A battle between two Heaven-Destined Protagonists: give him the illusion of being one move short

Lian Yunfei's knees buckled, and he dropped to the ground with a thud.

The man and woman behind him also knelt in quick succession, pressing their foreheads against the cold ground as their entire bodies trembled.

"We..."

"We pay our respects to the Divine Son!"

"Hmm?"

Su Linxian raised an eyebrow slightly.

"You know me?"

Lian Yunfei shuddered, his voice growing even more terrified.

"In... in answer to the Divine Son, the three of us hail from the three great cities of the Withered Bone Dao Domain. Behind those cities stands the holy Hong Family."

"The Hong Family... is a subordinate force of the Su Family, an Emperor Clan."

"We were fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of you once..."

Su Linxian nodded slightly.

"Get up."

"Sit."

His tone was mild.

As though granted a grand pardon, the three rose shakily to their feet, not daring to sit down.

Their earlier swagger had vanished without a trace.

They stood awkwardly to one side, backs bent and heads lowered.

Lian Yunfei secretly turned toward Luo Wutian, keeping his voice extremely low.

"City Lord Luo... why is he here?"

Watching their arrogance turn to deference, Luo Wutian's mouth twitched before he burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Didn't you three envoys just praise me for having the spirit to swallow mountains and rivers?"

"This match was requested by the Divine Son himself."

"Otherwise, how would I dare accept such an enormous wager?"

Their faces alternated between green and white. Their lips moved, but they could not muster a single word of rebuttal.

Just then, a voice transmission sounded. Luo Wutian nodded slightly, then turned to Su Linxian with a respectful look.

"Your Highness, Yang Kong is ready."

"Shall we begin?"

Su Linxian said, "Go."

Hearing this, Li Junhua bowed slightly.

"Master, I shall head down."

Inside the Arena.

The stands were already packed to capacity.

The densely packed gamblers shouted and roared, countless gazes converging on the center of the platform.

The host stepped onto the raised dais and lifted a hand.

"Today!"

"Yang Kong will face Li Junhua, who is in the same realm!"

"His opponent is at the third level of the Hunyuan Realm!"

The moment those words rang out, jeers erupted!

"Hahaha, third level of the Hunyuan Realm? Has the Arena run out of fighters? They're even dragging out small fry like this!"

"Who knows? Since Blood Cliff City is willing to give away money, we'll reluctantly take it!"

"What are the odds?! What are the odds?!"

"Yang Kong pays 0.4 to one! His opponent pays nineteen to one!"

"Damn, everyone wants a piece! All in on Yang Kong! I've bet everything I own!"

Even Hu Yuan, a Supreme Realm cultivator, had lost. They refused to believe Yang Kong could lose to someone in the same realm!

At that moment, Yang Kong thought the same.

His expression was icy as he silently reflected.

That Divine Son of the Emperor Clan truly was arrogant!

He actually sent someone at the third level of the Hunyuan Realm to deal with me?

In that case, I'll gladly take those billion Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones!

Li Junhua emerged from the passage.

He walked onto the platform, each footfall sending a ring of golden ripples across the stone slabs beneath him.

His aura was held within, deep as an abyss.

He resembled a divine sword with its edge concealed, seemingly ordinary yet harboring a keen edge.

Yang Kong stood on the opposite side of the platform.

Bloody baleful energy swirled around him, making him look like a god of slaughter who had emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

He studied Li Junhua, his brows drawing together slightly.

He sensed a threat from this young man.

Though his opponent's cultivation was lower than his own, that oppressive presence surpassed anything he had felt from any opponent in the same realm.

Li Junhua remained composed, even wearing a faint smile.

"Let us begin."

Inside the pavilion, Su Linxian's eyes gleamed as he watched the two figures below.

Perfect.

Let's see what Li Junhua's second incarnation can do.

"I'll defeat you in one move."

Yang Kong sneered.

Order Divine Laws!

He unleashed his slaughter divine law right from the outset.

Buzz!

Dark crimson light gathered at his fingertips.

