"…You've already attracted my interest. I had originally come to end you because the Tsenpo ordered me to, but now, I've changed my mind. Even without the Tsenpo's order, I still must kill you! Hahaha, an interesting prey. Don't disappoint me!"
Dayan Mangban's lips slowly curled into a cruel smile.
At this moment, everyone nearby couldn't help but feel a deep chill in their hearts. But before anyone could react, Dayan Mangban was lunging forward in attack.
Rumble!
There was a heaven-shaking boom as Dayan Mangban's spear jumped like a carp, quickly thrusting at Wang Chong. So fierce were the winds stirred by the thrust of this spear that the wall began to clatter as if unable to endure its might.
And in a radius of twenty zhang from where Dayan Mangban's spear stabbed down, all the stairs, steel railings, wooden boards, steel bars, and even the crane were twisted apart, their fragments showering down like a rain of pear blossoms.
But even though Dayan Mangban was fast, Wang Chong was even faster. The moment Dayan Mangban had struck, Wang Chong's body had swayed, and he took off into the air, avoiding Dayan Mangban's blow by a hair.
But Dayan Mangban had sensed this. His eyes squinting and his back to Wang Chong, he immediately thrust his spear behind him.
Rumble! Wherever Dayan Mangban's spear struck, massive waves of energy would push out even the air, leaving a true vacuum.
This tyrannical spear could even crush the steel walls, let alone the human body.
In a flash of cold light, Wang Chong's Wootz Steel sword moved with deceptive speed, striking the tip of Dayan Mangban's spear. The clash of spear and sword caused shockwaves that knocked over a ten-meter-tall crane several dozen meters away and sent the wooden crates scattered around it toppling over in disarray.
Nearby, the soldiers and White Braves caught up in the battle between this pair had no time to react before they were whisked off their feet by the furious winds and slammed against the outermost steel walls.
Wang Chong had a much faster reaction. Though he was sent flying through the air like a kite with a broken string, after several zhang, all the energy of the impact vanished. Wang Chong flipped in the air and gently floated down to another wall ten-some zhang away.
From how he landed, it could be seen that Wang Chong had actually come away unharmed from the exchange.
"What sort of martial art is this?!"
Dayan Mangban had originally intended to pursue, but when he saw this sight, his pupils constricted and he immediately stopped. In that exchange of blows, he had clearly sensed that this Great Tang youth was weaker than him.
But for some reason, when they had clashed, more than half of the energy he had used had been somehow absorbed.
Wang Chong did not answer. He stood with one foot on an erect bannister on the steel wall, no emotion visible on his face. In that clash, he had already gotten a rough sense of Dayan Mangban's level.
As one of Ü-Tsang's future most outstanding generals, Dayan Mangban had a fierce and tyrannical strength, and was brimming with a purely destructive energy. But he was still a far cry from the terrifying levels of the Dayan Mangban from his last life.
Brigadier General level!
This was the current level of Dayan Mangban's strength.
He was still not as powerful as traditional Imperial Great Generals of Ü-Tsang like Huoshu Huicang and Dusong Mangpoje, but the gap wasn't that great.
Those casual thrusts of his spear contained an extremely compressed energy that would only explode upon collision. There was no question that Dayan Mangban was a superb master of controlling his strength.
In the past, if he had encountered him, his death would have been certain. However, now that his master the Demonic Emperor Old Man had passed onto him the supreme evil art, the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art, he was capable of fighting against any expert as long as they were not Great Generals like Dusong Mangpoje. This included Brigadier Generals like Dayan Mangban.
"Dayan Mangban?" Wang Chong said.
"Mm?"
Dayan Mangban paused, his eyes narrowing. Initially surprised, his astonishment quickly morphed into a smile.
"Interesting—you even know my name!"
This operation was getting more and more interesting. This prey should have never been to the northwest before, but only a single exchange had been enough for the prey to recognize him. Dayan Mangban found this feeling quite interesting.
"Then I'm right!"
Wang Chong nodded, his theories affirmed.
