Deterrence

Chen Yan was disappointed.

What he wanted was an opponent who would risk their life to kill him. Only an opponent like that could let him truly feel the measure of his combat strength and martial arts.

After all, in this world, besides yourself, the person who most wants to understand you is your enemy.

But Ji Yanbing, ranked eighth on the Creation Realm List, hadn't put even the slightest pressure on Chen Yan.

Even though Chen Yan's life force was fluctuating violently, his opponent was still pathetically weak.

It was as if True Martial Power existed on an entirely different plane, above Qi and Blood and Horizontal Refinement.

And Chen Yan could sense people's emotions.

Not one of Ji Yanbing's moves could put pressure on him.

Chen Yan remembered how, when he had first entered the Five Clans Competition, he'd barely survived Lu Cunyang and the others' siege.

Now, facing Ji Yanbing, he handled everything with ease.

It was as if Chen Yan had lived through millennia, as if he had witnessed the origins and the end of the Martial Dao.

The Five Clans Competition was a crucible for the strong. That much was true.

But even among the strong, there were differences.

"Chen Yan!!!"

A shrill cry rang out, thick with unwillingness and despair.

Ji Yanbing glared at Chen Yan in furious humiliation.

She had used every means at her disposal, yet she still couldn't hurt Chen Yan in the slightest.

What had Chen Yan been through?

She clenched her teeth. Deep inside, she felt as if she were an ant trying to shake a tree.

For a moment, her mind went blank.

It was as if all the conflict between the Five Clans and Great Xia had lost its meaning.

She stood in the depths of the