Within the Supreme Void Dao Realm.
Whoosh!
Chen Qingyu abruptly appeared at the entrance to the [Martial Practice Hall].
Around him, the crowds still surged shoulder to shoulder, streaming endlessly in and out of the [Martial Practice Hall].
Not far away, a young man pointed at the [Martial Practice Hall] and spoke with easy confidence to a pretty girl beside him:
"Little sister, look."
"This is the [Martial Practice Hall]! An unparalleled treasure ground for honing and improving martial skills!"
"Together with the [Samsara Altar] across from it, it can make any martial artist's combat strength soar in a short time, bringing about earth-shaking changes!"
"Of course, both these treasure grounds require a great many Great Void Points. We can only go in occasionally..."
As he spoke, he suddenly noticed Chen Qingyu, who had appeared in the crowd. He froze, then was instantly overcome with delight:
"Chen Shaojun!"
He pointed at Chen Qingyu in the crowd and cried out excitedly.
"What? Chen Shaojun?"
"Where's Brother Shaojun?"
"Holy shit, it really is Chen Shaojun!"
At the entrance to the [Martial Practice Hall], the crowd suddenly stirred with excitement.
"He's Chen Shaojun?"
The pretty girl looked over, unconsciously holding her breath as her heart pounded:
"The legendary number one in the world at the Blood Sea Realm, whose name resounds throughout the Desolate Continent?!"
What a nuisance.
Chen Qingyu frowned, feeling somewhat helpless. In an instant, he transformed into a wisp of breeze and soared into the sky.
"Oh..."
Watching him vanish into thin air, the crowd let out a collective sound of disappointment.
Clearly, this was not the first time something like this had happened.
The many young martial artists chatted among themselves for a while, then quickly turned their attention elsewhere, putting the matter behind them as a minor interlude.
Over the past two days, the buzz surrounding Chen Shaojun had rapidly faded:
In [Blood Sea Heaven], everyone had grown accustomed to his presence, his status as number one in the world and strongest in the Blood Sea Realm, and the name hanging at the very top of both rankings.
Just as everyone had grown accustomed over the past few years to Zhou Chenlong being invincible beneath heaven, with no one able to shake his position.
Even the latest issue of "Heavenly Prides Compete for Supremacy" no longer featured stories about Chen Shaojun.
"Chen Shaojun is so handsome."
The pretty girl came back to her senses and unconsciously asked:
"Brother, it seems hardly anyone has been talking about Chen Shaojun these past two days."
"Yes, that's perfectly normal."
Hearing her words, the young man shrugged and said:
"Just like in storybooks, once the protagonists become the strongest, their stories ought to end, shouldn't they?"
"Chen Shaojun is already number one in the world."
"His legend came to a close the moment he defeated Zhou Chenlong."
"Is that so..."
After hearing his words, the girl lowered her head, feeling an inexplicable sense of loss.
She finally understood that Chen Shaojun, now number one in the world, and his story had already become part of the backdrop of [Blood Sea Heaven].
Once a person became known to everyone, he lost the quality that made him a legend.
Back then, had Zhou Chenlong's journey of fighting the mighty from every direction alone and climbing step by step to the pinnacle of the world not been another legend?
Yet before Chen Shaojun burst onto the scene and challenged his position, few people had still paid attention to or discussed his past story.
What people longed for was always the rise of the next legendary protagonist.
Half an hour later.
Concealing himself, Chen Qingyu arrived at the entrance to the [War God Tower].
Surrounded by fierce winds, he stood in midair and raised his head to look at the ranking hanging down from the sky to his left:
On the ranking:
Zhou Chenlong's name had already disappeared.
His story in the Blood Sea Realm had ended. He had gone to [Golden Bridge Heaven] to begin a new journey.
Perhaps in another six months or a year, as new batches of Blood Sea Realm martial artists poured in and the old ones departed, his name would gradually be forgotten. No one would mention it again, and it would become history.
"Heh..."
Chen Qingyu chuckled and entered the [War God Tower], still maintaining his invisibility.
An instant later:
When he opened his eyes, before him lay the familiar pure-white space, the first floor of the [War God Tower].
"Welcome to the War God Tower!"
