Dragon-Marked War God

The Five Elemental Divine Fire kept leaping. The icy ruthlessness in Jiang Chen’s eyes made Kouxiang Zhenyi go colder and colder from head to toe. His soul was being burned and roasted by the Five Elemental Divine Fire. That pain, which reached the very depths of his soul, made it hard for Kouxiang Zhenyi even to die.

Kouxiang Zhenyi’s entire body was in agony. The soul fire deep within his soul was being continuously suppressed and crushed by Jiang Chen’s Five Elemental Divine Fire. It was a terror of being kept alive, because Kouxiang Zhenyi’s physical body had already been almost completely ruined by Jiang Chen, reduced to a puddle of mush. Even his soul was suffering inhuman pain, and that pain went without saying.

He could neither live nor die. There was no road to heaven above and no door to the earth below!

Kouxiang Zhenyi kept begging for mercy, but Jiang Chen was unmoved. His fury had been completely ignited. The wrong Kouxiang Zhenyi had done was unforgivable, and it was something Jiang Chen could not undo.

“I beg you, Grandpa Jiang Chen, spare me. I can’t take it anymore. Just kill me. Even if my soul is scattered, I’m willing. I beg you…”

Kouxiang Zhenyi kept pleading with Jiang Chen. Jiang Chen sneered inwardly.

“Because of you, I’ve lost all trace of Sister Ning. Who’s going to settle that debt? Right now, I know almost nothing about where Sister Ning is. Who can help me find her? In a single day, both Qingcheng and Sister Ning have been taken from me. What did I, Jiang Chen, do wrong? When you were doing everything to block me, what were you thinking? You want me to pity you? What right do you have to that? I didn’t want to kill you. All I wanted was my Sister Ning. But what happened? Even if I kill you now, it won’t make up for losing Sister Ning.”

Jiang Chen roared. His heart was full of self-reproach. Qingcheng’s departure was something he had been powerless to prevent. Sister Ning’s departure was because of Kouxiang Zhenyi’s obstruction. But who could understand the bitterness deep in his heart?

“Let me ask you. Do you know of the Martial Soul Emperor? What exactly is the Jade Marrow Soul Seed?”

“I know, I know.”

“The Martial Soul Emperor was a great emperor of divine souls from the ancient era. He was famous for using his soul to fight in martial combat, which is why he was called the Martial Soul Emperor. His soul power was extremely terrifying. He was one of the most fearsome God Emperors of the ancient era, and the Jade Marrow Soul Seed was the treasure he once used to protect himself. I found it tens of millions of years ago in an ancient ruin, and that’s how I learned the name of the Martial Soul Emperor. But I don’t know what the Jade Marrow Soul Seed is actually for. Other than nourishing the soul, it has no other use. When I saw that it couldn’t help me break through, I gave it to my descendant Kouxiang Daqu, and in the end you took it. That Jade Marrow Soul Seed isn’t some rare treasure, but it has come to be seen as the symbol of the Lord of Penglai Boundary.”

Kouxiang Zhenyi said in great pain. Under the tempering of Jiang Chen’s divine fire, Kouxiang Zhenyi did not dare to tell even the slightest lie. By now he was not even asking to live, only to die. Only death could end it all and free him from the pain. No one could bear that kind of torment, the kind that pierced to the depths of the soul.

“Is that all?”

Jiang Chen barked.

Kouxiang Zhenyi hurriedly said.

“It’s come to this, why would I need to deceive you? I really only know this much. But what does this have to do with the Martial Soul Emperor? Didn’t you already get your hands on the Jade Marrow Soul Seed?”

“The Jade Marrow Soul Seed is gone, and my Sister Ning is gone too. All she left in the stone cave were two phrases, ‘Martial Soul Emperor’ and ‘Jade Marrow Soul Seed’. Tell me, what am I supposed to do? What can I do?”

