Volume Two: Travels in the State of Qi, Chapter 140: The Demon

Even the Emperor of Qi was shaken. At last, he understood what Wu Hong had meant.

A prodigy such as this, one rarely seen in ten thousand years, would surely grow into an existence beyond all estimation. If Qi could win Zhang Heng over, the kingdom’s standing would rise tremendously. It might even become the foremost of the Seven Ancient Kingdoms.

At that moment, Zhang Heng stood quietly upon the platform. He paid no attention to the astonishment, praise, insults, or disdain of those around him. He had only one thought:

Thank heavens it worked. If I had died beneath my own martial technique, that would have been a spectacularly stupid way to go.

Although the system had told him the previous night that his constitution was fully capable of handling it, Zhang Heng had genuinely felt, during the execution, that he had nearly lost control for an instant. Even now, the thought left him shaken.

In the urgency of the moment, he had simply had no other choice. That was why he had resorted to that technique.

By now, nearly every dueling platform had seen its battle concluded. Each platform had produced a supreme genius, and Zhang Heng watched them closely.

Every one of them possessed an arrogance that looked down upon the world. All were high-level Origin Core cultivators in their twenties.

Qi Xuan, Mu Wanqing, Chen Hao, Red Shadow, and Qin Ming were all at the ninth level of the Origin Core Realm. Though the others had only reached the eighth level, they should possess combat strength equivalent to those at the ninth. These people were genuine prodigies.

They were all curious about how Zhang Heng had defeated Wu Ba, and they watched him without pause.

Yet although those geniuses were astonished by Zhang Heng’s talent in martial techniques, they did not take it too seriously. An attack of the same magnitude was within their own abilities as well.

A fusion of martial techniques? It sounded impressive, but its actual destructive power was nothing remarkable.

Only Qi Xuan and Mu Wanqing truly admired Zhang Heng in their hearts. They both knew that he possessed the strength to kill every one of them in an instant. Now, with this heaven-defying talent in martial techniques added to the equation, even their prideful confidence had suffered a severe blow.

The first round of the competition ended just like that. The victors would advance to tomorrow’s quarterfinals, while the losers would be eliminated. Though everyone watching was reluctant to see the spectacle end, there was nothing they could do. Some of the geniuses were already exhausted, and several had even been injured. They had to be given time to recover.

That night, Zhang Heng stood outside the pavilion, gazing heavily at the sky.

Only after fighting Wu Ba had he gained a preliminary understanding of those peerless geniuses.

Their combat strength was simply too formidable. He was no match for them.

Although Zhang Heng’s fused martial technique had driven Wu Ba into the ground and won him the battle, Zhang Heng knew that Wu Ba had not actually been injured. He had most likely fallen because he had believed victory was already his and had failed to react in time.

Wu Ba was considered one of the weakest among the top geniuses, yet he was already capable of this much. Qi Xuan and Mu Wanqing must be terrifyingly powerful.

After sorting through his thoughts, Zhang Heng smiled with confidence.

No matter how strong you are, I am a transmigrator! I even have a system that knows everything and can do anything. If I lack the confidence to defeat all of you, what am I still doing here? I might as well go home and farm.

At that moment, Wu Hong suddenly appeared.

Zhang Heng bowed respectfully. “Elder Wu, you’re here.”

“Boy, what are you thinking about?” Seeing the troubled look on Zhang Heng’s face, Wu Hong asked.

“Nothing, Elder Wu.”

“Boy, what exactly was that black aura?” Wu Hong had also realized that the situation was extremely serious.

The Emperor of Qi was the ruler of one of the Seven Ancient Kingdoms. If even he had been contaminated by that black aura, then this matter was far from ordinary.

“Elder Wu, that thing is demonic energy.” Zhang Heng remembered the system mentioning it once before.

“What? Demonic energy?”

Even a figure like Wu Hong turned deathly pale upon hearing Zhang Heng’s words. His pupils contracted sharply, as though he had suddenly recalled something terrifying.

