Chapter Sixty-Nine: Battling the Heroes

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Wu Hong leapt straight out of the room. The moment he stepped outside, several sword energies forced him back; behind him, the rafters shattered with a crash, sending splinters flying everywhere.

He retreated to the side and saw several figures appear before him. One was the leader of the Qingyang Sect, known as Master Qingyang, accompanied by a number of influential figures from the martial world whom he did not recognize.

“Brother Hong, is that you?” The sound of Wu Hong’s battle with Little Dongfang had alerted many experts when the barrier of inner energy was broken, and they had all rushed here at top speed. Each one was a master, and it took them but a moment to sense what was happening.

Now, outside Little Dongfang’s door, no fewer than fifty or sixty people had gathered.

Wu Songran, seeing the black-clad figure before her, called out loudly. Her cry made everyone tense, for her brother was none other than the notorious Demon King Wu!

But when the crowd saw Wu Hong’s face clearly, they all relaxed with visible relief.

Wu Hong smiled faintly, glanced at Wu Songran, and said, “It’s me! Ran, you’re here too!”

“Young man, don’t spout nonsense. I’ve seen the Demon King Wu myself—he looks nothing like you! Speak: what are you to Wu Hong, daring to impersonate him?”

Master Qingyang’s voice was harsh.

Hearing this, Wu Hong could not help but find it laughable. He had always used the name Hong Wu, yet these people of the martial world mistook him, the genuine Wu Hong, for a fake, and the impostor for the real one. The irony was almost too much.

He did not bother replying to Master Qingyang. An unexplainable unease gnawed at him; the day of their crusade against him had not yet arrived, and yet here he was, forced to confront these people ahead of time.

“Hmph—this boy is clearly entangled with the Demon King Wu. Let me capture you and see if you’ll still refuse to speak the truth!” Master Qingyang was indeed a martial expert, but he was not one who had entered the Celestial Tome Grotto, and thus was ignorant of Hong Wu’s true reputation.

Among the gathered martial artists were those who had been at the Penglai Inn earlier that day. They recognized Wu Hong instantly, casting strange looks at Master Qingyang.

But Master Qingyang merely thought the youth before him bore a resemblance to Wu Hong. Without further questioning, he drew his saber and slashed straight for Wu Hong’s head.

Wu Hong already harbored no goodwill toward the Qingyang Sect. He recalled that the two men who had once tried to assault a woman—whom he had dispatched—were from this very sect. Now, seeing Master Qingyang swing his blade at him without distinguishing right from wrong, how could he afford to be polite?

With a single hand, Wu Hong raised his palm; with a whoosh, his hand swelled to tens of meters in size.

With a resounding crack, he sent Master Qingyang’s saber flying.

Master Qingyang’s face changed dramatically. “You wretch! Everyone, together—seize him!”

He shouted, but to his frustration, no one responded. In the next instant, Wu Hong’s attack was already bearing down on him. Master Qingyang cursed these unfaithful martial artists under his breath.

But no matter how profound his skills, Master Qingyang was no match for Wu Hong. Wu Hong’s enormous golden palm came crashing down. Master Qingyang suddenly felt as though he were mired in a quagmire, his entire body bound by true energy. Only now did he realize that Wu Hong’s martial cultivation was far beyond his own.

His face went ashen, but it was too late. Wu Hong’s energy enveloped him, and he could only watch helplessly as the colossal palm descended.

A man of his standing, proud and renowned for many years, had never seen such wondrous martial arts.

It was only in the past year that Master Qingyang had returned to the martial world, only to suffer repeated setbacks, surpassed by rising new talents. He was already seething with frustration.

Now, seeing a companion of Wu Hong brazenly intrude upon Blackwood Cliff in the dead of night, he had meant to assert his dominance before the crowd—only to be defeated in just a few exchanges. With nowhere to vent his humiliation, he could only throw back his head and roar.

The disparity in strength was simply too great. His anger did nothing to bridge the gap. With an earth-shaking boom, the golden palm formed of Wu Hong’s energy struck him to the ground.

When the dust settled, a palm print over ten meters wide was left upon the ground—a sight that struck terror into all. In the pit, Master Qingyang lay battered and bleeding, gasping for breath. Clearly, though gravely wounded, his life was not in danger.

