At the foot of Taishi Mountain in Songshan stood a thriving market town.
A main street in the town led up to Taishi Mountain.
Merchants crowded the street, making it a lively place.
Hao Shuai sat on the second floor of a tavern, leisurely sipping wine and eating snacks as he admired the town's quaint, old-fashioned charm.
Five days had passed since the Golden Basin Hand-Washing Ceremony, and Liu Zhengfeng's family and Qu Yang had already sailed out to sea.
Their departure had gone so smoothly mainly because, among the orthodox sects, the Songshan Sect had been too busy preparing to deal with Hao Shuai after learning he was headed for Songshan to bother with Liu Zhengfeng. The others, such as the Mount Hua Sect, weren't about to risk offending Hao Shuai by making trouble for them. As for the Sun Moon Holy Cult, Qu Yang was an elder, and ordinary members had no authority to deal with him. Since the leader, Dongfang Bubai, hadn't given any orders, they could only watch him sail away.
Hao Shuai had spent a day in Hengyang, secretly escorting Liu Zhengfeng's family out of the city to repay his debt of gratitude for the score. Then he headed north toward Songshan in Henan.
Hao Shuai had expected the Songshan Sect to ambush him at every turn, but to his surprise, his journey was remarkably uneventful.
He guessed that Zuo Lengchan intended to gather all his forces and rely on Songshan's favorable terrain to fight Hao Shuai to the death.
Hao Shuai was all for it. He even slowed down on purpose, giving the Songshan Sect time to recall everyone to the sect so he could wipe them all out in one go and save himself a few trips.
"Have you heard? That Demon Lord is on his way to Songshan. Looks like the Songshan Sect is in trouble," a background character A said in the tavern.
"You're behind the times! I hear the Demon Lord's already on Songshan!" another background character B said.
"Who do you think will win this time, the Demon Lord or the Songshan Sect?"
"Who do you think is more skilled, the Demon Lord or Dongfang Bubai?"
"I heard Mount Hua Sect's eldest disciple, Linghu Chong, got caught drinking and flirting at a brothel by Sect Leader Yue. He's been punished with a year meditating in seclusion at the Cliff of Repentance."
"Is the Demon Lord really as huge as the rumors say, with arms broad enough to run horses on and thighs wide enough to drive carriages over? Does he slaughter people like a demon god come to life?"
Hao Shuai listened to the rumors about himself, and they only got more ridiculous the longer he listened. He was deeply dissatisfied with the martial world's naming habits. They didn't have to call him something like Jade Flute Divine Swordsman or Jade-Faced Gentleman, but couldn't they at least avoid taking the easy way out and calling him the Demon Lord? And there had been so many people there at the time—anyone who wasn't blind could see how handsome he was. So why were the rumors so wildly off the mark?
It seemed Linghu Chong had gone to the Cliff of Repentance, just as he had in the story. That made sense. With Yue Buqun, such a traditional, old-school teacher, and Linghu Chong's lackadaisical nature, he was bound to get punished sooner or later.
After hearing the so-called inside gossip, Hao Shuai paid his bill and went back to his room to rest. He planned to head straight for the Songshan Sect the next day.
Songshan was called "Waifang" in ancient times and "Songgao" during the Xia and Shang dynasties. In the Western Zhou period, it was known as "Yueshan." Since Songshan lay between Mount Tai to the east and Mount Hua to the west, it was designated the Central Peak, and thus came to be called "Central Peak Songshan."
Two renowned martial arts sects stood on Songshan: Shaolin, the ancestral home of Chan Buddhism on Shaoshi Mountain, and the Songshan Sect, one of the Five Great Sword Sects on Taishi Mountain.
Both sects were pillars of the orthodox world, but Shaolin held the highest standing. Its abbot, Master Fangzheng, was even hailed as the foremost master among the orthodox sects.
The Songshan Sword Sect's leader, Zuo Lengchan, was also one of the three greatest masters in the orthodox world, surpassed only by Master Fangzheng of Shaolin and Daoist Master Chongxu of Wudang.
More than ten years ago, the Five Great Sword Sects had formed an alliance to fight the Sun Moon Holy Cult, the largest unorthodox sect. With Zuo Lengchan as their alliance leader, the conflict between orthodox and unorthodox forces had officially begun.
Over the years, the Five Great Sword Sects had fought the Sun Moon Holy Cult many times. The Songshan Sect had clashed with them most often, earning its reputation as the orthodox world's vanguard.
Through these battles, the Songshan Sect had produced many renowned masters, including the Thirteen Protectors, whose fame spread throughout the martial world. With their support, the Songshan Sect's reputation gradually eclipsed those of Shaolin and Wudang. Zuo Lengchan's ambition as its leader grew, and he began dreaming of unifying the Five Great Sword Sects and merging them into a single sect.
At that moment, Zuo Lengchan sat at the head of the Songshan Sect's main hall. Vice-leader Tang Ying'e sat nearby, while the Protectors—except for Fei Bin and Ding Mian—sat in two rows on either side.
"Ying'e, how are the checkpoints along the way coming along?" Zuo Lengchan asked.
