Chapter 171 - 152: Center of Attention_1

Gao Wanping roared low, his hands gripping the large hammer as he spun rapidly, like a fast spinning top. With the weight of his hammer, his power was astonishing.

Lu Yan retreated quickly, dodging his attack, looking for an opportunity.

Under the burden of his injury, Gao Wanping couldn’t sustain his onslaught. After pushing Lu Yan back, he turned to run.

But how could his speed compare to Lu Yan’s?

Lu Yan closed the distance between them in just a few strides.

"Get lost."

Gao Wanping swung his hammer towards Lu Yan.

Lu Yan brandished his sword, then exchanged blows with him. His strike forced Gao Wanping to repeatedly fall back.

"Sir, I know you want the Master Level Demon Evils Crystal. I can give it to you, but spare my life, please."

Gao Wanping cried.

Left with no alternative, he was injured and couldn’t compare to Lu Yan. If he persisted, he might also lose his life right there.

"Alright, hand it over."

Lu Yan said.

"Swear first; that you won’t strike again once I surrender the Demon Evils Crystal."

Gao Wanping insisted.

"Fine, I swear..."

Swoosh!

Before Lu Yan could finish his sentence, he surged towards Gao Wanping, his sword light tore through the void, roaring with the sound of thunder.

It was the Nine Divine Lightning Slash.

The Nine Divine Lightning Slash was fierce and tyrannical. It was a series of nine slashes, relentless like the crashing tide, each slash stronger than the previous.

Perfect to strike an opponent weaker than himself.

Spare Gao Wanping? Impossible.

Gao Wanping belonged to the Gao Family of NanYi City. If he spared him after grabbing his Demon Evils Crystal, it would be like liberating the tiger back to the mountains.

He would certainly bear a grudge.

The dead hold no grudges.

An adversary of this magnitude had to be eradicated completely.

"Despicable!"

Gao Wanping obviously anticipated Lu Yan’s assault and met it with a swing of his hammer.

Clang, clang, clang...

Neither of them employed any tricks. They faced each other head-on, clashing repeatedly.

After the fifth slash, Gao Wanping’s face turned pale, and his arm numbed.

After the sixth, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Then came the seventh, he was forced to stumble back about a dozen steps. His arm quaked and he almost lost his grip on his hammer.

As a follow up, Lu Yan struck with his eighth slash. Each swing of his blade made the surrounding air thunder and carry an aura like it was shrouded by countless bolts of lightning.

After the impact, Gao Wanping’s hammer flew out of his hand. Another swing severed his head from its body.

Gao Wanping’s half skull flew off, his eyes still wide open, filled with resentment.

Lu Yan managed to overpower him in a face-to-face showdown.

Surprisingly, Gao Wanping had an Innate Martial Body and three "Bone strengths". Had he not been injured, Gao Wanping wouldn’t have been an easy opponent for Lu Yan.

Lu Yan sheathed his sword and strode over to Gao Wanping’s lifeless body. A quick rummage through his chest revealed the Master Level Demon Evils Crystal, the size of a child’s fist, now in Lu Yan’s possession.

"Master Level Demon Evils Crystal, it should easily secure me a position among the top three."

Lu Yan wore a victorious smile.

He continued to search Gao Wanping’s body and found a bag tied around his waist.

Lu Yan opened the bag and saw a few more Demon Evils Crystals, about a dozen, all were Martial Marquis’ Level, along with a bundle of Gold and Silver Tickets, amounting to about fifty thousand in silver.

Quite considerable loot he thought.

After putting away the loot, Lu Yan disappeared from the scene, speeding towards Lingwang City.

Without stopping, he used his maximum speed to quickly return to Lingwang City.

Once he reached back at Lingwang City, instead of hastily handing over the Demon Evils Crystals, he just decided to wait quietly.

Fast forward to three days later.

Major Grandmasters launched a massive manhunt, chasing their targets in a radius of ten thousand miles, right up till near the Moling Mountain Ranges.

