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ArabicThe Protagonists' Chat Group: Beyond the Boundaries — Chapter 336
Chapter 336: Prodigy Battle, Xu Que Enters the Arena
“Good!”
The Foreign Realm Immortal King replied, his voice echoing across the void, seemingly pleased with the arrangement.
A single drop of fresh, vibrant blood, containing immense power, flew out from the black mist. Then, under the witness of the Heavenly Dao itself, the Immortal King made his side of the bet, binding his promise to the Laws.
Shi Jian opened his Dominator’s Eye, its gaze piercing through the chaotic mist. After confirming that the drop of blood was indeed the true essence blood of an Immortal King, carrying his unique Law signature, Shi Jian also signed the bet, adding his own drop of blood imbued with his Dao.
“Then let us begin!”
The Foreign Realm Immortal King spoke again. The black abyss behind him erupted, spewing out monstrous black mist that instantly formed a terrifying, oppressive domain over the battlefield.
One figure after another emerged from the churning black mist.
They stood within the dark domain, the surrounding air distorting around them, each radiating a terrifying Qi like ancient demon gods awakened from slumber.
Their combined Qi swept out like a dark ocean tide.
In the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, many watching cultivators felt immense pressure, their breathing becoming difficult.
…
“Is this what the so-called beings of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands are like?” a voice sneered from within the black mist. “Their strength is truly too weak. Pathetic.”
“Do such beings even deserve to be called our enemies? They are merely prey.”
Disdainful voices from the foreign lands emanated from within the black mist, filled with arrogance.
“You are merely the descendants of a group of failures! The Seven Kings of the Borderlands once groveled at our feet, begging for mercy! Do you worthless descendants still want to fight now?”
Hearing these blatant insults, the people of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands burned with fury.
Immortal King Shi snorted, colder than the void itself. Instantly, the Supreme being from the Foreign Realm who had just spoken among the black mist beings exploded violently, body and soul annihilated without a trace.
“How is it that I didn’t know I groveled at your feet?” Immortal King Shi’s voice was dangerously calm, yet it made the entire world tremble.
When an Immortal King became enraged, the entire world instantly changed color. The Laws themselves recoiled in fear.
The foreign landers, who had originally arrived with overwhelming momentum and arrogance, felt this terrifying Qi. They instinctively looked towards their own Immortal King for support.
However…
That Immortal King remained silent, showing no intention of making a move to retaliate.
He finally spoke, his voice calm but carrying immense authority, addressing his own people.
“Some strong individuals, even if they are enemies, should not be casually insulted. Remember this lesson in the future.”
Then, turning his attention back to the proceedings, he simply declared: “Begin!”
This Immortal King clearly didn’t care about the dead Supreme of the Emperor Clan.
He had a loose tongue and spoke foolishly.
Dying was what he deserved.
A King cannot be insulted. Even an enemy King demands respect based on his power.
It was fine to curse the weak Nine Heavens and Ten Lands in general.
But why specifically curse the Seven Kings of the Borderlands?
The Foreign Realm’s Immortal Kings had repeatedly tried to break through the Heavenly Abyss for an entire epoch, but were always blocked by the Seven Kings of the Borderlands.
Belittling the Seven Kings…
Wasn’t that indirectly belittling the Foreign Immortal Kings who failed to defeat them?
If all the Seven Kings of the Borderlands had died…
Then it would be fine if you cursed them. History is written by the victors.
The problem was that Immortal King Shi was standing right here, listening!
And this idiot was still spouting off right in front of him?
He absolutely deserved to die.
An Immortal King cannot be insulted.
Seeing their own Immortal King speak like that, acknowledging the fault lay with their own side, the foreign landers also lost their initial anger and quieted down.
Immortal King Shi snorted coldly upon seeing this, sensing the shift, and then let the matter go.
His attack just now had killed not just a Supreme, but potentially a few future True Immortal seeds among the observing Foreign Realm juniors whose Dao Hearts were shaken.
He had already profited significantly from that fool’s arrogance.
Since the Foreign Immortal King’s attitude softened and implicitly admitted fault, he couldn’t reasonably continue to pursue the matter further over a dead Supreme.
After this small, tense interlude…
Someone from the foreign lands stepped forward onto the designated battlefield between the realms.
“Having Cultivated for a hundred thousand years! Who among you dares to come out and fight?”
