অধ্যায় ১৩৬: পুরুষ মানুষের রক্ত ঝরানো উচিত
fierce battles raged on without end. zuo wuzhou felt neither sorrow nor joy, his expression cold, grim, and murderous, allowing his killing intent to soar freely. it was as if a burning heart was roaming back and forth inside his body, causing his entire being's blood to boil.
"this person is very strong. my previous battles consumed a significant amount of soul power; i might not be able to face the enemy at my absolute best." zuo wuzhou's expression remained cold and indifferent to life and death, as he pondered, "however, this battle is not fought for tempering or simple combat; it is fought to annihilate a sect. therefore..."
never before had the grand elder treated a soul martial lord with such solemnity. as a soul martial king himself, he treated a soul martial lord with such extreme caution. if word of this were to spread, it would surely become a laughingstock. yet, the grand elder was a veteran of countless battles; how could he dare to be negligent, how could he dare to let down his guard?
especially since he had witnessed with his own eyes zuo wuzhou instantly obliterating two martial lords—pounding one into dust and torturing another to death. the grand elder, who had hardly known what fear was for hundreds of years, secretly felt a chilling trace of dread.
"yaksha! it's your turn." zuo wuzhou suddenly let out a sharp roar!
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yaksha had not strayed too far from zuo wuzhou and had seen with his own eyes how zuo wuzhou had ripped off a martial lord's facial bones. at that moment, he felt a bone-chilling cold throughout his body, generating an uncontrollable and immense fear: "thankfully it wasn't me. jin yan was right; this person may look like a human on the outside, but inside, he is not human at all."
yaksha was no stranger to torture and slaughter; he had neither failed to commit such acts nor failed to witness them. but he had never seen anyone torture and kill someone so casually, yet remain completely calm and indifferent. there was neither the perverted thrill nor the joy of victory; it was as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
hearing zuo wuzhou's shout, a trace of fear flickered in yaksha's eyes, and he trembled slightly. understanding the intent, he transformed into a gust of wind to meet the grand elder in battle: "leave him to me!"
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yaksha had inherited qiao mi's cultivation base and was a halfway-enlightened soul martial king, not a genuine soul martial king. he knew he was no match for the grand elder, assuming zuo wuzhou wanted him to stall the grand elder to make it easier for zuo wuzhou to slaughter the entire cloud firmament sect.
thus, relying solely on entanglement tactics, yaksha was able to hold his own for the time being.
on the other hand, the grand elder grew increasingly alarmed with every clash, and his anger flared: "this zuo wuzhou made a name for himself in xilin; he must have achieved fame not long ago. how is it that he has a soul martial king as a helper? could it be that he hails from some major sect? and why is this zuo wuzhou so terrifyingly powerful?"
engaged in a fierce battle, the grand elder had no time for further contemplation. had he composed himself to reflect on zuo wuzhou's record of battles since becoming a martial lord, he would have felt an even greater terror.
from his very first battle at the fire plains against yuan ba—who had boosted his strength through pills—zuo wuzhou had failed to adapt immediately and was nearly injured by yuan ba. yet, it was by unleashing a supreme soul combat skill that he finally slew yuan ba. upon reaching xilin, there were two successive battles where he defeated tang xiaotian and wen ruoyu, both powerhouses among martial lords, before ultimately slaying wen ruoyu.
next came his solo intrusion into the red prospect imperial palace, defeating three martial lords and killing xu caiyun. during a ten-day martial tournament set on a stage, he first killed the blue-robed martial lord, then slew four more martial lords. subsequently, at genesis valley, he captured and killed qiao mi, fought to a draw with gu yiyi, and participated in the encirclement and slaying of cloud firmament sect's liu dajun. upon returning to xilin, he tore a martial lord apart with his bare hands, and then killed jiang jihe.
if anyone fully understood zuo wuzhou's complete combat record, a perceptive observer would clearly see that zuo wuzhou grew stronger rapidly with every single battle, with every single slaughter. from slaying yuan ba two and a half years ago up to the present, every battle had served as stepping stones for his ascent.
