Chapter 180: Cycle Battle, Start! (1)

Chapter 180: Cycle Battle, Start! (1)

"What are we betting on?" Chen Xi's face turned a shade of pink. In such a grand setting, it was hardly appropriate for her to wriggle out.

"How about whoever collects the most War of Immortals Jades by the end of the first day's battle?" Yun Xiao proposed.

Chen Xi chuckled, "Your breakthrough last night sent you flying high, didn't it? Bragging in front of me now, are we?"

"Enough chit-chat! Are you in or not?" Yun Xiao pressed.

"I start with 99 more War of Immortal Jades than you," Chen Xi remarked with an air of nonchalance.

"No worries. Consider it a handicap," Yun Xiao replied confidently.

"Have you come down with a fever?" Chen Xi said, playfully checking his forehead.

"Are you in or not?"

"Of course, I am! But mark my words; no teaming up with the other four to let you win!" Chen Xi warned.

"With hundreds of thousands of eyes on us, I'd never cheat," Yun Xiao assured.

"What's the stake?" Chen Xi inquired.

"If I win, you have to promise me one thing," Yun Xiao said.

"What might that be?" Chen Xi eyed him suspiciously, sensing mischief in the air.

Grasping her hand and gazing deeply into her eyes, Yun Xiao whispered, "From this moment on, you don't get to die unless I give you the nod."

With that, he playfully pinched her cheek, and then, arm in arm with Stray Dog and Zhao Xiaotang, confidently strode into the War of Immortals.

And Chen Xi? She remained, momentarily stunned.

Afterward, the duo, radiant as sculpted jade, each headed to their designated section—the Arena Champion Battle and the Cycle Battle!

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At platform number one Yun Xiao, alongside his four companions, stepped onto one of the square cells on the checkerboard battlefield.

The square stretched three thousand feet in both length and width. Towering walls encircled them, reaching heights of over a thousand feet. Above them, a translucent formation sealed the ceiling, forbidding any escape by flight.

In essence, five thousand prodigious talents participating in the Cycle Battle were now caged like birds in ornate boxes!

"After entering, I can't keep an eye on Chen Xi's situation anymore... As if!" Yun Xiao mused internally. Over at the Arena Champion Battle, the Moon Fairy's eyes remained sharp. Every movement on that side was within Yun Xiao's knowledge. Now, it was a waiting game.

While it seemed like they were waiting for midnight, in truth, they were awaiting the final bets from every corner. The entire Heavenly Realm lit up, a dazzling display against the night. Tensions brewed beneath the surface. Hundreds of thousands held their breaths in anticipation.

Stuck on the battle platform and with time on his hands, Yun Xiao decided to cultivate. He began to consume pills that would attract the Wind Fire Tribulation, hoping to harness its power.

"Probably in the thick of the fight, that tribulation will descend upon me," Yun Xiao sensed.

Meanwhile, Chen Jin and the rest were gearing up, their final push before the grand event. Their eyes fixed on the black walls of the adjacent square. Beyond those walls were the elite talents of the Azure Leaf faction, ready for the showdown.

Without a doubt, they had all reached the Establishment Wind Fire Tribulation Realm. Even though the barriers remained intact, tension crackled between the two sides, like oil meeting water.

Many were aware of Yun Xiao's purpose for joining the battle. Rumor had it he aimed to publicly display the Eternal Joy's Sword Ring, to intimidate the Demon Continent and boost the morale and confidence of the human race. It was a critical move!

Opposing him was the likes of You Qingzhi and his group, determined to prevent such a display.

The moment the walls lowered, the five students from the Grand Temple who had taken the lead in the protest days earlier, appeared before everyone. Radiating righteousness and wrapped in an aura of nobility, they had the demeanor of their elders.

True representatives of the Grand Temple!

"Yun Xiao! You shouldn't have..." You Qingzhi, amplifying his voice, was about to lay some moral accusations, setting the stage for a lethal move. However, before he could finish, a sudden flash of white streaked from the opposite side.

"Where did he go?" Even Chen Jin felt the swift blur of that white figure.

Stunned, he whipped his head around. The figure they had been so ardently protecting, their pig had vanished from behind them.

"Look there!" Zhao Xiaotang's eyes widened, pointing ahead.

Chen Jin, Stray Dog, and Nangong Xu looked up. There, floating above the heads of You Qingzhi's group, was Yun Xiao.

The youth in white robes waved his hand with a flourish.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM! The night sky erupted with five consecutive, thunderous explosions. Out of nowhere, five massive balls of fire formed, blazing like five suns hanging simultaneously.

With a downward push of his palm, those fiery orbs streaked across the sky, illuminating the heavens, before crashing down onto the unsuspecting quintet.

"What the heck...?" A dazzling young woman named Chai Huachi went pale.

"Elemental Scripture, Fire God's Wrath!" You Qingzhi exclaimed in horror.

The five of them acted quickly, hastily conjuring defensive daoist spells. But they were evidently too slow.

Their spells had barely taken shape when the massive fireballs descended upon them, engulfing them entirely. A raging inferno spread out, and the five now charred figures were sent hurtling through the air.

At the Ascension Gate, at least a dozen officials from various Immortal Empires shot to their feet.

"Impossible!" Mu Tianshi's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. He growled, "Fire God's Wrath, how can there be five of them?"

Since the inception of the Grand Temple, there had always been just one! But now, there were five! Each one with a force several times mightier than when Yun Xiao had obliterated the demons in the Grand Temple. And all this in just a few days?

The battle had barely started, and Mu Tianshi's heart felt like it had been pummeled with rage, teetering on the brink of collapse. Everyone knew Yun Xiao was a prodigious genius. But his prowess always seemed to be one step ahead of everyone's wildest imaginations.

Five Fire God's Wraths, unleashed with such formidable force, rattled the entire battlefield in a single move.

And then, Yun Xiao landed on the ground with a resounding thud! With a thunderous roar, the ground quaked mightily, and countless mounds of dirt and rock surged like a tidal wave!

"Go!" The youth in white robes gestured sharply, and those mounds of dirt transformed instantly into golden sands, striking the five prodigies from the Grand Temple who were at the Establishment Wind Fire Tribulation Realm. It was like molten metal being poured!

"Ahh!" Chai Huachi was a moment too late with her defense, unable to escape the mad rush of golden sand. She was ensnared by the molten gold, turning her on the spot into a gilded statue.

In her final moments, her face held nothing but sheer disbelief.

What kind of monster was this?

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