Chapter 2134 – Stray Not, Most Strayed (2)
Stray Not, Most Strayed (2)
Pan Buwang did not look away from Sha Xing’s eyes even a little. His expression was indifferent, and his voice was perfectly calm and collected. “You dare humiliate my Owl Butterfly Divine Son so, Star Divine Son? Aren’t you worried that your arrogance could backfire on you?”
He repeated every word he said as if afraid that the Star Divine Son hadn’t heard him clearly. He even stressed the words so that there could be no doubt as to his meaning.
In just the span of a short breath, Sha Xing’s eyes experienced the most complicated change of emotions ever in its existence: astonishment, puzzlement, befuddlement, shock, disbelief, incomprehension, denial…
All sorts of emotions mixed haphazardly until they ultimately settled and transformed into overlapping layers of disappointment, derision, and… anger.
“Heh… hehe.”
Sha Xing let out a raspy laugh. One-third of it was aimed at Pan Buwang, but the other two-thirds was aimed at himself. His eyes no longer looked clear as he met Pan Buwang’s eyes, “So? What will you do, Pan Buwang? Could it be…”
Pan Buwang raised his right arm and summoned a pitch black demonic spear. He slammed it against the ground with a dull bang, causing a burst of demonic light and an eerie howl unique to dark profound energy.
“You and I may share a deep bond, but I am ultimately still a son of the Owl Butterfly Kingdom of God! To me, a Kingdom of God’s honor and pride surpass everything else. Since you humiliated my Owl Butterfly Divine Son, you leave me no choice but to point my spear at you.”
“Aiya, aiya.”
Wushen Yue shook his head regretfully while saying slowly, “What a good performance this is. A pity that my Xing’er’s sincere loyalty was misplaced on a wolf with a blackened soul.”
Wushen Xing let out a light harrumph and said uncaringly, “As expected, you cannot find two types of rats from the same rathole. Still, this is a good thing for Xing. The sooner he understands what human nature is, the sooner he will grow.”
“In fact, this regent should thank this pitiful Pan Buwang for teaching Xing a good lesson. This one stab from the back alone is far more effective than thousands of my lessons.”
“That is true.” Wushen Yue nodded in agreement.
“Hehe… hahahaha!”
Sha Xing allowed himself a cold chuckle, but it quickly devolved into uncontrollable laughter. “I viewed you as a close friend because I respected the fact that you loved and hated without disguise, that your actions and words are one… I guess I really am too naive. I was blind this whole time, and I didn’t even recognize it.”
“You claimed that you loathed them to the core and hated them so much that your heart is gray like the abyss… but in reality, you can’t wait to crawl back under their feet, can you?”
Whatever respect that once resided in his eyes vanished completely, and he stopped veiling his insults any longer. “What a shame that this is a fight between Divine Sons, meaning that you do not have the right to fight against me! Oh no, no, I almost forgot. You were exiled from the Owl Butterfly Kingdom of God, weren’t you? Forget the Owl Butterfly Divine Son, you are not even a citizen of Owl Butterfly anymore!”
Pan Buwang’s expression didn’t change. He said coldly, “You are wrong, Star Divine Son. Father’s deposition of my title is only verbal. He has never carried out a deposition ceremony.”
Everyone stared at him with a bit of astonishment as he said calmly, “Assuming that the rules are followed to the letter, I, Pan Buwang, am still the Owl Butterfly Divine Son!”
His declaration caused a good number of people to burst out laughing. It was natural to hold a conferral ceremony to announce to the world that a Kingdom of God had appointed a new Divine Son. Just the same, it was natural not to hold a deposition ceremony to depose a Divine Son. What would even be the point?
“Get lost and stop being an embarrassment even more than you already are, Pan Buwang!” The Pray Eternal Divine Regent finally spoke up, but every word he spoke was infused with disgust and impatience. He did not even favor Pan Buwang with a side-eye.
Pan Buwang did not move.
It was at this moment that the Chief Priest spoke loudly like a gong, “Pan Buwang’s name is still recorded in the Six Kingdoms Divine Children Record. His name has not been removed.”
“If Pan Buwang is no longer the Divine Son, then High Priest Wan Dao shall remove his name from the record after this meeting. But as of now, he is qualified to partake in this battle.”
