Chapter 221: The Peak Battle

"Jiang Chen, get up here and die!"

Li Yunlong stood upon the Blood Battle Arena, one hand clasped behind his back, the other holding a longsword pointed straight at Jiang Chen.

He looked down, his face a mask of arrogance, like a king surveying his lowly subjects.

It was as if he was the sovereign of all life!

As if he held Jiang Chen’s fate in his hands!

He showed Jiang Chen no regard whatsoever.

"Li Yunlong is finally making his move!"

"Yesterday, Li Yunlong was careless and underestimated his enemy, letting Jiang Chen take one of his sword strikes and survive. That completely infuriated him. Now he’s going to make an example of him!"

"Poor Jiang Chen. With his strength, he’s at least in the top three prodigies of the Outer Sect, but he’s about to die!"

"Why’d he have to go and offend the Celestial Alliance?"

Li Yunlong’s power was beyond doubt. In the minds of the countless Outer Sect Disciples, his image had long since become one of Wudi.

Now that Li Yunlong was making a move against Jiang Chen, naturally, no one believed Jiang Chen could possibly win.

Even the expressions of both Prince Gong and the Tower Guardian Elder changed. They exchanged a worried glance. "This is bad. I was wondering why Zong Rui let Jiang Chen off so easily. So it’s because Li Yunlong is making his move. With his strength, Jiang Chen is no match for him at all!"

"What should we do? Should we persuade Jiang Chen not to accept Li Yunlong’s challenge?" the Tower Guardian Elder said in a grim voice.

Prince Gong pondered for a moment, then nodded. "It’s the only thing we can do!"

However...

Before they could even speak, Jiang Chen had already risen, floating gracefully onto the Blood Battle Arena.

Li Yunlong stood in the center of the arena, while Jiang Chen stood on the edge.

Their eyes met, and their gazes clashed in the air between them as if they were tangible, unleashing a powerful shockwave of energy. A furious wind howled, a bone-chilling sound.

Li Yunlong raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "I was starting to think you wouldn’t dare show up!"

"Someone’s offering themselves up for slaughter. How could I possibly refuse to attend?" Jiang Chen replied coolly.

Li Yunlong froze, then roared with laughter. "Hahaha! Interesting! Truly interesting! You think I’m here to offer myself up for slaughter? How ridiculous! You’re an ignorant fool. You must think our clash yesterday represented my full strength. Is that why you’re so confident, so arrogant? What a shame. I only used fifty percent of my power for that sword strike."

"Fifty percent? Oh, good. I was afraid you’d used your full strength, and I was worried killing you would be too easy to be any fun. But now, I can finally rest easy." Jiang Chen looked up at Li Yunlong, a sharp glint in his eyes as he broke into a grin.

Li Yunlong’s expression turned grim. "Kill me? I’d like to see you try!"

"Wait!"

Jiang Chen said, raising a hand.

Li Yunlong paused, his brow furrowing. "What? Thinking of surrendering now?"

"’Surrender?’ That’s not a word in my vocabulary." Jiang Chen’s gaze swept toward Zong Rui on the high platform, his face thick with derision. "I just want to ask a certain someone if that ’life and death are decided by fate’ rule still stands."

This was a clear jab at how Zong Rui had previously interfered to stop him from killing Luo Qing.

Zong Rui was, after all, the great and powerful Grand Elder of the Outer Sect.

His status was revered.

Normally, even other powerful Elders would respectfully address him as Grand Elder.

But now...

Jiang Chen was embarrassing him in front of hundreds of thousands of people.

This made Zong Rui’s face contort with fury, a vein pulsing on his forehead. He clenched his fists, crushing the armrests of his chair to dust. Through clenched teeth, he growled, "Of course, it still stands! Life and death are decided by fate. No one may interfere in your battle!"

"In that case, I can rest easy!"

Jiang Chen grinned.

He attacked without warning!

"Great Sun Without Limits!"

Three jets of Sword Qi shot from his longsword in quick succession. Each one transformed into a blazing fireball, like a Blazing Sun falling from the heavens to the mortal realm. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The scorching heat instantly caused the temperature above the Blood Battle Arena to spike by dozens of degrees.

A corner of Li Yunlong’s mouth twitched in a sneer. "You dare boast about killing me with a pathetic display like this? You were lucky to survive my sword yesterday. Today, I will cut you down in three strikes!"

"Autumn Wind and Falling Leaves!"

Li Yunlong’s longsword sliced through the air.

