Battle of the Century

In the southern military camp.

April muttered, "Why is our life so miserable? This time when we get back to City No. 10, we absolutely have to eat hot pot for seven days straight. No, ten days."

The surrounding crows chuckled good-naturedly, "The boss and his men took all the Six-Eyed Crow from the southern front. They must be having just as much work as we are. There's an unusually heavy workload this year. With the New Year just around the corner, I bet their bonuses will be substantial."

A group of superhuman corpse collectors stood in the bloody battlefield, discussing hot pot and year-end bonuses, creating an exceptionally incongruous scene.

The crows collected the corpses of the superhumans one by one, and then, without a second thought, prepared to continue their journey north.

Upon seeing this, the Great Elder the Fire Pit asked curiously, "Wait, where are you going?"

April turned around and asked curiously, "Of course we should continue to capture superhumans. Maybe we can even capture Forbidden Item."

"Hmm?" The Great Elder stroked his beard curiously. "Isn't this your destination? There's a Field Division next door; aren't you going there?"

"We don't need to go there," April sighed. "There's someone there who likes to use superhumans to grow tea, and they usually just take the superhuman's corpse with them. We don't want to have a direct confrontation with this person yet, so we plan to outlive him before we go to take over his tea plantation!"

"Huh?" Li Ke was stunned. "The neighboring Field Division was dealt with by the Qing Clan's shadow forces?"

Few in the Federation knew about Shadow using superhumans to grow tea, but Li Ke, as a core member of the Li family, had naturally heard of it...

Once, the Li family even sent people to look for that tea garden, but unfortunately they couldn't find it.

What's a bit strange is that the Tribunal of Taboos said it was unwilling to have a direct confrontation with a certain person?

You should know that the Tribunal of Taboos an organization that has housed dying demigods.

Long ago, a demigod was nearing the end of his life. Believing that being taken in by the Tribunal of Taboos would prevent him from reincarnating, he planned to hide deep within the Forbidden Zone 001.

Before they could even hide inside, they were found by the Tribunal of Taboos and forcibly contained.

The Tribunal of Taboos that battle, but the containment was indeed successful.

The Tribunal of Taboos rarely does this kind of thing, so much so that many people forget the cruelty of the principles upheld by these crows: they occasionally take in living people!

Yet such an existence is unwilling to be an enemy of the Qing Clan's shadow, and plans to outlive the shadow to death first?

This is so strange.

April thought for a moment and explained, "This is a very special being. He controls both time and space simultaneously. Fortunately, the world is fair; such a being won't exist for long. We can sense the decaying aura emanating from him, so there's no need to rush."

The Fire Pit Great Elder curled his lip. "So even the Tribunal of Taboos can compromise."

April earnestly corrected, "This is a strategy."

As is well known, the Tribunal of Taboos was previously an organization that never talked about strategy.

At this moment, Li Yunjing asked, "Is the north your destination?"

April nodded. "We were just passing by. If it weren't for you guys, we wouldn't have had to work overtime... I'm going to run out of time."

The Great Elder of the hearth turned to look in the other direction, where Ye Wan was carrying Lin Xiaoxiao on his back, walking westward. "Hey, Ye Wan, aren't you going north?"

"No, we've already completed our mission," Ye Wan replied calmly.

"Huh? Your boss is obviously going to start a war in the north. Aren't you afraid he'll die there if you don't go help?" Great Elder Huotang said gloatingly. "The Kamishiro Corporation is using two Field Division as bait to keep everyone who can help them tied up here. Aren't they just after Li Shutong's life? As far as I know, knights have very long lifespans. A knight like Li Shutong, who has reached the level of a demigod, can live for at least three to five hundred years. That's a perfect body for those dirty bastards from Kamishiro... including his apprentice Qing Chen."

The old barbarian continued his gloating analysis, "If the Gods used such a large force just for a small knight, it would be a bit unreasonable. So I guess Li Shutong was part of their plan from the very beginning."

In fact, there was a lot of information that Old Mantou didn't know, but as the Great Elder of the Fire Pit, he knew that when a conglomerate paid a corresponding price, it must have a scheme to match that price.

One Qing Chen was not enough to cause such heavy losses to the Divine Era.

But if it's to seize two perfect bodies, one of which is a demigod, then this price is justifiable!

No sooner had he finished speaking than the Fire Pit Great Elder saw Qin Yiyi running north.

