Heavenly Venerable Taixuan's words echoed over the vast expanse of blue waves.
Four ancient dragon-coiled pillars radiated thick, earthen-yellow light, enclosing the entire Black Mystic Battle Platform in their protection.
The warships of the major factions hovered a thousand zhang above the sea. Cultivators crowded their bows, craning their necks to watch what happened below.
Everyone understood that the first person to take the platform and defend it would become the focus of every faction present.
Without sufficient strength, stepping up would not only fail to secure the platform, but would also make that person the target of every arrow, crushed in turn by one powerful challenger after another.
Whoosh!
The sound of something cutting through the air rang out abruptly.
At the bow of the Mount Shu Warship, Chen Changqing leaped into the air.
His green Daoist robe snapped and billowed in the fierce wind.
Chen Changqing landed in the very center of the Black Mystic Battle Platform, his footing steady, without stirring so much as a speck of dust.
The Immortal Execution Sword rested on his back, its ancient, unadorned sheath pressed against his spine, faintly emanating boundless ripples of the Great Dao.
"Chen Changqing, first in Secret Realm points, will defend the platform here."
His clear voice carried outward.
Ripples stirred faintly across the defensive barrier surrounding the platform.
"That brat actually dared to go up first!"
"He just took a blow head-on from True Person Kongwu. Even with the Nine-Turn Body Refining Method, there's no way his blood and qi have fully settled!"
"Going up first is courting death. Which faction's Holy Son wouldn't want to step on his reputation to make a name for himself?"
Aboard the Ji Clan's warship, several elders huddled together, their faces dark with malice.
Ji Xuan had died in the