181: Chapter 181 A Fight to the Death

Chen Zilong glanced at Zhou Yi below, who was hanging his head in pain and dared not speak further, but there was no blame in his eyes.

He had long anticipated this.

The fearsome reputation of the Xuan Yin Sect was enough to make any small family tremble in fear.

His gaze returned to the ferociously charging Wang Tianba and the group of Wang Family cultivators, the mockery at the corner of his mouth growing even more pronounced.

"Half-step Soul Transformation... and a bunch of small fry."

He murmured to himself.

Then, under the astonished gazes of everyone, he did not choose to meet the charge head-on, but instead...

His figure abruptly shot upwards, soaring at high speed towards the higher sky!

"Trying to run? After him! Don't let him get away!"

Thinking Chen Zilong was trying to flee, Wang Tianba roared and led the Wang Family members in hot pursuit.

Chen Zilong flew higher and higher, soon reaching above the cloud layer.

Below, Qingyan City had become like a chessboard, and Duanlong Cliff was reduced to a tiny dot.

A fierce, howling gale swept through the area, a place where ordinary cultivators would have long been unable to breathe.

Even Wang Tianba and the others, having chased to this point, began to feel the strain.

But seeing Chen Zilong stop, his back to them as if he had given up on escape, their hearts settled instantly. They closed in with vicious smiles.

"Kid, why'd you stop running? Realize you can't get away, huh?"

Wang Tianba brandished his giant hammer. "Surrender quietly, and I might grant you a quick death!"

Chen Zilong slowly turned around. Looking at the encircling Wang Family members, his face showed no panic. Instead, a trace of...

Pity?

"Run?"

He shook his head gently. "I just thought fighting down there might accidentally damage the flowers and grass... and those watching the show."

Wang Tianba was stunned, not yet grasping his meaning.

Suddenly, Chen Zilong raised both hands. His ten fingers moved like butterflies flitting through flowers, rapidly weaving one complex and profound hand seal after another!

He chanted in a low, resonant voice, as if communing with some existence high in the Nine Heavens:

"Majestic Heavenly Might, let me be the conduit!"

"Nine Heavens Thunder, heed my command!"

As he chanted, the clear high sky abruptly transformed!

Heavy, dark clouds rolled in from nowhere, instantly blotting out the sunlight!

Within the cloud layer, lightning serpents danced wildly, and thunder rumbled!

An aura of soul-shaking destruction emanated from the depths of the firmament!

"This... this is..."

The vicious smile on Wang Tianba's face instantly froze, replaced by boundless terror!

He sensed a familiar and terrifying power—Heavenly Tribulation!

No, not the true Heavenly Tribulation, but it had summoned the most violent thunderous power between heaven and earth!

"Not good! Scatter! Run!"

Wang Tianba, scared out of his wits, screamed hoarsely.

Forgetting all about encircling Chen Zilong, he turned and tried to flee!

Alas, it was too late.

Chen Zilong's hand seals were complete. Purple lightning coiled within his eyes as if he were possessed by the Thunder God. He pressed both hands down violently!

"Nine Heavens... Calamity Light!"

"BOOM—!!!"

"CRACK—!!!"

It was as if a tear had been ripped in the sky!

Countless dazzling, azure divine thunderbolts, each as thick as a bucket, poured down like a torrential rainstorm or a reversed heavenly river. Bearing the majestic heavenly might to purify all evil in the world, they madly crashed down from the churning dark clouds!

Their target was precisely the panicked, clustered-together Wang Family members below!

The speed of the thunder was faster than lightning!

Wang Tianba only had time to raise his giant hammer overhead, erecting a thick layer of protective spiritual light, before being struck simultaneously by several divine thunderbolts!

"AH—!"

His piercing scream was instantly drowned out by the deafening thunder.

The protective spiritual light shattered like paper. The giant hammer was charred black and deformed.

Wang Tianba's entire body was engulfed in the lightning radiance, smoking all over as he plummeted from the high altitude like a kite with its string cut.

The other Wang Family cultivators fared even worse. Those with slightly weaker cultivation were directly reduced to ashes by the thunderbolts, unable to even scream.

Those with higher cultivation also suffered broken bones and tendons, their bodies charred black as they screamed and scattered in their descent.

