*Whoosh.*
Zhuo Gu struck first, his purple-gold demon spear flashing like lightning, tearing through space with a piercing sonic boom.
Luo Chen didn’t evade. Wielding the *Moonlit Blade*, he met the attack head-on.
*Clang.*
Blade tip met spear tip, sparking dazzling light.
A powerful shockwave forced both back. Undeterred, they charged again, brandishing their weapons in fierce combat.
Their speed was so great that most spectators saw only afterimages, unable to track the clash clearly.
Unlike the previous three wager battles, Luo Chen and Zhuo Gu’s fight leaned on weaponry and unrestrained melee, visceral and direct.
Seeing Luo Chen match Zhuo Gu evenly, Mo Sheng frowned slightly.
The intelligence gathered from the Peacock Manor battle seemed inaccurate. In just one and a half months, Luo Chen’s strength had surged, his mastery of the *Moonlit Blade* far surpassing before.
Mo Sheng had expected an easy win for Zhuo Gu. Now, it looked like a grueling fight.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. “It seems Fourth Senior Brother fully refined the *Moonlit Blade* during his seclusion, grasping its blade path mysteries. This blade suits him perfectly.”
“It’s a King-grade weapon. Anyone wielding it would gain a huge boost. I need to get one myself,” Jin Yu said enviously.
Zhang Ruochen replied, “I do have another King-grade weapon—a bow and arrow set. But it’s peculiar, self-sealed, and its power is less than the set I gave you, Third Senior Brother.”
He produced the *Azure Sky Bow* and *White Sun Arrow*.
As his strength grew, Zhang Ruochen hadn’t used them in ages.
Jin Yu took them, examining closely.
After a moment, he returned them, shaking his head. “This set’s odd. The seal’s formidable. I’ve no fate with it. Keep it, Little Junior Brother.”
Zhang Ruochen stored them, planning to unravel their secrets later.
On the battlefield, Luo Chen and Zhuo Gu clashed fiercely, both ignited with fervor, trading blows relentlessly.
*Bang.*
Zhuo Gu swung his spear, its shaft slamming Luo Chen’s chest.
Luo Chen countered, slashing the *Moonlit Blade* at Zhuo Gu’s neck.
He’d deliberately exposed a flaw to create an opportunity to behead Zhuo Gu.
*Pfft.*
Luo Chen flew back, blood spurting from his mouth.
Despite the *Radiant Merit Armor*, the spear’s force was too great, injuring him.
After slaying top Heaven Realm faction fighters in Saint Ming City and Peacock Manor, Zhang Ruochen had acquired multiple *Radiant Merit Armors*.
With his *Fire God Armor* and one gifted by the Merit God Temple, the extras were useless to him.
The slain fighters, ranked in the top 10,000 of the Saint King Merit List for over 500 years, meant the temple wouldn’t reclaim the armors.
Zhang Ruochen distributed them to Mu Lingxi, Kong Lanyou, Luo Chen, and others.
“Hm?”
Luo Chen’s eyes narrowed.
His blade had struck Zhuo Gu’s neck precisely, yet it didn’t decapitate him, leaving only a shallow cut healing visibly.
“That was a good strike. If my body weren’t comparable to an ancient relic, etched with divine patterns, you might’ve succeeded,” Zhuo Gu said coldly.
Nearly losing his head enraged him.
He now took Luo Chen seriously, recognizing his threatening strength.
Luo Chen frowned. Without a King-grade weapon, his strike might not have breached Zhuo Gu’s defense. His body was absurdly tough.
Zhuo Gu’s attacks were domineering, like a human tyrannosaur, nearly unstoppable.
No wonder he was the Black Demon Realm’s second strongest below Great Saint.
“Again!” Zhuo Gu roared, sweeping his spear.
Luo Chen didn’t retreat, meeting him head-on.
Against such a foe, losing momentum meant being dominated, with no chance of recovery.
Their battle was intense but caused minimal collateral damage, showcasing their precise control, wasting no energy.
Anyone entering their range would be obliterated by the shockwaves, lethal to ordinary Nine-Step Saint Kings.
In open space, their power could shatter stars.
*Clang.*
After prolonged clashes, Zhuo Gu disarmed Luo Chen, knocking the *Moonlit Blade* away, gaining the upper hand.
His eyes gleamed ferociously, pouring demonic energy into the spear.
