Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 430

431. The Great War (1)

“Similar to the Ghost Spirit Sect, you say? Although we don’t know the exact number of the black-robed people, at least seven or eight Core Formation cultivators appeared in the battle at Jeoncheon Fortress. They must be from the same sect. But if it’s a demonic sect of that size, could they possibly be from the Great Jin Kingdom?”

Shangren Zhiyang’s expression darkened as he analyzed the situation. The others looked equally concerned.

“Hmph! So what if they are from the Great Jin Kingdom? Judging by the fact that they are moving secretly with masks on, it’s clear that one of their sects is privately interfering in Tiannan’s affairs. We can just deal with them as demonic cultivators and then claim we didn’t know.”

The woman in red, who had been silent, finally spoke, her voice clear and beautiful.

“That’s right, Madam Bong. We can’t just hand over Tiannan because some demonic sect from the Great Jin Kingdom is helping the Peony people.”

Shangren Zhiyang agreed with her words.

“That’s true, but I’m worried that the cultivators from the Great Jin Kingdom are stronger than our Tiannan cultivators in terms of magical treasures and cultivation techniques. If they come forward in tomorrow’s battle, wouldn’t things be difficult? There are countless cultivation techniques and secret arts in the Great Jin Kingdom, and we can’t prepare for all of them.”

The old devil of the Joyful Union Sect looked cautious.

“I’ve considered that as well. Do you know about our Taejin Sect’s Restriction Breaking Pearl?”

Shangren Zhiyang asked everyone.

“The Restriction Breaking Pearl? Isn’t that a one-time use magical artifact that can break any restriction? I heard that such items can only be used on low-level restrictions, so how can it deal with the barriers created by Core Formation cultivators?”

Ryong Ham, who was familiar with the Restriction Breaking Pearl, spoke.

“Ordinary Restriction Breaking Pearls can’t handle high-level restrictions. However, the Restriction Breaking Pearls that are circulating outside are just defective products. The real Restriction Breaking Pearls can be made with rare materials and are very difficult to create, so they are effective even against high-level restrictions.

Of course, it’s not a widely used item, so our sect didn’t produce many, but we managed to gather ten for this battle. Each participant can carry one, and if the situation becomes unfavorable, they can break the restriction and escape.”

Shangren Zhiyang looked as if he had already arranged everything.

“I was wondering why someone like Shangren Zhiyang would just sit idly by during tomorrow’s battle. It turns out you were preparing something like this. If we have the Restriction Breaking Pearl, we can at least save our lives no matter what the opponent’s scheme is.

In addition, our Demonic Heavenly Slaughter Sect has also prepared a kind of secret art called the ‘Life-Returning Pill.’ If you take it in a moment of crisis, you can consume your inner Qi to immediately recover most of your magical power. Of course, your vitality will be slightly damaged afterward, but it’s better than losing your life. Let’s give one to each of them before they leave.”

The old devil of the Joyful Union Sect added, looking at Shangren Zhiyang.

“That’s a great plan. With those two things, I can feel much more at ease.”

Ryong Ham smiled and changed the subject.

“Now, we need to discuss what to do with the black-robed people. Since they have already mastered demonic techniques, how about having the righteous alliance select cultivators to deal with them? The Taejin Sect and other righteous sects have techniques that are the opposite of demonic techniques, so wouldn’t they be effective against those demonic cultivators?”

Ryong Ham looked at Shangren Zhiyang, waiting for an answer.

“Very well. Please leave those demonic cultivators to us. However, you must take care of the higher-ranking demonic cultivators.”

Shangren Zhiyang immediately agreed with Ryong Ham’s suggestion without refusing.

“Understood! As for the demonic cultivators…”

When Shangren Zhiyang said that the righteous alliance would deal with the demonic cultivators from the Great Jin Kingdom, the cultivators in the main hall were satisfied and continued the meeting smoothly.

After finishing the meeting late into the night, they dispersed to carry out their respective duties.

