Chapter 42

On Standstill Peak, Ye Yuanxue loudly ground her teeth. After getting wind of the life-or-death duel between Jiang Xiaofan and Ying Tianyang, she turned extremely very worried about Jiang Xiaofan and immediately headed to Standstill Peak. To her dismay, the naughty Perverted Wolf decided to tease her instead.

In the end, she could only hopelessly look at Jiang Xiaofan. “Can’t you take a break?”

Jiang Xiaofan felt aggrieved. This is no fault of mine! It’s that shameless Ying Tianyang who wanted to battle me! Out of my benevolence, I could only agree! I’m a very, very good person!

He reassured Ye Yuanxue to not worry because Ying Tianyang would suppress his cultivation to the Micro Realm. He feared no one in a fair match, even if his opponent was someone who had reached Phantom Saint first.

Very soon, news came out that the leader of the Hall of Spiritual Cultivation had agreed to their life-or-death duel. It was to be held at the martial arena on the following day. Once again, news of this caused a commotion within the sect and perturbed countless disciples.

After all, this was not just any duel but a life-or-death one. In addition, the two participants were unordinary as well. One was the renowned Emperor’s Heaven Sect’s number two core disciple and son of the Heavenly Sun Peak’s leader, an extremely powerful cultivator with a prominent background. The other was much weaker in might but was the most discussed figure in the sect. He had arrived at the Emperor’s Heaven Sect not long ago but performed acts that had shaken people to the core. He was nicknamed “The Vicious One.” It was impossible for anyone to not pay heed to their fight.

There were some who even opened bets. Those who lost had to pay a hundred yuan. However, bets were soon called off. This was because even if Jiang Xiaofan had a one-hundred percent chance of winning, no one was willing to bet on him. Rather, all bets were placed on Ying Tianyang as the victor. Upon hearing this, Jiang Xiaofan grew so furious that he wanted to vomit blood.

Not long after, a middle-aged man emerged in midair on Standstill Peak and peered down. Without even glancing at Jiang Xiaofan, he looked at Liu Cheng’an who was outside of the building complex and coolly said, “Elder Liu, today is the day in which my son and your disciple has agreed to duel. Since the Supreme Elder has given Standstill Peak to you, then you should come along with us to be a witness.”

“Indeed.” Liu Cheng’an nodded in agreement.

The date of their showdown was quickly approaching. The weather wasn’t very pleasant, and the sky was overcast. It seemed as if Heaven knew that blood would be shed on that particular day.

Crowding around the main platform of the martial arena were numerous people; however, most of the important ones had yet to arrive. Only the leaders of the Heavenly Sun Peak and Hall of Spiritual Cultivation were present. As for Liu Cheng’an, he was once an important person of the sect, but times have changed, and he now no longer had any ounce of status left.

Upon the main platform, the two figures stood face to face. Ying Tianyang crossed his arms behind his back. He donned a black robe, and his eyes were sharp as usual like a godly weapon that had been unsheathed. His body exuded an immensely strong aura.

On the other side, Jiang Xiaofan was much more relaxed. The corners of his lip were slightly curled upward. He naturally felt tense about the upcoming duel with Ying Tianyang; however, the pressure wasn’t too overwhelming. In a battle against someone of the same realm, Jiang Xiaofan was quite confident in himself.

“If you have any wishes left, say it now. I’m giving you time,” Ying Tianyang spoke.

Jiang Xiaofan disdainfully smirked and replied in a lackadaisical manner, “Same to you. State your wish.”

Ying Tianyang’s expression instantly turned icy. He turned his head and told the leader of the Hall of Spiritual Cultivation, “To ensure fairness, I ask of you to please suppress my cultivation down to the Micro Realm.”

Many of the spectators were startled. Even though they had heard that Ying Tianyang would suppress his cultivation in the battle against Jiang Xiaofan, they couldn’t confirm this piece of news. Now, they were certain that it was factual.

At the same time, they were also certain that even if Ying Tianyang did suppress his cultivation to the Micro Realm, Jiang Xiaofan would stand little chance of defeating him. To be more exact, they didn’t believe that Jiang Xiaofan would win because death would be his only outcome.

This battle was never fair from the start. Jiang Xiaofan was already at a disadvantage against a Phantom Saint cultivator even if their level had been suppressed to match that of Jiang Xiaofan’s. Ying Tianyang wasn’t someone who an average Micro Realm cultivator could compete against.

The leader nodded and raised his finger. A ray of divine line shot into Ying Tianyang’s body, and his qi immediately began to diminish. With his acute awareness, Jiang Xiaofan could definitely sense Ying Tianyang’s suppression to the Micro Realm.

Ying Tianyang was somewhat surprised that his cultivation had been successfully suppressed to the Micro Realm. That zombie-faced old man’s cultivation was indeed terrifying. With just a lift of his finger, a Phantom Saint cultivator’s power was lowered to that of the Micro Realm. Even though Ying Tianyang made no resistance in the process, the fact that the leader could do this with such ease proved that the leader’s might was beyond fearsome.

Among the crowd was Chen Yifeng whom Jiang Xiaofan hadn’t seen for a while. In a calm voice, he relayed his message to Jiang Xiaofan with his spiritual awareness. “Brother Jiang, be careful. Even though his cultivation has been suppressed, he’s still a full-fledged Phantom Saint cultivator. Although he is now at the Micro Realm, it is unwise to judge his combat power by ordinary standards.”

Jiang Xiaofan nodded at Chen Yifeng to express his gratitude for his warning. He was very fond of this man.

Then there were those among the crowd who wore wicked, sly smiles on their faces. They included Zhu Youwei and Zhu Yunlin. Even though Zhu Yunlin was still young, the look in his eyes was malicious and venomous.

“Let’s get this going!”