"Rest assured, Sect Leader Senior Brother! I've set up layer upon layer of traps at the essential routes up the mountain, such as One-Line Sky, and assigned plenty of capable men to guard them. I guarantee not even a fly will make it up here."
"Excellent. That so-called Demon Lord dares to openly challenge our Songshan Sect. We'll make sure he never leaves. We'll use his blood to pave the way for me to unify the Five Great Sword Sects," Zuo Lengchan said smugly.
"Wise as ever, Sect Leader Senior Brother!" everyone chimed in.
Just then, four oddly shaped metal lumps, each about the size of a sweet potato, flew in through the main entrance. Ninth-Curve Sword Zhong Zhen and Divine Whip Deng Bagong, two of the lower-ranked Thirteen Protectors, leaped forward and caught two each. Before either of them could say a word—
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Four explosions rang out in quick succession. Everyone in the hall was caught in the blasts. Lu Bai, He Ying, and the others who were closer were killed instantly. Only Zuo Lengchan, Tang Ying'e, and Le Hou, seated at the head of the hall, escaped by using their Lightness Skill, but they were still struck by several shards and badly wounded.
A handsome young man walked in through the main entrance. It was Hao Shuai. He held a pistol in each hand and strolled into the hall, occasionally shooting a corpse or a wounded person on the ground, just in case anyone tried to launch a last-second counterattack.
By the time Hao Shuai stood in front of Zuo Lengchan, only two people in the entire hall were still breathing.
Seeing Hao Shuai standing before him so brazenly, Zuo Lengchan roared and summoned all his power, unleashing every trace of Ice True Qi within him. He lunged forward and struck at Hao Shuai with both palms. In an instant, cold spread through the air, freezing the space around them.
Bang!
Bang!
Unfortunately, Zuo Lengchan wasn't faster than bullets. Hao Shuai fired twice, shooting clean through both his hands. Zuo Lengchan's hard-won burst of true qi dispersed, and he fell straight to the floor.
"Who are you? Why did you ambush our Songshan Sect and slaughter us like this?"
Zuo Lengchan's eyes were bloodshot and his face twisted with fury as he roared like a maddened beast.
"I'm the Demon Lord you were talking about! Weren't you waiting for me? So here I am!" Hao Shuai replied.
"Impossible! We haven't received any word. How did you get up here?" Zuo Lengchan screamed, almost hysterically.
"Oh, that? The path looked rough, and I couldn't be bothered to climb, so I just flew straight up!" Hao Shuai said. Then he flew around the hall to prove he wasn't lying.
Seeing Hao Shuai fly with his own eyes, Zuo Lengchan spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Tell me, should I wipe out your entire Songshan Sect and make its name famous throughout the martial world, or leave you some descendants to carry on?"
"Tell me, what will it take for you to spare the Songshan Sect's disciples?" Zuo Lengchan quickly asked.
"Clever! No wonder you're Alliance Leader Zuo. Talking to smart people really saves time. You see, it's so hot these days, and I've got a craving for frozen watermelon. But I don't know any cold-based internal arts. What do you think I should do?" Hao Shuai asked with a smile.
Zuo Lengchan understood what Hao Shuai meant. He immediately pulled a manual from his robes and tossed it to him.
"You know, when you're traveling the martial world, you can get hurt at any moment. Unfortunately, I don't have a single healing pill on me. What if I get injured and die one day?" Hao Shuai continued.
"The second room in the rear hall is the Songshan Sect's medicine room. There's a shelf behind the desk, and behind it are the sect's secret stores of healing medicines."
"Alliance Leader Zuo, you don't know this, but my family was poor when I was a child. I couldn't afford to go to school, so I developed a particular love of reading."
Hearing Hao Shuai's shameless words, Zuo Lengchan nearly choked. If he hadn't been outmatched, he would have wanted to roar, "If you never went to school, how did you learn all those martial arts? Were you born with them?"
"The library is on the right side of the rear hall." Zuo Lengchan could only helplessly tell Hao Shuai where to find it.
"All right, that'll do. Don't worry, I keep my word. I'll spare the Songshan Sect." Having learned everything he wanted to know, Hao Shuai couldn't be bothered to keep tormenting Alliance Leader Zuo.
"I hope you keep your promise and spare the Songshan Sect. Otherwise, I won't let you go even as a ghost." Zuo Lengchan knew Hao Shuai wouldn't spare him, so he could only do his best to protect the sect.
Bang!
"Then go be a ghost!" Hao Shuai shot him between the brows, ending the life of the great warlord Zuo Lengchan. He hated people who still spouted threats on their deathbed, as if one more line would somehow kill their enemy.
After looting the medicine room and library as Zuo Lengchan had directed, Hao Shuai came out of the library, ready to leave. Only then did he notice the Songshan Sect's disciples surrounding him.
It seemed the disciples had discovered the bodies in the main hall.
Looking at the disciples surrounding him, Hao Shuai kept his promise and spared them. He broke through the roof and flew away right before their eyes.
A few days later, the entire martial world was in an uproar, spreading the glorious tale of Hao Shuai's destruction of the Songshan Sect, along with his new nickname:
Flying Demon Lord!
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