Chapter 724: Challenge

Chapter 724: Challenge

A vast purple sea appeared in front of Bai Wuxue—a vast sea made purely of lightning that swept out all the ice flowers.

“What is going on? Unexpectedly, a lightning sea appeared!”

“It’s Xiao Chen! That lightning sea is a mysterious phenomenon Xiao Chen materialized. He actually managed to block this move!”

Alarmed exclamations rang out as everyone’s expressions turned startled. They had not imagined that Xiao Chen would be this strong. He surprisingly managed to block this attack.

Jiang Zeyuan’s face turned blank. He said, “Wang Meng, you long since realized it?”

Wang Meng grinned abashedly. “I am the same as you. I could not see through that icy world. I just relied on the purest instinct of a bladesman.”

“Xiu!”

Suddenly, a saber light came from the lightning sea. No one could pinpoint its source. It flashed in the air, looking like a rainbow slashing through the sky. It moved so fast that no one could see it clearly.

Such a rapidly changing, unpredictable attack felt like death breathing down Bai Wuxue’s neck.

Bai Wuxue had rich combat experience accumulated over a long time. Furthermore, as a half-Sage, he had sharp reflexes. Hence, at the crucial moment, he managed to tilt his body quickly to the side.

“Chi!” A dim light flashed, and some strands of his hair fell, gently drifting to the ground. Death had just brushed by him.

“Dragon Subduing Slash, Return of the Azure Dragon!”

When his move failed, Xiao Chen immediately switched to the next one. Standing on the Azure Dragon image, he stopped cold the moment he arrived above Bai Wuxue.

Such an abrupt halt created a loud sound that made everyone’s eardrums tremble.

Then, Xiao Chen materialized a mysterious phenomenon of a vast sea from which 990 pillars of water shot into the air as an Azure Dragon leaped out.

Xiao Chen brandished a dragon-shaped saber Qi and used the momentum gathered by Return of the Azure Dragon to slash at Bai Wuxue’s head.

All this happened within a breath, starting from when the saber light cut Bai Wuxue’s hair until attacking him with a dragon-shaped saber light.

Xiao Chen did not give his opponent any chance or space to execute his Martial Technique.

At the crucial point of life and death, Bai Wuxue remained exceedingly calm. He brought out the full extent of his half-Sage cultivation, and his clothes fluttered wildly. Then, his hair all turned white.

Bai Wuxue released a bright, piercingly cold light from his hands.

“Ka!” When Bai Wuxue saw the saber approaching, he quickly clapped his hands, which were giving off the light, around the blade of the saber and clamped down on it.

“Boom!”

A horrifying energy wave exploded past Bai Wuxue, blasting out a hundred-meter-wide hole on the wall behind him.

However, Bai Wuxue’s body did not move in midair. Using his strong cultivation, he went head-on against Xiao Chen’s Heaven Ranked Martial Technique.

Everyone sighed at seeing the deep cultivation of one of the seven giants.

Blood leaked out of Bai Wuxue’s lips as he held on to the saber’s blade. Then, he smiled at Xiao Chen. “White Robed Bladesman, you really surprise me. However, you must be finding the cold Qi in your body hard to bear.”

Xiao Chen’s lips had paled slightly. Indeed, it was as Bai Wuxue said. He had not dodged that Dance of Snow completely. Even though he managed to evade the ice flowers, the cold Qi that appeared at the start had silently penetrated into his body.

“Just take care of yourself!”

Xiao Chen’s blood surged, and he instantly activated the sovereign’s bloodline in his body. The ancient, heavy, dignified king’s aura came gushing out at Bai Wuxue.

At such proximity, Bai Wuxue could not help but take a step back. However, he managed to recover very quickly.

Even so, this recoil gave Xiao Chen the chance to pull the Lunar Shadow Saber free of Bai Wuxue’s grasp. Then he executed the second move of the Dragon Subduing Slash.

Xiao Chen turned into a True Dragon and merged with the saber. He took a step forward in the air—and space trembled without end.

When Xiao Chen’s saber light flickered, it looked like a True Dragon swinging a claw in rage, swiping at Bai Wuxue.

Bai Wuxue’s expression changed slightly. With one glance, he could tell the extraordinariness of this move and the one before this. He had to use a Martial Technique.

“Dance of Snow, Hundred Flowers Striving!”

Bai Wuxue quickly flashed hand seals, and the snowflakes in front of him suddenly crystallized into all sorts of ice flowers: rhododendrons, peonies, roses, white flowers, and many other species.

These flowers constituted an enormous formation of flowers made from ice, competing with each other to be the most beautiful. A strange power took shape and locked down the area.

The True Dragon and the floral formation clashed with a loud report. Bai Wuxue and Xiao Chen each took a hundred steps back. For the first time, Soaring Dragon failed to send the opponent flying. Instead, it only barely pulled a draw.

The flowers disintegrated and turned back into drifting snow. The blood leaking out of Bai Wuxue’s lips looked especially prominent in contrast.

Just what kind of monster am I fighting? Unexpectedly, he even understands the essence of a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique.

Bai Wuxue stared at the ashen Xiao Chen. The shock in his heart was indescribable with words.

“How extraordinary! He actually managed to comprehend the essence of a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique,” the Passionate Young Master, Murong Lingfeng, said as he fanned himself gently on top of one of the True Dragon remains. He had fought Luo Zixiao to a draw earlier.

Standing beside Murong Lingfeng while resting his hand on the handle of his long sword, Luo Zixiao countered flatly, “However, his situation is not good. The Dance of Snow has a frost poison. He has probably accumulated a certain amount of frost poison already.”