A bone-chilling wind suddenly swept across the arena, as if autumn had arrived in an instant. It howled and whistled ominously.

Within the gale, streaks of yellow Sword Aura drifted like falling leaves. These leafy auras shot through the wind at incredible speeds, striking erratically from all directions. This single sword technique already surpassed the one he had used to defeat Yuwen Xunyi.

A bitter smile appeared on Yuwen Xunyi’s face. ’So Li Yunlong was still holding back when he fought me. Sigh... to think the gap between us is this vast...’

Beside Yuwen Xunyi,

An anxious expression appeared on Bai Ling’s delicate face. "Brother Yuwen, do you think there’s any chance Jiang Chen can win?"

"Win?"

Yuwen Xunyi paused, then shook his head with a bitter laugh. "Win? Forget winning. He’ll be lucky to escape with his life!"

"This..."

Bai Ling’s expression fell.

Only the Black Emperor, who had settled on her shoulder, crossed his legs and gnawed on a roasted lamb leg that had appeared from nowhere. He said nonchalantly, "Relax, relax. That kid Jiang Chen never does anything he’s not confident about. Since he dared to accept Li Yunlong’s challenge, he must have a trick up his sleeve. That guy’s as cunning as they come. Why would he do something as stupid as walking into his own death?"

"I hope you’re right..."

Bai Ling said with a wry smile.

「Meanwhile...」

On the Blood Battle Arena, the three fireballs of Sword Qi made their first impact with the leaf-like Sword Auras dancing in the cold wind.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!—

Dazzling flashes of yellow and red light exploded, filling the sky like a brilliant fireworks display.

"Is that all you’ve got, Li Yunlong?"

Jiang Chen sneered, his body erupting in a golden glow as he shot forward. Like a dragon plunging into the sea, he navigated the chaotic energy waves from the clashing Sword Qi, charging straight for Li Yunlong.

Li Yunlong’s eyes narrowed. He sneered, "Don’t celebrate too soon. Now, face my Second Sword—Bright Moon Rises Over the Sea!"

A blue True Essence Light coalesced, forming a vast ocean that suddenly surged forward.

The blue True Essence Light clung to the surface of the Blood Battle Arena, resembling a turbulent, raging sea.

Li Yunlong’s figure appeared on the horizon of this azure sea. He held his longsword horizontally, and an immense Sword Qi condensed into a ball of fire. All the Fire Spiritual Power in the vicinity swirled rapidly, converging on the fireball until it resembled a bright moon hanging over the blue ocean.

Water Sword Intent!

Fire Sword Intent!

So, Li Yunlong was another prodigy who had comprehended Twin Sword Intent!

The blue Water Sword Intent merged with the raging sea, instantly blanketing the entire Blood Battle Arena. The Sword Intent was incredibly viscous, capable of severely restricting Jiang Chen’s movements.

At the same time,

The Sword Qi Blazing Sun, empowered by his Fire Sword Intent, bore down on Jiang Chen with terrifying speed.

Twin Sword Intent, Wushuang under the heavens.

The strength Li Yunlong revealed made everyone cry out in alarm. The look of defeat on Yuwen Xunyi’s face deepened. "Twin Sword Intent... And I actually thought I could challenge such a monstrous genius? Heh, I truly overestimated my own abilities. This battle... Jiang Chen is sure to be defeated!"

Zong Rui also looked relaxed. He chuckled, "This Li Yunlong kid is quite something, mastering Twin Sword Intent. There’s no suspense left in this fight!"

"Heh, I wouldn’t be so sure!"

But Prince Gong just gave a cold smile, his expression inscrutable. "Twin Sword Intent isn’t something Li Yunlong has a monopoly on," he said calmly.

"Hm?"

Zong Rui froze. His expression changed drastically. "Prince Gong, you mean Jiang Chen... That’s impossible..." He whipped his head toward Jiang Chen, and his pupils contracted violently. He was utterly speechless.

He saw Jiang Chen leap into the air.

A turbulent, blue sea of swords materialized around him.

The two blue seas of swords crashed against each other, perfectly matched.

At the same time, Jiang Chen thrust his longsword through the air. "Great Sun Without Limits!"

A fireball erupted, tearing through the air.

Wind Sword Intent and Fire Sword Intent... he was also a monstrous genius with Twin Sword Intent!

As they gazed at the youth, his long robes fluttering, everyone was utterly stunned!

They clenched their fists, faces alight with excitement, their eyes glued to the Blood Battle Arena, terrified of missing a single moment of this peak battle...