Schemes Within Schemes Within Schemes

Li Xuan's consciousness was painstakingly pieced back together.

My vision was initially a blurry, blood-red blur, before gradually clearing.

He was embedded in the center of the crack in the city wall, his skull throbbing with excruciating pain, and warm blood was streaming down his forehead, staining half of his vision red.

With his only open, bloodstained eye, he stared intently at Qin Wangchuan before him.

Lightning surged and Lightning Light around Qin Wangchuan like mad snakes, while the Void Divine Feather behind him gently fluttered, stirring up the chaotic air currents.

However, what is even more striking is the area around his body—

The Spirit Pattern restrictions and talisman traps set up by Yun Zexuan and Zhao Lingyun were like tangible chains and sharp blades, tightly binding and cutting his limbs and torso!

A flash of spiritual light appeared, and the restrictions kept breaking and reforming, leaving shallow marks on his Dragon Scale and even his skin, making a tearing sound that made one's teeth ache.

They weren't unprepared for this situation.

But no one expected that this person would launch a fatal attack on Li Xuan with the most ruthless attitude, forcefully resisting all the hidden restrictions!

As for Qin Wangchuan, he turned his gaze to Li Xuan's palm.

There, clutched tightly, was a sword broken in half.

In the instant of the sudden attack, Li Xuan, at the critical moment, held the sword horizontally in front of his chest, attempting to block the attack.

Although the sword was shattered by the Fourth Gear that pushed it beyond its limits, it also mitigated some of the fatal impact on him.

"At my speed just now, I shouldn't have been able to react." Qin Wangchuan's voice was calm, but a hint of inquiry flashed in his Golden Eyes. "Was it intuition?"

He tilted his head slightly, looking at Li Xuan's current miserable state, and continued:

"However, it seems you don't completely trust your intuition."

Li Xuan did hesitate—he sensed he might become a target, yet he also harbored a glimmer of hope; if he hadn't hastily parried but instead unleashed a true killing move, the outcome would have been entirely different.

Upon hearing this, Li Xuan coughed up a mouthful of blood, forced out a rusty, ugly smile, and spoke in a hoarse voice:

"... pity..."

Qin Wangchuan nodded, said no more, and calmly pronounced the verdict:

Goodnight.

Before he finished speaking, his other fist had already gathered power, with terrifying Lightning Light and Spiritual Power highly compressed on it, and then it slammed into Li Xuan's forehead!

"Bang!"

A loud bang.

Li Xuan's headless body stiffened, and he completely lost consciousness.

The aftershock of that punch transformed into a visible ring of air that roared outwards, and the violent force spread along the wall, creating even more terrifying cracks.

It was this terrifying punch that caused Chu Wujiu and the others, who had already set off to provide assistance and were only halfway there, to abruptly stop in their tracks, frozen in place, their pupils shrinking sharply.

The shockwave lifted the dust, revealing Qin Wangchuan's figure.

He slowly turned his head, his Golden Eyes calmly sweeping over Chu Wujiu and the others who were frozen in place.

The air seemed to freeze.

Faced with his gaze, the group subconsciously swallowed, a chill running down their spines.

Finally, Yun Zexuan broke the Deathly Stillness first, his voice trying his best to remain calm:

"Formation!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Lingchuan immediately stepped forward, holding the Mysterious Immortal Coffin, and stood at the forefront.

Behind him came Yan Wujin's roar and the Golden Crow's shriek—he was Jiujiu in battle with the celestial bird, Chiu Chiu, whose blazing flames and golden light collided and exploded repeatedly.

Li Xuan has completely lost his fighting ability, and from this moment on, they can no longer afford to be careless.

However, in that tense moment—

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Several sharp, incomparably powerful cyan Sword Light, like spears of judgment falling from the heavens, suddenly plummeted from the sky, striking with unparalleled precision towards the area where Qin Wangchuan was located!

Rumble!

Smoke and dust billowed into the sky again, and fragments of rock shot out.

