Chapter 111: Witness of the Era (8) |
One battle… two battles… three battles…
Su Chen continued until he finally faced the first true pinnacle genius of the Eastern Wasteland.
Thunder Sound Sacred Land—Lei Tianxin. A bald young monk with narrowed eyes, clad in a simple cassock. One hand gripped a monk's staff, the other pressed together before his chest.
Su Chen glanced up at him. Beneath that calm exterior hid a terrifying force capable of tearing everything apart. His cultivation had reached the peak of Profound Connection realm—just like Su Chen now—only one step away from Void Refining.
"Thunder Elephant Sacred Physique… Thunder Sound Sacred Land has truly produced an extraordinary figure this generation!"
Compared to Mu Wunian of the Heavenly Sword Sacred Land, Lei Tianxin was clearly far superior. The two were not on the same level at all.
Su Chen sighed inwardly. This would be his first true, head-on clash with a sacred physique monster!
The Dustreturn Sword trembled for the first time, resonating in excitement, its edge finally revealing its true sharpness.
"Benefactor, please."
In the same instant, purple thunder light flashed in his narrowed eyes. The entire battlefield became a sea of lightning. The phantom of an ancient thunder elephant materialized behind him—like a primordial deity descended into the present age.
Su Chen gripped the Dustreturn Sword. Insights from three lifetimes of sword dao fused into one. For a fleeting moment, he stepped into an entirely new realm of sword dao. The space around him became his sword domain—within it, the sword dao reigned supreme!
Beams of radiant sword light pierced through the thunder ocean.
Lei Tianxin raised his fist. Golden light bloomed across his body. His physical form had been tempered to an extreme, rivaling ancient divine beasts. One punch shattered space itself. An ordinary Void Refining cultivator would turn to bloody mist under such a strike—terrifying beyond measure.
Thunder Sound Sacred Land had once stood at the pinnacle. Its body-refining method was ranked among the ten strongest in history. Unfortunately, with the changing of eras, part of the technique had been lost. Body cultivation gradually gave way to law cultivation, forcing this once-mighty power to settle into second-tier status in the Eastern Wasteland.
Facing Su Chen's sword qi, Lei Tianxin simply raised a hand and tore it apart. Golden blood seeped from his palm. The wounds caused by the sword qi healed instantly. He charged straight into Su Chen's sword domain.
Though body cultivators had declined, their conviction had never wavered.
Inside Su Chen's sword domain, Lei Tianxin tore through the sword qi with raw force. Thunder light exploded as he clashed against the indestructible sword qi. Yet even with his invincible divine strength, he was still too slow.
Their clash lasted only an instant.
In that single moment, Lei Tianxin failed to close the distance to Su Chen's body.
What greeted him instead was an unmatched sword beam. The purple thunder ocean across the battlefield turned ashen gray, as though the world had frozen into a still painting.
"Return to Dust!"
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A storm of sword qi swept outward.
Lei Tianxin raised his staff. The thunder elephant phantom fused into a barrier that met the unstoppable sword beam head-on.
"Body cultivation… has truly declined after all!"
With a soft sigh, Lei Tianxin's staff snapped in two. His body was cleaved cleanly at the waist. Blood dyed the arena floor.
A powerful elder from Thunder Sound Sacred Land immediately intervened, using divine abilities to forcibly rejoin Lei Tianxin's body. Pale-faced and expressionless, Lei Tianxin walked off the stage.
Su Chen watched him leave, then sheathed the Dustreturn Sword.
A wave of extreme exhaustion surged through his body. His expression remained unchanged as he stepped down from the platform, but inwardly he gave a wry laugh.
"Body cultivators… really are tough…"
That final sword strike had felt like chopping against ancient heavenly gold—indestructible. Had the sword dao intent of the Dustreturn Sword not been sharp enough, he might not have broken Lei Tianxin's defense.
But… that was all.
With Lei Tianxin's defeat, astonishment rippled through the crowd of prodigies.
Lei Tianxin's Thunder Elephant Sacred Physique ranked among the absolute top of his generation. Yet now he had lost to this young man from the Central Continent.
Su Chen turned his gaze toward another battlefield.
There, a handsome young man sat cross-legged, already finished with his match. Sensing Su Chen's look, he lifted his head and gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.
"What terrifying martial dao intent!"
With that single glance, Su Chen knew—this was the hidden trump card those old monsters of the Eastern Wasteland had been waiting to reveal!
They were utterly confident that this youth would defeat him.
The realm of true Dao mastery! This was absolutely a monster who had already stepped into the realm of true dao!
Su Chen drew a deep breath, suppressing the surging battle intent within him. Against such a figure, he had to return to his absolute peak before he could fight with everything he had!
The youth seemed to sense Su Chen's thoughts. Neither of them spoke. They simply waited in tacit understanding—for this peak confrontation!
One week later, Su Chen opened his eyes.
"Heavenly Ruins Sacred Land—Ling Wuya."
"Central Continent Wang Clan—Wang Chen!"
Ling Wuya gave a slight nod.
"I will defeat you. Then I will go challenge Wang Yunfei."
His tone was calm and even, as though he had never truly placed Su Chen in his eyes.
Su Chen smiled. He felt no anger at being underestimated. This opponent possessed a sword dao conviction even firmer than that of the Heavenly Sword Sacred Land's Sacred Son. He was an incomparably powerful rival—worthy of genuine respect.
Neither wasted words.
Su Chen drew the Dustreturn Sword.
Ling Wuya casually reached into the void and drew forth a divine blade of his own.
The moment their swords met, sword qi raged across the battlefield. Terrifying sword intents tore at one another.
"Return to Dust!"
"Sword Ruins!"
Su Chen's sword intent was immediately suppressed by an overwhelming force—a sword dao he had never encountered before. He abandoned his sword and shifted to palms.
Ling Wuya mirrored him perfectly—discarding his blade for palms as well.
Palm intents collided like dazzling fireworks. Then both shifted again—to fists, to spears, to blades—each weapon form flowing seamlessly into the next.
From the spectator stands, several elders watched the evenly matched exchange in stunned silence.
"What is Ling Wuya doing? With his strength, defeating someone who hasn't fully grasped the realm of true dao should not be this difficult."
"He's… helping that little fellow from the Wang Clan fuse all his martial techniques and walk his own path? Has he gone mad? This is his enemy—why is he feeding him moves?"
"Ling Wuya… truly worthy of being the supreme prodigy of Heavenly Ruins Sacred Land. Is this the bearing and pride of a supreme genius?"
"…"
Su Chen gradually sank fully into the exchange with Ling Wuya.
Nine lifetimes of experiences. Nine vastly different paths. The fleeting insights he had grasped between life and death in his previous incarnations now became increasingly clear. He sensed something forming inside him—a seed.
Countless martial dao comprehensions and martial wills converged, growing firmer and more resolute. This was the conviction that even if the entire world was wrong, he alone was right. On the martial path, only belief remained!
As the golden seed took shape, all of Su Chen's martial dao paths suddenly became clear. Techniques that once required effort now came effortlessly. The road ahead was no longer shrouded in fog. He… would ultimately step into the supreme realm and stand above all living beings!
"Thank you for the gift of dao attainment. I, Wang Chen, owe you a favor!"
Su Chen understood completely—Ling Wuya had deliberately helped him shatter the barrier to the realm of true dao and step onto his own unique path!
Ling Wuya gave a faint smile.
"You did not disappoint me. In the next clash… do not hold back!"
Entering the realm of true Dao meant stepping onto the path of becoming a Saint. On that path, only one person could reach the end. This was the purest form of martial dao struggle!
…
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