Chapter 276: Chapter 265: The Power Of Hope

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In that very moment, Hue Xian learned the true power of Hope.

To not only harbor strength from those that have Hope for her, but also to protect the weak.

An element of its own, a power only she wielded.

This power is made to defy the world and everything, to change society entirely.

“Stop with your damn yapping, you slut!”

“I won’t! I will show you the might of the people, you bandit!”

CLAAASH!

The two clashed against each other; the shockwave of Ki sent the cat boy flying away, but he safely landed on the mud.

Despite being covered in mud, he glanced at the scene in disbelief…

“Hue Xian,” he muttered. “Can… can you really do it?”

“Can she?”

“Can she truly win?”

“Is it possible?!”

“But… is it?!”

The people all around Ku Zi started to wonder and doubt themselves once more.

Hue Xian and Sheng Hyan clashed against one another; the white claw waves of Ki clashed against Hue Xian’s bamboo poles imbued with golden flames of Hope.

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

Explosions of Silver and Golden Ki erupted across the entire city, yet Hue Xian always made sure to block the attacks from reaching any house.

“You’re actively trying to save these houses?!” laughed Sheng Hyan. “You’re so pathetic! With the strength you have, you shouldn’t even worry about anybody!”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Hue Xian roared. “The strength we have must obviously be used to help others! What purpose does strength have if it's not used for good?! To protect others? In a world riddled with wild beasts and monsters, do you think you’re a genius for believing power is used to abuse the weak instead?! People and cultivators must rally together; we must fight back against the martial beast waves to protect ourselves, not to kill one another!”

“You sure love talking, you piece of shit!”

Sheng Hyan roared, kicking Hue Xian in the head and pushing her down into the mud, his entire body weight crushing her head deeper.

“You’re nothing but an insect that learned how to sting, yet at the end of the day, you’re still a bug anyway! Submit to me and become my slave, and your sins shall be forgiven!”

“I WOULD RATHER DIE!”

Hue Xian roared, pushing upwards, step by step, until she lifted the entire leg of the panda with all his weight!

The people gasped, their Hope rising, and therefore, Hue Xian grew stronger.

“H-How is she doing this?!” Sheng Hyan muttered. “I can’t sense any core within her at all! Just… a heart?! Huh?”

“RAAAH!”

Hue Xian roared, jumping into the skies and then rushing down with her bird legs pointed at the panda’s face, unleashing a myriad of kicks.

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

“Don’t underestimate your opponent, Sheng Hyan!”

“UGH…! YOUU!”

Sheng Hyan gritted his sharp teeth as he grabbed Hue Xian and then sent her flying away.

“And you shouldn’t look down on your honored cultivators, you slut!”

He leaped into the skies, unsheathing a blade and imbuing it with white-colored Ki.

“I might be a failed student of the blade, but I can still cut a feeble little bird like you into shreds!”

He swung his gigantic blade against Hue Xian as she fell from the skies.

CLAAASH!

The two bamboo poles shattered into pieces as the blade sliced through them, quickly moving towards Hue Xian’s neck.

As she was about to face her death, realizing that Sheng Hyan wasn’t just a Rank 1 Cultivator, but most likely already almost at the Rank 2 realm, the power of Hope gathered into a single space.

Materializing and taking the shape of her own thoughts and imagination, a power that could be molded into literally anything.

A shield.

She needed a shield!

FLASH!

And a shield was made!

A shield was created from the hopes and dreams of every mortal in this village.

CRASH!

The blade hit the Holden shield that materialized, pushing Hue Xian below into the mud.

BAAAM!

The ground shook as the panda tried to quickly finish her off, only for the girl to fly away from his blade attack and then descend rapidly.

“A shield?! Where did you get that!”

“This is the shield that will protect the innocent…”

Suddenly, the shield changed its appearance.

Becoming a long pole!

“And this is the weapon that shall punish the wicked!”

“YOU INSOLENT LITTLE…!”

