98: Challenge changed to grim

The solemn, cold air and the ink-black night sky.

On Guyue Peak, thousands of feet high, two peerless figures stood silently, facing each other.

“Your Excellency, are you here to participate in the Royal Residence Test?”

The moment Xie Chen met the newcomer's gaze, he immediately felt an unprecedented sense of oppression wash over him.

Shen Lian lightly shook his Folding Fan, his cold and deep eyes only glancing at Xie Chen before withdrawing his gaze.

The reason he chose to come to Guyue Peak at this time was because he had heard on the way that Xie Chen was responsible for the Residence Guardian Test today.

Thus, he deliberately made a detour to a Coffin Shop to conduct some business.

Therefore, Shen Lian only arrived at Guyue Peak when the night was deep and the world was quiet.

“I heard that the rule for the City Lord's Mansion recruiting elites is that if one can force the Residence Guardian back half a step within three palms, they qualify for acceptance?”

Xie Chen: “That is correct, Fellow Daoist. It's getting late, we can begin.”

The steady breathing and composed demeanor made Xie Chen feel an inexplicable, immense pressure in his heart.

Before he moved, the Spiritual Qi inside his body had already begun circulating rapidly.

Shen Lian slowly put away his Folding Fan, his lips curling into a slight smile: “I wonder where your confidence comes from. Since that's the case, I specifically came to meet you and see how you handle the might of these three palms.”

As soon as the words fell, Shen Lian raised one hand toward the sky, and the heaven and earth root inside him instantly began to absorb Spiritual Qi from all directions, gathering it entirely into his palm.

Xie Chen only felt a surge of frenzied Qi before his eyes, and for the first time in his life, his face turned pale, shaken by this terrifying Aura.

The next moment, he quickly condensed all the Spiritual Qi in his body, forming a Protective Astral Energy shield around himself.

“Void Concealment: Six Trigrams Sacred Palm!”

The Void Concealment, now in Fusion with the heaven and earth root, instantly absorbed the natural spiritual power from a hundred-mile radius. In the act of inhaling and exhaling, its immense and powerful force was already poised to strike.

The next moment, Shen Lian raised his hand and swung it.

Under the night sky, a massive, materialized palm print rushed toward Xie Chen at extreme speed, like a meteor chasing the moon.

Before the move even arrived, Xie Chen felt his cheeks constantly twitching, and the surrounding Protective Astral Energy shield began to show signs of reversing its flow.

Boom—

The mighty ten-foot giant palm directly collided with Xie Chen's Astral Energy. The instant Xie Chen instinctively raised his hand to counter, the explosion caused Guyue Peak to shake violently, and the wildly leaking spiritual power blossomed into magnificent lotus traces in the Void Realm.

“Ugh~”

The moment Xie Chen received the palm strike, he felt his blood and Qi churning inside him. His body uncontrollably flew backward, and a trace of bright red blood sprayed from the corner of his mouth.

When he managed to stabilize himself, the arm that had blocked the strike was still trembling uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, the Guyue Spiritual Array set up at the old residence had already shattered directly under Shen Lian's palm Aura just now.

“Pfft...”

Suddenly, Xie Chen spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood, and his face turned utterly pale.

And in his ear, Shen Lian's voice sounded again.

“In that probing palm just now, you retreated thirteen steps. Should I explain that you are suffering from internal injuries, or that you are simply overrated?”

Hearing the mocking tone, Xie Chen was filled with unwillingness.

In truth, if it weren't for the Ice Spirit Qi Armor gifted by Liu Yixue protecting him, coupled with the spiritual array offsetting a large amount of damage, he feared retreating thirteen steps would have been the least of his worries.

At the same time, he was deeply shocked by Shen Lian's unmatched strength.

A single palm shattered the Barrier, and the residual force was still enough to heavily injure him and force him back thirteen steps.

Why would someone with such strength choose to compete for an elite position in the Royal Residence?

He quickly wiped the blood from his mouth and said, “Fellow Daoist's strength is admirable. You have passed the test and may now serve in my Royal Residence.”

“You seem to have misunderstood.”

Dao Rhyme flowed around Shen Lian's body as he stood with his hands clasped behind his back, facing away from Xie Chen.

“Since you couldn't even withstand one of my palms, then from now on, the challenge will change to killing!”

As soon as his voice fell, Shen Lian's figure flashed, and he charged straight toward Xie Chen with murderous intent.

Xie Chen did not expect such a turn of events. Before he could ponder the reason, he instinctively activated the Cold Yang Art to resist the incoming move.

