Chapter 2005

Xiong Tianba’s body was gigantic. His rod was like a heaven-splitting pillar, smashing down mercilessly. This was his strongest attack that not only contained all his power but also all his fury.

He was originally a peak genius with top grade talent. However, he wasn’t patient enough. He wanted to be the first Empyrean on the continent with a fully awakened manifestation.

Disregarding the warnings of his seniors, he had actually forcibly merged the power of his astral space with his manifestation, wanting to quicken the awakening.

Awakening the manifestation was something that had to happen naturally. There was a sequence to it, and he was defying that sequence. Even if he was only a single step away, forcibly trying to awaken his manifestation was no good. Although he had succeeded, his manifestation had not received the recognition of the world. In other words, his manifestation was truly and completely crippled.

He would never be able to fix his ruined manifestation, and he would be doomed to be second rate for the rest of his life. Right now, all he could do was bully others before they also awakened their manifestations. He had to hurry and crush everyone else while he could.

To have ruined your future prospects because of your greed and advancing prematurely was something that would drive anyone crazy. Xiong Tianba was filled with resentment, but because he caused all of this by himself, he couldn’t resent anyone else.

Originally, he had been planning on defeating Man Batian today because Man Batian had bullied some experts from the Xuan Beasts. His other goal was to make a name for himself before others managed to grow up.

However, his luck wasn’t good. This fake Man Batian’s combat power was absolutely terrifying. Furthermore, he hadn’t even summoned his manifestation.

Of course, the truth was that Long Chen couldn’t summon Man Batian’s manifestation. Even if he tried to fake it, he would immediately be sold out considering that he couldn’t absorb Heavenly Dao energy. He said that he wouldn’t use it only to give himself cover.

However, this cover ended up being viewed as absolute disdain from Man Batian. Man Batian actually wasn’t treating Xiong Tianba seriously at all. In his rage, Xiong Tianba risked everything in one attack.

BOOM!

Xiong Tianba’s giant rod smashed into the ground, causing the world to shake. His power was truly terrifying, and even the distant experts were unable to stay steady. They were blown back.

Cracks spread along the ground. Mountains crumbled, and giant boulders were flying through the air. It was like a scene from the end of the world.

“What terrifying power!”

The distant experts were gobsmacked. This kind of power was something that would blow anyone to smithereens. As expected, the Xuan Beasts’ power was inconceivable.

However, when the wind settled, everyone was shocked to find that they didn’t see Man Batian’s figure within the ruined earth.

“He exploded?” People were stunned, but this didn’t seem likely. Based on the power that Man Batian had released, this attack should have at most heavily injured him. There was no way that he wouldn’t have at least an intact corpse.

Xiong Tianba looked all around. He was stunned. When his rod had been about to smash Man Batian, Man Batian had suddenly vanished. His attack had missed.

Suddenly, Xiong Tianba let out a roar and smashed his rod behind him. At this moment, Man Batian appeared there, his rod smashing toward Xiong Tianba. His rod grew until it was a giant pillar equal in size to Xiong Tianba’s rod.

BOOM! Their two rods clashed once more. Xiong Tianba’s giant figure was actually sent tumbling across the ground.

He bounced on the ground a dozen times, flipping over and over again. Each time, the ground shook intensely.

Finally, Xiong Tianba managed to stabilize himself. He suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Due to his manifestation not being recognized by heaven and earth, he was unable to lock down Long Chen with his Heavenly Dao energy. As for using Spiritual Strength, there was no way that someone from the Xuan Beasts could use that to lock down Long Chen.

So there had been no need for Long Chen to receive his attack. Long Chen didn’t want to receive such an attack either. Even he would have to suffer a bit to take it head-on.

Long Chen had used the Celestial Lightning Body Blink to get away, but he had used it very subtly, and with space twisting so wildly from that attack, others had been unable to tell.

He had then gone around Xiong Tianba’s giant body to strike him. At that time, Xiong Tianba had just launched an all-out attack and hadn’t fully recovered. As a result, his hasty block didn’t even have seventy percent of his power in it.

“What a blind bear. You can’t even hit me. If you’re this weak, you’re not even fit to fight me,” sneered Long Chen. His rod once more whipped toward Xiong Tianba.

Xiong Tianba roared furiously, but he was forced to retreat time and time again. This time, Long Chen didn’t even give him a chance to unleash a powerful attack like before.

Seeing Xiong Tianba being crushed like this, the surrounding experts sighed. Xiong Tianba was truly pitiful. His manifestation looked like it had awakened, but it had not received the recognition of the world. It only allowed him to use his world energy to its full potential, but he was unable to merge it with his Heavenly Dao energy to unleash even greater power. He was probably only slightly stronger than he had been before awakening his manifestation, but he had lost all his future prospects.

