Chapter 720: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind
The fame of the ten battle realms spread far and wide. Naturally, they had a Martial Emperor holding an important position in the Martial G.o.d Palace, so battle-realm cultivators did not fear Ximen Bao.
Furthermore, the Ximen Clan’s Martial Emperor would not come out and teach them a lesson over this trivial matter. Everyone understood full well how precious a Martial Emperor’s time was.
Dan Tianyu was even more indifferent. He smiled sinisterly and said, “This old man is a loose cultivator. If worst comes to worst, I’ll just leave the Tianwu Domain. Brat, you are too naive to try and use this to threaten me.”
Ximen Bao’s gaze turned hazy as rage burned in his eyes. This Dragon Mark Fruit held a strong attraction for cultivators like him who did not temper the physical body.
It was the thought of not having to endure the pain from tempering the body while gaining a hundred and fifty tons of force—the equivalent of instantly raising their overall strength by ten percent.
Ximen Bao said solemnly, “Let me have this Dragon Mark Fruit, and if you are fighting for other items later, I, Ximen Bao, will do my best to help.”
Niu Deng laughed loudly, and a ferocious glint flashed in his eyes. He said coldly, “Ximen Bao, honestly speaking, we all know what you are like. Your credibility is worth nothing.
“We battle-realm cultivators are naturally born strong. The aid of the Dragon Mark Fruit would be like giving a tiger wings. This Dragon Mark Fruit will definitely belong to me. Everyone else can forget about it.”
Dan Tianyu smiled and said, “Well, this is an unfortunate coincidence. This old man has a friend who focuses on tempering the body. I can use this Dragon Mark Fruit to exchange for a treasure that I have wanted for a long time. This old man will not give up this Dragon Mark Fruit to anyone.”
The three’s auras surged, not giving way at all. A great battle would start with just a spark.
When Xiao Chen, who stood on a rock far away, saw all this, he smiled gently and said, “Dragon Mark Fruit…unexpectedly, I immediately ran into such a good item, before even reaching the actual depths of the True Dragon Cave.”
“Roar!”
A dragon roar came from Xiao Chen’s chest as he pushed off the Azure Dragon image and executed the Azure Dragon Tail Whip.
Describing a large arc, he moved like the wind, pa.s.sing everyone overhead. He instantly arrived above the Dragon Mark Fruit before the three had even noticed.
Xiao Chen stretched out his right hand, and a suction force came from it, pulling the Dragon Mark Fruit to him.
The Azure Dragon Tail Whip propelled Xiao Chen like a strong gust of wind blowing incredibly fast.
Ximen Bao and the other two were bursting with energy as they glared at one another. However, the attention they paid to the Dragon Mark Fruit declined considerably, giving Xiao Chen this opportunity.
These three had not expected someone to be so bold as to s.n.a.t.c.h the Dragon Mark Fruit right before them.
By the time the three reacted, the Dragon Mark Fruit had already landed in Xiao Chen’s hand and entered the Universe Ring.
Seeing the Dragon Mark Fruit s.n.a.t.c.hed away, Ximen Bao immediately raged and roared, “Where did this thing come from?! How dare he s.n.a.t.c.h what is mine, Ximen Bao’s?!”
“Qiang!” Ximen Bao drew his sword, and a surging sword Qi carrying a vast sword intent gave off a buzzing sound as it flew at Xiao Chen.
This sword Qi looked like a large pillar, like a long rainbow piercing through the air. Its might swept through the place, seemingly unblockable.
Niu Deng’s face sank as he immediately leaped up and clenched his fist. Then, he activated the ancient giant bloodline in him as he roared with a vast might.
A sinister light flashed in Dan Tianyu’s eyes. He drew out a short sword and suddenly, quietly appeared behind Xiao Chen.
The short sword flickered with a cold light. Unexpectedly, Dan Tianyu intended to directly chop off Xiao Chen’s arm, which had the Universe Ring on it. How vicious!
The crowd originally held great antic.i.p.ation for the fight between these three strong experts. When they saw this scene, they were stunned. They had not expected such a development.
