Chapter 1 The Most Anticipated Outcome

This was the draw that Yun Jin had been most hoping for.

Because of the scandal involving the Holy Son, the Tian Sect had become a laughingstock.

And all of this was thanks to the Holy Son of the Di Sect!

Just this one thing made Yun Jin want to kill Li Shouzhen more than anything!

But the grievances of this arena battle didn't stop there.

The feud between the Tian Sect and the Di Sect had a long history, and the specific reasons had long been lost to time.

In any case, when disciples of the Tian Sect and Di Sect met, nothing good ever came of it.

Moreover, until yesterday, the Tian Sect had always been the one suppressing the Di Sect, mainly reflected in the Holy Sons of the two sects.

But since yesterday, everything had been reversed.

The Holy Son of the Di Sect had washed away the shame of the past, not only defeating the Holy Son of the Tian Sect, but also making him cry, which could be described as a great humiliation.

If the Tian Sect wanted to regain its honor, it couldn't rely on the Dao Lord, because, on the surface, the Tian Sect and the Di Sect were still friendly and harmonious, and the Dao Lord couldn't easily intervene.

Moreover, even if the Dao Lord did take action, he might not be a match for Zi Wei of the Di Sect; the two were likely to be evenly matched.

In this way, this arena battle became crucial, a key to many years to come!

The Holy Daughter of the Di Sect, Yun Jin, had enough reasons to only win and not lose!

She had to rely on her own strength to pick up the face that the Tian Sect had dropped on the ground!

"Young people can't hide anything in their hearts!"

Duan Yanzhuo said with a smile, "Yun Shidi, your Tian Sect's Holy Daughter seems to be holding her breath, wanting to prove something."

"Heh..."

Yun Lan simply smiled lightly, then took a swig of wine, saying nothing.

As for Dao Lord Zi Wei, her mind wasn't on the Heaven's Pride Battle at all.

Her thoughts had drifted to the various problems Chen Xiao would face after winning first place in the Heaven's Pride Battle.

Finally, the semi-finals of the Heaven's Pride Battle began.

For the audience, the competition had entered a white-hot stage.

But for Chen Xiao, this was just a warm-up, not even a warm-up, just going through the motions.

The two stepped onto the stage, exchanged superficial greetings, and the first match of the Heaven's Pride Battle semi-finals officially began.

"Why don't you just surrender? Your strength can't be above Yun Hao's, right?"

Chen Xiao said calmly.

He was sincerely suggesting that she admit defeat, so she could suffer less and he could save some energy.

"Hmph, surrender? The word 'surrender' doesn't exist in my dictionary!"

Yun Jin exclaimed, "I admit you're strong, but even if you're stronger, I must defeat you today!"

"Because I have a reason why I must win!"

As she spoke, there was a clang, and the long sword that Yun Jin carried on her back flew out.

Immediately afterward, overwhelming sword intent swept out, making the air somewhat viscous and stagnant.

On the high platform, even some Da Neng (great powers) in the He Dao realm showed shocked expressions, and they exclaimed.

"Such strong sword intent; who would have thought that the true strength of the Tian Sect Holy Daughter would be so strong!"

"How, how did she do it? Such a strong sword intent is probably comparable to He Dao, right?"

"No, this isn't her own sword intent; she seems to be staking everything on this one battle."

Upon closer observation, everyone finally discovered the clues.

And a bitter smile appeared on Yun Lan's face.

He took several large gulps of wine, and said with red eyes, "Yun Jin has been nurturing this pot of sword intent for over twenty years!"

Hearing this, everyone suddenly understood, and their faces showed an expression of 'so that's how it is.'

But Yun Lan wasn't finished speaking; he continued, "She originally intended to use this pot of sword intent to break through to the He Dao realm, but who would have thought that it would be used here!"

In fact, Yun Jin didn't need to do this at all; her mission had already been completed by breaking through and entering the top four.

She had already preserved the last bit of face for the Tian Sect.

But when she drew the Holy Son of the Di Sect as her opponent... it forced her to make this crazy decision!

After hearing Yun Lan's words, everyone was also slightly moved.

Who would have thought that the Tian Sect Holy Daughter would be so determined?

She was willing to go to such lengths to regain the face that the Tian Sect had lost.

Her unleashing this pot of sword intent that she had nurtured for many years meant that it was either success or death!

If she defeated the Holy Son of the Di Sect, then that would be fine; she could slowly accumulate the dissipated sword intent again.

But if she lost, her sword intent would completely dissipate.

And she would never again be recognized by the Shangxian (Upper Immortal) in this lifetime, which meant that she would never be able to step into the He Dao realm!

The Holy Son of the Tian Sect had already been frightened and his Dao heart was in chaos. In this situation, if the Holy Daughter of the Tian Sect also lost her qualification to enter the He Dao realm, then the Tian Sect would become the biggest loser in this year's Heaven's Pride Battle.

After all, nurturing a Holy Son and Holy Daughter required not only time, but also a large amount of resources!

"Sigh..."

Yun Lan sighed, then took a big gulp of wine, and muttered, "Why bother, silly girl!"

