53: Chapter 53 Wang Teng of the Wang Family: I challenge you to a duel, to determine who is superior and to decide life and death!

Upon the Star Observation Platform, the wild winds howled.

That Wang Lie, known as the "Little War God," was now like an enraged lion, his entire body burning with golden blood-qi flames. The long spear in his hand let out a dragon's cry, its tip gathering a terrifying spiritual power capable of piercing the void, aimed straight at Xu Chen standing at the edge of the high platform.

"Xu Chen! Give me your life!"

With a thunderous shout, Wang Lie's figure turned into a golden stream of light, carrying an aura that could destroy heaven and earth as he thrust forward fiercely.

This spear strike, named "Army Breaker," was a closely guarded secret of the North Yuan Royal Family; even great experts had died with regret under this spear.

The geniuses present held their breath, their eyes filled with both anticipation and tension.

Although Xu Chen's earlier "eating soft rice the hard way" remarks had cowed the audience, now that it had come to real blades and spears, everyone wanted to see just how much weight this legendary Young Master of the Imperial Clan truly carried.

However.

Facing this killing strike, Xu Chen didn't even lift an eyelid.

With one hand still behind his back and the other holding his folding fan, at the very instant that cold glint was about to pierce his brow, he casually waved the fan as if shooing a fly.

"Pa!"

A sound, excessively crisp, rang out across the deathly silent Star Observation Platform.

Immediately after.

That peerless golden stream of light was swatted away like a ball, flying backward ten times faster than it had come.

"Boom—!"

Man and spear together, Wang Lie crashed heavily into a stone wall hundreds of meters away, embedded so firmly he couldn't be pried out. The long spear in his hand had shattered into nearly twenty pieces, scattered across the ground.

An instant kill.

A complete and total instant kill.

Xu Chen hadn't moved his feet even half an inch, and even his spiritual power fluctuations were negligible.

"That's it?"

Xu Chen folded his fan and shook his head helplessly, his gaze sweeping over the dumbfounded members of the "Anti-Xu Alliance" below, his tone full of disappointment.

"This is your so-called 'Little War God'?"

"He can't even block one of my fans, yet he dares to call himself a god?"

"Who else? Can someone a bit more capable step up?"

The entire field was deathly silent.

Everyone felt their throats go dry, a chill rising from the soles of their feet straight to their crowns.

Too strong!

This casual composure, this overbearing aura that treated all living beings like ants—how was this a pretty boy who relied on women to rise? This was clearly an unfathomable Young Emperor!

Even the several successors of the Sacred Grounds who had been waiting to see Xu Chen make a fool of himself now looked solemn; they exchanged glances, seeing the wariness in each other's eyes.

It seemed the intelligence was wrong.

This Xu Chen was not simple!

Just as everyone was cowed by Xu Chen's strength and didn't dare to make a move.

"Rumble—!"

In the sky, the dark clouds that had dispersed due to Xu Chen's appearance now gathered once again.

Moreover, this time the cloud layer was not black, but a strange blood-red.

A terrifying aura full of tyranny, destruction, and ill-omens slowly pressed down from the depths of those blood clouds. This aura was so strong it was not at all weaker than the strength Xu Chen had just displayed; in fact, it was even superior in terms of madness and killing intent.

"Xu Chen—!"

A roar that seemed to come from the Nine Serenities Hell pierced through the layers of clouds and exploded above the Star Observation Platform.

The hatred contained in that voice was enough to make rivers flow backward and the world collapse.

"Hmm?"

Xu Chen's brow twitched slightly as he looked up at the sky, a playful arc curling at the corner of his mouth.

"This voice... why does it sound a bit familiar?"

"Like some unlucky fellow I threw into the sea?"

Before his voice had even faded.

The blood clouds filling the sky were suddenly torn apart.

A chariot pulled by four bone horses burning with Hellish Demonic Fire descended with a crash.

Standing upon the chariot was a figure clad in blood-colored armor. His long hair was like blood, his eyes were crimson, and he was surrounded by a near-solid aura of resentment and baleful qi, looking like an Asura who had just crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

When they saw that face clearly, the entire field broke into an uproar.

"Wang... Wang Teng?!"

"Heavens! It really is Wang Teng! Wasn't he crippled?"

"This aura... how is this possible?! He actually broke through to become a Dao Severing King? And a Dao Severing with Asura Baleful Qi at that?!"

