Returning to the Essence!
The so-called "Returning to the Essence" was a phenomenon that occurred only when a Combat Skill or Secret Technique reached a state of perfect harmony with its user. When this happened, the executed technique would lack any earth-shattering fluctuations or celestial phenomena.
It appeared as simple and unadorned as an ordinary Combat Skill. But in Dilaka’s eyes, that thumb-sized sphere was like an extremely dangerous spatial black hole, making his heart secretly pound with dread! He had no doubt that without any defenses, even a Third-Ring Martial Emperor would surely die to this fusion of ice and fire.
"Ice Extreme Demonic Flame, go!"
A grin spread across Mu Chen’s lips. He thrust his raised arm downward, and the seemingly light and tiny Ice Extreme Demonic Flame stirred up spiraling vortexes of air as it shot forward.
Long Xiaotian watched wide-eyed as the ball of Ice Extreme Demonic Flame, which exuded no pressure at all, flew toward him. To his astonishment, he found he couldn’t move his feet even an inch. Enveloped in Purple Flame, Long Xiaotian suddenly unleashed a massive field of Primordial Power. The blazing Purple Flame instantly solidified, forming plates of Flame Armor that clung to his body!
Even after doing all this, the trepidation in Long Xiaotian’s heart didn’t lessen in the slightest!
"Damn it!" With a roar, Long Xiaotian threw his arms wide. The Purple Flame Wings behind him instantly expanded to a span of several hundred meters, so enormous they seemed to blot out the sun.
"Retract!"
With his arms still spread, Long Xiaotian curled his wrists, then immediately coiled into a ball. The Purple Flame Wings instantly wrapped tightly around his body. Only then did Long Xiaotian feel the dread in his heart lessen by a sliver—but only a sliver!
’Fuck! What the hell is that thing?! How could it make me feel such a strong fear of death?!’
Long Xiaotian was utterly horrified. The feeling of death drawing ever closer made his heart pound faster and faster. He just couldn’t understand! How could a First-Ring Martial Sect, one who looked so weak, unleash such a terrifying Combat Skill?!
SWOOSH!
Just as Long Xiaotian finished his series of defensive maneuvers, Mu Chen’s Ice Extreme Demonic Flame arrived before him. At that moment, countless pairs of eyes were glued to the orb of demonic flame. But just as the Ice Extreme Demonic Flame was about to strike Long Xiaotian, a huge Spatial Rift suddenly appeared in the sky above him. The shape of this Spatial Rift was completely different from usual! It was an irregular circle!
"Is that... a spatial tunnel?"
Someone murmured the question. But just as the words left their lips, the circular tunnel erupted with a dazzling golden light. The phantom of a golden giant sword descended from the heavens, positioning itself directly between Long Xiaotian and the Ice Extreme Demonic Flame, completely blocking it.
This golden giant sword was a hundred zhang wide, its length impossible to estimate. All that protruded from the Spatial Rift was its tip! Yet the tip alone was already several thousand zhang long! One could only imagine what a terrifying, peerless greatsword it would be if it fully emerged!
TING!
Blocked by the golden giant sword, Mu Chen’s Ice Extreme Demonic Flame could no longer reach Long Xiaotian directly. However, that didn’t mean the demonic flame would stop its charge just because it saw the massive Sword Blade. With a crisp ringing sound, the Ice Extreme Demonic Flame finally collided with the tip of the golden sword.
Rings of black Primordial Power rippled across the surface of the golden giant sword like waves in a lake, and the Ice Extreme Demonic Flame actually showed signs of sinking into the Sword Blade.
"Hmph! A mere Emperor Realm Combat Skill dares to challenge the might of my Holy Sword? Sword Intent - Slash!"
Suddenly, a disdainful snort came from the special seating area, drawing everyone’s attention. One look was all it took. When the crowd saw the elder—standing ramrod straight with an otherworldly aura, one hand behind his back and the other pointing to the sky—they all gasped in unison!
"That golden giant sword was unleashed by Great Elder Dilaka himself! How terrifying!"
Just from the honorifics this person added to Dilaka’s title, one could see how lofty his status was in their eyes! At that moment, a cold glint flashed in Dilaka’s eyes. The finger he had extended traced a profound arc as he swiped it to the left!
In the sky, the blade of the golden giant sword protruding from the Spatial Rift suddenly turned, swatting the Ice Extreme Demonic Flame away with a BANG. Then, the sword tip lifted slightly and flicked upward, slicing the Ice Extreme Demonic Flame in two with its sharp golden edge. The two halves flew off in different directions.
"..."
"Such... such powerful Sword Intent... such terrifying Sword Intent." Liu Feiyuan stared with a fervent gaze at the colossal golden sword in the sky, his heart suddenly filled with infinite yearning and hope! The shock he had felt from Mu Chen’s attack instantly transformed into excitement!
’Is this a display of Great Elder Dilaka’s power?’
They had personally witnessed the phenomenon created when Mu Chen condensed the Ice Extreme Demonic Flame, and they had felt its terrifying Primordial Power fluctuations firsthand. A Combat Skill like this had long surpassed the limits of a Second-Ring Martial Emperor. Even a Third-Ring Martial Emperor couldn’t guarantee they would escape its attack unscathed.
