Lü Yan knew he could not drag this out any longer.
The brat was like a tireless monster, hurling lightning spears one after another, his spiritual energy seemingly endless.
If this war of attrition continued, he might truly fall here in Ancient Gaze City and become the laughingstock of the entire cultivation world!
"You forced my hand! Even if my cultivation foundation is utterly destroyed today, I will tear you into ten thousand pieces!"
Lü Yan's aura abruptly changed, and a savage pressure far greater than before exploded outward.
The color instantly drained from his face, replaced by an unnatural flush. A thread of black blood even seeped from the corner of his mouth, while fierce hatred burned in his crimson eyes.
Yet his aura climbed higher and higher, instantly breaking through the limits of early Golden Core and reaching the threshold of middle Golden Core!
"He's burning his essence blood!" the head of the Li household cried out in shock as he watched from afar.
"He's mad... utterly mad!"
Burning essence blood was a cultivator's final, truly life-or-death resort. Once begun, it could not be reversed.
Everyone could see that Lü Yan would rather die and have his cultivation extinguished than let Si Chen live!
Si Chen frowned slightly. The man before him seemed dangerous again.
Without hesitation, he hurled the lightning spear already formed in his hand!
But this time, Lü Yan was far faster than before! With a flicker of his body, he narrowly avoided that lethal streak of lightning and appeared before Si Chen in an instant, as though he had teleported!
"Die!"
A sword's gleam steeped in blood baleful qi slashed down at his head!
Si Chen crossed his arms before himself, instantly covering them with lightning and the power of vitality.
Thump!
With a dull impact, Si Chen used the force to retreat.
But Lü Yan gave Si Chen no chance to breathe or create distance. His sword strikes came like a raging storm, while Si Chen blocked and counterattacked with lightning-wreathed fists and feet.
Thump!
Si Chen slammed a fist into Lü Yan's body. Lightning burst, and blood seeped from Lü Yan's mouth, but having burned his essence blood, he had no retreat left.
Their figures crossed again and again, each collision erupting in a heavy crash and dazzling spiritual light.
Only Lü Yan knew his own suffering. This forcibly gained power was like rootless duckweed, furiously burning through what little lifespan and foundation he had left. It could not last long.
He had to finish the battle before this power faded!
"Let's see how much longer you can hold out!"
Lü Yan's face twisted hideously, his sword strikes growing ever more vicious. He fought entirely by trading wounds for wounds, staking his life against Si Chen's.
Si Chen rode the force backward, then pushed off a broken wall with his toes, putting a little distance between them.
He looked at Lü Yan, who seemed possessed by madness yet still radiated a savage aura.
Since one lightning spear isn't enough, then... more.
He raised his hand again, gathering dazzling lightning in his palm.
But this time, he used both hands, working left and right together. Two Thunderbolt Spears formed almost simultaneously!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The two lightning spears tore through the air.
Lü Yan laughed wildly and forced his way through the gap between the two streaks of lightning, bringing his sword down once more!
"A dying struggle!"
Si Chen did not meet the attack head-on. He activated Thunderbolt Flash, turning into a streak of lightning and vanishing from his spot, only to reappear more than a dozen yards away.
Before his footing was even steady, both hands had already curled around empty air, and fresh lightning spears formed again!
One, two, three...
He moved at high speed, dodging Lü Yan's increasingly frenzied pursuit while constantly forming and throwing spears.
The moment a new lightning spear left his hand, lightning lit up his palm again.
To all appearances, he seemed to be engaged in a desperate, utterly pointless squandering of spiritual energy.
"Hahaha! The donkey has exhausted its tricks!"
Lü Yan dodged the seemingly disordered lightning spears while mocking him, his attacks growing ever fiercer. How much spiritual power could a Foundation Establishment cultivator possibly have? Spending it like this would only hasten his death!
He could almost see Si Chen collapsing from exhaustion, helpless beneath his blade.
Si Chen turned a deaf ear to his words, continuing to expend spiritual energy as he formed and hurled spears.
Lü Yan gradually began to sense something was wrong...
