Dream Strike Long Sky

The next opponents to take the stage against Lu Chen were all Tianyu disciples, every one of them attacking as though their lives meant nothing.

Unfortunately, Lu Chen stood within the True Martial Domain, possessed a divine ability comparable to teleportation, and had the furnace protecting his body. They could not harm him in the slightest.

A total of ten people were cleanly dealt with and collected by Lu Chen.

Not even their corpses remained.

He gained another ten Golden Core fragments.

After ten consecutive battles, he smoothly advanced into the top ten.

He had not even needed to launch a proper attack.

Either they were suppressed by the True Martial Domain and killed with a single slash, or he teleported behind them and cleaved them apart with one stroke.

He was overwhelmingly dominant.

Even after all that, they had failed to probe Lu Chen's true trump card, and Lu Ran's expression darkened to the extreme.

Especially the contemptuous look Lu Chen shot him when he stepped down from the stage—it nearly made him cough up a mouthful of old blood.

He had seen that look plenty of times in the Lu Family.

Even after entering Tianyu and becoming the headmaster's disciple, he was still met with that same look. Damn it, your bloodline had already been stripped away. What did you have to be proud of?

On the arena, Xiong Yao swung her bronze pillar, and few cultivators could withstand her brutal blows.

One Force Breaks All Laws.

Three of them had their protective formations smashed apart by her and were blasted off the arena.

They were three unlucky fools from Tianyu Academy.

Though they had not died outright, they were thoroughly crippled for the rest of their lives.

She had also charged powerfully into the top ten.

This gave everyone an enormous surprise.

By now, Tianyan Academy already had two people in the top ten.

Among the seeded contestants, any one faction had no more than two at most.

With the sweeping momentum of those two, they would definitely claim a place in the matches against the seeded contestants.

As for Fang Jiuding, it was not that he lacked ability. The bastard was simply far too sneaky.

He carried a pot in one hand as a shield and held a chain in the other.

With a flick of the chain, he made it dance in countless patterns.

At times, it struck like a long spear; at others, it moved like a spirit serpent. Softness concealed hardness, and hardness carried softness, making it incredibly troublesome for his opponents to handle.

In the end, most of them were knocked unconscious by one strike of Fang Jiuding's pot and tossed off the arena.

Even when someone was tangled up in the chain, he would walk over and give them a loud whack.

He was practically trying to infuriate people to death.

That sneaky, punchable expression made even Old Ancestor Tianyan want to rush onto the stage and slap him twice.

He was too damned shameless.

As the sun slanted westward, all three had made it into the top ten, their limelight unmatched for a time.

Of course, aside from the three of them, seven others had also advanced with overwhelming strength.

All of them were masters among masters.

They were Yan Wuhen, a Golden Core Peak expert from Great Yan; Qi Zhentian, a Nascent Soul Early Stage powerhouse from Great Qi's military; Liang Yuyan, a Golden Core Middle Stage expert from Great Liang; and Su Mufeng, a Nascent Soul Early Stage genius disciple of Heavenly Dao Academy.

As well as the three Rogue Cultivators: Lin Yu, Liu Ruyan, and Chu Feiyang.

They were all powerhouses among powerhouses, masters among masters.

Those inside and outside the venue watched in utter fascination.

As the battles continued, the names of the top ten spread throughout Yanjing.

Night had just fallen. The martial arts grounds were bright as day beneath blazing lights, and the battles continued.

Though the vast majority had failed to enter the top ten, this was such a chance to show their faces that they all wanted to fight ten full matches.

If some faction took a liking to them, then from that point on, the sky would be vast enough for birds to fly wherever they pleased, and a glorious martial path would await them.

Suddenly, King Yan, seated on the main platform, let out a roar.

It made everyone shudder.

Lu Chen especially thought King Yan had suffered an ambush.

But that was not the case.

A golden proclamation flew from his sleeve, transforming into a hundred-zhang curtain of light hanging in the sky.

"Victory report from Yanbei..."

The ceremonial official's voice boomed like a great bell. "One hundred thousand Wolf Court cavalry clashed with King Yanbei's Blood Puppet army. Our Great Yan ambushers seized the opportunity to encircle them, beheading two hundred thousand enemies!"

"The Young Marshal Ji Wushuang personally led the Crimson Phoenix Guard to break their formation. Lu Yang of Great Qi and Zhu Sha of Great Liang joined the battle. Several generals from both Wolf Court and King Yanbei now hang as corpses from the walls of Skyfire Pass."

"Congratulations to Our Emperor! Congratulations to Great Yan!"

"May Great Yan endure for ten thousand years!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Cheers surged like mountains collapsing and seas roaring.

Lu Chen raised his eyes. Images flowed across the light curtain:

Upon a blood-red wilderness, Ji Wushuang wore a face veil, golden helmet, and golden armor. Charging at the forefront on horseback, her spear light crushed hundreds upon hundreds of Blood Puppets.

