Silent Crown

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Thunder burst forth.

It was not the loud bang of a collision, but the rumbling roar of a fearsome ape.

The palace of heaven shook, and tide-like waves of impact spread out from beneath the palm. Wherever it passed, all the giant spirits trembled, collapsing into silver-gray dust.

Zhangsun Jigui took a few steps back, his expression ashen, traces of blood seeping out from his nose and mouth.

Then, the ground of the palace of heaven collapsed. Streams of lava gathered into torrents, spewing out from the cracks. The lava was like torrential rains, spilling down in all directions.

Showering in the rain of lava, the fearsome ape smiled grotesquely and moved forward. The heavens and the earth roared as if all the maliciousness and violence in the world had been condensed in the scarlet pair of eyes.

Mr. Hu's figure had been covered by the giant golden ape, which grew more and more concrete. At the moment, as the seal was broken, connected by the array, he had completely transformed into an unparalleled monster.

Numerous forlorn whines sounded out of nowhere, in the torrent of qi of yin, countless ghostly beasts danced to the crisp notes sounding from the biwa. Darkness coursed through the sky, converging together into a ray, revealing the contours of the figure that condensed from the endless hatred all the phantom beasts had felt before their deaths.

As the Yaksa merged with it, the fuzzy giant snake opened its eyes, causing the heavens and the earth to suddenly darken. When it closed its eyes, everything shone brightly. When it exhaled, it stirred up a suffocating Föhn wind, and when it inhaled, the wind evolved into boundless frost and ice.

As the projection of the Yaksa blended into it, the holy spirit of the head of House Liu family also settled into it. A look unique to those who had gone through the vicissitudes of life lit up in the eyes that only had a chilling coldness and madness in it initially, making it glow like moonlight.

It was… the Torch Dragon!

As soon as it appeared, the Torch Dragon controlled the torrents and advanced, fighting with the fearsome ape, buying Zhangsun Jigui precious time to catch his breath.

Then, jade drums emerged in the sky, and the head of one of the nine families of the dragon bloodline lifted the drum stick and played to the beats of the thunder and lightning of the Armageddon with all his might.

Countless rays of lightning, struck from the sky like knives and axes, on the golden hair of the fearsome ape, but could only leave a few scorch marks more often than not. However, it provoked the viciousness in the animal nature of the ape, causing the fearsome ape to fight even more bravely.

The expression of Zhangsun Jigui kept on changing, the look in his eyes dark. He did not expect that the three musicians joining forces at the moment could not even overpower a musician who was not even of Deva descent.

The longer they fought, the more alarmed he felt.

He couldn't figure out where the power was coming from…

The tide-like sounds of countless metals colliding together suddenly burst forth.

The heavens and the earth froze.

God knew how many ice crystals and pieces of iron collided together for such a shocking roar to be produced.

The Chun Jun sword was unsheathed.

A cold light emerged from the aged body, flitting across the battlefield. For the first time, an attack left a scar on the chest of the giant ape.

It was Yuan Changqing.

The old man stepped out of the army of soldiers and moved forward. He withdrew his hands from the wide armholes of his shirt, then poked his hands out from the neck hole, thus easily removing his robe and shirt which he found troublesome, letting them hang around his waist.

Beneath his white hair, muscles bulged, and sweat evaporated from his pores, turning into white fog.

As he lifted his hand, the Chun Jun sword turned into a stream of light and once again returned to his hand, sketching a faint outline in the gap between the bright and the dark.

"Although winning with numbers makes one a bad sport, when the opponent is the only masterpiece of the Tai Changqing in the past, the heir of his legacy who has surpassed him, our actions shouldn't be considered too exaggerated no matter how cautious we are." The old man sighed softly and lifted his left hand to wipe his nose. "It's a pity. No matter what, you can be considered a strong enemy, and I still want to have a good fight with you. So, please struggle with all your might…" He smiled slightly, his eyes filled with obvious murderous intent and crazy anticipation. "It's alright even if we both end up dead."

At the moment, the enraged catastrophe roared.

The huge body that was non-human, to begin with, expanded once more with its screams as it raised its head and howled to the sky. The intense heat of the scorching sun erupted once more, forcing everyone to retreat.

It bathed in a furnace that had such a high temperature that it was like the earth's core, screaming furiously, the outline of its figure changing. When the blazing light dissipated, the creature bathing in the Föhn wind had become a total monster.

At the moment, four heads had grown out of the body of the fearsome ape, looking in all directions. It waved its eight arms towards different directions, causing the ground to crack. Countless broken pieces of iron slumbering beneath the battlefield gathered together, melting in the flares of the hot sun, being recast into various shapes.

In a flash, in its hands, the ordinary pieces of iron which were huge and decaying gave off a new radiance. After the rust and stains faded, a brilliant, godly light radiated from them.

