Mission: Seduce the Master!

High in the sky, surrounded by dark clouds, a man with long black hair tied in a ponytail hovered. His cold black eyes indifferently observed the battlefield, which had come to a halt the moment Tang Xun shouted his name.

"W-who is that?" asked one of the exhausted cultivators. His body was covered in blood, flesh, and countless cuts.

The others who had survived did not know the answer—this person was unfamiliar to them, and especially his name was completely unknown.

Tang Xun gritted his teeth, and his eyes filled with blood. Then, a pure infernal flame began to rise from beneath his feet and spread into the sky. Soon, a massive column of fire engulfed the heavens.

"Hahaha… hahaha…" a sarcastic laugh filled with contempt, anger, and joy echoed. It belonged to Tang Xun, who hung high in the sky, smirking at Xie Qing. Waving his hand, the man summoned a flaming spear, which he then directed at his enemy: "Excellent, just wonderful! You came into my hands of your own accord, and I will surely break your legs. Hahaha!

Who would have thought you would be so foolish as to come to me! You are asking… for death!"

As if responding to Tang Xun's anger, the column of fire he had summoned burned even brighter, beginning to consume everything around it. The cultivators of the righteous side who had survived were not foolish enough to stay—they had long since fled.

Xie Qing cast a brief glance at them. That was enough for him to remember all their faces. Then, the man turned his head towards his enemy, Tang Xun.

"And you haven't changed at all. Still the same despicable son of a bitch," Xie Qing began his speech with insults, instantly provoking Tang Xun.

"Hmph! Still as rude as ever? I'll break every bone in your body!"

The enemy was not patient enough to talk for long, so he almost immediately channeled all his power and then launched his attack.

A crimson spear exploded with bright flames, colliding directly with Xie Qing's body. He, waving his sword, summoned an invisible stream of energy that pierced the crimson spear and scattered it to the sides.

The temperature instantly rose to terrifying levels—enough to incinerate an ordinary person in two seconds. However, under these extreme conditions, Xie Qing and Tang Xun continued to fight, still maintaining their peak state.

Especially surprising was Xie Qing, who this time could put up a fairly good fight. Tang Xun narrowed his eyes, in which both surprise and irritation were visible.

Clang! A sound rang out as something metallic clashed. It was Xie Qing's Nameless Sword and Tang Xun's flame-formed spear, which regenerated each time.

"Not bad at all," Tang Xun said, gripping the spear tighter and applying more force, gradually gaining control of the situation. His spear began to press against Xie Qing's sword, forcing him to retreat: "Last time, you were like a worm. I could crush you at any moment, but you were very agile and slipped out of my hands. This time, it won't happen.

Today, on this spot, I will graciously arrange your funeral."

Pf-f-f-shss…

The spear blazed with renewed strength, and the temperature of the air rose higher and higher, even affecting the Qi in the air, which began to distort and burn under the influence of the absurdly high temperature.

Xie Qing retreated ten steps, then firmly grasped the hilt of his sword. He looked at Tang Xun, who had taken a stance—his spear began to form an aura around it.

"A complex technique. I suppose I'll have to work hard to counter it," Xie Qing thought and sharpened all his six senses.

Soon, everything from slight changes in the air, the crackling sounds of the fire, the smoke, even the distant noise…

He reached maximum concentration. Then, raising his sword into the air, Xie Qing muttered.

"Lord of the Nine Realms and Heavens… Punishment of a Thousand Swords."

Shu-u-u-u-u…

Suddenly, the flow of air stopped, as if under someone's control. From such changes, even Tang Xun narrowed his eyes, but still did not stop his attack. Then, to his amazed gaze…

In the sky appeared thousands… no, hundreds of thousands of swords, the size of a classic Chinese sword. All of them shone like golden ingots, and since the sun still shone brightly in the sky, it was almost blinding.

