Chapter 492: Soaring Five Mountains
When Xiao Chen fought with Xie Ziwen, he had used only sixty percent of his strength. Amongst half-step Martial Monarchs, there were strong ones and weak ones.
This Gong Haoyu was one of the relatively weaker ones. Given Xiao Chen’s strength now, he had at least a fifty percent chance of victory against Gong Haoyu. So he decided to give it a try.
“Elder s.h.i.+, should we put a stop to this?” a Heavenly Extermination Union elder asked worriedly.
s.h.i.+ Hailong muttered to himself for a long time before remembering what Xiao Chen said to him earlier. He replied, “We will observe first. Xiao Chen should have his own plans; he will not fight a battle he is not confident of winning.”
“Die!” Gong Haoyu shouted as he emitted his half-step Martial Monarch aura. His hair and clothes fluttered despite the absence of any wind. Then, he took seven steps into the air and sent a palm strike at Xiao Chen.
This palm strike did not look fancy at all; it merely relied on the advantages of Gong Haoyu’s higher cultivation. He wanted to clash head-on with Xiao Chen and show off his might from the start.
Xiao Chen changed his grip on his saber to a double-handed grip. Then, he planted his feet in place to face the palm strike with its surging aura.
“Bang!”
The palm wind and saber light clashed in the air, setting off a resounding explosion. Ripples appeared in s.p.a.ce, spreading everywhere.
Gong Haoyu took five steps back and Xiao Chen seven. This was not the effect that Gong Haoyu intended.
Originally, Gong Haoyu thought that he could suppress Xiao Chen with his palm strike. However, Xiao Chen countered with force, telling him that this was impossible.
“Soaring Five Mountains!” Gong Haoyu’s expression became grave; he no longer dared to underestimate Xiao Chen. So, he used the Martial Technique that was his forte.
Gong Haoyu leaped up and five mountains of different styles appeared. They linked up, forming a vast mountain range as they pressed towards Xiao Chen.
“Wukui Shakes the Heavens!”
Xiao Chen did not hesitate to continue clas.h.i.+ng head-on. A divine Wukui Tree appeared and crashed into the five mountains with powerful electrical energy.
“Boom!”
The mountains shattered and thunder boomed. They exploded in midair and a berserk shockwave surged out. Heaven and earth immediately changed colors.
“Strange Reversed Peaks!” Gong Haoyu shouted ferociously. As his hands moved quickly, the five shattered mountains suddenly gathered back together and formed an unusual mountain range.
This mountain range was upside-down. The tips of the mountains were like sharp knives as they stabbed towards Xiao Chen.
“Wukui Breaks the Heavens!”
Xiao Chen somersaulted in the air, dissipating the force of the earlier attack. Then, he pointed his saber at his opponent.
Lightning flickered in the sky as a resplendent beam of light quickly flashed out from his saber. Soon, the beam of light broke through the middle of the upside-down mountain range.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The mountains immediately shattered into countless rocks, falling towards the ground.
This was a mysterious phenomenon supported by a state of earth at its limit. They behaved like real mountains—when the rocks. .h.i.t the ground, they opened deep pits in the Tianwu Plaza.
When the spectating cultivators saw the rocks falling down, they quickly dodged.
Given the deep pits in the ground, it was obvious what would have happened if the rocks had landed on their heads.
However, the two people in the air had no intention of stopping. They sent out killing move after killing move.
The air rippled like it was water. The sharp attacks seemed like they would tear s.p.a.ce apart.
However, Xiao Chen dealt with the moves as they came, breaking every move sent at him. If he could not break them, he would endure resolutely, unafraid of a direct confrontation.
The crowd was astonished. They had initially expected a one-sided battle. Who knew that it would be this intense? Xiao Chen did not seem like he was at a disadvantage at all.
At this point, no one would dare to claim that Xiao Chen was arrogant. He was indeed holding his own.
The two exchanged another move. With the support of his saber intent, he forcibly suppressed Gong Haoyu’s overwhelming aura.
Xiao Chen stood in midair as his white robes fluttered in the wind and looked coldly at Gong Haoyu. A pulsating electric light shone in his saber.
Gong Haoyu was astounded. He had not expected Xiao Chen to be so hard to deal with. He had sent out killing moves without holding back, yet he still had not been unable to injure his opponent.
Gong Haoyu’s originally high morale slowly dwindled. He no longer felt as confident as he had been earlier.
Xiao Chen removed the blue strip of cloth from his forehead, and his scarlet mark started flas.h.i.+ng. He released the state of ma.s.sacre and merged it with the state of thunder.
His originally delicate face now looked strangely demonic with the blue strip of cloth off. The saber also flickered with a strange alternating red-and-purple light.
“Ka ca!”
The saber light flashed and an intense state of ma.s.sacre surged out. A sharp killing intent appeared amidst the berserk electricity, easily tearing through Gong Haoyu’s palm wind.
“Xiu!”
Xiao Chen turned into a streak of purple light. He no longer defended pa.s.sively. Instead, he headed for Gong Haoyu, sending sharp attacks at him.
Taking advantage of the moment when Gong Haoyu’s momentum had dropped after a series of failed attacks, Xiao Chen launched a frenetic counterattack.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
After Xiao Chen merge his two states together, he displayed his full strength. The red-and-purple light spread through the air, forcing Gong Haoyu to fall back.
Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!
Gong Haoyu clenched his teeth tightly. He wanted to regain his lost momentum and attack, but before he could do so, Xiao Chen would attack even more ferociously.
Gong Haoyu continued to back away in the air until his momentum ran dry. At this point, it looked like he would be defeated.
