Volume One: The Divine Kingdom of the Long Night Chapter Fifty-Six: Manifesting Divinity Before the Masses (Part Four)

Wuhou lashed its tail, smashing a hole through the city wall, and its broken wings even crushed several Yingyu to death. It fought back frantically, yet its injuries grew increasingly severe.

Having volunteered itself to come to Huncheng, how could it have ever anticipated such a situation?

The major entities of every realm were all entangled, and the immortal seekers within Huncheng were merely cultivators of the Cave-Nether realm—just where on earth did these two monsters pop out from?!

It was not going to be like the Yingyu, who had no concept of how to spell death. As the saying goes, those who understand the times are brilliant figures; it intended to be a brilliant figure among demons.

Opening its mouth, it spat out a cluster of white mist carrying roaring thunder, temporarily forcing Jiang Wang and the man surnamed Xiao to retreat.

Without uttering even a single harsh parting threat, it plunged its head straight into the ground. Amidst a billow of dust and fog, it actually used earth-escape to flee.

Xie Wuxing had just returned to the city gate and now stood frozen in place, dumbfounded. "Wuhou actually ran away?"

Jiang Wang was equally surprised. Logically speaking, had Wuhou exerted all its abilities, even if it won this battle, it would likely have paid a heavy price. Yet Wuhou had basically been on the receiving end of a passive beating; its counterattacks, though seemingly frantic, had never truly displayed any formidable methods.

As a dignified Bathing-Snow realm grand demon, could it really only have this little skill?

Could there be a conspiracy afoot?!

Thinking of the potentially still hidden mastermind demon behind the scenes, Jiang Wang's expression turned very solemn.

However, when he turned his head, the man surnamed Xiao was already in the middle of slaughtering the remaining Yingyu monsters.

Jiang Wang instantly grew furious and exasperated. "Your competitive spirit is way too strong!"

......

Southern Qixia Street.

Shu Ni stared with nervous tension toward the direction of Huncheng's main gate. Although her cultivation realm was too low for her to see that far, she could witness the dazzling brilliance blooming like fireworks outside the city, and she imagined the battle outside must be extremely fierce.

Akong sat slumped in a corner of the wall, clutching her stomach. The chicken drumstick was gone, but she was still very hungry. Had she not given her word, she would have long since run back to the Marquis's Mansion. She thought to herself that she would just endure a little longer, and once it was all over, she would have a massive feast.

To distract herself, she looked around. The rain had stopped by now, but suddenly, another drop of water fell. Subconsciously raising her gaze, she saw a monster clinging to the top of the wall, its bloody maw wide open.

Akong swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Instantly, she grabbed the extended leg of the Yingyu monster and executed a vicious shoulder throw, slamming the creature down so hard it was left completely dazed and bewildered.

The sudden commotion startled Shu Ni.

Seeing yet another Yingyu monster scaling the wall, Shu Ni immediately drew her sword and charged forward to attack.

Meanwhile, Akong continued to grip the leg of that single Yingyu. Her small frame seemed to possess titanic strength; she swung the monster around as if she were hefting a mountain, and amidst her dainty shouts, she smashed the creature back and forth against the ground.

The Yingyu desperately wanted to bite her, but it never found the opening.

"Such a big spider!" Akong exclaimed with great excitement, thinking that if it were roasted and eaten, it would definitely be crispy and crunchy.

By the time Shu Ni had finished off all the other Yingyu monsters and looked over at Akong while catching her breath, she found that Akong was still playing around with that single Yingyu. The creature looked as though it had completely given up on life, with actual tears sparkling at the corners of its eyes.

It was utterly bewildered.

In the past, it either easily resolved its prey, watched its companions easily resolve the prey, or played with its prey for a little while. But a situation like this was something it had never experienced before; for the first time in its demon life, it actually felt a twinge of fear.

When facing demons, there were usually only two scenarios: if one was no match, one naturally died; if one could win, one killed the demon as quickly as possible. Who on earth tortured demons like Akong did? If there were others, Daoist Master Tao and Jiang Wang might barely qualify.

