Chapter 189: The Awakening Swordsman (1)

The sudden stop was like a speeding car slamming on its brakes, or a jet plane at high altitude abruptly losing speed.

In conclusion, all ongoing actions came to a halt.

Three flying swords suddenly appeared in the air, striking down with an overbearing, commanding posture upon the curved blades aimed at Long Yun, Maya, and the others, forcing those dark-clothed martial artists to withdraw their blades and retreat.

Three flying swords: one spewing flames, one radiating icy coldness, and the third, surprisingly, leaving no trace at all—it was completely invisible.

As the flying sword rescued everyone, its brilliant light pierced through all the illusions of Ming Se. If Ming Se was a killer lurking in the darkness, then such bright sunlight was the nemesis of all darkness.

Long Yun and the others regained consciousness—not only that, but they also realized the peril they had just endured. This made them look up at the sky in even greater astonishment, for they had no idea who had saved them.

Ling Ziyun was also watching, and Luo Dongjie was watching too. In an instant, everyone in the cabin forgot about the battle and instead focused their eyes on the ceiling, gazing at that dazzling beam of light—what exactly was hidden within it?

One person.

A figure emerged from boundless rays of rosy glow, as if a deity descending from the radiant light, and then landed gracefully. His expression was proud yet desolate, his demeanor invincible yet tinged with melancholy.

The three flying swords circled around once and immediately returned to his hand, as obedient as his own fingers.

His arrival immediately filled the cabin with an incredible warmth and power, as if the force within his body had become so intense that it could no longer be contained, spilling over like a surging tide.

He left as a young man, but returned as if he had lived through a thousand years. His body remained youthful and handsome, yet his eyes carried profound sorrow. As he descended slowly, it truly gave the illusion of a king ruling over the world.

“Yang Hao!” Long Yun exclaimed in astonishment.

“Yang Hao!” Maya exclaimed, thrilled.

“Yang Hao!” Luodongjie gritted his teeth.

“Yang Hao!” Ling Ziyun’s voice carried an indescribable complexity of emotions.

It was indeed Yang Hao. His appearance at just the right moment seemed truly miraculous. Yet, how could his journey be explained merely as something magical? What he encountered and experienced was probably the most incredible thing in the entire universe. The power hidden within his body had already reached an entirely new level.

Yuan Ying Jing! This was exactly the reason why Yang Hao was filled with golden light.

In the divine realm, Yang Hao was on the verge of being possessed by his nascent soul as he struggled to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. If not for the formidable power within his body, he would have met a tragic end. At that time, even the great deities of the divine realm had nearly given up on Yang Hao—but Hunyuanzi refused to abandon him. He sacrificed himself, relinquishing the long-coveted body of a loose immortal that he had dreamed of for a thousand years, and returned to Yang Hao’s body once more. Willingly forsaking the temptation of revenge, Hunyuanzi chose to remain as an unseen ghost within Yang Hao’s belly, paying this price to help him gain control over the nascent soul. This allowed Yang Hao to successfully advance to the Nascent Soul stage, transforming him into a true cultivator.

After breaking through to the Yuan Ying realm, Yang Hao regained consciousness and immediately flew through the space-time portal created by Yun Shang, directly arriving at the command cabin of the battleship *Endurance*. That was how he managed to rescue Long Yun and the others at the critical moment just now.

The shock lasted for quite a while, and Yang Hao was almost about to land on the ground.

The Miasma Assassination Squad truly deserves its reputation as the most formidable combat unit in the empire. Those few members were actually the first to regain consciousness. Without even waiting for Ling Ziyun’s command, they once again transformed into mist. The more than ten individuals reassembled into a gigantic sword of mist, swinging downward toward Yang Hao’s head just as he landed and before he could steady himself.

The timing turned out to be just right. Although Yang Hao saved someone as soon as he arrived, he was still unfamiliar with the situation here and naturally could not perform at his highest level of combat effectiveness. Taking advantage of the enemy’s instability and striking swiftly to eliminate them was also the creed of the assassination group.

But how could Yang Hao be the same as before at this moment? He was not in the least flurried. Instead, he calmly drew a black long sword and effortlessly clashed it against the misty sword formed by Mise.

A deafening roar. The mist dissipated in an instant, and more than ten figures clad in dark robes were sent flying in all directions. Each of them spat out large mouthfuls of blood, as if their internal organs had suffered severe injuries.

“Gravitational Sword!” Ling Ziyun exclaimed in shock. “Yang Hao, you’ve improved again!”

“Hey, beautiful!” Yang Hao flipped the Gravity Sword back into its sheath with a stylish move. After the golden glow around him had completely faded, he returned to his usual, flirtatious self. “Boss Ling Ziyang, long time no see! Have you missed me again?”

“How could you… How could you not…”

“Unaffected by your illusions?” Yang Hao continued for her, and as he spoke, he couldn’t help but soften his tone.

A loud fart.

