Chapter 37: The Abyss Awakens

A wave of suffocating darkness rushed toward Jiang Cheng, twisting reality as it devoured everything in its path. The arena trembled, cracks spiderwebbing through the stone as Shen Mu's power surged beyond reason.

Jiang Cheng didn't retreat. Instead, he planted his feet, his aura flaring like a beacon of defiance.

"Void Severing Edge!"

With a single draw, his sword cut through the abyssal force like a blade slicing through silk. The overwhelming darkness shattered, torn apart by Jiang Cheng's indomitable will.

The crowd erupted into chaos.

He had deflected an attack that should have been impossible to stop.

Shen Mu, however, only chuckled. "Impressive. But tell me, Jiang Cheng…"

He spread his arms, and the very air warped. A second wave of darkness pulsed outward—this time, alive.

"Can you cut something that doesn't belong to this world?"

The moment the abyssal energy touched the battlefield, reality itself distorted. The sky above turned into a void of endless stars, and the ground beneath them seemed to dissolve into nothingness.

Jiang Cheng's heart pounded. This power… It was no longer just Shen Mu's.

It felt ancient. Primordial.

Something else was watching.

But he wasn't afraid. His path had always been one of defiance.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward—straight into the abyssal storm.

The moment it touched his skin, his body screamed in pain, his spiritual energy flickering as if it were being consumed.

But Jiang Cheng's eyes remained firm.

He clenched his fist, and golden lightning erupted from his body, surging against the abyssal force. The conflicting energies clashed violently, sending ripples of destruction throughout the battlefield.

Then, Jiang Cheng took another step forward.

Shen Mu's smirk faltered.

"That's impossible…"

No mortal should be able to walk through the abyss without being devoured.

And yet—Jiang Cheng was still standing.

His body burned with pain, but his willpower refused to break.

"Is that all your abyss can do?" Jiang Cheng's voice rang through the void. He raised his sword, golden energy swirling around him like a celestial storm.

Shen Mu's fingers twitched.

He had underestimated Jiang Cheng.

For the first time, a trace of unease flickered through his abyssal eyes.

Jiang Cheng wouldn't stop.

Not until he had shattered the darkness itself.

---

Abyssal Suppression

Shen Mu's expression darkened. "You don't know what you're dealing with."

He thrust his hands forward, and the abyss responded.

A thousand tendrils of darkness burst from the void, writhing like hungry beasts as they lunged at Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng's sword roared with golden flames as he swung, each slash tearing through the tendrils like paper.

But the abyss did not relent.

Every severed tendril was replaced by two more. They wrapped around Jiang Cheng's limbs, tightening like iron chains, trying to drag him into the void.

For a moment, his body trembled under the weight of the abyssal force.

It was not just an attack—it was a power meant to erase his very existence.

Shen Mu grinned. "You fight well, but this battlefield belongs to the abyss."

Jiang Cheng's vision flickered. The weight of the darkness was suffocating, pressing against his mind, whispering to him… calling him to submit.

But he gritted his teeth.

Submit?

Never.

A memory surfaced—his master's voice.

"Jiang Cheng, a sword that does not waver in the storm is a sword that cuts through fate itself."

His grip on his sword tightened.

His aura exploded outward.

Golden lightning surged across his body, disintegrating the tendrils as he shattered the abyssal bindings with raw force.

Then, he vanished.

Before Shen Mu could react, Jiang Cheng appeared above him, sword raised.

Heaven Blitzing Step—his speed technique ignited like a streak of divine light.

The golden sword came down.

Shen Mu barely had time to raise a defense. A barrier of abyssal energy surged up to protect him.

But—it was too late.

Jiang Cheng's sword slashed through the barrier like a shooting star through the night.

Shen Mu coughed up blood, his body flung backward, crashing into the void's edge.

The abyss trembled.

Jiang Cheng landed softly, his sword humming. His golden aura flickered, but his stance remained unshaken.

"You said this battlefield belongs to the abyss," Jiang Cheng said, voice calm. "But I will make it my own."

Shen Mu's eyes widened. For the first time—he felt fear.

And in the distance, the unseen entity lurking within the abyss watched with great interest.

End of Chapter 37