The Northern Fortress of Huaxia was in a state of high alert. Xie Ku and others stood below the fortress. Five days had passed since the arrival of the Spirit Race in Huaxia. Xie Ku, standing below the fortress with Xie Ru, looked at the numbers above the fortress and Chen Ling with an insatiable thirst. He longed to fight and engage with the opponent.
Xie Ru noticed the expression on Xie Ku’s face. This time, Xie Ru had no intention of stopping Xie Ku, as it was unnecessary. This battle was the final one. Even if the opponent received help from the Spirit Race, Xie Ku had already contacted "that adult," and someone would naturally intercept the Spirit Race then. They only needed to capture the fortress. Chen Ling and Ling Fengyun stood above the fortress. Ling Fengyun had originally intended to escort the princess back to the Spirit Race, but upon seeing the reason why the princess did not wish to leave, Ling Fengyun reluctantly stayed to protect her, as long as the princess was safe. The path back had disappeared five days ago, indicating that Ling Fengyun could not leave the Huaxia world.
Chen Ling and Shu Zi arrived at the top of the fortress. Shu Zi spoke first, "Xie Ku, you have no chance of winning. Leave quickly."
"We'll know after a fight. Die, my defeated foe!"
Xie Ku showed no fear of Shu Zi and the others. Even with the help of the Spirit Race, Shu Zi was merely his defeated subordinate. He only craved combat. Seeing Xie Ku’s demeanor, Shu Zi calmly replied, "I am not the same as I was before. Come, fight!"
Shu Zi’s figure transformed into a blur of light as he charged forward, and the two figures collided fiercely. This battle was the ultimate confrontation. The victory of Shu Zi and his allies would represent humanity's victory. After training for these past days, Shu Zi's strength had improved significantly. Facing Xie Ku now, he was evenly matched. Chen Ling watched from the fortress. This was a battle between the two of them, and they had no right to interfere. They had interfered twice before. Xie Ku’s patience had long since vanished. This time, Xie Ru had no intention of stopping Xie Ku’s fight.
In their clash, Shu Zi wielded his long spear. Each swing seemed to fuse with the spear itself. The spear thrust out repeatedly. Xie Ku countered the myriad spear shadows with his Evil Spirit Claws, unleashing them and creating vast claw marks in the space, causing it to subtly shatter. Shu Zi's spear shadows were gradually dissolved under the claw marks. Xie Ku was significantly stronger than before. Shu Zi dared not be careless, sensing Xie Ku was still hiding his true strength. Shu Zi had initially thought they would be evenly matched, but in reality, he found himself at a disadvantage. The confrontation had just begun, but Shu Zi could not retreat and engaged Xie Ku head-on, wielding his spear.
With each movement of the spear, Shu Zi's body moved in sync, like a dancing sprite, each move graceful and without any flaws. To Xie Ku, Shu Zi had indeed grown, but only a little. Xie Ku had not yet used his full strength against Shu Zi. To enjoy the fight, Xie Ku wanted to bring out all of Shu Zi's potential. Only then would the battle be truly exhilarating.
Xie Ku's claws shot out, colliding directly with Shu Zi's spear. With a boom, Chen Tian and Xie Shaotian's figures retreated. Xie Shaotian, seeing Chen Tian effortlessly handle his attacks and even possess similar strength, smirked. Chen Tian met Xie Shaotian's gaze. Xie Shaotian was very strong. Chen Tian had only used fifty percent of his strength and fought him to a draw. If Chen Tian used his full power, he could easily kill Xie Shaotian. However, the spatial seal here could not withstand it, which was why Chen Tian was only using fifty percent of his strength. Chen Tian feared the space would not endure, and he would be cast into the spatial turbulence.