Surprisingly, there was someone bold enough to offend these three strong experts by directly s.n.a.t.c.hing away the Dragon Mark Fruit.
The three attacked with different timings. Xiao Chen did not panic as he circulated the one thousand tons of force’s worth of Vital Qi and executed the Dragon Claw Fist’s third move, Breaking Armor.
Sharp energy formed over Xiao Chen’s fist as he punched. Breaking Armor used its distinctive characteristic of penetrating defenses to shatter the dense and pure sword Qi.
Niu Deng and Dan Tianyu took advantage of the moment the sword Qi shattered to charge towards Xiao Chen.
One person used the vast might of the ancient giants to send out a punch as heavy as the mountains, trying to smash Xiao Chen into a paste.
The other person used insidious means. He emitted a baleful aura from his entire body and brandished his short sword, intending to chop off Xiao Chen’s arm and leave.
The two arrived before Xiao Chen and revealed wild joy on their faces. At such close range, this white-robed youngster of unknown origins would have no way to deal with both of them at the same time.
Xiao Chen smiled faintly and instantly activated the strong ancient sovereign’s bloodline in his body.
The ancient, respected, dignified, epic sovereign’s aura surged out from Xiao Chen’s body.
This weighty sovereign’s aura just swept everything before it all away like these were fallen leaves of autumn, regardless of whether it was an ancient giant’s bloodline or the baleful aura of a loose cultivator.
Niu Deng’s and Dan Tianyu’s expressions simultaneously revealed shock. They received the full impact of the sovereign"s aura at such a close distance. They could not help but panic when they felt fear boil up from the depths of their hearts.
“Oh no!”
These two were experts and had experienced hundreds of battles. They realized right away that something was wrong. They quickly struggled free of the sovereign’s aura and retreated frantically.
Xiao Chen had a stern expression on his face. How could he allow these two to withdraw so easily?
He pushed off heavily against the Azure Dragon image. Then he infused one thousand tons of force’s worth of Vital Qi into his right leg.
“Bang! Bang!”
Xiao Chen’s leg moved like lightning the instant he soared into the air. He swept out his leg, and a strong wind howled. A thunderous sound roared twice.
Both Niu Deng and Dan Tianyu each received a kick to the cheek. They vomited out a mouthful of blood as their bodies spun around in the air and crashed into the ground in a sorry state.
Within a few breaths, Xiao Chen easily broke the attacks of three experts. Furthermore, he even returned with a beautiful counterattack, sending Niu Deng and Dan Tianyu flying back.
Xiao Chen remained calm as he gently floated back to the Azure Dragon image. Then, he looked at the three.
“What the heck?! Who is this person? He actually managed to break the attacks of three strong experts so easily!”
“I have not heard of such an expert appearing in the Tianwu Domain before. Furthermore, he is still so young.”
“It looks like he tempers the body. However, his Quintessence is dense and pure. Could he be a dual cultivator?”
The surrounding people were stunned. They all revealed doubt on their faces as they looked at the calm Xiao Chen. They could not figure out when such an expert appeared in the Tianwu Domain.
When Ximen Bao saw Xiao Chen’s appearance clearly, he became infuriated. A murderous intent spewed out of his eyes like a flood as he said coldly, “You! First, you injure my Ximen Clan’s people. Now, you are here to s.n.a.t.c.h my Dragon Mark Fruit. It looks like you are tired of living.”
Xiao Chen’s face turned solemn. The reason why he did not leave immediately after obtaining the Dragon Mark Fruit was mostly so he could teach this Ximen Bao a lesson.
The Ximen Clan’s cultivators were exceedingly arrogant. First, they wanted to s.n.a.t.c.h Xiao Chen’s Earth Essence Fruit; then after they failed, they tried to ambush him, wanting to kill him.
Xiao Chen had never been a benevolent person. If someone came to bully him, he would not suffer in silence.
“Xiu!”
A strong wind blew. To everyone’s surprise, Xiao Chen took the initiative to attack. His aura was like a berserk dragon as he charged at Ximen Bao without waiting for him to finish talking.
The image of an Azure Dragon appeared on his fist. The Dragon Head roared and attacked Ximen Bao.
