Chapter 197 : Chapter 197
Chapter 197: Slaying Li Chuntian
High in the air, Lu Xiaoyao and Li Chuntian fought to a fierce stalemate.
Both were Immortal Stage cultivators, though the Azure Heaven Secret Realm's suppression had limited them both to the Peak of the Saint King Realm.
Yet with the depth of their foundations, fighting above their nominal realm posed no problem for either of them.
Moreover, Li Chuntian had been cultivating far longer than Lu Xiaoyao, and his combat experience exceeded Lu Xiaoyao's by a degree — which was exactly why he could fight Lu Xiaoyao to a draw.
Even so, Li Chuntian was inwardly stunned.
In all his years of cultivation, aside from those few ranked above him on the Prodigy Rankings, he had never encountered anyone who could match him in a fight at the same realm.
With a mighty swing of his sword, Li Chuntian drove Lu Xiaoyao back, then burst into hearty laughter. Razor-sharp sword intent erupted from his body.
"Interesting. You're the strongest cultivator I've encountered at the same realm in all these years. It seems I'll have to use my true strength."
"Heaven-Rending Sword Art!"
The moment Li Chuntian spoke, a chorus of gasps erupted from the spectating cultivators.
They all knew that the Heaven-Rending Sword Art was a sword technique Li Chuntian had created himself. It contained a total of thirty-two forms, and when all were unleashed together, its grade could reach Low Immortal-Grade.
For a prodigy of Li Chuntian's caliber, creating a Low Immortal-Grade sword art while still at the Immortal Stage was already an extraordinary feat.
Just as everyone was convinced that this technique would spell Lu Xiaoyao's certain death, Lu Xiaoyao instead let out a cold snort and voluntarily stowed his spear.
This left everyone puzzled.
The next instant, an enormous phantom of a mighty figure materialized behind Lu Xiaoyao. Simply looking upon it, one could feel the phantom's overwhelming power.
"Heavenly Emperor Fist!"
Lu Xiaoyao's tone was calm. As he threw a single punch, the mighty phantom behind him mirrored the strike.
Feeling the power behind that blow, Li Chuntian shuddered — but excitement quickly took over.
"Heaven-Rending Sword Art, Thirty-Third Form — Myriad Swords Unleashed!"
Li Chuntian swung his Immortal Sword without pause. All thirty-three forms of the Heaven-Rending Sword Art were unleashed in succession, their power compounding layer upon layer.
The spectating cultivators wore expressions of utter shock. Only now did they finally grasp Lu Xiaoyao's true strength, yet even so, they still didn't believe Lu Xiaoyao could defeat Li Chuntian.
The Heaven-Rending Sword Art's thirty-two forms could each individually overwhelm a cultivator of the same realm with ease.
The thirty-third form combined the full power of all the preceding thirty-two. Once unleashed, unless one's opponent was a peer of equal standing on the Prodigy Rankings, it was simply impossible to withstand.
As Li Chuntian slowly sheathed his sword, the combined thirty-two forms surged toward Lu Xiaoyao as one.
In the next instant, the Heavenly Emperor Fist collided with the Heaven-Rending Sword Art.
The terrifying shockwave forced the surrounding spectators to retreat from the blast, their expressions grave.
At the center of the battlefield, even Lu Xiaoyao was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Li Chuntian's technique to hold its ground against his Heavenly Emperor Fist in a deadlock.
But only for a moment.
Before long, the Heavenly Emperor Fist shattered the thirty-third form piece by piece, and the composure on Li Chuntian's face finally gave way to horror.
He hadn't imagined that anyone could defeat him — and at the same realm, no less.
Aside from the top three on the Prodigy Rankings, he couldn't think of a single person capable of besting him at the same realm.
Before Li Chuntian could think any further, the Heavenly Emperor Fist was already upon him.
BOOM — Li Chuntian's entire body was blasted into a deep crater.
Lu Xiaoyao stood in the sky like an unrivaled Heavenly Emperor, gazing down with a calm expression at the crater Li Chuntian had carved out.
Every cultivator who witnessed the scene froze in place without exception.
"Am I seeing things? Li Chuntian, seventh on the Prodigy Rankings, has been defeated?"
"Just what kind of ancient monster is that person? He actually defeated Li Chuntian."
None of them believed Lu Xiaoyao was under ten thousand years old. Otherwise, why would his name be absent from the Prodigy Rankings?
Lu Xiaoyao paid them no mind. His gaze was fixed on the depths of the crater.
At the very bottom, all four of Li Chuntian's limbs had been annihilated by that punch. His eyes stared up at Lu Xiaoyao in terror.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Me? Just an utterly unremarkable cultivator."
Lu Xiaoyao spoke slowly, then threw another punch. Inside the crater, Li Chuntian was now deader than dead.
This scene stunned the watching cultivators all over again.
Every jaw hung open. Clearly, none of them had expected Lu Xiaoyao to actually kill Li Chuntian.
Li Chuntian was seventh on the Prodigy Rankings and the Holy Son of the Immortal-Slaying Sect. Anyone who dared kill him would inevitably face the full wrath of the Immortal-Slaying Sect.
And the Immortal-Slaying Sect was an illustrious hegemon-level force in the Immortal Realm, with no fewer than four Immortal Emperors overseeing it. Its Sect Master was a Late Immortal Emperor powerhouse.
So after watching Lu Xiaoyao slay Li Chuntian, every one of them believed from the bottom of their hearts that Lu Xiaoyao was doomed.
Lu Xiaoyao couldn't have cared less.
You want to come after me?
Get past my Dao Practitioner father first.
After killing Li Chuntian, a jet-black mark flew from Li Chuntian's body and shot toward Lu Xiaoyao, imprinting itself directly onto his skin.
Despite exhausting every method at his disposal, Lu Xiaoyao couldn't erase it. But since he could tell the mark merely carried an aura and had no actual effect on him, he didn't give it much thought.
How fitting — every debt has its debtor. If the Immortal-Slaying Sect used this mark to track him down, he could simply have his father wipe them all out.
Outside the Azure Heaven Secret Realm.
BANG!
"What? The Holy Son has fallen inside the Azure Heaven Secret Realm?"
Deep within the Immortal-Slaying Sect, its Sect Master's face was dark as thunder. In his hand was a Soul Lamp, its flame already extinguished.
As Li Tiangu's furious aura spread outward, the Immortal Emperors and Immortal Venerables within the sect all came rushing over.
When they too learned of Li Chuntian's death, every one of them wore a look of boiling rage.
"Sect Master, we cannot let this slide!"
"That's right. Our Immortal-Slaying Sect finally produced a prodigy in the top ten of the Prodigy Rankings. We absolutely cannot let this go."
"Indeed, Sect Master! This matter demands the harshest response!"
Listening to his elders, Li Tiangu's face twisted with fury. "You think I don't know that? Pass down my orders — whoever killed our Immortal-Slaying Sect's Holy Son, we will pursue them to the bitter end."
But at that moment, one elder raised an inopportune question.
"What if... the one who killed the Holy Son is a disciple of the Ten Great Races?"
Li Tiangu froze. The surrounding elders fell dead silent.
Right. If it was one of the Ten Great Races, would they still want to press the matter?
Feeling the questioning looks from his elders, Li Tiangu snorted coldly.
"In any case, let's wait and see. If it is someone from the Ten Great Races, then... let this matter be put to rest."
As he spoke those final words, the rigid line of Li Tiangu's spine involuntarily bent.
If it was one of the Ten Great Races, annihilating their Immortal-Slaying Sect would be child's play.
Under those circumstances, insisting on revenge? Only a fool would make that choice.