Volcanic Age

Clang!

After the first metallic clash, an endless cacophony of clashing iron resonated loudly.

But even that loud clamor was soon drowned out by the sound of screams.

"AGHH!!!!"

"UGH!"

"You dirty Evil Faction bastards!"

"You hypocrites of the Righteous Faction!”

"Kekeke! Die! Die!!"

The word chaos seemed inadequate to describe what was going on. It was truly inconceivable to see three thousand people fighting in a single location.

If hell truly existed, this was it.

Humanity's hell played out across the plateau. Even the green flowers had turned red.

"Hahaha! Now I will be the Greatest Under the Heavens!”

One of the Evil Faction's special force members reached the iron box first. A First Class warrior of the Evil Faction lifted up the iron box and laughed.

"Dumbass!"

Squelch!

"Ugh!"

The First Class warrior spat out blood as he dropped the box. He looked down at the sword embedded in his chest, disbelief written across his face as he raised his head.

"You-you bastard… you dare? To your Hyungnim…?!"

"We're not even blood. What do you mean, Hyungnim? Ahahaha! Isn't this what the gangho murim is all about?"

The First Class warrior’s sworn brother and fellow special force member smirked, greed gleaming in his eyes.

Picking the Blood Muscle and Tendon Classic off the ground, he ran with all his might toward an opening without any people.

"Dumbass, why would you yell like that so foolishly…"

Squelch!

He couldn't even finish his sentence. Before he was able to get a single zhang away from the center of the plateau, his head was sent flying, rolling across the ground.

"Hehe! The Blood Muscle and Tendon Classic!”

"Considering it's a demonic art, shouldn't this belong to our cult?"

The Demon Cult cultist who arrived late laughed ominously. The sight of him licking the blood on his face with his snake-like tongue was grotesque.

"Ha…"

The Martial Alliance detachment that arrived next sighed, at a loss for words. What had just happened in front of them made them speechless.

This is precisely why they called this an emergency for the entire murim.

Regardless of one's path, the bonds of the murim seemed to mean nothing in an instant.

"You won't be able to escape easily."

The Kunlun Sect's disciples surrounded the cultists who held the Blood Muscle and Tendon Classic.

"Hmph! Kunlun’s snotty bastards!”

"How fucking annoying!"

The Seven Swords War.

It had finally begun.

***

When Zhou Xuchuan closed his eyes, memories of his past life flashed through his mind. Someone's scream triggered another scream from his memories.

He hadn't participated in the Seven Swords War in his previous life. Back then, he had been quietly training at the Mount Hua Sect.

However, the scene before him was more familiar than ever.

He knew it better than anyone else present.

The thick scent of blood that made his head spin and the screams that were so dissonant they felt like they were tearing his eardrums apart—they were engraved deep within his soul, beyond his mortal body.

"Go! Go toward the summit!"

Nangong Caiying’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. The past disappeared, and he returned to the present. Time, which had frozen, began to flow once again.

The Martial Alliance's Thousand-Man Corps was divided into five units of two hundred people, according to the five major forces.

Twenty people were taken from each unit to form a Hundred-Man special force that headed directly for the summit the moment the war began.

One hundred and eighty people remained in each unit. Zhou Xuchuan and his party entered the unit commanded by Nangong Caiying.

“It's the Nangong Family and the Sichuan Tang Family!”

The first enemy they encountered was the warriors of the Evil Valley.

“Leave the vanguard to us!”

Tang Hui’s sleeves fluttered, and poison needles hidden inside them shot upward and poured down like rain.

"Agh!!!"

“It’s the Torrential Pear Blossom Needle!”[1]

A Tang Family secret poison weapon, it could fire dozens of poisoned needles at once, causing a downpour of needles.

It was notorious throughout the murim as it would lead to immediate poisoning at the slightest touch. Since manufacturing it wasn't easy, it was considered a precious weapon even within the Tang Family. Using it made Tang Hui wince a little.

"Poison Phoenix! You bit… ugh!"

The poisoned Evil Valley warriors running toward them at the front all collapsed.

"Enough! Now retreat!" Nangong Caiying commanded, praising Tang Hui.

Even if the Poison King doesn't care about his daughter, I can still obtain a small favor if I take care of her.

Nangong Caiying was calculating benefits even in the midst of such chaos and acted accordingly.

