Chapter 363 - 197: The Fall of the Cyan Flood Dragon Alliance

Chapter 363: Chapter 197: The Fall of the Cyan Flood Dragon Alliance

The crushing might of a Mystic Realm expert descended. Sword Light flashed, cutting down a swath of enemies as easily as slicing through melons.

The water bandits’ defensive line, already on the brink of collapse, completely disintegrated under this overwhelming might.

More and more of them broke and fled, the rout spreading like a tidal wave.

Of course, there were also Zhou Kuohai’s diehard loyalists. Seeing their Alliance Leader in peril, their eyes burned with fury. They charged madly toward Chen Sheng, but were quickly intercepted by waves of Jingwu Guards who had reacted to the situation. They were soon swallowed by a storm of flashing blades.

What followed was undoubtedly a bloody slaughter.

...

"Urk... AHHH—!!"

Within the phantom Golden Bell, Zhou Kuohai’s roars of fury had turned into whimpers of agony and despair.

The Nine Nether Yin Fire seeped in from every pore, relentlessly burning his flesh, his True Essence, and even his Divine Soul.

His hair and skin had long been scorched away, his once-powerful body twisting and shriveling within the crimson flames.

Chen Sheng floated down from the top of the bell and came to a stop on the surface of the water. His face was a little pale, his breathing slightly ragged.

He had truly used every tool at his disposal in this fight.

Mental Realm Sword Skill, the Dreadful God Talisman, the Protective Golden Bell, the Fish Scale Spirit Armor, and finally, his ultimate trump card—the Nine Nether Yin Fire.

He had used nearly all of his hidden cards.

Zhou Kuohai’s strength was certainly no empty boast. Had it not been for his old, unhealed injuries, Chen Sheng felt that even if he had won, the victory would not have come so easily.

This battle also gave Chen Sheng a clearer assessment of his own strength.

With his various abilities, he could contend with, and even defeat, an expert at the peak of the mid-Mystic Realm.

But if he were to face an expert of the late-Mystic Realm—the Divine Communication realm—he would likely still be no match.

Of course, this in itself was already astounding.

After all, the higher one’s cultivation, the more terrifyingly difficult it becomes to fight opponents of a higher realm.

Within the crimson flames, Zhou Kuohai’s struggles lessened, and his roars grew faint.

He forced himself to remain standing, staring intently at Chen Sheng through the flickering flames from outside the bell.

"Chen... Sheng..."

Zhou Kuohai’s voice was hoarse and dry, like a worn-out bellows.

"Does Alliance Leader Zhou have any last words?"

Chen Sheng’s tone was flat, betraying no emotion.

"Before... I... die... I... have... a... favor... to ask."

Chen Sheng remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"In the Cyan Flood Dragon Alliance... headquarters... main hall... in an underground... secret room... there is hidden... a Hundred-Year Vermilion Fruit... obtained from... the depths of Yunze... I was going to... use it... to trade for Chengzong’s... safety.

Now... it’s yours..."

Zhou Kuohai forced out the words, the light in his eyes slowly fading.

"I only ask that you... show mercy... to my... brothers... Don’t wipe... them all... out..."

Chen Sheng raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.

"I thought you would use it to bargain for your son’s life."

Chen Sheng already knew of the Hundred-Year Vermilion Fruit’s existence and location from a prompt in the Celestial Book. He had planned on retrieving it later anyway; after all, that was his primary objective.

He hadn’t expected the man to volunteer the information.

"Heh... I... couldn’t even save him... when I was alive... As a dying man... why would the Government Office... possibly agree?"

A wretched smile crossed Zhou Kuohai’s face as he tremblingly raised the small, cyan banner in his hand, its spiritual glow now dim.

"If... you... agree... this... the Cyan Flood Dragon Banner... is also... yours..."

"I’ve killed you. If I let Zhou Chengzong live, I won’t be able to rest easy."

Chen Sheng’s tone remained calm.

"However, if you hand over the Cyan Flood Dragon Banner willingly, I can promise you two things. One, I will give Zhou Chengzong a quick and clean death, sparing him further suffering. Two, as for these water bandits under your command, so long as they throw down their weapons, surrender, and submit to our authority right now...

...I will spare their lives. They will be taken into custody and dealt with later."

Zhou Kuohai fell silent, the only sound the crackling of the flames.

After a few moments, as if he had exhausted the last of his willpower, he gave a difficult nod.

"Fine."

With a thought, Chen Sheng made the phantom Golden Bell surrounding Zhou Kuohai silently disperse.

Zhou Kuohai used the last of his strength to wipe his own blood-essence brand from the Cyan Flood Dragon Banner, then tossed it to Chen Sheng.

Having lost the faint support of the Golden Bell, his ruined body crashed into the water.