However, the entities they tortured were phantoms and ghosts, which could not be mentioned in the same breath as the Yingyu.

Because it felt fear for the first time, the Yingyu's body instantly shrank until it was the size of an ordinary spider, hoping to seize the opportunity to escape. But in the end, it was grabbed by Akong's outstretched hand and completely finished.

......

Looking at the Yingyu lying in her palm with all eighteen legs kicking uselessly in the air, Akong frowned and said, "Why did it get so small? Now it can't be eaten."

Upon hearing these words, the Yingyu's legs trembled a few times. In truth, Yingyu monsters did not understand human speech, but for some reason, at that moment, it seemed to have understood Akong's words.

Shu Ni was also filled with utter terror.

This little girl was actually this terrifying!

She even wanted to eat demons?!

Was this a foodie? This was clearly a monster!

......

Fifty miles west of Huncheng, there was a river.

Though nameless, this river stretched for hundreds of miles, connecting to various surrounding cities.

The soil along the riverbank churned, and Wuhou's head emerged.

Gazing at the clear river surface, it muttered in a muffled voice, "The situation in Huncheng is different from what we anticipated. I couldn't even get inside before I was defeated. There are two Bathing-Snow realm cultivators lurking within; perhaps they were prepared all along."

"I suspect there might be an even stronger presence inside Huncheng, just waiting for us to show our faces."

The previously calm river surface suddenly rippled, and a voice drifted out: "The Bathing-Snow realm cultivators in Kutan can be counted on one hand, and I am quite certain none of them were near Huncheng. So where on earth did the Bathing-Snow cultivator in that city come from?"

Wuhou replied, "I only know that one person might hail from Mantang Mountain in Longchan. Although grand demons are running rampant everywhere, only that sword-wielding individual has ever stepped out from Mantang Mountain."

"In the past, we could never approach Mantang Mountain at all, making it difficult to figure out how many major cultivators truly reside there. Perhaps the problem lies right here."

The ripples on the river surface expanded, and that voice spoke once more: "At most, they have only guessed that we are targeting the immortals. Then let them think just that. Since launching a direct assault on the city proves difficult, we shall simply change our approach."

As the words fell, the river surface returned to tranquility once more.

Wuhou gazed in the direction of Huncheng, still harboring lingering fear.

It was true that it had not unleashed all its abilities, but the man surnamed Xiao had directly shattered one of its fangs, severed its tail, and with a single sword strike, robbed it of thirty percent of its cultivation. Afterward, Jiang Wang had blasted apart another of its fangs and pulverized another tail, even dislocating its jaw.

It was no idiot like the Yingyu, stubbornly squaring off against a formidable enemy knowing it couldn't win; naturally, it ran as fast as its legs could carry it. Otherwise, it would have long since died at the hands of that sword god years ago.

Yet this grudge was one that had to be avenged.

Once it recovered from its injuries, it would surely swallow the entire city of Huncheng in a single gulp.

......

Because of the "fierceness" of the Yingyu monsters, naturally none of them survived. As for the Black Flame Army, though this battle left them with a heavy toll of injuries, fortunately no lives were lost, whereas a few martial artists and Cave-Nether realm cultivators had perished.

Yet facing a monster siege, complete with the appearance of a Bathing-Snow realm grand demon, casualties this light were practically unheard of.

Naturally, the immortal seekers attributed all of this entirely to Jiang Wang and the man surnamed Xiao.

Had it not been for them, Huncheng would likely have been wiped out completely.

Because the man surnamed Xiao had simply thrown out a parting sentence to Jiang Wang—"I won"—and then soared away through the air, the immortal seekers could only focus their attention on Jiang Wang.

Various gazes of awe were cast his way, causing Jiang Wang to feel both slightly annoyed that he hadn't slain as many demons as the man surnamed Xiao, and somewhat immensely pleased with himself.

The common folk of Huncheng had no idea what had transpired. Weary from enjoying the temple fair, they had all gone home to sleep.

Having waited by the city gates for a long time without seeing the so-called grand demon appear—not even hearing the slightest commotion—everything seemed peaceful.

