The appearance of the man in purple had completely transformed; his bones bulked out, his skin sprouted feathers, and his hands morphed into razor-sharp, menacing eagle talons that glinted with a cold, sharp light. From his back, two fleshy lumps protruded near his ribs, bursting through his clothes to unfurl a pair of inky black wings, wreathed in fierce demonic flames, like the boiling wrath rising from some abyssal, netherworld prison.

A potent, savage aura saturated the air.

Watching the man in purple instantly activate his superhuman mode, Ye Chen's eyes were cold. He clenched his hand, and deep within him, a surge of energy seemed to open a massive sluice gate, pouring forth with overwhelming force. It coursed through his meridians, flooding every sinew and bone, a violent power threatening to tear his body apart from within.

Ye Chen felt his brain flush with blood, his eyes turning utterly crimson. His long black hair whipped in the wind, rapidly shifting from the roots to a vibrant scarlet, becoming blood-red hair. A translucent membrane grew over his skin as his internal genes drastically mutated; two sharp claws erupted from his chest, transforming him entirely into a Lightning Beast!

Cicada-like wings sprouted from his back, ripping through his garments, vibrating at an impossibly high frequency. A sharp horn shot proudly from his forehead, and his eyes burned with savage aggression, like a wild, enraged beast.

Having entered the Lightning Superman Mode, Ye Chen felt his body achieve a strength he had never known. Rampant factors surged through him, accompanied by waves of bloodlust assaulting his mind. Through the sharp horn on his forehead, he realized it contained an astonishingly terrifying power!

The Power of Thunder!

This small, sharp horn held a furious, compressed thunder, its density so high that its destructive force nearly matched the 5-million-fold amplitude amplification found in the cultivation manuals of a Half-God expert!

Ye Chen had no time to savor the feeling. He clenched his fist, and the air seemed to shatter under the pressure. Energy channeled from his foot meridians into the earth, rapidly tracing out the arcane pattern of the Nine Palaces secret technique.

Rumble...

The mountain-peak arena trembled violently. A majestic palace rose from the ground as if summoned, tearing through the soil and surging upward with an earthquake-like roar.

This palace was uncannily lifelike, with standing pillars and closed doors intricately carved with secret runes. Now, four great gates opened around the palace, from which four fiery red figures emerged, coalescing into the four Nine Palaces Guardians!

Ye Chen manifested the four Nine Palaces Guardians to defend the formation, not intending to use them to strike the man in purple. Instead, Ye Chen himself moved, shooting toward his opponent with blazing speed.

Swoosh!

A dark shadow sliced through the void. Ye Chen’s speed was akin to instantaneous teleportation; wherever he passed, the oxygen, carbon dioxide, and every other gas in the air, down to the finest spatial current, was violently displaced, leaving behind a vacuum.

The speed amplitude of the Lightning Superman Mode, at the second stage, was 100 times; now, it had reached an astonishing 800 times the speed amplification!

A faint flicker.

Swish!

Ye Chen materialized behind the man in purple like a phantom. His 'Awe-Inspiring Battle Blade' shot forward like a beam of light, slicing through the air and leaving a ripple in the fabric of space itself.

“Hmph!” The man in purple’s expression was icy, a trace of blood pooling in his eyes. His left pupil spun slightly, like a scanner, as he strode forward with unhurried grace, effortlessly evading the strike.

Ye Chen’s body did not pause. He pressed the attack, engaging in close-quarters combat, sticking to the man in purple like hardened taffy, unleashing hundreds of thousands of slashes, all of which were easily sidestepped.

Ye Chen’s gaze grew colder. Watching the constantly flickering figure of his opponent, a shadow of gloom settled in his heart. Despite the 800-fold amplification of the Lightning Superman Mode, he wasn't significantly stronger than the man in purple, whose eyes seemed far more perceptive than normal pupils, seeing through his every move.

Ye Chen gripped his battle blade, focusing all his attention on the man in purple who was dancing everywhere. Suddenly, an understanding dawned in his heart, as if fleeting images were crisscrossing before his eyes, constantly shifting...

At that moment, a phrase flashed through his mind: "All is illusion, all is reality; reality is illusion, thus the eye is blind but the heart is not; if heaven is blind, I am not blind!"

This was a core line from the close-combat technique of the God-Emperor level, Blind Heaven.

In this very moment, the sight triggered a nascent understanding within Ye Chen. His entire being suddenly calmed, and the boiling blood within him quietly settled down.

He closed his eyes.

The entire world fell silent.

"All is illusion, all is reality... reality is illusion, illusion is reality..."

The words echoed in Ye Chen’s mind, repeating, the feeling within him growing clearer. The pitch darkness he perceived with his eyes closed suddenly illuminated, becoming a world of blinding, magnificent light...