The crimson flames, upon touching the water, burned even more fiercely.

Chen Sheng reached out and caught the small banner. It was cool to the touch, yet felt as heavy as a mountain. He watched with a cool gaze as the figure in the water was completely consumed by the flames, a flicker of emotion stirring within him.

’He was worthy of his reputation as a regional tyrant, an expert at the peak of the Thunder Sound Realm.’

’To endure the continuous burning of the Nine Nether Yin Fire for nearly a hundred breaths... he was far more resilient than Gu Shuangjia.’

In the flames, Zhou Kuohai’s consciousness rapidly sank into darkness.

Decades of a storied past, the pride of ruling the Yunze, his efforts in raising his only son and the regrets that followed, his wariness and resentment toward Nie Xuanfeng, the bitterness and despair of today’s defeat...

...all these emotions flashed before his eyes like a lantern show, before finally fading into a cold, empty void and a sense of release.

A few moments later, the flames gradually died down.

A great bandit lord of his generation was thus met with Total Annihilation, body and soul, leaving not even a bone behind. Only a few ashes drifted on the currents, merging completely with the Yunze Waters he had once dominated.

Chen Sheng withdrew his gaze and tucked the Cyan Flood Dragon Banner into his sleeve. He then turned to face the chaotic, ravaged battlefield, his voice, infused with True Essence, booming like rolling thunder across the water:

"The bandit leader Zhou Kuohai is dead! Lay down your arms, kneel, and allow yourselves to be bound, and you will be spared! All who resist will be executed without mercy!"

As his voice washed over them, any remaining will to resist quickly crumbled.

CLANG! CLATTER! The sound of weapons hitting the decks and splashing into the water was incessant. More and more water bandits, their faces ashen with despair, knelt on the ship decks or in the waist-deep water.

But for the diehards who stubbornly tried to flee or fight back, Chen Sheng offered no more chances. He gave a single, cold command:

"Kill them!"

...

A short while later, several hundred captives were herded in groups onto the remaining warships and placed under heavy guard.

The Jingwu Guards, swallowing their grief and exhaustion, began collecting the bodies of their fallen comrades, retrieving the wounded, and taking a preliminary inventory of the spoils of battle.

Li Jizhou flew to Chen Sheng’s side. He gazed at the last wisps of ash scattering across the water’s surface, his expression unreadably complex.

He felt both the poignancy of witnessing a tyrant’s fall and the thrill of a great victory.

The Cyan Flood Dragon Alliance had plagued Ning’an Prefecture for decades, thwarting every campaign the Government Office sent against them. Yet today, they had been all but destroyed at the hands of the young man before him!

By participating in this battle, not only would he share in the glory, but the subsequent cleanup of the Alliance’s main lair promised substantial material gains as well.

"Captain Chen,"

Li Jizhou looked at Chen Sheng, his voice filled with sincere admiration.

"With this great accomplishment of pacifying the Yunze and eliminating a major bandit threat, your promotion to Vice Governor is all but guaranteed. A Vice Governor in his early twenties... Forget Ning’an Prefecture; such a thing is unheard of in all of Yunzhou.

A feat like this will likely be recognized not just by the State Government Office, but may even be reported to the imperial court."

"Vice Envoy Li, you flatter me. We could not have achieved this total victory without the stalwart support of yourself and Vice Envoy Sun."

Chen Sheng cupped his hands in a fist-and-palm salute, his tone sincere.

Li Jizhou quickly sidestepped, not daring to accept the full gesture, and waved his hand with a smile.

"Captain Chen, please, don’t say that. Even without my help, your divine prowess would have ensured the same outcome. If anything, I am the one who has benefited from your glory. It is I who should be thanking you."

Li Jizhou’s words were earnest, his posture humble.

Chen Sheng had proven himself through his strength.

He no longer dared to treat him as a junior.

Especially since the young man’s power surpassed his own.

And whether in the imperial court or the Jianghu, strength was always what mattered most.

Furthermore, Li Jizhou knew that with Chen Sheng’s talent, power, and this monumental achievement, his future was boundless.

If not for the fact that he was much older and currently held a higher official rank...

...he probably would have already been pledging his fealty.

"You’re too kind, Vice Envoy Li."

Chen Sheng just smiled and said no more.

He turned his gaze to the horizon. A streak of crimson light was approaching from the northwest—it was Sun Yuzhi.

"He got away."

Sun Yuzhi sighed.

"Don’t worry about it. We’ve already accomplished a great feat today."

Chen Sheng nodded, not seeming to mind.

He was well aware of the Blood River Sect’s Blood Shadow Escape Secret Technique and knew how terrifyingly fast it was. It was no exaggeration to say that it was nearly impossible to catch someone of the same cultivation realm who used it.

Of course, the price for using such a Secret Technique was immense.