Chapter 397: Great opportunity
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
The wind continued to assault the people on the cliff. Fang Zhengzhi was they eye of the storm, the origin of this chaos.
The icy cold continued to intertwine with the rain, blowing Yun Qingwu's dress upwards.
No one wanted to get close, not voluntarily at least. However, Yun Qingwu stepped forward once again.
She was like a boat in the storm.
Alone and insignificant, but bobbing in the rough waters. No matter how strong the winds or how choppy the waters, the boat showed no sign of sinking.
"Fang Zhengzhi, if you want to kill Yun Qingwu, then you have to go through me, Si Ponan!" Just at this moment, another voice rang out. It was not loud, but everyone heard it.
Then, a figure stood up shakily, standing between Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu.
There were only three people on that cliff.
The only person who could put himself between Fang Zhengzhi and Yun Qingwu was the young, half kneeling vice domain chief.
However, this time, he did not address Yun Qingwu by her title. He called her by name.
Even so, Yun Qingwu did not seem to mind.
In fact, even Bai Xing, Wu Ji, and the dozens of demon elites were not stunned or shocked by this.
Because...
His name was Si Ponan!
"Si Ponan? That young demon... is from the Si Family?!"
"Is it that Si?"
"If that really is his name, then it has to be that family. There is only one family with surname Si amongst all the demons! Only one family that dares to take on that surname!"
When all of the candidates heard Si Ponan's voice, they stared right at him, their eyes filled with shock and awe.
The world of the demons was different from those of the humans.
The humans built an empire by handing the throne to their son. For the demons, their empire was supported by three major families.
This had something to do with their reproduction. No one could say for sure if the current demon lord would have a son.
Even if they did, they would not have many children, one or two at most. Furthermore, no one could guarantee that the children of the current Demon Lord could take on the responsibility of being the next Demon Lord.
As such...
Keeping this in mind, the demon race set up a ruling coalition with three families.
If the sons of one family were not up to the task, they would pick the lord from the other two. The criteria included their cultivation state, aura, demeanor, and contributions.
As such, after the death of a Demon Lord, the next Demon Lord may not share the same surname as the previous one, even if the previous one had children.
The three families were the Yun Family, the Si Family, and the Yu Family.
Si...
The same family as that of the Demon Lord Si Kong!
It was said that when Si Kong was in power, the demons were more powerful than they were at any time in history. The demon army even reached the gates of Yan Jing, almost snuffing out the human race.
This battle was at the gates of Yan Jing, and the rivers flowed with blood.
In the end, the Demon Lord Si Kong was killed in the Blood Shadow City. He was killed by the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian.
And now...
The sword continued to glow purple in Fang Zhengzhi's hand. The sword tip was lowered at Si Ponan's throat. Si Ponan's blood still stained the blade.
"Kaboom!"
The purple lightning shot across the sky and illuminated Si Ponan's face. His face was pale and powerless, but he was determined.
"Fang Zhengzhi, I know that the demons and humans have not gotten along. I will not blink when you strike. We are the superior race!" Si Ponan's blade continued to shake as he raised the blade. Just standing up took all the power that he had.
However, he still managed to stand up, letting the rain pummel his body.
"Si Ponan?"
"Si..."
"Die!"
"..."
Fang Zhengzhi murmured to himself. His raised sword stopped in mid-air, the lightsword in his eyes twirling manically.
It may have been a hallucination, but as the sword continued to swirl, the purple light around his blade also seemed to move, rings of purple exploding outwards.
"Hum!"
"Hum!"
"..."
The ripple-like killing aura that surrounded his body also became a lot more chaotic. It was a sharp lightsword one moment, and completely absorbed by the body the next.
"Kaboom!"
The thunderous boom echoed through the skies.
The Traceless Sword in Fang Zhengzhi's hand began to shake, a crisp whine and hum echoing out as the purple light blinked manically.
It felt like he was struggling...
"What's wrong with Fang Zhengzhi? Why isn't he striking? This is a great opportunity! He can easily defeat Si Ponan!"
"Could it be that he is afraid of the Si Family avenging Si Ponan? I doubt it. If he was scared, he should be more afraid of the Yun Family!"
"Could it be that he wants to let Yun Qingwu off? That doesn't seem likely... if he really wanted to let Yun Qingwu off, why would he go and stop her? Who would have forced him to go up there?"
"No no... Fang Zhengzhi doesn't look alright!"
"Was he ever alright ever since he regained consciousness?"
"It's not that, look... his aura is getting quite large, it feels as though he can't control it."
"Could it be that he can't control it because he's used up too much energy?"
All of the candidates looked at the purple glow on the cliff. Fang Zhengzhi's body kept radiating killing auras.
Xing Qingsui, Xing Yuanguo, Nangong Hao, Bai Xing, and Wu Ji were all confused by what they were seeing. The people from the Great Xia were anxious.
The demons were surprised at this turn of events.
They were just thrown a lifeline.
