Urban Super Medical Sage Chapter 2078 - 2176: At All Costs (5 - s)

In less than a ten-thousandth fraction of a breath.

They vanished.

Every single one of them – the Saint Puppet Jiao, the Nine Righteous Sky Steps, and the Wu Yan Divine Fist – all surged towards Su Chen.

The timing couldn't have been more precise.

They arrived in perfect synchronization.

"Could it be that you intend to defeat three opponents with a single sword strike?!!!" Yu Zhang's grin widened, a rare glimmer of satisfaction on his features. The prospect of defeating a young man at the half-step Divine Master Realm brought him immense joy. After all, this Su Chen, who was supposedly at the half-step Divine Master Realm, fought with a strength that rivaled a Fifth Level Divine Lord Realm Martial Cultivator. The thought of defeating him filled Yu Zhang with a profound sense of accomplishment.

"Heh heh..." Yet, in that very moment, Su Chen let out a laugh.

A laugh laced with mockery.

Su Chen was fully aware of Yu Zhang's intentions.

He knew his sword couldn't possibly strike the Saint Puppet Jiao, the Nine Righteous Sky Steps, and the Wu Yan Divine Fist simultaneously.

Indeed, he only had one sword.

The Saint Puppet Jiao and Yu Zhang were advancing from both flanks.

However, Su Chen did not solely depend on his sword for offense!

"Hm?" Yu Zhang noticed the sneering smile playing on Su Chen's lips.

An unsettling premonition shivered through his mind.

Simultaneously.

"Swish!"

Su Chen executed a light, almost nonchalant flick of his sword.

The beam of sword light sliced through the air, aimed squarely at the Nine Righteous Sky Steps and the Wu Yan Divine Fist.

Then.

As if by magic, and in a manner Yu Zhang couldn't fathom, a magnificent city materialized before Su Chen!

An ancient, unadorned, yet profoundly chilling city.

The city was colossal, impossibly vast, expanding infinitely and shimmering with the patina of ages.

It directly confronted the approaching Saint Puppet Jiao, meeting the formidable beast head-on.

Just as Yu Zhang could utilize his Divine Soul to direct the Saint Puppet Jiao and launch a devastating ultimate move,

Su Chen could do the same!

Su Chen could wield the Ancient Dust Sword while simultaneously commanding the Ancient City into battle – it was that straightforward.

Just what caliber of treasure was this Ancient City?

It was a Great Emperor's Weapon.

Naturally, a Great Emperor's Weapon wasn't an entirely unheard-of artifact.

What was truly extraordinary was that this Ancient City was a life-bound Emperor Weapon!!!

A legendary life-bound Emperor Weapon.

Within the vast expanse of the Grand Cosmos World, only a minuscule number of life-bound Emperor Weapons existed.

This particular life-bound Emperor Weapon surpassed even the Zhan Cang Sword in might.

This Ancient City was personally forged by a Great Emperor.

When Su Chen first acquired the Ancient City in the Great Luo Heaven, it served as one of his most potent hidden trump cards, possessing immense power.

However, as Su Chen grew more adept at utilizing swords and sword arrays, he found himself employing the Ancient City less frequently. Another significant factor was that, in later stages, the offensive power of the refined Ancient City paled in comparison to the might of his sword techniques and arrays.

But that all changed after Su Chen obtained the Heart of the Mother River.

Though the Heart of the Mother River was essentially a Minor World Tree, its integration with Su Chen did not yield immediate, substantial benefits.

Strangely, however, following this integration, Su Chen's physique underwent a peculiar, almost supernatural enhancement.

This enhancement allowed Su Chen to exert a far greater degree of control over the Ancient City.

Previously, Su Chen could only tap into approximately one percent of the Ancient City's true power.

Yet, after integrating the Heart, when he refined the Ancient City for combat once more, he could now unleash about five percent of its capabilities.

This represented a truly, profoundly, astonishing improvement.

With this advancement, Su Chen estimated that the power he could now muster by refining the Ancient City for offense likely surpassed the strength of his most potent sword strike, even when integrating the seven-stage sword rhyme, the Three Great Cosmic Treasures, and other elements into a single, ultimate sword thrust. However, it still fell short of the combined might of the Three Great Cosmic Treasures and the Zhan Cang Sword when employed with the "Ghost Change Formation."

