Battle flared anew

"What a terrifying Xu Sheng. Even injured, he dared to use Ye Liuyun to test his fighting strength."

"After years of honing himself, could he really have gained the strength to challenge Daoist Sanque?"

Everyone discussed it animatedly, their opinion of Xu Sheng rising further. They felt that once he entered the Dragon Transformation Realm, he might truly be able to fight Daoist Sanque. Some were already looking forward to it.

Meanwhile, the battle grew fiercer. Xu Sheng unleashed one lightning-wreathed punch after another. After fighting this long, his insight into the Dao of lightning seemed to have reached its peak. Every swing of his fists set heaven and earth rumbling. Like a thunder god descended to the mortal world, he brought down heavenly punishment amid ten thousand streaks of lightning.

Ye Liuyun, however, was retreating step by step. As he swung his Saint Sword, its sword qi remained incomparably sharp, cleaving through layer upon layer of lightning. Yet the sword intent that looked down upon the world, severed the heavens, and turned the firmament into a sword was steadily waning, stripped of its indescribable presence.

Am I going to lose? The thought flashed involuntarily through Ye Liuyun's mind, something that had never occurred to him before. He had been suppressed throughout the fight. His opponent truly seemed to have cultivated the legendary golden body. His sword techniques were incomparably sharp, yet they could not cut through his opponent's flesh. His opponent's attacks, by contrast, were all crushingly heavy and difficult to withstand.

Now his enemy only grew stronger and more confident as the fight continued. Under these circumstances, he felt he no longer had the power to turn the tide. Whatever he did, defeat seemed inevitable.

Should I concede?

It seems I can only concede. I can't even cut through his flesh. What else can I do?

But the instant that thought arose, a thunderous roar rang through Ye Liuyun's mind, jolting him awake. Rage erupted within him. Since when did I start believing my defeat was inevitable? Have I lost even the courage to stake everything on one last attempt?

"Ten thousand miles of sky, Stars Fall Westward!"

The enraged Ye Liuyun let out a long howl and unleashed the supreme profundity of the Ten Thousand Miles of Sky Sword, Stars Fall Westward, cleaving through the eternal sky. In an instant, boundless sacred light erupted from his Saint Sword, illuminating heaven and earth as it swept toward his enemy.

At that moment, he seemed no longer to be swinging a sword, but to have cleaved a sun from beyond the heavens and brought it down upon his enemy, its divine power shaking the world.

At almost the same instant, Xu Sheng unleashed the full might of his lightning divine ability.

"Nine Heavens Thunder Prison!"

In an instant, ten thousand streaks of lightning filled heaven and earth, interweaving into a vast net. The world itself seemed to have become a miniature realm containing nothing but thunder and lightning.

Rumble!

The two peerless divine abilities collided, unleashing boundless divine light across heaven and earth. Nothing could be seen at the center of the battlefield. Only the shock waves continued pouring outward, sword qi shooting through the air and thunder roaring as they severed peaks and shattered the ground.

"Who won?"

That was the question in everyone's mind. Had Xu Sheng returned in overwhelming fashion after years of silence?

Or had Ye Liuyun defied the heavens with a single sword strike and cut through everything?

It was hard to say. Before this, everyone would have thought Xu Sheng had the greater chance of victory. But Ye Liuyun's final strike had been far too dazzling. That sword technique, which seemed capable of cutting down stars from beyond the heavens, was so terrifying that it inspired boundless confidence almost unconsciously.

At last, the divine light dispersed, and everyone could see the outcome.

"He couldn't defy the heavens after all. Xu Sheng won."

On the battlefield, one of the two holy sons stood upright, while the other braced himself on half a Saint Sword, barely remaining on one knee to keep himself from falling.

The one standing was Xu Sheng. Naturally, the one leaning on the broken sword was Ye Liuyun. His entire body was charred black, and blood poured from his mouth in great mouthfuls. It was a frightening sight.

The people from the Azure Heaven Gate hurried forward from behind, offering all manner of Healing Sacred Medicine. Then they hastily carried away Ye Liuyun, who had been staring intently at Xu Sheng.

Xu Sheng paid them no heed. He, too, was covered in blood, some his opponent's and some his own. At that moment, he was considering whether his current fighting strength would allow him to battle Daoist Sanque as he had been in the Four Extremes Realm.

Once my injuries heal, I should be able to defeat Ye Liuyun without suffering any harm. That should be enough to fight him.

Having reached this conclusion, Xu Sheng, who had remained taciturn for the past several years, could not help letting a faint smile touch his lips. Of course, he quickly reined it in.

After all, everything remained uncertain. No one understood Daoist Sanque's terrifying strength better than he did. Although he was now confident he was no weaker than his former opponent had been, that opponent had likely grown even stronger over the intervening years.

In the Dragon Transformation Realm, I will definitely draw down a heavenly tribulation and temper myself through it. Once I catch up to his cultivation realm, I'll fight him again.

The battle between Xu Sheng and Ye Liuyun had drawn to a close, but Li Wangxian, who had been watching the spectacle from the sidelines, was about to become one of the main attractions under everyone else's intense scrutiny.

As soon as the battle between the two holy sons ended, a group of cultivators in silver robes embroidered with stars approached Li Wangxian, subtly surrounding him.

"Who are you?" Li Wangxian stood with his hands behind his back, his white robes snapping in the wind. Even surrounded by a group of people, he showed not the slightest fear.

"Mo Tianxing of the Star Sect."

A silver-robed youth stepped out at their head. He looked seventeen or eighteen, and as he moved, stellar power surged around him like a tide. He was far from ordinary.

"What do you want with me?"

Li Wangxian asked bluntly, without the slightest courtesy.

"The Good Person Bandits stole a prized treasure from our sect. We heard that you subdued those bandits, young brother, so we have come to retrieve our sect's treasure from you."

Li Wangxian smiled. The only thing those Good Person Bandits possessed that could qualify as a prized treasure was the Treasure Wheel. But that Treasure Wheel was a Buddhist artifact. What did it have to do with the Star Sect?

Just as he was about to ask, Peng Tao sent him a divine sense transmission. Having noticed that these people had come with ill intentions, Peng Tao had already retreated far into the distance.

He informed Li Wangxian that the Star Sect had indeed been searching for the Good Person Bandits, but only because they coveted that sealed King Weapon. And they were not alone. In fact, many great sects were hunting the bandits under the pretext that the Good Person Bandits had stolen their sects' prized treasures.

This made Li Wangxian so furious that he laughed instead. Well, well. They've brought their scam right to my doorstep. He asked coolly, "Which prized treasure do you mean? What proof do you have?"

As though he could not detect the hostility in Li Wangxian's tone, Mo Tianxing answered earnestly, "It is a sealed treasure wheel, a King Weapon that one of our sect's supreme elders spent his lifetime refining. His descendants failed to understand that he had deliberately sealed its power to temper them, mistook it for an ordinary prized treasure, and carelessly lost it. This is known throughout the Divine Continent."

"Oh? But that Treasure Wheel is a Buddhist artifact. Is your supreme elder a baldy?"

Li Wangxian was brazen. He pointed straight at the sect's disciples and asked whether their supreme elder was a baldy. He had little patience for trading words with people who plainly intended to bully him with their influence.

"You're courting death! Do you know what you're saying?"

Mo Tianxing's expression darkened. Killing intent surged outward like a tide, drawing countless gazes.

Under everyone's eyes, Li Wangxian enunciated each word. "I asked whether your sect's supreme elder is a baldy."