Zhang Heng asked tentatively, “Elder Wu, is demonic energy truly that frightening?”

Wu Hong gradually recovered his composure. He walked over and stood beside Zhang Heng, gazing into the distance.

With profound meaning in his voice, he said, “Boy, demons are beings akin to a taboo.”

“Sixty thousand years ago, an extraterrestrial race invaded our cultivation continent. They were immensely powerful and committed every kind of evil, slaughtering the people of our continent at will and leaving the entire land in misery. Everyone lived beneath the shadow of fear. That race came to be known as demons. Their bodies were formed entirely from black energy. They could devour human souls and disturb the minds of the living. They nearly destroyed our entire cultivation continent.”

Zhang Heng was startled. They were that powerful?

“And what happened afterward?”

“Later, unable to bear watching the people of the world suffer, Senior Qingyangzi, the Holy Lord of Blue Peak Holy Land, risked his life and entered the forbidden Deathless Mountain. At last, he found a forbidden power. Only then was he able to suppress the entire demon race and restore peace to our cultivation continent.”

“Are you certain, boy? If that black aura truly is demonic energy, then this world may soon fall into utter chaos.” Wu Hong’s voice was extraordinarily solemn.

This was something Zhang Heng had never expected. Demonic energy actually carried consequences of such magnitude—consequences tied to the survival of the entire continent.

Even so, he nodded firmly.

“Boy, this is not something you or I can resolve. I will return to the sect at once and ask those peerless experts to investigate.” Wu Hong knew there could be no delay.

“Wait.”

Zhang Heng suddenly called out and stopped him.

“Boy, this is no game. It concerns the survival of the entire cultivation continent. It truly is beyond your control and mine.”

Only moments earlier, the system had spoken, instructing Zhang Heng to stop Wu Hong. Zhang Heng understood how grave the situation was, but he chose to trust the system. After all, the system knew everything. It surely knew how to prevent this disaster.

“Elder Wu, I am only nineteen years old. Do you know why I can refine second-grade pills and kill a powerful cultivator of the Returning Ruins Realm with a single move?”

Since the system would not tell Zhang Heng the reason, he could only find a way to keep Wu Hong there himself.

Zhang Heng knew that Wu Hong had always believed he possessed powerful backing. Then he would simply follow Wu Hong’s own line of thought.

Sure enough, the moment Zhang Heng said this, Wu Hong stopped in his tracks.

“Boy, tell me. Who is the person behind you?” Wu Hong naturally understood what Zhang Heng was implying.

Zhang Heng extended his left hand and held it out before Wu Hong. “Elder Wu, do you know what this is?”

Wu Hong immediately seized Zhang Heng’s hand and began examining it carefully. His expression shifted from confusion to shock, then to disbelief, and finally to excitement.

In his agitation, he uttered three words:

“Dugu Bai.”

“You guessed correctly. Elder Wu, the expert behind me is none other than Senior Dugu Bai, the Sword Saint.”

Zhang Heng continued, “This matter is of tremendous importance. In all the world, there are no more than ten people capable of resolving it. Senior Dugu Bai, the Sword Saint, is certainly one of them. So even if you do not believe me, Elder Wu, you should at least believe Senior Sword Saint.”

Wu Hong suddenly saw the light.

Indeed, Zhang Heng was so young, yet he could refine second-grade pills and possessed combat strength equivalent to that of the Returning Ruins Realm. Most astonishing of all was his monstrous talent in martial techniques. He could actually fuse two different techniques together.

How could such a peerless genius have appeared from nowhere?

But if he were the disciple of the Sword Saint Dugu Bai, then everything made perfect sense.

Wu Hong nodded and instantly regained his composure.

Zhang Heng was right. In all the world, there were certainly no more than ten people capable of dealing with demonic energy. Senior Dugu Bai, the foremost swordsman and Sword Saint, was unquestionably one of them.

Zhang Heng’s guilt toward Dugu Bai deepened once more in his heart.

I’m sorry, Senior Sword Saint. I’ve dragged you out to serve as my shield again.