Xie Shaotian dared not guess whether Chen Tian could use his full strength. In Xie Shaotian's eyes, Chen Tian in his current state was at his strongest. Facing Chen Tian, Xie Shaotian was excited. He hadn't had such a worthy opponent in a long time. This craving was something no one could understand. He attacked decisively. Chen Tian responded with his fists, and their fists collided with Xie Shaotian's claws. They were evenly matched. The aftershocks of Chen Tian's fists and Xie Shaotian's claws spread. Chen Tian lifted his left leg, Xie Shaotian mirrored the movement, and their legs crossed and collided. Chen Tian spun away, Xie Shaotian stopped attacking and retreated. Before he could stabilize himself, Chen Tian was already upon him. Xie Shaotian smirked and unleashed a side kick. Chen Tian's forward momentum suddenly halted, as his path was blocked by legs formed into blade energy. If Chen Tian continued forward, he would be sliced in half. Chen Tian leaned back, bending his body, and his legs swept upwards in a crescent moon trajectory, aiming for Xie Shaotian's jaw.
Xie Shaotian recognized Chen Tian's intent. He crossed his arms in front of his jaw to block Chen Tian's legs. His palms grabbed Chen Tian's legs, and his claws were infused with Evil Spirit Qi. To Xie Shaotian's surprise, the Evil Spirit Qi could not penetrate Chen Tian's body at all. Xie Shaotian had no choice but to throw Chen Tian away. Chen Tian's figure flew outwards and stabilized himself in the next second.
Xie Shaotian looked at Chen Tian. Chen Tian's body was unaffected by the Evil Spirit Qi, meaning his abilities were completely ineffective. Xie Shaotian hadn't intended to rely on his abilities to defeat Chen Tian anyway. Chen Tian and Xie Shaotian exchanged a look and soon collided again.
At the Northern Fortress, Shu Zi's figure found it increasingly difficult to resist. Under Xie Ku's onslaught, he was forced to retreat, inching closer to the fortress's upper edge. Shu Zi knew he could not lose; he had to hold on this time. Fierce resolve blazed in Shu Zi's eyes, and his aura surged. Xie Ku's attack was surprisingly resisted by the shaft of Shu Zi's spear. With a wide horizontal sweep, Xie Ku was sent flying.
A crackling sound erupted from Shu Zi's feet as his figure transformed into countless afterimages, attacking as one. Xie Ku laughed heartily, "Yes, that's right. The more you unleash your potential, the more exciting this battle becomes."
Xie Ku's body's aura intensified. Heaven only knew how powerful Xie Ku truly was. Shu Zi had already unleashed his extraordinary strength, yet Xie Ku's aura matched his. It could be said that Xie Ku had been conserving his strength all along.
Chen Ling stood on the fortress and asked, "Ling sister, do you think Shu Zi can win?"
"It's difficult. I know Xie Ku to some extent. He's a pure battle maniac. He'll do anything crazy as long as he has an opponent."
"Xie Ku is the weakest among the three of them, but his desire to fight is the strongest."
"Shu Zi's potential burst was all within Xie Ku's calculations. Xie Ku wants to force out Shu Zi's potential and then have a thrilling battle fair and square."
Ling Fengyun's solemn tone made Chen Ling worry for Shu Zi. The Evil Spirit Race was truly powerful. If Chen Tian was not here, could they really resist the invasion of the Evil Spirit Race?
Shu Zi threw his spear, transforming into a beam of light that shot upwards. The light pierced the sky and struck Xie Ku. Xie Ku's body glowed, and Evil Spirit Armor clad him. Shu Zi's spear had no effect on the armor; instead, it was sent flying.
Shu Zi leaped above his spear, grasping it and gathering power in his arm. His arm entered the spear, and the energy of heaven and earth swirled around it, forming the illusion of a drill. Shu Zi, along with the spear, descended, charging directly at Xie Ku.
Xie Ku saw that Shu Zi was finally unleashing a decent attack. This attack indeed made him feel a sense of danger. This was what a battle should be like.
Xie Ku's claws condensed power and extended outwards. The simple claws met the spearhead head-on, and he stood his ground. Xie Ku felt the power of the spearhead's drill on his claws and dared not underestimate it. He poured all his strength into his claws and gripped them.
