Chapter 345: Saint Body Demon Heart
Zhang Ruochen used his finger as a sword, mobilizing his sword intent, and simultaneously launched those war swords, striking them toward Di Yi.
"Bang! Bang!"
A series of explosive sounds rang out.
Di Yi used his white bone sword to knock all the war swords away, sending them flying in all directions.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen grabbed the Abyssal Ancient Sword again, leaped up, dragged out a long sword light, and swung the sword toward Di Yi's neck.
Di Yi raised his sword to block.
"Bang!"
The two swords clashed together.
Di Yi only felt a powerful force coming from above, and his body uncontrollably fell downward.
With a "bang," both of them sank into the water at the same time.
A splash of water flew up.
Underwater, sword qi shot out like invisible wind blades, filling the water within a hundred zhang radius.
Anyone who approached would instantly be torn apart by the sword qi.
In terms of sword path attainment, although Di Yi had not reached Sword Heart Illumination, he was very close. Coupled with the immense power of the Nether King Sword Art, Di Yi actually fought Zhang Ruochen to a standstill.
Di Yi stood in the water, constantly shifting positions, unleashing one move of the Nether King Sword Art after another. Each move was ferocious and unparalleled, whether thrusting, slashing, or lifting, every strike targeted Zhang Ruochen's vital points.
Zhang Ruochen appeared quite casual. No matter how powerful Di Yi's attack was, he could calmly neutralize it, redirecting the force into the water.
"Could it be that after reaching Sword Heart Illumination, one's sword technique has no flaws at all?"
After more than ten exchanges, Di Yi's state of mind began to waver.
In Di Yi's eyes, Zhang Ruochen seemed like an opponent who could never be defeated. No matter what power was thrown at him, it couldn't harm him in the slightest.
Moreover, Di Yi was using a ghost-level sword technique. Each move consumed a large amount of true qi.
After just this brief exchange, Di Yi's true qi had already been depleted by thirty percent.
"I can't drag this out any longer, or I'll definitely lose."
Di Yi sheathed his sword, stomped his feet in the water, and then rushed toward the surface.
Zhang Ruochen naturally wouldn't let him have his way. He shouted, "Come back!"
Zhang Ruochen once again activated his Sword Intent Heart, mobilizing all the nearly hundred war swords that had fallen into the water, making them spin rapidly underwater, forming a huge vortex.
"Splash!"
A whirlpool appeared on the water's surface. Initially only two or three meters in diameter, it continuously expanded, soon reaching seventy or eighty meters. The whirlpool emitted a rumbling sound, creating a grand spectacle.
Just as Di Yi was about to break through the surface, he was swept to the center by the whirlpool's force and dragged back down.
"Kill!"
Zhang Ruochen controlled the nearly hundred war swords, stabbing them all toward Di Yi at once.
It was easy to imagine that if he were hit, Di Yi's body would become a sieve.
Sensing the killing intent coming from all directions, Di Yi didn't wait to be killed. Instead, he actively charged toward Zhang Ruochen, planning to use offense as defense.
"Bang! Bang!"
Wrapping his body with innate demon qi, Di Yi continuously swung his sword, cutting through all the war swords charging at him, and charged straight toward Zhang Ruochen.
Just as Di Yi rushed within ten zhang of Zhang Ruochen, Zhang Ruochen recalled the Abyssal Ancient Sword, grabbed it again, and actively attacked Di Yi.
"Good timing!"
Di Yi roared, and a surging sacred power surged from his body, condensing into a ten-zhang-tall human-shaped sacred shadow.
That sacred shadow emitted a five-colored radiance, its giant eyes like two burning fireballs.
Any martial artist with a saint body could condense a sacred soul infant. With the sacred soul infant's enhancement, the martial artist's power would increase significantly.
This was an advantage unique to saint body martial artists.
The power of the sacred soul infant actually suppressed Zhang Ruochen's martial soul, putting immense pressure on him. Even the flow of true qi in his body began to slow, and his body seemed unable to move.
"Break for me!"
On the walls of Zhang Ruochen's qi sea, the imprints of various gods lit up, breaking through the suppression of the sacred soul infant.
"Fortunately, I triggered the resonance of the gods and left behind their imprints, which can break the suppression of the saint body."
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen refused to be outdone. He used his martial soul to mobilize the world's spiritual energy.
Streams of spiritual energy, like smoke, converged toward him, gathering into the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
Zhang Ruochen carried the power of heaven and earth and swung his sword toward Di Yi.
"Bang!"
With one clash, both of them retreated simultaneously.
In an instant, Zhang Ruochen raised his sword with both hands, fully activating the inscriptions in the Abyssal Ancient Sword, and struck at Di Yi again.
"Bang!"
Another head-on collision.
This time, Zhang Ruochen had a slight advantage, actually sending Di Yi flying.
Di Yi no longer stayed in the water and rushed toward the surface again.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
With two explosive sounds, Zhang Ruochen and Di Yi broke through the surface almost simultaneously.
"I was the first to rush toward the surface, and Zhang Ruochen was a step behind. How could we leave the water at the same time? Is Zhang Ruochen's speed actually faster than mine? Could he really have reached the supreme extreme realm of the Earth Extreme Realm?" Di Yi's heart sank.
Zhang Ruochen didn't give Di Yi time to think. He once again controlled his martial soul, mobilized the world's spiritual energy, and attacked Di Yi once more.
Since he had already reached the Heavenly Extreme Realm, Zhang Ruochen no longer needed to hide his martial soul.
