Half an hour passed quickly in silent breath regulation. The setting sun had already dipped low, leaving only a streak of dark red afterglow on the horizon, casting long shadows of the chaotic wasteland and the three upright figures.
Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen opened their eyes almost simultaneously. After the rest, although their aura had not fully returned to its peak, their soul power had stabilized, and their fighting spirit was reignited. The sacred light around Qian Daoliu was restrained, yet appeared even deeper; Tang Chen stretched his arms and grinned, his eyes brimming with high-spirited combat intent.
Yu Yuanchen was also fully prepared, his level 54 soul power surging within his body, hidden but ready to burst. The purple lightning dancing in his eyes, however, betrayed his inner restlessness. Engaging in a chaotic battle with these two top geniuses of the current era brought immense pressure, but it also made his blood boil.
The three stood in a triangular formation, spaced about thirty meters apart. There was no referee, no rules; the only principle was—fight until the end!
The air seemed to solidify, and even the sound of the wind ceased. The wasteland was filled with lingering dust and a scorched scent, adding to the murderous atmosphere.
"Start!"
It was unclear who had let out the low shout, or perhaps their qi had simply reached a point of extreme tension, but the battle erupted in an instant!
The first to move was actually Yu Yuanchen, who had the lowest soul power level! He knew well that in front of two Soul Emperors, his soul power was his weakness; he had to seize the initiative and create chaos!
With a flash of lightning beneath his feet, he did not charge at either of them, but instead retreated rapidly while pressing both hands toward the ground!
"Purple Lightning Domain, open!"
Boom! A purple lightning domain with a diameter of twenty meters suddenly expanded, centered on him! Arcs of electricity danced wildly, accompanied by dull thunder, instantly shrouding half of the area occupied by Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen! Although the range was not as vast as Qian Daoliu's Angel Domain, the Furious Lightning Power and the energy interference effect were immediate!
Tang Chen felt his body go numb, his soul power circulation slightly sluggish, and he couldn't help but curse, "Damn it! Again!" He had a deep impression of the numbing effect of this lightning domain.
Qian Daoliu frowned slightly, his Angel Domain activating automatically. Sacred light and purple lightning clashed violently at the boundary of the domains, annihilating each other with a "hissing" sound. Although his sacred aura could purify some of the lightning, the energy interference caused by the domain still made him feel uncomfortable.
The moment both were affected by the domain, Yu Yuanchen moved! His target was clear—Tang Chen!
His body moved like a thunderbolt, his dragon-transformed right arm wreathed in purple lightning, and a condensed Thunder Dragon Claw struck directly at Tang Chen's flank! He chose to attack Tang Chen first, not because he deemed him weaker, but because he judged that Tang Chen, having just fought a fierce battle with Qian Daoliu, was more exhausted and thus a more likely target for a breakthrough! If he could join forces with Qian Daoliu to force Tang Chen out first, the pressure would be much lower when he faced Qian Daoliu alone.
"Good kid! You're targeting me first?!" Tang Chen reacted extremely quickly; despite being affected by the domain, his combat instincts remained. Facing the incoming lightning claw, he did not dodge or evade. His fifth soul ring flashed, the Clear Sky Body Protection instantly manifesting, and his Clear Sky Hammer swept out with a thick, powerful gust of wind. He didn't meet the attack head-on, but instead cleverly smashed at the side of the claw, attempting to deflect it!
However, this strike from Yu Yuanchen was a mix of feint and reality! Seeing the lightning claw about to be deflected, he flicked his wrist sharply. The dragon claw form shifted instantly, five fingers closing together to become an extremely condensed Purple Lightning Finger Sword. Its speed increased by another thirty percent, bypassing the hammer wind to stab directly at the relatively weaker rib area under Tang Chen's Clear Sky Body Protection!
"Clang!"
Lightning flashed, and the finger sword struck the protective light, emitting a harsh sound. The Clear Sky Body Protection fluctuated violently; though it did not shatter, the penetrating Furious Lightning Power still caused a sharp, numbing pain in Tang Chen's ribs! He let out a muffled groan and was forced to take half a step back.
Just as Yu Yuanchen attacked Tang Chen, Qian Daoliu on the other side moved as well! His choice was unexpected! He did not join forces with Yu Yuanchen to attack Tang Chen as the former had hoped; instead, he flapped his six wings, his figure turning into a golden bolt of lightning as he lunged directly at Yu Yuanchen himself! The Angel Sacred Sword, carrying sacred radiance, slashed at the left hand Yu Yuanchen was using to maintain the domain! Attack the enemy where they must save!
Qian Daoliu was meticulous; how could he be easily led by the nose by Yu Yuanchen? He saw that Yu Yuanchen wanted to join forces to eliminate Tang Chen, so he did the exact opposite, aiming to break this annoying domain first and weaken Yu Yuanchen's greatest advantage!
"Well played!" Yu Yuanchen seemed to have anticipated this, and he remained calm in the face of Qian Daoliu's surprise attack. While his left hand maintained the domain, his right arm retracted sharply, purple-gold lightning exploding on the dragon claw. The Thunder Dragon Claw reappeared, meeting Qian Daoliu's Angel Sacred Sword head-on! He actually intended to use his own strength to deal with the attacks of two great masters simultaneously!
"Clang!!!"
The Thunder Dragon Claw and the Angel Sacred Sword collided fiercely! Purple-gold lightning and sacred radiance clashed intensely! Yu Yuanchen's body shook violently, the ground beneath his feet cracking inch by inch, and a sweet taste rose in his throat, but he held firm, not retreating a single step! Qian Daoliu was also shaken by the claw, which contained the Thunder God Power, his arm going numb and his forward momentum halted.
