Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 300 - Swagger

On the mountaintop stood a youth in purple robes. His black hair flew wildly in the wind as he pointed toward the world, words brimming with passion, carrying the air of someone who stood alone against all under heaven.

But when Ye Fan thought about it being that fat bastard pretending to be him, he felt utterly disgusted. Otherwise, he might have actually felt a little admiration.

The purple-robed youth clasped his hands behind his back, looking ever more at ease, his brows raised high. “And as for you so-called saint sons and saintesses, what are you but greenhouse flowers? When I step into the Four Pillars Realm, I’ll challenge you all one by one until every last one of you submits beneath my feet!”

Everyone was stunned. Disciples from the great sacred grounds were so furious they nearly shook with rage.

Among the younger generation, an uproar broke out. This so-called “desolate waste body” was unbearably arrogant, belittling all of Eastern Wilderness, declaring himself peerless, proclaiming supremacy above all others.

“You’ve gone too far!” someone shouted.

On the peak, purple robes dancing in the wind, the youth gazed at the heavens with overwhelming fervor. “My fate is mine to command, not Heaven’s. One day, this entire land shall crawl beneath my feet!”

“This fat bastard’s gotten too into character, he really thinks he’s the Primeval Desolate Sacred Physique now…” Tu Fei was speechless. That shameless Daoist was actually putting on a tragic, heroic act.

“You’re too arrogant!” Many people could not endure such words.

The purple-robed youth’s eyes shone brightly as his voice soared even higher. “When my Sacred Physique reaches Grand Completion, when my flower blooms, all other flowers shall wither, I will sweep across the Eastern Wilderness!”

His star-like eyes gleamed as he stood alone against all rivals, carrying the air of someone willing to pit himself against the entire world.

But when everyone remembered it was really Duan De, even the Black Emperor felt like coughing up blood.

“Too shameless, too wicked! This emperor has never seen someone like him before!”

“Damn it, taking pleasure under another man’s name, he’s inviting disaster for you!” Tu Fei sighed to Ye Fan.

“You’ve flown past arrogance into lunacy!” someone from a sacred land shouted.

“Arrogant? I merely speak the truth.” Duan De, disguised as Ye Fan, swept his gaze across the crowd, his smile dazzling, his snow-white teeth flashing crystalline under the sun. “Holy lands, hear me well. Hunt me today, and I will repay you all in the future!”

“What right does a waste body like you have to utter such words? You’ll never break through the to the Four Pillars Realm in this lifetime!”

“Curses exist to be broken, miracles exist to be created. Who can bar me from my destiny?” Duan De’s spirit burned, his bearing radiant, his eyes clear as he declared, “One day, I will reign above the world and descend upon every sacred land!”

“I can’t take this anymore! Someone get up there and hack him apart already!” a young cultivator howled, nearly driven insane.

“Keep your ancient scriptures safe, I’ll borrow them for a look one day! Polish your Paragon Artifacts well, for I’ll be playing with them sooner or later! Guard your imperial tombs closely, for I shall personally open them one day!”

Duan De shouted out these three lines in an impassioned voice that seemed to pierce the heavens, turning every sacred land’s face as black as the bottom of a pot.

The scene erupted. The purple-robed youth had brazenly defied the world and uttered words that left everyone both stunned and enraged.

Tu Fei cursed, “That bastard’s too arrogant. I can’t wait to see how he’s going to end this.”

The Black Emperor muttered to Ye Fan, “He’s saying out loud the things you’ll want to one day, but he’s doing it too early. That fat bastard’s building enemies for you. Crushing him today won’t feel unjust at all.”

Ye Fan sighed. “Out of everything he said, only the last line was sincere. That fat bastard hasn’t changed, still scheming after the Grand Emperors’ tombs.”

“The more he struts now, the harder he’ll fall later. I can’t wait to see his face when it happens.” Tu Fei chuckled darkly.

“You brat, after so many words, at least die satisfied,” an old man said coldly.

