Li Huai Sheng, Xu Shenzhi, Yan Ming, and Chen Sheng’s other trusted confidants were so excited their faces flushed red, sharing in the glory.

Looking at Zhan Fusheng’s miserable state, Xu Shenzhi couldn’t help but touch his own chest. He recalled the terror of being utterly dominated by Chen Sheng in the past. While the memory still sent a shiver down his spine, it only strengthened his resolve to follow him.

"You have lost."

Chen Sheng’s cold voice broke the silence. He stood his ground, not even glancing at Zhan Fusheng lying in the crater, as if merely stating the simplest of facts.

"I... I have not lost yet!"

A roar like that of a wounded beast echoed from the crater. This crushing defeat, suffered before all eyes, had made Zhan Fusheng completely lose his reason. An overwhelming sense of humiliation consumed him.

He snapped his head up, his eyes filled with hysterical madness and savagery. Heedless of everything, he raised his still-functional right arm, gathered his remaining True Qi, and viciously punched himself in the chest.

PFFT—!

Another mouthful of blood sprayed out, but this time it was a strange, dark red.

Following this self-harming blow, Zhan Fusheng’s aura, which had been on the verge of collapse, suddenly surged at an unnatural rate, like the final flare of a dying candle. It even surpassed the peak state he had been in at the start of the fight.

The price was that his face instantly turned ashen, and the light in his eyes dimmed. He had clearly used some kind of self-destructive Secret Technique that overdraws one’s vital essence. After this battle, regardless of the outcome, he would be bedridden for months, and his Primordial Qi would be severely damaged.

But right now, all he wanted was to salvage his pitiful, shattered dignity.

Even if it meant just forcing Chen Sheng back a single step, or inflicting one effective wound.

"Die for me!"

Zhan Fusheng roared, raising his hand and making a grasping motion. The standard-issue longsword stuck in the ground far away flew from its sheath with a CLANG, transforming into a streak of cold light as it landed in his hand.

With the sword in hand, his aura swelled once more. Man and sword seemed to fuse, transforming into a grim and resolute streak of green light. He became one with the attack, tearing through the air as he ferociously chopped at Chen Sheng’s head.

This single strike condensed all his current strength, resentment, and madness. Its power far surpassed all of his previous punches and kicks.

"Incorrigible. I gave you an out, and you refuse to take it."

Chen Sheng’s eyes suddenly narrowed, a cold glint appearing within them.

With a mere thought, the Cold-Intimidating Blade at his waist abruptly left its sheath.

The body of the blade trembled, emitting a clear, high-pitched hum.

Chen Sheng poured his surging Innate True Qi into the blade without reservation. In an instant, a ten-foot-long, incredibly condensed beam of frigid sword light, radiating a bone-chilling cold, tore through the air.

He swung down. The strike was simple and direct, yet it held the resolute will to sever anything in its path.

BOOM—!!!!

The two swords collided fiercely in mid-air.

This time, the explosion was far louder than before. A violent aftershock of True Qi swept across the entire stage, peeling up layers of the hard bluestone tiles and grinding them to dust. Some of the Jing’an Guard standing near the stage were even forced back several steps by the shockwave, their faces turning pale.

Zhan Fusheng had thrown all caution to the wind, fighting like a mad demon. Ignoring the tearing pain from his Meridians, he roared and frantically unleashed the power he had gained by overdrafting his own life force.

Pushing his Sword Skill to the absolute limit, his figure became a series of ghostly afterimages amidst the dust and Qi Force. He attacked Chen Sheng from all directions, each strike aimed at a vital point.

Chen Sheng, however, remained stern-faced. The Cold-Intimidating Blade seemed to come alive in his hands. Whether parrying, blocking, cleaving, or slashing, his moves appeared simple, yet they always managed to precisely intercept Zhan Fusheng’s most ferocious attacks.

And his Sword Skill was faster, more vicious, and more precise.

Every strike carried a cold killing intent and unparalleled power.

The two figures moved at high speed amidst the swirling dust and radiating Sword Qi. At times they were like a great roc soaring through the sky, at others like a sparrowhawk turning in the air. The gleam of their blades flashed, and the sound of clashing metal was as dense as falling rain.

