I became a Sword Emperor in the Martial Arts World

Chapter 149 Are you going to do it or not?

"Oh, really?"

Holding the Dragon Abyss sword, Ye Qingzhou exuded an aura as imposing as a towering mountain standing firm on the ground.

His face remained impassive, showing no emotion whatsoever, and his feelings were not affected in the slightest by his opponent's words.

The calmer and more composed he appeared, the more Qin Haoyu and the others felt that Ye Qingzhou was putting on a brave face and being deliberately mysterious.

"Ye Qingzhou, your journey in this Phoenix Chick Cup competition ends here!"

"No matter how much you try to put on an act, you can't hide the depletion of your physical strength and inner energy."

"We admit that your move just now was indeed very powerful, managing to eliminate so many of our contestants at once. But you are not a martial arts master. Martial arts energy has its limits. Can you unleash such an attack a second time?"

Qin Haoyu and Lan Caidie, with an air of "we've seen through you," surrounded Ye Qingzhou once again, feeling that victory was just around the corner.

Unexpectedly, Ye Qingzhou looked around and then smiled calmly: "Sure."

Heart Sword Secret Technique, activate!

An invisible sword, severing its own flesh!

The invisible sword emanating from the mind gathers powerful spiritual energy, instantly reversing one's essence, qi, and spirit through a process of reverse refinement.

Refining spirit into qi, and tempering qi into essence, the moment the heart sword struck, Ye Qingzhou's physical strength and true qi depleted in the battle were quickly replenished.

As Ye Qingzhou's "battery" was fully charged, his powerful aura once again dominated the surrounding area.

Qin Haoyu, Lan Caidie, and the others immediately looked as if they had seen a ghost, their eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

After finally exhausting Ye Qingzhou's true energy, Ye Qingzhou instantly replenished it.

Is this reasonable?

It's obviously cheating, isn't it!

"Have your stamina and internal energy recovered?"

"yes."

Ye Qingzhou responded calmly, and then Jianxin had already locked onto all the enemies present.

Sensing the warning from their minds, knowing that their energy had been locked, Qin Haoyu and Lan Caidie turned and ran without a second thought, their movements swift and decisive.

On the contrary, Niu Taijie, this honest man, stood there foolishly, ready to fight Ye Qingzhou to the death.

Seeing the enemy about to flee, Ye Qingzhou immediately raised the Longyuan sword and said in a chilling tone, "Since you've come, bury you properly. Why are you all running away?"

Before the words were even finished, the long river of sword energy that pierced through the heavens and earth reappeared, stretching across the sky and covering the mountains and the land.

The vast and mighty force of the heavens once again swept in with unstoppable power, sweeping away everything in its path.

Although Qin Haoyu and Lan Caidie tried their best to escape, they were still hit by the sword energy and, together with Niu Taijie, turned into streaks of light and scattered.

Ye Qingzhou then looked at Huang Jinlong and Liu Dingjian, who were also players from the Xingcheng team. However, neither of them harbored any hostility and neither of them made a move during this attack.

Seeing Ye Qingzhou looking at him, Huang Jinlong's eyes twitched violently, and he quickly put on a smiling face: "We have no ill intentions, please don't hurt innocent people."

Liu Dingjian glanced at the chaotic scene and said to Ye Qingzhou with a serious expression, "Huang Jinlong and I are here to explore a secret realm in Yanling Cave Heaven. We have no intention of fighting you. How about we all leave each other at peace?"

"Whatever you find, I want half of it."

Ye Qingzhou did not make a move, but he did offer his terms.

As a powerful person, it is perfectly reasonable to collect protection fees and exploit and oppress one's opponents.

After all, if I don't extort money, how will the world know that I am invincible?

As for the demeanor of a strong person?

Ridiculous! Can this kind of thing be eaten as food?

Moreover, in this world, who doesn't plunder and exploit others when they become powerful?

The way of the sky is more than damage but not enough to make up for.

The way of man is to take from those who have little to give to those who have more.

Since we are human beings, we should naturally act in accordance with human principles.

Liu Dingjian and Huang Jinlong were nearly choked by Ye Qingzhou's words, but seeing Ye Qingzhou's "you're not going to do it, are you?" attitude, they could only nod knowingly and agree to Ye Qingzhou's "rude" request.

Just consider it paying taxes!

After all, I agreed, so I can still get half.

If you don't agree, you'll have to leave now, and then you'll get nothing.