In essence, for Su Chen at his current level, commanding the Ancient City was undeniably one of his most formidable hidden assets.

"What?" High above, Yu Zhang's eyes widened in disbelief, blazing with intensity as he fixated on the unfolding spectacle below. Utterly terrified, he struggled to comprehend what he was witnessing.

Su... Su... Su Chen possessed yet another hidden trump card?

How could this possibly be?

The city-like artifact confronting the Saint Puppet Jiao… it seemed… stronger!

Could it be that the sword Su Chen had been wielding against him thus far was not his ultimate technique?

Yu Zhang felt his sanity fraying.

How could a mere youth at the half-step Divine Master Realm possibly instill such a feeling of facing an invincible Demon King?

How did he seem even more powerful than the Patriarch of the Yu Family?

Was his strength truly boundless?

At this precise moment.

Boom!!!

The Ancient City and the Saint Puppet Jiao collided, the resulting impact echoing like the clash of two separate worlds. This tremendous sound ripped through the Traceless Heaven, an utterly exaggerated phenomenon. Within the immense sonic waves, the Saint Puppet Jiao could be seen shattering, piece by piece. Yes, this Saint Puppet Jiao, a creation of the Fourth Rank Power from the Great Cosmos World, disintegrated entirely. This artifact, which had effortlessly dispatched two Fifth Level Divine Lord Realm Martial Cultivators before, was now pulverized by the Ancient City as if it were mere pottery. It was irrevocably destroyed. Simultaneously, as the Saint Puppet Jiao fragmented, the sword's wielder, Su Chen, had with a casual wave, annihilated the Nine Righteous Sky Steps and the Wu Yan Divine Fist. The ease of this feat was astonishing.

Yu Zhang's entire being turned icy cold. He... he genuinely felt the chilling presence of death. He had already given his all, expended significant resources, and was left with no combat power! The combined assault of the Nine Heavens’ Proper Step, the Wu Yan Divine Fist, and the Saint Puppet Jiao had been his ultimate trump card, his most potent synergistic technique. Yet, it was all so easily shattered.

He was defeated. Utterly vanquished. Below, Yang Su, Li Chui, and the others stood in a daze, as if trapped in a nightmarish swamp, unable to discern reality from illusion, their minds teetering on the brink of collapse. Was the old monster at the pinnacle of the Fifth Level of the Divine Lord Realm truly no match for this half-step Divine Sovereign Realm youth, a mere kid from a Minor Thousand Worlds who hadn't even reached five hundred years of age?! Was this not the most formidable, the most terrifying, the most unbelievable miracle since the dawn of time, stretching back through ancient and primordial eras to the present day?!!!

"How can this be?!!!! No! It shouldn't be like this! Ah ah ah ah..." Di Jie suddenly lurched to his feet, screaming in a final, desperate burst of energy. He had gone completely mad, his hair disheveled, his head repeatedly slamming against the ground, drawing blood.

"This... This... This young man..." The Iceflame Vermilion Bird was utterly stunned. It seemed Su Chen's acquisitions in the latter part of the Mother River were even more astounding than it had initially surmised!

"I informed you. I advised you against making a move. But, regrettably, you chose to act, didn't you?" After a brief silence, Su Chen spoke softly, his tone tinged with a semblance of regret, almost pitiable.

The moment his words concluded.

The Ancient City surged forward. Without any discernible interval, it slammed into Yu Zhang. Yu Zhang's entire body was violently propelled thirty kilometers away. Astonishingly, Yu Zhang did not perish. Hm. Su Chen had intentionally held back. This was not out of leniency for Yu Zhang, but because the instant Yu Zhang initiated his attack, his killing intent blazing, his fate was sealed. Yu Zhang was unequivocally destined to die. Su Chen's restraint was merely to preserve a single breath of life in him, for approximately one Shichen. The reason for this brief respite was simple: Su Chen required Yu Zhang to function as an executioner before his final moments. Su Chen needed Yu Zhang to orchestrate the complete annihilation of the Di Family by the Yu Family before his demise.