"Show them the Heavenly Dome of the Nangong Family!”

RAAAH!!!

The Nangong Family escorted the Sichuan Tang Family and their party forward.

"Damn it, they are being too much! Those rude bastards!" Chu Lian cursed when she saw them.

Even though they were all in the same unit, the Gold Will Sword Sect was being treated poorly. Not only did the other warriors not think about helping them, they didn't even acknowledge their presence.

Because of that, the Gold Will Sword Sect disciples quickly became targets. Fierce experts who could have been from either the Evil Valley or the Demon Cult rushed at them.

"Die!"

"You go die!"

Zhou Xuchuan swung his sword with unmatched precision. Every strike sent enemies toppling like autumn leaves.

He had seen many battlefields in his previous life, but this time, something was different.

Tranquility.[2]

In the past, he had avoided the gaze of masters and exclusively fought underlings, running off and hiding whenever he got tired. It was through that, and some luck, that he somehow managed to survive until the end of the war. Moreover, he was so lucky that even though he had been seriously injured, he hadn't been crippled or maimed.

But things were different now.

There was no need for that kind of weakness.

Now, he was one of the masters and experts he once looked up to.

“Captain. How long do we have to hold this?”

Six of the Gold Will Sword Sect disciples who had followed him into battle were carrying three-foot-long boxes.

Although the boxes didn't appear too heavy, the disciples, standing in the middle of the battlefield, kept glancing around anxiously, wary of potential attacks from the surrounding area.

"It's one-use only, right?"

“Yes.”

“Then wait a little longer.”

The battlefield was pure chaos. There was no point in further distinction.

Everyone was mixed together and focused on attacking. Among them, one group stood out.

The Incinerating Murder Squadron.

“Burn them all to death!”

The Raging Fire Blood Demon laughed, playing with the leg of his trousers. Thinking about the people in front of him screaming while burning alive, his lower self could be seen standing upright.

As the Flower Scattering Palm had said before, the Raging Fire Blood Demon was a paraphiliac who found sexual pleasure in burning people to death.

“Khahahaha!”

“Die!”

While the Incinerating Murder Squadron members weren't as perverted as the Raging Fire Blood Demon, they were still psychopaths who enjoyed burning people to death.

Wherever they passed, countless martial artists were engulfed in flames, left to suffer.

"Kekeke!!! Look at them, look!"

"They dance quite well, kekeke!"

Some of the slaughterers clapped their hands, cackling as they watched the burning figures 'dance like butterflies.' It was clear these men were far from sane.

They were the very definition of a nightmare!

The Raging Fire Blood Demon led the Incinerating Murder Squadron toward the summit, but soon after, a group blocked them.

"You bastard!!!!" Immortal Shang Ming's shout rang out like thunder. His face twisted with rage.

The smile vanished from the face of the cackling Raging Fire Blood Demon as he glared at the group of Daoists who had blocked his path.

"You bastards are always blocking the way of my sect, Kunlun!"

The Raging Fire Blood Demon snarled.

If the Demon Cult wanted to enter the murim, they had to pass through Qinghai, where the Kunlun Sect stood firm, guarding.

Even outside of the Great War of Good and Demonic, the Kunlun Sect and the Demon Cult had been fighting for countless years, fostering an unresolvable grudge.

“Do you know how many times you bastards have interfered and ruined things for us? This time, I'll burn you thorns in my side, and at the same time, I'll get my hands on the Blood Muscle and Tendon Classic!”

“That will never happen!”

Information was crucial in war because a single piece of information could determine victory or defeat. The Flower Scattering Palm was particularly concerned about wartime information.

Since the war began, he had focused on receiving live reports, especially information regarding Immortal Shang Ming and the Raging Fire Blood Demon.

“Hahaha!”

He couldn’t help but laugh even while blocking fists.

The Flower Scattering Palm’s greatest enemies were Immortal Shang Ming and the Raging Fire Blood Demon. But now, those very enemies were about to die at each other's hands. With them out of the way, nothing could hinder him.

"The Blood Muscle and Tendon Classic now belongs to me, the Flower Scattering Palm!”

Although he had been watching the plateau from the start, not a single person had managed to take the Blood Muscle and Tendon Classic and escape.

While there were many warriors climbing to the peak, for some reason, no one descended.

