The entire Platform Eight fell into a profound silence; even the fierce wind howling outside seemed to catch its breath.
In the recreation areas, the bars and restaurants likewise descended into complete quiet.
Tian Long froze, staring at Ye Chen's cold expression, a surge of anger rising in his heart. His face turned ashen, and he spat out, "Good, very good! Arrogant enough! I will let you know what the Hall of Geniuses truly means!"
Nine points this time—equivalent to one opportunity to observe the Heavenly Dao Stele!
Only the most monstrous existences would dare stake such a large number of points. In the entire Second Tier Hall of Geniuses, there could not be more than five such individuals!
Everyone in the recreation area looked at Ye Chen on the screen, astonishment flickering across their faces, before they subtly shook their heads, thinking he was too rash.
"A newcomer dares to bet 9 Divine Points against Tian Long!"
"Yun Long might not be the strongest, but he's still a genius listed on the Heaven Ranking!"
"Tian Long has struck gold this time. Ah, I'm so envious. If only I had made the challenge myself."
All eyes turned to Tian Long on the screen, filled with envy, secretly sighing that they had been a step too slow.
Ye Chen gazed calmly at Tian Long. "Let's begin!"
Tian Long let out a cold, mocking sneer. Though he knew this was a heaven-sent opportunity to win big, being looked down upon still fueled a fiery indignation within him. "I will show you that the people here are completely different from those you've dealt with before!" Tian Long extended his hand, gripping the massive battle saber behind him. The hilt was intricately carved with spiral patterns, providing excellent friction to prevent slippage during combat. Ye Chen’s expression remained icy as he tightened his grip on his own battle saber.
"Battle... Commence..."
The platform's intelligent system announced loudly.
"Nine Palaces!" Ye Chen hissed. The surrounding fighting platform trembled slightly, the earth and stone cracking as a majestic palace surged upwards from the ground. It pierced the surface, rising from the dust, entirely crimson like fire, with sweeping eaves and vermilion tiles. The stone pillars at the entrance were carved with strange, ancient, monstrous beasts, radiating an aura of primordial antiquity.
This palace stood lifelike in the very center of the entire platform, and upon its apex stood a solitary figure—Ye Chen, naturally.
Upon seeing the towering Nine Palaces, Tian Long’s pupils contracted, and he gasped, "Imperial Divine Scripture Secret Art!"
The gaze of everyone in the recreation area was fixed upon the majestic Nine Palaces. Its lifelike appearance caused most observers to startle, then furrow their brows, a look of solemnity creeping onto their faces.
Ye Chen stood tall on the peak of the Nine Palaces, his expression aloof, looking down at Tian Long. Blood circulated within him, and torrents of power were poured into his fists.
Amplification Secret Arts were divided into many categories.
Body Strengthening, Self-Detonation, Combat, Auxiliary, Defense, Profound Meaning, Illusion, and so on.
The Heavenly Dao Scripture was a Body Strengthening Secret Art!
The Blood Mystery Scripture was a Self-Detonation Art, fueled by incinerating one's own blood!
The Nine Palaces was a Combat and Auxiliary Secret Art, which also possessed defensive formations. It could be categorized as the Nine Palaces Great Formation, capable of sealing an enemy’s movements. However, Ye Chen had not yet had time to master the defensive changes within the formation.
The amplification from every type of Secret Art could stack!
But if they were of the same type, they could not stack.
Even though the Nine Palaces Secret Art, when fully cultivated, could only provide a 100-fold amplification compared to the 1-billion-fold boost from the Nine Layers of the Heavenly Dao Scripture, within the category of Combat Secret Arts, Nine Palaces was already the pinnacle Divine-level Art!
As for the Heavenly Dao Scripture...
In the entire ancient world, only one person knew the complete set of this Secret Art—the original Heavenly Dao Master who created it! Ye Chen had just obtained an opportunity to acquire the complete set, though he currently only possessed the second layer.
Ye Chen even suspected that the downfall of his Heavenly Dao Teacher was due to this very Scripture, illustrating just how heaven-defying it was—a true miracle among Body Strengthening Secret Arts!
A common Divine Being creating a Body Strengthening Secret Art could usually manage a maximum of a 10-fold amplification; achieving more was considered the absolute peak!
Tian Long’s expression grew serious. He stared at Ye Chen for a long moment before sneering, "So, you are from the Imperial lineage. No wonder you are so arrogant. Even if you are royalty, I will make you taste defeat today!" Saying this, he suddenly clenched the battle saber in his hand, his muscles bulging, his eyes turning blood-red, and his black hair flying backward as if his scales were growing thinner and sharper, like blades.
"Frenzy!"
Tian Long’s aura surged madly. His bones cracked audibly, his skin flushed crimson, growing as magnificent as a coiled dragon, exuding a savage and brutal energy.
The Frenzy Secret Art hailed from the peak arts of the Orc Civilization—a Self-Detonation type, similar to the Werewolf transformation of the Heavenly Wolf Civilization, capable of multiplying strength tenfold. Low-level Frenzy gave a 10x boost! Mid-level, 100x! High-level, 1000x!
Ye Chen’s eyes narrowed. He hadn't expected Tian Long to wield the Orc Civilization's Frenzy. Judging by his aura, it was well over a 10x increase, likely the Mid-level Frenzy!
Across the entire Ancient Continent, very few Divine Beings could afford to acquire the Frenzy Secret Art.