This terrifying scene was also witnessed by Tian Yin below, who had barely managed to catch up, intending to join forces with Chen Zilong against the enemy.

He had just stabilized his injuries and was preparing to coordinate with Wang Tianba for a pincer attack when he saw this world-obliterating thunder technique descend. His face instantly turned as pale as paper, and his heart nearly leaped out of his throat!

He was immensely grateful that Chen Zilong hadn't used this move against him earlier!

This thunder technique, summoning heavenly might, was supremely yang and rigid. Its suppression of his Xuan Yin cultivation art was utterly extreme!

Had he been submerged in that sea of thunder earlier, he would have been skinned alive if not killed outright!

The thunder came fast and left just as quickly.

After a few breaths, the dark clouds dispersed, and sunlight poured down once more.

High in the sky, only Chen Zilong remained, standing aloft in the air, his robes fluttering, his expression calm, as if the apocalyptic spectacle moments before had nothing to do with him.

Below, Duanlong Cliff and its surroundings were deathly silent.

Everyone looked up, mouths agape, staring blankly at the god-like figure in the sky.

After a good while, faint moans and coughs came from the rubble at the base of the cliff.

Wang Tianba, charred black all over, his clothes in tatters, and emitting wisps of smoke, struggled to crawl out from a pile of shattered rocks.

One of his arms was twisted unnaturally, half his face was a bloody mess from the lightning strike, and his aura was utterly depleted. Where was the bearing of a peak Nascent Soul expert now?

He struggled to his feet, looking around.

Scattered all over the edge of the Duanlong Cliff platform were charred limbs and severed arms. The air reeked of the stench of scorched flesh.

Of the Wang Family elites who had flown up with him, scarcely one in ten was still breathing, and all of those were severely injured and on the brink of death.

He abruptly looked up at the figure in the sky gazing down at him with detached calm. His eyes filled with boundless resentment, terror, and madness.

Summoning all his strength, he roared hoarsely, his voice raspy and broken, yet laden with bone-deep hatred:

"Chen! Zi! Long! My Wang Family... from this day forth, will grant you no quarter!!!"

His voice echoed across the silent cliff top, carrying the desperation of one at the end of his rope.

Hearing this, Chen Zilong slowly descended a short distance.

Looking down from above at the seemingly crazed Wang Tianba, the corner of his mouth curled into an icy arc. His voice, though not loud, clearly reached everyone's ears:

"Idiot."

He paused, then added, "Wasn't that already the case?"

A light, casual sentence, yet it shattered Wang Tianba more thoroughly than any vicious curse.

Indeed.

From the moment his son, Wang Bufan, harbored evil designs towards Zhou Xiao.

From the moment his Wang Family, relying on their power, sought to bully and annex the Zhou Family.

From the moment he decided to move against Chen Zilong, the situation between them had already become one of no quarter.

It's just that now, victory and defeat were decided, and the strong and weak had switched places.

His Wang Family's declaration of "no quarter" sounded like a joke in the face of absolute power.

Wang Tianba trembled with rage, spurting another mouthful of blood.

His vision darkened, and he finally could no longer hold on.

He toppled backwards, completely unconscious.

Chen Zilong no longer paid him any mind, shifting his gaze to Elder Tian Yin on the other side, whose face kept changing colors and whose eyes flickered with doubt and suspicion.

Meeting Chen Zilong's gaze, Tian Yin's heart clenched, and he instinctively retreated half a step.

He was now filled with bitter regret. Had he known this kid was so bizarrely powerful, he wouldn't have coveted that supposed cultivation art, much less stepped forward!

Now he was in a bind. Fight?

Judging by the might of that thunder technique earlier, he figured he wouldn't fare well.

Run?

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, if an Elder of the Xuan Yin Sect was scared off by a Nascent Soul cultivator, he might as well retire.

Chen Zilong looked at him and suddenly smiled, a smile that sent chills down Tian Yin's spine.

"Elder Tian Yin,"

Chen Zilong spoke, his tone flat, "do you still wish to 'invite' me to be a guest at the Xuan Yin Sect?"

Tian Yin's face turned alternately green and pale, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word for a long moment.

Atop Duanlong Cliff, the sunlight was piercing, and the wind still blew.

But everyone knew that from this day forward, the sky over Qingyan City had completely changed.