162: Chapter 162 Evenly matched

Tuoba Ye greedily absorbed the pure Spiritual Qi rushing from the Spiritual Vein.

The majestic power poured down like a galaxy from the Nine Heavens, flooding into his nearly dried-up Meridians—the power was too turbulent, too violent, as if it wanted to burst his body open, tear it apart, and then mold it anew.

He was like a dying traveler in the desert suddenly drinking from a sweet spring; every pore was expanding, every inch of flesh was singing with joy, and even his bones were emitting a delightful tremolo!

The blood-red light in his eyes, suppressed for too long, could no longer be contained. It erupted with a roar, the crimson radiance almost tearing through his eye sockets, gushing out like two blood-stained swords piercing the firmament!

"Haha—hahaha—!"

He abruptly raised his head to the sky, letting out a series of deafening, wild laughs. That laughter did not come from his throat, but erupted from the depths of his chest, from his boiling blood.

The waves of sound rolled out, actually causing the surrounding air to visibly twist and tremble, like ripples from a giant stone thrown into water, spreading outward in circles!

"Satisfying! Truly satisfying! Lei Potian, you truly did not disappoint me—"

"Only an opponent like you is worthy of witnessing my true power!"

"Boom!"

The moment his words fell, the Qi and blood around his body boiled completely, as if a volcano had been ignited!

Crimson blood-Qi, like magma, surged out from within his body, flowing crazily beneath his skin like fire Dragons traveling under his flesh, reflecting him like a War God carved from blood jade, his entire body radiating a brilliance that no one dared to look at directly.

Terrifying heat waves steamed upward, his robes were billowed by the wild force, dancing fiercely, as if they would be completely incinerated in the next moment, turning into ashes and drifting away with the wind!

Immediately after—

A vast aura originating from the primordial age, spanning across the ages, carrying with it the undying Battle Intent accumulated from billions of battlefields, erupted violently with him at the center!

This aura was as ancient as if it came from the time when heaven and earth first opened, and as heavy as if it carried the vicissitudes of eternity.

The temperature of the entire Martial Arts Arena climbed sharply; the ground turned scorched black, the air became scorching, and with every breath, one's throat felt as if it had been seared by fire.

It was as if a Vicious Beast that had been sleeping for endless years had completely awakened here, opening a pair of eyes capable of swallowing the heavens and the earth!

"Rip—!"

Tuoba Ye tore open the tattered collar of his clothes, the sound of the fabric tearing as crisp as breaking bones.

On his exposed bronze chest and arms, countless mysterious dark golden patterns appeared and spread instantly, as if they possessed life!

These patterns resembled ancient seal script, the strokes as vigorous as if carved by knives and axes; they also resembled broken war spears, every line revealing the tragic intensity of battlefield slaughter.

They were even more like some kind of Innate Dao patterns, winding and flickering along the path of his Bloodline, deeply branded into the depths of his bones and blood, exuding an immortal epic of war!

The instant the battle patterns lit up, his already mountain-like, majestic physique seemed to expand once more; muscles bulged like coiled Dragons, veins stood out like crouching Dragons, and a terrifying pressure capable of crushing mountains and forcing all living beings to bow swept in all directions, causing even the air to moan under this unbearable weight!

At this moment, he was no longer just a Cultivator, but more like an invincible War God stepping out from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, walking out from ancient myths—bathed in blood, with surging Battle Intent, leaving nothing growing wherever he passed!

"War God Bloodline! It is the foundation of the Tuoba family's foothold in the Northern Wei Dynasty; the War God Bloodline has awakened!"

In the spectator stands, an elderly Cultivator with white hair and beard stood up in shock, his fingers trembling as he pointed to the arena. His fingers shook like withered branches in the wind, and his voice was sharply distorted due to extreme shock, almost cracking:

"Legend says that those who awaken this Bloodline have undying Battle Intent, becoming braver the more they fight; even if they suffer heavy injuries, they can erupt with power capable of destroying the heavens and the earth! To think I could see it with my own eyes today!"

Tuoba Ye, having activated the origin power of his Bloodline, had blood-Qi so thick it could not be dissolved, like burning blood-colored flames, leaping and licking on the surface of his body, making his silhouette appear blurred and ferocious.

