Chapter 44: Chapter 43: Fierce Battle with a True Martial

"Talent—Devouring God!" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Jiang Chen’s features twisted ferociously. A terrifying, bloody aura erupted from his body, instantly spreading throughout him.

Streaks of crimson filled his eyes until his irises became the color of blood itself.

The crimson color spread from his eyes across his face, where a series of profound runes formed a spiderweb-like pattern. In an instant, a profound and ferocious blood-red sigil branded itself onto Jiang Chen’s face, neck, arms, and his entire body. Even his long, black hair turned blood-red.

This was the Martial Soul Talent that Jiang Chen had awakened after breaking through to the Martial Arts Seventh Stage—Devouring God!

His Martial Soul was the God-slaying Sword.

It was a terrifying weapon that had once slaughtered gods, and the Martial Soul Talent it had now awakened was Devouring God.

Once he activated his Talent Devouring God, Jiang Chen’s body would be covered in Divine Patterns, allowing him to merge his body with the God-slaying Sword.

Devouring God could devour all surrounding energy to increase his own strength!

Right now, Jiang Chen could only devour the Spiritual Qi within a hundred-meter radius. A vacuum had already formed in the hundred meters around the sacrificial altar; the Spiritual Qi in this area was completely depleted, all of it absorbed into Jiang Chen’s body. This forcefully raised his cultivation to the Martial Arts Ninth Stage.

And this was only because Jiang Chen’s own power was too weak to truly unleash the might of Devouring God!

As Jiang Chen’s strength grew, the power of his Talent Devouring God would also continue to increase. One day, he might even be able to devour true gods!

But for now—

The power of this Innate Divine Technique was obviously not at that terrifyingly unparalleled level, but it was enough to give Jiang Chen, who was at the Eighth Stage of Martial Arts, the confidence to face Yun Haoran of the True Martial Realm First Stage in a direct confrontation!

BOOM!

A blood-red storm materialized with Jiang Chen at its center, raging up toward the heavens.

The crimson storm churned without end, its rotation unleashing a terrifying, destructive power.

Longsword in hand, Jiang Chen stood upon the sacrificial altar. His blood-red hair whipped in the wind as his crimson eyes locked onto Yun Haoran. His gaze was chilling to the extreme, so substantial it seemed capable of piercing through anything. That look alone was enough to make one’s heart palpitate with fear.

"Wh-what kind of Innate Divine Technique is this? Such a terrifying aura! Just meeting his gaze feels like blaspheming a Divine Spirit..."

"Didn’t they say his Martial Soul was trash-tier, a Yellow Tier First Grade? Since when can a trash Martial Soul have such a terrifying Innate Divine Technique?"

"At this point, you still believe what those idiots from the Jiang Family said? It must have been a rumor they spread to suppress Jiang Chen!"

Sima Tao and the others revealed looks of utter shock.

Even Bai Ling’s phoenix-like eyes flickered, a look of astonishment appearing on her delicate face.

’What exactly is his Martial Soul? Why does my own Martial Soul tremble before his Innate Divine Technique...’ As she watched Jiang Chen enveloped in the crimson storm, a sudden, unbelievable thought flashed through Bai Ling’s mind. ’Maybe... he really can defeat Yun Haoran!’

Of course...

...among the crowd, the most horrified and devastated person was Jiang Ziyou.

Her pale face grew even whiter. Her body trembled slightly as she stared at Jiang Chen, who was wreathed in the blood-red storm.

A dazed look filled Jiang Ziyou’s eyes. She bit her lip until it bled, completely unaware. ’Is... is this his true strength? So... the gap between us was this huge all along?’

If she had felt intensely unwilling to accept her defeat just moments ago, that unwillingness had now been replaced by despair and confusion.

......

Yun Haoran narrowed his eyes, a brow arching slightly. The Jiang Chen before him gave him a disquieting feeling, which filled him with immense humiliation. "A mere ant from the Martial Arts Realm that I could crush with one hand... You’re just putting on a brave front. Before a True Martial Realm Powerhouse, all your struggles are futile."

Yun Haoran snorted coldly, simultaneously unleashing the two fists he had been charging with power, smashing them toward Jiang Chen.

The two fists were incredibly sharp and powerful.

He threw two punches in quick succession...

The wind from his left fist howled as True Essence circulated, coalescing into the form of a ferocious tiger that pounced at Jiang Chen like a hungry predator.

The wind from his right fist shook the air as cyan True Essence transformed into a mighty Cyan Dragon, its body soaring through the sky.

"Dragon Soars, Tiger Leaps!"

The tiger descended the mountain as the Cyan Dragon coiled around it. The two fist-winds, one dragon and one tiger, entwined. The power of this double dragon-tiger fist was terrifying. Intertwined, they surged forward, skimming across the ground. Wherever they passed, the solid stone slabs of the altar were covered in a web of fine fissures, cracking with a series of sharp CRACK-CRACK-CRACK sounds.