He quickly grabbed the girl and said angrily, "My little darling, where are you going?"

"Go help!" Qin Yiyi said.

The Great Elder was furious. "I was trying to provoke them both, how did I manage to provoke you first!"

This is truly gloating over someone else's misfortune!

The Great Elder continued, "Listen to me, going north is useless, absolutely useless! Li Yunjing and I are both exhausted; going there would just be suicide!"

As they spoke, taking advantage of Qin Yiyi's momentary distraction, the old barbarian slapped her unconscious and dragged her south. "Hurry up and leave, everyone. The Divine Era has lost two Field Division; their main force will definitely be on its way. Ye Wan, kid, whether your boss survives or not, the favor owed to Huotang is finally repaid! I advise you to head north; at least help them out!"

However, Ye Wan only pondered for a moment before continuing westward, "The boss instructed us to retreat after dealing with the Field Division. Besides, our boss isn't as simple as you think. Even though the knights are few and far between, and even though he's already a demigod, he's still planning how to fight in large-scale battles every day."

Fighting in groups seems to be in the nature of a knight.

The tradition of the Knights is to fight in groups rather than one-on-one.

Many people know that Ye Wan, Lin Xiaoxiao, and Li Dongze were all orphans adopted by Li Shutong and were also "messengers" under the Knight Organization.

But few people know how many orphans Li Shutong adopted, nor how many messengers this generation of knights had.

Just as no one knew that Su Xingzhi, the black market boss in City No. 18, was also one of the Knight Messengers.

Moreover, no one knows how many friends a romantic who travels the world doing good deeds will have.

On the snowy plains of the north.

After Li Shutong appeared, the snowfield fell silent.

The forces lurking in the shadows seemed to be weighing and observing, deciding whether they should continue their attack.

To live or to die, that is a choice that must be made with great care.

Li Shutong stood still, not in a hurry. He allowed the enemy to think carefully, after all, fighting him was a decision that required careful consideration.

The master looked at his apprentice curiously. "I just saw you exhale a breath of Knight True Qi... How did you do that?"

Qing Chen was taken aback. "Master, you arrived a long time ago, and then you just saw me get scratched by that White Tiger?"

Li Shutong said with a smile, "If a knight has no wounds, is he still a knight? As his master, I also need to check on my disciple's progress. You have grown faster than I imagined. Back then, it took me two whole years to complete four Life and Death Trial. On average, I had to train for half a year before each Life and Death Trial challenge to barely qualify for the challenge."

Li Shutong steered the conversation back on track. "First, tell me about that Knight True Qi you possessed."

Qing Chen understood; his master was envious...

Yes, Li Shutong was quite certain that Qing Chen had just used knightly techniques, but as the leader of this generation of knights, why hadn't he comprehended such a powerful, wide-area killing skill?

Wide-area destructive power is every knight's dream!

Qing Chen thought for a moment, then explained earnestly and in a low voice, "Master, after my Knight True Qi was vaporized, it accumulated too much, so now it has permeated my entire body and become liquid. After becoming liquid, this ability naturally came into being."

"After gaseous state, there's liquid state?!" Li Shutong raised an eyebrow. Could such a thing really exist?!

He knew his apprentice was special, but he hadn't expected him to be this special—both having awakened and liquefied Knight True Qi ...

Qing Chen pondered for a moment and pieced together the clues, "Ancestor Qin Sheng kidnapped Buddha Lord from the snowy mountains of the southwest and stole his Zhunti Method..."

Li Shutong interrupted Qing Chen and corrected him, "He gave it to the knight voluntarily."

Qing Chen paused for a moment, thinking to himself that his master actually knew about that history, "Yes, it was voluntary. The Zhunti Method has four sections in total. The first three sections were discarded because they were useless for knights. But I later discovered at the Autumn Leaf Villa that after becoming a knight, practicing the Zhunti Method can continue to increase Knight True Qi without challenging Life and Death Trial situations."

The method for cultivating Knight True Qi has always been simple: After reaching B-Class, complete the Life and Death Trial, and then increase your Qi by a significant amount.

"No," Li Shutong shook his head, "Our ancestors recorded this matter. When a knight practices the Zhunti Method, he obtains Zhunti True Qi, not Knight True Qi."

The prerequisite for the knight to challenge the Life and Death Trial is that he must use the Reverse Breathing Technique to return to the state of an ordinary person.