Ximen Bao smiled coldly, and the sword light dimmed. He infused a vast Quintessence into his sword and chopped at the Dragon Head, trying to shatter it.
However, Xiao Chen was no longer the Xiao Chen of half a month ago. His Vital Qi had already broken past one thousand tons of force.
For Vital Qi, every five hundred tons of force was a threshold to cross. Every time a threshold was exceeded, there would be a qualitative improvement. Although Xiao Chen’s physical strength had increased by only ten tons of force, it was now on an entirely different level.
The Dragon Head and the sword light clashed, not giving way to each other. The collision generated an intense explosion. Strong winds rushed out into the surroundings and kicked up a large amount of dust.
The punch and the sword strike pulled a draw. Xiao Chen opened his left hand into a claw and stepped forward. Then, he ferociously swiped a Berserk Dragon Claw at Ximen Bao’s chest.
Ximen Bao’s face filled with astonishment. He could not figure out how Xiao Chen had improved so fast. Just by using Vital Qi, Xiao Chen could now fight him to a standstill.
However, the azure Dragon Claw already arrived. Ximen Bao did not have much time to think. He pushed off against the ground and retreated, trying to put some distance between himself and Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen alternated freely between the fist and the claw. His figure moved like the shadows, not allowing Ximen Bao any opportunity to escape, forcing him into a constant retreat.
One fist and one claw, both with one thousand tons of force. The instant the Vital Qi exploded, the entire cave trembled, shaking nonstop. Rocks fell from the ceiling.
Niu Deng and Dan Tianyu had already gotten up long ago. When they saw Xiao Chen fighting with Ximen Bao, they did not make any move to help.
These two merely watched with glittering eyes, waiting for an opportunity.
To these two, both Ximen Bao and Xiao Chen were compet.i.tion. If Ximen Bao and Xiao Chen fought to the death, that would be the best outcome for the two.
Ximen Bao’s expression grew increasingly unsightly. After Xiao Chen got close, Ximen Bao no longer had any chance to fight back. He could only keep dodging; there was simply no opportunity to put some distance between them.
Driven into a corner, Ximen Bao shouted, “Dan Tianyu, Niu Deng, how long are you two going to keep watching? d.a.m.n it! I’m about to get crushed.”
Niu Deng and Dan Tianyu could not help but show surprise on their faces. Who was Ximen Bao? He was someone inferior to only the seven giants among the Tianwu Domain’s younger generation.
Ximen Bao had always been arrogant and unreasonable. Unexpectedly, he had gotten cornered badly enough to plead like that.
Dan Tianyu said sullenly, “Let’s work together to defeat this brat first. We can fight for the Dragon Mark Fruit later.”
Niu Deng rubbed the footprint on his cheek with his right hand as a serious look flashed in his eyes. Then, he nodded vigorously.
Xiao Chen had been monitoring the two with his Spiritual Sense. He was well aware of their actions.
His gaze turned cold as he stopped dragging out the fight with Ximen Bao. He threw a Breaking Armor Fist and shattered Ximen Bao’s protective Quintessence s.h.i.+eld, then used Seizing the Heart.
Xiao Chen flexed his fingers into a claw and pressed towards Ximen Bao’s chest. “Dang!” His fingers struck something hard.
The sure-kill strike failed. Xiao Chen only sent Ximen Bao flying back, vomiting blood.
“It looks like he is wearing an extraordinary inner vest.”
Xiao Chen frowned slightly and guessed that Ximen Bao wore a defensive Secret Treasure. After giving the falling Ximen Bao a cold look, he ignored him.
The Azure Dragon image under Xiao Chen circled and brought him around. He looked at Niu Deng and Dan Tianyu, who were charging over again, then with a wave of his left hand, the Lunar Shadow Saber appeared in his right hand.
“Working together only at this moment is a little too late.”
Now, Niu Deng and Dan Tianyu no longer held back. They both executed their Heaven Ranked Martial Techniques.
Xiao Chen had a calm gaze, not showing any fear. He quietly circulated his Quintessence for Soaring Dragon. The vast Quintessence quickly surged around his body like a raging river.