“You pig-headed fools! Did you think you could trap this Primeval Desolate Sacred Physique?” Duan De cursed viciously, lumping everyone in together.

“Ignorant child. Do you think carving a few runes will let you cross the void without fail?” an elder sneered with contempt.

Duan De shook his head, arrogance radiating. “You decrepit relics, did you think mere treasures could freeze this place and stop me from crossing the void? Too naive!”

“Kill him!” Even elders couldn’t bear it anymore; some were about to strike.

Duan De turned flamboyantly, back to the crowd, hands behind his back as he strolled away. “If I wish to leave, who under heaven can stop me?”

“The void has been sealed. Let’s see how you escape.” An ancient voice rang out, calm but firm.

“The runes I control are remnants left by an ancient Grand Emperor. Who among you could bind them?” Duan De mocked.

“What?!”

“No need to see me off. A thousand miles together must still part someday. From here, the seas are wide for fish to leap, the skies vast for birds to soar. I’m leaving now.” Duan De waved dismissively, then softly intoned, “My path, you will never understand.”

Many descended upon the peak, their eyes murderous, itching to bite him to death.

“Life is truly lonely as snow.” Purple robes fluttering, back to the crowd, Duan De declared with exaggerated flair, “This Primeval Desolate Sacred Physique departs!”

But he didn’t move. He stood there, rooted to the spot.

“Go!” Duan De barked.

Still no movement. Yellow leaves swirled down before his eyes, but he remained standing there.

“Cross the void!” Duan De’s composure broke.

Autumn winds swept by, leaves like butterflies. He stood frozen, unchanged.

“Damn it, spatial shift!” Duan De panicked, nearly on the verge of tears.

But nothing changed. The landscape remained. Panic flooded him, this was disastrous!

He stomped hard, but the jade platform beneath him gave no response. The void crossing failed!

Duan De froze like thunder had struck him, the world spinning around him.

“Damn it, what’s going on?!” His mouth went dry, a fire at his heels.

He knew all too well, stuck here after all he’d just said? The consequences were unimaginable.

Moments ago, he had been exalting himself above the world, mocking every sacred land as if they were fit for latrines. But if he couldn’t escape now… the mere thought made his skin crawl.

“Even if those old geezers had treasures, they shouldn’t be able to bind this kind of rune…” In an instant, he broke out in a cold sweat. All his flamboyance vanished; his legs trembled.

Confirming again that he couldn’t cross the void, Duan De’s vision darkened. He staggered, nearly collapsing.

It felt like falling from a skyscraper, like a ship snapping its mooring in the Yellow River’s raging current. His scalp tingled, limbs stiffened.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” he muttered under his breath.

His face turned green, eyes wet with despair, wanting to curse his ancestors to their graves.

“Oh? Why aren’t you crossing the void yet?” On the mountaintop, people were already surrounding him within ten paces, sealing every exit.

Turning around, Duan De forced a smile uglier than tears. “Everyone, I… uhh... I...”

“What were you saying? Where’s all that arrogance now?” someone mocked.

“I…I, I want to cry, Heaven’s playing tricks on me!” His green face was uglier than if he’d swallowed a dead toad.

“Hahaha… hahahaha…” In the distance, Tu Fei laughed so hard the crowd stared.

Ye Fan nearly pounded the ground in joy. Seeing that shameless Daoist in such misery filled him with unrestrained delight.

“I’ve waited so long for this, for that fat bastard’s face, hahaha!” Tu Fei transmitted gleefully to Ye Fan.

The Black Emperor’s grin nearly split his jaws. He looked every bit the scheming villain reveling in the sight.

“Well? Aren’t you going to run?”

Everyone crowded Duan De on the peak, mocking expressions on their faces. His arrogance earlier made his current misery delicious to watch.

“Holy fuck! I’m so damn depressed!” Duan De looked pathetic, eyes darting frantically for a way out.

“Where’s all that bravado? Keep up the act!”

Duan De swallowed his bitterness, unable to explain. He had been too high-profile, spouting too much vicious talk, now there was no escape.

