Sword Sovereign of the Celestial Emperor-Chapter 46, Murderous Intent

Gradually calming his spiritual power, Chu Ming slowly opened his eyes, two piercing lights shot out from his gaze, completely illuminating the area in front of him. The aura around him became even more pure.

"Phew, finally reached the Third Layer of Transcendence Realm!" Chu Ming exhaled. It had been only a little over two months since he broke through the Transcendence Realm, and he had already surged two layers with an almost supernatural cultivation speed.

Standing up, Chu Ming thought about leaving the cave. There was only one final task left to complete before he could return to Cyan Yang Sect. To be honest, after being away for such a long time, Chu Ming’s nerves were tautly stretched, causing significant fatigue.

At that moment, two figures walked into the cave. The person on the left had a sallow complexion, with glimmering eyes that occasionally flashed with brilliance, carrying a large sword on his back. The person on the right was lean, with a black mole the size of a mung bean on his left cheek. Both were dressed in black, radiating a potent murderous aura.

"Big brother, look there, a young man!" the lean man whispered to the sallow-faced man, slowing his footsteps and vigilantly watching Chu Ming. The sallow-faced man followed his gaze, noticing Chu Ming’s inner sect attire of Cyan Yang Sect. His expression briefly changed before quickly returning to calm, showing an uneasy smile. Although this change was fleeting, it did not escape Chu Ming’s notice.

"Hahaha, it’s a young hero from Cyan Yang Sect, I’ve long admired Cyan Yang Sect disciples for their swift vengeance and justice. How about making friends today by chance?" The sallow-faced man, instead of responding, approached Chu Ming warmly, his pace neither rushed nor sluggish.

Chu Ming frowned, laughing coldly to himself. These two were likely fugitives lurking in the Cyan Yang Mountain Range. In truth, he had encountered many such martial artists in the past half month, usually indulged in murder and robbery, only to end up killed by Chu Ming instead.

Watching the lean man quietly move behind the sallow-faced man, Chu Ming understood the situation but remained silent. The sallow-faced man rejoiced internally, lowering his view of Chu Ming, considering him an inexperienced novice in the martial world.

Both had originally been guards, but their status in small families was low with meager wages, not knowing when they’d ever rise to prominence. Eventually, they decided to abandon all restraint and exterminated the small family, stealing their wealth. To avoid government pursuit, they fled to the Cyan Yang Mountain Range. Over the past month, they encountered many sect disciples like Chu Ming, amassing quite a fortune.

"Attack!" Seeing they were just two meters away from Chu Ming, the sallow-faced man suddenly spoke softly, his words barely falling when a cold palm penetrated his figure, imbued with several strands of Cold Ice Qi striking towards Chu Ming. The assailant from behind was the lean man, and the sallow-faced man’s figure slowly dissipated, revealing it was merely an afterimage.

Reappearing behind Chu Ming, he watched Chu Ming with a sneer, leaped with a stride, his sword unsheathed on his back, forms of azure Sword Force converging, clearly a top-tier Yellow Level sword technique, already reaching Great Success.

It wasn’t only sect disciples who could achieve mastery in martial techniques; ordinary martial artists could too, if they spent years cultivating their techniques, though the duration varied.

"Thunderous Waves Saber Technique!"

Whoosh whoosh whoosh...

Within a few meters radius, Chu Ming was instantly enveloped in pale azure saber edges, plunging him into a dire situation where he’d be sliced in half.

"Golden Fish Swordsmanship!"

Facing the two-pronged attack, Chu Ming’s sword drew out, its blade spawning myriad illusory goldfish that leapt and transformed endlessly, filled with lethal intent.

Poof poof poof...

Several strands of azure Sword Force shattered instantly, the Cold Ice Qi solidifying. Chu Ming lightly tapped the ground with his foot, transforming into a condensed gust that broke through the encirclement almost instantaneously, three cold sword lights flew from his sword, making the air frigid.

"Three Talents Swordsmanship!"

Poof poof.

A strand of Sword Qi shattered the defense of the sallow-faced man, another strand slashed him into two, spraying blood into the air, his organs mangled thoroughly. The remaining Sword Light fell upon the lean man’s terrified gaze, splitting him apart.

Retrieving his sword, Chu Ming searched the two bodies, finding over a hundred thousand silver taels, and placed them into his storage ring before turning away.

...

For three subsequent days, Chu Ming roamed the Cyan Yang Mountain Range, killing many Demon Beasts, his storage ring nearly brimming, but the final task’s requirement of a Zi Yan crocodile remained elusive.

The Zi Yan crocodile, although named as a crocodile, isn’t necessarily aquatic but an amphibious Demon Beast, capable of living both on land and water, classified as a Fourth Level Middle Tier Demon Beast, not weaker than a Single-horned Rhinoceros. This task required the Zi Yan crocodile’s hide. Chu Ming wasn’t entirely disheartened, given he had completed six out of the seven tasks, even if he didn’t complete the final task, the reward from the six tasks alone was substantial.

Thud thud thud.

A series of footsteps sounded. Chu Ming squinted his eyes, alert, following the sound, noticing two white-robed men emerging from the dense forest, their robes embroidered with white clouds—revealing they were inner sect disciples of Cyan Yang Sect.

One man was burly, with dark skin, towering and mighty, his body exuding boundless scorching aura, seemingly like a fire-person. The other had fair skin, medium build, bearing a longsword on his back, appearing graceful, with a subtle smile on his face.

Seeing the burly man leading, Chu Ming’s eyes narrowed, sensing the hair all over his body scream in warning—an extreme danger signal. This burly man was none other than the strongest genius of the Yang Family, ranked fifteenth on the Cyan Yang List, Yang Zong. His cultivation was at the Eighth Layer of Transcendence Realm. From him, Chu Ming felt a familiar aura once sensed from Zhang Quan, precisely the Demon Bull Primordial Technique.

Yang Zong certainly cultivated the Demon Bull Primordial Technique, reaching a significant level of mastery; otherwise, his vigor and vitality wouldn’t be this robust. The other graceful white-robed man was also a notable figure.

His name was Luo Chuan, ranked 45th on the Cyan Yang List, known in the martial world as ’Drip Water Sword’. This wasn’t because he cultivated the top-tier Yellow Level Drip Water Swordsmanship, but its evolved form—middle-tier Profound Level Great Drop of Water Swordsmanship, having once single-handedly defeated numerous strongholds.

Among these strongholds, there were no shortages like Black Cloud Stronghold, yet they all perished under his hand. His mastery of the Great Drop of Water Swordsmanship was extraordinary, versatile, earning him the reputation of a sword dao genius within the inner sect.

Chu Ming noticed Yang Zong and Luo Chuan, the latter also spotted Chu Ming. News of Chu Ming winning first place in the Chu Family gathering had reached the Yang Family. In fact, not just the Yang Family, but the entire Great Yan Kingdom’s influential figures who attended the event knew of Chu Ming’s rise from a wastrel to a genius.

When Yang Zong heard this news, he sneered, but now seeing Chu Ming’s cultivation at the Third Layer of Transcendence Realm, his eyes gleamed with cold light. This person cannot remain alive. He had heard Chu Ming, at the First Layer of Transcendence Realm, defeated Chu Feng of the Fifth Layer. Now with Chu Ming at the Third Layer, his growth speed was too frightening. Last month, upon hearing Chu Ming entered the Cyan Yang List, Yang Zong had already harbored killing intent.