Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

Above the surface of the lake.

Streams of bubbles rose continuously. They were dark shadows, ascending from the depths of the lake to the surface.

Before everyone’s eyes...

The dense, dark mass was actually a host of human figures, all frozen in ice!

They were people frozen like ice sculptures!

Or perhaps, they were corpses sealed in ice!

The moment these Ice Corpses appeared, the surrounding air instantly grew frigid.

Goose-feather-like snowflakes began to drift down from the sky.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden, shocking turn of events, but after a moment, they came back to their senses...

"Look! That Ice Corpse is wearing a Storage Ring! There must be treasure inside, get it out of there!"

"And that one, the Profound Weapon in its hand looks like it’s Celestial Tier!"

"Hurry up and fish out these Ice Corpses..."

One by one, the experts began to take action.

The Ice Corpses, some adorned with riches, others clutching High-level Profound Weapons, immediately drew everyone’s greedy attention.

They all made their moves, beginning to retrieve the dead Ice Corpses from the Ice Lake, trying to claim the treasures they carried!

In contrast, Jiang Chen and Long Jingyun...

The two of them remained facing each other in mid-air, completely unaffected by the appearance of the Ice Corpses.

Long Jingyun glanced down at his trembling hands. The webbing between his thumbs and forefingers had completely burst open, blood gushing out. The corner of his eye twitched, his heart pounding in his chest. His eyes were filled with profound shock and disbelief. "How is this possible? How did your strength increase so much?"

He vividly remembered how, back in the Ice Hall, a single casual move from him had forced Jiang Chen to use his full power just to defend.

Back then, Long Jingyun held the power to absolutely crush Jiang Chen.

But now?

From start to finish in his clash with Jiang Chen, he, Long Jingyun, hadn’t gained the upper hand even once.

He had been suppressed by Jiang Chen the entire time.

Especially that astonishing sword strike from just now. When that attack came, Long Jingyun realized he couldn’t even muster the thought to resist!

That strike was simply too brilliant and too powerful!

This was a situation that only occurred when there was a massive disparity in strength between two opponents.

The thought that this guy he had always looked down on, this person he repeatedly called trash, actually possessed strength far beyond his own... Long Jingyun’s face couldn’t help but contort. His eyes turned bloodshot, and as his chest heaved violently, he let out a low roar. "Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! How can this piece of trash be stronger than me? It’s impossible!"

"Jiang Chen, I’ll take your life!"

A dragon’s silhouette suddenly shot out from behind Long Jingyun.

It was the silhouette of a Cyan Dragon!

Horns like swords, a serpentine body, scales like shields, and four talons like an eagle’s... An incomparably majestic Cyan Dragon. The moment it appeared, it bathed Long Jingyun in a brilliant cyan light.

A faint Dragon Aura emanated from him.

"Cyan Dragon Transformation!"

Two spheres of cyan light erupted from Long Jingyun’s eyes. The Cyan Dragon Martial Soul behind him suddenly fused with his body, activating the Dragon Emperor’s bloodline hidden within his veins!

ROAR!

Long Jingyun roared as his entire body surged with cyan light.

CRACK... CRACK... CRACK...

His long hair whipped wildly in the air as two skyward-pointing Dragon Horns suddenly burst from his scalp, standing erect atop his head.

CRACKLING sounds emanated from his body as gleaming Scale Armor grew out from his very flesh.

Every single scale covered his body.

A cyan dragon tail extended from behind him.

With a whip through the air, it produced a series of WHOOSHING sounds. He reached out with a scale-covered hand, and the Coiling Dragon Long Spear immediately flew back to him. It landed in his palm, spun a few times, and then his arm stopped. He pointed the Coiling Dragon Long Spear diagonally at the surface of the Ice Lake, and a fierce gust of wind rushed out, creating a ripple across the water!

A savage expression appeared on Long Jingyun’s scale-covered face. "Jiang Chen, this day next year will be the anniversary of your death. Now die!"

His voice had become hoarse and grating, like two pieces of metal grinding against each other.

As soon as he finished speaking, Long Jingyun—now like a humanoid Cyan Dragon—flashed forward, leaving a trail of afterimages as he charged toward Jiang Chen.

The Long Spear thrust forward, its unparalleled shadow filling the sky.

Jiang Chen’s gaze was like lightning. He held the Spirit-Slaying Sword and pushed forward, the light from his blade transforming into what looked like a Clear Lotus.

As the blade’s edge shifted, the Clear Lotus bloomed.

