Fierce fighting

The entire world was deathly silent, with only Long Chen's voice echoing between heaven and earth. His domineering words were like a heavy hammer, striking deep into everyone's hearts.

Long Chen leaned his broadsword against the ground, his Aura heaven-shaking, his clothes fluttering. Standing there quietly, as if he were the only person in existence between heaven and earth, he was truly awe-inspiring.

"Whoosh."

He flicked the broadsword in his hand, turning it into a whistling gust of wind to shake off the bloodstains. Under the gaze of countless people, he walked slowly toward the Fourth Prince.

Dragging the broadsword along the ground, its terrifying weight carved deep furrows into the earth, creating a rustling sound that vibrated against everyone's eardrums.

The Fourth Prince's expression changed drastically. He felt it immediately; as Long Chen looked at him, it was as if he had been locked onto by the eyes of the Grim Reaper, his heart filled with terror.

"You go and kill Long Chen."

Just then, the white-robed man, who had not spoken until now, set down his teacup and said. After thinking for a moment, he added, "If you cannot kill him, there is no need for you to remain alive."

Xia Youyu's expression changed, but he dared not retort. He shot a cold glance at the Fourth Prince and said to the two people behind him, "Attack."

As Long Chen was walking forward, the three of them suddenly rushed over. They were Xia Youyu and two other Tendon Transformation Realm experts; one of them was missing a nose, the very person who had nearly been headshot by Long Tianxiao's arrow.

"Die!"

Having seen Long Chen kill the renowned Tendon Transformation Realm expert Ying Zhao in three moves, the three did not dare to be careless. They all unleashed their full strength and charged at Long Chen.

Xia Youyu held an iron spear that shimmered with a dark light, arriving first. A piercing sonic boom echoed through the air.

In the distance, Long Tianxiao was startled. Although Xia Youyu was the Emperor of the Great Xia Empire, his cultivation was extremely high. Back when the two countries were at war, Long Tianxiao had fought him before.

However, they had been evenly matched that time, and neither gained the upper hand. Later, after Xia Youyu ascended the throne, relations between the two countries improved, and no further conflicts occurred.

Seeing Xia Youyu make a move today, Long Tianxiao realized that even after becoming Emperor, Xia Youyu's cultivation had not stagnated; instead, it had become even more profound.

This was why, despite the imperial palace being filled with countless concubines, Xia Youyu only had two sons and had not indulged in lust at all. This perseverance was truly astonishing.

Out of deep love for his son and fearing he wouldn't be able to hold on, Long Tianxiao shook his long saber and charged at his opponents first. He hoped to kill the two of them quickly so he could go support Long Chen.

Although Long Chen had just displayed heaven-shaking combat power by unleashing an Earth Rank battle skill three times in a row, which was simply shocking.

But regardless, Long Chen was still too young and was only a Blood Condensation Realm kid, even if he didn't know how he managed to continuously unleash Earth Rank battle skills.

However, unleashing an Earth Rank battle skill three times would drain his Spiritual Qi immensely. Even a Tendon Transformation Realm expert would be depleted of Spiritual Qi, and this was what Long Tianxiao worried about the most.

"Boom."

The Marquis of Wu and the other expert combined their strength to block Long Tianxiao's strike, but their chests shook violently, and it felt as if their internal organs had been turned upside down.

Both felt a shiver in their hearts. Originally, it took all three of them working together to barely fight Long Tianxiao to a draw. Now that the Marquis of Ying was dead, they were immediately stretched thin and struggling immensely.

Unfortunately, they could not retreat. Now that both sides were like fire and water, there was no room for maneuver. Retreating meant death, so they could only resist desperately, not hoping to kill Long Tianxiao, but only praying that the others would quickly kill Long Chen and come to their aid.

Seeing Xia Youyu thrust his spear, Long Chen dared not be careless and slashed his broadsword forward rapidly.

The spear and sword collided with a loud explosion. Both retreated several steps and looked at each other in shock.

Long Chen did not expect that this luxuriously dressed man would be so formidable, and that in terms of strength, he could actually be evenly matched with him.

One had to know that although the Marquis of Ying was a Blood Condensation Realm expert, now that Long Chen had advanced to the Blood Condensation Realm, his Qi and blood had merged, causing his strength to skyrocket, allowing him to disregard the Marquis of Ying.

Yet Xia Youyu had managed to block his sword. Although neither had used their full strength, Long Chen could judge that this person was far stronger than the Marquis of Ying.

"Very good. In all these years, besides Long Tianxiao, you are the first person capable of taking a single blow from me," Xia Youyu said, shaking his slightly numb palm.

Although Xia Youyu was the Emperor of the Great Xia Empire, he was obsessed with martial arts his entire life, possessed infinite strength, and had unparalleled combat power.

Throughout his life of battles among his peers, no one could contend with him except for Long Tianxiao. His throne was something he had forcibly seized with his own fists.

Now, having been shaken by Long Chen's strike to the point where his arm was slightly numb, he was shocked beyond measure. However, he could not show any weakness in his Aura, which was why he said that.

"That doesn't mean you are strong; it only means you are a frog in a well who hasn't seen the world."

Long Chen snorted coldly. He hated people who acted cool, and even more, he hated those who acted cool without having the strength to back it up.

"You're seeking death. Let me see what qualifications you have to be so arrogant."

Long Chen's words made Xia Youyu's face burn. As a monarch, he had been humiliated like this. He shouted, shook his spear, and a spear flower bloomed like a lotus, thrusting toward Long Chen.

The previous strike had only been a probe by Xia Youyu. He had seen how Long Chen killed the Marquis of Ying in three consecutive moves.