The cracks rapidly expanded, and a gouge a meter wide and half a meter deep appeared on the altar.

It had nearly torn through more than half of the altar!

"Talent Devouring God—Devour!" A bloody light flashed in Jiang Chen’s eyes. The corner of his mouth lifted as he let out a cold shout.

As his voice fell, the blood-red runes on Jiang Chen’s body erupted with crimson light. He simply allowed the terrifying dragon-tiger True Essence to envelop him. The instant it made contact, the Cyan Dragon True Essence coiled tightly around his body while the tiger True Essence opened its gaping maw and lunged for his head.

"Hahaha! I only used seventy percent of my power and you’re already defeated!" Yun Haoran roared with a triumphant, savage laugh.

However, the smile on his face didn’t last long!

The blood-red runes on Jiang Chen’s body suddenly erupted with a terrifying crimson light that pierced straight through the tyrannical dragon-tiger True Essence. With a series of SHH sounds, the light riddled the True Essence construct until it resembled a sieve. Then, with a BOOM, it exploded, shattering completely. The scattered motes of True Essence were enveloped by the crimson light and absorbed back into Jiang Chen’s body.

BOOM—

Jiang Chen’s cultivation aura surged once more, rising all the way to the Peak of Martial Arts Ninth Stage.

"Excellent!"

Jiang Chen threw his head back and let out a long cry before abruptly lowering it. The crimson light in his eyes grew even brighter as he stared at Yun Haoran, making the latter’s hair stand on end. His icy voice boomed like a clap of thunder, "Yun Haoran, is that your seventy percent? Hahaha, it’s nothing special!"

"Damn you..."

Yun Haoran’s face was ashen. He never imagined that the ant he looked down on could actually withstand an attack at seventy percent of his power.

This filled him with immense humiliation!

"Jiang Chen, don’t get cocky. Next, I will use one hundred percent of my power! I said I would kill you within three moves, and you won’t survive to see the fourth!" Yun Haoran’s face was cold as he roared in a low voice.

As his voice fell,

A flash of white light appeared in Yun Haoran’s hand, revealing a White Jade Long Sword.

The White Jade Long Sword was five feet long and three fingers wide. Its double edges gleamed with a bright, sharp luster that was chilling to behold.

Two profound Inscriptions were carved onto the blade, emitting a faint, jade-like white glow.

When Bai Ling saw this White Jade Long Sword, her expression changed completely. ’A Profound-tier Profound Weapon, the Exquisite Jade Sword? Oh no, Jiang Chen is in danger...’

On the Qiankun Continent, the grades of Profound Weapons corresponded to those of Martial Souls. They were divided into six grades: Yellow, Profound, Earth, Heaven, Saint, and Divine. As for the Seventh Grade and above, although they had existed in the past, no one could forge them anymore, and extremely few remained in the world. Thus, the Seventh Grade was not typically included in the classification.

The Cyan Blade Sword used by Jiang Ziyou was only a Yellow Tier High-level Profound Weapon, which could boost its wielder’s combat power by about thirty percent. This Low-level Profound Tier Profound Weapon, however, could increase it by fifty percent. This meant that Yun Haoran, wielding the Exquisite Jade Sword, was not only using his full strength but was now unleashing a total of one hundred and fifty percent of his power.

He was preparing to end the battle in a single strike and put Jiang Chen to death!

"Jiang Chen, aren’t you known for your Fast Sword? I’ll use what you’re best at to send you to the Yellow Springs!" Yun Haoran snorted, roaring with an arrogant expression.

SHAAA—

A layer of cyan storm suddenly covered the sword in Yun Haoran’s hand.

The sword slashed through the air, wreathed in the cyan storm. Its speed was pushed to the absolute limit.

The sword moved with the wind, arriving in an instant!

Before the crowd could even react, his sword was already before Jiang Chen. It was a strike of ultimate speed!

’What a fast sword!’ Jiang Chen’s pupils shrank. He reacted instantly, raising his broken sword and slashing horizontally. "Instant Sword!"

SWISH!

It too was a strike of ultimate speed, a sword that moved without a trace.

The two beams of sword light collided in mid-air, erupting in a terrifying, blinding flash. With a BOOM, a deafening explosion ripped through the air. The sword in Jiang Chen’s hand shattered into scraps of iron, turning to dust. Jiang Chen’s figure shot backward, putting distance between himself and Yun Haoran.

"Hahaha, now you don’t even have a sword! Let’s see what you fight me with now! Die!" Yun Haoran roared triumphantly, charging forward once more with the White Jade Long Sword in hand.

However, having lost his weapon, Jiang Chen showed no sign of panic. He took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes, two beams of crimson light shooting from the slits.

A slight smile played on Jiang Chen’s lips as he spoke coldly, "Sorry, but when I use my God-Devouring Talent, I’m actually stronger bare-handed than with a sword!"

With those words,

The blood-red light around Jiang Chen flared. Bare-handed, he reached out with a claw-like hand toward the oncoming White Jade Long Sword...