A master of one of the Emperor Clans stepped out. His voice was like thunder, piercing through mountains and shattering stones, carrying a sonic force that felt as if it could shatter one’s skull.
This was a true master of an Emperor Clan, clad in crimson battle armor. His figure was tall and straight, appearing very heroic, exuding a sharp and imposing Qi.
As he stepped out, Laws visibly descended around him, colorful and profound, like the beautiful and brilliant feathers of a divine Phoenix landing upon him.
This person was very powerful. The Void Realm shattered as he came, the path he walked becoming blurred and distorted by his sheer presence.
“I will fight you! Ling Xiao, Cultivating for 90,000 years!”
From the side of the Nine Heavens, a middle-aged man stepped out, exuding a powerful, aged Qi all over his body.
“Ling Xiao? Is he actually still alive? He was a young Supreme from tens of thousands of years ago! A legend! I thought he had already fallen in some past battle!”
Someone among the older generation recognized the middle-aged man’s identity with shock.
This was a being who had once suppressed an entire era long, long ago.
Many people thought he had passed away into the river of history.
But they didn’t expect him to still be alive.
He had been cultivating in deep seclusion, awaiting this final battle.
As his past glorious deeds were brought up, whispered among the crowd, many people in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands were greatly excited, their hopes ignited.
Ling Xiao walked forward step by step, his Qi growing stronger and stronger with each step. By the time he reached the battlefield, his face had reverted from a middle-aged man’s appearance to that of a spirited youth, his prime restored.
“Are you the only kind of trash the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands have to offer? Sending out relics from the past?”
The person from the Foreign Realm sneered, utterly disdainful.
Ling Xiao was not affected by his opponent’s taunts. Instead, he directly attacked. Both sides’ blood Qi surged like rainbows connecting heaven and earth, and crimson light shot into the sky.
Instantly, a terrifying power erupted, shaking the void.
The two engaged in a fierce battle.
…
After a hundred moves of intense battle, Ling Xiao clearly fell into a disadvantage.
His combat power was indeed outstanding, a legend among the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.
But compared to the prodigy from the Foreign Realm’s Emperor Clan…
It was still far inferior.
The cultivation resources, the heritage, the environment of the two sides were simply not on the same rank.
Compared to the resource-rich, fiercely competitive Foreign Realm, the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands felt like an era of declining Dao, lacking in foundation.
Ling Xiao was indeed astonishingly talented in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.
But compared to the top geniuses nurtured by the Foreign Realm’s Emperor Clans, he was still significantly behind.
After a few more dozens of desperate moves…
Ling Xiao was slain.
He burned everything he had—his blood essence, his Primordial Spirit—but still couldn’t heavily injure the foreign lander.
In the first crucial battle, the Foreign Realm achieved a great victory, boosting their morale.
“Hah! I haven’t even used my innate Divine Ability, merely using your world’s Laws to deal with you, and you already can’t bear it?”
The foreign lander laughed wildly, his arrogance reaching new heights.
He was from an Emperor Clan.
All direct members of the Emperor Clans possessed a powerful, unique innate Divine Ability passed down through their bloodline.
He hadn’t even needed to use his Origin Divine Ability. Merely using the Laws common to the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands was enough to easily defeat Ling Xiao.
The disparity was painfully evident.
At this moment…
Countless cultivators of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands were stunned into silence, their earlier excitement turning cold.
“It seems we’ve won this round?”
The Foreign Immortal King spoke nonchalantly from within the black mist, his tone casual.
Shi Jian was not surprised by this situation. He watched impassively.
The Nine Heavens and Ten Lands indeed couldn’t compare to the Foreign Realm in terms of overall foundation and the quality of top-tier geniuses.
The educational resources were different.
The intensity of internal competition was also vastly different.
The Foreign Realm emphasized the brutal Law of the jungle, with almost constant slaughter and life-or-death struggles from birth.
The level of slaughter and competition there…
Far surpassed that of the relatively peaceful Nine Heavens and Ten Lands!
It was only normal for the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands’ geniuses to be inferior.
That victorious foreign lander continued to remain on the arena, awaiting challenges from others.
“Nine Heavens and Ten Lands! Is there anyone else who dares to accept the challenge? Or are you all cowards?”
His arrogant voice rang out across the border.
His gaze swept towards Imperial Pass, and anyone who met his sharp gaze felt a chill in their heart.
