DD Spiritual Sword [572-574] (Patreon)

Chapter 572: Xue Beng's Collusion with the Evil Sword Immortal – A Cruel Plan

A coronation ceremony, the most meager and joyless in history, was held in Binghai City. There was no thunderous cheering; the people disliked Xue Beng. Even when they shouted "Long live the Emperor," it was only out of coercion, not from the heart.

As for the officials, they saw no hope of resisting the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. Their hearts were filled with despair. Under such an atmosphere, even Xue Beng's ascension to the throne brought no joy.

At this moment, news arrived: Yu Tianheng, the young clan leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, was leading an army and many powerful soul masters to attack Binghai City. Their advance was unstoppable—Heaven Dou Empire had no power to resist.

Seeing the panic among the people, Xue Beng returned to the palace alone, like a walking corpse. Though he had sworn to Emperor Xue Ye yesterday, he knew deep down he was no match for the combined might of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and Spirit Hall. Even either of those factions could easily destroy the Heaven Dou Empire.

How much longer could the hidden weapon corps hold out?

"Damn it, what should I do? Am I to be a king who loses his country?" Xue Beng clutched his head, wailing in despair. At this moment, he suddenly resented Xue Ye; his death was an escape, leaving all infamy for Xue Beng to bear.

"It's been a while, Your Highness Xue Beng—or should I say Your Majesty now." At that moment, a familiar and chilling voice sounded in his ear. "My emperor, you look quite troubled."

"You! It's you again—what are you here for?" Xue Beng looked up to see a striking, almost devilishly handsome face, the very embodiment of wicked charm.

Xue Beng recognized him because, years ago, this was the man who had controlled him.

Yes, this was the real Evil Sword Immortal. The Evil Sword Immortal had three forms—the first two borrowed from Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong, whose appearances and martial souls he could freely use. The last was his true form, a combination of the two.

The fusion of Qian Xunji's handsomeness and Bibi Dong's beauty produced a figure who could outshine anyone.

"Heh, of course, I'm here to solve your problems, Your Majesty. Don't worry—I won't control you this time. This is my sincerity, since we now share a common enemy: Jun Tianlin," said the Evil Sword Immortal, smiling.

"You think I'll believe you? Jun Tianlin may deserve to die, but you're no better," Xue Beng said, full of wariness. He even found this man more terrifying than Tianlin.

At least Tianlin had limits; this man was ruthless and did as he pleased.

"Heh, Your Majesty, do you really have a choice? If you don't trust me, you'll just end up a traitor and lose your country to Jun Tianlin, becoming a sinner for the ages. If you work with me, at least you have a chance for the Heaven Dou Empire to survive. If you still doubt me, I can swear on my martial soul: after defeating Jun Tianlin, I will not harm you or your empire in the slightest. Otherwise, may my martial soul shatter and I die."

Xue Beng saw the Evil Sword Immortal dare to make a martial soul oath and lowered his guard a little. Unfortunately, he did not know that such an oath meant nothing to the Evil Sword Immortal—for when he used the martial soul, it was in the form of Qian Xunji or Bibi Dong, not his true self, who had no martial soul and fought purely with the Evil Spirit Pearl, his true and strongest form. But this form was not yet fully developed, so he usually fought in his other forms.

"How do you plan to help me?" Xue Beng asked in a low voice.

"It's not about helping, but a trade. I'll give you a power strong enough to stand against the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect for a while, in exchange for a few small favors. If you can hold out for a year, once I reach my peak, all of Douluo Continent will be yours," the Evil Sword Immortal tempted him.

Normally, Xue Beng would have hesitated, but now, pushed to the brink by Tianlin, and with the Evil Sword Immortal's influence still lingering from their past, Xue Beng found himself believing him.

"What do you want me to do?" Xue Beng softened. The temptation was too great, enough for him to forget the grudge of being controlled in the past.

"Heh, very simple, Your Majesty. First, I need you to give me some soul masters—those with strong soul power. I'll create a being strong enough to rival the top experts of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect." The Evil Sword Immortal produced seven wisps of dark energy. "These represent pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. Each can greatly increase power."

"Among them, I still need pride, wrath, lust, and envy. Gluttony and greed will be used for the monster I create for you. As for sloth, I'll give it to you—you can let any subordinate try it, but don't waste it on a weakling; the stronger they are, the more they'll gain."

The Evil Sword Immortal had used up all the souls he'd collected to fight Tianlin, but the power of the original sins remained, along with the strength of three powerful Spirit Hall elders he'd absorbed.

"A monster strong enough to fight the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect!" Xue Beng was moved. With such power, he truly had hope of resisting the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and the Spirit Empire. Even if victory was unlikely, holding out for a year or two would be no issue.

