Reaper of the Martial World

Book 4: Chapter 79: Final Stand

Elder Daiyu dragged his feet, hardly being capable of movement. But, for some reason, the fire in his eyes had been lit. He had felt that pressure once before. It was the pressure that started all of this! If it wasn’t for that weapon, the Daiyu would never be in this situation because he would have been the one to marry the 25^th White Mother!

“You… I kill you!” Elder Daiyu roared before falling into a fit of coughing up blood. The arteries and veined he had just closed seemed intent on bursting apart. If he didn’t calm himself, he would lose control of his body.

He wasn’t being even remotely rational at this point. Even Patriarch Ragnor was confused – but, he dismissed it immediately thinking that Elder Daiyu was just angry because he was so severely injured by a member of the younger generation. How could Patriarch Ragnor know anything about the legend of the Dragon King? To him, Dyon just had some amazing treasures.

To Elder Daiyu, though, they weren’t struggling because of Dyon at all, because Dyon was gone the moment he took up the weapon. He wouldn’t believe that Dyon grasped control of the Dragon King’s weapon, nor would he listen to such an explanation.

How many thousands of dragons and qilins had once tried to conquer this weapon? All of them vastly more powerful than Dyon. Why would he accept such a thing?!

This was the first time Elder Daiyu lost himself in anger. This entire time, Dyon could tell that he was holding back and being apprehensive. His attacks weren’t nearly as vicious and pointed as Patriarch Ragnors. But now? There was no sympathy in his actions.

During that time, just as King Acacia had said, there were three outstanding geniuses of the Daiyu who were competing for the chance to marry the 25^th White Mother. And yet, there was only Elder Daiyu left.

That wasn’t because of the passage of time. Nor was it because of the war. No. There was only him left because the Dragon King had killed the other two! Elder Daiyu’s very own blood brothers!

Dyon writhed on the top of his celestial puppet, unable to grasp his bearings. His manifestations had shimmered out of existence, unable to maintain their forms. With them went his Imperial Asura’s Eye. If it wasn’t for Elder Daiyu being so heavily injured, Dyon wouldn’t even have a way to see his movements.

“Black Jade Body: Stage 9!” Elder Daiyu had never once used an attack technique on Dyon. All of his movements had been for control and tiring him out. But, all he saw was red now.

The Black Jade body… A legacy technique exclusive to the Daiyu and one that Chenglei had previously used in his fight against Dyon. This was the very technique that required all of the concentration of one’s yang to fuel not only their bodily constitution, but also their will comprehension.

That said, Chenglei’s mastery of the technique was akin to an ant when compared to his grandfather.

Elder Daiyu had long since had his dao shattered, causing his cultivation to plummet in all aspects. If he hadn’t diverted his obscenely domineering bodily cultivation into preserving his life force, he would have died centuries ago. This was why despite having formerly been a dao formation expert and a dragon, his body was so pitifully weak.

However, he no longer cared about such restrictions. Right in front of him was the man he hated more than the entity itself. A man he would give up everything to kill.

“I’ll tear you limb from limb!” Elder Daiyu’s body burst into larger and larger sizes. Domineering black scales erupted onto his body as the wound that housed the location of his lost arm began to furiously pump.

2 meters… 3 meters… 5 meters… 10 meters…. 20 meters!

Elder Daiyu’s height surged into the skies. Massive bat-like wings burst from his back as his lost arm inexplicably grew back!

His veins bulged. His every step rocking the inner world. Heavy stomps continuously grew closer to Dyon and his puppet.

Patriarch Ragnor’s eyes widened in shock. He couldn’t believe that this was the very same man he had plotted and schemed with for hundreds of years. Not once had he seen him this angry, and not once had he seen him output this much power.

How long had Patriarch Ragnor spent looking down on Elder Daiyu? The amount of condescending comments he had barked out at the old man were too many to count. And yet, the man… No! beast in front of him was definitely capable of killing him with a single strike!

