A deathly silence gripped the arena. Not a crow or sparrow made a sound; only dust filled the sky, and the crackling roar of violent thunder echoed through the void. Ning Xuanyuan stood with his foot on Yan Chen, infinitely arrogant and incomparably domineering.
A kaleidoscope of expressions crossed the spectators' faces, while turmoil churned in their hearts. That was the Yan Clan's young king of this generation! In a single exchange, Ning Xuanyuan had crushed him underfoot!
King Yanluo, Yan Shang, looked utterly grim. He had placed great hopes on Yan Chen in this Blood Heir Contest, but who could have imagined such an outcome?
Ning Xuanyuan's foot had not only landed on Yan Chen's face, but also on the Yan Clan's!
In the suspended halls surrounding the arena, the others looked equally shaken. The smiles on their faces had frozen, replaced by grave expressions.
Was this the prince the emperor had kept hidden away for ten years? His strength was indeed terrifying!
Yan Chen's face was deathly pale, and his body trembled violently. Never in his dreams had he imagined that he would suffer such a complete, crushing defeat in this battle.
Ning Xuanyuan, however, did not spare him a glance. Still standing on his head, he looked up at the others on the stone pillars.
He had already shown mercy. If he had stomped Yan Chen into the sea of blood, not even his bones would remain, and his soul would have been scattered.
"All of you come at me together. Otherwise, you won't stand a chance," Ning Xuanyuan said calmly.
On the stone pillars, the eyes of the four remaining contestants flickered, their expressions shifting.
One against four? Was Ning Xuanyuan really that arrogant?
A moment later, all four faces darkened. What an insult Ning Xuanyuan's words were to them!
"Boom!"
Bloodflames soared into the air, fire serpents flickering and coiling as a blood phoenix appeared out of nowhere and spread its wings in flight. Terrifying Spiritual Qi filled the phoenix, and its fearsome flames burned through the void.
The blood phoenix hovered in the air, a graceful figure standing atop it. It was Song You'er.
Her long hair danced wildly and her robes fluttered, making her look like an immortal banished from the nine heavens. Her beautiful eyes seemed especially bewitching as they fixed on Ning Xuanyuan below.
"So strong!" The distant spectators could feel the immense power of her bloodline. With her bloodline awakened, Song You'er now possessed the formidable strength to challenge opponents above her level.
Qin Lang, Chu Tian, and Tai Yu remained where they stood without making a move. They wanted to see whether Ning Xuanyuan could still be as overbearing as before when facing Song You'er.
"A woman?" Ning Xuanyuan curled his lip, his face full of disdain. Then he turned to look in another direction, where the Asura Emperor sat squarely on his throne. "I don't bully women. Say something and have her admit defeat, will you?"
The Asura Emperor: "..."
The entire crowd: "..."
"Whoosh!"
A fierce wind howled, and raging flames engulfed the sky. In midair, the blood phoenix unfurled wings that hung like clouds, while Song You'er's beautiful eyes turned icy. The phoenix then let out an earthshaking cry, and the Spiritual Qi filling the sky immediately went berserk, surging toward Ning Xuanyuan with unparalleled might.
"Honestly..." Ning Xuanyuan sighed helplessly after the Asura Emperor shot him a fierce glare. But in the next instant, a towering will to fight erupted fiercely from him, astonishing in its intensity. An invisible force gathered around him, and his presence rose sharply, as though he had become one with the surrounding Heaven and Earth Realm.
At that moment, everyone felt as though Ning Xuanyuan had become a young emperor, looking down upon the Heaven and Earth Realm.
"Boom!"
Ning Xuanyuan moved, the immense force sending Yan Chen flying from beneath his foot. Ning Xuanyuan shot skyward, the terrifying force of the Heaven and Earth Realm converging upon him.
"Kill!"
Song You'er's voice rang out, ice-cold. The bloodflame phoenix swooped down to attack, and no fewer than nine blood phoenixes appeared in the Heaven and Earth Realm, sealing off the space around Ning Xuanyuan completely.
Each blood phoenix contained killing power of the utmost terror. Towering bloodflames could burn mountains and boil seas, their might fearsome.
This was an ancient killing art of the Song Clan, one that could only be cultivated and used after awakening the blood phoenix bloodline. At its peak, it could manifest ninety-nine blood phoenixes, enough to slaughter the heavens and destroy the earth!
Long ago, an ancient figure of the Song Clan had used this art to fight invincibly on the Myriad Heavens Battlefield, wiping out an entire army single-handedly!
Ning Xuanyuan's expression remained as calm as ever. He extended a hand, and endless flame Spiritual Qi gathered madly in his palm. The Spiritual Qi condensed into a massive flaming blade!
"Bloodflame Slash! How is that possible?!"
In one direction, the Song Clan's patriarch, King Songdi Song Que, abruptly rose to his feet, his expression changing drastically.
Song Que was also known as the Heavenly Saber King, and his strongest combat art was called the Nine Reincarnation Slashes. Bloodflame Slash was one of its moves!
"This, this..." Song Que's expression changed rapidly, turning exceedingly grave.
By then, Ning Xuanyuan had already appeared before one of the blood phoenixes. The great blade in his hand slashed down with tremendous force, and a straight line of light seemed to appear in the Heaven and Earth Realm.
It split heaven and earth apart!
The great bloodflame blade seemed to become the sharpest divine weapon in existence, cleaving straight through the middle of the phoenix and continuing onward.
