234: Are you really that confident you can beat me?

Just as silence reigned and no one dared to speak, Wan Zehu gritted his teeth and stepped forward, his voice low but firm: "Senior Wan Yuan, Lu Chen saved my life before. He is meticulous and exceptionally resourceful. Keeping him will definitely be of great use later! Really, trust me this once!"

The Wolf King sneered, staring at him mockingly: "Oh? You're quite righteous then—Alright, if we keep him, how about you take his place on the arena?"

Wan Zehu stiffened, his face instantly turning pale. His lips moved, but in the end, he didn't dare to speak again.

The Wolf King threw his head back and laughed, his voice full of mockery: "What? Scared? Hahaha! I knew it! All talk of righteousness and morality, but when it comes to risking your life, no one's a fool! Why pretend to be a good person? Listen, there are four blood battles in total, which means four people must die! If he doesn't die, then we die! Does this even need calculation?"

Wan Yuan snorted coldly, his eyes filled with killing intent, no longer hesitating: "Enough! Don't waste any more time, let's vote! I—vote for Lu Chen!"

"I second that!" Fox King Qian Huan lightly fanned herself with a jade fan, her gaze cold and alluring.

"Lu Chen!" The Wolf King roared.

"Lu Chen!" Blood Vine King Qian Chan said grimly.

"Lu Chen!" Fire Crow King Wan Yu flapped his wings.

"Lu Chen!" Ape King Qi Tian grinned.

"Lu Chen!" Nightmare's voice was like a ghostly whisper.

One voice after another fell, like a death knell.

Finally, Wan Zehu lowered his head, not daring to look Lu Chen in the eye, his voice trembling but clear: "I'm sorry... Lu Chen... I also... vote for you..."

Unanimous vote!

A cold mechanical voice sounded: "Yao Race faction voting complete. Chosen participant—Lu Chen! Step forward!"

Before the words finished, Lu Chen's figure flickered, and he was directly teleported by an invisible force to the center of the blood-red arena. In the ashen eye sockets of the four Divine Beast statues, a faint light seemed to flow silently.

It was the Human Race faction's turn to vote. No one expected that Bai Qi, Hui Ming, Madam Shuang, Old Monster Mo, and others would speak in unison, their voices as synchronized as if they had practiced thousands of times: "I—vote for Blazing Heaven Lord!!!"

What?!

Wan Yuan, Fox King Qian Huan, the Wolf King, and the other Yao Kings instantly widened their eyes, almost thinking they had misheard, nearly spitting blood from anger on the spot!

Wan Yuan's eyes were bloodshot, and he roared to the heavens: "Damn it! You... you dared to trick us?! Bald monk Hui Ming! You lied to me!! You clearly said you would duel Lu Chen. We voted for Lu Chen, do you have any integrity left?!"

Great Master Hui Ming laughed wildly: "You guys just now, in the first stage, staged an internal conflict and forced us to push out a scapegoat, didn't we obediently fall for it? Now—it's merely returning the favor! Do you really think our Human Race is stupid? Let this Great Master, a dignified Late Golden Core Stage Cultivator, fight a Foundation Establishment Stage junior? Waste a chance to participate? Dream on!"

The System announced—

"Human Race faction voting complete. Chosen participant: Blazing Heaven Lord! Step forward!"

A golden light flashed, and Blazing Heaven Lord was instantly teleported onto the blood-red arena, facing Lu Chen from afar.

Blazing Heaven Lord vibrated his arms, and fierce flames erupted around him. His crimson fire robe flapped, and the Void Realm behind him twisted. A colossal fiery eagle, covering the sky and sun, slowly materialized—its eagle eyes like torches, its wings burning the sky, every feather formed from pure Golden Core True Fire!

That was his Golden Core Manifestation!

All Golden Core Cultivators, when forming their Golden Core, would manifest a unique form based on their Dao rhyme, Cultivation Technique, and will—some became swords, some armor, some bells, some towers, some Dragons, some tigers. Blazing Heaven Lord, who cultivated the Heaven Burning Art, followed an extremely violent Dao, hence his Golden Core Manifestation was this fiery eagle, symbolizing destruction and the burning of all things!

As soon as the Golden Core Manifestation appeared, the temperature of heaven and earth soared!