Xiong Tianba was constantly absorbing energy from the land, ensuring that he wouldn’t run out of energy. Even as he was forced to retreat miserably, it was very difficult for Long Chen to actually beat him.

“This fellow’s too powerful. If he really awakened his manifestation properly, what could I do to him?” Long Chen thought to himself. If his manifestation was truly awakened, just how powerful would he be? “Little brute, shouldn’t you hurry up and surrender? You killed my mount, so you can replace it. Otherwise, your life will end here.”

“Do you think you can order around the great Xuan Beasts?! Fuck off!” roared Xiong Tianba. Flames almost burst out of his eyes. However, he didn’t even have any ability to retaliate. He could only bitterly endure.

“Since you want to be pigheaded, that’s fine. I’ll be eating bear meat tonight.”

Long Chen’s attacks grew sharper and sharper. However, he still used the techniques that Man Batian was most skilled in. The experts watching had no doubt that he was Man Batian.

“Barbarian Dragon Heavenly Twister!”

Eighteen dragon-shaped figures flew out of Long Chen’s rod, transforming into a giant twister that attacked Xiong Tianba.

This strange move caught Xiong Tianba off guard. He was instantly sucked into it and then into the air.

“Not good!” Xiong Tianba’s expression changed. Having left the ground, he was unable to absorb any more energy. Since he wasn’t recognized by the Heavenly Daos, he had lost his support.

“Coiling Dragon’s Eighteen Staves!” Long Chen followed up with another attack. His rod twisted and turned, seeming to become eighteen separate rods that attacked from eighteen different angles.

Banging sounds mixed with the sound of bones breaking rang out. Xiong Tianba coughed up blood.

“Man Batian’s so powerful. Even without using his manifestation, he managed to defeat Xiong Tianba.” People’s hearts shook. No one had thought that Man Batian was so terrifying.

Just as Long Chen was launching consecutive attacks, a dozen attacks shot toward him. Experts from the Xuan Beasts were actually interfering.

“You want to fight in a group? Fine, I’ll accompany you!”

Long Chen laughed, his staff unleashing a wave of light that blasted apart those attacks. Like a devil, Long Chen began to attack the newcomers.

He knew that Xiong Tianba wasn’t someone he could kill here. If he did, it would only cause trouble. If his identity was exposed, that would be even more trouble. However, a bunch of little ants like these newcomers? They could be killed.

“Brother Man, please stop!”

Suddenly, a figure appeared, tearing through space. He blocked Long Chen’s path.

Long Chen narrowed his eyes. This person wasn’t someone that he knew, but Man Batian knew him. With Evilmoon’s help, Long Chen had managed to get a complete set of his memories. Through those memories, he knew that this person was Lu Zichuan, a genius of the Yin Yang Sword Sect, a neutral power.

Just like the Barbarian Dragon Palace, the Yin Yang Sword Sect was an ancient sect that had been in hiding for so long that others had forgotten about their existence. They only appeared once the great era had come.

Lu Zichuan had a pair of swords on his back. One was black, and one was white. They were known as the Yin Yang Dual Swords. When he used them, he could manifest the Dao before him. The legends were quite terrifying.

It seemed that the Yin Yang Sword Sect had a slight relationship with the Barbarian Dragon Palace. As for Man Batian and Lu Zichuan, the two of them had even exchanged pointers. But that time, Man Batian had lost.

Or rather than saying that he had lost, it was more accurate that Man Batian had retreated to avoid losing. Lu Zichuan’s Yin Yang Dual Swords were too strange, and he was unable to break through their defenses. They hadn’t been allowed to go all-out either to avoid harming the friendship between their sects.

In truth, Man Batian knew that he had lost, so he had been itching for another battle with Lu Zichuan.

“What, brother Lu, are you thinking of stopping me?” Long Chen’s aura began to rise in preparations for a fight. He was facing Lu Zichuan with Man Batian’s character.

“I’m not a match for brother Man. I’m just here to act as a mediator. Since the Brahma secret realm is about to open, we should consider what’s important and what’s not. There’s no deep enmity between everyone, so why bother fighting to the death?” said Lu Zichuan.

“Hmph, this stupid bear killed my mount. How can I spare him? Well, since brother Lu has spoken up for you, I can give you face. But next time you dare to be rude to me, I really will be having some bear meat.”

After saying that, without even looking at the bloodstained Xiong Tianba, Long Chen walked into his carriage. Although there was no mount, the carriage activated on its own and flew away.