After Being Reborn, I Refuse To Be The Holy Son Of The Sect Anymore

Chapter 111:

Inside Heifeng City, a fierce battle erupted once more.

Xiao Yang, now wearing his golden dragon-patterned mask, returned to the battlefield and released the Fire Qilin to join the fray. At the same time, Lei Lie, the Enforcement Elder of the Azure Sun Sword Sect, began to fight with everything he had. Employing the sect’s secret techniques, Lei Lie burned his life force to fully unleash his latent potential. At that moment, he seemed like a thunder god descending, his power at its peak. However, his once-black hair had turned snow-white—a grim testament to the toll of burning his vitality.

Lei Lie’s strength surged to a level that even he found astonishing. 

With one punch, he sent Minghe flying.

“What power!” Minghe was flung through a wall, tumbling into the ruins of a house.

Heifeng City, now an abandoned ghost town, echoed with the sound of crumbling structures. The previously roaming corpses had vanished without a trace.

Minghe, crawling from the rubble, emerged through a gaping hole in the wall he had created. Yet before he could catch his breath, a wave of intense heat descended from the heavens. Looking up, he saw a massive fireball crashing down toward him, a menacing beast visible within the flames.

“What…” Minghe’s shock was immeasurable. Instinctively, he leaped aside, narrowly avoiding the fiery assault.

“BOOM!”

The fireball struck the ground where Minghe had stood, causing the earth to collapse and sending waves of flame and dust outward. The explosion’s sheer force distorted the surrounding space, reducing everything within a radius of several dozen feet to rubble.

Minghe, drenched in cold sweat, realized how close he had come to death. A single moment of hesitation would have led to his demise. Emerging from the crater, the Fire Qilin stared him down, its entire body wreathed in flames. Minghe felt a chill despite the intense heat.

Meanwhile, the mysterious man stood by calmly, his gaze fixed on Xiao Yang, who had donned the golden mask.

On another battlefield, Xiao Yang confronted Yin Yue, one of Qin Fei’s three Demon Sect guardians, known for her mastery of controlling magical creatures. 

In his previous life, Yin Yue had slaughtered countless cultivators, leaving trails of destruction in her wake.

“Who are you?” Yin Yue asked coldly, glaring at the masked Xiao Yang.

“The renowned Demon General Yin Yue of the Demon Sect asking such a foolish question? How laughable.”

Xiao Yang’s voice was altered, and his attire concealed his identity. 

Using the Futian Hidden Qi Technique, he masked his aura, making it impossible for anyone to discern his true strength.

“You dare mock me?” Yin Yue’s fury flared. As a Demon General, she held a high position, second only to the Demon Lord. Being insulted like this was intolerable.

“Do you think I’d tell you who I am just because you asked? Can’t you see the mask?” Xiao Yang replied, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

Yin Yue froze momentarily, unable to refute the logic.

“Die!” Yin Yue snarled, not wasting any more words. With a wave of her hand, countless black shadows shot out from her sleeves, rushing toward Xiao Yang.

“Hmph.” Xiao Yang’s eyes narrowed behind his mask. He recognized the creatures—Blackscale Brain-Biting Lizards. Equipped with sharp claws and fangs, these creatures could burrow into a person’s body, devouring flesh and even brains. Their horror lay not only in their lethality but also in the sheer terror they inflicted.

In his previous life, Yin Yue had used these lizards to annihilate entire cities, leaving no survivors, not even women or children.

“Not this time.” Xiao Yang sneered. A fiery sword light burst forth from his body, slashing through the air with precision. The oncoming lizards were bisected mid-flight, their corpses raining down like black droplets.

“What?” Yin Yue was stunned. The pure yang sword aura was the perfect counter to her creatures.

Could this man be the same mysterious sword saint who appeared at North Mountain in Yuanlong City?

Rumors of the sword saint’s feat—draining an entire premium spiritual vein to forge a weapon—had shaken the entire Northern Territory. The appearance of such a figure, potentially capable of altering the region’s power dynamics, had left the major factions on edge, especially with the imminent Northern Grand Competition.

Xiao Yang made quick work of the Blackscale Brain-Biting Lizards.

Enraged and in pain over the loss of her prized creatures, Yin Yue summoned her magic weapon, Moonlit Slash. The crescent-shaped blade floated behind her, emanating a chilling aura that caused the surrounding temperature to plummet.

“Kill!” Yin Yue shouted, directing the Moonlit Slash toward Xiao Yang.

As the crescent blade spun toward him with terrifying speed, Xiao Yang shook his head in disapproval.

Though Yin Yue was at the early stage of the Divine Martial Realm, so was he. And with the Futian Sword Art in his arsenal, no one at the same level could withstand him.