The gathered martial experts could not help but exclaim in shock. Though Master Qingyang’s reputation was not spotless, he was a long-established elder of the martial world. Who could have predicted that he would be crushed without the slightest chance to retaliate?

Wu Songran’s eyes sparkled with admiration. She thought to herself that her brother was no cripple; on the contrary, he was a martial prodigy. In the short time since they last met, he seemed to have become even more formidable.

“Everyone, don’t let him escape! He’s definitely tied to the Demon King Wu!”

Little Dongfang, seeing that no one moved to assist Master Qingyang, cried out in distress.

Little Dongfang was a rising star in the martial world, well-regarded by all. It was she who had gathered these people to discuss the crusade against the Demon King Wu, and they gave her due respect.

At her mention of the Demon King Wu, the crowd tensed once more. Though they were reluctant to provoke this powerful youth, if he truly was connected to the notorious villain, the matter could not be ignored.

Little did they know if this young man, who had once fought the Demon King Wu, had overheard their plans for dealing with him.

“Brother, you must escape! There are too many masters here!” Wu Songran, seeing the crowd roused by Little Dongfang’s words, called out anxiously.

“Ran, don’t speak nonsense. That Wu Hong we grew up with—he may resemble this man, but he is no beast like Wu Hong!” Wu Lie, hearing Wu Songran calling the man “brother,” quickly tried to stop her.

“So you are Hong Wu. Our last exchange was the greatest humiliation of my life. Today, let me witness your skills again.”

With a flash, Wu Lie shot forward to attack. Wu Hong had no desire to linger—not out of fear for this group, but because each use of the Great Sun Tathagata Vajra Palm consumed a tremendous amount of inner energy. The palm he had just used on Master Qingyang was meant as a deterrent, to frighten the rest into backing off.

Yet Little Dongfang’s words had spurred them into action.

Wu Lie’s body was wreathed in protective true energy, blazing like fire. From a distance, he looked like a fire god descending to the mortal realm. He struck with his palm, sending a swirling vortex of energy hurtling toward Wu Hong.

“Alas, brother, you are a true prodigy. Ran was not mistaken. I am indeed Wu Hong. The villain wreaking havoc in the martial world is not me, but an impostor. The matter is complicated, and cannot be explained in a few words!”

Wu Hong shook his head and sighed, but his hands did not slow. He raised his massive palm and, with a single strike, dispersed Wu Lie’s fiery energy.

With a whoosh, the flames scattered in all directions. Wu Lie’s cultivation was only at the mid-level marrow refining stage. Wu Hong, now able to face even consummate masters one on one without fear, hardly regarded Wu Lie as a threat.

This reversal of fortune was something Wu Hong could never have imagined before. In the past, he could only look up to Wu Lie, swearing countless times that if he could ever reach Wu Lie’s level, his life would be fulfilled. Now, the tables had turned completely.

“You can’t be that useless cripple—how could he possess such strength!”

Wu Lie, sent flying by Wu Hong’s palm, shouted in disbelief. Yet he believed Wu Hong a little more now. He had never met the impostor, but tales of Wu Hong’s martial prowess had reached his ears often, though he dismissed them as exaggerations of the martial world.

From a young age, Wu Lie had been supremely gifted, undefeated among the youths of the capital. Yet, upon entering the martial world, he found it full of extraordinary talents, suffering blow after blow to his pride.

He had also heard Wu Songran recount Wu Hong’s extraordinary experiences, but had always thought her stories were fabrications.

But now, hearing Wu Hong’s words and seeing Wu Songran’s starry-eyed admiration, Wu Lie began to believe that this man, godlike in his bearing, was indeed the brother once derided as a cripple by all in the Prince of Wu’s household.

Though Wu Hong had sent Wu Lie flying, he felt no satisfaction—only a growing sense of unease.

“Everyone, attack! This villain is too fierce for any one of us alone! If we seize him, we can surely learn the whereabouts of the Demon King Wu!”

Seeing the martial experts about to surge forward, Wu Hong knew he could not tarry. Though he had dispatched his opponents in just a few moves, the Great Sun Tathagata true energy within him was already half spent.

With the grace of a celestial being, Wu Hong vaulted ten fathoms into the air, the ground shaking beneath him.

“Don’t let him get away!” The crowd cried out in alarm. Tonight, so many masters had gathered at Blackwood Cliff to discuss how to deal with the Demon King Wu. If this Hong Wu escaped under their noses, where would their dignity be?