Murong Lingfeng smiled faintly and replied, “He’ll be alright. Shui Lingling has already finished dealing with the other problems.”

Bai Wuxue wiped the blood off his lips as he looked at the pale Xiao Chen, who was clearly suffering from frost poisoning.

While Bai Wuxue prepared to make a move, he suddenly felt the weight of a dangerous gaze. If he made any strange move, he would perish immediately.

Bai Wuxue already guessed what happened. He looked around and indeed it was as he had thought.

Below, Shui Lingling had settled with the other people from the Extreme Yin Sect. Her purple longbow, which contained Immortal Qi, was now drawn back, resembling a full moon.

She had a pure Profound Sun True Flame arrow nocked on her bow as she eyed Bai Wuxue coldly; her meaning was clear.

With one glance, Bai Wuxue found the other Extreme Yin Sect disciples lying on the ground, suppressed by Hu Hai and the others. He knew that he was already at a disadvantage.

The priceless True Dragon remains worth cities was beyond his grasp.

Then, Bai Wuxue looked at Xiao Chen, sighing with great sorrow. When he first met Xiao Chen, he could push Xiao Chen into a continuous retreat without using even half of his power.

When he heard Xiao Chen challenging him, he only treated it as a joke. He considered a duel with Xiao Chen beneath his dignity and just wanted to kill him casually.

Bai Wuxue had never seen Xiao Chen as a real opponent, nor had he felt any danger from him. Thus, he never paid much attention to Xiao Chen’s challenge.

However, Xiao Chen’s strength had advanced rapidly in a short two months.

Bai Wuxue had used close to his full power, but he still failed to deal with Xiao Chen quickly. Instead, he ended up injured.

Now, he had to give Xiao Chen’s challenge serious consideration. He pulled back his hand to scatter his state of ice. Then, he looked at Xiao Chen and said in a cold voice, “Supreme Sky Sect’s Xiao Chen, as the top true inheritor of the Extreme Yin Sect, I now ask you, are you truly going to challenge me?”

Xiao Chen waved his hand to scatter his own immortal state of thunder. Then he sheathed his saber before replying calmly, “I already said it long ago and will not repeat myself.”

Bai Wuxue squinted slightly as he smiled coldly. “Good. In that case, today, before all the outstanding talents of the Tianwu Domain, I formally accept your challenge. I’ll give you a year. In this year, the Extreme Yin Sect will not send anyone to cause trouble for you.”

After Bai Wuxue said that, he flung his hand down and turned away. Then, he led the Extreme Yin Sect’s true inheritors away, leaving with a sullen expression.

Seeing Bai Wuxue depart, the many sect disciples all revealed contemplative gazes.

Since Bai Wuxue became famous, countless people had challenged him, intending to trample on him to establish their own fame. However, all these people fell to him without exception; they ended up humiliating themselves.

Bai Wuxue had faced hundreds of challenges. However, he had never formally accepted one. Yet this time, he acknowledged Xiao Chen’s before all the outstanding talents of the Tianwu Domain.

This recognition greatly surprised everyone, who looked at Xiao Chen with envy.

“After this, the name of the White Robed Bladesman Xiao Chen will spread throughout the entire Tianwu Domain.”

“That goes without saying. Bai Wuxue formally accepted this challenge, something that has never happened before. Many people will definitely pay attention to that fight.”

“Odd, Bai Wuxue had many opponents before this. However, he never acknowledged any of them. Could this Xiao Chen be that strong?”

“Bai Wuxue gave Xiao Chen a year. I wonder, what is he thinking?”

“As one of the seven giants, he undoubtedly has his own pride. He is not afraid of a true challenge. He probably did not take Xiao Chen seriously before.”

Bai Wuxue’s public acknowledgment of Xiao Chen’s challenge was like a powerful bomb exploding in a calm lake. Everyone started discussing this news; the place became very lively.

Xiao Chen’s gaze remained as calm as still water. He did not feel that Bai Wuxue’s recognition was a big deal.

Xiao Chen had always remained indifferent to fame. He only cared that Bai Wuxue had hurt him before, bullied him, and humiliated him. So he had to retaliate fiercely; that was all.

Xiao Chen gently drifted down and landed beside Shui Lingling. He said softly, “First Senior Sister, fortunately, I have accomplished my task and barely managed to block a few moves from Bai Wuxue.”

Shui Lingling smiled and said, “Don’t speak yet. I will use my Profound Sun True Flame to help you neutralize the frost poison in you.”

Bai Wuxue’s frost poison had already infiltrated Xiao Chen’s body. However, the situation was not as dangerous as everyone thought.

Xiao Chen’s physical body had already reached the standard of a Rank 1 Sage Body. His skin, blood, bones, and meridians had all undergone many rounds of tempering. The frost poison would face great difficulty breaking through his layers of defense to enter his internal organs.

Furthermore, he cultivated lightning-attributed Quintessence, which had a suppressive effect on this frost poison.

As long as he did not continue fighting, his body would slowly filter out the frost poison in time, even without any special treatment.

Xiao Chen knew his condition very well. However, it seemed impolite to deny Shui Lingling’s sincere wish to help him. So he let her clump of warm Profound Sun True Flame enter his body.

“Chi! Chi!”

The Profound Sun True Flame circulated through Xiao Chen’s body and quickly eliminated all the frost poison. The process went so smoothly that even Shui Lingling felt surprised.

After the Profound Sun True Flame cleared out the frost poison, Xiao Chen’s somewhat unsightly countenance recovered its glow, and he became more spirited.

Shui Lingling pulled her hands back and smiled. “Your physical body is horrifyingly strong. I really wonder if anyone in the younger generation of the Tianwu Domain can stop you when you become a half-Sage.”