In the arena, Shitian’s face was ashen with rage!
He had challenged both Ye Xuan and Dao Ling to fight together, intending to crush their momentum. But he never imagined they’d be so shameless as to actually team up!
*Damn it!*
*Have they no shame?*
Even worse, he hadn’t anticipated their combined strength would be so terrifying!
In the distance, Ye Xuan suddenly called out, “Still fighting?”
Shitian glared at him. “One-on-one!”
Ye Xuan frowned. “Didn’t you say both of us should come at you?”
Shitian roared, “Now I want a duel!”
Ye Xuan said calmly, “Can’t handle it?”
Shitian’s gaze turned ferocious. “You two ganging up—don’t you have any shame?”
Ye Xuan looked puzzled. “You told us to come at you together!”
Shitian fixed his stare on Ye Xuan. “Now, I want a duel!”
Ye Xuan turned to Dao Ling. “He wants a duel now!”
Dao Ling thought for a moment, then said, “Shameless!”
Ye Xuan: “…”
Shitian suddenly spoke, “Fine, I admit I can’t beat you two together. But don’t you have the guts for a one-on-one?”
His expression had calmed, the earlier agitation and ferocity gone from his eyes.
By admitting he couldn’t win against them combined, he restored his mental clarity.
As a prodigy, he wouldn’t let Ye Xuan and Dao Ling’s words shatter his mindset.
Ye Xuan glanced at Shitian. He had to admit, this guy was different from past opponents. Not only was his strength formidable, but his mentality was nearly flawless, impervious to verbal attacks!
Ye Xuan turned to Dao Ling. “You or me?”
Dao Ling thought, then said, “I’ll do it!”
With that, he stepped forward.
*Boom!*
A terrifying aura surged from Dao Ling. He clasped his hands together, eyes closing. Gradually, a massive Dharma statue materialized behind him, ten thousand zhang tall, spanning the star domain, awe-inspiring.
The statue was none other than Dao Ling himself!
Watching Dao Ling, Ye Xuan recalled a phrase from Qin Guan.
*Set yourself as the boundary!*
Ye Xuan closed his eyes. He’d overlooked this phrase before, or rather, hadn’t pondered it deeply.
Now, reflecting on it, its profundity was boundless!
…
In the distance, Shitian stared at Dao Ling, opening his palm. “Condense!”
*Boom!*
His body began recovering at a visible rate!
Dao Ling opened his eyes, and the giant Dharma statue behind him did the same, its eyes radiating a terrifying pressure that cracked the starry sky.
The star domain couldn’t withstand the pressure from those eyes!
And this was merely pressure!
Hidden Shi Clan experts were stunned. This man was only Inner Contemplation, yet his aura far surpassed it—terrifying!
Dao Ling raised his right hand and slammed it down, roaring, “Shatter the Firmament!”
The giant Dharma statue raised its hand, the starry sky boiling and annihilating. As it fell—
*Boom!*
The giant hand crashed from the starry depths, instantly obliterating a star domain millions of li wide! Not only that, all laws, principles, and matter in the region were annihilated!
In that moment, the galaxy was as insignificant as an ant before this palm.
Shitian’s lips curled into a ferocious grin. He clenched his fist, and countless mysterious runes appeared in the annihilated starry sky, cascading like a waterfall. Each rune held unknown, unique forces and a terrifying will. As they appeared, murmurs echoed, as if from ancient times, soul-shaking!
Shitian looked up and roared, “Great Dao, All Beings!”
He threw a punch skyward!
*Boom!*
Countless runes converged into a fist imprint, soaring to meet the giant hand.
A moment of silence—
*Boom!*
A deafening explosion shook the heavens. The Dharma statue and fist imprint shattered, a terrifying shockwave sweeping the star domain, reducing it to ruins.
The starry sky was erased, as if it had never existed!
Yet, the mysterious murmurs lingered.
Shitian and Dao Ling were both hurled into the Dead Space Realm!
In this realm, no matter existed!
Both were pale, their bodies gone, their souls so faint they were nearly transparent!
Both were gravely injured!
In the Dead Space Realm, Shitian glared at Dao Ling. “In this realm, there’s no matter, no laws, no Dao. But…”
He clenched his right hand.
*Boom!*
The murmurs in the Dead Space Realm grew louder, each carrying a strange, soul-searing power!
Dao Ling frowned.
Shitian stared at him. “These are the wills of the strong I’ve refined, unrestricted by this realm!”
