Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

The Star Pointing Finger, slaying a Venerable!

Beast Nine’s remaining half of a head fell to the ground, his single eye wide with shock and indignation.

Only now...

Did he finally understand that Jiang Chen hadn’t become a Young Venerable through sheer luck!

Jiang Chen had relied on absolute strength!

Unfortunately, by the time he realized this, it was already too late!

Celestial Fate Daoist raised an eyebrow, showing no pity for Beast Nine’s death. He was merely a witness in the Celestial Pride War Hall, long accustomed to scenes of life and death. He announced faintly, "Beast Nine has fallen. Jiang Chen will receive his entire Dragon of Fortune!"

SWOOSH—

The sixteen-zhang Dragon of Fortune flew toward Jiang Chen.

The Dragon of Fortune above his head, which had shrunk to a mere three zhang, surged in size once more, returning to nineteen zhang.

HISS!

"B-Beast Nine was actually killed? A-And Jiang Chen killed him with just one finger?"

"He was one of the Young Venerables! His strength was immense, yet he was killed just like that? I-I feel like I’m dreaming!"

For the first time, a solemn expression appeared in Xuue Yinhao’s eyes. He looked at Night Emperor beside him and asked, "Night Emperor, if you were to face this man, how confident would you be of victory?"

"Fifty-fifty," Night Emperor hesitated for a moment before saying in a low voice, "I never expected there to be such a powerful opponent besides Lan Haichen and you."

The two of them were among the very top combatants on the Venerable List.

In the past...

Aside from Lan Haichen, they had never paid any mind to the other Young Venerables.

But now, they had another opponent: Jiang Chen!

An opponent they couldn’t afford to ignore!

Even Lan Haichen sat up a little straighter, a vein throbbing on his forehead and his gaze flickering intensely. ’How is this possible? Just over a year ago, he was nothing but an ant in the Martial Arts Realm. How has he grown this strong already? What kind of secret is this kid hiding? How could he possibly have grown so fast?’

It had taken him, Lan Haichen, more than a decade to get from the Martial Arts Realm to his current level.

But Jiang Chen?

In just over a year, he had gone from the Martial Arts Realm to being capable of slaying a Young Venerable.

Even if Beast Nine had relied mostly on his Beast Taming Skill to squeeze into the ranks of the Young Venerables, with his combat strength being at the very bottom of the Ten Great Venerables...

He was still a Young Venerable!

Lan Haichen found it impossible to imagine what power could have allowed Jiang Chen to improve so dramatically in just one short year!

Lan Haichen’s gaze turned incredibly dark, murderous intent surging wildly. ’It’s only been a year, and he’s already strong enough to threaten me. If I give him a few more years, how will I ever stand against him? I must eliminate him. He must die!’

...

Celestial Fate Daoist looked at the crowd. "Does anyone else wish to challenge Jiang Chen?"

Everyone was silent.

Jiang Chen had annihilated even Beast Nine with a single finger. Such a display of overwhelming power had thoroughly intimidated the crowd. Until they could gauge Jiang Chen’s true depths, not even Lan Haichen was willing to make a rash move.

Just when everyone thought no one else would step forward, Mu Tiexin—ranked fifth on the Venerable List and hailing from the Yinluo Sect of the Iron Wood Dynasty—rose to his feet. A cold smile on his face, he walked toward the Floating Battlefield. "Since no one else is willing to make a move, then allow me to start the ball rolling!"

At that moment, the Floating Battlefield was situated above a vast ocean.

This would be the arena for the upcoming battle!

A bronze-colored luster appeared all over Mu Tiexin’s body. With a cold smile on his face, he said lightly, "Jiang Chen, do you know who I am?"

"Mu Tiexin of the Yinluo Sect," Jiang Chen replied.

"Correct!"

Mu Tiexin nodded, his scarlet tongue licking the corner of his mouth as he gave a cruel smile. "And do you know why, when everyone else held back, I chose to step forward?"

"Because of Dugu Xue?" Jiang Chen guessed.

’I have no history with Mu Tiexin. The only possibility is that I killed the Yinluo Sect’s expert, Dugu Xue, in the Sixteenth State.’

