Chapter 1220: The Battle for Supremacy
"Shadow," Fantian Shen Di said sidelong, "These past days, you've been watching from afar, never approaching. Why have you suddenly come here today?"
"Yun Che... he has piqued my interest greatly."
Qianye Ying'er's lips moved slightly, her words utterly devoid of emotion. Her snow-white neck, delicate wrists, and every inch of exposed skin were like the purest flawless jade, glowing faintly with a shallow luster, dreamlike and immaculate.
"Just as I thought." Fantian Shen Di nodded and asked no further. Qianye Ying'er was well aware of the consequences her appearance would bring, yet she still came. Clearly, her "interest" in Yun Che was far from ordinary.
On the Feng Shen Platform, Yun Che's gaze lingered on Qianye Ying'er for a long time before he reluctantly looked away.
So that's... the Fandi Shennü...
Without even seeing her face, her elegance already unsettled the soul, dimming the sun, moon, and stars. She truly lived up to the name "Dragon Queen and Divine Maiden."
At that moment, he noticed that the aura and demeanor of Luo Changsheng before him had also undergone a significant change, no longer as calm as before.
The ultimate pursuits a man could dream of in his life were nothing more than the highest path of Xuan, the greatest power, and the most beautiful woman. And the "Dragon Queen and Divine Maiden" represented the pinnacle of beauty in the God Realm.
The Dragon Queen was the wife of the Dragon God, and the Dragon God was the foremost being in the God Realm. Naturally, he was worthy of the Dragon Queen, and only a woman like the Dragon Queen could match him.
As for the Divine Maiden...
If any man were fortunate enough to win her favor, he would surely invite the frenzied envy of countless men across the God Realm!
Including Luo Changsheng.
But the Fandi Shennü was such an existence that even a figure like Luo Changsheng dared not truly fantasize about gaining her favor. Perhaps even catching a glimpse of her true face once in a lifetime would be a luxury.
"Begin!"
Quhui Zunzhe's fierce roar was like a thunderclap from a clear sky, pulling everyone's sight and thoughts back to the Feng Shen Platform.
The very instant Quhui Zunzhe's voice fell, the profound energy of Yun Che and Luo Changsheng erupted simultaneously.
Luo Changsheng's long hair flew high, the surrounding space whipped by gale-force winds and crackling lightning. In his right hand, the Sacred Thunder Sword; in his left, the Divine Wind Axe. The entire Feng Shen Platform transformed with the changing wind and clouds because of him.
Before he even struck, this abruptly bursting momentum shocked everyone, instilling a deep sense of awe. Watching Luo Changsheng bathed in wind and thunder, they seemed to see an emperor standing atop the vault of the heavens. A feeling of inferiority rapidly grew in the depths of their souls.
Crack!!
Luo Changsheng moved. With the boost of the storm, his speed was nearly unimaginable. The Sacred Thunder Sword and Divine Wind Axe tore through two ferocious streaks of light, like merciless and terrifying claws of a demon, capable of seizing countless lives in an instant.
"Aaaaah!!" Countless Xuan practitioners in the Eastern God Realm cried out in shock. No one had expected Luo Changsheng to launch such a violent attack right from the start. Its terrifying momentum almost surpassed all previous battles of the Feng Shen Battle... Facing Yun Che, it seemed he was going all out without holding back from the very beginning.
This power of simultaneous wind and thunder, capable of completely changing the color of heaven and earth... Could Yun Che really withstand it?
At the same instant, Yun Che also struck out violently. With his Buddha Heart Divine Meridian, his explosive ability was second to none. His power surged from stillness to full eruption in an instant. The Heaven-Defying Sword blazed with raging flames, and as he swung it, golden fire scorched the sky, colliding head-on with Luo Changsheng's wind and thunder power without any fancy.
BOOM!
Like a divine thunderclap, the Feng Shen Platform below shattered on a massive scale. The fragments instantly turned into the finest powder, swept into the sky by the violent torrent of energy.
The moment Quhui Zunzhe's "Begin!" sounded, there was no probing, no exchanged glances or verbal jabs—both men's power had already erupted with savage ferocity. In the history of the Feng Shen Battle, the platform was rarely destroyed. Yet in their very first clash, it was already cracking apart.
Explosive thunder, raging flames, howling gales... The area of the Feng Shen Platform was completely filled with three kinds of frenzied power. If not for the barrier separating them, it would have engulfed the entire spectator stands. Amid the blinding and violent Xuan light, two figures collided madly. Every exchange was like a divine thunderbolt descending. In just a few breaths, the platform had turned into a hell of disaster, where every corner and every inch of space was ravaged by terrifyingly extreme power.
Everyone in the stands seemed petrified. They had hoped for a fierce and exciting duel, but no one expected it to be so intense from the very start.
"Luo Changsheng's power... is terrifying! But against such a terrifying Luo Changsheng... Yun Che isn't at a disadvantage?"
"Tch... When he fought Jun Xilei, Yun Che definitely wasn't using all his strength!"
"No kidding! He even blocked the might of the Nameless Sword! This is Yun Che's true power! Facing Luo Changsheng, he's not losing ground at all! My god, this battle—maybe... maybe he really could defeat Luo Changsheng!"
In Yun Che's battle against Jun Xilei, he had initially "ambushed" her into a losing position, then all defenses against the Nameless Sword. Now, the power he unleashed against Luo Changsheng made them truly realize that Yun Che's strength had indeed reached a level comparable to Luo Changsheng's!
"Ah... ah... ah..."