But! This Combat Skill, so terrifying in their eyes, had been sliced in two by a casual wave of Dilaka’s hand. One could only imagine what realm Dilaka’s strength had reached!
However, while everyone was still discussing and praising Dilaka, the two halves of the Ice Extreme Demonic Flame, split by the golden giant sword, both slammed into two towering mountain peaks.
A few seconds later, two explosions that shook the azure sky erupted from two opposite locations. Following the blasts were two mushroom clouds several thousand meters in diameter! The sight of these mushroom clouds was magnificent, for they displayed two colors, shifting from black on the inside to ice-blue on the outside. Bathed in sunlight, they scattered a dazzling, brilliant light.
The light faded, and the scene previously obscured by smoke was completely revealed to everyone.
"..." Silence fell once again. Everyone swallowed hard, their gazes shifting in unison to Mu Chen. The emotion in their eyes was hard to put into words, but inwardly, each of them lit a stick of incense and broke out in a cold sweat for Long Xiaotian!
’Holy hell! Those two tiny black orbs, each only half the size of a thumb, had just obliterated two mountains that soared into the clouds! The Peak of the Holy Mark was the tallest of all the surrounding mountains, but those other two peaks were definitely not much shorter. At the very least, from where they sat, they had been able to see their summits. And that wasn’t all. From what they remembered, both mountains had diameters of no less than several hundred meters, but under Mu Chen’s attack...’
’Where were the mountains?! Where was anything soaring into the clouds?! Aside from two massive craters, each about seven hundred meters deep, not even a speck of rubble was left behind!’
"That guy! What the hell did he just do?!"
In an instant, nearly the entire Peak of the Holy Mark was in an uproar. Everyone was frantically rubbing their eyes; some even rubbed them raw but couldn’t stop! A First-Ring Martial Sect! A First-Ring Martial Sect capable of unleashing a Mountain Shifting and Sea Filling Combat Skill! Did such a person really exist?! Those two massive craters didn’t look like an illusion, no matter how they looked at them! But how could they possibly believe any of this?!
HUFF! Dilaka glanced at the two craters and let out a deep breath. His pointing finger clenched into a fist, and the golden giant sword in the sky instantly dissipated, turning into specks of golden light that merged into the Extreme Martial Continent.
Seeing that everyone was still in a state of shock, Dilaka suddenly raised his hands and slowly pressed them down. An overwhelming pressure descended from the sky, forcing all the contestants who had shot to their feet back into their seats. The viewing area, which had been in a clamorous uproar moments ago, was now so silent you could hear a pin drop.
"Silence... Long Xiaotian, you saw Mu Chen’s last attack. If I hadn’t intervened, you might have been reduced to dust by the end of this battle. Now, I will make a judgment. The winner of this match is the Xuanling Empire! Do you have any objections?" Dilaka’s voice wasn’t loud, but imbued with Primordial Power, it carried an unquestionable authority. This authority was so immense that no one present dared to even breathe too loudly, not even the so-called Monarchs of the Four Great Dynasties!
After Mu Chen’s Ice Extreme Demonic Flame had been blocked, Long Xiaotian had already lowered his defenses. He turned to look at where the two halves had flown. It could be said that among everyone present, besides Dilaka, he was the first to realize the true power of Mu Chen’s Combat Skill!
Gently wiping his brow, which was devoid of any sweat, Long Xiaotian let out a deep breath and patted his chest. "No, I have no objections! In this battle, I have truly lost. I am utterly convinced!"
After speaking, Long Xiaotian immediately released a Purple Flame Light Shield to envelop his body. When the Purple Flame Light Shield disappeared, he was once again clad in his Red Gold Noble Robe. With a light tap of his toes, he landed directly in the Flame Dragon Empire’s waiting area.
Red Wood Cliff stood with his hands behind his back, a faint, unreadable smile on his lips. "Xiao Tian, how do you feel?"
Long Xiaotian turned to look at Red Wood Cliff and gave a bitter smile. "Uncle Mu Ya, don’t even ask. That guy is an absolute monster! A prodigy... no, even ’a prodigy among prodigies’ isn’t enough to describe that freak! Not only is his power absurdly strong, but he actually has Dual Attributes! And if having Dual Attributes wasn’t enough, he can even fuse them! If it weren’t for Great Elder Dilaka’s rescue, I probably wouldn’t be here to see you right now."
Hearing this, Red Wood Cliff chuckled. "That old fellow, Di Cang, is truly amazing. To think he could find a peerless genius—the kind you might not see in ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand years—in such a barren and troubled place. I have never admired any of my contemporaries, but as for Di Cang, I am now truly in awe of him."
"Heh... heh..." Long Xiaotian’s eyes were filled with complex emotions as he let out a dry laugh. "Uncle Mu Ya, really... I just lost, you could at least offer a word or two of comfort. But you? Instead of consoling me, you’re praising the other guy. Honestly..."