The blood wolf phantom behind him seemed to have been injected with an ancient war Soul. There was no longer pure ferocity in the wolf's eyes, but an added supreme arrogance that looked down upon the Universe and all living beings—that gaze was like looking at ants, like looking at dust!

"Awoo—!!"

The blood wolf looked up to the sky and let out a roar that tore through the Divine Soul. This roar did not come from the throat, but erupted from the depths of the Soul. The sound waves solidified into substance, like an invisible giant hammer, smashing fiercely into everyone's heart.

It caused the Qi and blood of the surrounding Cultivators to churn, their ears buzzing incessantly. Those with slightly weaker cultivation turned pale, almost unable to stand, their legs going weak!

Amidst the roar, the blood wolf's giant claws reached out suddenly, with the determination to tear everything apart. Five cold lights slashed through the air, fiercely grabbing at the most vulnerable neck of the thunder Dragon phantom!

"Screech—!!"

A teeth-gritting tearing sound rang out, sharp and piercing, like someone dragging an iron nail across glass, making everyone's skin crawl.

The scales of the thunder Dragon, condensed from brilliant electric light, were actually torn open, exposing the flickering, intermittent thunder core inside—this core was like a beating heart, emitting blinding light with every beat!

Lei Potian's body shook violently, his chest as if hit by a primordial mountain, as if an invisible giant mountain had smashed into him, displacing his internal organs.

A sweetness rose in his throat, and a trace of scarlet blood finally overflowed from his tightly clenched teeth, winding down the corner of his mouth and dripping onto his lapel, blooming into a shocking flower of blood.

However—

Being injured not only failed to make him retreat but completely ignited the arrogance and madness in his bones!

In his eyes, it was as if a thunder Universe was being born and dying, countless thunder lights exploding, extinguishing, and exploding again in the depths of his pupils. His Battle Intent was like fire, burning fiercely, burning away all fear and hesitation!

"So what... if it is the War God Bloodline!"

"My Lei family has been in charge of Heavenly Punishment for generations, acting on behalf of Heaven to execute punishment and cleanse the Universe! How could I fear you!"

"Nine Heavens Thunder Prison—Open for me!"

He raised his arms toward the sky, as if lifting the weight of a world, veins bulging, muscles taut, every inch of his tendons and bones emitting creaking sounds of being unable to bear the load!

All the flashing and leaping thunder light around his body became extremely restrained in an instant—all the light, all the power, all the intent of destruction, were all gathered to a single point, compressed to the limit—

Immediately after, it was an earth-shattering total eruption!

"Boom—!!!"

Nine purple divine thunders, as thick as ancient giant pythons, tore through the sky and shot up into the sky!

The nine divine thunders, each one so thick it would take two people to embrace, each one entwined with endless Dao rules of destruction, emitted a terrifying might that made the firmament tremble and the earth moan!

They were like nine angry Dragons that had broken free from their shackles, roaring as they rushed into the Nine Heavens, wanting to tear this heaven and earth into pieces!

The nine divine thunders intertwined and coiled crazily above the Martial Arts Arena, the thunder light pouring down like mercury, instantly constructing a thunder prison that shrouded the four poles and eight wastelands!

This thunder prison was no longer just an aggregation of lightning—

The prison walls were composed of countless jumping, twisting purple thunder patterns; every thunder pattern was like a living lightning snake, winding and crawling on the prison walls, flicking its tongue.

What flowed in the prison was no longer electric light, but nearly liquid purple thunder fluid containing the meaning of judgment and termination, thick as melted purple crystal, beautiful and deadly!

Every drop of thunder fluid that fell could blow a bottomless pit into the earth, as if it could easily annihilate even the stars!

The air was completely ionized, emitting continuous explosions, crackling densely like roasting beans.

Even space itself was wailing, presenting a shocking scene of distortion and blur, as if someone had vigorously rubbed a canvas, making the originally flat picture wrinkled!

"Nine Heavens Thunder Prison! It's the Lei family's trump card, a forbidden Divine Ability!"

Someone screamed, the voice full of fear and awe, like a believer looking up at a deity:

"Legend says that if this technique is cultivated to the Peak, it can draw a trace of the Nine Heavens Purple Heaven Divine Thunder, turning the Domain into a prison, imprisoning gods and demons, and refining all things! Lei Potian... he actually succeeded in cultivating it!"