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what made the grand elder even more furious was that from the foot of the cloud firmament sect's mountain, heart-rending, desperate screams before death drifted up. once fighting commenced, auras were harder to conceal. the grand elder felt it instantly, gripped by a mix of shock and rage: "there is another soul martial king and a soul martial lord at the foot of the mountain! could it be that zuo wuzhou is not merely a prominent master from xilin, but genuinely hails from a major sect, and that this is a premeditated plot to annihilate my cloud firmament sect!"
gu yiyi and zhang dongtian had started intercepting and fighting at the foot of the mountain. the sheer magnitude of the commotion prompted zuo wuzhou to let out a hearty, booming laugh: "well fought! your cloud firmament sect wanted not a single chicken or dog left alive in my zuo family; i am returning those four words to you, completely unchanged."
the grand elder's aged face turned ashen. amidst his explosive rage, thinking of jiang jihe and his group, his mind shook violently, driving him to fury: "my cloud firmament sect has stood tall for thousands of years; do you really think you can destroy this sect just because you want to? ask this old man first whether i agree!"
"whatever i wish to do requires no permission from anyone!" zuo wuzhou's eyes widened in fury. remembering how his parents had nearly fallen victim to plots, a blaze of anger ignited within him, rolling like a raging fire, swift as a flash. he swept his arm out like a bar of steel!
with a sharp, crisp snap, a martial lord was struck squarely in the chest. his ribcage collapsed inward, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood, flying backward to crash through two green brick walls before hanging suspended from the tiled eaves, teetering on the brink of death.
"shijin, go and execute them!"
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shijin transformed into a blood dragon, soaring through the clouds to directly target a panic-stricken martial lord attempting to flee. in the blink of an eye, amidst two successive sounds—a rip and a pop—the fleeing martial lord was pierced straight through the chest by shijin. with continuous roaring impacts, shijin punched through two fleeing tier-nine experts, smashed straight through a sturdy green brick wall, and finally nailed them onto a stone pillar like candied hawthorns on a skewer!
"stay right where you are!" zuo wuzhou wore the expression of a mad tiger—fierce and intimidating. everyone who saw him fled in terror. slaughtering his way along the path, he was truly invincible.
bounding and leaping, he grabbed a tier-nine expert by the head with one hand, lifting him high into the air. with a loud pop, the man exploded into a mist of blood mid-air. in an instant, seizing two more people, zuo wuzhou leaped upward and lashed out with whip-like legs. with two consecutive popping sounds, he kicked them into four separate pieces, leaving countless shattered limbs strewn about.
in no time at all, blood flowed like a river.
yet no one noticed that despite his continuous killing, his soul power had barely been consumed. instead, he secretly grasped dharma crystals to absorb energy. coupled with the "five elements universe" continuously generating its own soul power, he was actually recovering his strength at a rapid pace.
"black flow" struck, sending two heads flying into the sky. headless corpses crashed to the ground as blood gushed from their necks like a fountain. the entire cloud firmament sect was dyed crimson everywhere, littered with corpses, none of which remained intact—resembling a bloody purgatory of slaughter.
"exhilarating, exhilarating! killing people like this is the most exhilarating and gratifying feeling of all!" zuo wuzhou felt truly joyous in body and mind; nothing could relax him more than combat and slaughter. especially with thousands of grievances resting in his chest, killing brought him an incomparable sense of gratification.
feeling boundless joy, he suddenly found himself chanting aloud while killing, completely unaware of what he was saying:
"a man's place is the killing field, his courage like a bear's and his eyes like a wolf's. if born a man, one must kill, never letting a man's body harbor a woman's heart. a man has never treasured his own body; even if he dies at the enemy's hand, he meets it with a smile. a hundred battlefields of vengeance, every place willing to sprout with wild grass green."
"seeing through a thousand years of benevolence and righteousness fame, letting this lifetime indulge in heroic might. loving a notorious name rather than a good one, killing a million hearts without remorse. rather let ten thousand people gnash their teeth in hatred, than have no one curse my name. looking across the world for hundreds of millions of years, where are heroes who do not kill?"
this, indeed, was true valor and true gratification.