"Dayan Mangban, it seems like your Ü-Tsang will never learn. Last time, you lusted for the southwest, so I had my men spread a little something across the plateau to give all of you a little lesson. I didn't think that all of you would be so foolish this time as to intentionally provoke me.
"Did you know? Because of tonight's operation, Ü-Tsang will have to completely withdraw from the Western Regions, and as a light punishment, the Great Tang armies will march onto the edge of the plateau and make it a new territory of the Great General. This is the price you will have to pay for tonight's operation!" Wang Chong indifferently said, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, yet imbued with a persuasive strength.
Buzz!
Dayan Mangban immediately paled.
If this were anyone else, Dayan Mangban would have snorted in reply. But this was Wang Chong. No one in the Western Regions, perhaps in the world, would dare to treat his words as idle threats.
Although he was just a teenager, this youth's 'wisdom' was forged from the blood of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and countless officers. These were not simply bold words or prideful boasting.
Although Dayan Mangban didn't view this youngest son of the Wang Clan with much regard, that was purely from the perspective of martial arts. In terms of military strategy, however, this person could defeat Huoshu Huicang and Dalun Ruozan, and not even Dayan Mangban would dare to underestimate him in this regard.
"Haha, no matter what you say, you should save it for if you survive!"
Dayan Mangban's lips quickly curled back into that cruel and amused smile. Whatever Wang Chong was threatening him with was a matter for the future, but he had to die tonight.
Boom!
The moment Dayan Mangban spoke, the air began to resound with a metallic clattering. Halos of Thorns began to emerge from his body, forming circles of light on the ground.
Unlike other halos, Dayan Mangban's halos exuded a white light, not a black light, and had a faintly golden luster. If one looked carefully, one could even see the blurry image of a golden crown.
Buoyed by these halos, Dayan Mangban's killing intent soared. He was still like a demon god that had crawled out from the underworld, but there was also a tinge of the divine, of majesty. He had become like an Asura1.
"A King's Halo!"
Upon seeing this golden halo, Wang Chong's face flickered in surprise. When one cultivated to a certain level of the Saint Martial realm and obtained a certain level of understanding in the martial arts one practiced, one's halos would begin to display signs not seen in other halos.
The first sign was that the external halo would deepen in color and transform into the divine and majestic gold. In addition, the image of a crown would manifest in the halo, symbolizing the fact that a Saint Martial expert was a 'King of Warriors'.
Not all Saint Martial experts could possess this, as it required one to reach a certain level of maturity. Wang Chong had not imagined that Dayan Mangban would have reached this level.
______________
1. Asuras are divine beings in Hinduism and Buddhism and are symbols of vice and evil. They are said to be in a state of constant war with the Devas, a more benevolent race of gods.
Chapter 736: Fierce Battle with Dayan Mangban I
Chapter 736: Fierce Battle with Dayan Mangban (I)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
"Om! Ma! Me! Hung!"
Dayan Mangban was pushing
his strength to its limits, his mouth chanting a four-word mantra. Each of these words was imbued with endless profundity and power, and each one boosted Dayan Mangban's power.
Behind him, light and shadow began to intertwine, forming a golden crown that emerged out of the air, swiftly swelling and transforming into a vision of a golden mountain covered in snow.
But in a flash, black smoke billowed out of it. Other than the snowy-white peak, the rest of the mountain became pitch-black. Roooar! As everyone looked on, a lifelike black dragon, savage, evil, and seeking the destruction of the world, emerged from behind Dayan Mangban.
"Black Dragon Break!"
Shouting, Dayan Mangban shot into the air, becoming one with the dragon and rushing toward Wang Chong.
Roooar!
As bellows shook the heavens, a black dragon split off from Dayan Mangban, and then a second, a third, a fourth… A total of nine of these savage black dragons appeared, blanketing the skies as they charged toward Wang Chong from every direction.
The Devil Dragon Art of the Great Snow Mountain!
Wang Chong's eyes flashed. Raising his head to look at the nine black dragons shooting toward him, he instantly recognized the supreme technique of the Great Snow Mountain that Dayan Mangban was using.
