The curtain rose on the most antic.i.p.ated battle of the Veluriyam PaG.o.da gathering. After a night of tutelage from Emperor Peafowl, Jiang Chen had a much better understanding of the path of demonic slaughter. It made him a lot more confident in his odds. But still, he knew how troublesome his opponent was going to be. Not that his opponent’s style was anything to write home about, but a cultivator who was at the peak of first level emperor realm naturally dominated a majority of the other geniuses. As strong as Zhuang Min was, he probably couldn’t hold half a candle to this Gao Zhan.
The difference between first level emperor realm and the peak of that level was marked. The possibility of stepping into second level emperor realm was present in the latter and absent in the former. Garbed in red, Gao Zhan was like a fiery ball of crackling flame. His wild and fierce eyes stared Jiang Chen down. The corner of his mouth was slightly upturned, its curvature a little uncanny. His entire person appeared unceremonious and unrestrained, filled with a primitive vigor.
“Are you the Pill King Zhen who’s been hopping around lately?” Gao Zhan raised an eyebrow. His voice was as grating as a sharp blade, filled with an uncomfortably spiteful edge.
Hopping around? Jiang Chen snickered internally. He cast a cool sidelong glance at Gao Zhan, his face emotionless. “Is the foremost genius in demonic slaughter as second rate as everyone else? The only things you seem to possess are empty words.”
The foremost genius of demonic slaughter. This phrase was particularly sinister. It goaded Emperor Shura’s entire faction. Gao Zhan was actually the number two genius under his emperor’s command. That notwithstanding, his martial cultivation capably rivaled that of number one in every way. He leered back at his opponent. “Genius or second rate, I only have one goal for coming here… anyone who provokes me shall die under a single stroke of my blade!”
“I’ve heard meaningless statements like those so many times that I’ve lost count.” Jiang Chen casually picked at his ears, his tone playful. “Spit out anything fresh you’ve got. If not, then let’s get to it. Time’s a-wastin’.”
“Very good, very good!” Gao Zhan grinned with fury. “I’ve seen my share of thrillseekers, but I’ve never seen someone so keen to seek out their death. I’ll make sure to satisfy that desire.”
The corner of Jiang Chen’s mouth curled up. “You talk too much.” He drew the Pentecolor Divine Swords as he spoke, his voice’s volume ascending as he did so. “Then I’ll go first!”
He wanted to launch a preemptive strike in this particular battle. “Qi is the origin of the G.o.ds, and G.o.ds the product of qi. I summon the five thunders with my five attributes. Five thunders of calamity, a divine hymn of my sword!” The forces of heaven and earth congregated at his beck and call. The sky darkened, thunder rang in the firmament, and his sword aura burst forth in the likeliness of a geyser.
It was one of the Divine Five Thunderclap Sword Technique’s most powerful moves, Torrent of Ten Thousand Swords. Whenever it was used, even heaven and earth were moved. The Torrent mixed the five thunders and sword aura into a veritable tempest of thunderous swords. As the primary target of this a.s.sault, Gao Zhan dared not underestimate the attack. His expression was serious as he activated a defense glyph. It s.h.i.+mmered into place around him. Evidently, even someone as competent as him was unwilling to face such a force directly.
He clapped his hands together. Billows of red-hot air appeared around him, condensing themselves increasingly with each pa.s.sing second. Like a geyser of gus.h.i.+ng flame, they enshrouded the image of his silhouette within. All of the momentum generated by Jiang Chen’s sword was eaten up at once, consumed by the fiery domain.
“A domain of fire?” Jiang Chen frowned. He hadn’t studied Torrent of Ten Thousand Swords for long. Thus, his level of understanding for it remained at the stage of ‘strong, but unrefined’. He could produce the intended effect the technique was supposed to, but couldn’t yet manage to condense it into a line or a point. It was effective against large groups, but less so against single individuals. In particular, some of its flaws emerged when dealing with stronger opponents. His understanding was rudimentary, after all. In a perfected state, any arbitrary attack from the Thunderclap Sword Technique was lethal.
“Hmph. An attack like this is only good against cultivators who are at half-step emperor realm. It’s completely useless against the ones who possess domain power like us!” A sneer played at the corner of Gao Zhan’s mouth. He rushed forward with remarkable haste, the enormous aura of flame still surrounding him. A malevolent saber materialized in his right hand, the entire length of steel s.h.i.+mmering with a b.l.o.o.d.y light. As soon as it was drawn, a potent aura of bloodthirst cascaded forth in every direction. It was as if an opening had appeared to the lowest depths of h.e.l.l, and an atmosphere of demonic slaughter permeated the air.
“What an evil weapon!” The aura of slaughter rammed into him, possessing enough piercing force to penetrate one’s mind and soul. Thankfully, Jiang Chen’s Boulder’s Heart rendered him immune. Though the feeling shook his heart a little, there was minimal actual damage.
“Eat this, brat!” Gao Zhan cackled strangely, his voice as grating as metal scratching against a wall. He flourished his arm a little. The accompanying attack carried no exaggerated motion, but the simple cut made its way in front of Jiang Chen in the blink of an eye. The technique’s speed and simplicity were simply masterful.
Jiang Chen was no slowpoke either, however. He casually flipped his Pentecolor Divine Swords upward. “Reverse Heaven and Earth!” The sword light reversed the reality of the surrounding s.p.a.ce.
Though the saber looked like it had reached Jiang Chen, it in fact had veered off to the side, missing him by two or three feet. The result of the first-traded blow was that the combatants appeared to be evenly matched.
Gao Zhan was a little surprised. Though his attack had looked simple, he had actually fused his own domain power into the stroke. During the movement, he had placed an ample amount of the s.p.a.ce from the stage into his own domain. In this way, he was able to essentially ignore the constrictions of distance. The saber went from far to near instantly, as if it had happened in the blink of an eye. But in the end, such a seemingly simple maneuver like that had been broken by an equally seemingly simple sword strike.