However, if one possesses the Zhunti True Qi within their body, then even with the activation of the Reverse Breathing Technique, the knight is still no ordinary person.

If you're not an ordinary person, even passing the Life and Death Trial won't help.

Only after reaching the demigod level, when the Knight True Qi permeates the entire body, can one forcibly absorb the Zhunti True Qi into Knight True Qi. However, by then, the Knight True Qi has already permeated the entire body, and practicing the Zhunti Method will be accompanied by pain in the meridians.

Therefore, the Knight abandoned the Breathing Technique in the first three sections.

Now, Li Shutong was intrigued. He wanted to try it despite the pain in his meridians and see if the Knight True Qi would turn into a liquid state if it reached a certain level.

If possible, then the knight's demigod level will gain a new ability.

On the other side, Qing Chen was thinking that his B-Class cloud aura was already terrifying, so what would it be like if his demigod-level master used it?!

Li Shutong laughed and said, "I didn't expect to have a new gain before the fight even started."

The master and his apprentice actually started chatting on the battlefield.

The next moment, Li Shutong looked up and saw a minotaur over four meters tall, carrying a huge nine-ringed sword, slowly walking towards them.

With each step, the ground trembled.

Li Shutong said with a smile, "Gozu Raksha."

As the Gozu Raksha breathed, its breath condensed into mist in the cold air, like a steam engine.

On the left, a short dwarf covered in black fur is hopping along.

"The Hyōzubushi."

On the right is a young man with red hair, carrying a huge gourd of wine on his back, and barefoot on the ice and snow.

"Shuten-dōji".

Behind him, a tall, red-faced monster with a long nose, dressed in monk's robes and high-toothed wooden clogs, holding a feather fan and a magic mallet, was staring intently at Li Shutong.

"The Ootengu."

Li Shutong laughed and said, "They're all the old tortoise's shikigami. It seems the old tortoise has made his decision. Disciple, you've dealt with these Onmyoji before, haven't you?"

"Yes," Qing Chen nodded.

"Let me share a little bit of common knowledge with you. In Onmyoji, many shikigami share the same names as our divine beasts, such as Guhuoniao and Zhujiuyin. However, those are all copied from them. Of course, we can't control what they like to call their shikigami, but I'll teach you a way to distinguish them: ours are gods, and theirs are demons."

Qing Chen laughed and said, "This method of differentiation is quite simple."

In an instant, Li Shutong, who was beside Qing Chen, disappeared.

Like a 155mm cannon suddenly firing, the enormous recoil kicked up snow and dust behind him. Qing Chen had no choice but to shield his eyes with his arm, as the snow and wind blew his clothes and hair backward.

When he lowered his arm, he was surprised to see that Li Shutong had already appeared in front of Shuten-dōji.

A punch was thrown.

As he threw his punch, the wind and snow surged.

The red-haired boy crossed his arms in front of him, trying to block the punch, but before he could even cross his arms, the punch had already passed through the gap between his arms.

Roar!

Trembling!

Shuten-dōji was sent flying dozens of meters through the air, as if he had been hit in the face by a grenade.

A terrifying shockwave blasted a radial pattern through the snow behind Shuten-dōji.

Qing Chen watched in disbelief as his master unleashed a full-force attack, completely stunned.

This shikigami is different from the ones he fought before. He fought either B-Class or A-rank shikigami, but this is a genuine S-rank shikigami.

Yet, he still couldn't even parry Li Shutong's attack!

He thought that when his master went all out, he might become the pinnacle of martial arts in the human world, like Master Roshi, and that would be about it.

Qing Chen never expected that when his master went all out, he would be in Super Saiyan or One-Punch Man mode!

It's not over yet.

But then Hyōzubushi shouted, and hundreds of steel halberds suddenly appeared in the sky, covering an area of several hundred meters around Li Shutong in a matrix pattern.

Hundreds of halberds fell, seemingly about to blast the ground apart and blast through the earth's core! This is the power of an S-rank shikigami!

Li Shutong neither dodged nor evaded. Instead, he caught a few snowflakes in mid-air and sent them soaring into the sky, shattering the halberds that were hurtling towards him.

He stood unharmed amidst the torrential downpour of halberds.

It was as if the Hyōzubushi deliberately avoided Li Shutong during the attack.

In an instant, Li Shutong caught a halberd with his bare hands from mid-air and hurled it at the Hyōzubushi!