The choice is self-evident.

Ye Qingzhou turned and left, her figure quickly disappearing from their sight.

Only when the terrifying figure was no longer out of sight did Huang Jinlong burst into curses: "Ye Qingzhou went too far! He's ripping people off like a goose, showing no class whatsoever! I despise him!"

Liu Dingjian glanced at Huang Jinlong speechlessly: "Then why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Nonsense! It's because I'm too scared!"

Huang Jinlong looked righteous and indignant, but the words that came out of his mouth were incredibly cowardly.

Then he sighed, looking very unwilling: "What should we do? Do we really have to pay this 'light boat tax'?"

Liu Dingjian simply countered with, "Can you beat him?"

"We can't beat them."

"So isn't the answer obvious?"

Liu Dingjian didn't think there was anything wrong with doing this, because martial arts families had done the same thing countless times before.

The strong can act recklessly and without reason, unless they can't beat you.

Huang Jinlong stomped his feet in anger, cursing, "Once I've mastered my divine skills, I'll also go and collect the 'Golden Dragon Tax' from Ye Qingzhou! If he dares not pay, I'll beat him into a pig's head."

After venting their anger with a string of curses, the two were preparing to leave.

Just then, Qin Haoyu and Lan Caidie, who had originally vanished in a stream of light, mysteriously reappeared, startling the Golden Dragon.

Liu Dingjian was initially surprised, then looked at Lan Caidie in astonishment and said, "Avoiding death and prolonging life, the move you used should be the Golden Cicada Shedding its Shell technique from the 'Heavenly Insect Gu Martial Arts', a martial art passed down by the Sanmiao people, right?"

Lan Caidie sighed, "Luckily I had a backup plan, otherwise I would have been in trouble."

She then looked at Qin Haoyu with a mocking gaze and said jokingly, "I didn't expect you to have a hidden trick up your sleeve. Weren't you going to live and die with everyone?"

Qin Haoyu's face darkened when he was asked the question, and his expression instantly turned ugly.

If he hadn't mastered the technique "Ember of Earth Fire," which allowed him to transfer his life essence and life fire into the earth and attach it to the earth fire spiritual vein when he was on the verge of death, he would have been forced to retreat by Ye Qingzhou.

Although he has been reborn from the ashes, Qin Haoyu has suffered great losses and will need several days to fully recover.

Lan Caidie was in a similar situation; she was currently severely weakened and therefore decided to stick together for mutual support: "Now, among the non-Linjiang team members, besides the Yincheng team, there are only four of us left. Should we form a team together so we can look out for each other?"

Faced with such a beautiful woman, Huang Jinlong shook his head and refused without hesitation: "No thanks. Following you, I'd go hungry nine times out of three. If we run into Ye Qingzhou, that killing god, on the way, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to explain myself even with a hundred mouths. You two, good luck!"

After saying that, Huang Jinlong pulled Liu Dingjian away, saying, "Let's hurry up and leave, or Ye Qingzhou might launch a surprise attack."

Qin Haoyu, who still wanted to persuade the two to stay, changed his expression upon hearing this and stopped insisting that they stay. He soon left with Lan Caidie.

…………

Yanling Cave Heaven, a secret realm of Hundred Cries.

This place should have been a peaceful and harmonious human village, but now it is filled with tears falling from the sky, a cold wind blowing, and an atmosphere of decay, chill, and misfortune.

As if cursed, the villagers all turned into ghouls.

They have sharp teeth and claws, ferocious faces, and hate all living things in the world. Any creature that dares to step into the village will have its flesh and soul devoured by them.

The Jianning Martial Arts Association had repeatedly sent people to investigate the situation here, and even tried to exterminate the village's ghouls again and again, but to no avail.

No matter how many times a ghoul is killed, it will quickly resurrect in the village, completely disregarding the law of conservation of matter. Moreover, there is nothing of value in the village; it is just a pile of scrap metal.

So, over time, the Hundred Crying Pass was put on the quest log, waiting for a lucky person to unravel the many mysteries surrounding it.

Because of the long processing time, the points awarded for this task have accumulated over time, making it the task with the highest reward.

Therefore, Xu Yuebing and others, who were determined to win the championship, wanted to try to uncover the secret here.

Ye Qingzhou descended from the sky, landing beside Xu Yuebing, and asked, "How is the situation?"

Xu Yuebing was overjoyed to see Ye Qingzhou return safely, but then, noticing his tattered clothes, she couldn't help but worry: "How did you get yourself into such a sorry state? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine."