The cold, mechanical voice instantly rang out all around him:
"You have already cleared the first eight floors of the War God Tower in [Blood Sea Heaven]. Would you like to continue challenging the ninth floor?"
"Yes."
Chen Qingyu smiled calmly:
"I want to continue challenging the ninth floor, and disable spectator access."
He was completely confident in this battle.
However, some indecent sights would probably appear during the challenge, so he simply disabled spectator access. No one else would discover that he was challenging the ninth floor, sparing him the embarrassment.
A mere hundred thousand Great Void Points-he could do without them now.
Hum!
A pillar of white light descended from above and enveloped Chen Qingyu in dazzling radiance.
When he could see his surroundings clearly again:
Before him lay a pure-white space nearly a hundred thousand feet across, with the sky over a thousand feet above the ground.
"Welcome to the eighth floor of the War God Tower!"
"Your opponents will appear shortly. Challenger, please prepare!"
The cold, mechanical voice fell silent:
This time, Chen Qingyu did not immediately fly into the sky. Instead, he stood waiting where he was with a faint smile.
Hum! Hum!
In every direction, densely packed white lights nearly merged into one, forming an ocean of radiance as far as the eye could see.
A full ten thousand figures with powerful presences and indifferent expressions materialized together, scattered throughout the ninth floor.
"Come on."
Chen Qingyu drew a deep breath, intense fighting spirit blazing in his eyes like a roaring flame.
At that instant:
The ten thousand supreme heavenly prides locked onto Chen Qingyu at once.
"Kill!"
A full ten thousand furious shouts converged and exploded like thunder.
Over a thousand martial artists flew straight up above Chen Qingyu, unleashing their strongest methods together and blasting down at him.
The remaining martial artists also attacked in unison at that very instant.
Boom, boom, boom!
Terrifying martial skills, True Qi, divine weapons, and mystical artifacts converged into a surging torrent.
Wherever it passed, the air was shattered into nothingness. Terrifying might rippled far into the distance, and even the slightest shock wave from its aftermath could tear steel apart.
Even a grandmaster at the ninth heaven of the Golden Bridge Realm would have fallen into despair before this terrifying torrent that blotted out the sky.
The martial artists on the ninth floor were all supreme heavenly prides, proficient in numerous martial skills and methods, with no weaknesses to speak of. Every one of them possessed ranged attacks, allowing them to bombard everything indiscriminately without leaving a single blind spot.
Here, the only choice was to meet force with force in a bloody battle of one against ten thousand.
"Heh heh..."
Facing this dreadful assault, Chen Qingyu neither dodged nor evaded. He stood where he was, a mocking smile appearing on his face.
He even spread his arms, seemingly taking the initiative to welcome this terrifying wave of attacks.
"You overestimate yourself!"
Watching this, the ten thousand mightiest martial artists remained indifferent, without the slightest expression.
The next instant:
Boom!
The terrifying torrent poured onto Chen Qingyu in its entirety, engulfing him completely.
Colored radiance exploded, painting the entire pure-white space in a thousand hues of dazzling splendor.
Only after a full breath:
Did the sky-filling radiance and True Qi slowly dissipate.
"This..."
When the ten thousand martial artists saw the scene where he stood, horror appeared on their faces. They could scarcely believe it.
At a glance:
Chen Qingyu stood where he was, stark naked. All his clothes had turned to dust, without even a scrap remaining, revealing his tall, well-built, nearly perfect body.
Yet there was not the slightest scratch on that body.
"Not bad for scratching an itch..."
Chen Qingyu offered this teasing appraisal, then mocked:
"Unfortunately, it's useless."
This sky-filling torrent of attacks seemed vast in momentum and terrifying beyond measure in might, yet it was flashy without substance.
Ultimately:
This was a joint strike from ten thousand martial artists, not an attack unleashed by one person. Its power was neither concentrated nor pure.
Reality was not a game. There was no such thing as guaranteed damage.
"What use are attacks that do zero damage to me, no matter how many come? They can't even knock off a single pube."
Chen Qingyu chuckled, drew a breath, and opened his mouth:
"Now, it's my turn."
The next instant-
A terrifying dark-yellow sandstorm surged out, shrouding the sky and blanketing the earth.