Jiang Chen Takes the Stage – One Versus Many

 The battlefield was eerily silent.

Dust swirled in the air, illuminated by the eerie glow of the temple's ever-present ethereal light. The lingering energy of Feng Yuechan and Qin Tian's battle still crackled across the stone floor. The warriors from the remaining factions stood frozen, their eyes locked onto the lone figure who had just stepped onto the battlefield.

Jiang Chen.

His golden-amber eyes burned with untamed brilliance, his aura calm but unshakable, exuding the natural pressure of a predator among prey. He scanned the battlefield, noting the warriors before him—leaders of their factions, the final remnants of this brutal elimination trial.

Some looked wary.

Some looked confident.

One looked foolishly arrogant.

A warrior from the Thunderclap Fortress faction stepped forward. A hulking man draped in silver-and-blue battle robes, his Qi crackling like an impending storm.

"Hmph," the man sneered. "So you're the last warrior of the so-called Sundering Legion? The one we've all been waiting for?" His lips curled in disdain. "You certainly know how to make an entrance. But let's not waste any more time."

BOOOM!

A surge of thunderous Qi erupted from his body, his hands crackling with electricity. The ground trembled as arcs of lightning flickered across his arms.

"I, Lei Tianba, shall be the one to break you."

Jiang Chen remained still, his expression unreadable. His eyes, however, held something dangerous.

The warriors from the other factions watched with caution, their hands on their weapons. They were no fools—Lei Tianba was strong, but Jiang Chen was an unknown variable. They wanted to see his strength first before making their move.

Lei Tianba smirked. "Nothing to say? Then die—"

BOOOOOOM!

Lei Tianba disappeared, his body turning into a streak of silver lightning as he shot toward Jiang Chen, his fist crackling with enough power to split boulders.

The attack hit.

A deafening explosion rang through the battlefield, dust and rubble shooting into the air.

The watching warriors narrowed their eyes, searching through the debris.

Then—

A figure slowly emerged from the smoke.

Jiang Chen stood exactly where he had been, his robe completely untouched, not a single speck of dust upon him.

His hand was outstretched.

Gripping Lei Tianba's wrist.

The warrior's eyes bulged in disbelief. "W-What—?!"

Jiang Chen's grip tightened.

CRACK!

Lei Tianba let out a strangled gasp, his entire arm going numb. His once-imposing aura flickered violently.

Jiang Chen's voice was soft. "Is that all?"

Then, without warning—

BOOOOOM!

Jiang Chen's knee smashed into Lei Tianba's gut.

The Thunderclap Fortress warrior's body contorted, his ribs caving inward as the force of the blow sent him rocketing backward like a meteor. He crashed through the stone floor, skidding across the battlefield before slamming into one of the distant stone pillars.

Silence.

Lei Tianba was unconscious.

Eliminated.

Then a deep, sonorous voice rang out in everyone's mind.

"The Thunderclap Fortress faction has been eliminated." 

"All of the remaining competitors will be admitted to the next floor. However, the final one left standing will be given an advantage on the next floor, so this battle is by no means over."

The gathered warriors inhaled sharply. Many had expected Jiang Chen to be strong.

But not this strong.

One strike.

One move.

And Lei Tianba, a faction leader, was gone.

Jiang Chen exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders. "Alright." His golden-amber eyes scanned the remaining warriors. "Who's next?"

A deep sense of unease spread across the battlefield.

Feng Yuechan narrowed her eyes.

The others shifted uncomfortably.

Then, one of the faction leaders stepped forward—a sharp-eyed man in golden robes, his presence refined yet imposing.

"Everyone," he said, voice steady but urgent. "If we let this man fight us one-on-one, we are finished."

Another faction leader, a spear-wielding woman in dark crimson armor, nodded. "Agreed. If we fight individually, we will all fall just like Lei Tianba."

A third faction leader, a pale-robed man with a crescent moon symbol on his chest, exhaled. "Then there's only one answer."

Silence.

Then—

BOOOOM!

All the remaining warriors surged forward at once.

A full-scale assault.

Eight warriors.

One Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen smirked. "Now we're talking."

BOOOOOOM!

The battlefield erupted into chaos.

Swords slashed through the air.

Spears thrust with deadly precision.

Elemental Qi raged—fire, lightning, wind, and ice clashing in a maelstrom of destruction.

Jiang Chen was a blur, weaving between strikes with impossible fluidity. His body flickered as he activated Voidwalker, slipping through space itself. A blade passed through where his heart had been a second earlier, only to find empty air.

A flame-wielding warrior roared, sending a tidal wave of fire surging toward him.

Jiang Chen spun, his palm snapping forward.

BOOOOM!

A Heaven Sundering Palm infused with Chaos Qi detonated the fire attack, sending the warrior flying backward.

A spear shot toward him from the right.

Jiang Chen twisted mid-air, his foot slamming against the shaft of the weapon.

SNAP!

The spear shattered.

The wielder barely had time to react before Jiang Chen's fist crashed into his face.

BOOOOM!

Another warrior fell.

Yet the others kept coming.

A barrage of elemental attacks rained down from all sides.

Feng Yuechan's eyes flickered. "This is it. Let's see how much further he can last."

Jiang Chen inhaled deeply.

Then, for the first time since stepping onto the battlefield, he activated it.

BOOOOOOOM!

A divine light erupted from his body, engulfing the battlefield in an ethereal radiance.

His Starshadow Body had fully awakened.

His divine mark glowed brilliantly on his forehead, his presence shifting into something completely unearthly.

The warriors froze.

"What… what is that?!"

"He has a divine constitution?!"

"Wait, no… that energy is—!!"

They didn't get to finish.

Because Jiang Chen moved.

He was no longer evading.

He was hunting.

His figure flickered, appearing behind one warrior.

BOOOOM!

A Chaos-infused Starshadow Strike shattered the warrior's defenses, sending him spiraling across the battlefield.

Another fighter attempted to counter, swinging a crescent-shaped blade at his side.

Jiang Chen caught it with two fingers.

CRACK!

The weapon shattered.

The wielder's face paled.

Jiang Chen's smirk widened.

BOOOOOOM!

A palm strike to the chest sent the warrior flying.

One by one, they fell.

Feng Yuechan's expression darkened.

The battlefield was no longer a battle.

It was a massacre.

And Jiang Chen was standing at the center of it.

She clenched her fists. So, this is the monster of the Heaven Sundering Sect…

Jiang Chen exhaled, dusting off his robes as the last warrior collapsed to the ground.

Only a handful of figures remained standing.

Feng Yuechan.

The pale-robed warrior of the Serene Moon Hall.

The crimson-armored woman from the Blazing Sun Clan.

A final faction leader, his face grim.

Jiang Chen cracked his knuckles, his golden-amber eyes filled with untamed brilliance.

"Well?" His voice was steady, confident. "Who's next?"

The four remaining warriors exchanged glances.

They knew the truth.

This wasn't a fight anymore.

This was survival.

Jiang Chen… was a monster.

And they were running out of time.