The Divine Martial Stars

Bi Yan was sitting on the balustrade nearby, her naked feet swinging lazily below the railing like a pendulum. Cradling her head with both her hands and her lips murmuring something incomprehensible, she looked every bit the semblance of a carefree young lass looking up into the sky, counting stars. If stars could be seen here.

The cacophony of battle slowly rumbled its way nearer.

The pounding tremors elicited by the heavy energy-imbued blows came thundering through the sprawl of the abandoned city. Intermittent blasts of light shone every now and then like fireworks.

Wang Yanyi immediately knew what was coming. It must be Bi Yan’s mutant champions trying to stop the enemy from coming.

“Give up the gift of providence! Hand me Li Mu!”

A deafening voice swept over the whole city like a thunderclap.

It was the enemy: the pre-Emperor Realm Lazulum.

“The monster must have finally triangulated where Li Mu was and was coming.”

Wang Yanyi mused with a somber look of dread.

Bi Yan turned around to face “him”, flashing Wang Yanyi a grin. “Don’t worry,” she said, “It will still take some time before he gets here.”

Wang Yanyi cast a quick glance over “his” shoulder. That there was no sign of life coming from inside was unsettling and the feeling of helplessness after waiting for so long was gnawing at “him”. The few days worth of waiting felt like years, decades, even centuries. “Three days had passed,” “he” could hold himself back no more, “Why is the process not finished yet?”

“I remembered what I said was ‘about three days’,” Bi Yan gave “him” a wry look, “Not ‘three days’.”

Wang Yanyi’s eyebrows twitched, but “he” said nothing.

At the far side of the immortal palace, numerous trap enchantments were being set off. Peril, although an intangible concept, now felt so palpably real that the dregs of magical energy from the activated enchantments that now teemed the atmosphere were so thick that the air warped and distorted when seen from afar.

Rumble!

The din of battle was gradually getting near.

Illumination from the discharge of deadly energies shot into the sky. One could almost make out the color of the blood.

Bi Yan’s mutant champions were still fighting and some of them might be hurt.

Wang Yanyi stole a glance at Bi Yan.

“The losses must be a blow to her.

“Is this female mutant in love with Li Mu too?”

“He” had heard about the touching romance between Bi Yan and Li Mu. Touching, but one could hardly expect that upon awakening the Bloodline of the Fox God, the Bi Yan of old could still be alive. The reawaken mutant god must have assimilated her—body, soul, and spirit—unless the emotions of Bi Yan have affected this persona that even with the consciousness of an ancient mutant god of untold powers, the feelings she had for Li Mu have managed to endure.

Seconds ticked by.

Wang Yanyi nervously used “his” sleeves to rub the rusted blade of the rusted sword. Blood escaped where “his” finger ran along the blade and dripped on the steel. But like droplets of water that fell on the sand, the beads of red vanished as if absorbed by the weapon and its blade seemed to grow clearer and shinier.

Two hours drifted by.

The bedlam far away seemed to be dying down.

It did not take long for Lazulum to arrive this time. With the magic from the porcelain bowl hovering over his head strengthening him, he had managed to plow every single enchantment that stood in his way.

“How dare a puny fox mutant like you try to thwart me?! You think those worthless underlings of yours would work?”

Lazulum directed his focus on Bi Yan the moment he arrived, conveniently ignoring Wang Yanyi, dismissing “him” as just a weakling that did not deserve any of his attention.

“Says the one who has a big mouth but not the power to justify yourself,” Bi Yan responded facetiously to Lazulum’s threatening tone, “And here I was, thinking that you have managed to discover a secret or two about Dragon Scorpion’s enchantment when it’s just because you have Void’s broken bowl, What? You think that gives you the right to hurl questions at me?”

“Hmph, you might be an ancient mutant god, but that doesn’t mean that you’re fully awakened. Besides, how much of your powers could that puny and frail physical body of a lowly mutant wield?” Lazulum boomed. “Surrender the gift of providence and the Old Fish Spirit’s heir and I might let you live just yet. Anything else and I’ll destroy you and that pitiful soul of yours completely.”

