When the smoke and dust had settled, the rain stopped too. The storm clouds dispersed and the sky was clear for thousands of kilometers. Rays of golden light shone down. A rainbow arched in the horizon.
Xiao Chen stepped toward Ling Yingfeng lying in the rubble. His gaze was icy like a cold sword.
Ling Yingfeng was already badly injured. Blood gushed out from his mouth. He was about to utter the words, "I admit defeat" when Xiao Chen stabbed a few fingers at his body, sealing his speech acupoint.
"You want to admit defeat? That"s too easy!" Xiao Chen suddenly trampled a foot heavily on his face. Ling Yingfeng"s face was covered with blood. He clenched his teeth. "Lad... there will be no place for you in Violet Manor in the future!"
"The Ling family? What"s so great about that?" After these words, he stamped another foot on his shoulder. "Crack!" He seemed to have crushed his shoulder blade.
"What a pity Senior Sister Liu isn"t here to see this for herself!" He raised another foot and trod on his other shoulder.
Two shoulder blades completely crushed. Ling Yingfeng shrieked hideously. He could not utter the words "I admit defeat." Most of the onlookers could guess that Xiao Chen was taking revenge. Some blamed him for his cruelty, others started to cheer.
On the high platforms, the presiding officers exchanged stares amd nodded. One yelled, "Enough! Han Chen has won this duel!"
One must stop the moment the presiding officer ordered him to, or it would be considered an infringement. Below, two figures whizzed up and supported Ling Yingfeng away. One of them turned back his head and said coldly, "You got guts!"
Xiao Chen ignored him. He had exerted too much energy and found it tiring even to speak now.
Since the Wind Floating Platform had been wrecked, they had to switch to another venue for the next duels. Xiao Chen was sent away to rest. If all the Zhou compet.i.tors lost in their subsequent duels, he could still compete in the final duel.
The duels did not halt today at noon, but continued until three in the afternoon. WIthout Ling Yingfeng, the Qing State lost almost every match thereafter. They only won when a Heaven List Cultivator appeared, but the man was later defeated by Ye Wuhen in the Core Forming Realm.
Right now, over at the Zhou side, only Ye Wuhen and Xiao Chen remained. A mysterious compet.i.tor had not fought for the Qing State. Xiao Chen"s heart turned heavy as he remembered the aforementioned None-flower Dust. If he was as described by hearsay, Xiao Chen would not be able to defeat him, even with the help of the f.u.xi Zither.
Suddenly, a cyan figure shifted and a figure landed on the platform. After that came a frivolous voice. "Oh ho, looks like I must show off my skills after all... "
Xiao Chen focused his gaze and found a man with a devil-may-care expression on his face. Was this None-flower Dust? His cultivation seemed to be only in the middle stages of the Core Forming Realm, not as terrifying as rumored. So the top ten on the Heaven List was just so-so!
At this moment, the crowds began to boil over with excitement. The Zhou compet.i.tors raised clenched fists to object. "Is that Leng Ningfeng from the Wuw.a.n.g Wind Cloud City? How can the Wuw.a.n.g Wind Cloud City be considered part of the Qing State?"
Xiao Chen was slightly surprised. Wasn"t this man None-flower Dust? He asked Liu Yunzheng beside him, "Master, who is that man?"
Liu Yunzheng gazed at the platform with a worried look. "Leng Ningfeng from the Wuw.a.n.g Wind Cloud City. He is ranked No. 12 on the Heaven List..." With that, he turned and looked at Xiao Chen. "Are you confident of defeating him?"
Xiao Chen pondered for a while and nodded. He thought that this man"s cultivation was only in the middle stages of the Core Forming Realm. He could still win with the f.u.xi Zither string.
The discussions among the crowds became louder and louder. Leng Ningfeng smiled frivolously. "Looks like some people don"t welcome me. Had I known this, I wouldn"t have come... "
At this moment, the Qing amba.s.sador stood up. "Although Wuw.a.n.g City is an independent city, it still lies within the boundaries of our Qing State. How can he not count?"
His words were impossible for anyone to refute. Wuw.a.n.g Wind Cloud City did indeed lie within the Qing State. It was not under its control, however.
Leng Ningfeng laughed lightly. "Alright, alright! Don"t argue!" He turned back his head and looked at Ye Wuhen, smiling. "How many moves do you want me to concede you? Ten? Twenty?"
