Chapter 468: Played in the Palm of One’s Hand
Xie Ziwen gaped in horror at the flame ribbons that had already stretched beyond a thousand meters. He had not expected Xiao Chen to withstand the temperature of the flames.
After a moment of shock, Xie Ziwen reacted. He moved his five fingers to control the other five outermost ribbons, increasing their length again.
Xie Ziwen intended to trap Xiao Chen within the ribbons again. This time, as long as he managed to trap Xiao Chen, he did not mind spending more time and avoiding any risks.
Xiao Chen smiled when he saw the extended flame ribbons. How could he make the same error twice?
“Go down!” Xiao Chen shouted. He merged his Vital Qi and Essence. His strength reached 400,000 kilograms of force as he pulled on the five ribbons in his right hand.
Then, the crowd saw an astonishing scene. Unexpectedly, Xiao Chen had yanked the ribbons hard enough to send their master flying through the air, and he fell heavily towards the ground.
[TL note: It seems like the flames ribbons were attached to Xie Ziwen’s fingers, and he was not telepathically controlling them.]
“Bang!”
Xie Ziwen fell heavily into the river a thousand meters outside of the courtyard. A huge splash flew into the air, and the water rippled.
“Chi! Chi!”
When the flame ribbons fell into the water, they continued to burn. As water and fire did not mix well, the fire increased the temperature of the water until it boiled.
Steam rose ceaselessly from the surface of the river. Soon, the steam spread through the entire place.
Xiao Chen felt the flame ribbons in his hand start to weaken. He did not hesitate to yank the flame ribbons up. A huge force immediately tore Xie Ziwen from the water.
It seems that he cannot scatter this Dance of a Thousand Flames in an instant, Xiao Chen realized. Otherwise, the moment I had caught hold of the ribbons, Xie Ziwen would have scattered them immediately.
This is good. Xiao Chen gripped the flame ribbon with the dragon claw powered by his Vital Qi and Essence, flinging his opponent to the ground without pause.
Instantly, Xie Ziwen seemed bound by rope, and Xiao Chen tossed him across the ground.
Xie Ziwen’s body crashed into everything within a thousand meters radius of Xiao Chen. Every time he crashed into the ground, the impact created a massive pit.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Deep pits immediately filled the surrounding courtyard. The commotion from the fight drew the passing cultivators.
Xiao Chen, who was in the sky, looked like he was playing with a toy. He flung around a peak Superior Grade Martial King. Everyone’s jaws dropped; they felt that this scene was incredulous.
“Damn it! His strength is ridiculous!”
All of the outstanding talents from the various nations occupying the courtyard could not help but exclaim.
Surprisingly, Xiao Chen toyed with an expert from the Great Jin Nation’s Evil Moon Pavilion.
About seven minutes ago, perils had still surrounded Xiao Chen. In only seven minutes, the situation had changed completely. It happened so fast that no one had time to react to it.
“Xiu!”
Xiao Chen’s hand relaxed, and he discovered that the flame ribbons had already vanished. He examined Xie Ziwen on the ground and did not hesitate to rush over. His figure flashed, and as he flew closer, he executed the Roaming Dragon’s Nine Transformations, creating nine figures that looked identical.
Xie Ziwen lay miserably within a deep pit. His hair was messy, and his complexion was pale. Blood trickled from his lips, and his clothes were tattered.
When he saw Xiao Chen land, a look of hatred flashed in his eyes. He held his palms together, and rings of flames appeared, spreading out from his body relentlessly.
This was his one of his best techniques—the Flaming Ring Wind Palm.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The blazing flames carried a ferocious energy. They shattered all of Xiao Chen’s clones, making them vanish.
When Xie Ziwen saw the final figure in the air, he shouted coldly, “Die!”
Xie Ziwen pulled back all of his flame rings and gathered all of the fire-attributed energy into his right palm.
A flame as resplendent as the sun appeared on Xie Ziwen’s palm. The surrounding air seemed to be burned by this flame.
Countless stars appeared in the air. They glowed like fluorescent lamps.
“Boom!”
The palm wind struck the final Xiao Chen and blasted him to bits; he died without an intact corpse.
Oh no! It broke in one move! Xie Ziwen’s expression changed greatly.
Xie Ziwen quickly spun around and sent out a palm strike. An intense flaming palm wind instantly blasted outward.
“Ka ca!” Xiao Chen’s true body appeared. His right hand grasped his saber hilt firmly as he instantly executed Drawing the Saber with the fastest speed he could muster.
A purple bolt of lightning tore through the surging flames, hacking at Xie Ziwen.
“Pu ci!”
In the time for a spark to fly, Xiao Chen’s sudden attack broke through Xie Ziwen’s defenses, leaving a long wound across the other party’s shoulder.
“Bang!”
The surging energy from the saber knocked Xie Ziwen’s body back a hundred meters.
Flickering electricity lingered on Xie Ziwen’s wound. He was horrified, What Martial Technique is this? He managed to hide his killing Qi completely!
This fellow is too scary; I cannot let him live. Otherwise, he will become a big problem. He is already so powerful as an Inferior Grade Martial King. In another two years, he will be even stronger. By the time the Five Nation Youth Competition begins, he might even totally suppress me.
After Xie Ziwen made up his mind, he glared coldly at Xiao Chen and said, “Very good; you actually injured me. Cripple your cultivation now, and I will spare you from death. Otherwise, don’t blame me for forcing your fall.”