After Ye Qingzhou finished speaking, he looked toward the entrance of Baikuling not far away.

Xu Yuebing then told him about the situation here: "As soon as we go in, we will be besieged by corpse demons. They are impervious to swords and spears and have immense strength. They are like fighting machines and have no fatigue whatsoever."

Then, Vice Captain Miao Yi walked up to Ye Qingzhou with a serious expression and said his opinion: "We've tried a few times, but the Corpse Demons won't leave Hundred Cry Territory, and even if they are blasted into pieces, they can quickly revive. It's endless, and it's very difficult to break through head-on."

"Is it a formation?"

Ye Qingzhou sensed the area with his cicada-like perception, but all he felt was that the Hundred Crying Territory in front of him was a dark, dense mass. As soon as his divine sense entered, it was immediately swallowed up.

This was the first time Ye Qingzhou had ever seen such a situation.

After a moment's thought, Ye Qingzhou decided to use his Divine Travel Technique to enter the village and see what was going on inside.

"You will protect me."

Ye Qingzhou sat cross-legged, and then, in the posture of facing the sky with his five hearts facing the heavens, his Yin spirit flew out from his Niwan Palace. The Yin spirit drifted towards Baikuling with gusts of Yin wind.

The tears and winds that are extremely unfriendly to the living are actually very comfortable for the spirits, as if they were in their own water.

As expected, Ye Qingzhou, who no longer had a flesh and blood body, was not attacked by the corpse demons.

Ye Qingzhou took the opportunity to stroll around the village and found that Bai Ku Ling was filled with traces of human life. However, due to the presence of Yuan Qi, everything here was well preserved, as if only a few hundred years had passed.

In fact, this place has existed for tens of thousands of years.

Many things, unless they are treasures imbued with their own vital energy and spiritual light, will immediately decay and turn to ashes once they are taken out of the cave.

The official exploration team has verified this multiple times, and the Linjiang team received the most detailed mission report before arriving.

Ye Qingzhou searched everywhere but found nothing of value. Just as he was about to continue his exploration, a majestic and resonant voice boomed down, echoing throughout the entire Hundred Cry Territory: "Who dares to spy on the tomb of Emperor Yan! Their crime deserves death!"

The vicious and cruel words echoed in Ye Qingzhou's heart.

Then came a grotesque axe, which rose higher and higher in the wind, growing larger and larger until it cleaved through mountains and valleys with the force of a mountain splitter, striking Ye Qingzhou's Yin spirit.

Locking in with divine sense, ignoring spatial barriers!

In the blink of an eye, Ye Qingzhou realized that this was a battle of minds, and even more so, a contest of wills!

Ye Qingzhou stood still, neither dodging nor avoiding, because with a thought, he already knew that the towering axe shadow before him could neither be avoided nor evaded.

"Want to probe my soul? Then give it a try!"

The dazzling sword light was born of a willing heart.

When the mind is flawless, the sword intent is naturally perfect and without flaws, thus becoming unbreakable and indestructible.

Ding~

The axe shadow that struck Ye Qingzhou's sword heart shattered with a crash, turning into streaks of light that scattered in all directions.

Ye Qingzhou's spirit was also greatly agitated by this attack, and almost collapsed.

Fortunately, Ye Qingzhou persevered. In fact, after being subjected to immense pressure, his spirit seemed to have been tempered, becoming much more solid and stable.

"To withstand my axe that strikes at the heart and survive shows that your heart is without regret or shame, and you should be considered the pride of humanity today."

Then, a headless figure, wielding a large shield and a giant axe, appeared before Ye Qingzhou: "However, trespassing on the mausoleum of Emperor Yan is still a grave offense! If you do not leave immediately, it will be too late to regret it."

Using the nipples as eyes and the navel as a mouth, they wield shields and axes to dance.

Such a figure immediately caught Ye Qingzhou's attention: "You are... Xing Tian?"

"Now that you know my name, why don't you leave at once!"

The Xing Tian before us is clearly not the real Xing Tian from the myths, but rather a remnant of his soul, probably formed from the lingering obsession he left behind.

Otherwise, with that axe blow, Ye Qingzhou would probably have been completely annihilated, his body and soul vanished into thin air.

After all, Xing Tian in mythology was a formidable figure who could fight against the Yellow Emperor.

