Chen Qingyu's expression shifted slightly at those words.
Even though he and Zhou Chenlong were both invincible prodigies standing at the pinnacle of the world.
In a battle of this caliber, the advantage afforded by the battle setting was still considerable.
It might very well decide the ultimate victor.
Yet Zhou Chenlong had actually handed the choice to him.
Was this confidence?
Or arrogance?
"No need."
Chen Qingyu slowly shook his head and looked at Zhou Chenlong.
"Our cultivation methods and martial techniques each have their strengths. Whichever of us chooses the battle setting, it would be unfair."
"I suggest we draw one at random and leave the decision to the Great Void Primal Spirit."
"As for the spectator fees, we can split them equally."
Hearing this, Zhou Chenlong gave him a long look, then declared in a ringing voice:
"Good! We'll do as you suggest, Brother Chen!"
As his words fell:
An icy, mechanical voice began echoing through the combat space:
Both combatants have chosen to randomize the battle setting and battlefield size! Drawing setting... draw complete! Setting generated!
In an instant:
Intense white light flashed through the combat space.
Splash, splash...
The sound of waves rose around them.
"This is..."
Chen Qingyu's expression shifted. Looking around, he found that their surroundings had actually become a boundless sea.
As far as the eye could see, the vast sea stretched to the horizon, reflecting the sky. He and Zhou Chenlong stood in the air above its surface.
It's actually the sea.
Thoughts surged through his mind.
The "Ten Thousand Suns Illuminating the World True Art" that Zhou Chenlong cultivated was undoubtedly best suited to high-temperature regions such as scorching deserts and active volcanic zones.
Having the sea as their battlefield was quite unfavorable to him.
By contrast, for Chen Qingyu, who possessed the divine ability [Summoning Wind and Rain], the sea certainly counted as half his home ground. It would allow his divine ability to unleash greater power while consuming less of his True Qi.
Does this count as bad luck for Zhou Chenlong?
His gaze flickered as he looked toward Zhou Chenlong, only to find the latter's eyes calm and his expression entirely unruffled.
The blazing sunlight poured down, casting a dazzling golden-red radiance over his crimson qilin martial robes.
Suddenly, Chen Qingyu's heart tightened.
The sun! It's high overhead!
He immediately realized he had been mistaken.
Although the battlefield was the sea, it was noon, with the sun hanging high above.
Thus, Zhou Chenlong could enjoy a certain advantage as well.
Although, in the Chen Clan's cultivation methods, the sun and moon in the sky were both part of the celestial stars, and their stellar power could also be extracted to employ the mysteries of primal magnetism conversion.
Chen Qingyu's cultivation was insufficient. He had yet to comprehend the conversion of sunlight and moonlight and could not turn them into primal magnetism force.
This was equivalent to disabling one of his powerful means.
"Whew!"
He took a deep breath, his mind gradually settling.
The random draw was neither good nor bad, yet it had achieved a curious balance, placing both combatants at a certain disadvantage while also granting each a particular advantage.
As for the battlefield's size, it hardly mattered to two people who could both fly.
It had to be said that this was already quite a fair outcome.
In this battle, the combatant with the lower cultivation is Chen Qingyu, at the Fourth Heavenly Layer of the Blood Sea Realm! According to the combat rules, the combatant with the higher cultivation, Zhou Chenlong, will automatically be adjusted to the Fourth Heavenly Layer of the Blood Sea Realm!
As the icy, mechanical voice fell:
Zhou Chenlong's body trembled slightly, and more than half the vast, terrifying True Qi within him instantly dissipated.
His cultivation realm, including the strength of his True Qi, the strength of his physique, the size of his Blood Sea, and everything else, all regressed at that moment to their state at the Fourth Heavenly Layer of the Blood Sea Realm.
His expression shifted slightly, revealing surprise for the first time.
"You're actually at the Fourth Heavenly Layer of the Blood Sea Realm..."
