Sin Becomes a God

Chapter 22: The Leader of the Demon Cult

With the Wudang and Shaolin representatives having departed one after another, the leaders of the Kunlun and Kongtong sects could only secretly count themselves lucky for not having spoken up earlier; otherwise, they too would have met the same fate as Abbess Mie Jue and the Two Elders of Mount Hua. The leaders of the Kunlun and Kongtong sects didn’t even dare to utter a single threat before slinking away with their disciples. As for the Hua Mountain sect, they hurriedly carried away the Two Elders of Hua Mountain, who were immobilized after Lu Renjia had sealed their acupoints. The Emei sect, however, suffered the worst fate of all. Lu Renjia unceremoniously snatched the Yitian Sword from Abbess Extinction’s hands and began to play with it. With a flick of his fingers, he shot out several streams of Nine Yang True Qi, releasing the acupoints of Abbess Extinction, Zhou Zhiruo, and the others. “Old Nun Mie Jue… The other five major sects have already left. Are you planning to stay for dinner, or are you going to crawl back to Emei?” Lu Renjia said contemptuously. The situation was now beyond their control; if things went badly, the entire Emei Sect might well meet its end right here on Bright Summit. After weighing her options, Abbess Extinction had no choice but to swallow her pride. She snorted coldly. “Zhang Wuji… the Yitian Sword belonged to Guo Xiang, the founding heroine of our Emei Sect… you…” “Pfft! You say the Yitian Sword is yours? Why don’t you call out to it and see if it answers? What use is such a weapon of slaughter to a nun like you? It’s better off staying with me… I guarantee the Ming Cult won’t cause any trouble for your Emei Sect in the future…” After weighing her options, she realized that with the Yitian Sword in his hands, her martial arts skills were simply no match for retrieving it. It seemed her only recourse was to swallow her pride and go to Wudang, relying on the friendship between Zhang Sanfeng and Guo Xiang to ask Zhang Sanfeng to intervene—otherwise, this Zhang Wuji would absolutely refuse to trade the Yitian Sword. “Hmph! I hope you don’t go back on your word…” Abbess Mie Jue snarled with a dark expression, then led the Emei disciples away from Bright Summit. As Zhou Zhiruo passed by Lu Renjia, her lovely, innocent eyes glistened with tears, and her charming face evoked pity. “Senior Brother Wuji… that day, Zhiruo had no choice… I hope you won’t hold it against me…” Before Lu Renjia could speak, Xiao Zhao cried out anxiously, “Young Master, please don’t believe her… You know how she tricked you that day… You mustn’t let her beauty deceive you…” Seeing Xiao Zhao’s anxious gaze, Lu Renjia smiled helplessly, while Zhou Zhiruo seethed with silent hatred. It seemed this woman before her had spent a great deal of time with “Zhang Wuji”—not only did she address him so affectionately as “Young Master,” but her appearance was every bit as striking as her own. Lu Renjia didn’t even glance at Zhou Zhiruo; instead, he patted Xiao Zhao on the head and laughed, “If you’ve seen a ghost, aren’t you afraid of the dark? A woman who’s changed her heart is like stale leftovers—disgusting to eat but a waste to throw away… though I’ve never been one to go back to old flames…” Hearing Lu Renjia say this, Zhou Zhiruo could only grit her teeth and turn to leave. Once the White-Eyebrow Eagle King Yin Tianzheng and the Blue-Winged Bat King Wei Yixiao saw that the members of the Six Great Sects had all left, they immediately knelt before Lu Renjia. Naturally, they then requested that Lu Renjia assume the position of Leader of the Ming Sect. Lu Renjia was no Zhang Wuji—a man known for his patience and indecisiveness. Just as Lu Renjia was about to accept the offer outright, the icy voice of the “Evil God System” echoed in his mind once more. “Eligible Candidate Lu Renjia has seized the E+-class weapon ‘Yitian Sword,’ altering the world’s trajectory by thirty percent. Mission difficulty has been raised accordingly, triggering the hidden mission ‘Bloody Baptism.’ Slaughter one thousand disciples of the ‘Three Clans and Five Sects,’ and the Eligible Candidate may bring the E+-class weapon ‘Yitian Sword’ back to the real world…” Before Lu Renjia could figure out what the “Three Clans and Five Sects” were, a bald man dressed in black Xuan robes bearing the Five Elements Banners rushed into the grand hall and prostrated himself before Zhang Wuji. “Zhu Yuanzhang, a disciple under the Flood Banner, reports to the Sect Leader…After the Six Great Sects withdrew, a rabble of over a thousand from the ‘Three Clans and Five Sects’—including the Beggars’ Sect, the Yellow River Clan, the Yangtze River Clan, the Five Tigers Sect, the Iron Sword Sect, the Broadsword Sect, the Divine Fist Sect, and the Golden Spear Sect—took advantage of the fact that our Ming Sect’s top masters were injured to launch an attack on our Ming Sect… I seek the Sect Leader’s instructions…” Lu Renjia cast a deep look at the bald man who called himself Zhu Yuanzhang, and a fleeting, casual smile crossed his face. This was, after all, the future Hongwu Emperor. He glanced around the room. After the carnage inflicted by the Six Great Sects, both the White-Eyebrowed Eagle King Yin Tianzheng and the Blue-Winged Bat King Wei Yixiao—the two greatest masters—had sustained serious injuries. As for the other disciples, from the Five Elements Banner Leaders down to the rank-and-file disciples, every single one bore wounds. As he slowly drew the Yitian Sword from its sheath, its dazzling cold gleam carried a thick scent of blood. It seemed that Abbess Mie Jue—that inhuman creature—had killed no fewer than a hundred people along the way. “Hmph! I, Zhang Wuji, fear not even the Six Great Sects—let alone these clowns from the ‘Three Guilds and Five Sects’? Grandfather… you lead the wounded members of the guild to the Sacred Tomb for temporary shelter first. Let me deal with this rabble trying to take advantage of the situation…” Lu Renjia said in a deep voice. Xiao Zhao watched Lu Renjia anxiously as he seemed to be holding back words. After all, the current “Zhang Wuji” had risen to the position of Leader of the Ming Sect—how could she, a mere maidservant, dare to object in front of the sect’s high-ranking officials? Although “Zhang Wuji” was now the Supreme Leader of the Ming Sect, and as a subordinate, the White-Eyebrow Eagle King naturally should not question the Supreme Leader’s decision, he was, after all, “Zhang Wuji’s” maternal grandfather. The White-Eyebrow Eagle King furrowed his blood-stained white eyebrows and bowed his hands toward “Zhang Wuji,”“As the Sect Leader, your martial arts are peerless, so you naturally have nothing to fear from the rabble of the ‘Three Guilds and Five Sects.’ Yet a gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall; I implore you to reconsider…” “That’s right… Sect Leader, if the White-Haired Old Ghost and I weren’t injured, we could both deal with those scoundrels from the ‘Three Sects and Five Clans’ without you even lifting a finger… Why don’t we bide our time for now? Once everyone in the Ming Sect has recovered, we’ll settle the score with those scoundrels from the ‘Three Sects and Five Clans’!” agreed Wei Yixiao, the Blue-Winged Bat King. Lu Renjia, however, shook his head and smiled—for no other reason than that the temptation of the Yitian Sword was simply too great for him to resist. After all, in Jin Yong’s series of works, the Yitian Sword and the Tulong Blade were rare, legendary weapons. Moreover, in the world of the film *The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Demon Cult Leader*, this Yitian Sword was absurdly powerful. If he could truly bring this Yitian Sword back to the real world, Lu Renjia believed his strength would surely multiply. As he slowly drew the Yitian Sword, a crisp dragon’s roar rang out the moment its sharp blade left the scabbard. As Lu Renjia continuously channeled his domineering, scorching Nine Yang True Qi into it, the Yitian Sword suddenly burst into a dazzling red glow, as if engulfed by raging flames. “The Treasure Sword of Dragon Slaying reigns