Such an opponent was too terrifying.
Some younger Supremes from the Nine Heavens who had initially wanted to fight now hesitated, their confidence shaken.
After a moment of heavy silence, someone finally stepped forward again.
“I’ll fight you… Jiufeng, Cultivating for one hundred thousand years!”
This time, an old man came out.
He was gaunt, his skin wrinkled, and his hair was completely gray.
He looked frail, as if he didn’t have long to live.
Cultivating for 100,000 years, he was already an old baby, reaching the end of a Supreme’s lifespan.
However…
In this current competition’s rules (based on cultivation time, not age)…
He was still considered part of the “younger generation.”
Unlike the famous Ling Xiao from just now…
Not many people recognized Jiufeng.
He wasn’t very famous, likely a hidden expert or someone whose era had long passed.
Shi Jian looked at this person a few more times, his Dominator’s Eye seeing through the old man’s condition. “Your body?”
“It’s fine! Enough to slay him!”
The old man coughed up a mouthful of dark blood, then replied thus, his voice firm despite his state.
Saying there was no problem while actively coughing blood…
This made it very difficult for anyone to feel at ease.
However, Shi Jian did not speak further. He sensed the old man’s determination and tacitly allowed him to go on stage.
“Sending a sick, dying old man like you to the stage? It seems the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands truly have no one left!”
The foreign lander on the arena spoke with even greater disdain.
However, the old man named Jiufeng did not argue with him.
A hint of unusual redness appeared on his withered face, and then his entire body seemed to quickly recover, erupting with an extremely terrifying, albeit unstable, power.
The two instantly engaged in battle.
However, after only a few dozen rounds, Jiufeng’s complexion turned from rosy back to deathly pale. His borrowed time was running out.
The foreign lander became even more arrogant upon seeing this.
“Burning your remaining essence blood to fight me? Today, I shall grant you your wish and send you on your way!”
He pressed his advantage relentlessly.
Wanting to completely slay Jiufeng!
But at a crucial moment…
Jiufeng’s Qi suddenly surged explosively.
A blinding white light, containing the power of self-detonation, flashed instantly.
The foreign lander’s expression changed drastically. He quickly activated his innate Divine Ability to resist.
But it was too late.
He was completely slain, caught off guard by the terrifying power that Jiufeng suddenly unleashed in his final moment.
Jiufeng himself had half his body shattered by the foreign lander’s dying blow, and his condition was extremely weak, on the verge of death.
But he was still alive. He had won.
“First feigning weakness… then a desperate, suicidal last strike. Not bad!”
Shi Jian injected a stream of Azure Emperor Wood Royal Qi into the person named Jiufeng, stabilizing his injuries, then spoke with genuine appreciation.
It seems that within Imperial Pass… not everyone is useless after all.
Jiufeng had intentionally triggered his internal injuries as soon as he entered the arena, creating an illusion of weakness, luring the enemy deeper into complacency.
This was an extremely risky move.
His injuries were real, which was precisely why he could deceive the arrogant foreign lander.
Only then could he achieve a decisive victory with one final, all-or-nothing blow.
If he had dragged the fight out for even a moment longer…
Jiufeng would have died first.
This person entered the battlefield with a mindset of either succeeding or dying a martyr.
The people of Imperial Pass… were perhaps not as useless as Shi Jian had initially imagined.
At least after Immortal King Shi’s great purge…
These remaining people… the ones with true conviction…
Were worth saving.
After one of their top geniuses was slain, the expressions of the foreign landers became extremely grim.
Soon, another powerful master stepped forward to fight.
People from Imperial Pass continuously accepted challenges, but one after another, none were a match.
After several consecutive defeats…
The people of Imperial Pass were already so demoralized they were doubting life itself.
Several individuals who had genuinely forged invincible reputations over tens of thousands of years, all fell after stepping onto the stage, often dying gruesome deaths.
This dealt a severe blow to the morale of Imperial Pass.
Were they truly no match for the Foreign Realm at the same level?
Countless people began to doubt their own strength, their own future.
…
Shi Jian had been observing coldly from the side. Seeing the morale plummet and feeling the timing was right, he prepared to intervene in the bet himself.
The reason he hadn’t intervened earlier was simple.
Victory that came too easily…
No one would cherish it. No one would truly understand the threat.
Only by clearly showing these people the vast gap between them and the Foreign Realm’s elites…
Would they understand… what he, and the revived Shi Clan under his leadership, truly meant to the future of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands!
