Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

Chapter 1595: The Burn Mark

Yan Hai squinted his eyes. She was familiar with that technique. Although it would not technically increase Dugu Baitian’s strength, it would optimize all his abilities, including his stamina and soul power consumption. More importantly, his Dao made his techniques and spells more versatile.

[Fate-Time Conquest: Endless Possibilities]

Dugu Baitian released a dominant aura that bent fate and time to his will. He then used their powers to peek at the future and see endless possibilities; he wanted to find the best approach to win this battle. Yan Hai sneered before waving her bamboo sword; she cut off Fate’s control over herself and isolated her existence from the river of time. With this one move, she stopped him from seeing possibilities involving herself.

[Death Conquest: True Death Sight[

Dugu Baitian’s aura changed, and this time, he conquered death itself to use its power. His eyes turned all black and eerie as he observed Yan Hai, trying to find a way to kill this woman — well, at the very least, send her into Limbo.

[Death Slayer Strike]

Yan Hai held the bamboo with two hands before smashing it down. The Void Battlefield turned dark, followed by billions of ghosts or souls screaming in agony. A brilliant light divided the darkness and eliminated the ghosts. Beyond the darkness lay a black gate, and the swordlight divided it in two.

This strike did not only stop Dugu Baitian’s technique — it also targeted him. He used a technique called [Unparalleled Conqueror’s Will] to boost his Willpower, and in turn, its manifestation. A True Will Armor surrounded him as he tanked this death-inducing sword.

The Grand Chancellor grunted as the attack hit him, but he survived with relatively mild injuries. While his previous tactic had failed, it still remained the best approach to win this battle. His opponent was an attacking machine with unparalleled destruction, and the best way to eliminate her was to weaken her physical condition and overpower her.

[Emotion Conquest]

Dugu Baitian conquered his emotions and removed all feelings that would make him flinch or hesitate in the face of Yan Hai’s endless assault. This time around, he would not back down, no matter what. He then clenched his fist to attack: [Fear Conquest].

As probably the best swordsman in the Chaos Universe, Yan Hai’s spiritual achievements are unmatched. Without such achievement, her swordsmanship would not have been pure enough to reach such a height. However, unless the cultivator has walked the Indifferent Path, they are still humans with emotions.

She may have mastered all her fears, but mastering did not mean a lack of. Dugu Baitian’s technique dominated her fear and used it against her by targeting a specific aspect of her personality: the love for her brothers. Even someone as strong or emotionally stable as Yan Hai has wondered whether one day she would lose the people closest to her.

So, as the first approached her face, the Sword Empress’s eyes became listless as she lost herself in these fears. Dugu Baitian’s attack appeared to be successful since it would land in less than a nanosecond. However, his spirit felt something was wrong.

Since he had lost all emotions that would force him to hesitate, this feeling in the pit of his stomach could only be the warning of his warrior sense. He did not hesitate to activate the Undying Body Divine Repository, but he also boosted them with his True Will, which his Conqueror Will still augmented.

Dugu Baitian’s choice was immediately proven to be correct. Yan Hai used a sword counter move at the last minute. The counter strike was so powerful that it broke his defense, leaving a nasty wound on his chest, and pushed him back a dozen meters.

’This attack was on the verge of a 6 Grand Construct empowering,’ he thought with gritted teeth. This woman’s mastery of her skills seemed to be even better than the last time they fought.

"People often neglect how potent emotions and desires are," Yan Hai uttered. There was a reason emotions were the third physique in the lower dimension. Additionally, many people believe it was not a physique in the upper dimension because of the potency of the Six Emotion Seven Desires Dao. In many Chaos Worlds, an emotion-based physique is the fourth one in the list after the unchangeable top three.

"The power that any sentient life — mortal or not — can tap into when emotionally agitated or full of unbridled desire is truly remarkable. You want to use my fear against me? Alright. Now, have a taste when this fear is turned into the purest form of power."

Dugu Baitian’s heart skipped a beat. A colossal black sword manifested on this battlefield. Six Grand Construct projections surrounded it as they released their power to nourish its edge. With a single glance, he could tell this blade was the manifestation of pushing Emotion Dao to the limit and using it as the ultimate weapon.

For a brief moment, Dugu Baitian thought he heard the sound of the Void Battlefield screaming because of the pressure this technique brought upon it. However, he did not have time to worry about such a thing. The second sensation that overcame him upon gazing at this weapon was fear and weakness.