Dyon continued to scream out in agony. His vision was completely white. It was as though all of his senses were blanketed by static and noise that pierced through to his very soul. The consequences of using power you didn’t have… was without a doubt dire…

Patriarch Ragnor couldn’t help but take a step back. The searing rage coming from Elder Daiyu and his bloodshot eyes were enough to shake even a dao formation expert into feeling endless fear.

He couldn’t understand why this form of Elder Daiyu gave him more pressure than his full beast form, but how could he? His understanding of beast legacies was lacking.

Just as Zaire had said, every beast had three paths to choose from. The human path. The beast path. And both!

The human path allowed better comprehension. The beast path allowed faster and effortless cultivation. And the combination of both gave you untold benefits should you have the talent to grasp it.

This was why the Black Jade technique was so fear inducing… It was a legacy capable of combining those two paths, making the road easier.

Quite simply put. The fusion of Elder Daiyu’s beast and human form was the strongest form he had!

There was no doubt that the moment he stopped caring about preserving his own life… Was the moment he once again stepped into the realm of a dao formation expert!

Elder Daiyu’s oppressive aura seethed. He had a single goal: destruction.

Dyon’s puppet had long since lost its connection to its master, but it could follow simple and logical commands. It understood that Dyon was its master and therefore understood it had the obligation to protect.

In one swift motion, the puppet picked Dyon off of its massive head and cradled him into a pocket between its hand and chest, facing the coming Elder Daiyu with a single sword in its free hand.

“Elder Daiyu, keep your head. If you kill him, there’ll be no hope for either of us.” Patriarch Ragnor’s frown deepened. With all of his years of cultivation experience, how could he not sense the endless killing intent coming off of Elder Daiyu? He had no intention of subduing Dyon, he wanted his death!

However, Elder Daiyu either didn’t hear Patriarch Ragnor’s words, or he couldn’t bother to care. The only reason Elder Daiyu was forced to follow the orders of the entity was because of the arrays within him right now. But, if he disregarded his life completely, what reason should he have to care about such a thing? He’d put everything on the line to kill this Dragon King for good now!

A roar filled with anger, remorse and unbridled hatred filled the air. This time, the lock down on space was so domineering that even the arrays within the dead kings valley puppet shook, nearly shattering in an instant.

This wasn’t a rudimentary domain… It was a true domain!

Patriarch Ragnor could no longer move, let alone speak. His own cultivation threatened to collapse in on itself under Elder Daiyu’s oppressive might. He could only imagine what the results would be if that aura was focused on himself as opposed to that puppet!

The slits of Elder Daiyu’s eyes flashed as his clawed feet dug into the earth, propelling him forward with speed so fast that he seemed to teleport to Dyon’s position in an instant.

The puppet could hardly react within the tempest of winds that violently whipped around it. Even the screams of Dyon’s agonizing pain were drowned out by Elder Daiyu’s sheer movement speed.

Thousands of tiny explosions set off with his every shift.

A once mighty sword became akin to a twig being carried around on the whim of a tornado. Elder Daiyu’s claw like fists careened forward, meeting the puppet’s weak attempts at defense with a clash that destroyed the land beneath their feet.

The sword flew from the puppet’s hand as its massive body flew through the air hundreds of meters at a time, its armored arm trembling under the impact.

Even if Elder Daiyu was half as rational, he would have still been just as surprised as he was now. Despite the anger burning in his chest, his senses were pushed to the max. How could he not immediately notice that his strike – a strike only capable of being matched by dao formation experts – didn’t result in the puppet crumbling to ashes?! In fact, even the sword had not a single dent on it! Just what was this puppet made out of?!

However, none of this stopped Elder Daiyu from flapping his massive fifteen-meter-long wings, following the flying puppet with speed just as domineering as before.

How could Elder Daiyu know just what puppets Dyon was using?

At their peak, this battle would have been nothing but a joke to them even if Dyon didn’t take control of them. These were puppets designed by the Elves to protect their most sacred lands, how could they not be the best of the best? In fact, these puppets were specially crafted by the Celestial Deer Sect for their Elvin allies. And at their peak, they could fight peak dao formation experts without the control of a master!