This was the might of the Golden Core—for Cultivators below the Golden Core Stage, once the Manifestation appeared, it brought a hundredfold suppression! No matter what Magical Artifact or Spirit Treasure you held, facing a Golden Core Manifestation, they were all like paper and mud, unable to withstand a single blow!

Blazing Heaven Lord looked down at Lu Chen from above, a hint of disdain curling his lips, his voice as indifferent as a judgment: "Little friend Lu Chen, you should thank me. I will let you die cleanly, without pain. If you were to face that mad monk Hui Ming, he would surely extract your Divine Soul and refine it, tormenting you until you wished for death but couldn't find it... In comparison, I—am already merciful."

Lu Chen smiled slightly: "Are you that confident you can defeat me?!"

Blazing Heaven Lord laughed, leaning back: "Hahaha, I understand you. After all, you are in the Foundation Establishment Stage, you simply cannot imagine how powerful the Golden Core Stage is. That's no longer the same dimension of combat. Golden Core Cultivators can release Golden Core Manifestations, do you know that? And they can also release various Golden Core Divine Abilities, which have an overwhelming suppressive effect on cultivations below the Golden Core Stage!! Forget it, you wouldn't understand even if I told you!! It's a pity, you are so young, to be able to Cultivate to the Foundation Establishment Stage, you are already considered a Genius rarely seen in a thousand years!!"

Below the arena.

Wan Yuan was filled with remorse, not for Lu Chen's impending death, but for being tricked.

The next three battles would likely be bitter struggles!!

A cold mechanical voice echoed above the arena: "First round of the Blood Sacrifice Arena Battle! Begin!!"

Lu Chen stood in the center of the arena, facing the fiery eagle that could burn heaven and earth. Far from being afraid, he bowed slightly, very politely: "You are older, please make your move first."

At these words, Blazing Heaven Lord's pupils dilated, and a surge of anger shot straight to his head! He, a dignified Early Golden Core Stage Cultivator, who had shaken the Southern Barbarian lands for hundreds of years, was actually treated with such disdain by a Foundation Establishment Stage junior? How was this politeness? This was naked humiliation!

"Junior—you seek death!!" He roared like thunder, the Spiritual Qi in his grotto-heaven surging wildly. The fiery eagle behind him expanded explosively, its wings spreading to cover the sky and sun, completely enveloping the entire arena in its fiery shadow. The high temperature distorted space, and even the air was ignited!

His opening move was a full-power strike from his Golden Core Manifestation—Heaven Burning Eagle Strike!

Everyone held their breath, their gazes indifferent, as if watching a slaughter whose outcome was already predetermined.

Lei Xingming even chuckled: "Old Yan, is it really necessary? To deal with a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, you use a killing move right from the start. Aren't you afraid of losing face if word gets out?"

But just at this moment of towering flames and a world losing its color—

Roar—!!!

A Dragon's roar, shaking the nine heavens, suddenly exploded! It was not an illusion, but the roar of a true Dragon, carrying ancient, fierce Evil Qi, tearing through the curtain of fire!

Lu Chen raised his hand and gripped it, and a long spear as black as blood materialized out of thin air. Blood-red patterns coiled around the spear, and Evil Qi soared into the sky!

He flicked the tip of his spear and thrust it out with a casual motion—

The spear came out like a Dragon! No! That was not a spear at all! It was a true Blood Fiend Golden Dragon that burst forth through the air!

Its Dragon head was ferocious, its scales like blood-forged iron. Its Dragon mouth opened wide, and it actually swallowed the colossal fiery eagle that covered the sky and sun!

Boom!!!

With his Golden Core Manifestation destroyed, Blazing Heaven Lord felt as if struck by lightning. His chest suddenly tightened, and blood gushed out. He staggered back three steps, his eyes filled with disbelief!

Below the stage, an uproar instantly erupted!

"What?!!"

"He... he broke the Golden Core Manifestation?!"

"Impossible! How could someone below the Golden Core Stage directly defeat a Manifestation?!"

Great Master Hui Ming's face changed drastically. He slammed a palm to the ground and roared: "It's the heart of the blood god! It must be the power of the heart of the blood god! This kid can actually summon such a ferocious Dragon! Damn it! It's all your fault! You insisted on putting on a show! If I had personally acted, his Divine Soul would have been annihilated by now!!"