Ten, fifteen, twenty...
How much damned spiritual power does this brat have?!
Dodging the last lightning spear, he knew he could delay no longer. A vicious light blazed in his eyes, and the killing move he had been preparing suddenly erupted!
"Die for me!"
A concentrated streak of Sword Qi slashed toward Si Chen's chest in an instant!
Amid a deafening crash, the sword's light sent Si Chen flying into a cluster of broken walls, raising a cloud of dust.
"He has to be dead now!" Lü Yan panted heavily, staring fixedly at the dust.
The distant spectators all held their breath, with only one thought in their minds: It's over.
A savage grin of vengeance fulfilled even appeared on Lü Yan's face.
Yet before he could savor his triumph for long, Si Chen walked out of the slowly dispersing dust.
The blue robe across his chest had been torn open. Though stained with blood, the skin beneath was perfectly intact, bearing only a faint red mark that was fading at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"How is that possible?!" Lü Yan's pupils contracted sharply. For the first time, something close to despair appeared on his face.
The killing move that had made his name could not even break through Si Chen's defenses?
Si Chen slowly raised his head and looked at the shaken Lü Yan, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
He gently raised a bloodstained finger and pointed through the air toward Lü Yan.
"Go."
That single, simple word left his lips.
In the next instant, everything changed!
The Thunderbolt Spears Lü Yan had easily dodged or deflected earlier-the ones that seemed to have exhausted their power and dispersed, or buried themselves deep in the ground and embedded themselves in broken walls-now all began to hum!
Hummm-!
They had not vanished! Si Chen had sustained them with barely perceptible threads of lightning, quietly spreading them across the entire battlefield!
Every lightning spear abruptly tore free of its position!
One, two, three... a full twenty Thunderbolt Spears turned their points at once, locking onto Lü Yan in the center of the battlefield from front and back, left and right, above and below-from every possible angle!
So Si Chen's earlier frantic barrage, seemingly panicked and wasteful, had never been intended to strike its target directly.
He had been laying a net.
Over these ruins, he had silently woven a net... of certain death!
Boundless cold instantly engulfed Lü Yan's heart.
He wanted to dodge, wanted to defend, but blazing white lightning sealed off every inch of space in every direction!
Too many, too fast! There was nowhere to escape!
"No-!!!"
He only had time to let out a desperate, unwilling roar.
BOOM!
The lightning erupted in the same instant, completely swallowing Lü Yan's figure.
Dazzling white light lit all of Ancient Gaze City as brightly as day, and the deafening thunder shook the earth.
When the blinding light and dust finally dispersed, only a charred crater remained, along with drifting smoke and the acrid stench of burning.
Lü Yan was blackened all over, his Daoist robe shredded, and six Thunderbolt Spears pinned him firmly to the ground.
One pierced his shoulder blade, two pierced his thighs, and one impaled his abdomen. The two most lethal spears crossed through his chest.
Yet he still clung to his last breath, his chest rising and falling faintly.
His eyes stared fixedly at Si Chen as he slowly approached, filled with endless venom and a trace of disbelief.
He had never imagined he would truly lose to a Foundation Establishment junior.
Rasping sounds came from Lü Yan's throat as he used his last strength to spit out a broken curse:
"...The Flowing Cloud Sword Sect... won't... spare you... you... will die a wretched death..."
Si Chen walked slowly over and looked down at the old man who had caused him considerable trouble.
He did not quite understand the point of such threats on the verge of death. They could not change the outcome.
He crouched down, reached out, and gripped Lü Yan's throat.
Lü Yan's eyes suddenly widened, his lingering venom turning into one last flicker of terror.
Si Chen did not hesitate. His five fingers gently closed.
Crack.
With a faint, sharp sound, Lü Yan's head lolled to one side, and the light in his eyes went out completely.
All his curses and hatred vanished like smoke with that quiet snap.
The wind swept the scorched stench across the ruins and stirred the bloodstained hem of Si Chen's robe.
"All scores are settled."
He spoke softly.
Before you continue