"Bang!"
Di Yi was sent flying by Zhang Ruochen again.
The black robe on his body was torn into several slits by the powerful sword qi.
Before Di Yi could steady himself, Zhang Ruochen charged up, swung his sword, and slashed out three sword qi in succession.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The first sword qi was blocked by the white bone sword.
The second sword qi was blocked by the innate demon qi.
The third sword qi finally struck Di Yi's face.
"Slap!"
As the sword qi flew past, the metal mask on Di Yi's face cracked and fell into the water.
Without the mask, a rather youthful face was revealed. He looked only fifteen or sixteen years old, with delicate features, red lips, and white teeth, appearing very handsome.
Seeing Di Yi's true appearance, everyone was momentarily stunned.
This even included the Seven Evil Star Envoys, as they too had never seen Di Yi's real face.
"Di Yi... is actually such a young boy..."
In everyone's impression, Di Yi had always been a ruthless and scheming person, at least a man in his twenties.
How could he be just a boy?
If they hadn't already known his identity, just by looking at him, he would seem like a wealthy young master well-versed in literature.
In comparison, Zhang Ruochen wasn't that shocked. After all, in his previous life, Zhang Ruochen had already reached the Great Perfection of the Heavenly Extreme Realm at the age of sixteen.
Di Yi's talent wasn't much worse than Zhang Ruochen's in his previous life.
If Di Yi hadn't wanted to break through to the supreme extreme realm of the Earth Extreme Realm, wasting some time, his martial arts cultivation would definitely not be limited to just the initial stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm.
Di Yi slowly raised his white bone sword, his eyes sharp, staring at Zhang Ruochen standing opposite him. He said indignantly, "Zhang Ruochen, among our generation, you are the first person to make me take things seriously."
Zhang Ruochen said, "If you have any other trump cards, go ahead and use them. Otherwise, you won't have the chance."
"Good. Arrogant enough. But being arrogant in front of someone stronger than you is just asking for death."
Di Yi shouted, "Flame Demon Heart."
From the position of Di Yi's heart, strands of flame shot out. The flames grew brighter and brighter, eventually forming a spherical red light.
"Thump, thump..."
The sound of Di Yi's heartbeat grew louder and louder.
In the end, it was like a large drum being beaten continuously.
A mass of demonic aura flowed out from the position of his heart, gathered at his feet, and formed a round demon sun.
The aura emitted by that demon sun formed a stark contrast with the five-colored sacred shadow manifested on his back.
As his heartbeat quickened, a scream came from a distance. An Earth Extreme Realm martial artist's heart shattered, and with a bang, he fell to the ground.
"That's a demon heart, a demon heart..."
After saying this, that martial artist died completely.
The other martial artists also felt their hearts beating faster and faster, as if they were about to jump out of their chests.
"Anyone whose cultivation hasn't reached the Heavenly Extreme Realm, immediately retreat a hundred miles away and don't come within a single step." Lei Jing roared loudly.
"A saint body and a demon heart appear in the same person?"
"An ordinary martial artist could become a generation's outstanding talent by obtaining just one of these."
"Di Yi is truly worthy of being the most outstanding prodigy of the Black Market in a hundred years. If he is allowed to grow, he might become invincible in the Eastern Domain."
"Becoming invincible? That's easier said than done. At least right now, Zhang Ruochen can contend with him."
"Zhang Ruochen is just an ordinary martial body. Even if he's only slightly inferior to Di Yi now, as their realms get higher, the power of the saint body and demon heart will gradually manifest, leaving Zhang Ruochen far behind."
"With the saint body and demon heart revealed, Di Yi will definitely be invincible at the same realm. Today, Zhang Ruochen will surely lose. It's not that he's not good enough, but that he's inherently deficient."
...
Originally, the martial artists of the Martial Market Academy were excited to see Zhang Ruochen cut through Di Yi's mask with a single sword strike. But when Di Yi revealed his demon heart, they all became worried for Zhang Ruochen, afraid that he would die under the saint body and demon heart.
Lei Jing's nerves were taut, ready to act at any moment to rescue Zhang Ruochen.
The Seven Evil Star Envoys were also surprised. They too didn't know that besides the saint body, Di Yi also had a demon heart. Such talent made them feel despair.
No wonder Di Yi could become the young master of the Black Market First Class Hall, while they could only be star envoys.
"Heavenly Demon Views the Sea."
Di Yi sat cross-legged, suspended above that round demon sun. His pupils shot out two beams of flame, looking toward Zhang Ruochen.
Wherever the beams swept, everything was destroyed.
Not good.
Zhang Ruochen immediately executed the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow, leaping into the air to dodge the attack of the two beams.
"Zhang Ruochen, when I awaken my demon heart, it's destined that you will lose today. If you willingly submit to me and become my demon heart's shadow, you can still save your life." Di Yi said.
"That's not necessarily true."
Zhang Ruochen activated the power of his bloodline. Thick blood qi surged from his body, forming behind him the phantom of a divine dragon dozens of meters long and a giant divine elephant nine meters tall.
Under the protection of the divine dragon and divine elephant phantoms, Zhang Ruochen charged toward Di Yi.
"Zhang Ruochen isn't a saint body, yet he can cultivate such powerful blood qi. That's unbelievable."
"If he didn't have such strong blood qi, how could he contend with a saint body?"
This battle gripped the heart of everyone present. Although the outcome was already predetermined, everyone still wanted to know just how far Zhang Ruochen could hold out.