Chapter 2022

Some people had been born as ordinary humans and became legends. Most of the heroes had started their journeys just like regular individuals. Some examples included Hayate, Biban, and the Tower members.

However, there were also heroes who were the complete opposite of them. They were humans who had been born strong. Madra, who had been born with a body that surpassed human limits, Mercedes, who had been born with Keen Insight, Kyle with his lightning power, and Saharan's founding emperor with his red energy...

According to the records of the imperial family, the founding emperor had named the empire after himself. It was said that he used to have all things under control by making use of his red energy. Of course, people exaggerated a bit. Still, it was undeniable that red energy could control certain things and beings.

The descendants of the founding emperor had used the red energy in a variety of ways depending on their individual capabilities. In some cases, they could command very small creatures such as insects to move and act a certain way. In other cases, they could hinder the movements of monsters larger than elephants for a while.

Another descendant could only move a small pebble while another moved dozens of boulders as large as houses to build an impromptu fortress. Some descendants manipulated the soldiers' minds to raise the morale of an army during war. Others brainwashed the nobility in order to usurp imperial authority.

Objects, living things, people's minds... Red energy had the potential to control anything.

The founding emperor was the one who had made the most of it while the former emperor, Juander, was one of the best at handling it.

However, he'd never used it to this extent. Juander was controlling thousands of people. They weren't ordinary humans, but cultivators. Commanding so many of them at once to turn them into meat shields?

The expressions on the cultivators' faces weren't even worth seeing as they blocked the second bombardment of the Full Moon Fortress. They turned to ashes or suffered several serious and small wounds. They were all terrified.

The arrogant murderers who had a hobby of slaughtering mortals were now looking at Juander like he was the monster.

Juander smiled bitterly. "Can you see it?"

So what if the cultivators slaughtered hundreds or thousands of people? Jundar had slaughtered millions. He just needed to use a few words or scrawl his signature on a piece of paper and he would figuratively trample tens of thousands of humans to death like they were ants. In the name of the empire, he hadn't tolerated anything that didn't belong to it. He had destroyed numerous minorities and kingdoms in this process. Many imperial soldiers had also sacrificed their lives for the sake of the empire.

Juander was a murderer of a different kind. Cultivators didn't respect humans because they considered them a subspecies. Meanwhile, Juander simply saw people as numbers. Therefore, he was even more brutal and vicious.

Just then, the red thread that connected Juander to thousands of cultivators lost its color and snapped. It became ineffective after achieving something seemingly impossible. Nevertheless, the cultivators were still frightened.

They faltered, unable to run away or fight back. They could clearly tell that Juander had killed countless people, but they only had a vague idea about the number. They could tell because they had also killed many people.

All of the cultivators got goosebumps...

"M-Monster..." a cultivator said in a trembling and hoarse voice.

Juander scowled when he heard this.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man with a sturdy physique fell from the sky with a loud thump. "How dare you be so reckless with your safety?"

This man was wearing armor engraved with bizarre patterns. He was Armored Cavalryman Chensler, a loyalist who only served Juander. He had once been one of the pillars supporting the empire. Now, he was Juander's only support. He would not die as long as Juander lived.

"Hngh...!"

The cultivators sucked in a breath. The human was charging toward them like a bull. They activated their shield to stop him, but the shields did nothing. The moment they got hit, they got thrown back along with their protective shields.

The man's strength was unusual. Old Sword Demon and the members of the Chivalrous Robbers were speechless. In their eyes, Juander and Chensler were monsters. They were more frightening than cultivators.

Old Sword Demon was watching Juander and Chensler when he came to his senses after hearing someone speak to him.

"They have been wandering the world for decades. They have a nobler sense of duty than any other pilgrim and never stopped wandering for even a moment. The two of them have been training tirelessly and gained a lot of insight after defeating many enemies, so they are stronger than they used to be."

A dark-skinned man with flexible muscles was standing next to Old Sword Demon. He had long arms and legs, a slim waist and a wide chest. This was the first time Old Sword Demon was meeting him in person.

"Kujarak."

"It's an honor to meet you, Old Sword Demon. I am constantly hearing about your activities in the east."

"Are my activities comparable to your performance?"

Old Sword Demon let out a laugh.

Kujarak, the African leopard, was a very mysterious unofficial ranker. He was worthy of everyone's admiration but not just because he was strong. People either said he raided certain powerful monsters or that he saved lives. That was all. Kujarak was a chivalrous spirit. His sole purpose was to serve justice. He didn't care about anything else other than that.

Was Kujarak's purpose in life to be an example to others? For someone who sought enlightenment, he was very tenacious. People were skeptical. Kujarak praising other people? This meant that he truly meant what he said.

"I've often heard rumors about Juander. Let's help."

