The Battle (Part 2)
Boom!
The moment Wu Zhao heard those words, the smile on his face twisted into fury. His eyes blazed with rage as he glared at Lei Chen, then abruptly yanked Lei Chen's former master into a deep, forceful kiss right in front of everyone.
And yet, Lei Chen's expression remained composed and still, as if nothing could stir the calm within him. The atmosphere around them grew tense. Some disciples of the Immortal River Holy Land clenched their fists in fury, while others could only feel suffocated by the heavy air pressing down upon them.
Wu Zhao then leapt down into the center of the dueling arena, dragging both Lei Chen's former master and former fiancée along with him. One of the elders of the holy land activated the arena's protective formation, allowing Wu Zhao to enter before sealing it off to prevent interference. However, Wu Zhao's personal guardians showed no concern, for the women accompanying him had cultivation levels at the Half-Emperor stage, and within Wu Zhao himself were fragments of the souls of his father and multiple ancestral Great Emperors.
Standing in the arena, Wu Zhao grinned as he swept his gaze across the crowd before declaring in a loud, arrogant voice,
"Come on, I'll let you all come at me at once if you want!"
"I'm truly curious to see just how much strength these trash disciples of the Immortal River Holy Land can muster!"
His words of mockery ignited fury in many of the disciples present. At the same time, Jin Tian, who had been quietly watching Lei Chen, couldn't help but feel admiration for the young man's composure. From what he had seen, he could already piece together much of the situation.
High above in the skies, Mu Nansi, the Peak Master, and the other elders were locked in a fierce battle against the Great Emperors from the Wu Clan's coalition forces. Immense waves of pressure clashed in the heavens, making it seem as if the sky itself might shatter at any moment. And yet, Mu Nansi alone was holding her own against nearly fifteen Great Emperors—but only for a limited time.
Just then, Lei Chen's figure stirred.
He leapt into the dueling arena, his gaze locking coldly onto Wu Zhao.
"I'll be your opponent."
Wu Zhao, hearing that, burst out laughing with delight. "Hahaha! Then I'll play with you myself!"
As soon as Wu Zhao's words ended, his figure shot toward Lei Chen, his fist blazing with energy as it tore through the air straight for Lei Chen's face. He didn't use his full strength at first, having just scanned Lei Chen's cultivation and found him only at the Golden Core stage. He had planned to toy with him a little before finishing him off.
Wu Zhao lunged forward, releasing the power of the Ninth Stage of Early Spirit Realm—deliberately concealing his true strength, which without the support of his demonic power, was actually at the Ninth Stage of Unity Realm. He aimed to cripple Lei Chen once again, and his punch carried a force strong enough to shatter bones with ease.
However, just before the strike could land, Lei Chen's body subtly shifted to the side. He dodged with graceful composure, then countered with a light punch to Wu Zhao's right shoulder.
In that instant, Wu Zhao felt something was wrong.
His arm… could no longer move!
Lei Chen's previously calm and composed eyes turned into burning embers of wrath. He spun around sharply and without a hint of hesitation, drove his finger straight into Wu Zhao's eye.
Shlick!
"Aaaaaaagh!!"
Wu Zhao screamed, but before his cry could even echo fully, a black sword surged from Lei Chen's body and pierced directly through Wu Zhao's left shoulder, instantly destroying the nerves there. Wu Zhao's left arm fell limp, useless.
The blade then slashed down mercilessly, severing the tendons in both his ankles, causing his body to collapse helplessly to the ground.
But it didn't end there.
Lei Chen's sword, now fully engulfed in his wrath, shot straight toward Wu Zhao's dantian without an ounce of mercy.
Shlick!!
"AAAAAAARGHH!!"
A devastating surge of force struck Wu Zhao's dantian, shattering it completely and causing his cultivation to plummet at a terrifying pace.
Unity Realm, Ninth Stage…
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Unity Realm, First Stage…
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Nascent Soul, First Stage…
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Early Spirit Realm, First Stage…
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Golden Core, First Stage…
...
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Qi Condensation, First Stage…
In the blink of an eye, Wu Zhao's entire cultivation was utterly destroyed.
But Lei Chen didn't stop there. He raised his fist and drove it toward Wu Zhao's chest with terrifying speed. The blow carried a devastating force.
Shluk!
His fist tore clean through to Wu Zhao's back, dragging out the original Sacred Bone that once belonged to Lei Chen. In the same motion, he drew the sword resting at Wu Zhao's side and slashed it across his body slicing him cleanly in two.
Jin Tian, the disciples, and all the elders who had been watching were left in stunned silence. At first, they had intended to warn Lei Chen that Wu Zhao's cultivation was leagues above his. But after witnessing the fight firsthand, they immediately understood.
Cultivation level meant absolutely nothing.
Because everything had ended in less than three seconds. Wu Zhao, once hailed as the number one genius among all prodigies, had been defeated so easily.
Jin Tian, still watching, couldn't help but think to himself.
"Even if Wu Zhao had reached the Nirvana Realm, if he fought like that… the result would've been the same."
Lei Chen's former master, his ex-fiancée, the Wu Clan members, and the allied forces were all too shocked to even move.
At that moment, Wu Zhao's former master realized the tide had turned and acted without hesitation. The woman unleashed the aura of a Semi-Emperor, charging straight at Lei Chen with the intent to kill.
But before she could lay a finger on him, a formation suddenly emerged, wrapping around her body. Her power rapidly drained away as if being devoured. Then, a brilliant golden beam of light pierced through her chest burning a gaping hole through her body in a gruesome flash.
Jin Tian quickly turned to locate the source of the attack. What he saw chilled him to the bone.