Among the weapons in its hands were a trident, a red umbrella, a tiger-shaped copper hammer, a magical bottle, a godly sword, and a fearsome knife…

Hanuman, the catastrophe!

It was the supreme patron saint that once resided in the Nalanda Temple of India, the immortal monster created by the third generation of Tung Wang Kung by referring to the Hecatoncheir when he was reincarnated in India as Buddha!

After being sealed in Mr. Hu's body for more than a decade, the fearsome ape was finally released to walk on the earth and sprinkle the seeds of complete destruction to all living creatures and those who had slandered Buddha!

For some reason unknown, despite the fact that his consciousness had obviously been eroded by the violent bestiality, Mr. Hu suddenly felt ridiculous, not knowing whether he should laugh or cry, as if he was in a trance-like state.

"Eh, I'm no longer a child of seven or eight years old, yet I'm still leaping around like a monkey…" Back when Mr. Hu was a teenager, someone stroked his messy hair, shaking his head and sighing. "How about I nickname you 'little monkey' from now on?"

What my teacher said back then really came true.

In the 15 years after my teacher's death, I seem to have really become a monkey, yet I have felt no shame about it. Instead, I have been secretly feeling happy, being delighted because of how absurd I have become, completely forgetting about what my teacher once entrusted me with. "After you all grow up, you will be my heirs and become the ones supporting the country, heroes far surpassing me…"

But I have neither supported the country nor become a hero.

Instead, in order to escape from the conflicts, I casually took up a job, then traveled far away to some place outside Aurora, once again embarking on a journey with no date of return.

It was like me 15 years ago.

It's just that I am already alone now.

"We're going to India." In his trance-like state, he heard his teacher's voice ring out again.

How did I feel when I set foot on the journey to the West? My mind was full of the joy of setting off on a thousand-mile journey and the anticipation of achieving personal accomplishments, but I never expected in the slightest that, in the end, it would become a long journey of endless killing.

"Kill them all." In his memory, his teacher stood in the pool of blood in the Nalanda Temple, looking at him calmly, then repeated himself again, "All."

"Alright, sir." He stabbed down with the sword in his hand, and blood spurted out, a few drops landing on his face.

In the sound of the body falling to the ground, he closed his eyes, forgetting about who he was and where he was. After his mind was in a state of blankness, his body would loyally obey the command.

The deaths along the thousands of miles had paved a road of bones, of which I could see no end.

After getting used to seeing pair after pair of desperate eyes, I was no longer like myself.

No longer like the hero in my dreams either…

For the sake of some things which are considered right, or, like fifteen years ago, for the sake of "truth."

As long as it is for their sake, any sacrifice is worth it.

It's alright no matter who the one sacrificed is.

In the end, he returned alone from India to the capital, to the main hall again.

"Your Majesty, this is the future you want…" He knelt before the steps made of jade, closing his eyes in the ecstasy of the ruler, and opened the iron case, showing the emperor the burnt corpse. "In this… thing that used to be my teacher."

Thus, after a sacrifice had been made, the dynasty could continue.

Creation has been undertaken in the wrong way.

A ruler of unparalleled wisdom descended.

In contrast, the deaths of tens of thousands of innocents, the sacrifices of my teacher and juniors, and the pain that has been following me for my whole life; the price paid is simply too insignificant that it isn't even worth mentioning.

Since then, he had never thought of becoming a hero.

He had already known himself clearly for who he was.

In the shrill howl, the iron gleam of the sword whistled as it broke through the air. The gleam was as clear as a mirror, but also as deft as a bird, lingering in the air, like a long silver ray.

The sharp sound of metals colliding burst forth.

The trident broke inch by inch, falling from Hanuman's hand, turning into iron filings that fluttered in the wind. The gleam of the sword circled his neck, chopping off a head. Blood spewed out, falling on Yuan Changqing's white hair. Despite having personally chopped off a head of the catastrophe, Yuan Changqing had no joy on his face; instead, his expression was dark.

"It's upsetting, really upsetting!" He flicked the blood of the catastrophe from the ridge of the Chun Jun sword and demanded in an irritated tone, "Hey! What the heck are you doing? I am full of anticipation for our fight, but you got distracted?"

In the heavy rain of the Armageddon, claps of thunder disguised the long silence. After a long time, only did the head of the catastrophe slowly lift.

"My apologies," said the head. "I suddenly remembered some memories of the past."

Yuan Changqing squinted his eyes. "It's alright. When one grows old, one will become demented. When one washes one's hair, one will accidentally urinate if one isn't paying attention. You have to get used to it." The bare-chested, burly old man strolled forward, and although his tone was calm, his gaze became colder and colder. "So, rest assured, I will help you become focused."

