Volcanic Age

"He's nearly flying," Luo Xiaoyue exclaimed in admiration as she glanced at Zhou Xuchuan.

"Pay attention." Tan Xiang admonished, tilting her head as an enemy's sword barely missed her neck.

"I am paying attention." Luo Xiaoyue retorted, spinning on her left foot. Using the momentum of her rotation, she extended her sword, striking the enemy who had just attacked Tan Xiang. Her blade pierced his ribs and reached his heart.

"You, you bitches!"

The Wind Yin Squadron members were infuriated. It wasn't because they were being ignored—it was because none of their attacks had landed.

About twenty people had surrounded the three and launched a fierce attack.[1] Yet, despite their best efforts, they hadn’t managed to land a single blow.

The Three Aspects Sword Formation of The Plum Blossom Swordsmen was strong. Their defense was as solid as an impregnable fortress. No matter how many opponents rushed in, they were all blocked.

Before the enemy could even recover from their failed attacks, counterattacks came swiftly and fiercely from all directions, leaving the targets unable to defend themselves.

The Twenty-four Sword Forms of the Plum Blossom.

The highest cultivation methods and techniques of the Mount Hua Sect were actually more powerful when used by multiple people rather than by individuals.

The Twenty-Four Sword Forms were divided into various swordplay techniques, from multiple-target sword techniques to unfettered sword techniques. Each had its own aura, attack, and defensive ability.

Three people who had learned such techniques could each take a form that matched their intentions. One took attack, one took defense, and one person in the center would switch back and forth between the two.

As a result, a perfect lineup of both attack and defense was completed.

"Ugh!"

"W-what kind of bitch has that sort of attack power…"

The Wind Yin Squadron had initially underestimated Luo Xiaoyue.

Even though she was a Plum Blossom Swordsman, Luo Xiaoyue was young and a woman, so the Wind Yin Squadron didn’t take her seriously.

Instead of paying attention to her, they simply teased her by rubbing their crotches and saying that they would be the first to enjoy her beauty.

However, once they clashed with Luo Xiaoyue, their perceptions shifted drastically. Anyone who crossed swords with her quickly found themselves screaming in shock.

It's all because of the elixir that Senior Brother gave me.

Luo Xiaoyue smiled faintly. Her movements were graceful, her swordsmanship dazzling, and the sight of her fighting with her hair flowing in the air was mesmerizing.

When fighting multiple opponents, unless one had overwhelming strength, the battle would naturally drag on and require immense stamina.

The stamina in question was qi. Therefore, in most cases, one would only spare the minimum necessary qi required and only put in their full strength at the moment where they could end an opponent's life with a single blow, such as when attacking the neck or the heart.

However, Luo Xiaoyue didn’t need to hold back. Before her closed-door training, she had increased qi reserves with the Lesser Circulation Pill that Zhou Xuchuan had given her and she received as one of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen Initiates. While she wasn't as strong as Zhou Xuchuan, she had more than enough qi to match the strength of most middle aged martial artists.

Several Wind Yin Squadron members charged at her with all their strength, but she easily deflected or blocked their attacks.

Occasionally, when she struck with full force, her enemies couldn’t withstand the power, and their defenses were completely shattered.

I felt this during the closed-door training, but…

She might be the greatest genius in the history of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen.

Even Meng Ge and Tan Xiang, who were considered geniuses even among the sect's elites, were amazed when they saw her.

Even the look in the eyes of the Plum Blossom Sword Captain, Wei Zhijie, changed when he saw Luo Xiaoyue's skills and he immediately focused on teaching her.

Initially, he had regretted that Zhou Xuchuan wasn’t part of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen, but Luo Xiaoyue’s arrival erased that regret. From her stance on learning to her talent, physical ability, reflexes, martial understanding, and comprehension ability, there was nothing about her that wasn't perfect.

"Ugh!"

"You bastards! What are you doing?! Why aren't you coming to help?!"

After struggling to keep up, the Wind Yin Squadron finally called for help.

"Ugh!"

However, there was no one to help them, as the Wind Yin Squadron members who had to deal with the Tang Family siblings were also having a hard time.

The Poison Dragon and the Poison Phoenix!

The Wind Yin Squadron members assumed that even if they were younger generation talents of the Righteous Faction, there was a limit to how strong poison arts could be. Thus, they thought that if they could get close enough, the battle would be over.