Bi Yan patted the tiny, severed hand as she would with an obedient pet and smirked, “Gift of providence? Such a nice name, eh? This ‘gift of providence’ that you speak of is a hand of my former physical body. So why should I surrender my hand to you?”

The hand belonged to Bi Yan, or rather, the ancient fox god who has now merged with her soul.

Tendrils of energies in fume-like forms showered upon Lazulum from the porcelain bowl like a fountain. He stood tall and imposing, a predator at the top of a food chain that regarded everyone else as nothing but mere filth to be trampled upon.

“It may be yours in the past, but it is mine now.”

The pre-Emperor Realm Cultivator Lazulum declared imperiously.

Bi Yan got to her feet, somersaulted from her perch on the balustrade, and landed where she stretched herself lazily. “You wish to use my hand as a tool and guide for you to reach enlightenment so that you could fully enter the Emperor Realm, eh? Think closely, you idiot. Every one of us has different paths of our own. There’s no way you’ll succeed by following my way; you’ll be destined to forever eat my dust.”

“I’ll tread on your path and trample over you by the time I catch up,” Lazulum responded pensively, his face stonily impassive.

Bi Yan’s body floated into the air. She stared into Lazulum’s eyes. She smirked with sardonic playfulness, “Let’s see if you have the strength to back up those words then.”

Mirroring her sentiments was the severed hand that leaped off Bi Yan’s shoulders. Hovering in mid-air, it hooked a finger at Lazulum like it was issuing a taunt.

“Retrieve!”

Lazulum grunted. More translucent tendrils of eldritch spread out and shot straight at the severed hand like an octopus whipping its tentacles at its prey.

Bi Yan pursed her lips, looking visibly annoyed.

The severed hand fidgeted like an anxious hare. Next, it caught the tendrils in one swift grip and yanked hard. With the ease of tearing paper into shreds, the hand ripped the tendrils apart before giving Lazulum a middle-finger sign.

A surprised look wiped across the Green Fox God’s face before she broke into a sneering chuckle, “Is that it? So that’s not only a spit bowl, but it’s also a fake Emperor-class weapon! Brazen, Lazulum. I’d give you that. Using a spit bowl and claiming it to be once Void’s and thinking you’ll survive a trip here with that rubbish? Hahahaha!”

Refusing to answer her taunts, Lazulum grunted and responded by attacking instead.

Bi Yan’s entire person glowed with a bright and vibrant radiance as if she was enjoying the blessing of the gods and she charged to meet her foe.

So began the fierce battle between them.

Song Mian and Silly Dog who had been following Lazulum all the way here landed on the ground.

The sight of them—a man with saggy shoulders and a dog that looked ridiculous—was suspicious as ever.

“Hey, you there! What’s inside?” Song Yu demanded of Wang Yanyi.

Silly Dog sniffed. “Heavens! I smell riches inside! There must be treasures and valuables inside here!”

Wang Yanyi cast Song Yu a scathing look and muttered, “Begone, you.”

“Do you even know how I am, you lowly weakling,” Song Yu snorted with indignation, “I am the unmatched and unrivaled being serving Imperial Lord Void! I am the—”

“Wait for a second,” Silly Dog interjected. “There’s something wrong with what you said. If you’re serving Imperial Lord Void, then how could you be ‘unmatched’ and ‘unrivaled’?”

Song Yu scowled under his breath.

As much as he loved to blather about himself, he could barely admit to enjoying conversing with this dog. He would rather just strangle himself.

“Make way, you cretin,” Song Yu hissed at Wang Yanyi.

He did not even think Wang Yanyi was worthy enough to show any resistance.

But the latter responded by drawing “his” weapon and thrusting it straight at Song Yu.

