Painting of the Nine Immortals
chapter-52

Chapter 52: Stampede of Ten

Translator: /Tatienne Editor: Rundi

“I dare kill you!”

The voice was composed, peaceful but deadly. The tone had a murderous, vengeful vibe to it that injected light into the dark, hopeless eyes of the defeated Lings.

A spark of hope had been ignited.

The voice simultaneously wiped the smirks off of the faces of the Fangs. Especially Fang Han, the strongest of the Fang pupils, who had always enjoyed the praise and admiration of others. Who dared to talk to him this way?

However, not only did the voice speak to him this way, the person who uttered the words spoke them in such a casual and demeaning tone, it was as if he was placing a dinner order at a restaurant. This had infuriated Fang Han and reignited his third for blood.

“Who’s there? Come into the light!”

Fang Han demanded. It didn’t matter who spoke the words, they would suffer the worst form of retribution.

“Who are you? How dare you speak to me this way! Come into the light!”

“Such arrogance, are you bored of being alive?”

The students of the Fang Clan had descended into chaos. They looked around, frantically searching for the person behind the voice. They couldn’t believe their ears. Someone dared to speak to their most feared warrior this way!

On the contrary, students of the Ling Clan celebrated. Naturally, they could tell it was Ling Xian that spoke those condescending words.

Ling Tian Xiang could no longer contain her excitement, at the same time she was slightly puzzled. She clenched her fist. She knew it was him, she prayed it was him. He would never let her down.

“You were looking for me?”

A voice sounded as if it was far off in the distance, but echoed directly into the ears of everyone present. The crowd’s gaze followed the sound of the voice and saw a handsome youth in a black cloak materialize out of thin air, his face bright as jade, and his hair dancing in the wind.

Behind him, a pair of enormous, magnificent snowy wings flapped gently against the wind, shedding a handful of feathers with each swing. Despite not being from the purest of Qi, the wings exuded a splendid aura that bedazzled every pair of eyes that has ever laid on them.

“You must be Ling Xian, the so-called “genius” in the words of these useless cockroaches,” Fang Han greeted with a dark smile, flashing sparks of evil out of his dilated pupils. He continued, “We finally meet, but you seem nothing special. Perhaps a slightly stronger ant, but an ant nonetheless.”

Ling Xian did not react but continued to gently flap his wings. “I dare not call myself a genius. As for an ant, if you say so. However, if you die by my hand, then you’re more worthless than an ant. Don’t you think?”

“Fine, fine, you are an arrogant ant.” Fang Han glared at the winged youth with a growing sense of hatred. Now spitting fire out of his eyes, Fang Han had dropped his usual classy façade and exposed his true nasty self.

Ling Xian did not bother to respond. Eyeing the injured gang below him, he was relieved and thankful that none of them had been wounded fatally. He assured them with a stern gaze then shifted his gaze back towards Fang Han. “This is not a good spot for a battle, not my cup of tea, but since you’ve chosen it, I’ll respect your wishes. It’s a person’s right to decide where he wishes to die.”

“What?” Fang Han was stunned. The rest of the Fangs were equally as thick, failing to understand his sarcasm.

On the contrary, the students of the Ling Clan had picked up on its meaning and burst into uncontrollable laughter. Before Ling Xian arrived, the Lings had been all but entirely defeated. Confronted with insults, abuse, and certain death, they had lost all hope. However, Ling Xian had arrived. Their will to fight on had been restored.

“A bunch of idiots,” Ling Xian sneered. Extending his mighty wings, Ling Xian shot upwards into the heavens, leaving a trail of beautifully lethal feathers.

“Let me clarify myself. This place will be where you all die.”

The words were uttered in peace but exuded pain. His gentle smile betrayed its cruel intentions. Ling Xian narrowed his eyes, loosened more feathers with his gentle flaps and created a magical cocoon that suspended him gracefully in midair.

“What an arrogant ant.” Fang Han suddenly turned opaque, a cruel and deadly shade. He flexed his fingers and muttered a spell. Just as he was about to unleash it, he changed his mind. He had suddenly thought of a better idea. “You came to save these people. Fine, I’ll murder them in front of you. I want to see how you can save them all at once, and who you would choose to save first.”

“Come now, everyone, kill these useless cockroaches, do not spare anyone!”

“Yes, brother!”

Altogether, the Fangs resumed their march and began closing in once again on their shattered opponents.

Ling Tian Xiang and the rest of the Ling Clan went pale. They had faith in Ling Xian’s skills, but he couldn’t possibly save ten people all at once.

Even Ling Xian couldn’t separate from his body to produce multiple killers.

“Who dares to move?”

Ling Xian’s expression turned to ice. He powered his wings for a lift, then, as a giant rock falling at the speed of light, his foot came crashing down to earth. The Winged Blitz unleashed a blinding flash which lit up the entire battleground.

“Paaaannnnngggg!”

