Can a Scholar Be Called a Villain

Chapter 100: The chaos in the north

Except for Meng Xing Hun, no one knew the exact details of what transpired that day. No one had witnessed Murong Lin’s third blade, and only Han Tang’s blinded eye bore testimony to the intensity of that battle.

Meng Xing Hun returned to Merry Forest, his usual calm demeanour replaced by an unsettling unease. Even Gao Lao Da sensed his disquiet.

She inquired, “What’s troubling you?”

Meng Xing Hun lay in a house, gazing at Gao Lao Da, who had just entered. He responded somberly, “Have you ever found the night to be terrifying?”

Gao Lao Da chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand, “Terrifying? With lanterns casting their glow, the night becomes a canvas for indulgence and revelry.”

Not very far from the house stood the most extravagant place in all of Jiang Hu—the Merry Forest.

Meng Xing Hun replied, his eyes still closed, “What about nights when you lose all five of your senses? There’s no light, no sound, no scent, and you lose all sense of time.”

His voice held a tremor of fear and disbelief.

“In that case, it must be terrifying.” Gao Lao Da concurred, her tone unwavering, “But I believe you can handle it, right?”

In response, Meng Xing Hun merely opened his eyes, rose from his position, and left the house.

Gao Lao Da called after him, “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to the riverside to relax.” Meng Xing Hun replied.

He lied.

His true intention was to visit a girl who frequented the riverside at night.

According to the rumours, her name was Xiao Die.

Meng Xing Hun had first seen her standing by the river on several occasions, adorned in a red cape, and she was a breathtaking beauty.

In her presence, he found a semblance of solace from his life as an assassin—a respite from the gruesome murders and the sea of blood that filled his days.

Despite Meng Xing Hun’s departure, Gao Lao Da remained in his house, gazing out at the brightly lit Merry Forest in the distance. She murmured to herself, “Things were finally getting better, but why is everyone thinking of leaving this place?”

Ye Xiang had left, and now Meng Xing Hun was following suit.

It was a tranquil night.

Meanwhile, Murong Lin had journeyed northward. This region had a higher concentration of knife-wielding experts, and by this time, he had nearly healed his wounds from the earlier battle with Han Tang.

The battle had left Han Tang blind in one eye, while Murong Lin had sustained injuries that could have been fatal.

Fortunately, the presence of the Bloody Poisonous Insect allowed Murong Lin to consume Luo Jin Roc’s corpse, gathering enough energy to leave that place.

On his journey, he continued to issue challenges, leaving a trail of awe and fear in his wake.

‘Glass Immortal’ Kong Duo Ming of the Eastern Mountain’s Kong clan was bested in just two strikes.

‘Yellow-faced Ghost’ Sun Li Di, the leader of the gang in the Western Mountain, was hacked to death in three strikes, along with 367 of his gang members, creating a river of blood on the battlefield.

‘Little Three Blade Killer Tyrant’ Tian Jin Wei met his end in a single strike. Murong Lin then took on the five local martial houses, leaving no survivors in his wake.

By this point, Murong Lin had reached the capital. However, at the same time, a major incident was unfolding in the city: the chief of the capital’s greatest escort company had been assassinated.

In a manor guarded by nearly five hundred experts, the chief of the escort company met his demise at the hands of a young man in white named ‘Shi Qun’.

Murong Lin was aware that Shi Qun was a subordinate of Gao Lao Da, a close friend of Meng Xing Hun and the others.

But he didn’t intend to involve himself with this matter, instead, he headed straight to Jin Dao Liu’s manor.

That very night, the Liu clan faced annihilation. The Liu Clan’s legacy weapon, the ‘Gua Gold Knife’, was impaled on their doors, and no one dared to remove it.

Murong Lin, known as the ‘Thin Bladed Demon’, once again sent ripples through the entire Jiang Hu, resulting in numerous heroes and cultivators issuing challenges to him.

In a single week, Murong Lin consecutively defeated 27 first-rate experts in the north, with 13 of them meeting their end in his hands.

The northerners grew increasingly anxious, and eventually, nobody dared to challenge Murong Lin anymore.

As he desired, Murong Lin successfully broke through to the third layer of the Sky Reaching realm.

Advancement in the Sky Reaching realm involved the mastery and control of one’s spiritual powers. It required the gradual refinement of the soul, leading to the creation of an individual’s primordial spirit within their spiritual sea. Only after achieving this could one proceed to the Cognizance realm.

