Qian Zongchao did not appear to have stored up any power for this. However, the mysterious phenomenon that erupted was very horrifying.
The power of the world turned into a sea of fire behind him, looking like it was a real sea domain. Waves splashed up and stretched out into the horizon. The sea’s depth was unfathomable, and the horizon seemed boundless.
Furthermore, if one looked carefully, as Qian Zongchao extended his palm, for every bit it advanced, a blazing wave appeared in the sea of fire. The many waves layered over each other, looking very horrifying.
In the time that Qian Zongchao thrust out his hand, several thousands of fire waves layered over each other. When his palm strike connected with Xiao Chen’s palm, all this energy would erupt in an instant.
Qian Zongchao truly lived up to his name as a peak expert with explosive power, an eye-opener for Xiao Chen. This display showed Xiao Chen that these peak Great Perfection quasi-Emperors who had lived very several hundred years were all very impressive.
Even so, this move would still not defeat Xiao Chen.
With a thought, the dragon-shaped Heavenly Seal pulsated, and the ten thousand Heavenly Laws in Xiao Chen’s body all activated instantly, without the slightest delay at all.
The mysterious phenomenon that resulted from the ten thousand Heavenly Laws driving the power of the world was like ten thousand True Dragons surging out of Xiao Chen’s body, causing cracks to appear in the walls behind him.
With just the mysterious phenomenon from Xiao Chen’s move, cracks appeared in a building that should be able to withstand the attacks of a quasi-Emperor.
Amid white multiflora roses, the aura of grief spread in the hall as a scarlet moon soared into the air. Xiao Chen countered Qian Zongchao’s move with Thousand Year Death.
“Boom!”
The instant the two palms clashed, the roof of the hall got blown off and crushed into powder. The destructive power from the aftershock of the two palm strikes far surpa.s.sed everybody’s expectations.
The force of the one clash destroyed a good part of a building that should be able to withstand the force from a quasi-Emperor-level battle.
The two competed with explosive power. The contest was very clean from start to end, with no fanciness. The outcome was clear in one breath.
Xiao Chen stood in place and leisurely retracted his palm. The wind set his hair and clothes aflutter for a while before they settled down slowly.
Qian Zongchao vomited blood and staggered back a hundred steps before falling on the floor. Then, he glared at Xiao Chen before coughing and vomiting blood again. He pointed at Xiao Chen and said, “You tricked me!”
Strictly speaking, Xiao Chen had indeed tricked Qian Zongchao. However, this was a consequence of Qian Zongchao’s own actions.
Xiao Chen’s daring to challenge the various outstanding talents to a battle of one move during the Four Seas Hero Gathering was mostly because his greatest strength was his explosive power.
Despite just advancing to Great Perfection quasi-Emperor, Xiao Chen had reached the point of being able to activate all ten thousand Heavenly Laws with a thought, using them freely, in a mere half month.
By daring to compete against Xiao Chen in explosive power, even wanting to decide victory in one move, Qian Zongchao was simply asking to be humiliated.
Lan Shaobai heaved a sigh of relief and stepped forward. Then he said, “Vice Sect Master Qian Zongchao, I hope you will keep your promise. I do not want to see the people of the Fire Beacon Sect appearing in the seas of Heavenly Star Island. Your peers heard your words themselves.”
Qian Zongchao found it difficult to retort. Unexpectedly, after living for several hundred years, he fell at the hands of a young upstart. Xiao Chen clearly held the absolute advantage, but he showed no changes in his expression before the battle started, acting like he was going to lose.
Qian Zongchao got up and walked towards the Black Astral Coins he tossed out, preparing to put them away and leave at once. This time, he completely embarra.s.sed himself.
“Wait up!” Xiao Chen shouted coldly, stopping Qian Zongchao from making any further moves.
Qian Zongchao snarled, “What do you want?”
“Nothing much. It is just that the restrictions of this hall are wrecked. This is very costly to repair. You caused the roof to fly off, and yet you want to just walk away?” Xiao Chen said unhurriedly, “You will have to leave behind the five million Black Astral Coins.”
“You are being unreasonable!”
Xiao Chen retorted indifferently, “Indeed, I am being unreasonable!
“Anyone who tries to be reasonable with me, Xiao Chen, I will use reason with them. Everything will be done in an upright manner, all in the open. However, if anyone wants to be unreasonable with me, trying to bully me with their strength to force me to sell, I, Xiao Chen, can be even more unreasonable!”
Right after Xiao Chen spoke, he threw another palm strike without waiting for Qian Zongchao to reply. This directly expelled him from the hall, not giving him any face at all.
The other eight old men exchanged glances. Xiao Chen’s firm stance and words were clearly targeted at them.
These old men were all extremely nervous, wondering if Xiao Chen would s.n.a.t.c.h all their Black Astral Coins.
Xiao Chen asked with a laugh, “Is everyone not preparing to take back their Black Astral Coins? Could it be that you still want to buy the satellite resource islands of my Heavenly Star Island?”
When everyone heard that, they instantly let out sighs of relief. Then, they hastily collected back the five million Black Astral Coins they each tossed out.
After these old men took back their Black Astral Coins, Xiao Chen sent out a palm strike. “Bang!” He crushed the pile of Black Astral Coins left by Qian Zongchao into powder.
Five million Black Astral Coins turned into powder right before the eyes of those old men, causing them to goggle in shock.
To any quasi-Emperor, five million Black Astral Coins was a significant sum.
However, Xiao Chen just crushed the Coins into powder without even blinking. What does this mean? everyone wondered.
These old men were all experienced people who had lived for hundreds of years. They quickly understood Xiao Chen’s intention. This was him showing his stance.
