Three kills with one sword?

Zheng Yu split into four, becoming four identical Zheng Yus. There was no telling which was real and which were fake.

"Haotian Sword Casket! Flying Locust!"

Yellow sword light soared into the sky. For many people, this was their first time seeing Chu Xinghe use the Haotian Sword Casket.

In an instant, Flying Locust became a hundred streaks of sword light in the sky. A rain of swords fell from above, encompassing all four, regardless of which was real and which were fake.

"Swish, swish, swish..." The sword light showered down on the four Zheng Yus, but what happened next left everyone present dumbfounded.

The Zheng Yus struck by the Flying Locust Sword's rain of swords made no attempt to block it, simply letting it fall on them.

But before anyone could figure out why, a scream came from the sea of fire.

The scream hadn't come from Zheng Yu, but... Chu Xinghe?

Everyone turned to look. The enormous tornado of Spiritual Qi formed by the Haotian Battle Intent around Chu Xinghe looked as though it had been struck hard by some force, nearly dispersing.

What was going on?

Chu Xinghe was dumbfounded too. Had it bounced back?

But he had no time to think. The four Zheng Yus were already charging at him through the sea of fire from four directions.

The four Zheng Yus were identical in both cultivation and presence. These were no phantoms.

Chu Xinghe wasn't the least bit flustered, though. That should be about enough... My performance was perfect, right? You all saw it... I gave it everything I had, but Brother Zheng Yu was just too strong, so there's nothing wrong with me losing now, right?

As an actor, Chu Xinghe knew that acting skills were important.

If Zheng Yu had thrown some fire as soon as the match began and Chu Xinghe had screamed and jumped off the stage, that would have been terrible acting. Then it wouldn't have been a question of whether he'd lost face; the grand elder could have slapped him to death on the spot as a spy.

So he not only had to lose, he had to lose with skill and uphold his standards. The true way was to lose in a manner that made everyone think it only natural.

And now, Chu Xinghe felt it was time to show his true skills.

Surrounded and attacked by four Zheng Yus, he would be defeated because he lacked experience. Wasn't that perfectly reasonable?

So how could Chu Xinghe pass up such a reasonable opportunity? He was already prepared to lose under an attack from all four sides.

But just as Chu Xinghe circulated his Haotian Battle Intent and prepared to defend himself with all his might to avoid getting too badly hurt, the four Zheng Yus who had charged up to him suddenly stopped.

What they did next left Chu Xinghe stunned!

None of the four Zheng Yus attacked Chu Xinghe. Instead, they all raised both palms and struck at their own chests!

Fuck! This bastard's an actor too!

Chu Xinghe panicked at once. What did an actor fear most? It wasn't teammates who were too strong, but having an actor on the opposing side too.

He had no idea why Zheng Yu was striking himself.

But once the bastard hit himself, how was Chu Xinghe supposed to lose? You're putting on an act for me, huh?

Fine! I'm done pretending. Cards on the table!

Gritting his teeth, Chu Xinghe sent a streak of purple light flying from his left arm!

Haotian Sword Casket! Thunder Shadow, out!

Thunder Shadow flew out and shot into the sky as a bolt of purple lightning.

"Purple Lightning Flash!"

Chu Xinghe couldn't care about anything else now. He immediately unleashed his strongest attack, Purple Lightning Flash. But the purple lightning wasn't aimed at Zheng Yu; it was coming down on Chu Xinghe himself.

Surrounded by Zheng Yu on all sides, I use Purple Lightning Flash, and then it accidentally goes just a little off course and strikes me instead. That's perfectly reasonable too, right?

You want to put on an act for me, Zheng Yu? I'm not giving you the chance.

This victory has to be yours today!

The purple lightning struck first despite being launched later, descending from the sky. The instant before Zheng Yu's hands struck his own chest, the purple lightning landed on Chu Xinghe's chest.