‘Treat them well, behead them, take them as dogs…’ Shi Jian recalled Meng Tianzheng’s words.
Since he had already decided to deal with the Foreign Realm and save the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands…
Shi Jian naturally wanted to maximize his own benefits from this act.
‘I’m already going to be the savior, so I ask you, who should the world listen to if not me?’
He wanted to be a savior, yes.
But he also wanted to seize absolute power.
Shi Jian did not want to end up like the previous Seven Kings of the Borderlands.
They saved the entire Nine Heavens and Ten Lands with their blood and sacrifice.
But ended up with no status whatsoever in the end.
And even their descendants’ reputations were to be tarnished, labeled as ‘Guilty Blood’.
Such a savior…
Even a dog wouldn’t want to be one.
If Shi Jian was to be the savior, then there should only be one voice in the world afterward. His voice.
And everyone in the world should praise his name, contribute to his Karma.
…
“Xu Que, you go.”
Shi Jian finally took over the situation, deciding to send his own people to the arena now.
Beside him stood Xu Que, who had been fidgeting, practically vibrating with impatience, unable to restrain himself any longer.
“If Heaven had not given birth to me, Yang Jian, the Great Dao would have been like a long night for all eternity!”
As soon as Xu Que appeared, stepping onto the battlefield, his entrance was earth-shattering.
[Inorin’s Note: Yang Jian (Erlang Shen) is a famous Chinese deity known for his third eye and martial prowess. Xu Que is imitating his persona. The quote is a parody of a famous line about Confucius.]
He was seen holding a gleaming three-pointed, two-edged blade. Strapped to his back were a mountain-splitting axe, a silver bullet golden bow, and a demon-slaying sword. His body radiated a terrifying Evil Qi mixed with an astonishing Killing Intent, appearing like a divine furnace burning with soaring, blazing light.
A vertical eye pulsed on his forehead.
This was one of Xu Que’s many Incarnations cultivated via System techniques.
Modeled after the famous Erlang Shen, “Uncle Jiao.”
Appearing at this moment…
Was solely to harvest bragging points (Acting Tough Points).
Appearing at such a critical, dramatic time was clearly the standard “protagonist entrance” treatment!
Xiao Yan and Lin Dong also wanted to enter the arena, but Xu Que had just returned from delving deep behind enemy lines, exhausted himself (supposedly), and achieved illustrious (though likely fabricated) military feats.
Xiao Yan and Lin Dong were too embarrassed to compete with him for the spotlight just yet.
“Exploding Heavens Faction’s Yang Jian!” Xu Que announced, his voice booming. “Also known as True Lord Qingyuan Miaodao! Illustrious and Sagacious King Zhaohui! Illustrious and Sagacious Benevolent and Protecting King Zhaohui! Lord of Sichuan! True Lord Chongning Huguo! Heavenly Venerate Daoji Hongjun! Emperor Huimin! Emperor of Sichuan! Heavenly Venerate Huguo Youmin! True Lord Qingyuan Miaodao Fuyou Taiyi! Benevolent and Sacred Emperor Huimin!”
[Inorin’s Note: Xu Que is listing out numerous exaggerated and real titles associated with Erlang Shen (Yang Jian) to inflate his own importance.]
“I have been cultivating… for a mere one hundred years! Today, I have come to fight you!”
Being watched by countless people from both the Foreign Realm and Imperial Pass, Xu Que was already hyped up beyond measure.
“A nameless junior? Who has cultivated for less than a hundred years dares to enter the battlefield? Go back and drink your mother’s milk!”
The current foreign lander champion burst into laughter upon hearing Xu Que ridiculously claim he was less than a hundred years old.
One sentence managed to offend two people: Xu Que, and implicitly, Xu Que’s mother.
Xu Que’s expression darkened instantly.
Information about this foreign lander surfaced in his mind, supplied by his System.
‘A descendant of the Crimson King?’
[Inorin’s Note: The “Crimson King” (Chì Wáng) is another powerful Immortal King lineage in the Foreign Realm.]
“I’ll drink your motherf***ing… milk!”
Xu Que, never one to suffer a loss in a verbal spar, immediately cursed back, his voice laced with killing intent.
This wasn’t really just cursing, though.
It was a statement of intent.
He would act upon it.
“Hmph! How dare you insult my mother?!”