His words meant he was completely slighting Ye Wuhen. Ye Wuhen was among the top 20 cultivators on the Heaven List and was conceited. He said coldly, "Not even one! After you!"
Leng Ningfeng smiled. "You mean it? Here I come!" As his words fell, his body suddenly disappeared from where it was. The next moment, he had already appeared before Ye Wuhen. He struck out a palm. His gentle palm blow threw Ye Wuhen backward, vomitting blood. He could no longer stand.
The whole place became totally silent. Everyone gaped with staring eyes. Ye Wuhen had collapsed under the platform and was throwing up blood continuously. After some time, the Penglai Islanders finally came to themselves and helped him away.
The Zhou State had been totally defeated. Yu Wenji"s face darkened rapidly. At long last, they would lose the Earth Spiritual Meridian. Just when the presiding officer was about to announce the victory, a distinct voice resounded. "There"s still me!"
The crowd glanced in the direction of the voice. They finally recalled Xiao Chen, who had won the first duel. The rules stipulated that he could still fight the last. A glimmer of hope began to surge on the Zhou side.
Liu Yunzheng said no more. He handed the f.u.xi Zither over and the Jade Zither materialized. Xiao Chen stood on his toes and soared up the platform.
The crowds began to shout loudly and cheer him on. The gloom on Yu Wenji"s face lightened a little. Leng Ningfeng smiled. "The Divine Archean Zither? Ho ho, I am quite interested."
Xiao Chen said quietly, "You"d better not get too interested. Perhaps I will disappoint you." Leng Ningfeng smiled lightly. "Oh? You two speak in remarkably similar ways. Well, the Spiritual Meridian from the Zhou State is something we want. If you prefer to come looking for death, I cannot help you."
Xiao Chen pondered. Why did Wuw.a.n.g City want the Earth Spiritual Meridian? He smiled indifferently. "Brother Leng"s cultivation surpa.s.ses mine by too much. How about conceding a move or so to me?"
Leng Ningfeng smiled lightly. "For the sake of the divine zither, I shall concede you three moves." As his words fell, the amba.s.sador from the Qing State immediately shouted. "Leng Ningfeng, finish the fight quickly! Don"t delay official business!"
Leng Ningfeng smiled faintly. "It doesn"t matter. I"d like to see what"s so great about this divine zither." When he finished, he made a gesture of "After you" to Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen smiled indifferently. "Then watch!" He leapt backward nearly 20 meters and plucked the C Major string. Rays of white radiance emerged as wild gales swarmed the platform and under. All the True Energy from kilometers away to converge here.
The entire land began to quake. The Jade Zither in Xiao Chen"s hands became dazzling bright, emitting a colorful radiance. Even his body appeared like a heavenly deity through the reflected light, almost overpowering the sun in heaven.
Terrifying power began to gather infinitely. Even the presiding officers on the high platform began to pale. It was nearing the power of a Nascent Soul! They had not expected anyone to exert the potential of the Divine Archean Zither of the Teal Jade Sect to such a degree. For a brief moment, everyone was flabbergasted.
The smile on Leng Ningfeng"s face had long vanished. He began to frown deeper and deeper. He had not expected the zither to show such great powers in his opponent"s hands. Yet, since he had agreed, he could only defend and not attack. He condensed a force out from his fingertip and started to draw a formation on the ground. From that formation came a condensed Barrier, wrapping him in its midst.
"Zheng!" A zither note sounded. Xiao Chen finally let the string loose. A sound wave turned into a white radiance, several kilometers wide, aimed toward Leng Ningfeng in a.s.sault. Everywhere it went, it sent pebbles flying. Its unrivaled power quaked the earth incessantly. Those nearby had already hidden themselves in the distance.
The substantial sound wave hit Leng Ningfeng"s body and instantly broke through his Barrier. His attire had torn somewhat and the ground below him cracked. Yet he still stood where he was, immobile. He had not toppled over.
"Impossible!" Astonished gasps arose from all directions. The zither note just now could heavily injure any Core Forming Realm Cultivator. Yet why did he look completely unhurt?
Xiao Chen was quite puzzled too. He was not wondering why his zither note had not hurt him, but why there was a fluctuating Devil Qi from the man when he sounded the note. This Devil Qi was very peculiar, carrying in it a faint whiff of Immortal Qi.
The man was a Fallen Devil!
A Fallen Devil was a Cultivator who had been infected by Devil Qi, or had strayed into the Devil"s Practice for some reason. He would possess the strengths of both an Immortal and a Devil.