"Heh, not bad, right? My second condition: I want all the rare treasures and herbs in your empire." The Evil Sword Immortal needed them to help Bibi Dong recover quickly, not knowing the location of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, so he could only demand from the other great powers.

Xue Beng nodded without hesitation. "No problem. Take whatever you want from the palace."

Without alchemists like Tianlin or Yang Wudi, he couldn't use those herbs anyway.

"The last point—it's more of a suggestion than a condition. Your Majesty, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect not only has more powerful soul masters, but also far more troops than your empire. So, I suggest you concentrate your forces on defending Binghai City, giving up all other territories to them. That way, like the Spirit Empire before, they'll be forced to split their forces to guard all those places, weakening their assault on your capital."

Xue Beng grew furious. "Impossible! I just promised my father I'd never give up an inch of our land. Besides, the situation is different now. Back then, the Spirit Empire had Star Luo Empire to worry about behind them, so they had to split their forces. The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect doesn't have that problem, so giving up territory won't help much."

"And giving up land means giving up people—they can recruit more soldiers from our population."

The Evil Sword Immortal grinned wickedly. "Of course I know that. But if they won't split their forces, we can force them to. I'm only telling you to give up the land—what happens to that land, or whether there are any people left, is another story."

"You… You mean, massacre the cities, leave the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect with a wasteland?" Xue Beng's eyes widened. Even he hadn't thought of this.

The Evil Sword Immortal shook his head. "No, Your Majesty, don't think so lowly of me. Massacring entire cities isn't the way. If you kill everyone, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect can just ignore those areas and focus all their strength on your capital. Once the continent is unified, they can rebuild. I'm actually quite kind-hearted. We only need to kill the able-bodied men—leave the old, weak, women, and children. Then burn all the houses and fields."

Xue Beng understood. This was an open scheme. The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, claiming to unify the continent with righteousness, couldn't ignore the survivors. They'd have to divert much of their strength to protect and care for them, and rebuild the cities—thus reducing the resources and manpower they could use in battle, buying Xue Beng more time.

"No, this will not only affect the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, but also the Clear Sky Sect," Xue Beng refused. "Though the three top sects now act independently, in their rise they always claimed the mantle of justice. If I do this, the Clear Sky Sect will turn against me to protect their reputation. Now that they have a way out, and the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect isn't as tyrannical as Spirit Hall, they'll just surrender to save themselves."

"Heh, don't worry, Your Majesty. The 'monster' I'll make for you is Tang Chen himself," the Evil Sword Immortal smiled.

When he captured the Slaughter City, he'd obtained a drop of the Bat King's blood. Though the Bat King was later killed by Tianlin, that drop, under the Evil Sword Immortal's cultivation, revived the Bat King.

It had all the powers of its soul bone, and more. The Bat King had devoured part of Tang Chen's soul, and retained his memories, as well as the ability to manifest the Clear Sky Hammer martial soul. The Evil Sword Immortal could fashion a new body with Tang Chen's face, infuse it with the power of three Spirit Hall elders and two original sins, and thus create a being even stronger than an Ultimate Douluo—a perfect fake Tang Chen to control the Clear Sky Sect.

"One of the twin peaks of the soul master world!" Xue Beng was instantly excited. Tang Chen was legendary, regarded as invincible, stronger even than Qian Daoliu.

"But if I do this, I'll be reviled for ten thousand generations." Xue Beng hesitated—but he cared not for the people's lives, only for his own reputation.

"My emperor, why care for such empty fame? If your country is destroyed, even if your name is praised forever, what use is it? The winner writes history. When you unify the continent, you can blame the massacre on the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, and cast yourself as the righteous ruler who set things right," the Evil Sword Immortal coaxed.

Xue Beng's eyes filled with bloodlust. After inner struggle, he finally nodded in agreement. For the future of the Heaven Dou Empire, there was no other way.

As citizens of the empire, sacrificing for the nation was their duty.

Chapter 573: The Massacre

A few days later, Xue Beng acted. He issued his first edict: to resist the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, all regional garrisons were to be abandoned, and the entire army concentrated in Binghai City.

Some accepted the decision—it was the only possible response. Others scoffed. Just days ago, he was swearing never to give up an inch of land; now, he surrendered so much territory.

Meng Shenji and the other three deans remained loyal, volunteering to escort the troops and resettle the civilians. Xue Beng denied their request, entrusting the task to Marshal Ge Long, knowing that Meng Shenji's compassion would ruin his plan. Only Marshal Ge Long, a diehard loyalist, would execute the order perfectly.

Yu Tianheng's army had already taken five cities. Today, they were resting in a small city called Cangmang City.

Yu Feng marveled at how easy the war had been—Heaven Dou Empire was helpless. Only sixteen cities remained before they reached Binghai City. It seemed they would finish their mission faster than Gu Ran, who was attacking Star Luo.

