With the Blade

There’s nothing that can defeat that monster anymore.

Looking at the figure seated on the high platform, Shan Bing once again realized this despairing truth.

Another martial arts match, or perhaps just another one-sided slaughter. This time, however, the sovereign on the high platform seemed to have grown a bit impatient—not engaging in one-on-one duels anymore, but letting the challengers attack at will.

It didn’t matter if one came, or ten, or even dozens, hundreds, and thousands.

"Because he will keep winning, he will win endlessly."

Shan Bing felt intensely the inevitability of what was about to happen.

Great power brings shining victory, and shining victory makes that power even greater. There’s nothing more terrifying than this, meaning that monster’s power can continue to accumulate endlessly, infinitely.

Originally, Shan Bing thought that Evil Qi was already extremely dangerous, that it became stronger by seizing lives, simply by killing to gain everything... But now it seemed that compared to the monster seated on the high platform, even the Evil Qi appeared ordinary.

This was already a completely different path, a more ferocious one.

Now, he no longer doubted what the sovereign had said earlier about "slaughtering everything in this world." With such power at hand, that monster would only grow stronger. That monster truly could achieve this, that monster inevitably would!

The monster had approached the level of a deity...

No, that monster was a deity itself.

Indeed, this was not much different from deities—but while the temple deities received incense from people, that monster received their awe.

Who can defeat a god?

Could anyone truly defeat a god?

"Ah ah ah..."

Seeing the last challenger reduced to a pile of broken corpses, Shan Bing could no longer utter complete sentences.

The evil god was brought back by them to the Great Chen, and they destroyed everything.

There is nothing that can defeat that monster anymore.

Just as nothing can defeat a god.

"Wooo—"

The long-standing terror finally overwhelmed Shan Bing, and his knees buckled from the weight, ready to collapse.

But at that moment, someone supported his arm.

"Are you alright?"

"I..."

Shan Bing barely lifted his head.

Before him stood a massive shadow like a small mountain.

In his memory, only one person had such a giant stature.

"Why kneel? Stand properly, if you can’t, sitting is fine too."

As he said this, the Little Giant surprisingly pulled out a stool from beside him and pushed Shan Bing onto it.

Immediately afterward, the Little Giant turned his head and looked toward the high platform.

"Is this tournament your doing?"

"You’ve come?"

Finally, for the first time, the sovereign on the high platform lowered his gaze.

"I originally thought you would come sooner."

"Oh? You actually know me?"

The Little Giant, or rather Du Chengfeng, was taken aback.

It’s important to note that he came without speaking to anyone, completely concealing his form along the way—or rather, he had simply flown over. Moreover, he had been living reclusively in Forget Sorrow Village for a while, theoretically, no one should remember him.

How did the person on the high platform know him?

Du Chengfeng could confirm that he didn’t know this person, as most individuals he was acquainted with were normal people—although everyone might have had their moments of glory, beyond that, in thought and in life, they were all quite normal.

But this person before him...

At first glance, seemed not quite normal.

From appearance alone, he already wasn’t normal; Du Chengfeng had seen handsome people before, but to blend the aged demeanor of an elder, the steadiness of a middle-aged man, and the vitality of a youth in one face—he truly hadn’t seen that—if described, it was akin to an old man refusing to age, forcibly giving himself a young face with some technology.

And that attire, which looked rakish, made him seem even more like a young person. But upon closer inspection of his demeanor and expression, something always felt off.

Particularly after standing on that high platform, this awkwardness became more glaring.

Standing so high, dressed like that, with a sword floating beside him, was he imitating the protagonist from some old novel?

"Quick, run!"

While Du Chengfeng was still full of confusion, Shan Bing had already gripped his hand tightly.

"Run quickly! This kind of monster isn’t something humans can beat! Run..."

"Run? What’s the point of running?"

Du Chengfeng grew even more puzzled.

"But since you understand this well, are you familiar with him? Why does he know me? I thought no one remembered me anymore..."

"This..."

Shan Bing, about to say something, was struck as if hit by lightning.

At that moment, he seemed to suddenly understand everything—why they encountered that monster on their way to Dengzhou, why the monster suddenly said he wanted to clear something... He used to be puzzled by this, thinking that the monster had already been killing for months. If he wanted to clear the strong ones, it should be almost done. If the monster aimed to slaughter everyone, he ought to have acted sooner.

Yet the monster still sat on the high platform, as if awaiting something.