Chapter 104 - 101: Cleared! Rewards!

Chapter 104: Chapter 101: Cleared! Rewards!

RUMBLE!

A massive bolt of Celestial Thunder struck directly from the sky above Mengzhou City, landing squarely on a manor outside the city that was well-known to the local citizens.

The manor had always been shrouded in mystery. The local citizens of Mengzhou had almost no idea who lived inside.

However, the martial artists of Mengzhou knew better. Anyone in the martial world knew perfectly well that the manor was a branch of the Celestial Demon Sect, one of the factions within the Righteous and Demon Paths.

Now, the martial artists of Mengzhou watched as a bolt of Celestial Thunder struck the manor directly. They were struck with inexplicable shock.

"This lightning strike is too bizarre. It just had to hit that specific manor. Could it be... that some old monster from the Demon Sect has killed too many people and finally brought down heaven’s wrath?"

People in the Jianghu were naturally prone to overthinking and wild speculation. Especially since this was a branch of a top-tier major sect like the Celestial Demon Sect. Immediately, some people in Mengzhou City could no longer sit still.

"Even if it isn’t Celestial Thunder smiting an evildoer, a strange occurrence like this isn’t something you see every day..."

As a result, many martial artists in Mengzhou quietly hurried toward the manor. Some even came up with a more outrageous theory:

"Could it be that they forged an extraordinary treasure inside the manor, just like when the Immortal Sword Manor forged the Immortal Sword a century ago, and it requires Celestial Thunder to refine its spiritual essence...?"

If that were truly the case, it made the prospect even more tantalizing for certain people.

But shortly after a crowd of Mengzhou’s martial artists arrived outside the manor, their expressions changed drastically.

The once-grand manor looked as though it had been ravaged by a massive fire, reduced to ashes. The buildings appeared to have been trampled by a herd of elephants. The ground was riddled with deep craters.

"These are the marks of a fierce battle..."

Someone boldly stepped into the manor and discovered a terrifying truth. They stared at the devastated landscape and the corpses of the manor’s former residents scattered across the ground.

"How terrifying. What on earth happened here?"

It was obvious that the battle had taken place not long ago. But now, it was over.

The question of who could have fought here—summoning Celestial Thunder and burning the entire manor to scorched earth—immediately sparked endless speculation among all the martial artists in Mengzhou that day.

It wasn’t until more than ten days later that sporadic rumors began to circulate in the Jianghu.

***

In a small prefectural city in Zhao Country.

Yuu Miaolian walked down the street. Ever since she was taught the Qi Stealing Technique and absorbed Shangguan Qing’s power, she had leaped to a Grandmaster Level of power. With such immense power, staying on the mountain would be a complete waste. She and the third disciple, Zhang Liting—who had already descended the mountain—had always harbored mutual affection. Therefore, after inheriting this fortunate encounter, she immediately requested permission from Chen Sha to leave the mountain, find Zhang Liting, and lend him a helping hand.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she walked into an inn, she heard about the earth-shattering battle at the manor outside Mengzhou City.

Her gaze immediately shifted to a few talkative Jianghu swordsmen in the inn. She listened as they chatted fervently.

"Rumor has it that Demon Saint Long Zaitian’s martial arts have entered the Realm of Gods and Ghosts, allowing him to manipulate Celestial Thunder and Fire Rain. He engaged in an earth-shattering battle with another Demon Sect Master—the Celestial Demon Sect Master, Yun Shouxuan—right inside that branch of the Celestial Demon Sect.

"As for the reason, it’s still unclear. After all, the sect masters of the Demon Sect have a long history of infighting and clashing with one another.

"But what I can tell you is that seven days after the battle, someone spotted the Celestial Demon Sect Master, Yun Shouxuan, elsewhere. One of his arms was charred entirely black... and he returned to the Celestial Demon Sect alone.

"Evidently, he lost!"

Another person sighed. "The result isn’t all that surprising. After all, well over a year ago, Long Zaitian was ranked fifth in the world on the Masters’ Ranking, pushing Yun Shouxuan down to sixth. What’s so strange about the sixth losing to the fifth?"

Yuu Miaolian listened to their conversation, secretly shocked. She had just seen this "Master’s wife" at the sect a few days ago, watching her share a heartfelt mother-son reunion with her Sect Leader junior brother. She hadn’t expected that shortly after descending the mountain, this woman would get into a conflict with another top expert of the Demon Sect.

She then heard the table of swordsmen continue their discussion.

"The Six Demonic Paths have been falling apart over the years, which is something everyone has been happy to see. After all, in terms of foundational strength and legacy, if these Six Paths were to unite into a true Demon Sect under a single leader, it would probably take every sect in the Jianghu joining forces to resist them.

"In previous years, the sect masters of these Six Paths were evenly matched and harbored deep grudges against one another, leading to constant internal strife. But now..."

The man sighed heavily. "Demon Saint Long Zaitian is vaguely showing signs of suppressing the other Demon Path sects. If he really manages to unify the Demon Sect, I’m afraid ordinary martial artists like us won’t have any good days ahead in this Jianghu."

Hearing this, Yuu Miaolian immediately walked out of the inn. She wrote a letter detailing everything she had heard and handed it over to a courier station to be sent to Dao Yi Mountain.

Yun Shouxuan being injured by Long Zaitian was a matter she had to report to her Sect Leader junior brother. But more importantly... it was the absolute dominance that the Demon Saint, Long Zaitian, was currently displaying.

The Black and White Paths had been irreconcilable since ancient times. Especially since the Dao Yi Sect was originally the number one Daoist Sect of the Righteous Path. If the Demon Sect became unified, the Dao Yi Sect would be the first to directly feel the pressure.

She had to let the sect know about this.

***

While Yuu Miaolian’s urgent letter was being delivered overnight to Dao Yi Mountain.

Back on Dao Yi Mountain, Chen Sha had also reached the final moments before clearing Zhang Daoxuan’s Chapter.