Yu Tianheng was cautious, sending scouts from the Speed Clan ahead to investigate.

"Know yourself and your enemy, and you'll never lose," Tianlin had said.

Bai Chenxiang, beautiful and graceful, led several Speed Clan disciples out to scout the next target city.

"Tianheng's next target is Ross City, a prosperous and beautiful place. I hope we can take it without bloodshed," Bai Chenxiang thought, but she felt uneasy.

Suddenly, she smelled a strong stench of blood. The blue sky turned crimson; flames raged ahead.

"This is... a city set ablaze by heavenly fire?" Bai Chenxiang gasped, speeding toward the city.

Inside, Marshal Ge Long stood on a rooftop, watching the fleeing residents. His heart was heavy, but he coldly ordered: "Kill. Spare only the old, weak, women, and children. Leave no resources—burn everything."

With his military acumen, he knew full well Xue Beng's intentions. If they killed everyone, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's fury would be directed solely at Heaven Dou. But by killing only the able-bodied and leaving the weak, the enemy would gain no new soldiers, and would be forced to divert forces to care for survivors. This would increase Heaven Dou's chances.

Though Ge Long felt this would only delay their destruction, as long as he was marshal, he would obey the emperor's orders. Xue Beng had convinced him that time bought this way had a deeper purpose, and that Heaven Dou would one day prevail.

To the innocent civilians, Ge Long could only silently apologize—he was just following orders.

Bai Chenxiang entered the city, seeing terrified people and Heaven Dou soldiers killing wildly. Her eyes turned red with rage.

"Bastards! The Heaven Dou Empire is slaughtering its own people—are they mad?" she shouted, then heard a child's cry from a small wooden hut.

"Mommy, wuwu…"

A little girl's father had been killed; her mother lay dead, half-dressed, on the table, a soldier pulling up his pants, clearly just finished.

The woman had died with her eyes open, staring at her child. For a mother, what could be more important than her child?

The soldier glanced at the girl. "Stop crying, brat. Marshal said not to kill the weak. Blame your mother for being so weak—I only wanted to have some fun, but she died. If you keep crying, I'll kill you too."

"Mommy!" The girl, terrified, cried even harder.

Annoyed, the soldier raised his blade. "Didn't I tell you to shut up?"

He swung down, but Bai Chenxiang burst in, slicing his throat with her sword. "Animal!"

Her action drew Ge Long's attention. With all the city's soul masters gone, where did this soul emperor come from? He struck at the hut, smashing it to pieces, but Bai Chenxiang soared into the sky, clutching the girl, blood at her lips.

Had she not protected the child, she wouldn't have been injured.

"Oh, someone from the Speed Clan—here to scout, I suppose?" Ge Long said.

"Ge Long, are you insane? As marshal, not only do you not protect your people, you butcher them!" Bai Chenxiang accused.

Ge Long replied coldly, "You should blame the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. You invaded our land. To resist, we must concentrate our forces. Even if we give up our land and people, we won't let you have them."

Bai Chenxiang was furious. "Shameless. When your empire was founded, you swallowed countless small countries. Did you ever commit such atrocities back then?"

"A small country can't compare to a great empire. 'Better to die with honor than live in disgrace'—that is the dignity of a great nation. Our people can die, even by our hands, but I will never let them become your people." Ge Long was domineering; he saw the lives of his people as assets of the nation.

Bai Chenxiang calmed, her eyes cold and murderous. She realized it was useless to talk to a fanatic.

"Fine, Ge Long. I can't save these people or kill you today, but I have a husband, brothers, master, and grandfather—you just wait to be torn to pieces."

She vanished, flying away with the child.

Ge Long didn't chase her. As a defense-type soul master, he couldn't catch an agility-type like Bai Chenxiang.

Chapter 574: Six Cities Massacred – Ning Fengzhi's Fury

Bai Chenxiang, wounded, staggered back to Cangmang City.

A guard recognized her. "It's Miss Bai—she's hurt!"

She landed on the wall, set down the girl, and said weakly but urgently, "Quick, tell Marshal Tianheng there's been a change—send troops immediately!"

A guard rushed to report and fetched a healer for Bai Chenxiang.

Soon, Yu Tianheng and others arrived. Seeing her injuries, he asked, "What happened? Why are you hurt so badly?"

"I'm fine. Tianheng, there's no time for details. Ross City has been massacred—Ge Long's forces killed all able-bodied men, burned the city, and I was wounded by Ge Long. He said he'd rather kill his own people than let them become ours. You must send troops to save the survivors!" Bai Chenxiang urged.

The girl she'd rescued began to cry again. "Wuwu, my parents are dead, and so are all our neighbors—they're all bad people…"

Moved, Zhu Zhuqing lifted the girl. "It's okay, you're safe now. I'll protect you."