Everyone's hearts trembled. The young emperor pressed forward, cutting through everything in his path. Even a true phoenix would be cleaved apart!
"Boom!"
The blood phoenix exploded, and the great bloodflame blade in Ning Xuanyuan's hand vanished as well. But he had already appeared in front of Song You'er. One hand closed around her slender, fair neck, lifting her into the air.
At that moment, Song You'er's pretty face turned deathly pale, all color draining from it.
Ning Xuanyuan tilted his head slightly and looked at Song You'er. "I don't like bullying women," he said mildly, "but that doesn't mean you can provoke me."
Song You'er said nothing. With her neck in his grip, she had neither the standing nor the ability to speak.
"Boom!"
Ning Xuanyuan slammed his arm downward, sending Song You'er plunging like a falling star. She crashed hard into the stone pillar where she had stood earlier.
The pillar collapsed violently, stopping only when less than half a zhang remained above the sea of blood. Song You'er's body was almost completely buried beneath the rubble. Her eyes were shut, and she had already fallen unconscious.
"Hiss..."
Gasps rang out one after another, and the corners of the spectators' eyes twitched. Ning Xuanyuan really had struck hard, showing no trace of tenderness toward a beauty.
"You three, are you sure you don't want to attack together?" Ning Xuanyuan paid Song You'er no further attention, turning his gaze to the three opposite him.
Qin Lang, Chu Tian, and Tai Yu looked extremely grave. They exchanged glances, then all stepped forward.
Clearly, the strength Ning Xuanyuan had displayed was enough to make them set aside their so-called pride. One-on-one? Forget it.
"Your Highness, please enlighten us!"
Qin Lang and the other two cupped their fists, then attacked at the same time!
"Clang!"
A sword-shaped Soul Aspect appeared behind Qin Lang. Boundless Sword Qi stabbed into the clouds with a ringing clang. A longsword appeared in his palm.
When he gripped the sharp sword, it was as though he alone remained in the Heaven and Earth Realm. Then Qin Lang moved, seemingly becoming a true divine blade as he shot straight toward Ning Xuanyuan.
At that moment, it was as though this sword strike was all that remained in the Heaven and Earth Realm. Its radiance could destroy everything!
Dazzling blood-red light swirled around Chu Tian. It was not only brilliant but also solidified into a suit of sinister battle armor that covered his entire body!
His long blood-red hair whipped wildly behind him, and his eyes shone with a fierce light that sent chills down the spine.
A spear appeared in Chu Tian's hand. Its shaft spun, casting forth terrifying light imbued with a force that could pierce anything as he attacked Ning Xuanyuan.
"Boom!"
The void trembled as Tai Yu stepped forward. A suffocatingly heavy pressure radiated from his burly frame. He held one palm toward the sky, and the phantom of a towering mountain appeared in the void above. The space around the mountain twisted violently, a terrifying sight.
"Now this is more like it." Ning Xuanyuan grinned and nodded. Even facing three young kings at once, he remained utterly composed and unconcerned.
"Screech!"
A piercing rush of wind sounded. Of the three, Qin Lang was the fastest. His sword Soul Aspect howled behind him, its sword intent shaking the heavens. One sword strike could break ten thousand arts. The longsword in his hand stabbed toward Ning Xuanyuan.
But Ning Xuanyuan neither dodged nor retreated. He reached out and clamped his hand around Qin Lang's blade. A shrill sound rang out at once, piercing their eardrums.
Yet Ning Xuanyuan's hand seemed to have been cast from refined gold; the sharp blade could not even break his skin. The eyes of countless spectators widened in disbelief.
Qin Lang had held nothing back in that strike. Its power was enough to threaten a Life Palace Realm expert a level above him. Yet before Ning Xuanyuan, it might as well not have existed. It had no power to speak of and could not even break through his physical defenses.
After ten years of tempering his body, Ning Xuanyuan's physique had reached the point of an indestructible golden body. To break through his defenses? One had to be at least above the Life Palace Realm.
Qin Lang? He couldn't do it!
"Crack!"
Before Qin Lang's horrified eyes, Ning Xuanyuan crushed his longsword with his bare hand. Not only that, a powerful force surged toward him, giving him the feeling that if he continued forward, his body would shatter just like his sword.
How could a body of flesh and blood compare to a sharp sword?
He did not possess a terrifying physique like Ning Xuanyuan's.
Qin Lang was indeed worthy of being called a monstrous talent of the Qin Clan. He forcibly stopped himself, then abandoned his sword and retreated without hesitation.
Unfortunately, it was too late to retreat. Ning Xuanyuan closed in like a ghost and reached out, clamping a hand around his neck. In the next instant, Ning Xuanyuan plunged downward at speed, smashing Qin Lang's body into the stone pillar.
He himself then soared into the air again like lightning.
The Qin Clan's experts looked toward Qin Lang, their pupils contracting to pinpoints.
Qin Lang's body convulsed, blood pouring from his mouth. The skin in many places across his body had split open; clearly, he had suffered extremely grave injuries.
King Qinguang Qin Hao's face was utterly grim. One move—just one move—and Qin Lang had been defeated.
The Qin Clan's young king? A peerless heavenly pride who suppressed an entire generation? He was nothing but a joke!
The surrounding spectators were likewise dumbstruck. Ning Xuanyuan was so overpowering that even an astonishingly gifted figure like Qin Lang had been crushed. He was no match for him at all.
Just like the Yan Clan's Yan Chen and the Song Clan's Song You'er, the Qin Clan's Qin Lang had suffered a crushing defeat!