Of course, mindful of how he had killed the big monster in the Spirit Grotto in an instant, Chu Xinghe was afraid Purple Lightning Flash would be too powerful, so he used only forty percent of his strength and chose to strike his chest. The blow would ensure he lost the ability to fight, but it definitely wouldn't kill him on the spot.

Purple Lightning Flash landed on Chu Xinghe's chest just before Zheng Yu struck himself.

Chu Xinghe was ready to spit blood and go flying backward, but the pain he imagined never came. Instead, he saw a sight that left him dumbstruck!

"Boom!" The chests of all four Zheng Yus, in front of him, behind him, and to either side, were scorched black. The next second, three of them turned to ash and vanished, leaving only the Zheng Yu in front of him, who sprayed blood from his mouth and nose as he flew backward.

The flames were extinguished the instant Zheng Yu flew backward, and the two divine manifestations around him vanished into thin air.

Zheng Yu flew several dozen meters before finally falling over the edge of the martial arts platform.

Chu Xinghe stared wide-eyed at Zheng Yu, who had fallen off the platform, his face full of disbelief.

What the fuck just happened? Purple Lightning Flash struck me, so why the hell did you go flying? Can someone come out and explain what's going on?

Chu Xinghe was utterly bewildered!

In the spectator stands, Cheng Xiaotian turned into a streak of light and descended from the sky, arriving directly at Zheng Yu's side.

"Big brother! How dare you kill my big brother! I'll kill you!"

A yell like that of a fool came from nearby. Big Rhinoceros, who had been gnawing on a chicken leg just moments ago, was now glowing gray all over as he charged at Chu Xinghe like a madman!

"Junior brother, don't!"

When Xiao Ling saw Big Rhinoceros attack Chu Xinghe, she knew it was wrong. After all, Zheng Yu and Chu Xinghe's fight had been a fair, just, and open match. What would it mean to take revenge on Chu Xinghe now?

"Hum!" Sword Intent surged out from behind Xiao Ling once more, moving straight to block Big Rhinoceros.

Perhaps seeing his brother in that state had provoked Big Rhinoceros, but this time he was unbelievably fast. Xiao Ling's Sword Intent didn't even manage to stop him before he reached Chu Xinghe!

"Purple Lightning Flash!"

Thunder Shadow flew out again!

Purple lightning descended from the sky. Crack!

Chu Xinghe was already angry about inexplicably winning the match, and this dumbass still dared to court death?

Big Rhinoceros lay sprawled on the ground, black smoke rising from his body. Even the Sword Intent that had tried to stop him was torn to shreds before Thunder Shadow. Xiao Ling's Sword Intent was damaged, and she spat blood and collapsed.

The world was peaceful now...

But at this moment, everyone looked at Chu Xinghe in a completely different way!

Ma Liang in particular had fought Big Rhinoceros before, and he knew better than anyone just how terrifying Big Rhinoceros's defense was.

He had hacked at Big Rhinoceros with a watermelon knife for half an hour, yet Big Rhinoceros hadn't just escaped injury—not even a single hair had been cut.

But... that bolt of purple lightning just now had left Big Rhinoceros smoking all over and lying on the ground, gravely injured.

It wasn't just Big Rhinoceros. Even Xiao Ling's Sword Intent had been caught in the residual force of Thunder Shadow. The Sword Intent that had defeated Junior Sister Wan Lin had been utterly powerless to resist Senior Brother Xinghe's Thunder Shadow, and had been blasted to pieces.

"Zheng Bo, no..." Zheng Yu's voice rang out at that moment, but it was too late.

Big Rhinoceros was down, and Xiao Ling was seriously injured...

Zheng Yu looked at everything before him in disbelief. In the end, he could only smile bitterly. Looking at Chu Xinghe, blood flowing from his mouth and nose, Zheng Yu rose from the ground with Cheng Xiaotian's support.