The Chief Priest’s word was the deciding factor, and Pan Yushen was helpless to change it, no matter how much he wanted to. Pan Buwang was a useless piece of trash who was abandoned not just by everyone around him, but also by himself. Naturally, there was zero reason the Owl Butterfly Kingdom of God would dispatch someone all the way to High Priest Wan Dao at the Pure Land just to depose him. It was a mistake that didn’t really count as a mistake, and yet the castaway had seized it with both hands and used it to stir up trouble.
Pan Buwang’s counter-challenge against Sha Xing in defense of Pan Buzhuo would not make anyone think better of the Owl Butterfly Divine Son. On the contrary, it would only earn him greater scorn. He could already predict what was going to happen. Having bestowed Pan Buzhuo a humiliating defeat only to be betrayed by his close friend, Sha Xing was naturally going to dish out an even more humiliating defeat to Pan Buwang. This was going to humiliate the Owl Butterfly Kingdom of God even more than it already was.
Pan Yusheng could not refute the Chief Priest, so he said again, “I’m going to say this one more time, Pan Buwang. Get. Lost!”
His last two words were imbued with the fury of a Divine Regent.
However, Sha Xing spoke up before Pan Buwang. “Divine Son Buwang stood up in order to defend the honor of the Owl Butterfly Divine Son. You should be praising him, not stopping him or getting angry with him, Pray Eternal Divine Regent.”
His scorn was positively dripping when he said the words “Divine Son Buwang”.
“Anyway, let’s get this over with.”
Sha Xing raised the Heavenly Wolf greatsword he had just lowered a short while ago and pointed it at his former close friend. “I accept your challenge. Do give me your guidance, Divine Son Buwang.”
Pan Buwang looked up and said indifferently, “You seem to be misunderstanding something, Star Divine Son. I do not intend to challenge you. I intend… to challenge the Twin Stars!”
“…”
Sha Xing was speechless for an instant. Then, a dark storm brewed on his face. “What… did you say!?”
Xian Yue, the Moon Divine Son, wasn’t looking too good himself.
As if he could not feel Sha Xing’s erupting anger, Pan Buwang continued in an indifferent tone, “Everyone knows that the Star Divine Son and the Moon Divine Son of the Star and Moon Kingdom of God are not unleashing at their full strength unless they fight as one. To me, fighting one of you alone carries no meaning whatsoever.”
A commotion immediately broke out throughout Eden’s Crown. Scoffs and low chuckles were everywhere. The crowd was already looking down on Pan Buwang before, but now it looked as if they were looking at a clown. An ugly and pathetic clown.
“Aiya, your actions are really starting to intrigue me.”
Wushen Yue’s curiosity was clearly piqued. “It’s starting to seem like you’re not capitulating to the Owl Butterfly Kingdom of God after all. It looks more like you’re trying to anger Xing’er… or is this an attempt to humiliate Owl Butterfly further at the cost of yourself?”
Wushen Xing narrowed his eyes. “It’s probably the latter… no, it’s probably both. After all, angering the Heavenly Wolf would allow the latter objective to be fulfilled more thoroughly. Well, whatever the truth is, this is quite interesting, isn’t it?”
“Oh yes, it is most interesting.” Wushen Yue’s eyes were narrowed into a pair of seductive slits.
While clutching his right face, Pan Buzhuo walked over to Pan Yusheng and said hoarsely, “He’s not trying to repulse the Star and Moon, father. He’s repulsing us—”
Pan Yusheng said coldly, “Shut up.”
Pan Buzhuo immediately fell silent.
“Heh… hehehehe!”
Sha Xing laughed… For the first time, he understood why some people laughed when their rage had reached its peak.
“Challenge the Twin Stars, you say? Who do you think you are?”
The way he looked at Pan Buwang was unfamiliar and icy. “Still, if you dare to issue us the challenge… how could we bear to turn you down?”
Bang! The Heavenly Wolf Holds A Star struck the ground hard, causing a stunning shockwave imbued with the fury of the Star Divine Son to wash out to the surroundings. Pan Buwang’s black hair and black clothes fluttered wildly because of it.
“If you are able to defeat me first, then I will invite the Moon Divine Son onto the battlefield and graciously show you the true power of the Twin Stars. Is this term acceptable to you, Divine Son Buwang?”
“Defeat me first.” “Graciously.” Both words were stressed with dripping scorn.
“Accepted.”
Pan Buwang agreed to it without any hesitation whatsoever. “This is the Pure Land, and the Abyssal Monarch is watching. You will not go against your promise!”
As soon as he finished, he morphed into a shadow and entered the barrier. He stopped about three hundred meters away from Sha Xing and met his eyes. One moment ago, they were still close friends. Now, it was as if a million chasms were standing between the two of them.