Ü-Tsang's Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple was well-known throughout the world and was the source of all Ü-Tsang's supreme martial arts. The techniques used by the Tibetan commanders on the battlefield were intimately connected to the Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple, either originating from a side branch of one of the Holy Temple's martial arts or coming directly from the Holy Temple.
A few of the Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple's supreme techniques were particularly well-known, with the Devil Dragon Art being one of them.
In the myths of Ü-Tsang, a black devil dragon once broke out of the earth and wreaked havoc over the plateau, devouring countless livestock and killing countless shepherds and warriors.
None of the experts of the plateau were a match for it, and their corpses were strewn across the land. Only when the evil dragon charged to the Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple and encountered the high priest was it ultimately sealed beneath the Great Snow Mountain.
It was through this ancient legend that all Tibetans knew that the Devil Dragon Art was created.
In his last life, Wang Chong had long ago heard of the Devil Dragon Art's power, but because this supreme technique was far too murderous, very people cultivated it and he never had a chance to see it.
Wang Chong had not expected Dayan Mangban to be using this mighty technique.
Boom! The nine black dragons crashed down, and the bannister that Wang Chong had been standing on was crushed into scrap metal. But by this time, Wang Chong had already taken off into the skies.
The Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art was already being pushed to its maximum extent. The sun and moon, golden and silver, sat on his shoulders. Wang Chong was also pushing out all the Stellar Energy he could in seething streams of energy, like thousands of dragons shuttling around his body and roaring.
Boom! With a subtle shift, Wang Chong once more dodged Dayan Mangban's attack.
"Come!"
Wang Chong's eyes turned cold as he jabbed out with the middle and index finger of his right hand. Instantly, a dazzling ray of white light, brighter than the sun, shot forward and toward an area three inches below Dayan Mangban's armpit.
This Sword Qi finally caused a slight flicker in Dayan Mangban's expression. This energy gave off a feeling so sharp that it was comparable to the sharpest of weapons.
Bang! Dayan Mangban twisted his body and dodged, causing the Sword Qi to shoot past him and punch a large hole through a metal bannister on the wall.
Dayan Mangban's eyes widened at this sight. It was well-known that of all warriors, Metal element warriors were the most difficult to deal with.
And of all Metal element warriors, those who used the sword were the most terrifying. Wang Chong was only at the Imperial Martial realm, but this Sword Qi of his was infinitesimally close to the Saint Martial realm. It could even pose a threat to someone of his level.
Just how many secrets does this boy have?
At this moment, Dayan Mangban finally put away his disdain.
'If he isn't killed, he'll be a massive problem for my Ü-Tsang!' At this moment, Dayan Mangban recalled those words that Dalun Ruozan had said before he was imprisoned and suddenly began to understand.
But the stronger Wang Chong was and the more martial arts he knew, the more Dayan Mangban wanted to kill him.
Rumble!
Dayan Mangban raised his black and red spear in his right hand while his left hand controlled the Devil Dragon Art. Pushing his movement techniques to the limit, he instantly transformed into a furious storm that swept toward Wang Chong. Boomboomboom!In a few short moments, Dayan Mangban had attacked with his spear more than ten times, each strike containing enough power to shatter mountains.
Meanwhile, the Devil Dragon Art was causing even more black dragons to emerge from his left hand, attacking Wang Chong from various directions as if they had minds of their own.
On the other side, Wang Chong had uncharacteristically chosen to enter a fierce battle with Dayan Mangban. Bangbangbang!Although Wang Chong was only at the Imperial Martial realm, no one knew what the final result of this battle would be.
Dayan Mangban's body was brimming with a fierce and destructive Stellar Energy, but at least forty percent of it was being redirected or nullified through the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art.
Not only that, Wang Chong was using the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art to make his movements unpredictable. Its terrifying attractive force was not restricted to altering and restricting the attacks and movements of his opponents. It could also be used to alter his own direction and speed.