This art was similar to the Blood Mystery Scripture, except the Blood Mystery Scripture had no upper limit—power could increase endlessly as long as lifespan permitted. The pinnacle version of the Frenzy Secret Art, however, could only amplify power up to 10,000 times!
That was the limit!
"Mad God Blade Technique!" Tian Long roared, transforming into a raging, senseless, wild beast. He gripped his battle saber, pouring out his Half-God power, which slowly compressed and condensed at the blade tip, causing the entire saber to gleam golden. Blade energy, like a powerful aura, swept towards Ye Chen’s face!
This strike seemed intent on cleaving the heavens and earth apart!
An incomparably brilliant, jade-like blade radiance descended from the sky, aimed at Ye Chen atop the Nine Palaces, as if intending to split the entire formation in half!
Ye Chen felt the overwhelming battle intent within the blade radiance and a tremor ran through him; his senses were completely seized by it. He suddenly frowned, clenched his fist, and circulated the Blood Mystery Scripture within his body!
"Incinerate!"
Ye Chen’s clothes fluttered without wind. His black hair slowly began to transform from the roots, turning bright blood-red. His mass of bloody hair whipped wildly backward, and his dark pupils filled with a cold, eerie light. He stared fixedly at Tian Long, his entire internal aura skyrocketing!
10x!
100x!
1000x!
Ten thousand years of lifespan instantaneously transformed into energy surging like a vast river, fiercely pouring into his fists, and then streaming down through the soles of his feet into the entire magnificent Nine Palaces structure!
Humph
The entire Nine Palaces suddenly flared with blinding light, flames roaring skyward, the aura intensifying tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold! Around the palaces, the flames seemed almost tangible, forged from the essence of pure Divine Power burning fiercely. Several side gates of the palaces boomed open, and three balls of fiery red energy floated out, coalescing into three Nine Palaces Guardians!
"Explode!"
"Explode!"
"Explode!"
Ye Chen pointed a finger, his expression frigid. The three Nine Palaces Guardians roared and charged headlong toward the descending blade light.
Tian Long’s expression shifted as he felt this sudden change. "The aura, how could it increase so much? A newcomer actually possesses a 300-fold amplification!"
He felt a stir of apprehension, but seeing Ye Chen's cold demeanor only stoked his fury. He grinned menacingly, "So this is your reliance. Heh heh, 3 million times is nothing! I will show you what a 4-million-times amplification at the Half-God Realm truly looks like!"
He clenched his fist, roared up at the sky, his wild hair flying, veins bulging across his body. The power within him surged again, as if some mysterious force was enabling his strength, which had reached its bottleneck, to break through once more!
"Mad God, Fourth Slash!" Tian Long bellowed.
The battle saber in his hand suddenly whipped up a tempest of wind and sand, churning the clouds and mists above the platform into a vortex. Lightning coursed within it, drawn in by the powerful magnetic field radiating from Tian Long’s body.
Another strike—the heavens and earth changed color!
Tian Long gripped his saber, appearing like the sole overlord of heaven and earth. He raised both arms, the veins on his forearms distended, blood seeping from his pores, tinged with a tragic pallor, before he brought the blade down with a crash!
This strike seemed to slice through space and time itself, carving out a large swath of darkness in the void, splitting the very fabric of space!
This was power that surpassed the peak of a Pseudo-God, second only to that of a true God!
This golden blade energy seemed intent on cleaving the massive mountain peak, Platform Eight, along with Ye Chen, in two. Carrying an aura like a raging tide, it rushed forward, consuming Ye Chen’s entire field of vision.
Heaven and earth vanished before his eyes, leaving only that arrogant blade radiance expanding within his pupils...
The fierce wind suddenly held its breath.
Deep within his heart, something was churning and boiling?
The blood residing in the deepest recesses seemed to awaken from its slumber...
He suddenly clenched his fist, facing the descending blade light from above, fighting against the heavens, screaming to the sky!
"Aaaahhhhhhh!!!" he cried out!
Heaven and earth responded!
The wind and clouds across the entire world shifted color. The atmosphere of the mountain platform seemed to be drawn up by Ye Chen. He reached out toward the sky, and the rich shockwaves from the explosion of the three Nine Palaces Guardians rushed back like water from a whale’s spout, condensing onto his battle saber, causing the entire blade to turn blood-red, like the ferocious grin of a demon.
In the passage of time, this faint, blood-red blade glimmer slowly manifested, thread by thread, from the saber. Finally, it erupted in a blinding, ten-thousand-zhang blood-light that illuminated the entire world until it was dazzling.
One strike was unleashed!
All the lightning traversing the heavens and earth seemed to freeze; the clouds were dyed blood-red and ceased churning, and even the howling, roaring wind seemed suffocated.
This dazzling, crimson blade radiance, like a lover's lips, like a demon's fresh blood, carried an intoxicatingly bizarre glow, slicing toward the massive blade light!
BOOM!!!
The entire mountain platform erupted with a deafening tremor. The vast blade light shattered like a mirror, the sound heartbreakingly sharp, completely drowning out the thunder in the sky.
The crimson light, which had been obscured by the golden blade energy, like a demon emerging from the abyss, began to push back the golden blade Qi, inch by inch, illuminating the entire world!
CRASH!
The entire mountain platform shook violently downward. Dust and debris flew everywhere. Looking from afar, the entire platform was enveloped in murkiness, submerging even the bizarre red glow.
Everyone in the recreation area craned their necks, watching anxiously, wishing they could blow a breath to clear the dust cloud obscuring the platform and reveal the outcome within.