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for a time, the agonizing screams from the mountain and below echoed endlessly; no one knew how many people had perished here.
witnessing sect members being slaughtered like pigs and dogs by zuo wuzhou, the grand elder's eyes split open in fury, and he roared: "zuo wuzhou, how dare you! i will never spare you."
before his voice faded, zuo wuzhou plunged into the night, leaving a trail of piercing, miserable cries in his wake! the grand elder, filled with desolate fury, threw himself entirely into fighting yaksha.
"hmm, i suppose i can fool this person for the time being." zuo wuzhou once again activated the "hidden dragon soul" which had recovered some of its vigor, chased after the fleeing people for a while, and only returned after hearing their ghost-like wails.
slipping back under the cover of night, zuo wuzhou crept forward with a low posture, his expression cold and regretful: "what a pity. this person was originally a very good combat opponent; under normal circumstances, i would have loved to spar properly with him. but i did not come here to fight; i came here to kill."
the more he thought, the calmer and more rational he became, suppressing his abundant battle intent and hiding his figure as he sneaked forward silently! relying on the miraculous effect of the "hidden dragon soul", the grand elder did not sense that he had circled back.
closer and closer he drew, and zuo wuzhou's spiritual platform grew clearer. as he surveyed the battlefield, a trace of icy grimness rippled in his eyes: "by using the five-soul instant burst, supplemented by a sneak attack, i will definitely be able to defeat this person!"
seeing yaksha fighting and retreating step by step, his heart became as firm as a rock: "right now!"
five-soul instant burst!
"heaven-turning seal!"
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suddenly erupting, a close-range ambush was sudden to the absolute extreme.
especially since the grand elder still thought zuo wuzhou had gone down the mountain to chase the escaping members of the cloud firmament sect. how could he have anticipated that zuo wuzhou possessed such a miraculous soul art as the "hidden dragon soul", returning to lurk alongside him for an ambush?
as a fist rose and fell, it channeled spiritual energy to condense into terrifying might, possessing an oppressive pressure akin to dark clouds weighing down upon a city on the verge of collapse, coupled with the ferocious violence of a collapsing heaven and earth.
with the raising and lowering of the fist, it was as if he intended to pierce the sky and overturn the earth. for a moment, heaven and earth inverted; for a moment, the might was boundless, unadorned yet peerlessly fierce.
terror filled the grand elder's eyes as he watched that punch transform into a heavenly mountain range plummeting downward. with a thunderous, explosive roar, it pinned him firmly in place. instantly, the bones throughout his body exploded inch by inch, emitting a series of cracking sounds. he let out a piercing, shrill scream, absolutely terrified beyond measure: "how could there be such a fist technique! how could it be wielded by a soul martial lord, and how could he possibly possess such powerful soul power!"
"could it be that heaven wishes to destroy me!"
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amidst the midnight thunderclap, the grand elder wailed, his face turning ashen as he met this heaven-shaking punch. his entire body suffered fractured bones and torn flesh, bursting into a mist of blood as he looked like a bloody figure.
in an instant, heaven and earth overturned and the ground surged. blood spewed from the grand elder's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. his legs buckled as he dropped to his knees, teetering precariously and wailing endlessly: "is this person a human or a ghost? how can a soul martial lord possess such terrifying soul power!"
putting aside the might of the "heaven-turning seal", the soul power of the five-soul instant burst alone far surpassed that of a soul martial lord, and even many soul martial kings might not possess such vast soul power. this, precisely, was the advantage of the five-element souls.
to this day, zuo wuzhou's single-attribute soul power fell only slightly short of ordinary soul martial lords, while his dual-attribute soul power easily won against soul martial lords by a wide margin. once the five-soul instant burst was unleashed, one could well imagine the immense might it held.
the zuo wuzhou of today was a foe soul martial lords simply could not contend with.
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"you wanted to slaughter my family, so i am going to thoroughly deal with you! watch closely how i kill you."
zuo wuzhou's voice sounded as though it came from the depths of hell, bone-chillingly eerie. with a sudden sway, relying on his newly restored soul power, he closed in on the slumped grand elder. his iron-like arms suddenly constricted like steel rods, shaping into claws to seize the grand elder's shoulders and collarbones!