A saber light appeared on the Lunar Shadow Saber. Xiao Chen laughed softly and said, “You really are arrogant. Open your eyes, and look at the current situation. Stop living in your dreams and believing in the myth of the Great Jin Nation.
“Times have changed. Do you really think that this is still the era in which the Great Jin Nation Genius dominate wherever they go?”
The era of geniuses was just budding; geniuses had appeared everywhere. No matter who it was, if they were ignorant of the world and become arrogant, they would only be left behind.
Even he, Zie Ziwen, one of the top twenty of the previous Five Nation Youth Competition, would not be an exception.
Even the great powers had to set aside their previous mentality and be down to earth. Only then could they continue moving forward.
“It looks like you won’t shed tears until you see the coffin. You will immediately learn whether am I arrogant or not.”
[TL note: Not shedding tears until the coffin is seen: This means not to show regret until failing completely.]
Xie Ziwen snorted coldly and executed his state of flame to its peak. The temperature began to rise throughout the area within five hundred meters. Ethereal images of flames were scattered around the courtyard.
“Thousand Flame Palm!”
Xie Ziwen sent out another palm strike. The huge flame palm appeared so solid that even the palm lines were visible.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Xie Ziwen took a deep breath and released his killing Qi. His palm darted around quickly, and the flame palm that filled the air dove for Xiao Chen.
“His peak state of fire is indeed impressive,” Xiao Chen muttered as he watched the flame palm head for him.
Xiao Chen removed the stip of cloth from around his forehead, and the red mark there started flashing. The purple saber light started to flash scarlet as well.
“Wukui Breaks the Heavens!”
Xiao Chen grasped his saber with both hands and merged the state of thunder and state of massacre. The purple and red lights on the saber formed a strange beam of light.
When the Wukui Tree above him had completely formed, the beam of light elongated. With the aid of the state of massacre, the electric beam swept across the palms wildly.
When the beam of light touched the flame palms, it swept them up like fallen leaves. They then turned into sparks and vanished into nothing.
After breaking the other party’s Thousand Flame Palm, Xiao Chen did not relent. He used the Wukui Saber Technique’s eighth move, which he had never used before.
The hot and sunny day suddenly turned dark, and boundless thunderclouds spread across the sky as thunder rumbled. Xiao Chen’s aura rose to its limits.
Xie Ziwen’s expression vastly changed. His figure flashed, quickly retreating backward.
Earlier, when Xiao Chen had played with Xie Ziwen like a yo-yo, he had suffered significant internal injuries. After that, due to a lapse in judgment, he received a blow to his shoulder.
After Xie Ziwen had incurred multiple injuries, he thought that when he executed the Thousand Flame Palm with his state of fire, he could definitely defeat Xiao Chen.
Who could predict that this Xiao Chen would show one trump card after another? He had grasped two different states. When he merged the state of massacre and the state of thunder, he could suppress Xie Ziwen’s state.
Now, as Xie Ziwen witnessed this terrifying Saber Technique, the only thought in his heart was to dodge.
“Wukui Moves Heaven!” Xiao Chen shouted, and the thunderclouds in the sky moved as the saber directed. They swiftly gathered in the sky.
The thunder clouds formed a scarlet Wukui Tree trunk. The trunk grew rapidly, and leaves quickly covered the branches, covering the sky. The Wukui Tree was now a hundred meters tall.
“Rustle…! Rustle…!”
It was unknown whether it was their imagination or an illusion, but the instant the Wukui Tree formed, the crowd below felt as though the entire sky trembled.
The natural laws seemed to have changed. As Xie Ziwen retreated, he discovered that he was not gaining any ground.
Damn it! The natural laws have changed slightly. There is no way to dodge his attack, Xie Ziwen realized in horror.
The Wukui Saber Technique was an Ancient Era Martial Technique that the Thunder Emperor, Sang Mu, had modified.
The final three sure-kill techniques were each stronger than the one before it. They were at the limits of what a peak Superior Grade Earth Ranked Martial Technique could reach.
After Xiao Chen had learned the Wukui Moves Heaven, he had never used it. This move was so strong that even he was not confident of controlling it.
This was especially true when Xiao Chen merged in the state of massacre. He had no idea how powerful would it be after doing so.
Once Xiao Chen used it, no one under the half-step Martial Monarch realm could counter it.
Even a half-step Martial Monarch would not dare receive it head-on. If they did, they would pay a heavy price.
Xiao Chen would not use it unless he had to. However, once he used it, there was no chance of withdrawing the attack.
Xie Ziwen was strong and fairly talented. Since Xiao Chen had already offended him, there was no need to hold back.
Xiao Chen had to injure him severely and make him lose his qualifications to enter the Ancient Desolate Tower. Otherwise, he would only allow his opponent to grow stronger.
“Boom!”
Under Xiao Chen’s directions, the hundred-meters-tall divine Wukui Tree descended from the sky. Everywhere it passed, thunder roared, and scarlet bolts of lightning cut through the air.
The color of the sky changed as if it were the apocalypse. Xie Ziwen was startled, and his expression grew unsightly. He closed his eyes, and pressed his palms together. A gentle glowing flame slowly enveloped him.
Since I cannot run or dodge, I can only face it head-on.
When the Wukui Tree in the sky descended, Xie Ziwen suddenly opened his eyes. The surrounding gentle flames gathered into his palm.