Sheng Hyan furiously swung his giant blade against her; the golden pole and the silver blade’s impact unleashed a loud, metallic sound, reverberating across the entire village.

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

At the same time, I saw Ku Zi running around the village, screaming to the people around them that there was someone that was going to defeat the Evil Sheng Hyan.

“Everyone, come outside! A big battle is happening! Sheng Hyan will be defeated! He will pay for his crimes!”

“What?”

“What is the boy saying?”

“L-Look, over there!”

Elderly, children, adults, mothers, and fathers—every single person quickly came running out; they loved gossip after all, and seeing this happening quickly brought the masses to Hue Xian’s side.

“W-What is that brat doing?!” groaned Sheng Hyan, gasping for air as he was growing wearier. “Why is he bringing everyone outside?!”

“Ku Zi…!” Hue Xian smiled. “You see, he’s quite the troublemaker!”

“SHUT UP!”

With a furious roar, the bear kicked Hue Xian away with all his strength, sending her flying away once more. Her body was incredibly lightweight, making her an easy target for powerful blows that destabilized her foothold.

And that wasn’t all; the panda kicked the air using Cloud Step and quickly rushed above her, his sword pointing at her neck again.

“This time, for sure…! I’ll decapitate you in front of everyone, you insolent little bitch!”

He jumped down, rushing towards her.

His giant blade overflowed with silver Ki; this was…

Without a doubt, he cultivated the Element of the Sword.

The Blade Law!

“{Shield of Hope}!”

Hue Xian materialized the golden shield again, blocking the incoming sword attack, only to be surprised as several more attacks came rushing down, one after another, an endless barrage!

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

“That shield of yours ought to break eventually, you little shit!”

Crack, crack…!

And indeed, as the shield started gaining more and more cracks, Hue Xian’s eyes widened.

“Hah, I knew it!”

With a smile, Sheng Hyan imbued all his Ki into his blade again.

“This is it, little bird… This is as far as you get!”

As Hue Xian faced the gigantic blade once more, she felt her reserves of Hope essence suddenly…

Rising, not depleting!

“You can do it, Hue Xian!”

“Defeat that bandit, girl!”

“Please, avenge my son! He wasn’t even a beggar!”

“That monster killed old Chi; he was my drinking pal!”

“Please, we beg of you… Free us from him!”

“Everyone…”

Hue Xian looked at the people screaming at the top of their lugs, and at Ku Zi smiling in the middle of them all, the girl’s aura erupted with golden flames, her exhaustion dissipated, and her wounds healed.

This was the power of Hope!

“I did my part, Hue Xian! I believe in you!” Ku Zi said. “YOU CAN DO IT!”

“I… I can do it!”

Hue Xian quickly stood back up, her shield shattering into pieces as she leaped into the right and evaded the sword coming down towards her like a deadly guillotine.

CLASH!

As the sword hit the ground and mud splattered into the panda’s face, the girl spun in midair, using her wings to gracefully fly and then spin!

“{Heaven’s Step}!”

Golden flames flared from her legs as she spun, resembling a drill, and she hit the panda’s head, smacking him down into the ground!

BAAAM!

“GUH?!”

Sheng Hyan groaned in pain, his body rolling over the floor as he quickly stood back up, his claws rushing towards Hue Xian as he roared like the beast he was. His blade was shattered.

“DIEEE! RAAAH!”

His claws unleashed the last bits of Ki within him, unleashing waves of Ki that could cut through anything, yet Hue Xian parried them with her wings, imbuing them with her Golden Flames of Hope.

The feathers, in turn, became metallic looking as she gracefully parried the blows as they came; her concentration looked almost divine, her movements as graceful as real cranes.

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

“H-How is a girl… moving like this?!”

Sheng Hyan couldn’t believe his eyes.

Each of his attacks was easily parried or even avoided altogether.

The moment his claws were about to reach her, Hue Xian’s feathers would quickly divert their trajectory elsewhere, making him fall into the mud constantly.

“DON’T MOCK ME, YOU LOWLY-”

“I am not mocking you; I already told you! You lack the gracefulness of a true master and have no honor on your way of speaking, nor the way you speak! You are nothing but a failure!”