Xiao Chen simply did not care about the five million Black Astral Coins. He made Qian Zongchao leave behind these Black Astral Coins only to make him pay a price, to show that whoever who wanted to target Heavenly Star Island needed to be mentally prepared to pay the price. Otherwise, they would end up like this pile of Black Astral Coins.
After recovering their wits, the other Vice Sect Masters of the nearby Rank 9 sects all immediately started chatting happily with Xiao Chen, guaranteeing that they would never seek trouble for Heavenly Star Island and that this was just a misunderstanding.
After seeing Xiao Chen’s strength, they realized that it would not be wise for them to target Heavenly Star Island anymore.
Although there were Martial Emperors in a Rank 9 sect, people whom Xiao Chen was definitely not a match for, a Martial Emperor could not always remain in their own sect at all times.
If someone like Xiao Chen were offended, he could wait for a time when the Martial Emperor was absent to come and seek trouble. This uncertainty would put everyone on edge. One individual killing off an entire sect and leaving only a few top people was something that had happened before.
Bare feet were not afraid of those with slippers. One side would fight to the end, inflicting immense damage to both sides with neither benefiting.
[TL Note: Bare feet were not afraid of those with slippers: This saying means that the person with the bare feet already has nothing else to lose, hence his willingness to stake his all.]
The most important thing was also that Xiao Chen acted very circ.u.mspectly. He only taught Qian Zongchao a lesson. As for the other old men who took out Black Astral Coins, he did not make things difficult for them and turn hostile. This way made it a lot easier for them to back down.
“We will take our leave for now. In the future, if the Azure Dragon King has time, do come to our sects and chat with us, deepening our friends.h.i.+p.”
Since the roof of the hall was already torn out, it was clearly not appropriate to remain here for long. After expressing their stances, the various old men all stood up and prepared to leave.
Lan Shaobai heaved a sigh of relief. Xiao Chen somehow managed to resolve this matter superbly. Towards such people, one could not be too polite. If one appeared too soft, others would think that one was easy to bully.
Xiao Chen handled this situation perfectly, displaying his strength without offending everybody.
Just at this moment, strong mental might swept through the place. Everyone on Heavenly Star Island felt like there was someone staring at them.
Suddenly, no one dared move. Faced with such a strong enemy, they felt a strange dread in their heart.
After this gaze seemed to sweep through the entire island, it focused on Xiao Chen, which allowed everyone else to release their bated breaths.
“This is the might of a Martial Emperor!” The group of old men in the hall were very knowledgeable and quickly determined the strength of the newcomer.
“Could it be that Qian Zongchao was not reconciled to the loss and got his sect master to come personally?”
“It does not seem like it. Furthermore, it is impossible. The Fire Beacon Sect’s Sect Master would not dare to offend the Martial G.o.d Palace. Also, it could be said that it was Qian Zongchao who messed things up this time, behaving unreasonably. Given the personality of the Fire Beacon Sect’s Sect Master, if he came, he would be here to repair the relations.h.i.+p.”
“The most important thing is that this might is not the might of a Minor Heavenly Martial Emperor; it is much stronger than that of the Fire Beacon Sect’s Sect Master.”
The expressions of those old men changed as they whispered to each other, the crowd guessing at which Martial Emperor this was. Who was so bold, coming here without showing any fear? While this person was a Martial Emperor, Xiao Chen was the Azure Dragon King favored by the Thunder Sovereign. Also, this was the Martial G.o.d Palace’s conferred land.
Even if one was greedy for the resources of this place, one would still send a group of subordinates. By then, if the Martial G.o.d Palace came to investigate, they could say that Xiao Chen was not capable enough, losing to people of the same cultivation realm, hence not fit to claim this sea region. Given that, the Martial G.o.d Palace would not have a leg to stand on.
However, a personal appearance by a Martial Emperor would violate the unspoken rule. Would that not be equivalent to mocking the Martial G.o.d Palace for incompetence?
The Martial G.o.d Palace would definitely not sit by idly and watch. Otherwise, the entire Martial G.o.d Palace would be embarra.s.sed.
Lan Shaobai’s heart sank. He more or less guessed who came, so he frowned. This time, this matter would not be easy to settle. Great trouble was coming.
Back then, Xiao Chen had killed the descendant of the Purple-Clad Marquis. The Purple-Clad Marquis was now here to take revenge.
Xiao Chen found the strangely strong might somewhat hard to bear. His legs turned soft, nearly kneeling. The difference in cultivation was too much. Just the formless might alone was already unblockable.
“Chi!”
At the crucial moment, Little Yellow Feather flew out from the Immortal Spirit Ring and landed on Xiao Chen’s shoulder. It used its Holy Beast bloodline to help Xiao Chen bear the pressure.
Xiao Chen tried moving his wrist and found that he could do so already. With a thought, a yellow plume feather appeared in his hand before he hid it in his sleeve.
This was the last resort of the Golden Crows for protecting their lives. It could severely injure a Martial Emperor at a critical time, gaining a chance of survival. This was currently Xiao Chen’s biggest trump card.
“A Golden Crow Holy Beast!” someone with sharp eyes cried out in shock, recognizing Little Yellow Feather’s species.
This was a legendary Holy Beast of the Immortal Epoch. Its bloodline was n.o.ble and was only recorded in ancient texts—something that was rarely seen. Despite that, Xiao Chen had one as a pet.
“Hu chi!” The s.p.a.ce in the hall tore easily, and an imposing middle-aged man in purple dragon robes and Battle Armor walked out with large strides. His aura was extraordinary and exerted shocking pressure.
“The Purple-Clad Marquis!”
Surprises really came one after another. The Martial Emperor that showed up was actually the current-generation Purple-Clad Marquis of the Sea Monarch’s old guards. This was a Greater Heavenly Martial Emperor, someone truly at the peak in the Western Sea.