Mu Tiexin nodded. "Correct, it is precisely because of Dugu Xue. He was a genius of my Yinluo Sect, and you killed him. That is an unpardonable sin. As the head disciple of the Yinluo Sect, I have a duty to dispose of anyone who offends our Sect!"

"And you’re that confident you can kill me?" Jiang Chen asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mu Tiexin shrugged, his tone casual, as if he didn’t take Jiang Chen seriously at all. "For me, killing you is no different from killing a chicken."

"Beast Nine was just as confident as you are," Jiang Chen replied, appearing nonchalant, but he was secretly on guard.

’This man’s Martial Soul is the extremely rare Celestial Tier Martial Soul, ’Ghost-faced Yama,’ making him a natural Demon Cultivator. Add to that the fact that the Yinluo Sect is a Demon Sect, and as their number one genius, Mu Tiexin has surely mastered many Demon Dao methods.’

’The methods of the Demon Dao are endless. Though some of them are underhanded, their power is astonishing.’

’I have to be careful!’

An unusual red glow flickered from Mu Tiexin’s tongue as he licked the corner of his mouth as if tasting blood. He chuckled darkly and said, "Don’t compare me to that piece of trash... Jiang Chen, I hope you can last more than a few rounds against me. Don’t let me kill you too easily. Hahaha..."

A red light suddenly flashed in Mu Tiexin’s eyes.

He had cultivated over three hundred different Demon Secret Techniques, any single one of which was enough to create a peerless expert. Once all three hundred techniques were fused into one body...

The terror of his combat strength was unimaginable!

"Blood Dragon Slash!"

"Demon Soul Wave!"

"Soul-Devouring Heart Seal..."

In that instant, Mu Tiexin unleashed more than ten Demon Secret Techniques simultaneously, each one tyrannical, unheard of, and unseen before.

Every Secret Technique was incomparably powerful and dazzlingly brilliant, enough to mesmerize and overwhelm the senses!

"As expected of the Ghost-faced Youluo, Mu Tiexin! An ordinary Demon Dao Martial Artist could become a regional Demon just by mastering one of those techniques. But he can wield so many Demon Secret Techniques at once. He truly lives up to the name of Young Venerable!"

One expert after another exclaimed in amazement.

The sky-piercing, blood-colored Dragon Slaying Blade...

The pitch-black, terrifyingly destructive Demon Soul Wave...

And the Soul-Devouring Heart Seal, which could devour one’s very mind and soul with a single glance, leaving them in a dazed stupor...

Every one of them was a superior Demon Secret Technique!

The terrifying offensive blotted out the sky. A long, blood-colored dragon transformed into a raging river, corroding everything in its path and turning it to thick smoke. The Soul-Devouring Heart Seal attacked the soul directly; just a glance at it could make one’s spirit waver. Some with weaker cultivation were left with dazed expressions, completely at its mercy.

"GET LOST!"

Under the overwhelming siege of Demonic Secret Techniques, Jiang Chen was pushed to the peak of his rage.

’These Demon Secret Techniques are incredibly troublesome and utterly loathsome!’

Brilliant golden light erupted from his body, transforming into a towering divine radiance that made him resemble a Golden Armor War God.

The Demon Sword Spirit Slayer appeared in his hand in an instant.

It burst forth with a dazzling black radiance. A thousand-zhang Sword Aura materialized in the air, surrounded by raging Spiritual Qi. It was like a red-hot branding iron suddenly plunged into ice water, letting out a series of piercing "CHH-CHH" sounds.

"CELESTIAL FLAME CROSS-SLASH!"

The words fell, and the sword struck!

BOOM—

This one sword slash cut open the earth and split the heavens, inverted the sun and moon, and overturned Qiankun.

The entire Floating Battlefield seemed to have been cleaved in two, becoming the eye of a storm. A brilliant Sword Aura, as if emerging from the depths of chaos, utterly crushed the endless stream of Demon Secret Technique attacks.

BANG—

The peerless Sword Aura struck Mu Tiexin directly.

Black light surged around Mu Tiexin’s body, forming a screen of black Protective True Essence, but it was still shattered by the peerless sword strike. He plummeted from the sky like a falling star.

With a tremendous BOOM, his entire body was smashed into the churning ocean waters below.

Everyone froze, their faces a mask of utter astonishment.

’The Ghost-faced Youluo, Mu Tiexin... was defeated just like that?’