He knew he could defeat the Marquis of Ying, but he absolutely could not kill a seventh-heaven Tendon Transformation Realm expert within three moves.

Therefore, he was filled with dread toward Long Chen, far from being as relaxed as he appeared. He hadn't gained any advantage in the previous clash of strength.

Thus, this spear thrust was purely a clever move, hiding the real spearhead within the spear flower, making it impossible for the enemy to distinguish the real from the fake. If the enemy guessed the location of the spearhead wrong, he would seize the opportunity for a fatal strike; this was one of his ultimate techniques.

At the very moment Xia Youyu thrust his spear, the other two experts also attacked. A long saber and a golden hook sealed off both of Long Chen's sides, leaving him with no way to escape.

Facing the pincer attack of three Tendon Transformation Realm experts, a brilliant light flashed in Long Chen's eyes. He gripped the broadsword tightly with both hands, his sword-like eyebrows arched, and he shouted, "Whirlwind Slash!"

Following Long Chen's shout, the broadsword slashed out like a whirlwind. Rolling waves of air erupted from him as the center, rushing straight into the sky like a tornado, shaking the Void Realm.

"Boom."

People could not see what was happening inside the hurricane-like pillar of air. Suddenly, explosions rang out, sounding as if it were one single blast, or perhaps a series of continuous collisions.

After the explosions, three figures flew out in a sorry state. People were shocked to discover that the three were Xia Youyu and his companions. Xia Youyu leaned on his spear, using all his strength to stop himself, yet still flew out over ten zhang before barely steadying himself. An unhealthy flush appeared on his face; clearly, he was injured.

The other two, whose cultivation was clearly not as deep as Xia Youyu's, rolled out over thirty zhang before stopping. One slowly stood up and immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.

The other person, the one who had been 'reconstructed' by Long Tianxiao, lay on the ground, spitting out several mouthfuls of blood before passing out completely.

The hurricane ceased, slowly revealing Long Chen's figure. People looked at that figure and almost forgot to breathe.

Previously, he killed a Tendon Transformation Realm expert in three moves; now, he defeated three experts in one move. This Long Chen was simply a monster.

In the distance, the white-robed man gazed at Long Chen. His previously calm face finally showed a hint of shock. Long Chen's combat power reminded him of those "Prodigies" in the Sect.

He was merely an Outer Sect Disciple in the Sect. This time, he had snagged a huge opportunity; as long as he completed the Sect mission, he could be promoted to an Inner Sect Disciple.

At that time, he would receive focused training from the Sect, and those with even higher status than Inner Sect Disciples were the Prodigy-level Core Disciples.

They were all known as existences invincible among their peers. Their Prodigy-level talent and terrifying combat power were enough to make one go crazy.

Although the combat power Long Chen had displayed was not enough to make the white-robed man fear him, Long Chen was only in the Blood Condensation Realm. With his talent, he could completely rank alongside those Prodigy-level Geniuses.

While shocked, the white-robed man felt uncomfortable. Perhaps it was a kind of jealousy—deep jealousy.

Being an Inner Sect Disciple was already his life's goal, and being a Core Disciple was something he didn't even dare to imagine.

As for the Long Chen before him, if the Sect knew about him, they would definitely spare no cost to bring him into the fold and make him a Core Disciple directly.

A cold glint flashed in the white-robed man's eyes. Long Chen had to die, not only because he was a pawn, but also because the white-robed man did not want to see the rise of a Prodigy-level Genius.

"Whew."

Long Chen exhaled the turbid air from his chest. The Whirlwind Slash was indeed powerful, but the consumption was terrifying.

This strike was one Long Chen had created himself, based on the changes in the Three Styles of Departing Wind. However, rather than calling it an original creation, it was more of an improvement.

After becoming familiar with the Three Styles of Departing Wind, he found that their principles were excellent. Unlike other techniques, they weren't rigid, and there was a huge space for free improvisation.

Thus, he had a sudden inspiration and improved the principle of the Departing Wind Cut, while simultaneously enhancing its speed and strength. By using high-speed rotation to drive the weapon, he formed a wide-range tornado wind attack.

Previously, Long Chen had only tested it slightly, and the results were decent. Now, facing an attack from three people simultaneously, Long Chen feared that the power wouldn't be enough to withstand their assault, so he unleashed a full-power strike without holding back at all.

The result was astonishingly powerful, but the consumption was also terrifying. He felt that the previous strike had consumed over half of the Spiritual Qi in his body in an instant.

"Bang."

Long Chen stamped his foot, and his body flew forward. Now was not the time for surprise; the battle was not over yet. He slashed his broadsword toward Xia Youyu.

Xia Youyu had not yet recovered from the previous strike when Long Chen's second attack arrived. He couldn't help but be terrified; this Long Chen was simply a monster who never got tired.

Xia Youyu took a deep breath, knowing that if he didn't use his full strength, he would be finished. His Spiritual Qi surged throughout his body, frantically pouring into his spear.

"Crackle."

As his Aura erupted, the ground beneath Xia Youyu's feet actually cracked. The shock in Xia Youyu's eyes vanished, replaced by extreme confidence. He thrust his spear out, causing the space to tremble.

"Rock-Breaking Spear!"

The spear thrust out, earth-shattering and heaven-startling. This was Xia Youyu's strongest move, moving like a meteor chasing the moon, heading straight for Long Chen.

Long Chen was immediately locked onto by a terrifying killing intent. Although he had never underestimated this Xia Youyu, he still hadn't expected him to possess such a powerful ultimate technique capable of threatening his life.

He activated his Fengfu Star, and his Spiritual power instantly coursed through nine acupoints. A strange light appeared on the broadsword.

"Then let's decide the outcome in one move."