Chapter Eighty-Three: If One Must Be an Enemy, Then Let It Be—An Enemy to All Under Heaven

With a single palm strike, the heavens seemed to crack and the earth to shatter, sending Rama reeling backward. The long sword swept through the air, its blade aura stretching over a hundred meters, radiating an extreme sharpness and a blazing energy that nearly turned the surroundings into a sea of fire, hurling Tiger Dali more than a hundred meters away.

Such force, such dominance—invincible, peerless.

The sight left Yun Shuang utterly stunned, her expression changing dramatically.

“It’s over, it’s all over. Utterly hopeless.”

“How can he be so strong? How will I ever escape his grasp?”

Despair engulfed Yun Shuang completely.

Yet Yan Hongyi and Liuli were overjoyed.

“Those are two grandmasters, and Brother Jiang actually managed to force them both back. He’s so powerful, this is wonderful!” Yan Hongyi was genuinely happy, her despair and tension easing somewhat.

But the thought that Jiang Ming might truly be the legendary demon from beyond the realm gave her a headache. “Let’s hope Grandmaster can protect us.”

Ahead, chaos reigned.

A deep pit had formed in the earth, and a hundred-meter-long sword mark carved a ravine through the ground.

“A demon and a monster, two grandmasters who shouldn’t have appeared, yet here you are. The Taiyin Undying Sutra is indeed exquisite, but it shouldn’t hold much allure for you. The only possibility is that you were invited—by Yun Lu, the deputy palace master of Taiyin Palace. Am I right?” Jiang Ming strode forward, his voice thunderous. “It must be so. The death of the Palace Master—Yun Lu colluded with you. Only by joining forces could you have killed her. Ha! Who would have thought that Yun Lu, for the sake of the Palace Master’s position, would conspire with demons and monsters. Such audacity—she disregards the thousand-year legacy and honor of Taiyin Palace, intent on destroying it. One day, I’ll go to her myself and cut her down.”

“Collusion or not, it doesn’t change the fact that you are a demon from beyond,” Rama straightened, his cold and violent aura erupting and tearing open his clothes, revealing a body as muscular as steel.

Scales grew on his skin, a bizarre sight.

Jiang Ming’s pupils contracted at the sight, recalling what Yun Shuang had said: the Demon King Sect were called demons because they pursued power by any means.

For example, slaughtering villages for cultivation.

Or merging with the blood and organs of monsters to enhance their strength.

Some even attempted to fuse with the power of ghosts, becoming neither human nor ghost, their minds lost, slaughtering indiscriminately and committing endless atrocities.

“To protect the people, to safeguard the Great Yu Dynasty, to defend our homeland, the Demon King Sect will fight to the last man against you, Jiang Ming, the demon from beyond!” Rama roared, shaking the heavens. As his words fell, he attacked again. “Die!”

His hand had become a beast’s claw, nails long and hard, capable of tearing through space.

It contained the power of wind, boosting his speed to incredible levels.

“My monster clan will also never share the sky with Jiang Ming, the demon from beyond,” Tiger Dali’s voice was deep and resonant as he swung his axe.

The heavy axe seemed to split the sky itself.

Left and right, their attacks were fierce and overwhelming.

“You’re far from enough.”

Jiang Ming murmured.

Compared to the grandmasters he faced in the main world’s Tower of Enlightenment, these two were nothing.

Even if one was a human demon and the other a monster.

“Sword Eight.”

Jiang Ming uttered two words. True energy surged from within, the yin and yang energies swirling and transforming into sword aura, both blocking and trapping Rama and Tiger Dali.

The sword aura was endless, each strand immensely powerful, spinning rapidly. In the blink of an eye, the two faced countless attacks.

“Ah…”

Rama was the first to falter. His protective energy was torn apart, wounds appeared all over his body, sword aura invading and destroying his organs, extinguishing his vitality.

He could not help but scream in agony.

“True Demon Undying!”

Rama activated a secret technique, his body growing even larger, a dense aura of slaughter becoming tangible, horns sprouting atop his head, more scales and feathers appearing on his chest.

Neither human nor monster, neither demon nor beast.

He forced back the sword aura.

He pressed forward, preparing to attack again.

“What is this thing?” Jiang Ming’s gaze sharpened, his sword aura suddenly fused together. Though fewer in appearance, their power soared, tearing apart Rama’s protective energy once more.

“Tiger Dali, help me!” Rama screamed in despair.

How could the demon before him be so strong? Standing still, he was impossible to approach.

Roar…

Tiger Dali was bloodied, but his hide and bones were tough, so he was not in immediate danger. Seeing Rama’s plight, he knew that if he didn’t unleash his power now, it would all be over.

Dropping his axe, his body twisted and abruptly transformed into a giant spotted tiger, over three meters tall and four long, thick monster aura swirling around him like armor.

Clang, clang, clang…

The yin-yang sword aura struck the armor, sending sparks flying.

Roar…

Tiger Dali opened his mouth and unleashed a deafening roar, a wave of sound rushing forward, piercing the ears and reaching the brain.

This was Tiger’s Roar, a special technique.

Yet it did nothing to Jiang Ming.

“Die!”

Tiger Dali’s eyes, fierce and round as bronze bells, fixed on him as he leapt forward.

“Interesting!” Jiang Ming formed his fingers into a sword, pointed in mid-air, and endless yin-yang sword energy converged into a single razor-sharp point aimed at the tiger’s forehead.

