister.

"I have no regrets," the Prime Minister replied peacefully.

"Just like Your Majesty's desire for immortality, I too seize every chance to achieve my own goals." The Azure Emperor nodded.

"What a pity. We have discovered a way to the realm of immortals and will leave soon. If you had not betrayed Us, We would have taken you with Us."

"For your contribution, We shall pardon your family. But We will still exile them as punishment."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Your generosity knows no bounds." After the Prime Minister bowed, Azure Emperor gathered whatever vital energy remained in him and waved his hand from a distance. Instantly, a massive force struck the Prime Minister, turning him into a bloody pulp. On the bloody pulp, there's a shawl, a dagger, and a mirror. Azure Emperor calmly picked up the three spirit tools before visiting the library.

Azure Emperor told the librarian, "Mother, you might need to temporarily take over as Prime Minister and support the next Emperor." The Librarian frowned and asked, "Is it really necessary to rush?" Azure Emperor replied, "I don't think I can stay here for much longer. Right now, I feel uncomfortable, as if nature itself is rejecting me. The sensation is intensifying with each second." He explained, "I'm not sure what will happen if it continues to worsen, so it's better to find an immortal cultivator to help."

The Librarian waved dismissively, "Whatever, just don't die." Without responding, Azure Emperor headed toward the palace. I had hoped to learn something from their conversation, but this mother and son didn't share any significant news. I kind of missed Ren Xuan, who often muttered explanations to himself.