# Chapter 523: Who Is the Stronger One?
Xu Hai stood at the bow of the ship, draped in a magnificent silver-white robe, appearing quite elegant. He stared at Zhang Ruochen, who was standing on the water's surface, and laughed: "Zhang Ruochen, why aren't you running anymore?"
Zhang Ruochen's eyes looked toward the ship where Xu Hai stood. Six bloody corpses lay on the deck, blood continuously flowing from the bodies, clearly just recently killed.
The six dead were the Void Realm warriors who had formed a team with Xu Hai.
Zhang Ruochen said: "Why did you kill them?"
Xu Hai chuckled: "After all, we came to kill you. Naturally, too many people cannot know about this. What if they return to base and talk nonsense, saying that I killed fellow warriors from the Kunlun Realm? Wouldn't I then face punishment from the Ministry of War?"
Zhang Ruochen said: "So you killed them first to silence them."
"If it weren't necessary to form a small team to leave Huangyu Island, do you think I would want to share a ship with them?"
Xu Hai continued: "Besides, this isn't exactly silencing them. When I return to base, I'll tell the Ministry of War officials that they were killed by natives of the Black Tortoise Void Realm. That way, their families can still receive a generous compensation."
Zhang Ruochen said: "If I kill you, will the Ministry of War also give the Xu Holy Clan a compensation?"
Xu Hai's eyes darkened, a cold aura emanating from him. However, he soon burst into loud laughter again: "Zhang Ruochen, have you been so intoxicated by the reputation of being number one on the Heavenly Ranking that you truly believe being unmatched in the Heavenly Extreme Realm means you're invincible under heaven? Let me tell you the truth—your strength is nothing but an ant before a Fish-Dragon Realm expert."
Zhang Ruochen said: "Isn't it too early to draw such a conclusion? At the very least, we should fight to see who is truly stronger, shouldn't we?"
Xu Hai said: "Arrogant and ignorant, not knowing the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth. Since that's the case, as your senior brother, I must teach you what it means to be low-key."
"Dealing with a mere Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist doesn't require the young master's personal involvement. I'll take his life."
A Fish-Dragon Realm cultivator stepped out from behind Xu Hai.
This man was named Xu Qianling, an elder of the Xu Holy Clan.
Xu Qianling held a one-zhang-two-chi-long black gold battle staff, took a step forward, charged down from the ship, stepped on the water waves, and attacked Zhang Ruochen first.
Seeing Xu Qianling charge out, Xu Hai temporarily held back, thinking to himself: Dealing with just Zhang Ruochen, Xu Qianling's strength should be sufficient.
Xu Qianling's cultivation had reached Fish-Dragon Third Transformation, "Bone Refining into Jade." His physical strength was immensely powerful, far beyond what a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist could match.
Even if Zhang Ruochen was number one on the Heavenly Ranking, his strength could not possibly match Xu Qianling's.
Moreover, Xu Qianling was a disciple of a Saintly Clan. His strength naturally surpassed ordinary Fish-Dragon Third Transformation cultivators. Even against a Fish-Dragon Fourth Transformation cultivator, he might not necessarily lose.
How could Zhang Ruochen contend with him?
Xu Hai had considerable confidence in Xu Qianling, so he didn't bother to act personally. After all, why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken?
"Whoosh!"
Xu Qianling's true qi was extremely abundant, surging toward his arm and pouring into the black gold battle staff, a tenth-rank True Martial Treasure.
His arm swung the battle staff, and powerful air currents lifted a layer of seawater, forming a wave that surged toward Zhang Ruochen.
That wave, infused with the power of staff techniques, struck Zhang Ruochen's protective Heavenly Gang aura, sending him flying dozens of zhang away.
"Haha! The number one on the Heavenly Ranking is nothing special. Before a Fish-Dragon Realm cultivator, he's like an ant."
Xu Qianling laughed loudly, lifting his battle staff and attacking again.
Zhang Ruochen stabilized his form, stopped retreating, drew the Abyssal Ancient Sword, and swiftly rotated his arm above the water surface, rolling up circles of water waves.
The water flowed like small streams, revolving around the sword body.
Those circles of water waves emitted a hissing sound, freezing together into countless three-inch-long ice swords.
"Go!"
Zhang Ruochen swung his arm, and those ice swords flew toward Xu Qianling like a rain of blades.
"Earth-Shaking Fury."
Xu Qianling held the staff with both hands and struck downward.
The black gold battle staff formed a massive shadow as thick as a bowl and ten zhang long, striking downward, shattering all the ice swords into powder.