Along the way, they killed three more Master Level demonic creatures.

Unfortunately, they failed to capture the Demon King, who managed to escape into the Moling Mountain Ranges.

The Martial Spirit also vanished during the pursuit.

At the foot of the Moling Mountain Ranges, including a Grandmaster from the Zhao Clan, a total of eighteen Grandmasters congregated.

"Gentlemen, the demonic creatures have suffered tremendous loss and their fighting strength has been significantly hampered. Now, we should seize the opportunity to completely eradicate their kind. I suggest that we should invade the Moling mountain ranges, kill the Demon King, wipe out the rest of the demons and reopen the communication line between Lingdong’s six counties and the outside world" Zhao Tiansheng said.

"The Clan Leader is absolutely right. Ever since the demonic insurrection, the Moling Mountain ranges have been ruled out. With a strong hold on the mountains and an increasing difficulty to extract ourselves from the situation, there is very little external help available; this will impact our development. We need not mention other things, but the Innate Martial Body or Acquired Martial Body, Grandsmasters, can very rarely breach the Shengxuan Sect. Sending them into Shengxuan Sect is our only hope." Another Grandmaster from the Zhao Clan echoed Zhao Tiansheng’s sentiment.

Subsequently, one of the Grandmasters from the Tu Family voiced his agreement, supporting Zhao Tiansheng’s proposal. He also agreed to the invasion and extermination of the demons.

But the Grandmasters from other families and sects remained silent.

"Gentlemen, what do we think?"

Zhao Tiansheng asked again.

"Clan Leader Zhao, the Moling Mountain Ranges, is the den of the demonic creatures. In ancient times, it was known as ’the Land of the Demon Peak’. The area is strewn with an intense foul aura of evil energy. The demonic entities thrive, their power amplifies, especially the Demon King, who is mesmerizingly horrifying. I fear we are inadequately manned to invade precipitously", a Grandmaster from the Gao Family of NanYi City replied.

"Indeed, there are certainly many more demons in the Moling Mountain range that have not yet emerged. We have no idea how many exactly there are. What if, there are other demon kings inside? If we rashly enter, it would be like a sheep entering a tiger’s den."

A Grandmaster of the Qiu Family said.

"Both of you have made solid points. This time, the demon evils have been severely damaged by us, and should not have the power to invade our human territory for the time being. We should return to recuperate and plan for the long term."

Another Grandmaster spoke.

The Grandmasters of other Master-level families all nodded in agreement.

Zhao Tiansheng sighed internally.

Could he not understand what these Grandmasters were thinking?

For the families outside of Dongshan County, leaving some demons behind is more beneficial for them.

The Zhao Clan in Lingwang City is already the top household in Lingdong’s six counties, with ten Grandmasters and over a hundred Martial Marquis, their power is too strong, suppressing other families to the point of suffocation.

Other families could only form alliances to compete with the Zhao clan.

Keeping the demons in Moling Mountain range could greatly keep the Zhao Clan in check and even reduce their power.

If all the demons were exterminated, with no demons to constrict them, the Zhao Clan would be free to gradually consume the surrounding forces, consolidate their strength, and eventually no family would be able to stand against them. In the future, they might even unite Lingdong’s six counties.

That was not what the Grandmasters of other Master-level families wished to see.

In their view, they would rather cut ties with the outside world than see the Zhao Clan rise to power.

"Gentlemen, there is something strange going on this time. A Master-level Martial Spirit emerged to assist the demons and prevent us from killing the Demon King. I suspect that this demon’s uprising might be related to the Martial Spirit. If we don’t thoroughly resolve this issue, it may brew a great disaster in the future."

Zhao Tiansheng continued to persuade.

"What Clan Leader Zhao said is very true. However, in my view, the demons are no longer to be feared. But we must not be unguarded against the Martial Spirit. As we return this time, each major family should intensify their investigation to uncover the Martial Spirit."

