Dragon-Marked War God

Tuoba Longyu could not believe what was before him, yet he could not change the fact that this was his master, the teacher he respected above all others.

Yet he was so irreverent and disrespectful toward his own master. That feeling made Tuoba Longyu extremely miserable. Ever since he was little, his master had taught him that no matter what, he must remember his master, whose kindness was greater than the heavens. Yet his master himself was so contemptuous and disrespectful toward his own master, even calling him “old thing.” This was something Tuoba Longyu could not understand. The master who had once cared for him so dearly had long since disappeared without a trace.

Could it be that this moment showed who he really was?

“Do you know why he hates you so much? Do you know why he never forgave you? Because he’s afraid. He saw his own shadow in you. Back then, it was precisely because he couldn’t learn the Craftsman God’s Codex that he went and stole it. He was afraid you would become like him one day, so he expelled you from the sect. That he didn’t kill you was already your great fortune.”

Jiang Chen looked at Tuoba Longyu somewhat mournfully. Tuoba Longyu had quite deep feelings for Shangguan Hongyan, but at this moment Shangguan Hongyan paid him no heed at all.

“Master, is it really like this?”

Tuoba Longyu’s eyes were filled with tears. As an old man who had lived for tens of millions of years, he was forever that child in front of his master, listening to his teachings and not daring to raise his voice. But in his master’s eyes, he was no different from an ordinary person, without the slightest bond between master and disciple.

Shangguan Hongyan looked coldly at Tuoba Longyu and said in a deep voice:

“Insolent wretch! You shameless, disgraceful disciple. Not only have you brought someone here, you also listen to slander. I should never have kept you alive back then. Killing you may be the best end for you.”

Shangguan Hongyan completely ignored Tuoba Longyu, and Tuoba Longyu’s heart became extremely pained and utterly disheartened.

The teacher he had thought of day and night for so many years had long since become a stranger. How could Tuoba Longyu not be grief-stricken?

He had regarded Shangguan Hongyan as an elder who was both teacher and father, yet he had met with Shangguan Hongyan’s merciless mockery, and even had heavy charges heaped on him. How could Tuoba Longyu not feel chilled to the heart? At this moment, he seemed to truly see Shangguan Hongyan’s real face for the first time. That savage, frightening look might well be his truest side. To pursue his own path of refining, to become a greater existence, he had used schemes and tricks to kill his own master and in the end become a refining grandmaster of his era. For Tuoba Longyu, this was something he could not bring himself to believe no matter what.

But Shangguan Hongyan had admitted it himself. Jiang Chen did not even need to force a confession out of him. He had fully admitted his crimes without the slightest hint of repentance. Master, oh Master, how could you be this kind of person?

Tuoba Longyu looked up to the sky and sighed, overwhelmed with grief. But at this moment, Shangguan Hongyan struck out with a palm that sent him flying, gravely wounded and on the verge of death.

“You good-for-nothing. Trash will never be qualified to stand on high. I painstakingly taught you the art of refining, yet you joined hands with an outsider and colluded with others to harm me. How can I let you live?”

Shangguan Hongyan’s face was cold, without the slightest feeling for Tuoba Longyu. Killing him seemed no different from killing a dog.

Tuoba Longyu’s heart was like still water, his heart dead and turned to ash.

“How laughable, utterly laughable. You can actually say those words? Isn’t that exactly what you once were? That’s the truest portrait of you. Don’t you dare admit it? When you colluded with others to betray your master and destroy your lineage, what were you thinking? When you struck down a master who treated you like a son, what were you thinking? For your own selfish desires, you did such utterly conscienceless things. Doesn’t your conscience hurt? No, I misspoke. You don’t know what conscience is at all, or what gratitude is.”

Jiang Chen shook his head. He had thought too highly of Shangguan Hongyan. Talking with this guy about the bond between master and disciple was no different from talking to a brick wall.

“You seem to talk a bit too much. I kill whoever I want to kill. What does it have to do with you? Do I need you to tell me how to deal with my own disciple? Today you face certain death too. Since you came to seek revenge on me, you should be prepared to stay here forever. Once I kill you, I should be able to get what I want as well. That old thing still taught you the Craftsman God’s Codex after all. Otherwise, why would you risk your life for him like this? He’s the one who sent you to seek revenge, isn’t he? That old thing couldn’t close his eyes even in death, heh heh heh. For the rest of his life he won’t forget how he looked when I killed him.”

Shangguan Hongyan gnashed his teeth, full of hatred even for the Craftsman God. At this point, he no longer had the slightest feeling left. Jiang Chen knew that no matter how much more he said, it would be useless. If he wanted his master to rest in peace, the only way was to purge the sect of this traitor on his master’s behalf. Perhaps only then could his master smile in the Nine Springs below.

“You’re a demon. You were born a man, yet you willingly became a demon. Today, I’ll send you down to the eighteenth level of hell and make you kneel before my master and repent for ten million years.”

Jiang Chen reached out and gripped the Heavenly Dragon Sword, pointing it at Shangguan Hongyan. A murderous aura surged up.

“What a fine sword! Did that old thing leave this to you as well?”

Shangguan Hongyan’s eyes lit up, and he said with a cold smile.

“You’re not qualified to know.”

Jiang Chen took a step forward, his sword momentum like a rainbow. A fierce wind suddenly rose, whirling and roaring. Deep in the bamboo forest, snow fell and scattered. The mountains and rivers were shattered like willow catkins blown in the wind, and the grief of flowing water was like duckweed beaten by the rain.

“Fine. Let me show you who the real expert is. Today your senior brother will teach you how to behave.”

Shangguan Hongyan gave a light shout and rose to meet the wind. The long saber in his hand, a Slender Willow Saber, shone brilliantly as it clashed with the Heavenly Dragon Sword, cold light flickering, its momentum like a dragon. The Slender Willow Saber and the dragon sword moved like a dragon at play with a phoenix. Shangguan Hongyan’s saber art was like flowing water winding through a stream, like a great river surging, water flooding across the sky. His saber flew like a blood-red shadow, spreading through the void and sweeping across the bamboo sea.

“Little junior brother, you do have some skill. Your sword realm has actually reached such a height.”

Shangguan Hongyan smiled calmly, but his Slender Willow Saber still came tearing through the air, constantly echoing against the Heavenly Dragon Sword, its aura like a long river rushing forth, like the setting sun casting its glow.

“What a strong guy!”

Jiang Chen’s heart shook. This Shangguan Hongyan was far more frightening than he had imagined. For Jiang Chen to kill him now was extremely difficult, as hard as climbing to heaven.

“Limitless Sword, the Seventeenth Sword!”

Jiang Chen brought down a sword stroke that swept everything before it. Shangguan Hongyan neither dodged nor evaded. Wherever his long saber pointed, it was like splitting bamboo, churning the sky with endless explosive roars.

“Shadowless Blood Saber!”

Within Shangguan Hongyan’s grasp, blood shadows spread out and directly broke Jiang Chen’s Seventeenth Sword. At that moment, Jiang Chen’s pupils contracted. From the beginning until now, no one had ever been able to break his Seventeenth Sword. Even those who fought him to a draw, even those he could not beat, had never been able to break his swordplay. But Shangguan Hongyan had done it. With seemingly effortless ease, this guy had broken Jiang Chen’s Limitless Sword directly with an even more terrifying blood shadow saber art, leaving Jiang Chen unable to believe it.