supreme in the martial arts world; when the Yitian Sword is drawn, who can rival it…? Grandfather, Bat King… rest assured. With the Yitian Sword in my hand, how could those scumbags from the ‘Three Sects and Five Clans’ possibly be my match? Besides, I’ve already mastered the *Qiankun Great Transference* technique up to the seventh level… I’m confident that no one under the heavens can catch up to me! Although we’ve resolved the crisis facing the Six Great Sects, there will surely be many who believe the Ming Sect’s strength has been greatly diminished after this battle… So, eliminating a few petty criminals here and there will let those enemies who are itching for a fight know just how formidable we are…” Having said this, Lu Renjia flickered his wrist, and sword energy as fierce as blazing flames shot out like a venomous snake striking, sweeping toward the mystic iron chain on Xiao Zhao’s wrist. “Clang, clang……” The shattered iron chain fell to the ground. Ignoring everyone’s astonished stares, Lu Renjia affectionately ruffled Xiao Zhao’s hair and laughed, “Take good care of my grandfather, and then wait for me obediently at the Sacred Tomb…” With a light tap of his toe, he activated the *Qiankun Da Nuoyi* meditation technique. Driven by the incredibly profound Nine Yang True Qi, his ghostly speed transformed Lu Renjia into a blur as he vanished from the Ming Sect’s grand hall. Xiao Zhao stood there, staring blankly at Lu Renjia’s receding figure, her heart racing. At the tender age of eighteen, she couldn’t help but blush, casting a shy glance at the high-ranking members of the Ming Sect surrounding her. The White-Eyebrowed Eagle King and the Blue-Winged Bat King exchanged knowing smiles. As for Lu Renjia, he was casually using the Yitian Sword—a legendary weapon coveted by martial artists everywhere—as a cushion beneath his buttocks. As far as the eye could see, at least two thousand people were densely packed at the foot of the mountain. Naturally, the majority were ragged beggars; it seemed the Beggars’ Sect, with its numerical advantage, was the initiator among the “Three Sects and Five Schools.” Lu Renjia raised an eyebrow slightly, a cold smile flitting across his lips, and muttered to himself, “If this were Jin Yong’s *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber*, then Chen Youliang—that disciple of Cheng Kun—would have already sidelined the Beggars’ Sect by now. I wonder if I’ll run into Chen Youliang, that ambitious warlord who vied with Zhu Yuanzhang for control of the empire?” In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, over two thousand disciples of the “Three Sects and Five Clans” had surged up the mountainside like a flood. When the crowd spotted Lu Renjia sitting atop a massive boulder halfway up the mountain, they paused in surprise. A beggar with a huge, red, wine-stained nose and a bald forehead frowned as he sized up Lu Renjia. Upon seeing the Yitian Sword resting beneath Lu Renjia’s buttocks, a flash of greed crossed his eyes. “Hey… you little brat from the Demon Cult! How dare you steal the Emei Sect’s treasured sword, the Yitian Sword! Surrender immediately! Since you’re still young and inexperienced, I, the Sect Leader, might spare your life…” Lu Renjia stood up and stretched, hoisting the Yitian Sword—which had been propped beneath him—onto his shoulder. He said lazily, “The Yitian Sword? Haha… I didn’t steal it; I snatched it from that old nun, Mie Jue…You bunch of clowns think you can take advantage of the Ming Sect’s current weakness to come and loot while the fire rages? After all, I am still the leader of the Ming Sect… Since you’ve come, you’d better leave your lives behind…” No sooner had Lu Renjia finished speaking than he was met with the raucous laughter of the more than two thousand members of the “Three Guilds and Five Sects.” “Leader of the Ming Sect? Hahahahaha… Clan Leader Shi… Has this man gone mad? He claims to have snatched the Yitian Sword from Abbess Mie Jue? Hahahahaha… Does he really think he’s the leader of the Ming Sect?” The leader of the Great Sword