The demons were ruled by the three families. Yun Qingwu was not the most powerful child, but she was the one who commanded the most respect.
There was no one even close to her.
If the current Demon Lord was the most powerful one, Yun QIngwu was the most charismatic and intelligent. Furthermore, no one would dare to contest that ranking.
In actual fact, Yun Qingwu may have been born into a powerful family, but people rarely thought highly of her. Her gender was the first reason.
The second reason was her cultivation talent.
It was ordinary.
Extremely ordinary. Even though she was not at the very bottom, but amongst the demons, especially those of the big three families, Yun Qingwu was not held in high regard.
It didn't matter that her father was the current Demon Lord!
No one thought that the Yun Qingwu, who had little talent for cultivation, would be able to succeed the throne.
Even her father thought the same way.
The demons were different from the humans.
The demons did not bother about the lineage or bloodline. Yun Qingwu's father began to concentrate more on the other Yun disciples.
He wanted the Yun family to stay in power.
Yun Qingwu was not too bothered about this. Being born into this family meant that she could still be a princess.
Then, one day, she saw her father in the library. Her father was depressed, lost, even helpless.
As the Demon Lord...
Yun Qingwu had held her father in high regard. Her father was the Demon Lord, the leader of the demons, the most powerful demon there was.
He should be powerful, domineering, and happy.
But why?
Why was her father...
So depressed?
Yun QIngwu did not understand it. However, the next day, she heard that one of the Yu Family disciples had broken through to the Heavenly Reflection State at the age of 12.
Since that day, she did not see her father much.
That child of the Yu Family moved to her place, and she was sent to a residence miles away from the Blood Shadow City.
At that time, she was five.
Five years later...
Yun Qingwu returned to the Blood Shadow City. The disciples of all the three families, including that 12-year-old Heavenly Reflection State talent, gathered at the gates and welcomed her respectfully.
From that moment on, Yun Qingwu was rarely called by name.
Every demon called her...
Young Master!
Yun Qingwu was 10 that year.
Another five years passed in a flash.
Everyone knew that the demons had a mysterious young master, but they did not know she was Yun Qingwu.
Yun Qingwu smuggled her way into the human world and became an artistic talent in an instant. All of the boys loved her.
Yet, no one knew how she looked like.
Yet, her talent captivated all of the talents in the Great Xia Dynasty.
She went through all the cities and provinces of the Great Xia Dynasty, performing at all the hangouts for talents. If those places were mud...
Yun Qingwu was a white lotus flower who wasn't tainted by the mud around her.
...
Si Ponan was a talent who had attained the pinnacle Supernatural State before the age of 20. He was probably one of the top three disciples of the three powerful families.
Si Ponan was one of the contenders for the throne. However, he was willing to stand in front of Yun Qingwu without hesitation.
This was...
How powerful Yun Qingwu was.
She could move the powers of the ten domains at will. Any disciple of the three biggest families would willingly give up their lives for hers.
"Qingwu, this is your chance!" Si Ponan had no idea what was happening to Fang Zhengzhi, but he knew that Fang Zhengzhi was unstable.
This was clear for all to see.
As such, Si Ponan picked up on it quickly. Standing this close to Fang Zhengzhi meant that he was able to feel it even more keenly.
If his arms could still move...
He wouldn't hesitate to stab his Spectre Sword into Fang Zhengzhi's heart. However, he could not move his arm. Even holding the blade in his hand was taking all the energy he had in his body.
But this did not matter.
He may not be able to move, but Yun Qingwu could.
At this distance...
With him as her meatshield, Si Ponan was sure that Yun Qingwu would not miss.
The rain continued to pour, flowing down Si Ponan's sleeves and onto his hand and sword.
The forked blade glimmered icily.
Yun Qingwu was extremely close to Fang Zhengzhi. If not for Si Ponan, she may even be able to hear Fang Zhengzhi's breathing.
Many people thought that Yun Qingwu would have some protective treasures or a powerful demon protecting her from the shadows.
But the truth was...
She had neither.
When she roamed the Great Xia, she only brought along 49 servants. They were all in the Heavenly Reflection State.
However, they knew one sword formation, one created by Yun Qingwu.
This was the formation that blocked the pinnacle Supernatural State Nangong Hao's attack.
Since she didn't bring along any protective treasures in the Great Xia, why would she bring any here?
As such, when Fang Zhengzhi had rushed to the top of the cliff and lowered his sword at her throat, the only thing she could do was take the hit.
She couldn't do anything but wait for Fang Zhengzhi to slash.
It may have seemed unbelievable that the young master of the demons would not have any protective treasures.
Yun Qingwu had thought that way. Furthermore, she had already made the necessary preparations. No one knew what Yun Qingwu was thinking...
Except herself.
At that moment, she was very calm.
"Why did you have to stop?" Yun Qingwu looked at Fang Zhengzhi and asked. However, it was quickly clear that it was a rhetorical question.
Her arm was already raised...