Nine Nether Heavenly Emperor
Chapter 317: Golden Dragon Mace

Chapter 317: Chapter 317: Golden Dragon Mace

"Grand Uncle of the Emperor! Your Martial Arts Realm has actually reached!" Even the high and mighty Emperor Jin Xuan of the Heavenly Mist Empire couldn’t hide his utter shock and dismay when Elder Tian Dang revealed his own Martial Arts Realm.

In the Heavenly Mist Empire, not for countless years had a Martial Venerable emerged, yet looking at Elder Tian Dang, Jin Xuan had only sensed a vast and unfathomable depth like the ocean—never could he have imagined that Elder Tian Dang had achieved the Three-star Martial Venerable Realm.

"Three-star Martial Venerable! Merely that!"

Just as everyone was astonished, shocked, and even horrified by Elder Tian Dang’s realm, an indifferently dismissive voice echoed through the heavens and earth.

Three-star Martial Venerable! Merely that!

To dare declare a Three-star Martial Venerable as ’merely that’ was akin to blasphemy against a Divine Spirit!

"This Mad Demon! How dare he speak such arrogant nonsense!"

"Hmph! Good, let him be arrogant in words, let him be overbearing in speech, let him provoke Elder Tian Dang and get blasted to smithereens."

"Elder Tian Dang, kill him quickly! Slay this haughty and presumptuous Mad Demon Shi Feng."

Some even began to pray inwardly.

"My talents are mediocre; I’ve come as far as my path allows," said Elder Tian Dang with neither joy nor anger, his ancient face still as calm as a still well as he looked down at the man below and spoke.

"Then if I were to become your disciple and learn your Martial Arts, what would be the highest achievement I could attain in the future?" asked Shi Feng, still embodying a disdainful demeanor and tone, looking up at Elder Tian Dang.

"With your talent, learning my Martial Arts and breaking through the Martial Venerable Realm is only a matter of time," Elder Tian Dang replied.

Upon hearing Elder Tian Dang’s words, Shi Feng’s expression grew even more scornful: "Just to step into the Martial Venerable Realm, and that’s it?"

"This Mad Demon really doesn’t know how to appreciate favor!" someone exclaimed in anger after hearing Shi Feng’s words. "Elder Tian Dang graciously offers to take him as a disciple, bestowing upon him a great fortune, yet he acts as if Elder Tian Dang is the one begging him, and speaks with such a listless tone. I can’t stand it anymore! How many talents in our Heavenly Mist Empire wish to become disciples under Elder Tian Dang, yet look at him!"

"By learning my Martial Arts, if you are diligent, it’s possible for you to break through to the Four-star Martial Venerable Realm, even surpassing me in the future," Elder Tian Dang replied to Shi Feng.

"Hmph! The highest achievement is merely the Four-star Martial Venerable Realm? You’ve cultivated Martial Arts your entire life, and now you’re just a Three-star Martial Venerable. You might as well have wasted your entire life’s cultivation on a dog; if I took a dog as a disciple and had it cultivate until your age, it would probably reach the Five-star Martial Venerable Realm by then!" Shi Feng openly scorned Elder Tian Dang, who had the appearance of an immortal ascetic from the void.

Cultivating this broken Martial Arts of old man Tian Dang, to only be in the Martial Venerable Realm for the rest of his life, as a former Nine-star Peak Martial Emperor, one might as well die instead.

"Impudence!"

"Impudence indeed!"

"So presumptuous and arrogant, so short-sighted, unable to recognize favor, oblivious to the immensity of heaven and earth," they cried out for Elder Tian Dang’s intervention, "I beg you, elder, to take action! Slay this man!"

"Please, elder, deal with him now, slay this man!"

"Grand Uncle of the Emperor!" Jin Xuan said solemnly, also pleading to Elder Tian Dang, "I hope the Grand Uncle exerts his full strength to help the Heavenly Mist Empire, to help the Jin Family, to help Jin Xuan, to eradicate this Mad Demon!"

"Alas," Elder Tian Dang sighed lightly, shaking his head as he looked down at Shi Feng and lamented, "Since you are so wilfully ignorant, for the sake of the common people, this old man must vanquish the demon and eliminate the evil!"

After Elder Tian Dang spoke, a slender golden silhouette suddenly emerged before him. With a grab, he reached for the golden silhouette, which quickly solidified into the form of a Golden Dragon Mace.

"The Golden Dragon Mace!" When Jin Xuan saw the mace now in Elder Tian Dang’s hand, he couldn’t help but exclaim, "So the Golden Dragon Mace was in your possession all along."

The Golden Dragon Mace, originating from the Royal Family of the Heavenly Mist Empire, is rumored to be a Sixth Grade Mysterious Artifact and is heralded as a Divine Artifact within the empire.

Wielded with the Golden Dragon Mace, one could strike down demons above and unjust rulers below; traditionally, it was held by loyal Imperial Uncles from past generations. It had been missing for several generations, and unexpectedly, it was in the hands of Elder Tian Dang.

Shi Feng lifted his head, watching Elder Tian Dang in the void above and the lustrous dragon-shaped Golden Mace in his hand, his expression becoming increasingly grave. At a Three-star Martial Venerable level, in terms of battle power, he was indeed no match for the elder.

However, the energy of a Three-star Martial Venerable was a huge temptation for Shi Feng. If he could absorb the Power of Death, his blood, and elevate his Martial Arts Realm, he could ascend to three stars, advancing to the Eight-star Martial Sect Realm. This prospect alone was enough to make Shi Feng use every means at his disposal.

What’s more, the Sacred Flame had sensed and transmitted that the Jin Xuan beside Elder Tian Dang possessed Ninth-stage Peak Earth Fire. This tremendous energy, if absorbed by him as well, could allow him to advance by another star and reach the Nine-star Martial Sect rank.

With a thought, Hai Tao, who Shi Feng held in his grasp, suddenly let out a piercing scream. His blood reversed its flow, violently bursting from all seven orifices, making him appear as ghastly as an Evil Ghost. The blood that spurted seemed influenced by a sucking force, directing all of it toward Shi Feng, where it was promptly absorbed by him upon contact.

"AAAAAAAH!" Amid screams of excruciating pain and his blood draining away, Hai Tao’s body deflated rapidly, just like a punctured ball.

"My son!" Elder Tian Dang, who had been calm and undisturbed in the void above, heard the agonized cries of his disciple. In the blink of an eye, he saw his disciple turned into a desiccated corpse. Finally, rage surfaced on his face, and the Golden Mace radiated a golden light that bathed him in a scintillating glow.

"Hitting with the rage of the Golden Dragon!" Elder Tian Dang bellowed as he fiercely struck downward with the Golden Mace in his hand.

"AOO!" Suddenly, a dragon’s lament echoed between heaven and earth as if a Divine Dragon had been struck, voicing a painful cry. Concurrently, a colossal golden dragon’s head materialized in the air where the Golden Mace had struck, quickly followed by a massive golden dragon’s body.

"AOO!" The golden apparition screamed in fury, its head diving down as it aggressively charged toward the ground below.

"A dragon! A Golden Dragon!"

The people below, watching the vast golden dragon’s image descending, felt the overpowering pressure emanating from the apparition. The overwhelming force caused them to tremble, feeling as insignificant as ants, powerless to resist. It was as if under the dragon’s impact, everything would be utterly annihilated!

Was this the might of a strike from a Three-star Martial Venerable?