"you are so brutal and cruel; heaven will surely condemn you!" the grand elder's eyes bulged wide as he spewed fresh blood and let out a shrill, piercing scream! in an instant, his collarbones snapped into several pieces, forcefully yanked out from his body. blood gushed out like a fountain, and he completely lost his final ability to resist, struggling and roaring hoarsely: "even if you kill me, you cannot wipe out my sect! with a heritage spanning thousands of years, how could it be destroyed by you?"
zuo wuzhou looked on apathetically, the killing intent in his eyes burning like fire, his expression indifferent: "when death is at hand, why bother talking nonsense." pausing for a moment, a cold trace rippled across his face: "jiang jihe and the others are all dead. jiang jihe was killed by my own hands."
"therefore, no one can avenge you. as long as i live for a single day, no matter how many abilities the cloud firmament sect has, don't even dream of surviving." his voice was as cold as ice, and the grim murderous look in his eyes was utterly captivating: "even if some remnants of the cloud firmament sect escape today, as long as i get wind of their whereabouts, i will eradicate the root of future troubles."
driven to fury, the grand elder opened his mouth, and another column of blood was forcefully forced out of him. on the brink of death, he roared furiously: "what sect do you belong to, and why are you hounding our sect so relentlessly!"
"do you really want to know?" for the first time, zuo wuzhou engaged in such idle chatter, but he did so deliberately to anger the grand elder to death—nothing less would suffice to avenge the hatred in his heart.
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yaksha slowly walked over, and zuo wuzhou pointed at him: "he takes orders from me, and down below are gu yiyi and zhang dongtian."
"i don't belong to any sect, and this year i am twenty-two years old." blood-red light rippled in zuo wuzhou's eyes, every word falling like a blade: "i don't even need to hunt down the cloud firmament sect. once i become a soul martial emperor, do you think anyone in the cloud firmament sect will still be alive?"
the grand elder's eyes instantly widened to the point of bursting, and his entire body began to tremble. he was genuinely gripped by terror and trembling. a twenty-two-year-old soul martial lord—a martial lord who didn't even lose to soul martial kings—possessed potential that was simply too massive, terrifyingly massive, to a degree the grand elder could not have imagined in all his life.
the grand elder's face turned ashen as a death rattle came from his throat. a mouthful of blood rose to his throat only to be swallowed back down, nearly choking him to death. suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck, his aged face contracting into a ball as he trembled uncontrollably: "i know. what you cultivate are the five-element souls."
"you actually managed to guess it." zuo wuzhou looked surprised.
the grand elder was struck with overwhelming shock, feeling a torment worse than death for the first time in his life. a soul martial lord who cultivated the five-element souls and was only twenty-two years old—how vast was his potential? it was simply vast enough to be unprecedented throughout history.
that mouthful of blood finally could no longer be suppressed. he violently spewed it forth, collapsing backward with unending grievance as life left him. he had indeed been literally provoked to death by zuo wuzhou, dying with his eyes wide open in resentment.
even down in the nether springs, he would surely regret this with every fiber of his being.
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he severed the grand elder's head, then with another blast, blew the grand elder's corpse into a mist of blood.
this was not because zuo wuzhou was cruel; his secret had been spoken aloud and guessed correctly by the grand elder. whether the man was truly dead or feigning death, he had to be thoroughly dead without a doubt, and the secret must never be leaked.
having finished, zuo wuzhou thought to himself: "no wonder so many people like talking nonsense; it turns out there is a different kind of thrill to it. however, the more one speaks, the more mistakes one makes. experiencing such idle chatter once is enough for me."
his cold, emotionless gaze swept toward yaksha. having learned yet another major secret about zuo wuzhou aside from his age, yaksha was frozen in shock. swept by that cold, murderous gaze, yaksha's face turned ashen as his thoughts raced: "he's going to silence me!"