The light was barely a foot long, yet the instant it appeared, the temperature throughout the Arena plummeted.

The void cracked inch by inch around that beam.

It seemed unable to withstand that supremely sharp power of order.

Yang Kong raised his hand and slashed.

"God-Slaying Slash!"

Rumble—

A dark crimson beam tore through the void, shooting toward Li Junhua.

Wherever it passed, the void split like thin paper, leaving a fine black scar, as though even the laws of the Heavenly Dao had suffered a wound that could never heal.

Li Junhua narrowed his eyes slightly, raised his hand, and clenched it.

Boom!

The power of the slaughter divine law was crushed outright, leaving only a shallow cut in his palm.

Li Junhua said mildly.

"Not bad."

"But it still seems to fall a little short."

How is that possible?!

Yang Kong's pupils abruptly contracted.

He crushed my slaughter divine law with nothing but his physical strength?!

"Again!"

He formed seals with both hands, bloody baleful energy surging wildly around him.

Dark crimson light erupted from his body and shot into the sky.

It gathered above his head into a dark crimson domain.

Slaughter Domain!

The domain spread outward from beneath his feet, covering the entire platform.

Within it, the slaughter energy was concentrated to the utmost.

Every wisp of air resembled a blade soaked in blood.

An ordinary cultivator who stepped inside would have their soul crushed by that slaughter energy.

Li Junhua stood within the domain, golden blood energy flowing over his body.

It held the slaughter energy three feet away from him.

"Now this is a little more interesting."

Yang Kong slammed his hands together.

"Kill!"

Bang, bang, bang!!

Countless dark crimson beams materialized within the domain.

Each carried enough slaughter power to pierce a Supreme Realm cultivator's protective energy. Ten thousand beams shot forth simultaneously, weaving a slaughter net that blotted out the sky!

It enveloped the entire platform.

The net drew tighter and tighter, its crisscrossing beams slicing through everything and shredding it to pieces!

Crack, crack...

Li Junhua raised his hand.

Golden blood energy gathered in his palm.

It transformed into a gigantic golden palm imprint.

Ancient Dao patterns flowed across its surface.

"Great Wilderness Heaven-Imprisoning Palm."

He struck out with his palm.

The golden palm imprint crashed into the dark crimson slaughter net in the void.

Boom!!

The slaughter net shattered inch by inch beneath the palm imprint. Dark crimson beams exploded into sparks that filled the sky, like countless stars falling at once!

"I have seen many monstrous talents. You rely far too heavily on the power of divine laws..."

Li Junhua passed through the shock waves of the explosion and appeared before Yang Kong.

"Among those people..."

"You could only be considered second-rate."

He thrust out his right hand.

Boom!

Even the void caved in beneath the pressure.

Not good!!

Yang Kong's expression changed, and he crossed his arms in front of himself.

The palm strike landed on his arms.

"Pfft!!"

Yang Kong was sent flying, crashing heavily into the formation!

Rumble!

"Excellent!!!"

Inside the pavilion, Luo Wutian was overjoyed at the sight.

"The monstrous talent the Divine Son brought is truly terrifying!"

Yu Yao said, "Li Junhua has lived for so many years. If he couldn't even beat a junior, he might as well find a block of tofu and bash himself to death against it."

[Ding! Heaven-Destined Protagonist Yang Kong has sustained severe injuries. Heaven-Destined Points lost: 30,000!]

[Congratulations, Master! You have gained 30,000 Villain Points!]

A series of delightful sounds rang out.

Su Linxian watched the platform below.

He had thought a battle between two Heaven-Destined Protagonists would be evenly matched.

But judging by this, he seemed to have underestimated Li Junhua's strength...

Su Linxian narrowed his eyes slightly, as though something amusing had occurred to him.

He grinned and spoke.

A silent voice transmission reached Li Junhua's ears.

"Li Junhua."

"Don't win too easily."

"Give him..."

"The illusion that he was just one move short."

The best way to drive a gambler into a red-eyed frenzy.

Was to make him lose everything!

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