"Zheng Yu thanks Senior Brother Xinghe for showing mercy. Zheng Yu accepts his defeat in this battle wholeheartedly."

When Zheng Yu said this, even Cheng Xiaotian couldn't help nodding.

In fact, when Zheng Yu was injured and Cheng Xiaotian rushed down, his first thought had been that Chu Xinghe had gone too far, striking so ruthlessly!

But that thought vanished like smoke when Big Rhinoceros fell and Xiao Ling's Sword Intent was blasted to pieces.

Now, anyone who wasn't a fool could see that Chu Xinghe really had shown mercy with his first bolt of purple lightning, just as Zheng Yu had said.

Otherwise, how could Zheng Yu's physique compare to Big Rhinoceros's?

If Chu Xinghe had struck with all his might, Zheng Yu would probably have been reduced to charcoal by now.

But Zheng Yu's words nearly brought Chu Xinghe to tears...

Was I showing mercy? I was worried about whether I could withstand it myself! But can someone tell me why I struck myself and Zheng Yu was the one who got hurt? What the hell is going on?

"Senior Brother Xinghe, Zheng Yu's skills were inferior, and he accepts his defeat wholeheartedly. But can Senior Brother Xinghe tell me how he saw through my Star Shifting Technique?" Zheng Yu's expression was grave.

"Star Shifting Technique?" Chu Xinghe was dumbfounded...

What Star Shifting Technique? When did you use a Star Shifting Technique? Weren't you a fucking actor? Weren't you planning to put on an act for me?

I just acted better and struck faster than you. How did you end up losing...

"Since Senior Brother Xinghe is unwilling to reveal his secret method, Zheng Yu won't insist. Zheng Yu will remember today's defeat at Senior Brother's hands and will come calling for guidance another day. I hope Senior Brother Xinghe won't withhold his instruction then."

After saying this, Zheng Yu joined Cheng Xiaotian in checking Big Rhinoceros and Xiao Ling's injuries.

Big Rhinoceros's defensive strength was plain to see. Though the lightning had seriously injured him, his life wasn't in danger. But the more this was true, the more shocked Zheng Yu became.

No one knew his younger brother's defense better than he did. He had always sparred with his brother, and even if he struck with all his might, he could never have injured him this badly.

Yet it had taken only one blow... Chu Xinghe had reduced his brother to this state with one blow, blasting Junior Sister Xiao Ling's Sword Intent to pieces along with him. And Chu Xinghe had struck hurriedly in a panic. At this moment, Zheng Yu truly wanted to know just how strong Chu Xinghe was!

Unfathomable...

Zheng Yu now felt that perhaps only the word "unfathomable" could describe Chu Xinghe.

Not so long ago, after receiving the Seven-Colored Glazed Body inheritance, Zheng Yu had been praised by his sect's elders as the foremost of the younger generation. Zheng Yu himself had thought the same.

Coming to the Vast Heaven Sect this time, Zheng Yu would not forget the words of countless elders and fellow disciples.

"Four hundred years! The Vast Heaven Sect has held first place under heaven long enough! It's time for our Martial Emperor City to reclaim the supreme throne that belongs to us."

Zheng Yu had come with supreme conviction.

To become number one under heaven, he would start by defeating the Vast Heaven Sect!

But in this battle... Zheng Yu accepted his defeat wholeheartedly. Chu Xinghe had used no schemes or tricks, nor any special methods, yet had crushed him head-on. Zheng Yu even felt that Chu Xinghe hadn't used his full strength!

Such a terrifying existence actually walked this world. In the end, he had been a frog at the bottom of a well, gazing up at the sky.

Chu Xinghe! From today onward, you are my lifelong enemy!

Chu Xinghe had no idea he had already become someone's lifelong enemy!

At this moment, Chu Xinghe was still utterly bewildered... Um... can someone tell me what the fuck the Star Shifting Technique is... Why did I win?!

Zheng Yu! You bastard, you put on an act for me!