* * *

The day of the decisive battle arrived.

Early in the morning, the cultivators on patrol noticed a dazzling light erupting from the demonic cultivator’s camp, followed by an earth-shattering sound. Then, the demonic cultivator army soared into the sky and flew towards the border area.

They had also prepared in advance, so they immediately sent a sound transmission to their camp. At the same time, the bell rang in Tiannan, and cultivators full of morale soared into the sky as if to cover it.

In an instant, various colors of light rose into the sky, and together with the imposing demonic cultivator army, they surged like a giant wave.

Both sides were risking their lives, so their gazes towards each other were fierce.

At this time, Han Li was floating above a group of over a thousand cultivators, looking at the distant demonic cultivator army.

It was difficult to grasp the exact number because they were not revealing their full strength, but at least 60,000 to 70,000 cultivators had gathered. Moreover, there were a huge number of high-level cultivators, who were usually difficult to see.

The demonic cultivators wore various colors, but the magical artifacts of the low-level demonic cultivators were extremely simple. Most of them were shiny bowls, fist-sized beads, or various flags.

In contrast, the cultivators’ magical artifacts were flashy, even for the low-level cultivators. Just by the spiritual energy they emitted, it was clear that they were much higher quality.

Although they were lacking in magical artifacts, the demonic cultivators were silently watching the cultivators, each group floating in a mysterious formation.

However, the cultivators were poorly trained, barely managing to maintain their formation. They often chatted privately or left their groups.

Han Li frowned at the stark difference.

However, it couldn’t be helped. It was already fortunate that so many people had gathered from all over Tiannan in just a few months.

Han Li carefully examined the demonic cultivator army.

What he was paying close attention to were not the demonic cultivators, but the dozen or so wild beasts mixed among them.

The cultivators of the Nine Nations Alliance had already tasted the terror of the giant beasts, so their eyes naturally showed fear.

Han Li shook his head, looking alternately at the cloudless sky and the disorganized cultivators. He flipped his palm, and two items appeared on it.

A tiny black bead the size of a thumbnail and a foul-smelling, bright red, square pill.

These two items were supplies sent by Shangren Zhiyang to the battle participants to prepare for emergencies. It was a bit unexpected, but Han Li accepted them.

It seemed that the three major sects were releasing all sorts of treasures to win this battle against the demonic cultivators. However, it wasn’t just the three major sects that were doing so.

Han Li soon turned his gaze to another group of nearby cultivators.

In the middle of the group of over a thousand cultivators, there were 16 male and female cultivators dressed in red and green. They were disciples of the Joyful Union Sect, the number one demonic sect, and each of them carried a huge wooden coffin, divided into black and white.

The coffins were covered with large and small talismans, giving them a strange feeling. He tried to explore them with his spiritual sense, but he couldn’t see inside because of the powerful restrictions.

Besides the coffins, there was another eye-catching object.

A huge gong placed on a large bronze stand, about seven feet long, surrounded by a righteous sect.

Further away, there was a group dragging black statues that were three or four feet long, resembling ancient ferocious beasts.

In addition, each group had brought rare items, which made Han Li feel a little more at ease.

It meant that each sect knew the importance of this war and had brought out their cherished treasures, so the chances of victory would increase.

Moreover, besides these visible items, it was impossible to know what powerful weapons each of them had hidden in their storage bags.

On the other hand, apart from the giant beasts, the demonic cultivators did not seem to have any particularly noteworthy treasures. Of course, Han Li didn’t think that the demonic cultivators had really come out with nothing.

‘They must have a hidden trump card.’

The outcome of this war was truly unpredictable.

The demonic cultivators and cultivators who had been constantly flying up had all gathered. After that, except for a very small number, the soldiers descended to the ground and waited quietly.

At this time, three people flew out from the demonic cultivator army.

A gaunt old man, a dwarf, and a middle-aged scholar—the three great envoys of the Peony Clan.