With a whoosh, the halberd seemed to resonate with the space around it. As the halberd shot out, the air it propelled pushed aside the snow below, much like a speedboat cutting through the waves of the sea.

The dwarf Hyōzubushi was struck on the head by his own halberd and sent flying backward!

The Ootengu and the Gozu Raksha moved, heading straight for Qing Chen.

Qing Chen felt his hair stand on end. The moment the S-rank shikigami attacked, he even had the thought that he had no way to avoid it!

There's no way to avoid it!

You'll die!

"Roll."

Li Shutong said casually.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. Qing Chen didn't even have time to react before Li Shutong was back by his side.

The Ootengu, who was originally about to attack Qing Chen with drumsticks, and the Gozu Raksha, who was about to slash at Qing Chen with a nine-ringed sword, were horrified when they saw that Li Shutong had returned to Qing Chen's side. The Ootengu even crushed the high-toothed wooden clogs on his feet!

At one point, Qing Chen suddenly had a feeling that there were actually further subdivisions within the S-rank, such as S-rank, SS-rank, and SSS-rank, all of which are S-rank...

SSS and S are very different...

He had been wondering what his master would do in the face of the twelve S-rank shikigami of the old tortoise of the God Era, but now he realized that he had been worrying too much!

If Li Shutong hadn't been protecting him on the battlefield, the remaining Ootengu and Gozu Raksha would probably have been severely injured as well.

Only then did Qing Chen remember what his master had just said, "See that? That's a knight!"

Li Shutong stood beside Qing Chen, red Flame Markings spreading across his cheeks. His breathing was even, showing no signs of exhaustion.

This means that the battle just now was merely a warm-up...

"Master, how come this S-rank shikigami doesn't die?" Qing Chen asked, frowning.

Before them, the dwarf Hyōzubushi, whose forehead was clearly pierced by a halberd, was still slowly struggling to stand up.

Wouldn't the battles be endless? We must find the Onmyoji behind them.

Li Shutong pondered, "Only four out of twelve shikigami were released. What's that old tortoise up to?"

Qing Chen asked from the side, "Master, am I holding you back here?"

If it weren't for him, Li Shutong could have rushed to find the old tortoise's true form, since to kill Onmyoji, you have to kill the true form first.

But Li Shutong had to protect Qing Chen, so he couldn't take Qing Chen with him on the raid.

This meant that Li Shutong had no choice but to stay here and guard the place forever.

Li Shutong laughed and said, "There's no such thing as holding anyone back. You can just stand here and watch."

As he spoke, Qing Chen suddenly looked into the distance, where a strange man stood quietly, empty-handed, yet remarkably conspicuous.

At first glance, this person appears tiny in the field of vision, yet cannot be ignored.

A natural focus, the center of the world.

Qing Chen had the same feeling about Li Shutong, just like when he was in Prison No. 18, he immediately noticed that Li Shutong was different from others.

That is the sense of harmony that demigods feel when they gradually merge with the world after transcending the mortal realm. They breathe in the heavens and earth and look down upon all living beings!

"Master, is this the old tortoise of the Kamishiro family?" Qing Chen asked.

Li Shutong said with a smile, "No, this is Li Bingxi, the younger brother of the Kashima family head. It seems that after the old tortoise's deal with the shadow failed, he came to the Kashima family, which must have cost him a great deal. Qing Chen, it's not that you're holding me back. Perhaps they came for you at first, but when Kamiyo Yunhe found a way to spread the news that you are the successor of the knight, this situation turned into a scheme for me."

"Didn't Kamiyo Yunhe die?" Qing Chen frowned.

"No, you broke one of his arms, and he just got a prosthetic arm fitted in City 22 a while ago. That old guy from the Qing family spared his life, probably to keep him around to hone your skills," Li Shutong laughed. "If we're talking about ruthlessness, this guy is even more ruthless. Be careful of him; he has no feelings."

Qing Chen was stunned for a moment. This so-called "old fellow" of the Qing family was probably the head of the Qing family.

Before this, Shadow had never mentioned anything about the old man to him, but now Li Shutong was revealing a little bit of the secret to him.

At this moment, Li Bingxi slowly walked over from afar, and a Kashima demigod, a Shindai demigod, and a Knight Demigod all gathered here.

Qing Chen guessed that such a battle might only occur once in a century.

That's one chapter for today. I'll finish the other chapter tomorrow and wrap up Volume 3.