The method of soul refinement varied from person to person. Some, like Sheng Yi, relied on spiritual fire, while others used soul-cultivating techniques.

Murong Lin, however, employed his unique talent, ‘Wrathful, Selfish’, in conjunction with the 《Heaven and Earth Blade Art》 for his soul refinement.

This approach proved effective, though it heavily relied on a strong aptitude for the blade Dao. Talent outshone mere effort; not everyone possessed the inherent capacity for such pursuits.

Seated cross-legged on the ground, Murong Lin could feel that within his spiritual sea, a thread of light had formed, signifying his successful advancement.

Once the threads of light within his spiritual sea reached a sufficient quantity to form his primordial spirit, Murong Lin would be ready to ascend to the Cognizance realm.

He took a deep breath, relishing the sensation of his hundred Blood Bat Locusts’ presence. Upon arriving in the north, he had tirelessly controlled his Blood Bat Locusts to feed on the nearby life forms. Now, they had finally matured.

The north had fewer experts than the south, with only two clans similar in influence to the Sun Manor and the Twelfth Great Roc Gang.

Assured that he had no equal in the north, Murong Lin commanded his Blood Bat Locusts to initiate a massacre. Starting from the northernmost region, the hundred Blood Bat Locusts gradually multiplied into a thousand, then ten thousand, and eventually reached a hundred thousand.

While people had witnessed vast swarms of locusts darkening the skies before, none had ever seen such powerful and menacing locusts as these.

Facing the relentless assault of the crimson locust swarm, even third-rate experts found survival impossible, succumbing within seconds to the devouring frenzy of the insects. Not even their bones remained after being consumed by the swarm.

The Blood Bat Locusts were predators of life, and what could hold more life than humans themselves?

As the locusts feasted, their strength burgeoned. Although only 46 of the original hundred Blood Bat Locusts remained, each had ascended to the Manifestation realm, equivalent to a second-rate expert in human terms.

As word spread and experts took notice of the calamity, panic swept through the populace. Various influential figures dispatched their subordinates and disciples to investigate, but no one returned.

In a small northern town boasting a population of over a hundred thousand, there remained nothing but desolation and emptiness. Panic swept through the northern region as people attempted to organize efforts to combat this ‘Demonic Locust Plague’.

However, what followed next was even more horrifying. After feasting on humans and benefiting from Murong Lin’s aid, some of the Blood Bat Locusts advanced to the Sky Reaching realm. Although still relatively small in size when compared to other creatures, these Sky Reaching Blood Bat Locusts were now the size of a grown man’s head.

With a combined force of over ten million Blood Bat Locusts and the Sky Reaching realm locusts, ambushing and killing a first-rate expert was no longer a challenge.

As the ‘Demonic Locust Plague’ in the south was gradually suppressed, the northern region bore the brunt of the Blood Bat Locust onslaught, with the number of towns razed by the locusts reaching the double digits.

Even the harsh cold of the northern region did nothing to deter these alien creatures.

The invasion of such otherworldly creatures was a scenario that no one could have predicted.

After a relentless month, a small northern city suffered the fate of being entirely consumed by the locusts. These ravenous insects spared nothing within the city itself, gnawing on even the city walls and devouring every wooden structure in their path.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Twelfth Great Roc Gang from the western region had journeyed to this place. His primary intent had been to avenge Tu Da Roc and his companions by eliminating Murong Lin. However, upon learning of the situation with the Blood Bat Locusts, he decided to investigate further. Witnessing the extensive devastation left by these creatures, his expression underwent a drastic change.

Summoning his Manifestation transformation, the ‘Flying Dragon Roc’, he slew half of the remaining wandering locusts within the city. Unleashing the might of his powers at the peak of the Sky Reaching realm, he managed to take down three leading Sky Reaching realm Blood Bat Locusts before leaving, his face marked with a solemn expression.

Despite his formidable strength, he could only temporarily ease the plight of this city, but maintaining its continuous protection was beyond his capacity. As powerful as he was, he lacked the strength to fend off the locusts indefinitely.

What perturbed him deeply was that these Blood Bat Locusts didn’t appear to be native to this world. Their uncanny coordination, their strategic timing for attacks and retreats, and even their ability to suppress their hunger to defend the city defied natural explanation.

The idea that these locusts might be following someone’s commands rattled him deeply.

This revelation sent shockwaves throughout the entire world.

Translator’s note

Yay, the big hundred. This arc will be over soon-ish, I can guess that most people won’t really enjoy it.

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