Boom—

In the second palm exchange, Shen Lian held back seventy percent of his strength, using the remaining thirty percent of residual force to strike. Xie Chen was immediately sent flying thirty steps away.

The moment his feet touched the ground, his body uncontrollably shot backward again.

“Bang~”

Just as he stabilized his body, before his mind could react, Shen Lian struck his chest with another palm of Astral Energy.

The seventy percent of strength he had held back previously transformed into Astral Energy, possessing an Aura like overturning mountains and seas.

Instantly, the Ice Spirit Qi Armor burst forth with snowy spiritual light, absorbing Shen Lian's palm Aura while protecting Xie Chen's heart meridian.

Even so, Xie Chen's face was extremely twisted in pain at this moment.

“Why can't the Ice Spirit Qi Armor neutralize his palm force? What level of cultivation does this opponent possess? I don't recall offending such a person!”

Many unresolved thoughts flashed through his mind, but before he could think further, his body was sent flying backward again.

“Ice Spirit Qi Armor?”

Sensing the Qi Armor Xie Chen was wearing, Shen Lian became even more furious.

This armor was obtained by his former self for Liu Yixue, intended to give her an extra layer of protection in this bloody world of cultivation.

He had to admit, his former self was truly so saintly that Shen Lian himself admired it; whenever there was a benefit, the first thought was always of those seven white-eyed wolves.

Unfortunately, when he delivered the Ice Spirit Qi Armor to Liu Yixue back then, she didn't even spare him a glance, simply taking the armor and summarily shutting the door on him.

Now, this item was actually given to this kind of trash?

Looking again at Xie Chen, who was kneeling on the ground with a bloody face, the killing intent in Shen Lian's eyes intensified.

“One more palm, and I'll send you to the Yellow Springs!”

Xie Chen froze, raising his head in disbelief to look at Shen Lian.

He saw Shen Lian's left palm carrying Yin and Yang Qi, rapidly descending towards his head.

“My life is over!”

Seeing that there was no escaping, Xie Chen simply gave up struggling, closed his eyes, and awaited the arrival of death.

However, dying just like this left him utterly unwilling.

“Stop! Do not harm our Young Lord!”

Just then, the voices of the three Enforcers of the Xie Family rang out beneath the Void Realm.

“Hmm?”

Shen Lian raised his eyes, just meeting the three rapidly approaching figures in mid-air.

“Wretch, take your life!”

The First Grand Protector leading the group exerted all his strength and slammed a palm down toward Shen Lian's head.

Shen Lian simply swept his hand in a backhand motion.

Bang—

The instant their palms met, the First Grand Protector's face instantly turned ghastly pale.

“Is this your confidence in stopping me?”

Facing Shen Lian's incomparably sharp gaze, the First Grand Protector merely pursed his lips, unable to utter a single word.

At this moment, the Second Enforcer and Third Enforcer also arrived simultaneously.

But their first action was to grab the kneeling Xie Chen and retreat dozens of feet away.

“Young City Lord, are you unharmed?”

“Please forgive us, Young City Lord, for arriving late.”

After taking a Vitality Cultivation Pill, Xie Chen's complexion slowly improved.

Exhaling a mouthful of stale Qi, he was just about to say something.

“Ah~”

A miserable shriek quickly drew the attention of the few people.

However, when they saw the scene of the First Grand Protector, who was at the fourth stage of Undergoing Tribulation, being held single-handedly above Shen Lian's head, everyone's faces instantly changed.

“Die~”

“No~”

Boom—

Following a desperate cry, the First Grand Protector's body instantly exploded into dust, scattering across Guyue Peak.

Witnessing such a brutal scene, the remaining three people's expressions changed drastically in unison.

“Killing one is killing, and killing four is also killing!”

“Since you are rushing to be buried alongside this trash, why shouldn't I grant your wish!”

Shen Lian roared deeply, striking out directly with a mighty palm.

Bang, bang—

Two soft explosions rang out. The Second Enforcer and Third Enforcer didn't even have time to scream before their bodies were torn apart, following the First Grand Protector to the Yellow Springs.

As for Xie Chen, his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

“I want to know, how does the taste of despair feel?”

Shen Lian took the steps of the Grim Reaper, walking toward Xie Chen one step at a time.

The fear of death spread through Xie Chen's heart like poison.

Looking at the increasingly approaching Shen Lian, Xie Chen knew he was powerless to resist. He could only kneel on the ground and begin begging for mercy.

“Senior, please don't kill me. I don't want to die yet.”