A cracking sound echoed as the spear developed fissures. With a final bang, Shu Zi's attack exploded, and even the spear in his hand shattered into countless fragments.
Shu Zi sighed, his figure retreating. This weapon, which had followed him from the Divine Realm, could finally no longer keep up with his progress.
Seeing Shu Zi's weapon break, Xie Ku charged directly at him. Despite lacking a weapon, Shu Zi did not give up. He still had his fists, his body, and his will. He had to win this battle.
Two beams of light collided continuously as Chen Tian and Xie Shaotian exchanged blows. Chen Tian's legs kicked out rapidly, his legwork astonishingly swift. Xie Shaotian parried Chen Tian's offense with his arms, blocking all his attacks.
Chen Tian unleashed a side kick from his stance. Tremendous energy gathered in his legs, accompanied by energy fluctuations and whirlwinds, forming a vortex of energy before his legs. Chen Tian slapped outwards, hitting the vortex, which then surged towards Xie Shaotian.
Xie Shaotian conjured his Evil Spirit Qi into a barrier, enveloping himself. Chen Tian's vortex struck the barrier, causing it to show only minor cracks before it held firm.
Xie Shaotian raised his arm, and the barrier compressed into a circular shield, twice the size of his palm. Chen Tian's vortex was easily repelled by the circular shield. Xie Shaotian swung his arm to the right, and Chen Tian's vortex was thrown outwards towards Xie Shaotian's right. Xie Shaotian opened his hand slightly, and the circular shield transformed into a rotating light wheel that shot towards Chen Tian. Chen Tian felt that Xie Shaotian's mastery of Evil Spirit Qi was comparable to his own level-two energy control.
Compressing energy to such a degree required formidable control. Evil Spirit Qi, as a top-tier energy, could only be controlled in this manner with a mastery level akin to Chen Tian's. This fellow was a genius, a pity that all geniuses from his race were the same.
Chen Tian would not spare any of the Evil Spirit Race. Anyone who violated his original rules was a traitor, and traitors were not worth keeping alive.
Chen Tian faced the light wheel. The black light wheel seemed capable of cutting through the heavens and earth, approaching Chen Tian with the power to sever anything. Chen Tian stood calmly.
Taking a deep breath, he raised his arms and traced a pattern, forming a quadrilateral. The four corners of the quadrilateral were connected by four elemental energies, creating a net of energy.
Xie Shaotian's light wheel struck the elemental net. Sparks flew as the net rubbed against the light wheel. Chen Tian's elemental net completely trapped the light wheel. Chen Tian then compressed the elemental net into a four-colored orb with a black core.
Chen Tian threw the orb upwards, where it exploded. Chen Tian had effortlessly resolved Xie Shaotian's attack.
Xie Shaotian clapped his hands and said, "Not bad. You're worthy of my full effort. It's been a long time since someone could fight me. Let me enjoy myself a little more."
Xie Shaotian had been sealed for thousands of years. In this sealed space, Chen Tian was the first living being to enter in millennia. Xie Shaotian deeply desired to fight him. He had become somewhat rusty after thousands of years without battle.
Fortunately, with Chen Tian, he could regain his feel for combat. Chen Tian was unaware of Xie Shaotian's thoughts, and even if he were, he would have no cause for worry.
Five energies intertwined on Chen Tian's palm. The energies of heaven and earth were continuously converted into various energies under Chen Tian's control. Xie Shaotian's body was enveloped in Evil Spirit Qi. He was indeed an ancient Evil General; this potent Evil Spirit Qi affected the operation of energy within Chen Tian's body.
Chen Tian and Xie Shaotian unleashed their attacks simultaneously, two waves of light shooting forth. The five-colored wave and the black wavy light beam confronted each other. Chen Tian stood on the right, Xie Shaotian on the left. The light waves surged back and forth, advancing and retreating. An explosion suddenly occurred, and Chen Tian and Xie Shaotian were in a stalemate.