Yu Tianheng was about to explode with rage, when other scouts returned.

"Report: Piaoling City has been massacred—only women and children left; the city is burned."

"Report: Qingyuan City has been massacred…"

One report after another—five cities in a day, all their able-bodied slaughtered.

"Bastards!" Yu Tianheng's fury awakened the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, his eyes red. "Pass my order—advance to those five cities. Kill every last one of those animal soldiers! Blood for blood!"

"Wait, Tianheng," Zhu Zhuqing stopped him. "It's too late for those five cities. Send small detachments to rescue survivors, but our main force must go elsewhere."

"What do you mean? Let those butchers go unpunished?" Tianheng demanded.

"Calm down. We're still sixteen cities from Binghai City. Ge Long's goal isn't just these five cities—the remaining eleven are also targets. The five are lost; the enemy is gone. Our priority is to save as many as we can in the remaining cities," Zhu Zhuqing advised.

She, as a member of the Star Luo royal family, was more familiar with such tactics.

"She's right," said Yu Yuanzhen. "Tianheng, I've told you many times—calm down, or you'll never be a true leader. Tianlin made you commander—don't let him down."

"Yes, I was wrong. Thank you, Zhuqing." Tianheng calmed down. "Relay my order: split our forces into six. Zhu Zhuqing, Shi Mo, Shi Mo, Yu Feng, and Oslo will each take a force to five cities for rescue. I'll lead the main force in support. Saving lives comes first; if the enemy retreats, don't pursue. Once a city is saved, move to the next. Understood?"

"Yes!" came the reply, and the army moved out.

Tianheng was quick: Zhu Zhuqing's force reached Zhengyang City as the massacre was halfway through. Furious, she counterattacked, but the enemy scattered, avoiding a pitched battle. With limited forces, Zhu Zhuqing didn't pursue too far, focusing on rescue.

The same happened in the other cities—Oslo, Shi Mo, and Yu Feng all succeeded in saving cities with no massacres.

But Shi Mo arrived too late to his city—the massacre was done, and Ge Long's main force was retreating. Shi Mo, honest and kind, was enraged, fighting Ge Long with all his might. Both being defensive soul masters, neither could defeat the other. Ge Long, harried, retreated to Binghai City.

Thus, the massacre ended. Of sixteen cities, six had their able-bodied slaughtered and everything burned.

Though these were small cities, over 600,000 died. Tianlin had struggled for years to limit the casualties of war, only for Xue Beng's order to undo much of his efforts.

…

In a dark valley, the Evil Sword Immortal and Bibi Dong were healing. The surges of resentment and hatred from the massacres drew energy to them.

"Heh, the taste of souls filled with despair and resentment is wonderful. Especially anger—my favorite. With this, we'll recover much faster," the Evil Sword Immortal smiled. This was his true goal—like the original, he could use negative emotions for healing and cultivation.

The despair and rage of the unjustly slain were like the finest celestial herbs.

Yu Tianheng, reading the casualty report, was furious, but knew he was powerless to avenge them now.

To prevent the Heaven Dou army from returning, he had to split his forces to guard the sixteen cities, especially the six massacred ones, full of the old and weak, who needed protection and care.

His remaining army was stretched thin. All of Heaven Dou's forces had concentrated in Binghai City, which had been fortified into a nearly impregnable fortress. With the Clear Sky Sect present, Tianheng's army had no chance of taking it.

He had several talisman charms left by Tianlin, but those were only for field battles. Using them to attack the city would destroy not only the walls but also the civilians inside.

Unless they could lure Xue Beng out…

"Lure Xue Beng out? Maybe…" Zhu Zhuqing pondered. As a Star Luo royal, she knew something of strategy. Perhaps this catastrophe could be turned into an opportunity to pacify Heaven Dou.

Yu Tianheng sent a report to Ning Fengzhi, confessing his failure and asking for help.

Ning Fengzhi, normally calm, flew into a rage over the cruelty. "Xue Beng, I underestimated your ruthlessness—just to slow our army, you resorted to this!"

Gu Rong also read the report and sighed, "Is this what it means to be an emperor? This cruelty is the only thing Xue Beng surpasses our Xiao Tian in. He's lucky Xiao Tian and Old Sword are in seclusion to become gods, or either would come kill him immediately, even ignoring the Evil Sword Immortal."

"Uncle Bone, send word to Gu Ran—have him conquer Star Luo as quickly as possible, then bring his army to reinforce Tianheng. Tianheng's forces are too scattered to take Heaven Dou," Ning Fengzhi ordered.

"And since Heaven Dou has shown no mercy, neither shall we. Xiao Tian and the others may not be able to fight now, and the talismans are few, but we still have one powerful force left. The time for doubt has passed—let Xue Beng be the first to taste the combined might of the land's two greatest powers!"