Han Ming was standing not far away, surrounded by over a thousand Semi-Emperors.
But what truly unsettled Jin Tian… was the fact that he couldn't sense a single trace of life from any of them.
Back to Wu Zhao, now lying in a pool of his own blood a pitiful figure, broken and defeated. His eyes were blind, his body covered in gaping wounds, everything he once possessed stripped away. He could barely make out Lei Chen's fist slowly drawing closer, aiming directly at his head.
He gasped for breath, desperately trying to force out a voice.
"System! System! SYSTEM!!"
He called out for his system again and again, each shout more frantic than the last.
"You damned mutt of a system! Where the hell are you?! Help me, damn it!!"
But there was no response. Not a sound, not a flicker. Only silence.
His eyes, once filled with arrogance, now brimmed with rage and despair, knowing that death was near.
Yet in that very last instant before the end, something stirred within his body.
A strange surge of energy erupted. The spirit forms of a mysterious woman, his father, and several of his ancestors emerged from his body, surrounded by a strange swirling force.
But in the very next moment
Shluk!!
A blade of azure water pierced straight through all the spirit forms—through the woman, his father, and the rest erasing them in an instant without a trace.
Up above, on the battlefield where Great Emperors clashed, Qi Lan Kong, locked in battle with one of the Wu Clan's Great Emperors, caught sight of the scene out of the corner of his eye. He chuckled softly and murmured,
"Oh… the Ancestor has made his move."
At that moment, Han Ming raised his hand and gave a signal. All of the Semi-Emperor-level puppets surged forward at once, charging toward the thirty-three Great Emperors from the Wu Clan and the other hostile factions.
The sound of wind being torn asunder echoed through the sky. Spirit swords shimmered with deadly light, and the sheer pressure from the puppets sent chaos rippling through the battlefield.
One by one, the Peak Masters and elders of the Holy Land of the Immortal River revealed themselves and joined the fray, launching a full assault on the thirty-three Great Emperors.
The sky exploded with destructive force as the battle between top-tier cultivators erupted in full.
But then, in that very instant, a massive wave of Yin-Yang energy came crashing down from the heavens, surging violently toward Han Ming.
Without hesitation, Han Ming summoned a blade of radiant light into his hand. In a flash, he swung the sword upward. The blinding white light cleaved through the sky, as if it were splitting the heavens themselves. With a single strike, the Yin-Yang energy was utterly obliterated. Then, with calm, unwavering eyes, he turned his gaze forward.
Han Ming's eyes locked onto a single figure a woman seated gracefully atop a majestic steed. Behind her stretched a vast sea of skyships, tens of thousands of them blanketing the skies. Beneath those ships stood an army numbering in the tens of millions. The gleam of the royal banners fluttering in the wind glinted across the battlefield.
That face... he recognized it instantly. It was the same face as Lei Chen's. And from the insignia of the Yin-Yang Imperial Clan, it was clear she was Lei Chen's mother.
At the same moment, Wu Zhao's body suddenly erupted with an uncontrollable surge of crimson-black energy. The sheer pressure emanating from him caused the ground beneath to tremble violently. Yet Lei Chen remained unfazed. Without a trace of hesitation, he drove his fist forward, aiming to end Wu Zhao's life once and for all.
But just before that fist could connect, several female figures appeared behind him.
Ning Xin... his former fiancée. Zhang Fu... his former master. And several other maids appeared from who-knows-where, each radiating powerful auras ranging from Saint to even Semi-Emperor level.
Zhang Fu's eyes now held no trace of warmth or familiarity as she looked upon Lei Chen. Whatever memories or bonds they had shared were completely gone. Though her body was covered in wounds, and though her cultivation had fallen from Semi-Emperor to merely Saint level due to Han Ming's earlier strike, she still stood. By all rights, she should have died but her unique physique granted her multiple lives.
All of them were Daughters of Destiny, bound under Wu Zhao's control. Without hesitation, they struck at Lei Chen from behind, unleashing waves of power in a desperate attempt to save Wu Zhao.
"Lei Chen, I'm living a good life now. Stop ruining it for me!"
"Release Young Master at once!"
"A pathetic loser who couldn't even keep his own fiancée dares to lay a hand on our Young Master!?"
"Die!"
"Get lost, loser!!"
Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!
Every one of their attacks was blocked intercepted in full by the sudden appearance of several figures. Rong Lixian, Su Baining, Hao Yang, Jin Tian, and numerous elders from the Holy Land of the Immortal River stepped forward to shield Lei Chen from harm.
"Touch our big brother? Keep dreaming," Rong Lixian scoffed, her voice laced with amusement.
"Know your place," Hao Yang said coldly, his eyes like frozen steel.
They exchanged a brief glance before the disciples of Han Ming and Jin Tian each took out a pill and swallowed it without hesitation.
Boommmmm!!
The auras of all five exploded skyward, surging directly into the Saint Realm.
"Die," Rong Lixian roared.
Golden dragon energy, void force, freezing waves, massive fireballs, sword currents, elemental surges, annihilation spells, and countless other attacks were unleashed at once. It was the combined assault of Rong Lixian, Su Baining, Hao Yang, Jin Tian, and several elders of the Holy Land of the Immortal River, all raining down upon Ning Xin, Zhang Fu, and the gathered maids with devastating force.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions shook the battlefield, their thunderous roar echoing in all directions. The blinding light from the impact seemed to shake the very sky. The earth cracked beneath their feet as if signaling the end of the world, while above, divine auras from the heavens looked down in confusion, uncertain of which side they should lend their blessing to.