"In ancient times, Xing Tian was a close minister under Emperor Yan. With you guarding this place, it seems that this is the entrance to Emperor Yan's mausoleum."

Ye Qingzhou's mind stirred, and he became even more eager to explore further.

He simply couldn't resist the thrill of digging up graves... no, I mean, archaeology.

"You audacious madman!"

Xing Tian's remnant soul roared and cursed, and suddenly swung the Heavenly Punishment Axe in his hand, truly like an executioner acting on behalf of Heaven, and chopped at Ye Qingzhou's yin spirit with one axe.

"Disrespectful service to the emperor deserves to be disemboweled!"

The mental energy, imbued with deathly aura and malevolent intent, transformed into a sharp axe and slashed towards Ye Qingzhou's abdomen, intending to rip open his abdominal cavity and hollow out his internal organs.

The ultimate skill that Xing Tian used was the ancient divine skill that made the ultimate use of the power of thought, the "Five Punishments Imperial Register"!

This punishment was cruel. In ancient times, people were ignorant, did not know etiquette and law, and did not obey the king's rule. Therefore, the emperors of the human race all used severe punishments and harsh laws to intimidate the world, making all countries fear and tremble, thus bringing order to the world.

Now that Xing Tian is just a remnant soul, the power of the Five Punishments Imperial Talisman he uses is far inferior to that of his prime.

However, the cruelty and brutality involved are equally terrifying.

baah~

Even though it had no physical body, the axe struck Ye Qingzhou's ghostly belly, yet it still produced a sound of flesh tearing apart, and his mind endured unimaginable, intense pain, as if he were truly being tortured.

At the same time, outside the Hundred Cries Territory.

Suddenly, Ye Qingzhou's abdomen was slashed open, and blood and internal organs flowed all over the ground. The wound was so deep that it was shocking to see!

Xing Tian's attack was able to ignore the defensive mechanism of the indestructible golden body, and acted directly on Ye Qingzhou like a law of cause and effect.

This means that if Ye Qingzhou's soul is injured, his body will also be injured simultaneously!

This is the terrifying aspect of the "Five Punishments Imperial Register," and it is also an incredible effect that can only be achieved when the power of thought reaches its limit—when the real is made to look fake, the fake also becomes real!

Xu Yuebing panicked when she saw that Ye Qingzhou's abdomen was covered in scarlet blood.

"Oh no! Ye Qingzhou is injured!"

"What happened?"

"Where is the enemy? Why were they able to bypass us and attack Ye Qingzhou's physical body directly?"

As the backbone of the team and the pillar of Linjiang team, Ye Qingzhou's injury obviously affected the emotions of everyone in the team.

But the unseen enemy left them feeling utterly powerless.

How can they fight back if they don't even know where the enemy is?

Subsequently, wounds appeared one after another on Ye Qingzhou's body—his chest was cut open, his abdomen was dissected, his heart was ripped out, his arms were severed, and his head was beheaded, until Ye Qingzhou's body was chopped into pieces.

Such injuries would kill even a professional martial artist, let alone an ordinary person.

"Ye Qingzhou!"

Xu Yuebing thought something had happened to Ye Qingzhou. She held his head, which was bleeding from all seven orifices, and cried her heart out.

"Master Ye, please don't die!"

Leon also cried his heart out; anyone who didn't know better would have thought he had changed his surname to Ye.

"Who's cursing me to die?"

In Xu Yuebing's arms, Ye Qingzhou opened his eyes again. Then, countless golden threads formed from Yuan Qi extended from his body, like roots, stitching his scattered limbs back together.

Finally, he slashed himself with the sword, and his body immediately returned to normal, lively and energetic.

The Emperor's immortality is truly awe-inspiring!

Xu Yuebing stared in astonishment, forgetting even to wipe away the tears welling in her eyes, and stared blankly at Ye Qingzhou: "You...you're not dead?"

Ye Qingzhou frowned: "I only suffered a minor injury, why would I die?"

"A minor injury? You were torn apart by five horses, and you're bleeding from all seven orifices!"

Xu Yuebing found it hard to understand how such an injury could be called a minor injury.

Ye Qingzhou remained calm: "Bleeding from all seven orifices is bleeding from all seven orifices, and death is death. How can you lump them together? Besides, you think you can kill me with just being torn apart by five horses? That's underestimating me."

After standing up again, Ye Qingzhou's sharp gaze fell on the direction of Bai Ku Ling once more: "I already know how to break through this barrier."

(End of this chapter)