Chapter 43 The Strongest Sword: Consecutive Strikes Against Grandmasters

Jiang Ming had already guessed the true reason why the Vajra Saint Monk had come to kill him—it was surely for the martial arts manuals in his possession: the Lesser Yin and Lesser Yang Scriptures. Additionally, they must have learned that he had obtained two other scriptures from the Ninth Princess, as well as various supreme techniques he had exchanged for. This was an immense fortune, the very foundation of true inheritance. Da Lin Monastery could act under the pretense of revenge, and no one could fault them for it.

The questioning just now had left him disappointed. The three showed no unusual signs; it seemed they knew nothing of the massacre at Black Wind Fortress.

“If it's not these three factions, who else could it be?” As Jiang Ming pondered, his gaze shifted to the man wielding the giant axe. He frowned slightly. “Northern Barbarians, Iron War!”

He sensed an overwhelming, violent aura from the man, along with a feeling of familiarity. This was the very expert who had secretly observed him a few months ago when he killed Master Xuanming.

Iron War ignored him, his aura still rising, clearly gathering strength for an explosive strike.

Jiang Ming paid him no mind and turned to the third man, his voice cold as he spoke, “Demon Sect Leader, Yang Kaitai. You barely escaped being slaughtered by Master Zhang, yet you’ve learned nothing. Now, just because you’ve reached the Grandmaster realm, you dare jump out and make trouble. How reckless.”

“Very well, Vajra Saint Monk! Not only has your Da Lin Monastery colluded with the Demon Sect, you’ve also allied with the Northern Barbarians. Does this not betray the Da Yan bloodline flowing in your veins? Does this not betray the land beneath your feet?”

Without giving the monk a chance to reply, Jiang Ming turned the accusation back on Venerable Puhui, placing a heavy charge upon him. His voice thundered, carrying far and wide.

“Traitor to the nation and the people! Puhui, Vajra Saint Monk, is your Da Lin Monastery seeking to overthrow our Da Yan Empire? You deserve death!”

“Now die for me! Myriad Swords Return to the Sect—Five Elements Evolution!”

As Jiang Ming roared, even before his voice faded, five strange auras erupted from his body, stirring the Dao rhythm of the void, each presenting a distinct artistic conception: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.

Arranged in their cycles of generation and restraint, they fused together and were channeled into his sword technique.

A resonant hum...

The very air trembled, and a storm of sword energy returned.

This time, it was many times more powerful than the previous Myriad Swords Return to the Sect infused with the Intent of Slaughter—at least tenfold more terrifying, so much so that the heavens themselves seemed to darken, with winds and clouds surging.

The Intent of Slaughter was, after all, only recently comprehended—he had merely entered its threshold. The five elemental concepts, however, he had already mastered to the great perfection stage.

He had even begun to fuse the five elements, forming a true Five Elements power. Even a preliminary fusion raised the might of his attack to an indescribable level.

This was one of his ultimate killing moves.

“Not good!” The Vajra Saint Monk's face changed drastically before he could even protest, a sense of death gripping his heart. “Indestructible Vajra, Dragon-Subduing Protection!”

Golden light burst from his body, his frame swelling. Not only did he unleash the Indestructible Vajra Art, but he also infused it with Vajra Intent, pushing his defense to the absolute limit. At the same time, he activated another protective technique, manifesting a dragon-shaped shadow coiling around him.

Iron War of the Northern Barbarians and Yang Kaitai of the Demon Sect both turned pale with shock.

The force of this sword left them trembling in fear.

“Axe Splits the Eight Desolations—Open!” Iron War roared, his axe light cleaving through the air for over thirty meters as he struck at the oncoming sword energy.

It was attack against attack.

Yang Kaitai also unleashed his ultimate technique.

In this moment, three Grandmasters erupted with all their might.

Thunder crashed, the heavens quaked.

Every streak of sword energy was as powerful as a Grandmaster's blow, yet they fell in dense, relentless torrents, like a spring rain turned violent storm, easily shredding Iron War’s axe light, shattering even his mighty axe, a weapon of legend.

Next, the sword energy completely destroyed Iron War's protective force.