A poor student of the Fang Clan, who had only managed to reach the fifth realm, was knocked over backward and sent choking on his own blood by the sheer force of the stomp even before the foot came within ten feet of him.

“Even though I can’t save the lives of ten people at once, I can…” A harrowing voice hammered down on the stunned crowd.

“I can kill ten people at once.”

Ling Xian was unstoppable. The moment his foot touched the earth, a giant wave of dust, grass, and trees were uprooted and tossed into the distance.

The ancient oak tree split in half under this powerful gust of wind. The advancing Fangs were forced into a frantic retreat.

A stampede of ten!

A power felt throughout the Cosmo.

“Couuugghh…”

As if they had been hit by lightning, the weaker, fifth realm students of the Fang Clan instantly began coughing out blood. Only Fang Han and a couple of cultivators of the sixth realm were spared of significant injury. Even then, the colors had been drained from their faces. They were not immune to the power of the Winged Blitz.

“Brother, he’s too strong!” One of the sixth realm cultivators let out in a terrified plea.

“Shut up! Don’t start discounting ourselves! I can do whatever he can do!” Fang Han shouted. However, there wasn’t a great deal of conviction in the last sentence he muttered.

On the other hand, upon witnessing the power of one against ten, the Lings had collectively let out a victorious roar.

“Ling Xian is the greatest! He can defeat a whole army! Try to stop it!”

“Ha, ha! Great stomp! He is indeed our greatest warrior!”

“I knew it! I knew these clowns were no match for our Ling Xian!”

Hearing the mutterings and cheers from around him, Fang Han clenched his fist in anger. He shouted, “Don’t be afraid of him! Follow my lead! Don’t forget our mission. Think about the punishment if we fail. You don’t honestly believe he can fight and murder all of us!”

Fang Han had shouted some sense into the students of the Fang Clan. Pushing their fears aside, the Fangs charged.

“I’m not one to brag…” Ling Xian appeared directly in front of a Fang pupil. Unmoved by his terrified gaze, Ling Xian punched through his chest, shattered his heart into pieces, and gifted the youth with a swift death.

“I said I’d kill you, and I shall.”

A frightening shadow of black and white disappeared and reappeared through the crowd like a magical butterfly, leaving behind a trail of murderous agony.

“He’s so fast!” A fighter of the Fang Clan felt a shadowy flash materialize in his peripherals. Just as he was turning around, the shadow had vanished, brushing against his neck.

Also brushing against his neck was a sharp blade.

The sharp blade of a bloodstained sword.

The fighter’s pupils dilated. He finally felt his wound. Raising his hand to his neck to stop the bleeding, the fighter fell to the ground and never stood up.

In the blink of an eye, two fighters from the Fang Clan had perished.

But Ling Xian showed no signs of slowing down. The lightning speed of the Winged Blitz launched him into the crowd and maneuvered him around his enemies. The wings, the blade, the flame. Every stop he made, someone bled. Someone died.

The Winged Blitz is the second transformational gift of the Eyes of Execution. There were no places they cannot reach. Legend has it that the speed of these powerful wings could rival that of the prehistoric, legendarily fearsome creature known as the Kun Hawk, and they only remerged every 120,000 years.

Even though Ling Xian was only a cultivator of the sixth realm, the incredible speed of the Winged Blitz had given him powers beyond more skilled cultivators.

An unsurpassable achievement.

Completely defying the laws of the Taoism Community, were the laws of nature and the universe.

The magic flame ignited burned one individual of the Fang Clan beyond recognition. Ling Xian extended his hands and the clouds darkened. Splendid stars twinkled brightly around him. Then, without warning, the stars were unleashed with the volcanic forces of the earth and disintegrated the bodies of four unfortunate souls who were in their way.

“Only three left.”

Ling Xian summoned the Winged Blitz and in an instant appeared in front of the two cultivators of the sixth realm. The Sword of Extinction in hand, Ling Xian was determined to be written in the book of legends.

“Break!”

The two cultivators were more prepared for this sudden appearance than their fallen comrades. As Ling Xian appeared, they proceeded to summon every last drop of power they had to unleash the Fire Dragon, which charged at Ling Xian, aiming at his heart.

“You want to die I see!”

Ling Xian had no fear. The moment the Fire Dragon was unleashed, the Winged Blitz spun around and shed a layer of feathers. The feathers proceeded to form a protective armor around him, sheltering him from harm.

“Hommmmm!”

A deafening roar had deflected the Fire Dragon and vaporized the spell into thin air. Ling Xian remained unscathed.

Shifting his gaze onto his opponents, identical streams of blood appeared around the necks of both fighters. Their eyes opened wide, consumed by fear. The light in their eyes had all but diminished, deprived of life.

“You are the only one left.”

Ling Xian took a step forward, pointing his bloodstained sword a foot away from Fang Han’s throat. His voice echoed in the wind. Fang Han felt blood racing towards his face.

“Tell me, how do you wish to die?”