Behind him, a towering Heavenly Demon phantom appeared, wielding a divine spear that pierced the heavens.
The phantom merged with Zhuo Gu, as if he became the invincible demon.
“Die!” Zhuo Gu bellowed, thrusting with unmatched dominance.
The spear’s surface glowed with 230,000 King-grade inscriptions, its edge tearing space.
*Bang.*
The spear struck Luo Chen’s chest, its terrifying force penetrating the *Radiant Merit Armor*.
*Pfft.*
Luo Chen spat blood mixed with organ fragments.
Yet, despite the grievous injury, a strange smile flickered in his eyes.
Seeing it, Zhuo Gu felt a twinge of unease.
As Luo Chen flew back, a ten-zhang thunder vortex appeared behind Zhuo Gu, radiating devouring force.
Before he could react, it swallowed the nearby *Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription*.
“No!” Zhuo Gu’s face twisted, lunging to break the vortex and reclaim the stele.
But he was too slow. The vortex vanished, his spear striking air.
Simultaneously, Luo Chen’s eyes flashed with thunder, spitting out a black stele.
As the *Inscription* landed in Luo Chen’s hands, Zhuo Gu’s face darkened, thrusting his spear in retaliation.
*Roar.*
A sharp spear light morphed into a ferocious black dragon, roaring and charging at Luo Chen.
Gravely injured, Luo Chen couldn’t dodge or block.
*Whoosh.*
As the dragon neared, a several-zhang spatial rift appeared, swallowing it.
A figure appeared beside Luo Chen, gaze icy—Zhang Ruochen.
“Zhuo Gu, don’t you know the wager’s rules?” Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
Zhuo Gu frowned, grunting, gripping his spear tightly, seething.
He’d been careless, not expecting Luo Chen’s cunning, seizing the *Inscription* by exploiting a moment of inattention.
Luo Chen’s meticulous planning and willingness to endure heavy injury created the opportunity.
Per the wager’s rules, seizing the opponent’s *Inscription* meant victory, no need for a deathmatch.
Perhaps Luo Chen had planned this approach from the start.
As Zhuo Gu fumed, Mo Sheng appeared beside him, glaring coldly.
Zhuo Gu’s heart sank. “Brother Mo Sheng, I—”
“A loss is a loss. I don’t want excuses. You’re done here,” Mo Sheng said icily.
Zhuo Gu shot Luo Chen a venomous look, then retreated to the Black Demon Realm’s ranks.
He felt stifled, not defeated by strength but by Luo Chen’s strategy.
Overconfident after gaining the upper hand, he’d aimed to cripple or kill Luo Chen, giving him the opening.
Zhuo Gu’s foul mood silenced the Black Demon Realm’s fighters, wary of provoking him.
“Little Junior Brother, I didn’t disgrace you,” Luo Chen said, clutching his chest, handing over both *Inscriptions*.
Zhang Ruochen offered a small vial of Life Spring. “Fourth Senior Brother, you worked hard. Rest and heal. Leave the rest to me.”
Luo Chen took the vial and returned to their ranks.
On the empty battlefield, only Zhang Ruochen and Mo Sheng faced off.
“I didn’t expect you to have so many capable allies. Quite surprising,” Mo Sheng said coolly.
Zhang Ruochen chuckled. “Surprised? That’s because you underestimated Kunlun. It’s natural—the Black Demon Realm got scraps of Kunlun’s legacy and thought it could trample us.”
“Words are meaningless. If you’re capable, take these two *Inscriptions* from me,” Mo Sheng said.
He produced two steles: the *Heavenly Demon Greedy Wolf Diagram* from the start and the *Heavenly Demon Yin-Yang Diagram*, depicting a supreme demon dividing yin and yang, inverting the cosmos.
Spectators gasped as Zhang Ruochen faced Mo Sheng.
“What’s this? Zhang Ruochen’s fighting Mo Sheng?”
“Mo Sheng’s a top second-tier below Great Saint, far beyond Cang Long or Yan Ba. What’s Zhang Ruochen thinking?”
“Path’s Anterior Realm challenging a peak Near-Path Realm? He’s mad. It’s only been a month and a half since Peacock Manor—how much could his strength have grown?”
“Zhang Ruochen’s not impulsive. If he dares fight, he’s confident. Watch—the answer’s coming soon.”