The man in purple, sensing the presence behind him vanish, turned to look. When he saw Ye Chen standing motionless in the center of the arena, battle blade in hand, eyes closed, a flicker of savage hostility crossed his gaze. He raised his long, divine sword, and with a slight twist of his wrist, the entire blade began to vibrate with an almost imperceptible frequency—tens of thousands of times per second!

This fine frequency of vibration was nearly invisible to the naked eye; thus, everyone only saw him lift the sword, which left a dark, trailing mark in the void.

The entire audience felt their breath catch, staring in awe at the man in purple, their reverence for the ‘Supreme Genius Hall’ deepening immensely.

"Die!" The man in purple’s eyes were frigid. His body vanished instantly. His two black wings flapped, whipping up a gale from the ground as he dove toward Ye Chen.

Swish!

This sword strike descended from above, like a plummeting meteor, disturbing the very void and carving a deep trench.

Under this strike, Ye Chen’s eyes remained closed, as if he hadn't seen a thing. The blade was about to cleave his forehead; a direct hit would surely split him in two.

Ye Chen seemed utterly unmoved, standing there straight.

But within his mind, the white light grew brighter and brighter, suddenly transforming into a field of white light points, suspended before him like distant stars.

At the very top, a dazzling, scorching point of light hurtled downward, carrying an aura of utter annihilation.

Ye Chen entered a peculiar state. His body slightly bent backward. The instant he began to move, a marvelous array pattern manifested around him, centered on his body. This pattern was composed of numerous lines and two colors of light points: one white, the other emerald green.

As Ye Chen’s arms and body moved, they brushed against the green light points.

On the mountain-peak arena, observers only saw that as the sword descended, Ye Chen’s body suddenly bent and slowly leaned back. His movements appeared sluggish, yet they left a trail of afterimages, allowing him to easily evade the lightning-fast, swift-as-flash strike!

The man in purple’s pupils contracted. Gritting his teeth, raging fire erupted in his eyes. He drove the long sword straight forward, aiming for Ye Chen’s face.

In Ye Chen’s internal world, he sensed an emerald green light point to his side. He leaned toward that point, and the white light point rushing toward him swept past the edge of his body.

In the outside world, Ye Chen, with his eyes shut, executed a casual side-step, effortlessly dodging the relentless pursuit. It was a divine maneuver, rendering the crowd floating on the cloud-like energy platforms above utterly speechless.

In Ye Chen’s world, behind the white light point, a fierce, vibrant red point appeared. He moved his hand, swinging his battle blade in a horizontal slash toward it.

This strike met no resistance and landed squarely on the red light point.

In the external world, a flash of light crossed the chest of the man in purple. Immediately after, his entire body exploded from the center of his chest, sliced clean into two halves!

Ye Chen’s battle blade seemed like the shadow of death. Everyone saw his strike—it was slow, so slow that it produced countless afterimages, as if he were merely drifting past.

The man in purple saw it too, of course.

But he was utterly unable to evade it. It was only a fraction of a second after his body was cleaved that the agonizing pain registered in his brain, and the shadow of death enveloped him. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. His lower legs shot backward, retreating rapidly, while his upper torso hovered in mid-air, pulling back with speed.

The two halves of his body snapped back together, the severed edges writhing and reconnecting the upper and lower sections. The man in purple stared, deeply shaken, at Ye Chen, who stood before him with closed eyes and tranquil composure, finding the situation almost unbelievable.

Ye Chen tightened his grip on the battle blade, his eyes still shut. He surged toward the man in purple with a demeanor as calm as water, as if he knew exactly where his opponent was. The battle blade cleaved straight toward the opponent’s head.

The man in purple’s pupils constricted. He retreated violently, grinding his teeth, and suddenly threw open his eyes, blasting two beams of purple light directly at Ye Chen’s forehead.

“Illusory Realm!” the man in purple growled through clenched teeth.

Ye Chen, who had been charging forward, instantly stiffened. His entire body shook, and he was jolted out of that strange state. A piercing pain shot through his brain, accompanied by a potent wave of willpower flooding his mind, attempting to seize complete control of his body.

Ye Chen immediately knew this was dire. He bit hard on his tongue; the sudden pain accelerated his brainwave activity. His spiritual energy flooded his mind, securing his consciousness.

The two forces of will engaged in a brutal tug-of-war inside Ye Chen’s skull, like two clashing ideologies arguing fiercely. He felt as though his head might explode, wishing he could shatter it with one punch.

Ye Chen endured the agonizing, swelling pain, feeling dizzy and unbalanced. He stared at the Nine Palaces formation in the distance. In his eyes, now firm with terrifying resolve, a brilliant spark flashed, as if he had suddenly seen through something. Not far away, the Nine Palaces formation trembled slightly, and the previously sealed fifth gate suddenly burst open!

Whoosh!

A red shadow floated out from within, rapidly condensing into another Nine Palaces Guardian!

In this moment of crisis, Ye Chen’s Nine Palaces Secret Tome, which had been bottlenecked at the fourth level, unexpectedly broke through, advancing from the fourth to the fifth level!

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