“Do you know what you look like to me right now, Pan Buwang?”
Sha Xing let out a low chuckle. “You look like an ousted dog whose skin has been stripped and whose back was broken before it was tossed out of the front door, but it still barked and wagged its tail for its master in hopes of crawling back to its former home one day.”
Before this, Sha Xing never thought that he would one day voice such horrifying insults to anyone… much less imagine that he would aim them at Pan Buwang.
Pan Buwang did not grow angry or annoyed, however. His eyes resembled pools of dead water, and his heart was just as calm as his expression. Buoyed within his soul were the Fog Monarch’s words to him many days ago.
……
Buwang: “What should this disciple do after I go to the Pure Land, master?”
Fog Monarch: “Wait! You will wait until the battle of Divine Children begins, and Sha Xing dishes out a humiliating defeat to Pan Buzhuo and breaks his divine dignity for your sake.”
Buwang: “But… I already owe Sha Xing a huge favor by asking him to bring me into the Pure Land. Why would he take it further and offend the Owl Butterfly Kingdom of God for me?”
Fog Monarch: “If you tell him that you are the Fog Monarch’s disciple, then he will. After all, you won’t just be a friend who trusted him and asked him for help anymore. You would be accomplices who share a secret called the ‘Fog Monarch’.”
“Nothing improves a person’s bond in an invisible manner better than a shared secret. The bigger the secret, the stronger the bond.”
“Combined with the fact that he is desperate to repay his debt and favor to the Fog Monarch… Sha Xing is a man who will do what he believes is right.”
Buwang: “Your judgment is never wrong, so I believe you, master. So, what should this disciple do after that?”
Fog Monarch: “After Pan Buzhuo is defeated, you will challenge Sha Xing to a fight as an Owl Butterfly Divine Son! You will claim that your reason for doing so is to defend the Owl Butterfly Divine Son’s honor!”
Buwang: “What? But… But Sha Xing is the only one who treated me like he used to, despite my fall from grace. Such loyalty is beyond precious, not to mention that he is my one and only true friend in this world.”
“If he really would go so far as to offend the Owl Butterfly Kingdom of God for me, then his spirit of loyalty truly is as heavy as a mountain. How can I possibly betray such—”
Fog Monarch: “Silence! For the sake of solidifying his position, your own brother went so far as to trample your dignity into the mud and kill your mother! To protect your brother, the father who once protected and cherished you, tossed you out of the Owl Butterfly Kingdom of God like trash! After what your own blood relative did to you, you, someone who has lost absolutely everything, dares to act so weak and pedantic for so-called friendship?!”
“It would seem that I was mistaken about you after all! A useless piece of trash is all you are destined to be! Now get out of my face with that so-called ‘spirit of loyalty’ of yours!”
Buwang: “… Please calm down, master! Your words are a wake-up call to me. I understand my mistake, and I promise I will never do it again. I beg for your forgiveness, master! I promise I will do my utmost to defeat Sha Xing at the Pure Land!”
……
Pan Buwang slowly crossed his spear in front of him while ripples of darkness slowly circled his body. In the Endless Fog, he was growing every day. Out of everything, his profound strength grew the slowest, and his talent for darkness and mentality grew the fastest. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was a completely different man from before.
To the spectators, this unexpected duel wasn’t a part of the battle of Divine Children. This was just a comedic interlude.
Even Pan Buzhuo had suffered a horrible defeat in the hands of Sha Xing, so how could Pan Buwang, someone whose divine essence and talent for darkness were all inferior to his brother, possibly defeat Sha Xing?
His desire to witness the Twin Stars in action was an even bigger joke.
Seeing Pan Buwang’s spear, Sha Xing let out another disdainful laugh. “This spear is probably undeserving of your identity as an Owl Butterfly Divine Son. Perhaps you should borrow Cold Crow from your other Divine Son. I do not want to hear complaints that you lost because your weapon isn’t up to snuff later. He will lend it to you, right? You are both Owl Butterfly Divine Sons, and you are brothers who are connected by blood. Surely he won’t turn you down… right?”
“There is no need.”
Pan Buwang said indifferently and softly, “This spear is called ‘Chang Geng[1] of the Silent Night’. It was the spear my mother used when she was still alive. When she entrusted it to me, she once said that Chang Geng is the light-bringing star. Even if I lose everything, even if I plummet into the silent night, so long as her spear is with me, she will always be with me and illuminate my path for me.”