The moment the thunder prison took shape, the destructive aura had completely locked onto Tuoba Ye and his blood wolf.

Endless purple divine thunders poured down like a waterfall from the Nine Heavens, carrying the power to penetrate all defenses and annihilate all life, ruthlessly eroding the body of the blood wolf and the thick layer of protective blood-Qi on Tuoba Ye's body.

"Sss—!!"

The blood wolf's fur scorched and curled in the thunder light, emitting a pungent burnt smell, like scorched leather.

It let out a painful and angry roar in the thunder prison, the roar full of unwillingness and struggle, its huge body trembling violently, like a mountain about to collapse.

The blood-red light on its body dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye, like an oil lamp about to burn out.

The dark golden battle patterns on Tuoba Ye's body flickered, like a candle in the wind, sometimes dazzlingly bright, sometimes dim to the point of almost disappearing.

He clenched his teeth, the muscles on his cheeks bulging like iron lumps, pushing the War God Bloodline to an unprecedented limit; every drop of blood was burning, every cell was roaring.

The Qi and blood around his body were like pillars of wolf smoke, forcibly resisting the pervasive destructive erosion, like a needle fixing the sea, standing unmoved in the raging wind and waves.

At the same time, he wildly urged his mind, and the blood wolf swung its claws crazily, every tear leaving a deep blood-colored mark on the prison wall, like the claw marks of a wild beast.

This caused the entire thunder prison to shake violently, and the thunder light on the prison walls flickered, like a lamp with unstable voltage.

Lei Potian's face was as pale as paper, so white there was not a trace of blood, like the first snow of winter. Cold sweat poured down his forehead, sweat dripping from the tip of his nose, and before it hit the ground, it was evaporated into water vapor by the thunder light.

Maintaining this Nine Heavens Thunder Prison was an extremely terrifying burden on his Spiritual Qi and Divine Soul, like walking while carrying a mountain, every step so heavy he almost wanted to kneel down.

His lips had lost all blood color, dry and peeling, his body trembling slightly, like a leaf in the wind, yet he still held on desperately, constantly squeezing out the last bit of Spiritual Qi in his Dantian, drawing more thunder to reinforce the prison.

He knew deeply that in the face of the War God Bloodline, which became braver the more it fought, delay meant defeat—

It must be a quick battle!

Stalemate!

A tragic stalemate!

In the Martial Arts Arena, on one side was the descendant of the War God, with Battle Intent soaring to the sky and blood-Qi like wolf smoke piercing the sun, erupting with a counterattack that shook the Universe in a desperate situation; on the other side was the thunder Dao Prodigy who controlled lightning and was the Incarnation of the Dominator of Heavenly Punishment, using himself as a guide to lay down a Domain of destruction, vowing to suppress the strong enemy.

Blood-red light and thunder light, two extreme powers, were crazily colliding, eroding, and annihilating within the limited space!

Every clash erupted with a roar that could shatter eardrums; the ground of the entire square cracked inch by inch, broken stones floated in the air as if they had lost gravity, then turned into powder, raising dust all over the sky.

Even the protective light shield around the spectator stands rippled violently, like the surface of a lake with stones thrown into it, circle after circle, as if it would shatter at any moment!

All the onlookers, regardless of their cultivation level, were shaken and mesmerized at this moment.

Some clenched their fists tightly, their nails digging deep into their flesh without realizing it, blood seeping from their palms; some gaped, forgetting to breathe, their faces flushed red; others subconsciously retreated again and again, as if the energy ripples dissipating from the center of the battlefield could completely tear them apart, leaving not even bones.

"Too... too strong!"

A young Cultivator whispered, his eyes full of infinite longing and deep awe, that look like he was looking up at the starry sky, knowing he could never reach it:

"Is this the power that stands at the Peak of the younger generation?"

"War God Bloodline hard-shaking Nine Heavens Thunder Prison... the scene of this battle is enough to be recorded in history! Once in a hundred... no, a thousand years!"

His companion next to him was trembling with excitement, his voice quivering.

"Evenly matched! Truly evenly matched!"

Someone with discerning eyes let out a worried sigh, their brows furrowed so tightly they could crush a fly:

"If they continue to fight like this, I'm afraid it will be... a situation where both sides suffer!"