With a puppet so powerful, the materials that made it up couldn’t be underestimated in the least. To be able to withstand the amount of enigmatic energy it once held, the obsidian-like armor that coated the puppet and the sword were without a doubt some of the highest quality materials in the entire cosmos!

Elder Daiyu’s scaled fists slammed into the puppet again. There was no suspense, without being able to properly accumulate its energy with any sort of efficiency, its battle prowess had fallen to the level of a saint despite its defenses remaining robust.

Its massive body skidded across the ground, drawing crater after crater in this once lush inner world. Elder Daiyu’s roars of rage only intensified with every pass moment, unable to contain his emotions. He blindingly attacked again and again, looking to shatter the puppet completely!

Dyon’s cries of agony rang out even from his protected pocket. With every earth-shattering blow Elder Daiyu landed, even though his puppet absorbed much of it, Dyon’s bones still continuously shattered, amplifying the backlash he was already suffering.

His blood curdling screams even managed to resound atop of the chorus of loud explosions, somehow outwardly projected by his music will despite his broken stamina. His emotions were conveyed so deeply that even the universe acknowledged it to be at the level of a will despite not having the backing of his soul.

Elder Daiyu’s every breath was so hot that flames flew from his lips as he stood over the puppet.

Small fissures began to spread across the one flawless armor. The arrays within the puppet were so damaged that it seemed as though the only action it could take was to continuously protect Dyon.

Elder Daiyu gripped the ankle of the puppet, wrapping his claw around it so tightly that the groaning of the material could be heard.

He lifted it upward, swinging downward with such ferocity that one could almost forget that the puppet should have weighed an astronomical amount… Until it slammed into the ground…

The puppets mechanisms completely shattered on impact, sending Dyon flying through the air like a boneless doll… His limbs were bent in such inhumane positions that one couldn’t help but to avert their eyes.

His consciousness was barely holding on by a string… He knew that whatever hope he had would be gone if he allowed darkness to overcome his vision…

Dyon landed on the ground heavily. The pain was so much that he still couldn’t see clearly, but knowing that he had lost the protection of his puppet, he could only force himself to focus. However… If such a thing was so easy, he wouldn’t have been screaming in agony to begin with.

Seeing the puppet finally lose hold of its master, Elder Daiyu’s large figure stalked over to the barely conscious Dyon.

“Elder Daiyu!” Patriarch Ragnor tried again. He didn’t dare to get too close because he could clearly tell that Elder Daiyu had lost his rationality. If he tried to approach such a monster, he might be the one to die first!

“Stay your hand! If you do this, think of the consequences! Your Daiyu clan will never rise up again without his help. In fact, if you push him, he may very well destroy your lineage as you know it!” Patriarch Ragnor gritted his teeth.

He just wasn’t listening! He was already standing over Dyon as though he was looking down at a dead man.

The veins on his enormous body continued to pump with such robust vitality that his mere presence caused the air around him to tremble. Even the flickers of flames that danced around his lips gave off an oppressive heat that seared Dyon’s skin.

Ragged and shallow breaths escaped the thin opening of Dyon’s mouth. He wanted nothing more than to take a deep breath, but every time he tried, the shattered mess that used to be his rib cage would scrape against his lungs.

He had thoughts of using the last slivers of his soul strength to try and heal himself, but that was nothing more than a pipe dream. Not only was the stamina he had left much too piss poor to even attempt such a thing, even if he had full stamina it would be exceedingly difficult now that his body had broken into sainthood. Unfortunately, such a powerful body was a double edged sword for Dyon right now.

“Do you know your crimes?” Elder Daiyu’s voice was no longer calm, in fact it had dropped at least three octaves and was now deep and resounding. Every rumbling syllable he spoke caused his throat to light up, as though his words themselves were as scolding as molten lava.

