A Fifty-Fifty Chance

High above the sky.

The oppressive aura of the True Dharma Realm churned the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, causing the void to ripple like water, as if it might shatter at any moment.

"Liu Zhengyang, do you really think you're still the man you once were? Kneel and kowtow now, and This Seat might spare your life." Li Batian spoke again, his tone laced with mockery.

"You talk too much." Liu Zhengyang's smile remained unchanged, without a trace of shift.

"Fine. Since you want to die, I'll grant your wish!"

Li Batian roared to the heavens. The Crimson Gold Battle Armor he wore erupted with blinding golden light, and the flames around his body coalesced into a hundred-zhang fire serpent, fangs bared as it howled and lunged at Liu Zhengyang.

Wherever the fire serpent passed, the air twisted and warped from the heat, while the ground burst into raging flames, radiating a temperature hot enough to melt metal and dissolve iron.

Facing this world-shattering strike, Liu Zhengyang still stood with his hands behind his back, his smile unchanged, not even revealing a hint of his own aura.

The next moment, he merely tapped his fingertip lightly. That seemingly ordinary finger carried an incomprehensible force, and the fire serpent shattered in an instant, as if it had never existed.

"You broke through?!"

Seeing this, Li Batian's pupils contracted sharply, as though he had witnessed something unbelievable.

Liu Zhengyang said nothing, only smiled, still that same carefree and composed demeanor.

"Hmph. In that case, I won't hold back either!"

The next moment, flames surged around Li Batian. A towering dharma image, clad in crimson gold battle armor and wielding a blazing war spear, emerged behind him.

The dharma image's eyes burned with true fire that could incinerate all things. It stood towering between heaven and earth, its pressure like mountains and seas overturning, dyeing the entire sky above Cangyun City a blazing red.

Before this dharma image, Liu Zhengyang seemed as insignificant as an ant, yet even so, his expression remained unchanged.

"Show your dharma image!" Li Batian's eyes blazed with battle intent as he spoke again.

"Is that necessary?" Liu Zhengyang replied with a faint, indifferent smile.

"Arrogant!"

Feeling slighted, Li Batian's eyes flared with rage.

The dharma image behind him struck out with both fists. A sea of fire transformed into countless flaming fists, wrapped in the laws of fire, raining down like a storm. Each punch carried the power to destroy heaven and earth.

Yet, facing this torrent of fists, Liu Zhengyang still made no grand moves. He didn't even use any martial techniques—just a single punch thrown out, and he blocked them all.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

As the two clashed repeatedly, terrifying power rippled outward, causing even Cangyun City itself to tremble.

At this moment, the various forces gathered in Cangyun City for the grand competition naturally took notice of the battle above the city.

"Liu Zhengyang can actually trade blows evenly with Li Batian? How is that possible? Wasn't he crippled?" On a tall building, a woman stared at the scene in the sky, her eyes full of shock.

"Liu Zhengyang? Grand Elder, is this the peerless prodigy you mentioned before?" Guo Jingjing beside her suddenly asked.

"That's right. Back in his day, wielding a single spear, he nearly toppled all cultivators of the same realm in Cangzhou, earning the title Spear Demon. But unfortunately, an incident later knocked him off his pedestal..."

"What incident?"

"He fell in love with someone he shouldn't have..."

"Someone he shouldn't have?"

"Mm. That woman came from some superpower. When that power learned of their love, they sent people to take her back. Liu Zhengyang fought them over it..."

"Did he succeed?"

"No. Liu Zhengyang failed. The woman was taken away, and he was gravely wounded, his foundation destroyed, forever barred from the True Dharma Realm..."

"Later, he founded the Falling Cloud Sect and gradually faded from everyone's sight."

"I thought he would never advance another step in this life. Who would have guessed that when he reappeared, he could already fight Li Batian to a standstill? Truly, fate is unpredictable..."

"Is that necessary? Tsk, not even opening his dharma image? As expected of the Sect Master—he knows how to show off better than I do..."

Watching the battle in the sky, Gu Qingzhou sucked in a cold breath, wearing an expression of having learned something.

"When did Father break through to the True Dharma Realm?" Liu Ruyan was also somewhat stunned.

She had always believed her father was at the Questioning Dao Realm, and only now, seeing him fight a True Dharma Realm cultivator, did she realize he had already broken through...

"What kind of technique is this?" Unlike Gu Qingzhou and Liu Ruyan's shock, Jiang Shuyu's eyes held only confusion and bewilderment...

"What's wrong?" Mo Shang noticed Jiang Shuyu's strange expression and couldn't help asking.

"Don't you find it odd..." Jiang Shuyu looked at Mo Shang and suddenly asked.

"It is a bit odd. The Sect Master seems very relaxed fighting him, like he's hiding his strength. Every exchange ends in a draw..." Mo Shang thought for a moment, then spoke.

Through observation, Mo Shang noticed a very strange thing: Liu Zhengyang's power in each strike was just enough to cancel out his opponent's attack.

Moreover, no matter what level of force Li Batian used, it had no effect—Liu Zhengyang steadily neutralized it, giving off a very peculiar feeling.

The battle didn't last long. Soon, both sides stopped.

Now, Li Batian's gaze toward Liu Zhengyang held no trace of contempt, only a heavy solemnity.

In contrast, Liu Zhengyang, in his flowing blue robes, remained that same carefree figure, a faint smile still hanging at the corner of his mouth, unchanged.

"I never imagined that you, with your foundation utterly destroyed back then, could still reach this point. How did you do it?" Li Batian spoke again.

In the exchange just now, Li Batian was shocked to discover that no matter how he fought, he could only match his opponent blow for blow...

Faced with this situation, Li Batian couldn't help but be surprised. There was only one possibility for someone to so easily fight him to a standstill—the other party's strength was above his own!

"City Lord Li, shall we continue?" Liu Zhengyang did not answer the question, merely asking with a faint smile.

"Hmph, you got lucky this time..."

With that, Li Batian gave a cold snort, returned to the merchant guild, took his son, and left without further entanglement with Liu Zhengyang.

"Father, why didn't you kill them?" Seeing his father about to take him away, the young man was now somewhat displeased.

"Shut up, you useless, failure-courting piece of trash. How did I end up with a son like you?!"

As Li Batian departed, Liu Zhengyang also returned to the merchant guild...

"Father, are you alright?" Liu Ruyan immediately went up to him, her tone carrying a hint of concern.

"I'm fine, don't worry." Liu Zhengyang raised a hand and ruffled Liu Ruyan's hair, saying with a smile.

"Father, were you really that strong?" Liu Ruyan's eyes held admiration as she spoke again.

"It's nothing special. I can trade a few moves with anyone, that's all. I still have matters to attend to; you two enjoy yourselves..." Liu Zhengyang smiled again, his form dissolving into specks of light, vanishing on the spot.

"I'll take my leave as well." Seeing this, Sword Thirteen did not linger and departed from the place.

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