"You must be the renowned Yama Chen. Meeting you here today must be fate."
The old man didn’t even look up. He continued sharpening his blade, his voice chillingly cold. "A pity, though, that fate isn’t on your side. I’ve been asked to... borrow Young Hero Chen’s head. I wonder if you would be so kind as to—"
SMACK!
Chen Xuan shot forward and slapped him right across the face.
Fast, precise, and ruthless.
The force was terrifying. He didn’t give his opponent any time to react.
The old man had an Inner Realm Eighth Layer Cultivation. Even though he was on his guard, he was utterly powerless to resist.
For one, he was old and his vitality had waned. Though he was at the Inner Realm Eighth Layer, he possessed the strength of a Seventh Layer practitioner at best.
For another, Chen Xuan himself was at the Inner Realm Seventh Layer, and he had numerous buffs at his disposal. When he unleashed his full power, even a Ninth Layer expert wouldn’t stand a chance.
Beating him was like swatting a child.
So in a single exchange, the old man screamed as blood sprayed through the air. His horse-chopping saber went flying, and his body was sent tumbling like a broken doll, countless bones shattered by Chen Xuan’s single slap.
"Useless old fool! Die!"
After sending the man flying, Chen Xuan smoothly caught the falling horse-chopping saber. He lunged forward in a single step, swung the blade around, and brought it down right on the old man’s face.
The poor old man, an Inner Realm Eighth Layer expert, had been duped into trying to stop Chen Xuan.
He couldn’t even withstand a single one of Chen Xuan’s attacks.
SCHLICK!
Chen Xuan’s blade split him in two, from head to groin. Blood geysered out as the two halves of his body were sent flying.
He was as dead as dead could be.
Chen Xuan tossed the horse-chopping saber aside and dashed forward, breaking out into the open.
"A dog like you dares to act tough in front of me? You deserved to die!"
[...Retribution Points +40,000!]
A line of text materialized.
Behind him, all that remained were the two halves of a corpse and a blood-stained horse-chopping saber.
Just as he vanished, the two distant experts, men comparable to those on the Earthly Ranking, rushed over at top speed. Their expressions darkened as they noticed the mutilated corpse on the ground.
"After him!"
"He can’t get away!"
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
They shot forward in pursuit.
At the same time, experts from other directions quickly converged and joined the chase.
...
Out in the open.
Within a deep mountain valley.
Fourteen figures appeared from different directions, trapping Chen Xuan in the center of their encirclement.
At the forefront were the two experts comparable to those on the Earthly Ranking.
The others surrounding them were all Grotto Heaven masters from various factions.
"Yama Chen, will this place suffice for your burial?"
One of the masked, black-clad Grotto Heaven masters sneered, his eyes like daggers as he stared intently at Chen Xuan.
"You little bastard! To act so arrogantly even in the Grotto Heaven... you’ve got some nerve!"
Another masked expert in black said coldly, "Get on your knees and kowtow!"
"That’s right! Kneel and kowtow, and we’ll spare your life!"
Several other black-clad experts sneered in agreement.
At the forefront, the two masters comparable to the Earthly Ranking watched with calm expressions, their arms crossed.
They showed no hint of urgency.
’He’s like a fish in a barrel. No matter how much he struggles, he can’t possibly escape.’
’Might as well toy with him for a bit.’
"They say a desperate man will do anything. Yama Chen, is that true for you?"
The tall, thin master on the left—one of the two comparable to the Earthly Ranking—spoke up.
Chen Xuan cracked his neck. His eyes turned a pale gold, as if burning with golden flames. "So you think you have me cornered?"
"And we don’t?"
The tall, thin master’s tone was dismissive. "So many of us have you surrounded, and we two have even shown up personally. I truly can’t imagine what gives you this confidence."
"Confidence can be a good thing, but overconfidence is just arrogance!"
The other master comparable to the Earthly Ranking sneered. "Chen Xuan, tell me. What gives you the right to be so arrogant?"
"What gives me the right?"
Chen Xuan smiled. He lifted his head, his golden eyes locking onto the two masters before him. His ink-black hair whipped about as a powerful, scorching aura—like a tremor shaking the earth, like a massive volcanic eruption—suddenly exploded outwards, blanketing the heavens and the earth and stunning his opponents.
His eyes held a hint of mockery.
"Then you’d better watch closely!"
BOOM!
Absolute Domain! Activate!
Innate Tyrant Body! Activate!
Primordial Unity Qi! Activate!
Primordial Barbaric Energy! Activate!
Indestructible Fist Intent (Level 2)! Activate!
Activate! Activate! Activate! Activate...
...
RUMBLE!
As everyone watched with expressions of pure terror, the man they had surrounded—the one who should have been waiting for death like a lamb to the slaughter—suddenly erupted with layer after layer of a monstrous, unimaginable aura.
With each eruption, a vast golden ripple swept outwards.
He erupted seven or eight times in succession, each time releasing another pulse of that scorching, terrifying aura.
By the end, it created the illusion that they were all standing in an endless inferno. The world above and below was a searing furnace, and the ground was a sea of molten lava.
Within the affected area, gravity and temperature multiplied a hundredfold.
Even for the Inner Realm masters present, it was nearly impossible to withstand!
"How is this possible?"
The crowd’s eyes went wide, their faces masks of horror.
It was as if they were witnessing the most terrifying event imaginable.
Amidst the terrifying, blazing golden flames, Chen Xuan stood with an icy expression, his black hair and clothes whipping wildly. A terrifying, unfathomable power radiated from his very skin and pores.
His golden gaze swept over them, seeming to pierce into the depths of their very souls.
It made them tremble in terror, the hairs on their bodies standing on end.
Even the two powerhouses comparable to the Earthly Ranking looked on in horrified disbelief.
"Your aura!"
"The Ninth Layer of Inner Realm? You’re at the Ninth Layer!"