Of course, the red energy was an easily depletable resource since it was so powerful. As the cultivators came to their senses and fought back, Juander and Chensler's group were now isolated. Old Sword Demon and Kujarak quickly stepped in.

Old Sword Demon fought like a swordsman, but he was essentially an assassin. He quickly dealt with the cultivators' backline.

Kujarak wasn't that far behind. He'd gotten the nickname of African Leopard because he was very fast.

"Aghhhhhh!"

Soon, the cultivators were screaming. They were exhausted and their morale was down. Now, four Transcendents were attacking them. There was no way the cultivators could handle this.

"Waaahhhhhhhh!"

The morale of the eastern and that of the Chivalrous Robbers immediately increased. They realized that cultivators weren't invincible and launched an onslaught. As a result, the cultivators were outnumbered, and they quickly became exhausted. Every time they took a step back, the landscape of the battlefield changed slightly.

"Has there ever been a time when so many skilled people existed?"

Other Transcendents were providing help from the backline. They were the daoist immortals, which included Yeo Yulan and Bentao. They secretly used talismans to weaken the cultivators and help the troops.

Bentao's expression was gloomy as he answered Yeo Yulan's question. "If there had been another era like this, a lot of unfair deaths could have been prevented."

He still couldn't forget the seven good people. Back then, he couldn't clear them of their false accusations and could only wait for others to help. He considered this weakness one of his sins and had been living feeling guilty since that incident.

"I'm grateful that this era has come..."

Yeo Yulan was trying to comfort him when she suddenly stopped talking. Several beams of light appeared precisely where they were. Transcendent-level cultivators showed up.

"I finally found you. For how long did you think you could hide with such low-grade talismans?"

The cultivators were looking at Yeo Yulan and Bentao with contempt. For the cultivators, immortals were the strongest beings. The immortals of this world, who couldn't even condense a nascent soul, seemed to be nothing more than impostors.

Yeo Yulan's thick eyebrows twitched.

"The talismans we make aren't crude. They are simple and efficient. If you look at how fast they activate, it's twice as fast as the crude talismans you made, right?"

"The talismans activate so quickly because they contain nothing."

"We'll see about that."

There were many ways to overcome fear. For Yeo Yulan, she became angry to subdue her fear. She had been nervous when she saw the approaching Transcendents, but now that feeling was gone. She was excited to fight right away, just like a militant warrior.

'She isn't the typical daoist immortal.'

How had she ascended to the Peach Blossom Spring with such a mentality? Bentao had this question in mind as he quickly moved. The situation was now dangerous because the enemies fiercely fought back the moment Yeo Yulan attacked.

'They are indeed strong.'

As soon as the cultivators appeared in this world, the daoist immortals had chosen to descend. They had been helping humans from the beginning. Some of the characteristics of the cultivation world resembled the Peach Blossom Spring. They suspected that corrupt gods were harming ordinary people by claiming to be immortals.

However, the truth was something else entirely. The cultivators were aliens from a completely different dimension. Nevertheless, the daoist immortals had decided to remain in the world until the end and fought against the cultivators because they believed ordinary people weren't strong enough to deal with them. The cultivators were powerful enough to break the unwritten rules of the Peach Blossom Spring.

"Hngh..."

By the time he came to his senses, Bentao was already on the defensive. Every time he activated dozens of talismans and used magic, the cultivators offset his attacks using protective shields and Treasures while countering with a single talisman. Bentao had to throw dozens of talismans to stop the enemy's singular talisman.

The enemy talisman itself wasn't that powerful, but the cultivators relied on a lot of things while fighting, such as shields, Treasures, talismans, mystical arts, summons, formations, and even martial techniques such as swordsmanship. Meanwhile, the daoist immortals relied only on talismans and spells to fight. They were pushed on the defensive a lot. This naturally led to a disadvantage when it came to fighting.

Yeo Yulan, who had honed her swordsmanship, also expressed disapproval of the various battle patterns of the enemies.

Just then—

[Didn't you say pursuing what it means to be the best is the right thing to do?]

They heard a familiar voice. No, this was intent that the daoist immortals could hear in their heads. They saw hundreds of swords falling.

The cultivators were surprised by the sudden bombardment and hurriedly retreated. However, the faces of the daoist immortals brightened.

"Yeoam...!"

The Sword Immortal, a being who had become a daoist immortal only after pursuing the extreme methods of brandishing a sword. This one of a kind, a unique existence in the Peach Blossom Spring, descended on the battlefield, his white dopo fluttering.

[Thanks to Sir Grid, I have some free time... So, I will lend a hand.]

The imoogi that bit the mysterious yeouiju... Yeoam, who had thought the imoogi was an evil monster raised by King Sobyeol and devoted his life to sealing it, was actually a conditional Absolute.

He was now freed and stood alongside his colleagues for the first time in ages. He looked as noble as anyone else on the battlefield.