He could sense how fierce the battle was up there.

Flower Scattering Palm also flew upward, killing anyone who blocked his way with his brutal Palm Technique.

"Fuck off!"

"Agh!!"

Of course, he wasn't climbing up the plateau alone.

No matter how strong the Flower Scattering Palm was as a member of the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven, he wouldn’t stand a chance if a hundred people targeted him together. So, he had an escorting force by his side.

Finally, after advancing at full speed, Flower Scattering Palm reached the top of the plateau.

“If you value your life, you'd better give up on the Blood Muscle and Tendon Classic!”

Despite the situation turning in his favor, he couldn’t afford to be complacent. He wanted to grab the Blood Muscle and Tendon Classic and flee quickly.

“Flower Scattering Palm!”

The battle paused as one of the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven appeared.

The faces of the Righteous Faction martial artists were tense, while the Evil Faction martial artists looked either delighted or regretful.

Flower Scattering Palm clicked his tongue, looking at the regretful Evil Faction martial artists.

“Tsk tsk. If lowlifes like you were to cultivate the Blood Muscle and Tendon Classic, you’d go crazy and eventually won’t be able to avoid qi deviation. Don’t be greedy, and just help me!”

“Understood!”

The Evil Valley faction abandoned their greed without argument.

The moment Flower Scattering Palm appeared, they had already lost the rights to the battle. Even if they fled after obtaining the Blood Muscle and Tendon Classic, they would be caught in no time.

“Flower Scattering Palm! As a martial artist, you aren't sealing up such a horrendous demonic art and are just using it for personal gain! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?” a young man from the Martial Alliance stepped forward and shouted.

The Flower Scattering Palm turned his head.

"Little brat, who the fuck are you?"

“They call me the Little Mount Tai, Gao Canzheng!”

“The Little Sect Master of the Mount Tai Sect? I can't believe you actually made it all the way here."

The Flower Scattering Palm smirked, his expression calm.

Upon closer inspection, he saw that there were other talents of the younger generation besides Gao Canzheng present, along with the disciples of the Five Mountain Sword Sects Alliance sent to protect them.

"So the First Bud Sword and the Sword Flower. Where's Nangong Caiying, and why did he leave you brats here in his place?"

The Flower Scattering Palm looked around, as if he was searching for someone.

While Nangong Caiying may not have been as strong as Immortal Shang Ming or the Raging Fire Blood Demon, he was still a worthy opponent the Flower Scattering Palm had to be wary of.

He couldn't afford to get distracted by the Blood Muscle and Tendon Classic and risk getting stabbed in the back.

"Senior is conquering the battlefield! His sword will soon annihilate the Demonic Path and the Evil Faction, so you, the Flower Scattering Palm, should surrender obediently!"

“Little Sect Master!”

Hearing Gao Canzheng's ridiculous bravado, the disciples of The Mount Tai Sect were terrified.

"What? You're really answering a question like that in the middle of a war?"

While the Flower Scattering Palm was pleased to get an answer, he was also dumbfounded.

"They say that the younger generation of the Righteous Faction is empty-headed, and it seems that rumor is true. Do you even realize how thoughtless and foolish it was for you to answer?"

"Hmph! Even if Senior doesn't come, the leader of a mere Evil Faction is still no match for us! Offering you the chance to surrender is just us showing you the courtesy of mercy."

“That’s right! How many moves can you really withstand against my First Bud Sword?” Guo Cai also stepped forward, shouting confidently.

However, the Righteous Faction martial artists around him all had anxious expressions. The Mount Song disciples, in particular, seemed to be saying, 'He's really messed up this time!' with their expressions.

The Flower Scattering Palm wasn't angered by the two talents’ attitude.

Instead, he was just completely flabbergasted.

"I don't think I've ever met anyone as arrogant and stupid as the two of you in my entire life. However, it's good to know that this isn't a trap. I'll finish you off in a single breath so you won't be able to move those arrogant tongues any longer."

1. You may have seen this in Doluo Dalu. ☜

2. 무위 (無爲), or inaction, is a Daoist philosophy that notes one not doing anything on purpose in order to bring about a result but rather just allow nature to take its course and exist in tranquility with the Dao. If you want to see a more in-depth explanation, see The Undefeatable Swordsman Chapter 64. ☜