The wills began corroding Dao Ling.
Outside, Ye Xuan watched silently.
The middle-aged man nearby looked at Ye Xuan. “Fair duel. You wouldn’t interfere, would you?”
Ye Xuan said nothing.
Interfere?
He had no intention of interfering.
A fair duel should be fair. If Dao Ling died, it was due to inferior skill. The same applied to Ye Xuan!
Seeing Ye Xuan’s silence, the man sneered.
In the Dead Space Realm, Dao Ling frowned as his soul began to fade.
Will corrosion!
Outside, such wills couldn’t harm him, but in the Dead Space Realm, he was powerless!
Suddenly, Dao Ling seemed to realize something and clenched his right hand!
Wills weren’t bound by this realm!
They weren’t matter!
He might not have others’ wills, but he had his own!
With that thought, Dao Ling closed his eyes.
His soul grew fainter.
A true desperate situation!
At that moment, a mysterious force appeared around Dao Ling.
His will!
He was countering Shitian’s wills with his own!
Seeing this, Shitian frowned.
Gradually, Dao Ling’s corroded soul stabilized and grew stronger.
He looked at Shitian. “My will is unyielding as stone!”
His soul trembled.
He was about to break through!
Hidden Shi Clan experts’ faces darkened.
Surviving a desperate situation meant rebirth through nirvana!
Dao Ling was undergoing that rebirth.
Shitian’s eyes narrowed, his right hand clenching. But a blur rushed into the Dead Space Realm, a palm striking at the breaking-through Dao Ling!
The blur ignored the Dead Space Realm’s restrictions!
Time Realm!
Only a Time Realm expert’s power could bypass the Dead Space Realm, as Time wasn’t matter!
The sudden attack stunned Dao Ling. He never expected someone to strike now, especially a Time Realm expert. Outside, he might’ve resisted, but here, with only his soul, he was helpless!
*My life is over!*
That was his final thought.
As the mysterious figure’s palm neared, a sword light appeared before Dao Ling!
*Boom!*
The sword light shattered, but Dao Ling was hundreds of zhang away, with Ye Xuan before him.
Dao Ling looked at Ye Xuan. “You saved me!”
Ye Xuan said, “Isn’t that obvious?”
Dao Ling: “…”
Ye Xuan looked at the middle-aged man nearby, sizing him up, then sneered, “Fair? This is your Shi Clan’s fairness? Don’t you find it laughable?”
The man said calmly, “Fair? If we grant you fairness, it’s our mercy. If we don’t, that’s only right!”
Ye Xuan said gravely, “You’re a Time Realm expert. How can you say something so shameless?”
The man sneered. “Face? Man of Destiny, how naive. What use is face in this world? Does it boost your cultivation or bring resources? To live this long and still care about face—have you cultivated your brain into your backside?”
Ye Xuan fell silent.
This world was absurd, almost farcical!
*Damn it!*
The man glanced at Ye Xuan’s sword. “You entered the Dead Space Realm freely because of that sword. Interesting!”
Ye Xuan stayed silent, lost in thought.
Shitian suddenly said coldly, “Clan Leader, why do this? Do you think I can’t beat this Defiant One?”
The man was Shi Yuan, the Shi Clan Leader!
Shi Yuan shook his head. “Shitian, you need to look further, not just at these two. You’re fighting for fate, the Great Dao’s fate. We can kill them the simplest way—why drag it out? Delay breeds variables. The Defiant One was about to break through. If he reaches the Time Realm, you can’t kill him, and we might not contain him. We can’t take that risk!”
Shitian said gravely, “I can kill him!”
Shi Yuan shook his head. “You had a chance at the start, but now he’s about to break through. If he reaches the Time Realm, we can’t afford the uncertainty!”
As he spoke, two more Shi Clan experts appeared in the Dead Space Realm!
Also Time Realm!
Three Time Realm experts!
Shi Yuan stared at Ye Xuan and Dao Ling. “There’s no such thing as fairness. You want fairness, but you lack the capital to demand it from us. If we grant it, fine. If not, you take it. Understand?”
Ye Xuan: “…”
Dao Ling suddenly said, “Brother Ye, guard me. I’m about to break through.”
Ye Xuan looked at him. “How long?”
Dao Ling thought, then said, “A month!”
Ye Xuan blinked. “What did you just say?”
Dao Ling was stunned, then said, “Guard me, I…”
Ye Xuan snapped, “Get lost!”
Dao Ling: “…”