At the moment, several heads of their respective households were stunned at the same time. Initially, their music theories were all in harmony and connected, and every one of them was in resonance. When Yuan Changqing stepped forward, the resonance was cut off.

A piercing glow emerged from Yuan Changqing's scepter.

It need not deliberately rid itself of the ties with the rest. Just by surging in power in a flash, its momentum made it seem like a solitary peak rising into the sky, piercing through the wind and the snow, the flowers, and the moon. It showed no reluctance to part with the deliberate harmony they maintained, and it lost the power and help obtained from the resonance.

However, Yuan Changqing's strength was not by any means weakened in the slightest. Instead, the horrifying aura became more and more fierce and violent. It broke through the worries of the mortal realm and spilled an unparalleled light down onto the world.

At that moment, at Yuan Changqing's waist, the scabbard that accompanied him for more than 60 years cracked.

It could no longer accommodate the peerless blade.

Innumerable sword movements rose from him, colliding and scraping against each other, producing hot sparks out of thin air. Finally, they gathered on the Chun Jun sword.

At the moment, its own outline appeared on the incorporeal body of the sword. The color of iron emerged from the empty sheath at the same time.

It no longer seemed to be as secretive and mysterious as it was in the past.

It looked just like ordinary iron.

However, Zhangsun Jigui suddenly felt his teeth aching.

That madman is intending to go all out!

For a guy like Yuan Changqing, the so-called "joining forces" did not exist right from the beginning, because once he got serious about it, everything other than the Chun Jun sword, where the spirits of the swordsmen of each generation of House Yuan resided, would be burdened, himself included, not to mention so-called companions and teammates.

Anyone daring to get in his way, even if it was his eldest grandson, Yuan He, would be pierced through by his sword.

At the moment, an endless gleam of iron emerged from thin air with Yuan Changqing's action.

On the Yujing Mountain thousands of miles away, countless blades that were nailed into the stone whined sonorously. Responding to Yuan Changqing's call, they cast themselves towards where the Chun Jun sword was.

In a flash, countless swords arrived mightily, the iron gleaming, opening up a tunnel of vacuum in the sky above. Fiery tracks were left by the burning metals, which then descended from the sky.

A turbid torrent of iron swept across the battlefield.

Floodwater surged to the sky.

No one had ever challenged a catastrophe head-on so arrogantly before, as if he intended to strike through the monster in front of him together with the city that had never fallen behind it.

But at the moment, everyone who had witnessed the strike of the sword couldn't help but start doubting. Could the monster and the city withstand the strike that had reached the peak of perfection?

Would Heaven's Gate shrouded by the shadow of the Great Wall and the fearsome ape which was the embodiment of the catastrophe be swallowed up by the turbid torrent in the sky?

At the moment, the monster that was recalling his past finally raised his head.

He faced his enemy straightforwardly, hiding nothing.

The streaks of blood all faded from his eyes, returning to the quiet color of black it had been in the past. They were human eyes, and as compared to the scariness and grotesqueness of the catastrophe, they were so insignificant that they were not worth mentioning.

But as the pair of eyes looked down, the fearsome ape roared and bellowed, directly facing the power that the countless swords of souls from Yujing Mountain had gathered into, and struck!

His eight arms clenched the weapons, and it was as if he had held on tightly to the axis of the heavens and the earth, making the universe rotate in his hands, propelling the stars to orbit and everything to operate.

The blades of the knives and the swords sketched their trajectories in midair, which were connected to each other.

They made a perfect circle.

It was like the waterwheel of the heavens and the earth, the wheel of all things. It was solemn and cold, in control of everything. It pushed away the forces of life and death, light and darkness, day and night, with the torrent of swords in front of it, and rotated.

Numerous elements collided in the rotation, scraping against each other like steel. Sparks flew, and a harsh rumble sounded.

As a result, the torrent shook violently, the turbid waves surged. The stream of iron scraped against the wheel, and flares ruptured one after another, stinging everyone's eyes.

Then, when the torrent dissipated, everyone couldn't help but widen their eyes.

The ape had withstood the blow?! It managed to directly withstand the impact from the torrent of qi of swords that all the power of House Yuan had converged into!

As the weapons shattered inch by inch under the impact of the torrent, the fearsome ape bathed in blood howled at the sky.

And behind him, the city gates were completely undamaged!

All the force had been by personally intercepted and endured by the catastrophe, by Mr. Hu. Not even the slightest bit was leaked, nor did it set off any terrifying afterwinds that had been expected.

It was as if the ape had opened his mouth and swallowed the deadly torrent into his belly.

Therefore, its body was broken and bloody.

The blood spewed out of the wounds like lava, rising into the sky, spilling down a burning brilliance.

On the face that had been struck through by the sword, the pair of black eyes was still composed and resolute.

Animal nature no longer shrouded it.

Instead, it was replaced by a decisive look truly belonging to a human being.