Jiang Chen said through gritted teeth. The Martial Soul Emperor, the Martial Soul Emperor. Whatever this Martial Soul Emperor’s background was did not matter. What mattered was where Sister Ning was now, and whether she was caught up in something extremely important with this Martial Soul Emperor.

“Could it be that the Jade Marrow Soul Seed contains the Martial Soul Emperor’s soul imprint?”

Kouxiang Zhenyi said.

Jiang Chen’s heart sank. Although he did not want to believe it, Kouxiang Zhenyi’s words were extremely important to him. If the Jade Marrow Soul Seed really contained the Martial Soul Emperor’s imprint, it would be an extremely thorny problem for Jiang Chen. What the hell was this Martial Soul Emperor, and would he put Sister Ning in great danger?

“I hope it’s not as you say. Otherwise, I’ll make you a slave for all eternity. Now get into the Great Yu Soul Forming Light and endure a hundred years of torment. If you can survive a hundred years, then your life and death will be up to fate.”

Jiang Chen said icily.

At that very moment, an extremely tragic scene suddenly appeared in Jiang Chen’s mind. Sister Ning seemed to be suffering under some terrible pressure, struggling in agony. Qingcheng was also suffering terribly, unable to live and unable to die.

“No—— Sister Ning… Qingcheng… I’ve failed you…”

Jiang Chen murmured. His heart was filled with boundless self-reproach. It was complicated, painful and tangled beyond words.

He could even forgive Kouxiang Zhenyi. The only person he could not forgive was himself.

At this moment, thunder rolled, the mountain wind howled, the clouds and mist turned gloomy, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and a torrential rain poured down.

“Why is it like this? Why do the heavens always toy with people like this? Why must I be bound by the heavens… Why!”

Jiang Chen raised his sword and shot straight up into the sky. Treading the Azure Dragon Five Steps, he faced off against the void, pointing his sword at the heavens and drawing down roaring thunder.

“With one hand I can destroy mountains and rivers. In one fit of rage I can dry up rivers and seas. With one cold glance I can shatter the void. With one thought I can stir wind and thunder. And yet I still can’t protect the women I love. What use is this strength to me? Oh heavens, when have you ever opened your eyes!”

In the pouring rain, amid the rumbling thunder, Jiang Chen swept back and forth through the void, drawing down rolling heavenly thunder. Its world-ending might would have moved tens of millions of people.

Jiang Chen swung his sword wildly. His sword realm flowed freely, and in his heart there was only endless fury, with no other emotion at all. His sword howled into the air, and the Thirteenth Sword fell again and again without form. Ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers shattered. The rain poured down and the earth roared without end. In the heavy rain, Jiang Chen wielded his sword as freely as a brush. His sword intent kept sublimating in the rain, and the Limitless Sword became more and more natural to him, like a fish in water. At this moment, there was no sword in his heart. All that remained was his remorse and self-blame toward Sister Ning and Qingcheng, and the fury of questioning the heavens with his proud sword.

Beneath the Thirteenth Sword, the Fourteenth Sword was born. A hundred swords went through their cycle, and heaven and earth grieved.

Jiang Chen hated the heavens for being without Dao, for having eyes that would not open. If the heavens had feelings, the heavens too would grow old. One day, he would take their place. He would make the heavens kneel and make the Nine Netherworlds tremble.

Again and again, Jiang Chen’s sword struck out, never returning, never sparing life. His sword, which once had no realm, now had a realm that surpassed limitlessness.

At that moment, in the heavy rain, Jiang Chen discussed the Dao with his sword and comprehended heaven and earth. Only in a fierce wind do you know which grass is strong. As his chaotic sword rose, he felt the sorrow of the heavens.

The Great Dao in Jiang Chen’s heart was shaken at this moment. A wisp of silent Dao Essence was born from the heavens and resounded from the earth. The embryonic form of his Great Dao underwent a qualitative change, and wisps of Dao Essence welled up in Jiang Chen’s heart.

The Heavenly Dao shifts, and my Dao rises!