“How can this be so strong?” Iron War cried out in despair.

He had been confident—facing the likes of Old Daoist Zhang, he might not emerge victorious, but he could certainly hold out for a long time. Yet now, he could not withstand even a single strike from this young man before him.

How could this be? How could this be!

“I should never have coveted the Nine Yin and Nine Yang supreme techniques, hoping to suppress Old Daoist Zhang and become the world's number one, establishing an eternal foundation for the Northern Barbarians. I am not resigned—I'm not!”

Iron War’s desperate roar ended abruptly.

In the next instant, his body—once hard as iron—was pierced through like a sieve by the tangible sword energy, killing him on the spot, with barely any remains left.

“Greed is original sin. I should never have listened to Puhui, conspiring good and evil together in secret to control the martial world. It's over, truly over!” Yang Kaitai lasted little longer; with a final, mournful sigh, he too was slain on the spot.

Clang, clang, clang...

The Vajra Saint Monk endured the longest. Yet even with his supreme defense, he could not withstand the sword energy of the Myriad Swords Return to the Sect fused with the Five Elements. His body was torn open in many places.

With sword energy invading his body, his internal organs were gradually destroyed and shattered.

“Are you man or ghost? Demon or monster?” The Vajra Saint Monk stood unmoving until the sword energy finally dissipated. He stared at Jiang Ming, his voice hoarse as he asked,

“I am immortal,” Jiang Ming replied coldly. “Da Lin Monastery was one of the peaks of the martial world. Why did you covet the martial arts in my hands? Hui Jian did so, and you as well. You cultivate Buddhism, yet what have you cultivated but greed and murderous intent, forsaking all good and evil?”

“The empire is on the brink of collapse; the world is about to fall into chaos, and the martial world with it. We had to plan for the future. The supreme scriptures and peerless techniques you hold are unrivaled inheritances—if we obtained them, our sect could remain powerful for a thousand years more.” Blood trickled from the Vajra Saint Monk's lips, gushing from his wounds, yet he seemed not to notice as he slowly spoke. “So we allied with the Demon Sect, invited the Northern Barbarians. No matter what great changes come—good or evil, court or martial world—my Da Lin Monastery would remain invincible. But... but... you are even stronger than Old Daoist Zhang. Heaven itself wishes to destroy me! Three Grandmasters together, yet you killed us all. Ha... ha ha...”

He spat a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of his organs.

Another man would have been dead long ago.

But he still endured.

His vitality was so formidable that even Jiang Ming was moved.

“It’s no sin to lose—it's only that I am too strong!” Jiang Ming smiled. “And let me tell you this: man proposes, but heaven disposes. A single misstep can cost you everything. After today, your Da Lin Monastery will be erased from the world—I guarantee it.”

“You would destroy—” The Vajra Saint Monk's eyes widened with fury, his life force dissipating rapidly. He fell backward, dead.

“Of course I would!” Jiang Ming lifted his head, gazing at the drifting clouds, muttering, “You can besiege me, but I cannot wipe you out? What sort of logic is that? The Sun-Moon Demon Sect, Da Lin Monastery, Northern Barbarians—I will visit you all. One must not only read ten thousand books, but also travel ten thousand miles—and spill blood across ten thousand li.”

In the distance, Bai Yunfei and the others watched in shock as the ground around Jiang Ming had been gouged into ravines and the three Grandmasters slain.

“All three Grandmasters destroyed in a single move?” Bai Yunfei stood dazed, unable to process what had happened.

Even his own master, faced with such an array, would not dare guarantee victory—let alone slay them all with a single strike.

“We have witnessed a miracle!” He Qianshan's mouth was dry, his excitement beyond words. “He does not walk the Path of the Ruthless Sword, nor the Sword of Affection, nor the Sword of Slaughter—how can he be so powerful?”

As he murmured, his eyes shone with fanaticism.

In that moment, he seemed to glimpse another path of the sword.

The group began making their way over.

Jiang Ming nodded at them, then turned to look at Chief Jin, who was galloping toward him, her expression grave. Before she drew near, she called out loudly, “Brother Jiang, there has been an incident at the mansion!”