Chapter 38: Monarch Ming

The black-clothed old man took a couple of steps forward and lifted the Fire Cloud Mink from the ground, a strange smile on his face.

He chanted an incantation to subdue the Demonic Beast. After chanting, he cut his index finger with a wind blade made from Elemental Energy, then dripped a drop of blood onto the little beast’s flame-like cluster of hair.

With a faint smile on Lou Mu Yan’s face, she folded her arms and watched the black-clothed old man’s performance, with ridicule in the depths of her eyes.

With this old man’s meagre ability, he still wanted to subdue the Spirit Devourer? It truly was a daydream.

A cup of tea’s worth of time had passed, yet the drop of blood on the Fire Cloud Mink’s forehead still hadn’t been absorbed into its body. The black-clothed old man was startled, and his eyes filled with a hazy shadow.

He took out a red talisman from his interspatial ring, continued to mutter the incantation, then he tapped with his thin fingers and the red talisman entered the little beast’s body.

Afterwards, he formed a Seal in the air that carried strong Elemental Energy and forcibly inserted it into the little beast’s Sea of Consciousness. The drop of blood on its forehead squirmed a few times.

A bright light shone from his turbid eyes. This was his trump card as a Spirit Beast Tamer for contracting beasts. He didn’t believe that he couldn’t handle a mere Tier 2 Demonic Beast.

Just when everyone thought that the drop of blood would successfully merge with the Fire Cloud Mink’s body, there was a sudden change. The black-clothed old man’s blood essence directly burst on top of the little beast’s forehead, turning into more than a dozen little droplets of blood that splattered onto the old man’s face. Meanwhile, the Fire Cloud Mink’s entire body began to twitch as if it were ill.

Disbelief surfaced in the black-clothed old man’s eyes. What? He actually failed. How could that be possible.

“Squeak…”

With the black-clothed old man failing to contract the beast, the little beast in his hand not only twitched, but frothed at its mouth and its four small paws curled together, whimpering.

Those present who knew a Spirit Beast Master had all guessed the reason for the little beast’s current reaction. Only when Spirit Beast Masters failed in their forced contract would the Demonic Beast’s meridians and internal organs be harmed, then finally convulse until death.

Seeing this sort of reaction from the Spirit Devourer in the black-clothed old man’s hand, Lou Mu Yan’s faint smile vanished, and a coldness replaced it.

“Senior, can you now return the Fire Cloud Mink to me?” Lou Mu Yan suppressed the cold killing intent that emerged in her heart and asked expressionlessly.

The pain suffered by her Demonic Beast today would definitely be returned to this damned old bastard tenfold.

“Humph, what’s the use of a Demonic Beast that couldn’t even withstand a Contract Seal.” The black-clothed old man felt exceptionally displeased right now. He actually failed to contract it in front of so many people.

His eyes grew cold, and he quickly condensed a wind blade that carried a strong pressure in his palm. With a swing, the wind blade left his palm and shot towards the little beast’s forehead.

As if sensing a dangerous power, the little beast’s body trembled, attempting to avoid it. But because of its limited strength, it was ultimately restrained by the black-clothed Sword Monarch, unmovable, and could only wait for death.

Right when the onlookers saw that the wind blade was about to fall onto the Fire Cloud Mink’s head, they all sighed with pity at what a waste it was to kill a Demonic Beast that was worth one hundred million.

Yet who knew that at that moment, a misty fire suddenly appeared in front of the black-clothed old man, holding a jade pendant Magic Tool to block the wind blade, only for it to instantly split into numerous halves.

But Lou Mu Yan’s wrist blocked the little beast’s head, stopping the fatal blow. However, her wrist was marked with a deep bloody wound, and blood flowed down incessantly.

At this moment, everyone’s eyes were focused on the light purple figure. Blood fell drop by drop from her slender, white arms onto the little beast’s pure white fur, then slowly bloomed, as scarlet and dazzling as a red spider lily that grew on the shores in the netherworld.