His conquest over his emotions was instantly canceled just by gazing at this attack. Even worse, a memory he thought he had long buried deep in his mind resurfaced.

A young boy, dressed in clothes that had been repeatedly washed, knelt in front of a pale, sleeping woman. "Doctor, please, you have to save my mother."

"I’m sorry, young master, but without medicine, there is little I can do," the elderly man sighed.

"Medicine? I’ll go find medicine," Dugu Bai said as he rushed out of this small hut. He lived in an isolated courtyard with a bamboo path to an even larger mansion. The boy fell as he ran, but he did not utter a word as he picked himself up and continued his journey.

Many people were coming and going from the mansion, setting up tables and decorations. Everything was lively, but the boy could not care less. He soon recognized his target and rushed over.

"Steward Lu, my mother — she needs medicine."

Steward Lu — a middle-aged man with a fish face — looked at the boy in disdain. "Didn’t I already send your allocated medicine? Go back to your hut. This celebration will involve many nobles and officials, and the king may also attend. Don’t disgrace the Dugu Clan."

"Please, my mother won’t survive the night. She needs medicine," the boy knelt and begged.

"Go away, you stupid thing," Steward Lu kicked him away. He immediately checked his clothes to see if they were dirty. It would be a great crime if he showed up at such an event with ruined clothes.

Dugu Bai gritted his teeth. The kick hurt, and maybe even broke something, but he did not care. "My mother is still the Patriarch’s wife. He must care if she dies." The boy stood up, ready to march into the Patriarch’s mansion and ask for help.

Steward Lu lounged forward like a cheetah hunting for its prey and pinned the boy down. "No, you won’t!" He motioned for a few guards to come over. "Make sure he doesn’t leave his hut."

"No, please, she needs medicine," Dugu Bai yelled, but one of the guards blocked his mouth as they dragged him back to his courtyard. The old doctor watched the young man being escorted and sighed to himself. He decided to administer some pain relief before leaving this place. He did not know whether there would be consequences for the death of Patriarch Dugu’s concubine — even an unwanted one.

The boy soon realized fussing was pointless. Then, reality dawned on him: today, he would lose his mother. For the next few hours, he sat next to her bed, checking her breath underneath her nose every few minutes. And when he couldn’t feel the slightest breeze, no matter how he tried, tears trailed down his face.

In that moment, the boy lost not only his innocence but his last tether to this world. He stood, wiped the tears, and slowly covered his mother. Dugu Bai walked out of the hut. The guards had long left after he quieted down, probably to enjoy the festivities. The Dugu Clan had given birth to the 27th Prime Minister of their lineage. With such a significant number, the clan decided to go all out for the celebration.

Dugu Bai slowly walked back to the mansion, heading directly to the kitchen. Most people were now drunk or too jovial to even care about him, and the same was true for the guards in charge of security. The boy soon found his target: dozens, if not hundreds, jars of oil. They were brought to the mansion for the celebration, and it seemed they had excess even after the banquet.

Dugu Bai did not hesitate to smash all the jars. Then, with a deadpan look, he threw the lightning lantern into the spilled oil. He calmly watched the flame for a few seconds before walking out of the kitchen with a knife in hand. It took the mansion a while to react, despite the rapid intensification and spread of the flame. The dizziness of almost everyone did not help the situation.

As everyone panicked to deal with the situation, a small and unnoticed figure headed directly to the patriarch’s room. There was only one guard left to protect the room, and the boy immediately had a plan. He ran toward the room at full speed.

"Halt."

"I have news from the elders," Dugu Bai said while ensuring the shadow hid his face.

"News?"

"It’s urgent," he said as he pretended to fall down due to fatigue. The guard approached and helped him, but that was a mistake. A knife ruthlessly penetrated his throat, spewing blood on Dugu Bai’s face. However, he remained calm, almost indifferent.

The boy calmly entered the room with his bloodstained clothes. He observed the two people sleeping in the room, illuminated by the slight moonlight. Swish! He cut off the woman’s throat.

"What’s going on?" Patriarch Dugu yelled as he sensed something on his face. It took him a moment to realize what was going on, but time was of the essence.

"Why? Why did you let my mother die?"

"That voice — it’s you, that little bastard." This was the wrong response as a knife plunged directly into his thigh.

"Tell me why?" Dugu Bai asked, ignoring the latter’s screams of agony. "Why did you maltreat us? Why did you hate us so much that you would allow her to die? Tell me."

"It’s because you’re not my son, you disgusting bastard," the Patriarch yelled.