"how about rebelling against him right now and breaking free from his control? but he is unfathomable; i am simply no match for him!" the moment his rebellious killing intent stirred, remembering zuo wuzhou's terrifying nature and the flame of his soul, his killing intent instantly vanished.
sweating profusely, yaksha's mind raced through a myriad of thoughts in an instant: "i originally thought it was already terrifying enough that he was twenty-two years old, but it turns out he also cultivated the most difficult five-element souls, achieving such miraculous speed. no wonder he could defeat me; how could i possibly be a match for someone with five souls?"
"his breakthrough is imminent. with his unprecedented talent and bone structure, as long as he doesn't perish prematurely, he will surely become a soul martial emperor. submitting to a future soul martial emperor is not disgraceful, after all."
ever since his soul possession, everything he had seen and heard flowed through his mind. zuo wuzhou's talent, bone structure, and ruthless coldness all combined to make him feel an unprecedented tremor.
yaksha knew he could not defeat this combat maniac zuo wuzhou; having seen too much, deep fear had long taken root in his heart. yet without the flame of his soul, he could have fled—the world was vast, and there were places everywhere to hide from zuo wuzhou. but with the soul flame bound to him, he was destined never to have the qualification to fight zuo wuzhou to the end.
if yaksha had still harbored even a shred of intention to gamble and match wits or vie for supremacy with zuo wuzhou, learning this second secret completely shattered that notion. with all hope dashed, his expression turned desolate as he struggled in deep despair: "it seems i only have one path left to take."
yaksha's expression shifted continuously—it was also the remnant of his unruly nature acting up. anyone else would have long since submitted, or died.
finally, looking utterly defeated and desolate, yaksha slowly dropped to a single knee: "i submit!"
"heavens above, i, ruan xiaoye, also known as yaksha, from this moment on take orders from zuo wuzhou. i shall have no other words, nor shall i ever betray or abandon you. otherwise, may i be dashed to pieces and die."
zuo wuzhou retracted his killing intent, nodded faintly, and said: "you can dispense with the oath; i don't believe in them. both people and matters are proven through actions. you know what should be said and what should not be said."
"you are the first to follow me. whether we build a career and establish ourselves in the future, or achieve fame and success, as long as you keep your place, what is yours will never fall short."
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four of the cloud firmament sect's seven martial kings had already fallen prior to this. tonight, jiang xiaomo first assassinated one, the grand elder was then slain by zuo wuzhou, and the remaining third elder had long since gone wandering far away.
with the grand elder defeated and killed, no one left in the cloud firmament sect could match zuo wuzhou and yaksha.
especially since yaksha, eager to prove himself, exerted his utmost abilities, hoping only to leave a good impression. for the time being, he harbored no grand ambitions of securing a glorious future; he merely wanted to perform well and score some favorable impression points, lest zuo wuzhou decide to take his life at any moment.
zuo wuzhou and yaksha fought their way in and out, peerless and unstoppable, leaving rivers of blood in their wake everywhere they went. though they did not set fires, they reduced the cloud firmament sect to such a withered state that overnight, a sect of boundless glory was plunged into infinite desolation.
a grand and dignified major sect had actually been washed in blood. usually, the term "bloodbath" was merely a figure of speech, but applied at this moment, it was a bloodbath in the most authentic sense possible.
to say nothing of the fact that zuo wuzhou's hands almost never left survivors, another major characteristic of his was that there were never any intact corpses. the gushing blood sprayed all over the ground, mingling with the drizzling rain to converge and genuinely form tiny streams of blood that flowed down the mountain, dyeing the earth an intensely fishy crimson.
this was what it meant to be hearty and unrestrained, seeking swift vengeance for grievances.
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after a bout of exhilarating slaughter, as they descended the mountain, it was just as zuo wuzhou had anticipated: a good number of people from the cloud firmament sect still managed to escape.
zuo wuzhou did not mind too much. as long as one possessed absolute strength, even if a few people leaked away, they could never stir up the heavens. as long as his cultivation grew stronger and stronger, no matter how many abilities the cloud firmament sect remnants possessed, their only fate would be to be trampled beneath his feet.
(to be continued)