The foreign lander instantly flew into a rage, his eyes chilling. He wasted no more words, and with a roar, he made the first move.
He immediately engaged in a bloody battle.
Using his most powerful secret technique right from the start.
He threw a punch, his body radiating boundless crimson light.
The punch was devastating. Within the vast desert battlefield, waves of golden sand surged like a tsunami, engulfing the sky and sun.
This scene was terrifying.
On the boundless battlefield, sand and stones flew, and hundreds of thousands of miles trembled under the force.
The Void Realm cracked open visibly.
Black fissures crisscrossed the sky, extending into the distance. The heavens and earth seemed shattered by this single blow.
This person was very, very strong.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to consecutively slay several supposedly invincible individuals from Imperial Pass.
But Xu Que was stronger.
Even if this was just one of his many Incarnations.
“Eye of Origin!”
“Open!”
Xu Que roared. A blinding divine light suddenly erupted from the center of his Yang Jian Incarnation’s forehead, the third eye snapping open. His entire being completely changed in that instant.
A brilliant, sacred light emanated from his body, and a terrifying Qi spread out, as if a true Immortal was about to be born within him.
This was a type of ocular Divine Ability.
One of the Three Thousand Great Daos that Fang Han had uploaded to the chat group.
Clearly…
Xu Que had cultivated this Great Dao.
And, surprisingly, had cultivated it to an extremely profound level already.
This Great Dao related to ocular Divine Abilities, the Great Origin Technique, was not considered the strongest among the Three Thousand Great Daos uploaded by Fang Han.
However…
Xu Que still prioritized cultivating this Great Dao.
Why? Because he claimed he had a benevolent heart, like a dedicated healer.
As everyone knew, cultivating was a very dangerous endeavor.
Bumps and bruises, internal injuries, hidden Dao wounds were inevitable.
Many people were injured and had hidden ailments without even knowing it, hindering their progress.
Xu Que, being incredibly kind-hearted, simply couldn’t bear to see such unfortunate situations.
So he cultivated this Great Dao. After cultivating this Great Dao, he could constantly, and thoroughly, observe others.
Observe other people’s bodies, inside and out.
Find other people’s hidden ailments, no matter how deep.
Especially those beautiful and well-endowed female cultivators.
Xu Que was particularly eager to help them find their hidden ailments and provide… personal treatment.
Xu Que’s third eye opened fully between his eyebrows.
A terrifying divine light, capable of seeing through origins and annihilating illusions, instantly erupted.
Wherever the divine light passed, the Void Realm shattered, illusions dispersed, and all things perished under its clarifying gaze.
“How is this possible!”
The foreign lander, descendant of the Crimson King, exclaimed in shock upon seeing his ultimate attack instantly disintegrated by the light.
These words also became his last will.
The divine light swept across his body, and his body instantly dissipated into the Void Realm, erased from existence.
One move!
Instant kill!
The beings from Imperial Pass and the foreign lands who were watching this battle fell into an eerie, shocked silence.
This ridiculously flamboyant newcomer, this “Yang Jian”…
Was actually so terrifying?
…
Xu Que’s Yang Jian Incarnation killed the foreign lander, striking a dramatic pose as the light faded.
However, his other Incarnation, currently disguised deep within the Foreign Realm, was rapidly searching for something specific among the crowd of watching foreign landers.
Suddenly…
His Incarnation in the foreign lands’ eyes lit up.
He saw a beautiful, mature woman from the Foreign Realm with a mournful, devastated expression on her face.
What was she muttering?
“Impossible…”
“My son… my son could never have died so easily… He was blessed by the Crimson King!”
The woman looked deeply distraught, tears streaming down her face.
Her sorrowful appearance, her voluptuous figure trembling with grief… was truly heartbreaking to witness.
‘Nah nah nah!’ Xu Que thought, his internal monologue shifting rapidly. ‘That kid I just killed was right. Not drinking milk won’t do this time. She clearly needs comfort.’
Xu Que’s expression became serious, righteous even.
He instantly offered a professional “treatment plan” from the perspective of a highly professional, caring “doctor.”
This woman was overly grieved by her son’s death. A clear sign of emotional imbalance!
She clearly had a hidden ailment. A deep-seated trauma!
‘Save her! I must save her!’ Xu Que resolved firmly.
‘I must save her thoroughly! Head to toe! Inside and out!’