“Y-You dare humiliate me?! I am the greatest disciple of the silver blade clan, and-”

“Head straight!”

BAAAM!

Hue Xian kicked his chin, blood coming out of his mouth as the panda ended biting his own tongue, making a pained scream.

As he was about to attack her with his bare claws, she then leaped in midair, using her two feathers, and slammed his shoulders.

“Your shoulders are uneven; what a terrible posture!”

CLASH! CLASH!

“GUH?!”

The man screamed his lungs out, falling to the floor once more.

The people gathered around to see his humiliation.

“Hahhh… Hahhh…”

Sheng Hyan couldn’t believe it; he was actually gasping for air, exhausted, and this girl was bullying him. His pride as a cultivator, his tyranny, his terrible bloodthirsty nature—everything was gone.

“Please, no more… s-spare me…!”

And then he started begging for his life.

“I did wrong… I deserve… a chance to atone, right?”

He thought that he could deceive the righteous girl by acting like he could atone.

Perhaps he could atone, yeah.

“Of course, you can atone.”

“Ahh! Hue Xian! I knew you would-”

“On your next life, that’s it. Monsters that have taken dozens of innocent lives do NOT deserve second chances!”

Her pole then turned into a naginata; the panda tried to evade, but it was too late; mercilessly, the girl beheaded him cleanly!

SLAAASH!

His head fell, rolling over the mud…

Sheng Hyan had no chance to scream or anything before he was already dead.

The people of the village glanced in disbelief.

Hue Xian still knew that the law of the world was of “might makes right”.

If he left that monster alive and tried to forgive him, he would come back one day to destroy the whole village.

Psychopaths like him would never change.

“Hahh…”

She fell into her knees, gasping for air; her body felt numb and weakened, and she almost became paralyzed.

“Ugh, my head hurts…” she sighed. “Hahh… I-I really killed- Ah… Ugh…”

While gasping for air, she started crying.

Even after taking the life of a wicked man…

She still felt pity for his life and felt guilty for what she did.

“Forgive me,” she sighed, crying. “I’ve taken your life… I am no better than you now.”

“Y-You did well!” Ku Zi ran towards her, hugging her. “You did well, Hue Xian! Don’t say that… you… You did the correct thing; sometimes, if by taking a life you can save many…”

“No…” Hue Xian sighed. “That is not the correct way either… I need to change this world, if not… I will only be forced to kill more and more, and I will too become a monster.”

“Hue Xian…” Ki Zu looked at the girl, standing up.

“Girl…”

“Y-You really did it…”

“Won’t the sect come to see what happened now?!”

“He was a wandering cultivator with no affiliation, but even then…”

“You have to run away! You can’t stay here, or they’ll come to kill you… They always do…”

“The cultivators won’t stand one of them dying from a mortal girl!”

“…” Hue Xian looked at the people, nodding. “I know… Thank you for believing in me, everyone…”

“W-Wait, Hue Xian! Where are you going?!” asked Ku Zi. “You people! At least offer her something! Food or anything?!”

“…”

The people remained in silence.

Everyone was poor; they couldn’t even afford a reward.

But did Hue Xian even want one?

“It’s fine, Ku Zi,” she sighed. “I never fought to protect them, expecting a reward of some sort. I did it all on my own accord. Come on now, let’s go eat something together. I promised you fish and rice, right?”

Covered in mud and blood, the white crane walked away with her black cat friend.

The people of the village were still impacted that their tyrant died so suddenly.

But they also learned that the world is not as they’ve always thought.

That there are indeed people out there that will fight to help them, that will fight for justice.

And the little seed of Hope she left behind, she spread through countless other villages.

The white crane girl, the weakest of all races, became a legend of her own.

And over the years, dozens, hundreds, thousands of years…

That same white crane girl that fought to protect a village even when she had yet to even become a cultivator herself…

Became their Venerable.

The Heavenly Empress, Hue Xian.

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