The clearest sign of this was that while Wang Chong was flying through the air, he could alter his course and speed in complete defiance of gravity and common sense. Even a Tibetan brigadier general like Dayan Mangban, an elite expert of the Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple, found it impossible to judge where Wang Chong would be moving.
All judgments and predictions were useless in front of Wang Chong. More than seventy percent of Dayan Mangban's attacks ended up missing the mark.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Winds raged as waves of energy shot everywhere. Wang Chong's left hand was using the Art of God and Demon Obliteration while his right hand was wielding his Wootz Steel sword, both his palm and sword working together with the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art, as he engaged in an intense battle with Dayan Mangban.
Dayan Mangban was publicly acknowledged as an elite expert of the Tibetan Plateau, only second to Imperial Great Generals like Dusong Mangpoje and Huoshu Huicang. He had a deep store of battlefield experience, but Wang Chong seemed to have even deeper stores.
Bang!
Wang Chong slapped a palm against the thick black smoke of the Stellar Energy barrier around Dayan Mangban. Although he hadn't cared at the start, Dayan Mangban suddenly felt an extreme uneasiness. A sharp and pure energy had pierced through the barrier, heading straight for his heart.
"Damn it!"
Dayan Mangban was startled. Even though he was a composed person who rarely revealed his emotions, even he couldn't suppress this sensation that made his blood run cold.
His Stellar Energy barrier hadn't been broken, yet the energy from Wang Chong's palm strike had still gotten in, attacking his body directly. This matter was simply absurd and impossible to believe.
Dayan Mangban had never seen such a thing in all his life.
Without any time to think, Dayan Mangban brought his right hand around, using the spear to disperse the bolt of lethal energy.
"Brat, just where did you learn this martial art?"
Dayan Mangban was never one to waste time on such useless words, but he truly couldn't keep this question down. The Great Snow Mountain had an ancient legacy and a collection of martial ar
ts manuals as vast as the sea, but Dayan Mangban was sure that not even the Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple had such a strange and unexplainable technique.
"If you can last, I'll tell you!"
Wang Chong's body was a blur, his Sword Qi crisscrossing the air and sending it into turmoil. It was simply impossible to pin down his actual position.
The Stellar Energy Piercer was an ability that Wang Chong had obtained from the Stone of Destiny. It wasn't very powerful, but it seemed particularly effective against an expert like Dayan Mangban, who was at a higher level than him.
Wang Chong had already upgraded the Stellar Energy Piercer to an astonishing level.
"Seeking death!"
At these words, Dayan Mangban instantly turned furious.
"Do you really think I can't deal with you? Devil Dragon Slash!"
Roooar!
A heaven-shaking dragon cry resounded over the City of Steel and a roiling black smoke began to envelop the area. Dayan Mangban suddenly vanished from sight, but a massive evil dragon flew out of the smoke.
Boom! The moment it appeared, the dragon turned and charged at Wang Chong, its speed suddenly accelerating.
This attack was far more powerful than the previous attack. Not only was it as fast as a lightning bolt, impossible to dodge, but the range of the attack was massive.
Even Wang Chong couldn't help but widen his eyes, sensing an intense danger.
"Leaping Dragon Art!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Wang Chong used a supreme technique that very few people in this world knew.
Rumble!
As thousands looked on, Dayan Mangban in the form of a black dragon crashed like a meteor into the sturdy steel walls of the City of Steel.
Wind exploded and steel clattered with a sound that was almost deafeningly shrill. For a moment, everyone even believed that the black dragon had annihilated a part of the walls.
But the City of Steel had still managed to take the blow. Not only that, everyone could clearly see a small dot rising out of the black smoke like a bird, barely managing to dodge Dayan Mangban's lethal strike.
Leaping Dragon Art!
Using this technique, Wang Chong could spiral into the air like a coiling dragon. At Wang Chong's current level, this martial art was not that profound, but it displayed unimaginable strength at this moment, allowing Wang Chong to dodge Dayan Mangban's 'Devil Dragon Slash'.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 491