The eerie, black light circulating the spear seemed to gain a warm color as he spoke of his mother. Pan Yusheng looked away without a shred of guilt or regret in his eyes whatsoever.
“…” Sha Xing did not taunt Pan Buwang further. He still let out a low shout and summoned the Heavenly Wolf’s shadow. The shadow bared its fangs and displayed power and pressure greater than when he was facing Pan Buzhuo.
“For the sake of our old friendship, I will grant you one last dignity… the most terrible defeat you shall ever receive in your life!”
“ROAAAAARRR!!!”
The Heavenly Wolf looked up at the moon and shook the skies with its howls. The next moment, a greatsword wreathed in destructive energies crashed down on Pan Buwang.
The stunning divine light of the Heavenly Wolf crossed the three hundred meters between the two combatants in just an instant. The Heavenly Wolf’s pressure hadn’t approached yet, and already Pan Buwang was forced back a small step. A deep, dark glint smoldered behind his pupils as the reflection of the Heavenly Wolf’s shadow rapidly grew bigger in his eyes.
……
Buwang: “… I promise I will do my utmost to defeat Sha Xing at the Pure Land!”
Fog Monarch: “No, you will not defeat him. You will crush him!”
Buwang: “Crush? Can you be more specific, master?”
Fog Monarch: “You will defeat him utterly in the span of three exchanges!”
Buwang: “Master, please believe that I am not denigrating myself when I say this. I am fully confident that I can defeat Sha Xing, but three exchanges… this disciple simply cannot do it.”
Fog Monarch: “In a fair fight, of course you cannot do it. But don’t forget that you hold a huge advantage over Sha Xing in the duel. It’s called information!”
“Right now, your body is perfectly compatible with dark profound energy. Such an affinity has never appeared in the Abyss before and is something even your Father can only dream of. Therefore, anyone who fights you for the first time will sorely misjudge your control over darkness.”
Buwang: “You’re saying… I should win by a surprise move?”
Fog Monarch: “Correct. This is an advantage that will only work once. Naturally, you should maximize what you can gain from it!”
“The duel between Divine Children is not entirely the same as a common duel. According to past regulations, you will be fighting within a barrier that’s only thirty kilometers wide.”
“The first thing you should do is to anger Sha Xing. Your open betrayal will apply the first layer of anger on him, and your wish to challenge the Twin Stars will add the second layer.”
“Anger consumes the mind. A mature champion will do their best to appease their anger during combat, but a Heavenly Wolf is different. Anger fuels a Heavenly Wolf’s strength, so not only would he not appease his anger, he would allow it to burn him freely.”
“In his anger, he will try to grant you the most terrible defeat in the shortest amount of time possible. Therefore, his chosen sword style will be one that fits his rage.”
“He will attack you first. His first attack will be one-fifth ‘Heavenly Wolf Slash’, two-thirds ‘Wild Fang’, and one-tenth ‘Instantaneous Hell Calamity’… I will now teach you how to identify the cues of these sword techniques.”
……
Everything was going exactly to the script his master wrote.
From the instant Sha Xing raised his sword, Pan Buwang immediately recognized that he was using the Second Sword Style of the Heavenly Wolf Hell God’s Tome, Wild Fang!
Pan Buwang had no idea how his master was familiar with the Star and Moon Kingdom of God’s Heavenly Wolf Style to a degree that could only be described as horrifying. He didn’t dare to ask about it either.
……
“If his cues indicate that he is unleashing ‘Wild Fang’, you should take half a step to the left and pretend to be pushed back somewhat when you receive the attack.”
“Seeing that Wild Fang is able to press you to this extent, there is over a ninety percent chance that Sha Xing would follow up with ‘Heavenly Star Lamentation’.”
“‘Heavenly Star Lamentation’ is as powerful as it is full of openings. However, this flaw doesn’t matter assuming that the opponent is sufficiently suppressed by the previous technique.”
“As far as Sha Xing knows—as far as everyone in the Abyss knows—even if you give up on defense completely and throw yourself into an utterly reckless offensive, you still cannot unleash enough dark profound energy to take advantage of an opening while in a suppressed state.”
“So, as soon as his Heavenly Star glimmers a little, you will strike the spot three fingers below his right shoulder bone with an explosion of dark energy. This one explosion is enough to collapse his building Heavenly Star power completely and create a massive backlash!”
1. classical Chinese name for planet Venus in the west after dusk. ☜