Just as the Moonlit Slash was about to cleave him in two, Xiao Yang moved. His right hand, previously resting calmly at his side, shot forward, catching the spinning magic blade mid-air.

“This…” Yin Yue was left speechless, her confidence wavering.

Yin Yue was utterly shocked.

This man had grabbed her magic weapon with his bare hands! How was this possible? Since her debut, no one had ever dared to do such a thing.

She channeled her full strength, attempting to recall her Moonlit Slash, but despite its intense vibrations, it remained firmly trapped in Xiao Yang’s grip.

Xiao Yang chuckled. With a slight exertion of his hand, the Moonlit Slash shattered into countless fragments.

“Ah!”

Yin Yue spat out blood as her life-bound weapon was destroyed. The backlash from its destruction struck her directly.

Realizing she had no chance, she turned to flee, but Xiao Yang was faster. In a single step, he appeared above her, descending with a crushing stomp.

Yin Yue hastily raised her hands to block, but the impact was overwhelming. She was slammed to the ground with a resounding crash, shattering a building beneath her and leaving a massive crater.

Dust filled the air.

Meanwhile, Minghe was being pushed into a corner by the combined might of the Fire Qilin and Lei Lie. He was barely holding on, spared only because the mysterious man hadn’t intervened.

Minghe and Yin Yue had initially assumed that taking down Lei Lie and the others would be simple. Who could have predicted the sudden appearance of a mysterious middle-aged man, a masked Xiao Yang, and a ninth-rank spirit beast like the Fire Qilin?

The tide of battle had shifted dramatically.

Knowing the situation was hopeless, Minghe seized an opening after Lei Lie struck him, using the Heavenly Demon Blood Escape Technique. Sacrificing his blood essence, he transformed into a streak of blood-red light and fled the city at incredible speed.

“Damn it!”

Lei Lie cursed, but there was no way to catch up. The mysterious man made no move to stop Minghe, and neither Lei Lie nor the Fire Qilin could match the speed of the technique. Minghe escaped unharmed.

Suddenly, Xiao Yang descended from the sky and slammed his palm into the spot where Yin Yue had fallen.

“BOOM!”

The ground quaked, leaving a massive palm-shaped crater. The shockwaves rippled outward, collapsing buildings in the vicinity.

But Yin Yue was nowhere to be found. She had vanished.

“She used earth escape!”

Xiao Yang clenched his fist, frustration flashing in his eyes.

He had underestimated her. Yin Yue, a master of the Earth Spirit Demon Physique, had slipped away using her unique earth-based evasion technique.

“Clever rat…” he muttered.

Though Minghe and Yin Yue had escaped, both were gravely injured. It would be some time before they could stir up trouble again.

Lei Lie approached Xiao Yang, bowing in gratitude. “Thank you, senior, for saving us.”

Xiao Yang ignored him, not bothering to respond.

Lei Lie, despite feeling slighted, dared not show anger.

“Master Brother, is it you?” Lei Lie suddenly called out to the mysterious man.

“What?” Xiao Yang was startled. Could this mysterious figure really be Master Uncle Long Chen?

Long Chen had once been a sword prodigy of the Azure Sun Sword Sect. Twenty years ago, for reasons unknown, he had left the sect and disappeared without a trace. Some said he was dead.

“You’ve mistaken me,” the man said calmly before merging with his sword and vanishing into the horizon.

“Did I really mistake him?” Lei Lie murmured, staring at the sky.

Long Chen had once been a legendary genius, a name that struck awe across the Northern Territory. Yet his sudden departure from the sect remained a mystery.

“Could Lei Lie truly have mistaken him?” Xiao Yang pondered.

The circumstances surrounding Long Chen’s departure intrigued him. Had it been connected to Jiang Qitian?

His thoughts were interrupted as the Fire Qilin returned, merging back into Xiao Yang’s arm as a streak of fire.

Lei Lie’s expression darkened. If this masked man was the sword saint who had shaken the Northern Territory, and Xiao Yang had impersonated him, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Lei Lie never suspected the masked figure was Xiao Yang himself.

Just as Xiao Yang turned to leave, the entire city trembled violently.

“BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!”

Powerful tremors surged through Heifeng City. From deep underground, an overwhelming energy radiated outward, splitting the earth and toppling countless buildings.

Pale, ghastly corpses began clawing their way out of the ground.

The hordes of walking corpses that had mysteriously vanished earlier were now emerging en masse.

Beneath the city, something immense and terrifying was awakening.

“Besides that Blood Demon, there’s another monster buried here?”

Xiao Yang frowned, sensing the formidable aura rising from below.

Lei Lie, too, was visibly shaken.