The beast tried to dodge, but Jiang Ming was faster. His finger landed on its brow, piercing the armor, tearing the skin, shattering the skull, and destroying the brain.

Tiger Dali shuddered and fell from mid-air.

At that moment, Rama seized the chance to flee.

“Do you think you can escape?”

Jiang Ming reached out, condensing energy into a sword, slashing through the air—the Executioner’s Sword—splitting Rama, already three hundred meters away, cleanly in two.

“Not satisfying enough,” he murmured, then picked up Tiger Dali’s corpse, turned to the stunned Yun Shuang, and said, “Can this thing be eaten?”

“If you want to eat it, you can!” Yun Shuang replied instinctively, then shuddered, mouth agape in shock. “You killed them? Both of them?”

“Didn’t you see for yourself?” Jiang Ming glanced off into the distance, but had no intention of hunting down those watching from afar. He returned to the carriage.

As for eating?

He really felt a bit uneasy about it.

The group entered the carriage one by one.

The coachman trembled as he drove.

The horses, terrified, shivered as they walked.

Inside the carriage.

“Sir, are you really a demon?” Yun Shuang could not help but ask.

“Brother Jiang is definitely not a demon. He saved us so many times, he could never be a demon,” Liuli’s voice was clear and sweet.

Jiang Ming ruffled her hair. “If you believe I am, then I am. If you believe I’m not, then I’m not. But there’s one thing that cannot change—I am a human, a man with a human heart. And you, haha, you are my little maidservant!”

Yun Shuang’s expression shifted from moment to moment, finally settling into a look of deep grievance.

His words were a tacit admission.

“Brother Jiang will always be Brother Jiang!” Yan Hongyi lifted the teapot, poured a cup, and handed it over.

“You are the clever one!” Jiang Ming smiled, took the tea, drank a sip, then returned the cup and sat cross-legged, closing his eyes.

Cultivation was the true business.

As for being a demon from beyond?

He truly didn’t care anymore. If he were to keep hiding with his current power, he would feel stifled and frustrated.

Having fought Rama and Tiger Dali, he had roughly assessed the peak power of this world’s strongest.

Even facing the Celestial Phenomenon Realm, he could protect himself.

He even had some chance of striking back.

The carriage advanced steadily, but outside, waves of turmoil surged.

Two beings at the pinnacle of the world had been slain by a mere youth—how incredible! Those were two grandmasters, unimaginably strong.

Soon, talk of Jiang Ming being the demon from beyond spread, and a little analysis made it even more certain.

After all, his origins were mysterious, his power immense despite his youth. If he wasn’t a demon from beyond, how could he be so strong yet unknown? The only possibility was that he came from beyond.

The Pure Yang Sect, the Demon Suppression Bureau, Ten Thousand Monster Mountain, and other major forces began spreading tales of the terror of the demon from beyond, claiming his arrival was to destroy the world.

Taiyin Palace went further, declaring that their Palace Master had been killed by someone named Jiang Ming. His power was overwhelming, but he gave in to lust, trying to enslave the Palace Master as a concubine. Enraged, the Palace Master fought back, only to be slain.

Deputy Palace Master Yun Lu was severely wounded and escaped.

The Palace Master’s disciple and daughter were captured by Jiang Ming, subjected to demonic enslavement, their minds and wills altered, forced into servitude.

Even Elder Yun Shuang, who went to search for them, was enslaved by the demon, corrupted, and turned into a demonic servant.

Taiyin Palace announced that Liuli, Yan Hongyi, and Yun Shuang had been corrupted, their minds and wills changed, no longer human. The sect was willing to uphold righteousness, allowing anyone in the world to kill them.

They called upon all righteous men to unite in exterminating the demon.

For a time, Jiang Ming’s name was infamous, branded as the ultimate evil, a destroyer of worlds.

Even the Ghost King rallied against him.

On the carriage.

“Up ahead is Bright Moon City,” Yun Shuang said anxiously. “I sense a chilling murderous intent. What awaits us is not shelter, but an ambush.”

She glanced cautiously at Jiang Ming.

“It is indeed an ambush,” Jiang Ming opened his eyes, his aura more restrained, his power stronger.

“If your Grandmaster opposes me, what will you do?” he asked Yan Hongyi.

Yan Hongyi hesitated, then smiled bitterly.

How to choose? One was her Grandmaster, her patron, but if Jiang Ming was right, what then?

She felt lost.

“Big brother is the good one!” Liuli clung to Jiang Ming’s sleeve, her innocent eyes showing a hint of attachment.

No, it was a sense of security.

“Brother Jiang, without you, we’d be dead already!” Yan Hongyi gathered herself, steadied her mind, and spoke decisively.

“But think carefully,” Jiang Ming smiled. “If you stay with me, you may end up enemies of the whole world.”

“If we leave now, we wouldn’t survive anyway,” Yan Hongyi sighed. “Brother Jiang, we bear your mark.”

Inside the carriage, she forced herself to bow. “If we must be enemies, so be it. Please do not abandon us.”

“Big brother…” Liuli shook his sleeve.

“Alright!” Jiang Ming nodded.

Ahead, the north gate of Bright Moon City was already visible.

Outside, a large gathering of martial artists had assembled, their presence imposing, murderous intent raging, preparing to slay the demon.

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(The end of this chapter)