Dyon coughed heavily, smirking through his pain. “Fuck off old man. As though you have any right to bitch and moan to me right now.”

Elder Daiyu looked down at Dyon silently, his eyes burning with rage. In this form, his pupils looked no different than the yellow slits of a snake. In front of anyone else, it should have elicited fear beyond belief. And yet, Dyon practically spit in his face.

“Two of my brothers. Two men who were rising into their own. Killed by a senior who should have been overlooking their improvement. For what? So, you could imprint your name on history some more? So, you could trample those who couldn’t protect themselves? So no one would forget the name of the Dragon King?” Elder Daiyu’s questioning became more and more pointed.

The Dragon King had long since become a taboo for the Drago-Qilin lands. He was still a man known as the strongest in their history – completely uncontested – but, with his reputation and stories came an inescapable blemish. This was a man who was so enraptured and engrossed in his own self-fulfillment that he didn’t care to dominate era after era of Drago-Qilin history.

Many of the greatest epochs were all led by him! He refused to allow any era to grow without his stamp on them. He cared not for anyone but himself!

“Years. Decades. Centuries. Millenia. More! Time and time again your name comes up in our history.

“Maybe if under different circumstances, I would have paid my respects to you. But you dared to kill my brothers! And with them went their futures! You shattered everything in the name of your own goals! And today you’ll die by my hand!” Elder Daiyu’s voice boomed with such force than Dyon’s body sunk into the ground even further.

Suddenly, Dyon started laughing. His laugh was filled with such hatred… Such animosity… Such a killing intent that even Elder Daiyu’s rage was cut through in an instant.

“To dare stand in front of me…” Blood seeped from Dyon’s lips, “And talk about fairness… About people trampling over what they please… About your family dying?!”

Dyon’s gaze pierced toward Elder Daiyu. Despite being the one being forcefully stamped into the ground, his eyes were so arrogant and lofty that it almost seemed as though he couldn’t bear to lower himself to look at Elder Daiyu.

“You’re angry? You feel despair? You want vengeance? You want to vent your anger? You hypocritical bitch!

“Your cries of passion mean nothing to me. Your hatred means even less. If I saw your brothers die right in front of me I wouldn’t bat an eye, in fact, I might laugh.

“For the sake of your clan, you shackled mine. For the sake of your survival, you want to sacrifice the life of a boy. And now for the sake of your anger, you want to throw all of that away? So you can feel fulfilled? So you can feel better about yourself?”

Blazing white erupted from Dyon with his every word. His anger had reached such a fiendish level that he couldn’t even believe what he was hearing anymore. He couldn’t help but laugh – laugh at this martial world that only seemed to see things from their perspective.

His words seemed to pierce through to Elder Daiyu, but he couldn’t be bothered to care. This Elder Daiyu had done too much. He wouldn’t be forgiven. Not in this life. And not in the next.

Dyon knew fully well what he was about to do was nothing short of a death sentence. Although he was able to save Zabia from this fate, that was only because he had access to his own soul strength. But, if Dyon did this, it would be his own soul dissipating… How could one use a damaged soul to save a damaged soul?…

“I’m going to kill you.” Dyon said as his aura erupted. The black band on his wrist immediately sprang to life, coating him in his black knight’s armor.

His two pair of wings sprang from his back as he lifted into the air… But this time, the armor perfectly formed around them, turning his angelic feathers into black and shining metallic blades.

“I’m going to rip your arms out of their sockets. I’m going to tear your wings from your back.

“Every bit of despair the Dragon King once made you feel, I’m going to make you feel it again. And then I’ll make sure that your entire clan is wiped from existence.”

Elder Daiyu and Patriarch Ragnor felt an oppressive might wash over them in an instant.

Normally when someone burns their soul, they could jump as much as one entire cultivation level… A saint could become a celestial… or a celestial a dao expert…

However, Dyon’s soul was no normal soul… He wasn’t just burning his own talent… He was burning the talent of billions…

This was his final stand…

A culmination of power only made possible by all those who had died…