"Indeed, one Martial Spirit is not a problem, the fear is that they have quietly developed a significant force."

Several Grandmasters spoke in succession.

But they deliberately avoided discussing going back into the mountain to exterminate the demons.

They were well aware that the Martial Spirit and the demons were most likely linked, possibly intending to use the demons to sever Lingdong’s six counties’ connection with the outside world, so that the information would not reach King Ming, and the Martial Spirit would not fear being exterminated by King Ming’s masters.

If they could not take the initiative to send the message, it would be very unlikely for King Ming to send someone on his own initiative.

But they would only make the choices most beneficial to them.

Zhao Tiansheng knew that it was impossible to persuade everyone to go into the mountain to kill the demons today.

Each Master-level family had their own considerations.

With the current strength of the Zhao Clan, they were still unable to command all the heroes.

"Since that’s the case, I will not force you. Everyone, let’s return to Lingwang City. Many thanks for your assistance this time. Rest assured, you will be rewarded accordingly."

After speaking, Zhao Tiansheng rose, glanced at Moling Mountain range, and from his old eyes emerged a hint of worry.

Then he strode away.

...

Lingwang City.

The Martial Marquis who had gone out to hunt the demons gradually returned, handing in the Demon Evils Crystals, exchanging battle achievements, and then using these battle achievements to exchange for various resources.

What intrigued everyone the most was who amongst the three got the top three positions.

Since there are still people hunting demons outside who haven’t fully returned, the final top three positions have not been determined.

Also, a piece of news was slowly spreading around Lingwang City.

A Master-level demon, severely injured and close to death, was besieged by many top Martial Marquis.

Many top Martial Marquis were killed by the giant bear demon in that battle, but eventually, the giant bear demon also died in the mountains, and its Demon Crystal was taken.

Everyone is guessing: who is the lucky one who got the Master-level Demon’s Crystal?

Several days later, when nearly everyone had returned and there were fewer people turning in the Demon’s Crystals, Lu Yan went to the Legitimate Office.

"You...is this a Master-level Demon Crystal?"

The two old men in the Legitimate Office gawked in shock.

"I was fortunate. There was a dying Master-level giant bear demon with severe injuries. I happened to pass by and picked up the good deal."

Lu Yan said.

"So you are that lucky one."

One of the old men sighed and looked envious.

Lu Yan was also helpless.

Obtaining a Master-level Demon’s Crystal, whether given early or late, would end up being the focus of attention.

Fortunately, his identity as "Lu Ren" was disposable, so he didn’t mind attracting attention. He was ready to disappear once he had reaped the benefits.

"A Master-level Demon’s Crystal is no trivial matter. We can’t make the decision. We need a Grandmaster to check it in person. Please wait."

After saying this, the other old man hurried away.

After waiting for half a day, the old man respectfully led a burly middle-aged man over.

"I pay my respects to Grandmaster."

Lu Yan’s heart tightened as he bowed.

"Hmm."

The burly man nodded, took the Giant Bear Demon’s Crystal and began inspecting it. After a while, he said, "This is indeed a Master-level Demon’s Crystal. Young man, you’re quite lucky."

"It’s purely luck, just luck."

Lu Yan responded repeatedly.

"A Master-level Demon’s Crystal is worth three thousand battle achievements. You two, count his other Demon’s Crystals and calculate the total battle achievements."

The burly man instructed the two old men.

The two old men immediately poured out the other Demon’s Crystals from Lu Yan’s sack.

Various sizes of Demon’s Crystals immediately covered the table.

This time, even the burly man seemed slightly moved, saying, "Acquiring a Master-level Demon’s Crystal can be attributed to luck, but if one can obtain so many Martial Marquis-level Demon’s Crystals, that’s not luck, but strength. It seems that, you are an Innate Martial Body."

"Senior is really discerning, I am indeed an Innate Martial Body."

Lu Yan answered.

The burly man nodded and stopped talking.