That’s right, it was indeed an extremely loud fart, so powerful that the airwaves were visible in the air. The entire command cabin seemed to shake as a result. This indecent fart completely shattered Yang Hao’s majestic, god-like image that he had initially projected upon his arrival.

“Sorry, sorry!” Yang Hao kept sticking out his tongue. “This is a side effect of taking that damn ‘rotting away’ potion. As soon as I took it, I started farting like crazy. It’s absolutely outrageous!”

“You’re the one who’s being unreasonable! My classic pill, which your master painstakingly created, is called ‘spoiled’? It’s clearly ‘Blues’!” A voice, surprisingly emanating from Yang Hao’s dantian area, rang out loudly, drawing everyone’s attention and curious glances.

Discovering that someone found out his belly button could talk was indeed a bit embarrassing. Yang Hao scratched his head and explained, “Well… I recently adopted a pet named Xiao Qiang and kept him hidden on me. I never expected that he would actually start talking recently…”

“Ridiculous!” the voice became even more furious and intense. “I’m not some pet! I am the esteemed Sanxian, Hunyuanzi. If it weren’t for you, my idiot disciple, I would have already been off enjoying my freedom and happiness.”

The voice indeed belonged to Hunyuanzi. Previously, when Hunyuanzi was hiding inside Yang Hao’s dantian, only Yang Hao could hear him speak. But now, returning to this familiar place, his abilities had greatly increased, allowing everyone to hear his voice. This sudden change made Yang Hao feel extremely uneasy.

“What dark arts, what killing with illusions— it’s nothing but using drugs to control people’s minds,” Yang Hao bluntly exposed Ming Se’s tricks. “The elders in the Imperial Senate merely stole our Dan Ding dual cultivation sect’s alchemy techniques and now think they’re invincible? We only need one single ‘Rotting Pill’ to counteract every single drug in the entire world.”

Ling Ziyun still stared at Yang Hao with a shocked expression, unable to comprehend how such a person could exist in this world. He repeatedly challenged the Empire and the Senate, yet not only survived, but grew even stronger and more formidable over time.

“What sect is Dan Ding?” Luo Dongjie asked coldly.

“Dan Ding Double Cultivation Sect, Dan Ding Elixir Sect!” Yang Hao chuckled. “Call it whatever you like.”

“You must be Yang Hao?” Luodongjie, surprisingly calm amidst this sudden reversal of circumstances, spoke slowly and deliberately, “It’s you I’ve been waiting for!”

“Wait for me?” Yang Hao looked at Luo Dongjie with a very frightened and scared expression. “No way, handsome guy. I don’t have that kind of preference. I’m absolutely a hundred percent heterosexual. Only pretty girls with long legs can make my heart race, someone like the beautiful Ling Ziyan, for example.”

Ling Ziyang gave Yang Hao a glare, but the situation didn’t seem like that of enemies; instead, it looked more like a jealous lover.

As soon as Yang Hao turned around, he kicked Long Yun: “Stupid dragon, how could you let such a huge crowd jump onto the spaceship? From now on, we might as well convert the battleship into a subway system, sell monthly passes, and make money from long-distance transportation!”

“There’s nothing I can do if they want to come up themselves.” Long Yun hugged Yang Hao tightly while continuously thumping his back with his fists. “Long time no see, long time no see! How are you? How are you? I’ve missed you so much! I’ve missed you so much!”

Yang Hao was on the verge of being beaten to death.

“Damn! Do you want to kill someone?” Yang Hao was so furious that he almost used his flying sword to kill. He had barely managed to break free from Long Yun’s embrace when, the moment he turned around, two gleaming swords came slashing straight toward his face. Yang Hao quickly activated his Feihua Huaying technique to dodge, but as he was about to counterattack by drawing his sword, he realized in shock that his attackers were actually Da Nuo and Xiao Yan.

“Captain!!” The two guys dropped their swords and threw themselves into Yang Hao’s arms. “You’re finally back!”

Yang Hao was delighted beyond expectation, almost jumping with joy: “You’ve improved so much! I could barely dodge your attacks. It seems my Haotian Sword Group is about to surpass the Demon Bear Group in strength!”

The family was huddled together, overwhelmed with emotion, when Losang Dorje remained as calm as a mountain. He even had the composure to clap his hands. The sharp clapping sounded like hammers striking people’s heads, causing a lingering ache.

“Congratulations, your family is finally reunited. It’s really touching,” Luo Dongjie said, wiping the corner of his eye. “I’m about to cry too.”

“Who exactly is this guy?” Yang Hao’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe it—could someone actually have better acting skills than him? Could this person actually be aiming for the Best Actor award?

Long Yun immediately revealed the mission for the day: “This foolish fellow named Luo Dongjie is one of the Empire’s least competent young generals. The fleet that we destroyed on Saint Bear Star was under his command. Now, we will keep him occupied and wait for a little while longer…”

Long Yun seemed to want to say something, but hesitated. However, Luo Dongjie voluntarily added, “In a little while, the main force of the rebel army from the Sanjing Hai star system will arrive and wipe us out all at once.”