Jiang Wang instructed Sun Qingya to lead the still-combat-capable members of the Black Flame Army to continue guarding the ramparts, while Shan Qiyu took the severely wounded soldiers back to the garrison, escorted by the green-robed and white-robed cultivators.

On his way back to the Marquis's Mansion, he asked the Night Wandering Deity, "Are you certain there really was a mastermind demon behind the scenes?"

The Night Wandering Deity replied, "My perception cannot be wrong. But it is very likely that Wuhou's defeat caused that grand demon to alter its plans. It will show up sooner or later."

Jiang Wang continued, "I still feel that Wuhou fleeing so easily is very suspicious."

The Night Wandering Deity said, "That depends on how you look at it."

"It led the Yingyu monsters to siege the city, originally holding a victory in hand, only to be repeatedly slapped in the face. That perhaps led it to believe that your cultivation and the cultivation of the fellow surnamed Xiao were unfathomably deep. When all is said and done, it thought too much; once there is fear, one only thinks of retreating."

Jiang Wang said in a deep voice, "The fellow surnamed Xiao is indeed very formidable."

The Night Wandering Deity deeply agreed. "Wuhou's cultivation is at the threshold of the Bathing-Snow realm. To be able to strike fear into its heart within just a few sword strokes—even if his realm is not yet Bathing-Snow, the swordsmanship he practices must be extraordinary."

"Just like Xie Wuxing's River Sword Intent, which can elevate his cultivation by several folds yet still could not do anything to Wuhou. In short, that fellow surnamed Xiao is far from simple."

Jiang Wang sighed. "When I first learned that a grand demon was besieging the city, I was already thinking of running away. I never expected things to be resolved so simply."

The Night Wandering Deity remarked, "Had it not been for the formidable skills of the fellow surnamed Xiao, and your success in manifesting the power of the Divine Kingdom before the city gates, any hidden grand demon that showed its face would have only met the same fate of fleeing. Since that grand demon might appear very soon, we must keep our guard up to the absolute maximum."

Jiang Wang nodded with a solemn expression, then added, "Now I can freely use the power of the Divine Kingdom within Qixia Street, whereas stepping outside Qixia Street leaves me as I once was, requiring a major threat to trigger it. I suppose the range of the Divine Kingdom has already enveloped all of Huncheng; true invincibility is just around the corner."

The Night Wandering Deity chuckled. "It's a pity that a fellow surnamed Xiao popped up in Huncheng; otherwise, you would already be invincible here."

Pain! Too much pain!

Jiang Wang wore a dark expression. As expected, there were still plenty of stumbling blocks in his path.

All he wanted was to lie back in a rattan chair and be invincible throughout the world—was such a simple luxury really too much to ask?

Upon returning to the Marquis's Mansion, Zhao Si was looking up at something.

Curious, Jiang Wang asked, "What are you doing?"

Zhao Si answered, "Someone is setting off fireworks, but I only hear the pops and bangs yet can't see anything. This is most peculiar."

Jiang Wang was utterly speechless.

Zhao Si looked at him and asked suspiciously, "Did you go out to stroll the temple fair? I noticed Uncle Tong and Xiaoyu weren't around either. You guys went out to have fun without telling me—that's going way too far!"

Jiang Wang patted him on the shoulder and said, "Next time for sure."

Thinking of how, if that so-called hidden grand demon really did show up, Zhao Si would likely be scared out of his wits.

Yet Zhao Si had no inkling of what had happened, and upon hearing this, he let out a proud, haughty hum.

Meanwhile, back at the city gates, Ning Fourteen and Rong Yulu had returned from the City God Temple. Looking at the bailiffs from the magisterial office and the Black Flame Army cleaning up the corpses of the Yingyu monsters, they wore looks of absolute bewilderment.

They were merely martial artists; inside the City God Temple, they had only heard the sounds and could not see the spectacle unfolding outside. Even though Ning Fourteen harbored doubts about the existence of immortals, he had still devoutly worshipped the City God.

Yet after kneeling in the temple for half a day, the problem had already been solved?

Could someone please tell them what on earth had happened?!