Similarly, three streaks of light shot out from the cultivators’ side, and Shangren Zhiyang, Wei Wuai, and the old devil of the Joyful Union Sect stepped forward.

They stopped in the air, maintaining a distance of several tens of feet from each other.

“You can still retreat now. If you hand over half of Tiannan’s land, we can stop this conflict and coexist peacefully, can’t we? Otherwise, regardless of the outcome, the vitality of Tiannan’s cultivation world will be greatly diminished.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. It’s true that the vitality of our Tiannan cultivation world will be damaged, but if you Peony people lose this war, won’t you be almost annihilated? You are the ones who should be careful.”

Wei Wuai calmly retorted his words.

“Then all that’s left is a life-or-death battle! Before that, let’s have a duel, and regardless of the outcome, let’s start the war as soon as the duel is over.”

The gaunt old man cut off the conversation in one breath.

“A bet duel is possible. But where are the hostages we agreed upon? No cultivator has seen them…”

The old devil of the Joyful Union Sect glared at the old man and sneered. At those words, the old man paused and moved his lips, sending a sound transmission to someone behind him.

Then, the demonic cultivator group stirred, and over a thousand cultivators, barefoot and wearing only clothes, were dragged out by the demonic cultivators.

Some of them had faces flushed red, and some glared at the surrounding demonic cultivators in anger. Shangren Zhiyang and the others checked the hostages and nodded.

“Now that you’ve confirmed them, you must be relieved, right? Then let’s start the duel!”

The dwarf among the Peony envoys, Pil, shouted impatiently.

“Why are you in such a hurry? Have you already set up some kind of trick?”

“If you don’t have the confidence to duel, shall we kill them all in front of everyone and start the war?”

At Wei Wuai’s words, the dwarf’s expression hardened, and he unexpectedly threatened them.

“Are you threatening us now!”

“It’s not really a threat. If we’re not going to have a bet, what use do we have for keeping the hostages alive? We might as well kill them to boost the morale of the demonic cultivators.”

The gaunt old man replied expressionlessly.

“Then release the hostages before the duel.”

Shangren Zhiyang raised his eyebrows, then relaxed his expression and said.

“Release them first? Would we do such a foolish thing?”

“We don’t trust you either! You might not keep your promise after losing.”

Wei Wuai calmly retorted.

“Even so…”

“Let’s do it. Let’s stop with the useless talk. Before the bet duel, let’s release half of the hostages, and the rest will be dealt with according to the outcome. There shouldn’t be any objections to this, right? If you don’t like this either, then let’s just go to all-out war.”

Before the dwarf could finish speaking, the old man finished his words first in a menacing voice.

“Very well. Release half of them. We will be setting up a restriction.”

After discussing with each other through sound transmission, Shangren Zhiyang boldly agreed to his proposal. This alone was a very advantageous condition. If they insisted further, all the hostages could be killed.

The six cultivators returned to their respective camps and moved according to their plans.

Han Li maintained his position, hiding among the cultivators, and had no intention of revealing himself before the duel.

He listened to the negotiations of the six cultivators with his powerful spiritual sense and curled the corners of his mouth. Some of the hostages had their restrictions removed and were flying towards their side.

Shangren Zhiyang had prepared in advance, and before they could mix into the cultivators, he released hundreds of cultivators to meet them separately.

It was to thoroughly check whether there were any spies mixed in, or whether there were any dangerous restrictions on their bodies.

“The Tiannan guys are cautious. It’s a good thing we didn’t make them take the Mind-Lost Pill, or we would have ruined everything.”

The dwarf demonic cultivator, who was watching from afar, clicked his tongue.

“The three great cultivators of Tiannan are not easy to deal with, so such tricks are not worth doing. It could unnecessarily raise their vigilance and ruin our plans.”

The middle-aged scholar agreed with his words. Han Li saw from afar that a group of cultivators and demonic cultivators were leaving their camps and starting to set up a barrier in the middle.

# 432