“Scared stiff? Why no more tough words?” someone sneered.

“Damn it, who said that? Step forward, I’ll duel you one-on-one! Whoever’s not convinced, come! This Primeval Desolate Sacred Physique will slap you flat!” Duan De blustered again.

He didn’t dare reveal his true identity. He had to keep playing Ye Fan. If he could escape and revert to his real body, he could vanish again.

“Still arrogant, are you!”

“You Dao Palace trash, if it were one-on-one, I’d kill each of you with a single finger!” Duan De bellowed.

“…” Countless people wanted to curse him out loud.

“Is there no Dao Palace cultivator with the guts to fight me one-on-one? I’ll crush you to dust!” he challenged.

He ignored the saint sons and saintesses of the Four Pillars Realm, ignored the distant elders, and instead provoked a group of Dao Palace cultivators, hoping the chaos might give him a chance to slip away.

Whoosh!

A group of Dao Palace cultivators surged forward. Treasures filled the sky as they mobbed him, battering him into a pitiful retreat.

“I, the Primeval Desolate Sacred Physique, fight the world’s heroes alone, my name will be written into the annals of the Eastern Wilderness!” Duan De suppressed his cultivation to the Dao Palace realm, darting left and right among equals, never stopping his mouth.

From afar, Tu Fei snickered. “Well, you’re famous now!”

Ye Fan massaged his temples. He couldn’t tell if this had been worth it. That bastard Duan De, swaggering in Ye Fan’s name, this was going to be a massive headache.

“Forget him for now, let’s seize that dull Daoist first.” Ye Fan flew toward the distance.

To his surprise, that so-called “dull Daoist” had nerves of steel.

When Ye Fan and Tu Fei arrived, he was still bargaining with people from Radiant Light Sacred Ground and the Ji Clan on a nearby peak. He hadn’t run, he was demanding a hundred thousand catties of source from each of the two great sects.

Tu Fei sighed. “Now that’s generational talent. Even at a time like this, he’s calmly swindling source. I’d love to cut open that fat Daoist’s heart and see what it looks like.”

“Daoist, while your information is genuine, this isn’t the time! We have no time to fetch source for you now. Later, you’ll be well rewarded, you’ve already been paid plenty!” Radiant Light’s people were exasperated, annoyed by him. Securing the Motherly Energy of All Things was critical, capturing the purple-robed youth urgent.

“You’ve already taken ten thousand kilos of source from the Ji Clan. Add the bounties from Radiant Light and the others, you must have at least fifty thousand kilos by now,” someone from the Ji Clan added.

Tu Fei secretly transmitted to Ye Fan: “Should we wait? Let him scam a bit more before we act.”

Ye Fan shook his head. “No. This Daoist’s cut from the same cloth as that fat bastard. They’re one and the same, just as sly. This is clearly his final scam before running.” His eyes locked on the dull Daoist, preparing to move.

In the end, both the Ji Clan and Radiant Light charged the mountaintop, leaving the Daoist behind.

“Daoist, do you really think they’ll pay you afterward?” Ye Fan closed in.

“I thought the same, but alas, I cannot offend the sacred lands,” the Daoist admitted.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Starlight stones, divine-blood soil, and other rune-carved materials rained down, sealing the mountain peak.

“Who are you?!” the Daoist cried in shock.

There were plenty of witnesses, yet someone dared act against him openly.

Runes laced the mountain. Purple lightning drew upon heaven and earth, thunder exploding, scorching stone and soil.

“These runes… they’re made to restrain me…” The Daoist’s face turned.

“Damn you, shameless Heaven-Defying Sovereign, it’s you!” Duan De’s avatar nearly blew its nose off in rage.

On the mountaintop, Ye Fan and Tu Fei summoned the jade platform, ready to seize the source and run, while the Black Emperor controlled the runes to bombard him.

Duan De didn’t recognize Ye Fan and Tu Fei, but he knew that dog.

Boom!

Purple lightning rent the skies, terrifying beyond compare, crashing down upon Duan De’s body.