"I shall grant you one breath, lasting roughly one Shichen. I believe that will be sufficient time for you to fulfill the task you are obligated to complete." Su Chen cast a glance at Yu Zhang, stating this with indifference.

Having spoken.

"Iceflame, let us depart." Su Chen summoned the Iceflame Vermilion Bird, then moved, embracing Di Deijin, and vanished.

"No!!! Bastard! A bastard deserving a billion deaths!!!! Ah ah ah ah... I hate! I hate!!!!!" Di Jie descended into complete hysteria. He had never anticipated that even Yu Zhang would be no match for Su Chen. It was entirely beyond his expectations. But if Yu Zhang was inferior to Su Chen, did this not imply Su Chen possessed the capacity to rescue the entire Di Family? Su Chen not only failed to save the Di Family, but he deliberately left Yu Zhang with a sliver of life, enabling Yu Zhang to lead the Yu Family forces in eradicating the Di Family entirely. Such a heartless resolve!

"Fei Jin, do you assign blame to me?" Outside the Imperial Realm, Su Chen held Di Deijin, inquiringly.

"I do not blame you." Di Deijin replied with a smile: "You did not take direct action yourself; Fei Jin is already immensely grateful." From the moment Di Jie desired Su Chen's death and hoped for the Yu Family members to eliminate even herself, she had already severed all ties with the Di Family. Furthermore, Su Chen did not personally kill the Di Family members; he simply chose not to intervene in their fate. Why should Su Chen extend salvation? Su Chen and the Di Family were bound by a profound and ancient enmity.

"Thank you." Su Chen exhaled a sigh of relief, genuinely sensing Di Deijin's sincerity, not merely in her words, but truly devoid of blame towards him.

"Fei Jin, you are truly wonderful." Su Chen, unable to contain himself, held Di Deijin close and, with a sudden movement, bowed down, planting a kiss upon her red lips. Di Deijin's delicate body trembled, her mind momentarily going blank. A short while later...

"Alright, young Su, the kissing session ends now. What are your future plans?" the Iceflame Vermilion Bird inquired.

"Plans? Hehe... I intend to travel to the Grand Cosmos World." Su Chen chuckled, and a frigid, playful glint flickered in his eyes: "However, before I embark on my journey to the Grand Cosmos World, a visit to the Imperial Academy is absolutely necessary."

Ke Wuxin.

He must perish.

Is that not the case?

Su Chen harbored no resentment, nor did he truly mind Ke Wuxin assuming the mantle of the emperor's son.

Yet, Ke Wuxin had inexcusably ordered members of the Ke Family to hunt down Su Chen's beloved, his kin, and his friends while he was ensnared within the treacherous confines of the Deceptive Realm Battlefield.

Especially targeting Little Shui Lan.

Had it not been for a stroke of sheer fortune, allowing him to escape the Deceptive Realm Battlefield, Little Shui Lan would have undoubtedly met her demise at the hands of the Ke Family's operatives, wouldn't she?

Furthermore, quite recently, when Di Qiong and Yi Fu were embroiled in a desperate battle for their lives, Ke Wuxin dispatched his henchmen with the explicit intent to assassinate Di Qiong.

These deeply ingrained grievances.

Are completely irreconcilable, are they not?

The Imperial Academy, it is a destination that cannot be skipped.

Ke Wuxin, his end is inevitable.

Even if, at this very moment, Ke Wuxin holds the esteemed position of the academy head's personal disciple.

Even if, at this very moment, Ke Wuxin possesses that fabled, legendary physique.

Ke Wuxin is still destined to die.

For this purpose, Su Chen would not hesitate to confront the entirety of the Imperial Academy!!!

There will be no leniency.

"Imperial Academy, I sincerely hope you do not make another grave miscalculation. Otherwise, I shall not hesitate to obliterate your entire establishment," Su Chen whispered to himself, his voice deepening with an ever-increasing chill.

[5 Chapters. Seeking votes! Ahhh! As pledged, an outpouring of chapters. Just for today. My condition is quite favorable. First 5 Chapters released. Tonight, subsequent chapters will follow: Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, and so forth.]