Indeed.

The newcomer was none other than the Young Master of the North Yuan Royal Family—Wang Teng—who had been slapped into the deep sea by Great Treasure at the full moon banquet a few months ago, becoming the laughingstock of the world.

However, the current Wang Teng had long lost the pride and brilliance of his former "Emperor's Potential." In its place was an extreme coldness and madness.

For revenge, he had not hesitated to sacrifice the foundation of his "Ancient Chaos Emperor Scripture" to cultivate that forbidden technique, the "Asura Blood God Curse." He had fought against thousands of demonic beasts in the Frigid Abyss, surviving a narrow escape to finally obtain this terrifying cultivation level.

"Xu Chen!"

Wang Teng stared fixedly at the white-clad figure on the high platform, the bloodshot veins in his eyes nearly bursting.

"Long time no see."

"You probably thought I was already a cripple, didn't you?"

"Unfortunately, the heavens won't take me! They let me crawl back from hell!"

Facing Wang Teng's sky-high hatred, Xu Chen appeared exceptionally calm.

He even very politely cupped his hands, as if greeting an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time:

"Yo, isn't this Brother Wang?"

"How did you end up looking like this, neither human nor ghost? Was the food in the sea not good? Are you malnourished?"

"Shut up!!!"

Wang Teng roared, the blood-baleful aura on his body instantly surging, transforming into a ferocious blood-colored beast that howled behind him.

"Enough of your glib tongue!"

"Xu Chen, I didn't come here today to bicker with you, nor for some bullshit genius ranking!"

Wang Teng raised the Demonic Halberd that had long been stained red with blood, the tip pointing at Xu Chen. His voice was bone-chillingly cold, every word striking the hearts of the crowd like a heavy hammer:

"I want to duel you!"

"To determine superiority!"

"And to decide life and death!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the world changed color.

A life-and-death duel!

At the Heavenly Prodigy Assembly, while injuries were inevitable during sparring, situations where Life-and-Death Contracts were directly established were extremely rare. After all, everyone was a person of status and didn't want to truly burn all bridges.

But Wang Teng had clearly gone mad.

The purpose of his existence was to kill Xu Chen and wash away his humiliation.

"Xu Chen, do you dare to accept?!"

Wang Teng pressed closer, his momentum surging like a rainbow. "If you don't dare, then kneel down and give me three kowtows, admitting your Xu Family are all cowards! Admit that your so-called Chaos Body son is a bastard!"

"Boom!"

The moment the word "bastard" left his mouth.

Xu Chen, who had been calm and even wearing a somewhat playful smile, instantly turned cold.

It was a coldness without any temperature.

The surrounding temperature seemed to drop to absolute zero in an instant, a hundred times more terrifying than the chill on Bai Ningbing.

A dragon has a reverse scale; touch it, and death is certain.

Great Treasure was Xu Chen's reverse scale.

"Wang Teng."

Xu Chen's voice was very soft, yet it clearly reached the ears of everyone present, carrying a heart-palpitating killing intent.

"Originally, seeing how hard you worked to crawl out of the sea, I wanted to play with you for a bit."

"But..."

Xu Chen slowly raised his head, and for the first time, true fury emerged in those deep eyes.

"You shouldn't have insulted my son."

"Since you want to die so badly..."

Xu Chen took a step forward, his purple-gold robe moving without wind. An Imperial Dragon Qi, more vast and noble than Wang Teng's blood-baleful aura, erupted from his body, instantly dispersing the blood clouds filling the sky.

"Then I shall fulfill your wish."

"This life-and-death match—I, Xu Chen, accept."

With Xu Chen's acceptance of the challenge.

The atmosphere of the entire Star Observation Platform was instantly ignited to its peak.

"Good! Very good!"

Wang Teng laughed wildly, a cruel and bloodthirsty expression appearing on his face.

"Xu Chen, I will cut the flesh off your body piece by piece to sacrifice to the suffering I've endured these past few months!"

"Die!"

Without any hesitation, Wang Teng burned his essence blood and activated the Demonic Halberd, turning into a blood-colored lightning bolt as he pounced toward Xu Chen.

While Xu Chen remained standing where he was.

Only this time, he was no longer as casual as before.

He slowly extended his right hand, fingers splayed.

"I hope your bones are a bit tougher than your mouth."