Lu Yang's sword light poured down like a galaxy, while Zhu Sha gently waved her round fan, turning poisonous miasma into giant pythons that devoured Wolf Court war chariots...

"No wonder the Young Marshal was nowhere to be seen today." Lu Chen rubbed the hilt of his blade, the corner of his lips lifting slightly.

Xiong Yao poked his arm at his side. "Is your Yun Niang there? You mutter about her all day long."

Lu Chen froze.

There really was no sign of her.

What mission was that damned girl carrying out?

For fuck's sake!

Fang Jiuding leaned over with a snicker. "Good things take time. With Third Brother's nature, if the princess refuses to let her go, just take her in too!"

"Get lost. You're still a bachelor yourself, and you have the nerve to talk about others?"

"Damn it, don't rub salt in my wounds like that..."

As the three laughed and bickered, King Yan swept his sleeve, and the light curtain turned into golden rain that scattered down.

"Tomorrow will be the top ten battles. I hope you will all display your might once more!"

King Yan's voice boomed like a great bell, his vigor overflowing.

Purple-robed Old Ancestor of Tianyu Academy looked so gloomy that blood seemed ready to drip from his face.

What a bunch of useless bastards, incapable of success and more than capable of ruining everything!

Their allies had all been crippled. How were they supposed to replace Great Yan now?

Nothing happened through the night. By the next day, the martial arts grounds were already packed with roaring crowds.

The afterglow of last night's victory report had yet to fade. The rising sun gilded the ten arenas with a layer of golden radiance, while the formation patterns flowed like an upside-down river of stars.

On the high platform, there was now a figure in golden armor beside King Yan.

Peerless Princess Ji Wushuang still carried an aura of killing intent. Dark-red bloodstains remained on her battle robe, falling away with soft rustling sounds as she walked.

"The top ten battles begin!" the ceremonial official announced in a voice like a great bell. Amid the roaring grand formation, figures emerged one after another from pillars of light.

All twenty contestants appeared and took their seats.

"Try not to run into me!" Lu Ran glanced at Lu Chen, his voice icy.

"How about we fight each other right now?" Lu Chen's single retort made Lu Ran's eyes turn red.

"First match: Ji Wushuang versus Xue He of the Blood Spirit Sect!"

As the ceremonial official's voice fell, Ji Wushuang and Xue He rose to their feet and shot toward the central arena.

Lu Chen's brows furrowed slightly.

The disparity in strength was rather great!

Ji Wushuang was at most at Golden Core Peak, while that bastard Xue He was a Nascent Soul Middle Stage powerhouse.

Without some special method, winning would be difficult.

Ji Wushuang pointed her long spear diagonally at Xue He. Its spear light struck the ground with ringing clangs. "I wiped out quite a few remnants of the Blood Spirit Sect last night. Today, I'll use you to sacrifice to the banner!"

Xue He grinned ferociously. The pressure of the Nascent Soul Middle Stage erupted with a boom, and a hundred Blood Puppets appeared behind him, each with a scarlet eyeball embedded in its chest.

With a sweep of his sleeve, the Blood Puppets pounced at Ji Wushuang like a swarm of locusts, corroding the ground into scorched black marks.

Rather than retreating, Ji Wushuang charged forward. Her spear force twisted into the puppet horde like a tornado, transforming into a mysterious divine bird. Wherever it passed, the Blood Puppets became foul black smoke.

When her spear thrust forward, a point of cold light pierced Xue He's protective blood mist and exploded a bowl-sized bloody hole in his shoulder.

Xue He retreated a hundred zhang in shock, his expression filled with horror.

"Bloodline... You awakened the Nine Heavens Profound Bird bloodline!"

One stone stirred up a thousand waves. Cheers shook the heavens both inside and outside the venue.

Why had King Yanbei wanted to declare independence? It was because he had awakened the ancestral bloodline of the royal family!

And Great Yan had not possessed a single one.

What it meant for Ji Wushuang to now awaken the ancestral bloodline of the Nine Heavens Profound Bird went without saying.

King Yanbei no longer had an excuse to declare independence.

"Too noisy!" Ji Wushuang snorted coldly and arrived on the wind. Her spear shaft swept sideways like a mountain, while the Bloodline Beast Shadow of the Nine Heavens Profound Bird behind her radiated a heart-palpitating aura.

Xue He was intimidated by her presence, and his strength actually weakened by several degrees.

For powerhouses like him, who had advanced by devouring the essence blood of humans and beasts, bloodline pressure was what they feared most.

The Nine Heavens Profound Bird let out a piercing cry, and Ji Wushuang suddenly hurled her long spear.

Divine Ability: Dream Strike Long Sky.

Not only did its attack power surge, it also carried a powerful soul-bewitching force.

In his daze, Xue He felt a sharp pain in his chest.

His entire body was nailed to the ground by the long spear.