novelThe Heretic
| ← Ch.0557 | Ch.0559 → |
The expression of the faces of everyone present changed at the mention of the Heretic.
The man had once been a mere ordinary Taoist priest from a small Taoist shrine, yet he somehow stumbled upon an ancient lineage left behind by a senior Taoist.
Despite not having access to the kind of resources available to cultivation forces, he still managed to carve out his own distinct path because of his extraordinary talents.
He left the shrine as soon as he completed his training and went on to challenge formidable fighters.
He had fought just about every young fighter that he could find. His peers throughout the Blessed Enclave saw him as a very troublesome existence.
He was a rare lone cultivator who managed to be on an equal footing to heirs from forces with sacred ground lineages.
Over time, nobody remembered his name any more thanks to his eccentric ways and him calling himself a heretic whenever he pleased. Thus, everyone came to know him a the Heretic.
One person gasped and asked, "What is the Heretic doing here? Is he about to challenge Yan Han?"
"That is possible. The Heretic never cared for authorities in the first place. While the meeting today is hosted by Yan Han, this is the Heretic we're talking about here. I wouldn't be surprised if the two of them started fighting."
Many people believed that the Heretic was an eccentric man who didn't care about common social rules and norms at all.
He was also absolutely fearless towards those of renowned cultivation forces, making him a true heretic among the lone cultivators.
"Why are you here, Heretic? This is not the place for you to do as you please!"
At that moment, several disciples from the Taichu Path began to somewhat surround him.
The Taichu Meeting being held on that day was supposed to be a grand event for the sect; it was meant to pave the way for Yan Han to rise to supremacy. It was the very first and important step leading to him taking charge of the sect in the future.
The Taichu Alliance would've been brought into existence in Yan Han's name. Thus, that power was meant for Yan Han to wield as he saw fit in the future.
"Why am I here?" The young Heretic wore a rather condescending smirk on his face.
A tinge of coldness was seen in his eyes as his gaze sharpened.
"I, the Heretic, had been fighting just about everyone I could find since the day I emerged. It's only natural for me to have lots of enemies and few friends. Hell, I could even count the number of friends I have on just one hand. Regardless, I just heard that the Taichu Path went on to eliminate the sect of one friend of mine who had been unwilling to join the Taichu Alliance. No one was spared from that onslaught; I've lost one good friend because of that. You people of Taichu Path think yourselves to be kings and lords of the place, don't you? You consider anyone unwilling to join you as enemies, right?"
The gaze of the Heretic was unmistakably sharp, causing those disciples of Taichu Path to subconsciously back away as they were subjected to immense mental pressure."I heard that Yan Han was the one who gave the order, so I'm here to personally ask him if he truly intends to kill everyone who remains insubordinate when he considers me to be one of them!"
What the Heretic said caused a huge commotion, especially amongst those who showed some kind of connection to the Taichu Path.
As such, they all felt themselves to be lucky, as those who were unwilling to submit had basically all been eradicated. They believed that they were fortunate to have chosen to submit from the very beginning. Otherwise, they would not have been able to stand where they were on that day.
They all have more or less heard what was said, but it was only on that day that someone like the Heretic show up to tear down the lavish fa?ade. He revealed the gruesome and brutal side of things for all to see.
At the same time, however, the pity and sadness they felt were hardly genuine. They knew that if the small sects and clans out there without any backing were to not submit to a monster like Taichu Path, said small forces would eventually be used as cannon fodder.
None of them would have been able to even stay alive if they chose to refuse instead.
It was a world where the winner takes all. The smaller forces have had their hands full to even just survive.
Even if an unparalleled being were to emerge from their midst, it would've still been very difficult for them to fight against the system. They had to be careful to not be targeted for persecution.
In response to what the Heretic said, one disciple of Taichu Path "Heretic, this isn't the day for you to throw your weight around. Do you seriously think you stand a chance against our Sacred Son or all of Taichu Path?" One of the disciples of the Taichu Path shouted in reply.
He had nothing to fear even when facing against a pinnacle fighter like the Heretic, for he had the backing of an extremely powerful sect. Even so, he was still aware of the massive difference between a common disciple like him and those at the very pinnacle.
The Heretic glanced at him and smirked."That's none of your business. I'm here for Yan Han. Do you seriously think that it's worth throwing your life away for him?"
"Silence! How could you say such things, Heretic?! Do you know where you are right now?"
That disciple of the Taichu Path was enraged, feeling that he was insulted by the Heretic.
As he performed a seal, a terrifying sword aura suddenly emerged. This was a killing formation laid at the original site of the Taichu Path.
Any disciple of the Taichu Path was allowed to use the sword aura of that formation, which served as a way for the sect to fend off their enemies.
However, another blast of sword aura of greater speed blitzed away before that blast of sword aura connected with its target.
Pfftt!
That disciple was immediately bisected, his blood spraying everywhere. His eyes remained wide open as he died, not expecting the Heretic to be able to attack that quickly.
That speed at which the Heretic attacked was unreal.
The Heretic never budged the whole time; the sword that he wore on his back launched itself. That one attack was enough to kill a disciple at the Divine Treasure Realm.
That one move stunned all of the remaining disciples of the Taichu Path immediately. None of them dared to even try anything. Borrowing the sword will of the defensive formation was utterly pointless, as the Heretic would've most likely killed them before they could even take action.
All that was strong would eventually crumble, with only the fastest standing above the ashes.
The way the Heretic acted made him seem like a living manifestation of that very concept of martial arts.
The remaining disciples backed away. The Heretic was there for Yan Han after all. However, Yan Han's powers were at such a level that, regardless of how powerful the Heretic was, he was still no match for Yan Han.
They believed that the Heretic would die by Yan Han's hands.
The Heretic did not rush into the mountain after stunning the rest of the disciples of the Taichu Path. He simply shouted in another direction.
"Hey sir, you mind getting into the mountain with me?"
The crowd followed the direction of the Heretic's gaze to find an unbelievably handsome young man standing in the crowd, dressed in a bluish-white robe.
It was only then that they realized that someone like that was among them. That man was so distinctively dashing that none of them would have overlooked his presence.
Even so, no one detected that young man's presence the entire time. To put it more specifically, they would have quickly averted their gaze even if they were to detect him.
They trained in a way that made it impossible for them to have overlooked anyone. As such, there was only one possible explanation; the young man deliberately remained hidden so nobody could detect his presence.
Many were shocked by that revelation.
They wondered who that man was, for actually being able to stand around for such a long time undetected.
Lu Xuan grinned as he looked at the Heretic and said, "Sure."
He was able to tell that the Heretic was really something else, considering that the latter was the only one who was able to detect his presence. Even if Lu Xuan didn't intend to deliberately remain hidden, that was still quite a distinguished feat.
| ← Ch. 0557 | Ch. 0559 → |