Ying Tianyang remained standing still with his arms behind his back on the platform. In a high and mighty pose, every cell in his body screamed contempt for Jiang Xiaofan.

You arrogant little shit!

Jiang Xiaofan coldly smiled. In an instant, he vanished and transformed into a ray of light, leaving only a blurry shadow from where he stood. In the next second, he appeared in front of Ying Tianyang, tightened his right fist, and ruthlessly smashed down.

“So fast!”

Someone from the crowd gasped loudly. Many others widened their eyes in disbelief at Jiang Xiaofan’s agility. Even the leader of the Heavenly Sun Peak was surprised. Only the leader of the Hall of Spiritual Cultivation maintained his stony expression.

The color on Ying Tianyang’s complexion changed slightly. Thanks to his Phantom Saint cultivation, even if it had been suppressed to the Micro Realm, his reaction time was nonetheless faster than average. At the very last moment, he blocked the punch by placing his two hands in front.

*Bang*

With his feet to the floor, he slid backward by several meters, leaving a pair of long traces on the platform.

“This….”

The crowd became speechless with many spectators bulging their eyes. What was that?! Ying Tianyang, the Emperor’s Heaven Sect’s number two core disciple, was pushed back with just one punch?! However, Ying Tianyang looked disconcerted as well!

“Perverted Wolf, keep it up! Send that Yang whatever flying!”

Ye Yuanxue yelled with excitement at Jiang Xiaofan, giving a scare to those around her.

This girl’s too audacious! That’s Ying Tianyang after all! The son of the leader of the Heavenly Sun Peak! Can’t you be a bit more scrupulous? How can you say that in front of the leader?! Aren’t you afraid of inviting trouble?!

As expected, the middle-aged man abruptly turned gloomy. He frostily eyed Ye Yuanxue.

Up above, Ying Tianyang’s expression grew more somber. “There’s not many within this generation who can push me back. While my cultivation has been suppressed, it is quite impressive for you to have done this!”

After he had spoken words of compliment, his tone then turned glacial. “Unfortunately, what a pity. You won’t get to live past today!”

“Do you only have false self-praises and threats? Don’t you think that you’re being a bit boisterous? Let’s try something new, shall well?” Jiang Xiaofan shrugged his shoulders and retorted with derision.

“Go die!”

This time, Ying Tianyang made his move and initiated an offensive attack. He extended his right hand with light-green rays radiating from his palm which then condensed into an energy sword and was thrust at Jiang Xiaofan.

Ying Tianyang’s sword qi shook the air around him. The main platform was soon enveloped by a powerful, suffocating aura. This prompted many onlookers to elicit exclamations of awe. Many of those in the crowd were ninth heaven Micro Realm cultivators, but even they felt terrorized by the qi.

Despite Ying Tianyang’s cultivation being suppressed to the Micro Realm, the fact that he could display such mighty combat power proved that he truly lived up to his status as the sect’s number two core disciple. He was no simple opponent to face off against.

The leader of the Hall of Spiritual Cultivation remained expressionless while Liu Cheng’an fretted and had his eyebrows furrowed. On the other hand, the middle-aged man revealed a smile on his face. He was very pleased with his son’s capabilities.

When he had named his son Tianyang, his hope was that he would become the strongest cultivator to ever exist in the Heavenly Sun Peak’s history. To his delight, Ying Tianyang hadn’t disappointed him. He was very strong, and his innate talent was extraordinary. He had stepped into the realm of Phantom Saint from early on. If not for Zhu Xidao, his son would’ve already been the most powerful cultivator among the youths.

*Fwoosh*

Jiang Xiaofan narrowed his eyes. With a flash of green light, he avoided Ying Tianyang’s attack and appeared six meters horizontally of where he originally stood. He could see that Ying Tianyang’s technique was the Thirteen Swords of Clear Moon. The only difference was that Ying Tianyang had already mastered it.

“Do you plan to keep running away?!”

After his attack had fallen short of piercing his target, Ying Tianyang turned his head to glower at Jiang Xiaofan.

“Run?” Jiang Xiaofan icily laughed and answered, “There is no reason to fear anyone who is at the same realm as me. So what if you were once at Phantom Saint? Don’t blame me for not reminding you. Since I have agreed to the duel, I have no intention of losing!”

*Boom*

In the next moment, Jiang Xiaofan moved. His whole body exploded with green light. Thirteen forms of sword qi materialized beside him. With a clutch of his right hand and under the control of his willpower, ringing sounds resonated as the thirteen swords sliced through the air and flew towards Ying Tianyang.

“Thirteen Swords of the Clear Moon! That’s undoubtedly the Thirteen Swords of the Clear Moon!”

“He already cultivated the Jade Purity Cultivation Method to the ninth level?! How could he do it so fast?!”

The people below were stunned. They weren’t shocked that Jiang Xiaofan had executed the only killing technique from the Jade Purity Cultivation Method. The main reason was that the execution of the Thirteen Swords of the Clear Moon implied that Jiang Xiaofan had already reached the ninth heaven of Micro Realm.

This show of display dumbfounded many people, especially the inner disciples from the seven main peaks. They had already been in the sect for many years, yet they were still stuck in the Micro Realm. To think that this Jiang Xiaofan had already reached this advanced level was too alarming for them. His cultivation speed seemed like witchcraft.

“Interesting!”

Ying Tianyang chuckled. Rather than retreating, he lunged towards the thirteen forms of sword qi. Likewise, Jiang Xiaofan dashed ahead. The thirteen forms of sword qi condensed into a giant sword with a loud *ring* and hacked downward.

In the face of such a powerful sword, Ying Tianyang next move astonished everyone. With neither fear nor hesitation, he raised his fist and welcomed the sword’s attack. He wanted to counter it with his physical strength!