It was a reasonable judgment. However, they got the answer completely wrong.

Tang Mingren and Tang Hui weren't ordinary poison masters.

"Crimson Lotus Poison Palm!"

The Crimson Lotus Poison Palm was a palm technique. However, it wasn't a palm technique where one could just shoot out blasts of palm wind from a distance, but rather a technique where one had to strike directly.

That meant that the user also had to be confident in close combat.

"How impressive."

Tang Mingren was surprised to see Tang Hui's palm attacks.

"Although I've heard stories of your martial prowess, I never thought you would be this strong. I'm proud of you."

"...It's nothing."

Tang Hui's reaction was subdued.

It was similar to how Zhou Xuchuan's praise had shaken Luo Xiaoyue.

Tang Mingren had already distinguished himself since he was young and had been active in the Black Shadow Division since he was an adult.

However, most of his achievements were confidential, meaning that no one had heard of them at all. However, anyone who ever found out about them would be completely surprised.

While the Tang Family's power may have come from taking on dirty work, the family grew even stronger under Tang Mingren’s leadership.

"Ugh!"

"H-how is the Poison Dragon this…"

Tang Hui was strong, but compared to Tang Mingren, she was just a drop in the bucket. While Tang Mingren couldn't use palm techniques or boxing arts, his Poison Manipulation Art could be ranked as one of the best under the heavens.[2]

To be clear, it wasn’t that Tang Mingren couldn’t use palm or fist arts; he simply didn't feel the need to learn any other techniques.

Even the demonic cultists, who charged forward like arrows and shattered the ground beneath their feet, couldn't get close to him.

The Wind Yin Squadron members tried to finish him off immediately, but they collapsed before they could even reach him.

It didn't matter whether they had poison resistance or the qi to endure getting poisoned. No matter what method of resistance they had, they still died or became paralyzed just from touching the smoke or haze that Tang Mingren released around them.

The Poison Manipulation Art was the basics of poison arts and was a sort of control technique.

Once one cultivated it, they could not only accumulate poison within their body but also freely release it.

For example, one could transform the true qi in one's body into poison and create poisonous smoke, turning the battlefield into a wasteland like the Poison Dragon was doing now.[3]

The entire area surrounding him was off limits, and not even the most skilled experts among the enemy could approach him rashly.

"Then, all we have to do is deal with him from af—ugh!"

"Agh!"

As expected of the Tang Family’s direct successor, Tang Mingren was also extremely skilled in hidden weapon techniques.

Even the Soul-Chasing Butterfly, which was considered difficult to handle even within the Tang Family, was like a toy in his hands.

The title of Poison Dragon of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes hadn't been earned by taking on dirty work. No, it had been earned through pure skill.

With how strong you are…

Tang Hui was once again resentful of how the murim treated poison arts.

The world's evaluation of the Poison Dragon still seemed to be underestimating him.

She hated the fact that no one acknowledged him, even though he had already surpassed the level of the younger generation.

As if venting her anger, she took down another squadron member.

Around twenty members of the Wind Yin Squadron were killed by the Tang Family siblings without managing to put up much of a fight.

"Ugh! Agk!"

"Where is she? Someone's hiding in the shadows!"

Meanwhile, Little Ghost moved like a phantom. The enemies who became her prey didn’t even realize how they died.

It was hard to believe that nearly fifty people were being toyed with by just six people.

"T-this can’t be happening…"

The Wind Yin Squadron Captain froze at the screams heard from around him.

It was hard to accept the scene unfolding before his eyes. If this were a nightmare, he desperately wanted to wake up.

For a moment, he even wondered if the overwhelming demonic qi had made him hallucinate.

“Don’t make me laugh!”

The Wind Yin Squadron Captain became like the wind itself. As befitting the name of the Wind Yin Squadron, his movements were stealthy.

“I can see everything.”

However, not even that stealth technique was useful in front of a master. His enhanced perception captured every single movement of the Wind Yin Squadron Captain without missing a single thing.

The Wind Yin Squadron's primary demonic cultivation method focused on the illusion of wind.

First, it would create a gust of wind that made it hard to see, then they merged into the wind, leveraging it to approach their targets and attack with lightning speed.