Sect, wielding a guan dao, roared with laughter. Clutching a jet-black iron sword with both hands and dressed as a Taoist priest, the leader of the Iron Sword Sect wore a look of contempt as he snapped coldly, “Has the Demon Sect really run out of people? That they’d send a reckless, green-eyed brat to amuse us?” The leader of the Yellow River Gang, gripping a refined iron oar over two meters long, stepped forward. Holding aloft this peculiar weapon—weighing over a hundred jin—he laughed coldly, “You little brat, you actually claim to be the leader of the Demon Sect? Then let this old man see which is harder: your head or my oar…” With Lu Renjia’s discerning eye as a先天 martial artist, he could see that among the two thousand or so people before him, there were only three first-rate martial artists and five second-rate ones. Presumably, these eight were the leaders of the so-called “Three Gangs and Five Sects.” As for the rest of the gang members, some hadn’t even reached the strength of a third-rate martial artist. Faced with the mockery of these more than two thousand people, all Lu Renjia had to do was draw his sword. “Clang…” A dragon’s roar rang out. As Lu Renjia channeled the immense Nine Yang True Qi from within his body and wielded the Yitian Sword with the inner power of a先天 martial artist, the sword energy it released was naturally incomparable to that wielded by Abbess Mie Jue. In an instant, the fiery-red sword energy enveloping the Yitian Sword surged to over fifty meters in length, resembling an ethereal ribbon that remained solid yet did not dissipate. “Sword… sword energy… this… this really is sword energy…” “Could he really be the leader of the Demon Cult…?” Under the horrified stares of the members of the “Three Clans and Five Sects,” Lu Renjia flickered his wrist, and the vivid red sword energy enveloping the Yitian Sword shot out in fine, thread-like strands. “Splatter… splatter… splatter… splatter…” The faint sounds of blood gushing from severed arteries formed a beautiful melody. Within a fifty-meter radius centered on Lu Renjia, every martial artist was instantly beheaded. With ghostly speed, Lu Renjia—his body a blur of afterimages—weaved through the crowds of the “Three Guilds and Five Sects.” Under the edge of the Yitian Sword, any weapon was as fragile as paper. To Lu Renjia, the speed of second- and third-rate martial artists was akin to that of sluggish puppets. Relying solely on the fiery sword energy surging from the Yitian Sword, he slaughtered them without mercy. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, there were already seven or eight hundred slain enemies littering the ground. Seizing the opportunity to take advantage of the chaos, this rabble from the “Three Sects and Five Clans” had only begun to head toward Bright Summit in droves after the Six Great Sects had retreated—and now more than half of them lay dead or wounded. The survivors wished their parents had given them two extra legs as they scattered in all directions. “Nine hundred seventy-two… nine hundred eighty-one… one thousand…” By the time he reached one thousand, Lu Renjia could no longer be bothered to chase after the terrified disciples of the “Three Sects and Five Clans.” Gazing at the bloodstain-free Yitian Sword in his hand, Lu Renjia felt an indescribable thrill surge through him. This was a weapon rated E+ by the “Evil God System.” Even the *Nine Yin Manual* he’d obtained after slaughtering Cheng Kun and the Two Elders of Xuanming was merely E+ in rank. It was well known that even within the “Evil God System,” an E-grade weapon required at least 50,000 Sin Coins to acquire—yet here he was, having obtained an E+-grade weapon with such ease. As he examined the Yitian Sword in his hand, Lu Renjia seemed to sense that the trembling blade was expressing an inexplicable excitement. “Hahahahaha… A divine weapon finds a new master; I offer the blood of a thousand men as a sacrifice… Rest assured, from now on, I’ll ensure your legend lives on in every world I visit…” Lu Renjia said to the trembling Yitian Sword in his hand.