And all these swords were behind Xie Qing. And all of them, forming something like a dome, pointed at only one person…

"Ugh…"

Tang Xun swallowed hard. Even he found it difficult to withstand the pressure from a hundred thousand swords, each of which was imbued with an overwhelming quality and quantity of Sword Aura.

"And this is controlled by only one person?" Tang Xun gritted his teeth, then gripped his crimson spear more firmly: "Here we go!"

His eyes flashed with flame, and then explosions began to sound in the air. The spear suddenly increased in size and seemed to cover the Heavens. The sun was obscured by crimson flames.

"So this is how you play, huh?" Xie Qing thought and narrowed his eyes. Then, straightening his back, he gripped the hilt of his sword, with which he had spent much time training. And, raising it horizontally into the air, he pointed the tip of the sword at Tang Xun: "So be it. Feel the power of a hundred thousand swords."

Tang Xun smiled fearlessly and waved his hand. The enormous crimson spear began to tremble, falling towards Xie Qing.

"Feel the power of my flame, brat!"

The heavens trembled, the earth cracked. Even those who were thousands of miles away could feel the overwhelming heat and the terrifying sharp energy that seemed to cut through everything it touched.

In the distance, standing on a small hill, Zhang Mei narrowed her eyes, intently watching the battle. Her eyelashes fluttered, and her eyes were filled with unknown emotions that were hard to read.

"It seems we underestimated him a bit…" she thought and licked her dry lips. Her index finger twitched: "I guess… the prediction was true? What a pain in the ass, tsk…"

***

The enormous crimson spear and the hundreds of thousands of swords, which had merged into a single gigantic sword, collided with each other.

At first, immediately after the collision, there was no sound. However, after five seconds passed, suddenly…

Ba… BAAM!

A loud, deafening, and terrifying sound of an explosion resounded throughout the area—even beyond the barrier, this sound could be heard. Almost all continents were stunned, causing many to panic.

Moreover, the shockwave was so terrifying that everything within a hundred thousand miles was turned to dust, and all living beings died instantly—among them were those surviving righteous cultivators. Unfortunately, they could not escape.

But the same situation occurred with the devilish cultivators, of whom there were simply a huge number. Even considering their large numbers, this was still a huge blow.

And, of course, this alarmed the influential figures of the world. The acting devilish dao cultivators, responsible for controlling the cultivators under their command, were frightened.

"W-what the hell?!"

In a narrow, small room where all the items—furniture, carpet, clock, and the like—were on the ground, there were five people.

Two of them were representatives of two great sects, and the other three were independent leaders.

"What was that?" one of them asked with obvious fear.

"How should I know? For a moment, I thought someone at the Transcendence level had decided to enter the battle…"

"Don't talk nonsense, they have their restrictions. No one would use their power, considering all the dangers."

The five devilish dao cultivators were at the Divine Transformation stage—from the first to the fifth stage, respectively. Despite their high level of cultivation, they themselves had long forgotten how to fight.

That's why they sat in their lairs, afraid to come out. The only thing they could do was give orders and nothing more.

After all, Hao Shen and Ma Lu—all of them had disappeared. And most of the devilish cultivators, if not for the good rewards they were given, and the good progress they made…

They were afraid that everything would end in failure.

***

Xie Qing looked at his left hand and clicked his tongue. It was covered with numerous burns that, at first glance, could become serious if not taken care of.

Then, he turned his gaze, in which there were no emotions—only apathy. There was something strange in this gaze, and his behavior instantly became much more detached.

"Everyone who opposes me…"

The earth trembled.

"Everyone who looks at me askance…"

The heavens roared.

"Everyone who dares to disturb my peace…"

Xie Qing narrowed his eyes, looking ahead.

"Will face death."

His cold gaze was directed at the enemy…

Whose body was pierced by hundreds of thousands of swords. He had long since died.

Then, the man looked around. Hatred appeared in his eyes. Opening his mouth, his voice echoed through all dimensions.

"Remember, Heavens. The Executioner has returned."