It was also the most efficient method to follow the Wind Demon Squadron, like a needle and thread.

But now, not only was the Wind Demon Squadron not with them, but their opponent was a yet unknown Absolute Master of the Coruscant Realm.

"I'll kill you!"

As the Wind Yin Squadron Captain's anger reached its peak, his demonic nature reacted.

"Tsk tsk." Zhou Xuchuan clicked his tongue at the sight.

The Wind Yin Squadron was different from ordinary demonic cultists. The main reason why they could be used as weapons of the Cult was because of their ability to control their rationality and maintain composure. However, if they were to give up on this control, they wouldn't be those of the Wind Yin Squadron but just another group of crazed cultists.

Their bloodlust was so intense that even a novice could sense them, hidden wind or not.

"Eleven."

Within the gust of wind the Captain created, there were ten hidden blades. It seemed he had gathered all the remaining members, as Zhou Xuchuan couldn't sense the presence of any more members.

"I'm coming." Zhou Xuchuan announced casually before stomping on the ground.

BOOM!

When Zhou Xuchuan stomped the ground, the sole of his foot shattered the surface and drove deep into the earth. The terrifying force released from his Yongquan acupoint caused the ground to shake violently.

Within a five-zhang radius, the earth caved in like a hollow hemisphere. From above, the cracked ground looked like a massive spider web.

"Ah!"

The Wind Yin Squadron members, who had abandoned their composure and chose to charge like wild boars, lost their balance when the ground suddenly collapsed.

Most of the Demon Cult’s footwork techniques were crude and aggressive, designed for high-speed charges. Because of this, a sudden change in terrain like this threw their bodies off balance, making it difficult for them to adjust quickly.

The Extreme Demon Stage Wind Yin Squadron Captain may have been able to correct his footing in an instant because of his outstanding martial skills, but the other ten people could not.

Of course, they weren't beginners who had only just started learning martial arts, so they hadn't exactly fallen down. However, the brief moment it took to regain their footing left them wide open.

"You should have at least controlled your rage."

Zhou Xuchuan’s figure blurred. When the afterimage left behind where he had just been standing disappeared, his main body appeared to the right of the Wind Yin Squadron Captain and swung his sword.

"...ugh!"

Even so, his Extreme Demon Stage cultivation wasn't just for show. The Wind Yin Squadron Captain's body immediately reacted to the sudden attack.

Although Zhou Xuchuan's sword flew toward his neck, the Captain blocked it with his sword which was coated in demonic sword aura.

BOOM!

Originally, there should have been a clang of clashing metal. Instead, there was a loud noise, as if gunpowder had been detonated.

"Ugh!"

The Wind Yin Squadron Captain vomited blood.

While the Captain somehow managed to block the sword, the impact left his insides completely shaken. He had only blocked a single swing, yet the damage was severe.

T-there's no way…

The Wind Yin Squadron Captain’s eyes were filled with disbelief and shock.

The moment the swords were about to collide, he saw that Zhou Xuchuan’s sword was completely bare. He had just assumed that the boy had probably been too hasty to release his sword aura.

However, the Wind Yin Squadron Captain was different. In return for some damage to his internal organs, he was able to quickly form sword aura by taking advantage of the quick circulation ability of his demonic art.

That was why he had assumed that Zhou Xuchuan would have been the one to suffer internal injuries or fall backward from the impact of the clashing blades.

However, contrary to his predictions, Zhou Xuchuan didn't suffer internal injuries or retreat. Instead, he pushed the Captain's sword back.

The Captain had clearly seen that there was nothing around Zhou Xuchuan's blade.

There was no mistake.

There was no qi adorned with the flashy violet of the Violet Haze Divine Art.

Then, there was only one answer. However, that answer was just absurd.

"Was that… Formless Aura…?"

"Yeah," Zhou Xuchuan answered kindly as if he was solving the Captain's dilemma.

Although the Wind Yin Squadron Captain tried to deny it, the truth was clear. Zhou Xuchuan’s sword pierced through his chest and emerged from his back.

1. Raws read six. ☜

2. The word used for manipulation here is a homonym for dragon. ☜

3. Not sure why the author specifies true qi here, but Korean Murim doesn't distinguish qi as precisely as Chinese Wuxia, so it may not be that important. ☜