The story of Chen Shaojun's rise had long since thundered across the Desolate Continent, becoming known to all.
Everyone knew that he had cleared the seventh floor of the [War God Tower] on his very first visit to the Supreme Void Dao Realm.
Thus, by ordinary reasoning, Chen Shaojun's cultivation should only have been at the First Heavenly Layer of the Blood Sea Realm.
Yet now, he actually possessed fourth-layer cultivation.
Zhou Chenlong did not believe anyone in the world could soar from the First Heavenly Layer of the Blood Sea Realm to the fourth in just a few short days.
That could only mean Chen Shaojun had long possessed the qualifications to challenge the [War God Tower] and make his name known throughout the world, yet had kept himself concealed, quietly biding his time, possessing astonishing strength of character.
"The Fourth Heavenly Layer of the Blood Sea Realm?"
In the spectator space, Chen Qinggu, mingling among the sea of people, was utterly stunned.
Not only he, but many local martial artists from [Divine Capital Changluo] were also bewildered and uncertain, exchanging glances.
If they remembered correctly:
When Chen Shaojun fought Chen Qinggu a few days ago, he had clearly only been at the First Heavenly Layer of the Blood Sea Realm, hadn't he?
How is this possible?
Chen Qinggu's brows knitted tightly, deep doubts rising within him.
But before he could work it out-
Within the combat space, the icy, mechanical voice rang out again:
Both combatants have chosen to charge for spectator access to this battle! The current spectator count has reached the limit. Both parties have agreed to split the one hundred thousand Great Void Points equally! Battle begins!
As the voice fell, the spatial restraints were lifted.
Standing a hundred zhang apart, Chen Qingyu and Zhou Chenlong unleashed their True Qi almost in unison.
Chen Qingyu rode an auspicious cloud, shooting into the sky.
While he was still in midair, the auspicious cloud dissipated, and he vanished outright.
Above the sea, fierce winds howled and surged unrestrained. Chen Qingyu traveled through the wind, his traces disappearing entirely.
Zhou Chenlong likewise flew into the air, crimson True Qi burning around him like flames. His brows furrowed slightly.
"What an impressive concealment art... but there are still traces to follow!"
He raised his head, sharply inhaled, then opened his mouth and blew. As his True Qi surged, towering flames gushed forth, forming a pillar of fire.
The next instant:
An earthen-yellow sandstorm suddenly erupted at a point in the sky, crashing down as though blanketing heaven and earth.
Almost in the blink of an eye, the sandstorm covered an area several hundred zhang across, linking from front to back into a raging storm of yellow sand that slammed straight toward the surging pillar of fire.
Fire pillar vs. sandstorm!
Rumble!
The pillar of surging flame collided thunderously with the raging sandstorm, unleashing a deafening boom as waves of air exploded outward.
Even the seawater below erupted into towering waves more than ten zhang high from the collision.
On closer inspection-
The leading edges of the sandstorm and fire pillar exploded and vanished almost simultaneously. The flames and dust behind them frantically unleashed their might against one another, like two primordial beasts locked in a contest of strength.
At first glance, it seemed the victor would be difficult to determine in the short term!
"Impressive!"
High in the sky, Chen Qingyu, hidden within the wind, could not help voicing his admiration.
That martial techniques driven purely by True Qi could contend with the power of his innate divine ability showed just how terrifying Zhou Chenlong's strength was.
"But my means go far beyond this! Let's see whether you can withstand them!"
He immediately willed it:
Gales of rushing air swept down from the sky, reinforcing the yellow sandstorm and instantly causing its power to soar.
The divine ability [Flying Sand and Moving Stones], combined with the wind-commanding power of [Summoning Wind and Rain]!
Boom!
The greatly strengthened yellow sandstorm instantly broke the deadlock, blasting apart the crimson fire pillar in one stroke before crashing down, shrouding heaven and earth.
Zhou Chenlong was directly beneath the sandstorm. At this moment, he had nowhere left to dodge!