Qin Wangchuan had already sensed it, but he did not dodge.

As the dust settled, he remained standing in the same spot, his body crackling with Lightning Light, completely unharmed.

He slowly raised his head and looked at the stunningly beautiful figure in the air, who had appeared out of nowhere and was holding the Azure Luan Ancient Sword.

"A very sound judgment," Qin Wangchuan commented.

The person who arrived was none other than Li Qingluan.

Qin Wangchuan was not surprised by her participation in the battle—those seemingly sharp Sword Light just now were not accidental, but deliberate.

He must have noticed his "Jie Jin Jian Wo" performance on the stage, so he deliberately missed the mark to suppress him and prevent himself from adapting.

Li Qingluan, her robes fluttering, resembled a phoenix descending to earth. Her long sword pointed at Qin Wangchuan, her clear, cold voice echoing throughout the arena.

Let's make a promise.

"Whoever wins this battle can make one request of the other."

Upon hearing this, Qin Wangchuan's lips curled into an enigmatic smile, and he answered without the slightest hesitation:

"Good."

His aura surged once more, the Lightning Light intensified, and his voice carried absolute confidence:

Anyway, I won't lose.

Just as the two were talking, a white shadow tore through the air at an astonishing speed!

Zhou Yunyi, with white feathers sprouting from his back, appeared behind Qin Wangchuan like a ghost, and shouted:

"Zhao Lingyun!"

"No need to shout so loudly!"

Zhao Lingyun responded and moved instantly. The talisman that Zhou Yunyi had already affixed to his body was activated instantly—in a flash of light, his position and Chu Wujiu's position were switched!

Chu Wujiu's body crackled with Lightning Light; he was also Wanjie Thunder Furnace.

Even with the blessing of the Chu Clan Bloodline, he is at the same level as Qin Wangchuan, surpassing the limits of the Fourth Gear!

Not only did it perfectly offset the impact of the spatial transformation, but it also used this momentum to unleash a punch, its fist imbued with the power to shatter mountains and split rocks, its roar resounding throughout the entire arena:

"Open the Dragon Scale for me!"

Facing this punch, Qin Wangchuan parted his lips slightly and uttered two words as he wished:

"Dragon--Silk."

However, as Chu Wujiu's seemingly inevitable punch landed, Qin Wangchuan vanished like a mirage, and the words "Dragon Scale" came from the other end.

Everyone turned around in shock, only to see Qin Wangchuan appear before Yun Zexuan at some unknown time.

The fine Dragon Scale reflected a cold luster in the Lightning Light, and he suddenly appeared like a lightning spear tearing through the sky, his fist wrapped in violent lightning crashing down!

"Is the target... me?"

Yun Zexuan's face was filled with astonishment, and his eyes were filled with despair.

My life is over!

However, just as Qin Wangchuan's fist was about to touch him, Yun Zexuan suddenly curled up a strange smile on his lips.

The next moment, his figure vanished like a bubble.

Behind the phantom, Ye Lingchuan, wielding the Immortal Coffin, charged straight at him like a raging bull. The runes on the coffin shone brightly, carrying a heavy aura that suppressed all things!

Looking again at Yun Zexuan, he had already appeared in the distance, holding a compass, his tone tinged with a hint of smugness:

"I've figured it out. And I can also Boundary Defining Existence..."

Before Yun Zexuan could finish speaking, his body suddenly stiffened.

A majestic Soldier Puppet silently appeared, fingers already pressed against his forehead, a Spirit Light Cannon about to erupt from its tip—

"Pfft~!"

The Yellow Springs Water surged up beneath the Soldier Puppet's feet, instantly dissolving him.

Purple light flickered in Wang Xuance's eyes; it was precisely with these discerning Spiritual Eyes that he managed to catch the almost perfect concealment trajectory.

He stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Yun Zexuan, his expression more solemn than ever before.

"The opponent is Qin Wangchuan; we cannot let our guard down for a moment."

"Otherwise—you'll die."