“Little b.a.s.t.a.r.d, die!”
Gong Haoyu burst out with a curse. He no longer had the disposition of an expert. Instead, he frantically tried to counterattack.
“It is very unfortunate but I will not be dying here,” Xiao Chen replied calmly. Then, he executed Listening to the Sword and Communicating With It. His saber turned into a Heaven Ranked Spirit Weapon once again.
The might of Xiao Chen’s counterattack increased, as it swept forward, causing Gong Haoyu to vomit blood and knocking him back. Then, he crashed into the Tianwu Emperor’s statue.
“Pu ci!”
The statue had a mysterious force protecting it. The already heavily injured Gong Haoyu rebounded so strongly that he vomited another mouthful of blood; he now looked very miserable.
“Ka ca!”
Xiao Chen sheathed his saber in midair and tied the blue strip of cloth back around his forehead.
The state of ma.s.sacre instantly vanished and Xiao Chen’s demonically charming face turned delicate once more. He looked coldly at the heavily injured Gong Haoyu before ignoring him.
After Xiao Chen withdrew his saber intent, all the sabers that had been drawn into the air fell to the ground with a clatter.
When Gong Haoyu saw Xiao Chen sheathe his saber, a cold light flashed in his eyes. He pushed off the Tianwu Emperor’s statue and quickly moved towards Xiao Chen, intending to perform a sneak attack.
“You are seeking death!”
Xiao Chen snorted coldly as the Azure Dragon tattoo on his right arm started moving quickly. Using his right hand as a claw, he executed the Dragon Claw Fist.
“Roar!”
A resonant dragon roar shook heaven and earth. A huge azure dragon claw appeared around Xiao Chen’s right hand. Then, the dragon claw spread wide and pressed down.
“Pa!”
Gong Haoyu, who was attempting a sneak attack, slammed into the ground. He had no means of retaliation as Xiao Chen ground his body face down into the dirt.
The two people from the Evil Moon Pavilion had arrived in a tyrannical fas.h.i.+on. The crowd seemed to still hear Xie Ziwen’s arrogant words of “Xiao Chen, get out here” resounding in their ears even now.
However, in less than two hours, the pair of senior and junior was defeated by Xiao Chen’s saber.
One got beaten into a weak state and his cultivation regressed. The other got planted into the ground in a miserable fas.h.i.+on, and it was unknown whether he was still alive.
They had arrived in a powerful show of might but fell into such a situation. This made everyone sigh.
Everyone looked the white figure slowly landing. When they saw his calm expression, one word appeared in their hearts—domineering!
Although Xiao Chen did not speak in a domineering manner, nor release a tyrannical aura, his actions made everyone feel that he was domineering.
“This fellow seems to have the shadow of the Thunder Emperor in him. If you are not as strong as me, don’t threaten me. I don’t care if you are a half-step Martial Monarch or have a great sect behind you; I will fight you first before saying anything.”
“Now, the four nations might possibly have someone who is comparable to the peak geniuses of the Great Jin Nation. I look forward to seeing how far he can go in the next Five Nation Youth Compet.i.tion.”
“From the looks of today, the fame of the White Robed Bladesman is well deserved.”
“It is now truly the era of the youths. The experts of the older generation will have to recognize this. If they still put on airs, throwing their weight around, it might result in a bad ending for them.”
“Indeed! Now is the budding period of the era of geniuses. It is best to be careful, so we don’t end up being a grindstone for them.”
The crowd erupted in discussions. Some were awed at Xiao Chen’s strength and some of the older generation sighed softly.
When they saw Gong Haoyu’s miserable end, they became sorrowful. Geniuses appeared in every generation, each wave stronger than the one before. However, this wave seemed to have appeared too fast.
In an unremarkable corner among the crowd, there was someone wearing a black hooded cloak. The face hidden within its shadowed depths had a sinister scar on it.
This person gave off such an unpleasant sensation that the people nearby unconsciously moved away from him.
Some cultivators with sharp eyes recognized this person to be from the Dark Church. These people moved even farther away, not wis.h.i.+ng to have any interaction with him.
The scarred man muttered in a soft voice, “I never did manage to find an opportunity to make a move. Now, he has grown this much. However, his cultivation is still somewhat weak.”
After muttering that, the scarred man gave Xiao Chen a profound look before leaving quietly.
Xiao Chen walked over to s.h.i.+ Hailong and cupped his hands apologetically. “Senior s.h.i.+, sorry for causing trouble for the Heavenly Extermination Union.”
A smile filled s.h.i.+ Hailong’s face. He seemed very happy as he waved off Xiao Chen’s apology. “Don’t say that. Just remember what I said to you before. The Evil Moon Pavilion will not be able to do anything in the Ancient Desolate Land.
“Continue to work hard and don’t waste the Luck you obtained. You will understand in the future how strong the Luck from the Ancient Desolate Tower is.”
Right after Xiao Chen expressed his grat.i.tude again and was about to leave, a few strong auras quickly headed for the Tianwu Plaza.
“Hu! Hu!”
When those people arrived, a vast aura spread throughout the place, pressing on everyone.
Xiao Chen frowned slightly. This aura was similar to that of the Martial Monarchs he had met in the past. Furthermore, they had locked on to him.
“Oh no! The Evil Moon Pavilion’s hidden forces in Desolate City revealed themselves!” The expression of an elder beside s.h.i.+ Hailong changed somewhat.
The Heavenly Extermination Union had ruled that the powers of the Great Jin Nation were not allowed to enter Desolate City. However, it would be impossible for the great sects of the Great Jin Nations to not place some people here at all. Otherwise, if anything happened, they would be unaware of it.