The stray Sword Qi left the stage and its surroundings in utter ruin.

However, an absolute gap in strength is not something that can be bridged by madness and Secret Techniques.

Zhan Fusheng was already severely injured, and now he was a spent arrow at the end of its flight.

Within a few dozen breaths of time, the two had exchanged hundreds of blows.

Finally, after a head-on clash with all their strength, Zhan Fusheng’s aura inevitably faltered for an instant. His old strength was spent, and the new had yet to rise.

Chen Sheng keenly caught this fleeting opening.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. The True Qi in his body erupted like a mountain flood. The Cold-Intimidating Blade let out a piercing hum as his attack pattern suddenly changed. No longer meeting force with force, it struck like a viper from its hole, slicing in at an incredible angle through a gap in Zhan Fusheng’s guard.

SCHLICK—!

A spray of blood erupted!

A wound so deep you could see the bone stretched from Zhan Fusheng’s left shoulder all the way to his right abdomen. Blood instantly stained his tattered clothes red.

If he hadn’t forcefully twisted his body at the critical moment, and if the high-quality Inner Armor he wore hadn’t blocked part of the blade, this one strike would have been enough to slice him in two diagonally.

Overwhelming pain washed over him. All of Zhan Fusheng’s strength receded like the tide, and the side effects of the Secret Technique fully erupted. He could no longer hold his longsword, which fell to the ground with a CLANG.

As if his spine had been ripped out, he fell limply from mid-air.

Chen Sheng glanced around and forcefully suppressed the surging killing intent in his heart.

Killing a fellow Jing’an Envoy in front of everyone, even with just cause, would surely lead to major trouble. His goal of establishing his dominance had already been more than achieved; there was no need for further complications.

But not killing him didn’t mean letting him off the hook.

Seeing Zhan Fusheng fall like a ruined doll, Chen Sheng’s figure flickered. He stepped on the air, and though he started later, he arrived first, catching up to Zhan Fusheng from above. He stomped his right foot, and an ethereal, pale-gold Golden Bell instantly condensed beneath it, its mouth facing downward.

The next moment, Chen Sheng, standing upon the Golden Bell like a god delivering punishment, came crashing down on the helpless Zhan Fusheng below.

DONG—!!!

A toll, louder and more shocking than any before, instantly echoed in all directions.

The Golden Bell solidly trapped Zhan Fusheng within it, smashing down hard in the center of the already ruined stage.

The ground trembled.

Dust and smoke shot into the sky, obscuring everyone’s vision.

When the dust settled a little and the crowd could see the scene on the stage, everyone’s faces changed in horror.

In the center of the stage, atop the ethereal, pale-gold Golden Bell, stood Chen Sheng. His hands were clasped behind his back, his posture as straight and tall as a pine tree, standing firm upon the bell.

Inside the Golden Bell, Zhan Fusheng lay like a pile of sludge. Blood trickled from his seven orifices, countless bones in his body were broken, and his aura was extremely faint. Only the slight rise and fall of his chest proved he was still alive.

But his eyes, now hollow and lifeless, stared blankly at the sky. All his pride, his anger, and his indignation had been utterly crushed underfoot.

Chen Sheng stepped into the air and dismissed the ethereal Golden Bell. He looked down from above at Zhan Fusheng, who lay in the crater like a dead dog, his gaze calm and serene.

In that moment, it was as if the world itself had frozen.

All eyes were gathered on that single, dark-robed figure.

At this moment, Chen Sheng was like an insurmountable mountain, his entire being exuding an unshakeable, majestic aura.

"I... *cough cough*... have lost..."

Zhan Fusheng lifted his head, a flicker of despair in his eyes.

From that last strike, he had clearly felt the presence of death, and he understood that Chen Sheng had held back at the end.

The feeling of having his life and death controlled by his opponent, only to be shown mercy, was more humiliating than being killed. It also completely shattered any will to resist he had left.

Hearing this, Chen Sheng looked down upon Zhan Fusheng from above and said softly:

"From now on, curb your arrogance. When you see this Captain, you will lower your head and know your place."

Zhan Fusheng didn’t dare to look Chen Sheng in the eye. He slowly lowered his head, his back bending as well.

"This subordinate... understands."

————