“Unrepentant fool, can’t you see it? I’m a god!” Song Yu said as he lifted a hand, his fingers reaching straight for the rusted sword’s tip, “If it’s just this godforsaken sword of yours, I can shatter it with my bare—ah?!”

Blood spurted out.

The tip of one of his fingers flew into the air.

Song Yu stared blankly at his broken finger before looking at Wang Yanyi’s rusted sword with utter disbelief. “What in Heaven’s name?! What kind of sword is that?!”

Gripping the sword firmly, Wang Yanyi growled, “Leave.” She did not want to waste the energy held by the sword on this stranger when the real enemy was still around.

Song Yu gazed at the rusted sword intently. He could feel that it was no ordinary sword by now, despite the brown patches of rust that spotted the entire length of the deadly weapon, obscuring the true distinctive patterns of banding and mottling reminiscent of flowing water on its blade.

“Hm… You, dog, go and try,” Song Yu crisply retreated a few paces away as he barked a command at the Husky.

With a vulgar grin, the dog padded forward. But before it could say anything, Wang Yanyi said sharply, “Begone.”

“Wait, I’ve helped Li Mu before. I’ve even bled for him once! I—” Silly Dog tried to explain but the moment it saw Wang Yanyi was ready to draw his weapon and attack, the glimmer of steel was enough to shatter what resolve the dog had. Maintaining its grinning facade despite the mounting panic in him, Silly Dog quickly withdrew as well.

“No one is getting in until Li Mu steps out,” Wang Yanyi growled word after word. “Not even a dog.”

Song Yu and Silly Dog shared a quick but no less awkward and displeased look.

Rumble!

The ground and structures around them trembled from the shock waves that the fierce battle was giving off.

The battle between Bi Yan and Lazulum was growing increasingly furious.

Fortunately, the air was thick with dregs of energy because this was part of the core region of this entire immortal palace complex, and that helped to cushion the shock waves before they ever got far, preventing severe damage to the structures nearby.

Wang Yanyi turned around to observe the ongoing skirmish.

Bi Yan was exhibiting strength and speed which could only mean that she must have awakened more of her Bloodline power. With the help of the severed hand, she was proving quite a match for Lazulum. The hand ripped and tore at every translucent tendril it could get its digits on and attacked Lazulum whenever it found the chance to…

“So she’s pre-Emperor Realm too?”

Wang Yanyi was mildly astonished by how far she’s progressed.

Bi Yan was just so much stronger than when she first arrived on Earth and it was manifestly clear that such a substantial spurt of growth could have not come from just training and meditation alone.

But that was good enough for Wang Yanyi.

They needed to deal with Lazulum and if Bi Yan could hold him off until Li Mu got out, they could get out of there without being here like sitting ducks.

The battle waged on.

A quarter of an hour passed.

Rumble!

Shrouded by an aureole of emerald-green glow, Bi Yan barreled every blow at Lazulum with the force of a battering ram, forcing him backward and the severed hand found its chance to pounce on the porcelain bowl. It seized the vessel and crushed it.

Crack!

The bowl shattered.

For once, Lazulum’s face fell.

“No, that’s impossible! You can’t be this strong!” He exclaimed with astounded rage.

Bi Yan marched forward, not an avid fan of showing mercy to smug and pompous gods, “Die.”

Rumble!

Without his pre-Emperor Realm powers, Lazulum was badly injured. Blood poured out of his mouth.

Knowing that he would have no chance of winning without his bowl, Lazulum turned around to flee.

But Bi Yan was not eager to let him see the next daylight. She gave chase.

Just when everyone thought that the end was nigh for Lazulum, something unbelievable happened.

“THAT’S ENOUGH.”

A voice—deep and thunderous, mighty and ancient—reverberated from the upper strata of the skies.

What came next was a sudden weight that descended upon Bi Yan, threatening to squash her into bits. Bi Yan disengaged from her pursuit to escape the staggering force that could only have come from the skies above and grimaced bitterly, “Void, you old goat! You’re still alive?!”