Huo Poyun's eyes widened, his pupils constricting as if he were witnessing a scene beyond his understanding. Incoherent sounds involuntarily escaped his throat.
"Is... is that... really Brother Yun?"
Not just Huo Poyun, everyone from the Yin Xue Realm and Yan Shen Realm—including Huo Rulie, Yan Juehai, Mu Huanzhi, and others—stood frozen, eyes wide, utterly unresponsive to Huo Poyun's words.
"No wonder... no wonder Yingyue conceded." In the Liuguang Realm seats, Shui Yinghen swallowed hard.
Shui Yingyue: "..."
"Shadow," Fantian Shen Di said lightly, "Luo Changsheng and Yun Che—which one do you think is superior?"
Without shifting her gaze, Qianye Ying'er's lips curled into a hint of mockery. "Luo Changsheng? He's not even fit to be mentioned in the same breath as Yun Che!"
"Oh?" Fantian Shen Di turned his head.
"Luo Changsheng's Xuan power is at the peak of the Divine Spirit Realm, barely half a step away from the Divine King Realm," Qianye Ying'er said coldly. "But it seems everyone has conveniently forgotten that Yun Che's cultivation is only at the Divine Tribulation Realm."
"Just on that point alone, Luo Changsheng isn't even worthy of polishing Yun Che's shoes. What right does he have to be compared?"
"Heh heh," Fantian Shen Di laughed. "For a person below the King Realms to catch your eye is a rarity."
His words seemed simple and straightforward, but carried deep meaning.
"...That depends on his skill," Qianye Ying'er said indifferently. "He'd better not disappoint my expectations."
Fantian Shen Di smiled again but did not press further—because he knew his daughter all too well.
Boom! BOOM! Crack!!
The Feng Shen Platform was like two primordial wild beasts locked in a life-and-death struggle, erupting into a disaster force field with every instant.
With the power of the storm on his side, Luo Changsheng was far faster than Yun Che. His figure sometimes flashed like lightning, sometimes drifted like the wind. Though Yun Che was slower in speed, he calmly countered with Moon-Breaking Shadow Flick. The heavy, bladeless Heaven-Defying Sword in his hand blasted out a destruction domain with every swing, annihilating all of Luo Changsheng's power.
"Universe-Hiding Space!"
A green flash flickered in Luo Changsheng's eyes. Suddenly, a fierce gale swept across the Feng Shen Platform, and a vast domain expanded in the span of a single breath, covering a hundred miles. Within the storm domain, Luo Changsheng's speed surged again, while Yun Che was caught in the whirlwind—his speed drastically reduced, and even his body was clearly hindered.
BANG!!
In that instant of vulnerability, the Sacred Thunder Sword broke through the Heaven-Defying Sword's destruction domain. A bolt of lightning, like a serpent from the abyss, struck directly at Yun Che's heart.
Yun Che leaned back, taking a step backward. That single retreat sent him hurtling a hundred zhang away, but he didn't stumble. Instead, he spun around like lightning, a blue flash in his eyes. His flame turned into Ice God energy, and with a single sword strike, ice light filled the sky, casting a vast frozen domain.
"Ice God Domain!" The Yin Xue Realm crowd murmured almost subconsciously.
Luo Changsheng's release of "Universe-Hiding Space" was extremely fast, but Yun Che's "Ice God Domain" was even a fraction faster, causing a brief but distinct look of surprise on Luo Changsheng's face.
Both Universe-Hiding Space and Ice God Domain were control-type domains—one turned the environment into a storm favorable to Luo Changsheng and oppressive to Yun Che, the other into an ice prison favorable to Yun Che and oppressive to Luo Changsheng. Overlapping, they once again transformed the Feng Shen Platform, stirring up a terrifying ice storm. Within the ice storm, the two clashed again, and even under mutual suppression, the roar of energy remained earth-shattering.
"Strange," Fantian Shen Di frowned slightly. "Luo Changsheng's body was tempered by the Primordial Divine Water, making his physique and meridians far beyond ordinary, which allows him to open a domain so quickly. But Yun Che... is even a bit faster?"
Qianye Ying'er: "..."
Boom... crack... sizzle!
The ice storm grew more violent. Even if a mountain were to descend upon the Feng Shen Platform at this moment, it would be reduced to sand in an instant. Then, the two figures crossed paths, separating far apart, and clashed again when they met once more—both of their powers condensed to the extreme.
"Annihilation of Heaven and Earth!"
"Broken Heaven Sword!"
At the center of the Feng Shen Platform, a three-colored energy vortex erupted violently.
In that moment, the entire world fell silent.
In the next instant, it exploded into a world-shaking roar.
BOOM—
The two figures hurtled away in opposite directions. The ice storm that had raged for so long suddenly split down the middle, as cleanly as a water surface cut by a sharp blade.
Then, all the energy rapidly dissipated, revealing the figures of Yun Che and Luo Changsheng once more. They stood twenty miles apart, as if by unspoken agreement, neither made another move.
Luo Changsheng's white robes were dust-stained, his long hair slightly disheveled, and his body covered with bits of ice. But his gaze remained as calm as at the very beginning, without a ripple.
Not a single scratch on his entire body.
Yun Che's face, neck, back of his hands, and his snow-white clothing were covered with countless cuts from the wind blades. But to Xuan practitioners at their level, such wounds were negligible. A trace of blood at his heart was likewise harmless.
"The warm-up is about done," Luo Changsheng said flatly. "Release your Illusory God."
One sentence sent countless Xuan practitioners' jaws dropping to the ground.
"Warm-up...?" Huo Poyun leaned forward, nearly biting his tongue. "That was just... a warm-up!?"