In this moment of stalemate, Tang Chen, who had just been forced back half a step, seized the opportunity!
"Hahaha! None of you are getting away!" He laughed wildly, a glint of cunning flashing in his eyes. He didn't care why Qian Daoliu was attacking Yu Yuanchen; to him, both were opponents! His third soul ring lit up, and the Whirlwind Dance was activated once again! But this time, his target was neither Yu Yuanchen nor Qian Daoliu, but—the central area where the two were clashing!
The black whirlwind, like a giant drill, carried the momentum to shred everything in its path as it crashed into the turbulent energy where the Thunder Dragon Claw and the Angel Sacred Sword were locked!
"Boom—!"
The three forces collided with a roar! The already unstable energy instantly spiraled out of control, erupting into a shockwave more chaotic and violent than any before!
Yu Yuanchen bore the brunt of it, letting out a muffled groan as blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. He stumbled backward, the light of his domain dimming significantly. Qian Daoliu was also forced to drift backward by the sudden explosion, the light on his sacred sword flickering in disorder. As for Tang Chen himself, although he had timely activated his Clear Sky Body Protection to greatly increase his defense, he was still shaken by the chaotic shockwave, his blood surging, and the momentum of his whirlwind slowed.
Only a few seconds into the start, the first three-way collision ended in such a chaotic, intense, and mutually damaging manner! There were no allies, only mutual calculation and containment!
The chaos did not subside; instead, it intensified!
As soon as Yu Yuanchen stabilized his figure, Qian Daoliu's Holy Light Judgment was already upon him! He had to abandon the maintenance of his domain and use the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track Steps with all his might, his figure turning into multiple afterimages to dodge the golden beam of light by a hair's breadth. The spot where he had been standing was blasted into a charred crater.
Tang Chen seized the chance to swing his Clear Sky Hammer, unleashing a powerful Soaring Strike toward Qian Daoliu, whose aura had slightly dipped after releasing the Holy Light Judgment!
Qian Daoliu snorted coldly, an Angel's Guard light shield appearing to resist the hammer, while simultaneously unleashing a Holy Spirit Slash. Several golden sword beams slashed toward Tang Chen's lower body, forcing him to retreat to defend.
Yu Yuanchen spotted an opportunity and redeployed his domain, though this time the range was smaller, covering only ten meters around himself to ensure self-preservation and interference. He moved like a slippery Electric Eel, skirting the edge of the battlefield, occasionally harassing the two with his Purple Lightning Finger Sword or condensed Thunder Palm Print. He focused on attacking when their old strength was spent and new strength had not yet arisen, or at critical moments when the two were about to clash, forcing his way in to muddy the waters further.
Tang Chen's fighting style was fierce and aggressive; he often disregarded his own defense to attack with full force, attempting to break the stalemate with absolute power. His Clear Sky Hammer would sometimes smash toward Qian Daoliu like a falling mountain, and at other times sneak-attack Yu Yuanchen like a viper, forcing both to divert energy to deal with him.
Qian Daoliu maintained his elegant and efficient style. He activated and retracted his Angel Domain precisely to weaken his opponents and boost himself. His attacks often appeared at the most unexpected moments, with tricky angles and condensed power. He would sometimes clash head-on with Tang Chen to test his power limits, and at other times launch a lightning-fast surprise attack on Yu Yuanchen, forcing him to consume soul power to defend or dodge.
In this three-way melee, the situation changed in the blink of an eye!
Yu Yuanchen once attempted to "tacitly" join Qian Daoliu in a pincer attack on Tang Chen; he used his domain to interfere with Tang Chen while launching a Thunder Dragon Shatters Void directly at his back. Qian Daoliu indeed understood the intent, and his Angel Sacred Sword thrust toward Tang Chen's chest. However, at the critical moment, Tang Chen used his Whirlwind Dance to forcibly change direction. Instead of blocking, he smashed his Clear Sky Hammer into the ground—his fifth soul skill, Earthquake Mountain! The terrifying seismic wave not only neutralized the pincer attack but also left both Yu Yuanchen and Qian Daoliu unsteady!
Qian Daoliu had also once "unintentionally" formed an encirclement with Tang Chen, forcing Yu Yuanchen into a corner. Tang Chen attacked from the front, and Qian Daoliu blocked from the air. Just as it seemed Yu Yuanchen had nowhere to hide, he suddenly compressed his domain to the limit, turning it into a purple lightning sphere to protect his body. He took the brunt of Tang Chen's hammer, and used the force to crash backward into Qian Daoliu! Qian Daoliu, unwilling to take the lightning sphere—which contained a rebounding force—head-on, was forced to dodge, and the encirclement was instantly broken.
As the battle reached a fever pitch, all three were wounded. Yu Yuanchen's clothes were torn in many places, revealing skin that shimmered with a faint purple-gold luster—a sign of his Bloodline Power acting as an automatic defense. Tang Chen had several charred lightning marks and sacred light burns on his body, his breathing becoming heavy. Qian Daoliu's wings were no longer as pristine as they had been at the start, stained with dust and scorch marks.
The consumption of soul power was even more immense. Yu Yuanchen's domain could no longer be maintained for long and began to flicker intermittently; Tang Chen's swings of the Clear Sky Hammer were clearly a fraction slower; the light of Qian Daoliu's Angel Domain had also dimmed significantly.
However, the eyes of the three grew sharper, and their fighting spirit soared even higher! They all knew that the critical moment to decide the outcome was approaching. On this chaotic battlefield, whoever could seize that fleeting opportunity would be the one to have the last laugh!
On the wasteland, lightning, sacred light, and hammer shadows wove together into a violent and magnificent scroll painting.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: GodKun-Chan