Ming Xiu’s face beneath the mask was fearfully grim, and the coldness in his eyes was evidently apparent, as if it would condense into frost.

“Senior, can you return my Demonic Beast to me now?” Lou Mu Yan didn’t look at the wound on her wrist, but instead looked directly at the black-clothed old man, her gaze cold, as she emphasised each word.

The black-clothed old man was startled by the coldness in her eyes, then huffed coldly. This girl suddenly gave him a very dangerous and strange feeling—she could not be left alive.

As soon as her voice fell, he gathered Elemental Energy in his palm, then extended his arm to strike Lou Mu Yan’s chest.

The black-clothed old man practiced ghostly skills from the Yin Sect, so he was exceptionally sensitive to danger. Such inexplicable feelings of unease helped him escape numerous life and death catastrophes.

His principle in life was that he would rather kill mistakenly than let anyone go, and when it was necessary to kill, then he definitely wouldn’t be soft. So he pretended to be infuriated by Lou Mu Yan’s actions and released the pressure of a Sword Monarch to its entirety, “You dare to stop and provoke this old man, you’re seeking death1.”

Lou Mu Yan was also infuriated. This damned old bastard was truly pushing her buttons. She closed her eyes, then a silver Talisman Sealcondensed in her Sea of Consciousness.

Taking advantage of the fact that the black-clothed old man was unprepared, she utilised her Flash Step to its maximum, grabbed the little beast with one hand, then after her phantom flashed a few times, the strong palm strike unexpectedly missed its target.

But the speed between the two was too fast, so many of the spectators didn’t see clearly, and before they even had time to recall the movements just now, the black-clothed old man took action once again.

A long sword appeared in his hand, then he frantically channelled his Elemental Energy into the sword. Today, he must cut down this girl that dared challenge his superiority, and who could become a hidden danger in the future.

After the sword made a [buzz] sound, he slashed down in the air, and a sword aura that carried violent energy cut down like the autumn gale that swept the fallen leaves2.

Where the sword aura passed, cracks spread in zigzags across the limestone flooring. The crowd all felt the terror of the sword aura and surmised that Lou Mu Yan was over.

“Mu Yan!” Yun Lan yelled, but even he couldn’t stop the trajectory of the sword aura.

Lou Mu Yan narrowed her eyes and continued to form seals with her hands, and a large web much like a spider’s detached from her Sea of Consciousness.

The strength of a Sword Monarch definitely couldn’t be underestimated. Her face gradually paled as her Spiritual Energy was rapidly being deprived, but a blue Mental Energy tempest was forming in her Sea of Consciousness.

Just when her Mental Energy was about to exit and turn into a physical shield, a sudden earth-shattering pressure fell from the sky and easily destroyed the black-clothed old man’s sword aura.

“How bold! To dare fight in front of our Ming Alliance of Merchant’s door and destroy my shop’s façade. It is unforgivable.” A powerful voice resounded across the sky, and the entire Imperial Capital was shocked by it.

As soon as the voice fell, a giant palm of raging fire fell from the sky and headed directly for the black-clothed old man.

The black-clothed old man felt that the energy contained in the blazing palm was exceptionally terrifying. Despite being aghast, his hands weren’t leisurely as he immediately threw out a shield into the air to block his front, then added a barrier made of Elemental Energy that covered his entire body.

Except, the moment the earth-shattering blazing palm landed, it easily broke through his shield, then struck his chest, and the Elemental Energy barrier collapsed in an instant.

“PU!!” The black-clothed old man stumbled back a few steps upon being hit before stopping, and he couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

His body trembled slightly with terror in his eyes as he watched the person walk over from not far away and addressed: “M-Monarch Ming…”

1Random side note: I wonder how many times I avoided writing ‘courting death’ by changing it to ‘seeking death’ HAHA. The memes I’ve seen on xianxia Facebook groups have made me conscious of it XD. I’ve used ‘courting’ a couple of times, though, I’m pretty sure. I’ll use them interchangeably.

2very fast and powerful.