Waves of soaring Sword Qi rushed toward Long Jingyun like a torrential downpour.

Long Jingyun’s gaze was icy. Showing no fear, he charged straight into the rain of swords. The cyan Dragon Scales covering his body were incredibly tough; when the Sword Qi struck him, it was like being tickled, only producing a series of sharp, crackling sounds like popping beans.

With his physical strength alone, he tore through Jiang Chen’s canopy of Sword Aura!

The second-ranked expert on the Human Venerable List truly was extraordinary!

Watching from the side, the Great Sun Buddha King’s pupils constricted slightly. He muttered to himself, "Worthy of being the Dragon Emperor’s successor. Long Jingyun’s strength is truly terrifying!"

Songg Hee, who was beside him, also nodded. "Incredible. His combat prowess is a cut above even our own!"

Only the figure wrapped in a cloak remained silent, their fiery gaze never leaving Jiang Chen for a single moment.

...

BANG!

Jiang Chen took a blow from Long Jingyun’s claw. The robes over his chest were instantly shredded, revealing a distinct claw mark on his toned chest.

’Worthy of the Dragon Emperor’s bloodline. This Long Jingyun’s strength really has increased a lot after his dragon transformation!’

A fiery battle intent flashed through Jiang Chen’s narrowed eyes. ’But... a mere trace of the Dragon Emperor’s bloodline isn’t enough to make me, Jiang Chen, back down. I just happen to need Dragon Blood as a catalyst to refine the Fourth Revolution Tyrant Essence Pill. Your Dragon Emperor’s blood will do nicely!’

His crimson tongue licked across his lips.

A monstrous battle intent suddenly erupted from Jiang Chen.

"Thunder Realm!"

With a flicker of his Divine Thought, an ocean of lightning descended around Jiang Chen. Streaks of arm-thick lightning bolts howled, connecting heaven and earth.

Bathed in lightning, Jiang Chen was like a Thunder God as he unleashed waves of sharp Sword Aura.

"ROAR!"

Under the assault of the lightning, Long Jingyun let out agonized roars, the cyan Dragon Scales all over his body pulsing with light. He repeatedly thrust his Long Spear, and cyan flashes appeared in the void, only to be immediately scattered by the unparalleled Sword Aura.

"Celestial Flame Sun-Devouring Slash!"

Jiang Chen slashed out, forcing Long Jingyun to raise his spear horizontally to block.

CLANG!

The sharp edge of the sword struck the Long Spear heavily, sending a tremor through Long Jingyun’s entire body and causing him to drop a few feet toward the ground.

Jiang Chen seized the opportunity to pursue. "Fish Dragon Nine Swords!"

First Sword!

Second Sword!

Third Sword...

A full nine-sword combo knocked the Long Spear from Long Jingyun’s grasp. His Dragon Scales were shattered inch by inch, his body covered in gruesome sword wounds, and blood streamed from all over.

"Thunder Punishment!"

Jiang Chen held his sword in one hand and pointed into the air with his left.

RUMBLE!

A bolt of lightning as thick as a water bucket descended from the sky. It was the Thunder Punishment from the Five Thunder Secret Technique, drawing upon the Heaven and Earth Thunder Power. It crashed down, striking Long Jingyun. His body convulsed violently as the lightning blasted his Dragon Scales to pieces, leaving him a mess of mangled flesh. Blood spewed from all seven of his orifices.

’Time to take your life while you’re down!’

An icy glint flickered in Jiang Chen’s eyes. He gripped the hilt of the Spirit-Slaying Sword with both hands, raised it high above his head, and let out a thunderous roar. "Three Lives Technique—One Sword of This Life, Sever Yin and Yang!"

SWISH!

The sword tore through the air, transforming into a thin line that flashed past in an instant.

BOOM!

Long Jingyun’s body shuddered violently. A thin line of blood appeared on the crown of his head, then rapidly extended down the length of his body.

Finally, with a SQUELCH, Long Jingyun’s entire body split into two halves down the middle.

The two halves of his corpse fell toward the Ice Lake.

Jiang Chen waved his hand in the air, collecting the vast amount of Essence Blood. His expression was calm.

This scene...drew everyone’s attention.

Even the experts who were busy fishing out the Ice Corpses couldn’t help but stare, their eyes wide open...

Long Jingyun, the great second-ranked expert on the Human Venerable List, had actually been cut down by Jiang Chen with a single sword strike?

Everyone felt their throats go dry, finding it hard to believe...