In his opinion, whether this match was won or lost wouldn't have much impact on what followed.

As the Dao Lord of the Tian Sect, he was close to true Taishang Wangqing (Supreme Oblivion), so he didn't care about losing face at all.

And most importantly, with his insight, it wasn't difficult to see that even if she unleashed the sword intent she had nurtured for over twenty years, his disciple's chances of winning were still slim!

The overwhelming sword intent enveloped Chen Xiao layer by layer, and the stagnant, viscous feeling made him feel a little uncomfortable.

But, only once!

The Tian Sect Holy Daughter's strike, betting on her entire life, only made Chen Xiao feel slightly uncomfortable.

And this discomfort was similar to the extent that a normal human would feel when bitten by an ant.

So, to put it bluntly, Yun Jin's sword intent not only failed to injure Chen Xiao, but didn't even produce a bit of blocking effect.

Bang!

Chen Xiao simply and rudely kicked Yun Jin off the stage.

Clang!

Yun Jin fell heavily to the ground, covered in dust and dirt, without the demeanor of the Tian Sect Holy Daughter.

It's over, it's all over... She had followed in Yun Hao's footsteps, and her entire being had been ruined.

She clenched her fists hatefully, pounding the ground, and tears of unwillingness streamed from the corners of her eyes, drawing a crystal-clear line in the air.

"Why? Why..."

She pounded the ground, then suddenly raised her head, her unwilling gaze shooting straight at Chen Xiao, "What do I have to do to defeat you!"

Chen Xiao frowned and thought for a while, then said lightly, "Your question is stupid; I refuse to answer, because you yourself know the answer."

After speaking, he strolled off the stage, returned to the waiting area, and waited for the final of the Heaven's Pride Battle.

On the high platform, Yun Lan looked at his disciple on the verge of despair and exhaled a mouthful of turbid air.

After that, he took another big gulp of wine.

The victor is king, the loser is an outlaw!

Losers don't receive much attention; everyone gives all their cheers and attention to the victor.

Even if this cheering is superfluous.

Yun Jin dejectedly left the edge of the arena and walked out of the crowd in disappointment.

At the same time, the second match of the semi-finals had begun, and the two sides of the competition had stepped onto the stage.

"Hey, kid, can't you take off that robe you're wearing?"

Duan Shishong shouted at his opponent as soon as he stepped onto the stage, "Let everyone know who you are!"

"Being able to enter the top four of the Heaven's Pride Battle means that your strength has already been recognized; there's no need to hide anymore... Although you can only stop here, it's not your fault!"

"You can only blame your opponent for being too strong!"

Duan Shishong found an opportunity and began to show off his muscles like crazy again.

Dao Lord Zi Wei had always felt that the path of the Ren Sect had gone astray.

After seeing Duan Shishong's performance, she was even more convinced of this view.

"You stinky toad from the Ren Sect, you talk too much nonsense!"

The black-robed man said coldly, then his entire body shot out like a cannonball.

Duan Shishong quickly raised his fists to meet the rapidly approaching black-robed man.

Bang!

The two collided, and after a burst of thunderous sound, they both retreated.

Step, step, step...

No more, no less, each person retreated five steps.

"Heh, interesting!"

Duan Shishong stroked his chin, "You actually want to compete with me in physical body, and you're not at a disadvantage? Interesting, interesting!"

As he spoke, golden light shone brightly on Duan Shishong's body, and a halo appeared behind his head.

Flames burned fiercely on the halo, setting off Duan Shishong like a war god descending from the sky!

"It's over, kid; after I defeat you, the first thing I'll do is take off that tattered robe on your body; you better be wearing clothes inside!"

Duan Shishong grinned, seeming to appreciate his own sense of humor.

"Heh, you stupid bullfrog, it's indeed over, but it's you who's finished, not me!"

After speaking, the black-robed man suddenly shook his body.

Immediately afterward, a giant snake hundreds of meters tall appeared behind him!

The giant snake raised its head high, and its triangular eyes emitted a venomous, ghostly light; it opened its bloody mouth, revealing sharp fangs and a scarlet tongue.

This was naturally not a real giant snake, but only a not-so-solid phantom.

That is—a Dharma Body!

"What? You kid have a Dharma Body? You're already in the He Dao realm?"

An extremely shocked expression appeared on Duan Shishong's face, and a hint of panic flashed in his eyes.

And on the high platform, everyone looked at each other, their eyes also filled with doubt.

The snake that appeared behind this mysterious black-robed man did indeed look like a Dharma Body.

But everyone knew very well that it couldn't possibly be a Dharma Body.

After all, who's Dharma Body would be a snake!

Duan Yanzhuo loudly reminded, "Disciple, don't be afraid; the kid on the opposite side is just putting on a show; that thing of his can't be called a Dharma Body at all, and he's not in the He Dao realm; don't be afraid; just do it!"

Although Duan Yanzhuo said this, he had already vaguely had a bad feeling in his heart.

He seemed to have guessed where this black-robed man came from.

And he was clearly not the only one who could guess this...