That enormous staff shadow contained terrifying power, smashing the entire water surface into a depression, raising dozens of zhang-high waves.
Zhang Ruochen immediately crossed his sword to block. Countless sword qi surged out, forming a sword qi great bell around his body like a flying shield.
"Boom!"
In an instant, that massive staff shadow shattered the sword qi great bell, sending Zhang Ruochen flying once again.
Zhang Ruochen's hand gripping the Abyssal Ancient Sword ached, and he had sustained minor injuries.
"Zhang Ruochen, I told you already—number one on the Heavenly Ranking can only claim kingship in the Heavenly Extreme Realm. Encountering a Fish-Dragon Realm expert, you're just an ant. To be honest, I only used half my strength just now."
Xu Qianling, believing victory was already assured, strode toward Zhang Ruochen.
His heart was quite excited, thinking that if he could kill Zhang Ruochen, it would be a tremendous achievement, and he would surely receive the generous rewards promised by the ancestor.
Zhang Ruochen sighed: "It seems my current strength is still somewhat lacking compared to a Fish-Dragon Third Transformation cultivator."
"It's too late for you to realize that now," Xu Qianling laughed.
"Not too late."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head and immediately activated his martial soul, using it to mobilize the heaven and earth spiritual qi.
"Whoosh!"
In an instant, the spiritual qi between heaven and earth continuously gathered toward Zhang Ruochen, causing the aura emanating from his body to grow increasingly stronger.
Earlier, when Zhang Ruochen fought Xu Qianling, he hadn't used his martial soul, only matching Xu Qianling with his own strength. But Zhang Ruochen's greatest asset was his martial soul, whose intensity could rival that of a Fish-Dragon Seventh Transformation cultivator.
With the empowerment of his martial soul, Zhang Ruochen seemed to have suddenly become a different person. He held his sword, still standing there calmly, but he exuded a powerful oppressive force toward Xu Qianling.
"Such a powerful martial soul."
Xu Qianling immediately stopped in his tracks, shocked inwardly, his expression turning somewhat ugly.
Then, he also activated his martial soul, using it to mobilize heaven and earth spiritual qi to enhance himself.
However, Xu Qianling's martial soul intensity, like his cultivation realm, was only at the Fish-Dragon Third Transformation level. So, despite the martial soul's enhancement, his strength didn't increase much.
"Even if your martial soul is powerful, so what? In the end, you're still just a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist."
Xu Qianling suppressed the unease in his heart, steadied himself, and fully mobilized his true qi, executing a ghost-grade lower-rank staff technique—the Eight Trigrams Prison-Suppressing Staff Technique.
The black gold battle staff spun rapidly, forming a massive vortex of air currents that swept up the seawater within several li of defense, creating a thick water column over a hundred meters tall.
"Rumble!"
Xu Qianling's staff technique created a grand and imposing momentum.
That water column, like a giant staff, struck down toward Zhang Ruochen. Xu Qianling stood at the center of the water column, his skin turning golden, his bones becoming as hard as white jade, continuously pouring true qi into the black gold battle staff.
Zhang Ruochen flew up from the water surface, hovering in midair.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, he executed the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow, charging forward. The true qi within his body surged out, condensing into a wind dragon dozens of meters long.
Zhang Ruochen stood atop the wind dragon's head, swung his sword, and slashed. An arc-shaped sword light struck that thick water column.
With a thunderous crash, that water column was split apart by the sword qi, breaking into two sections.
"Splash!"
The water column dispersed, turning into countless droplets that fell from the sky like a torrential downpour.
Xu Qianling's body also split into two sections, falling into the water, turning the surrounding seawater completely into blood.
With just one sword strike, a Fish-Dragon Third Transformation powerhouse was killed.
Xu Hai's heart jolted with shock. He found it hard to believe and muttered to himself: "Could this sword strike be Zhang Ruochen's legendary technique, 'Instant Without Trace'?"
Xu Hai had never seen Zhang Ruochen fight Huang Shenyi, so naturally, he had never witnessed the true "Instant Without Trace."
But as news of Zhang Ruochen becoming number one on the Heavenly Ranking spread throughout the world, the sword technique "Instant Without Trace" had been exaggerated to the point of myth, becoming Zhang Ruochen's signature move, enough to strike fear into countless martial artists.
Xu Hai didn't know that Zhang Ruochen hadn't used the Instant Sword Technique just now. He had simply struck with incredible speed and a very precise angle, seeing through the flaw in the Eight Trigrams Prison-Suppressing Staff Technique, allowing him to kill Xu Qianling with one sword.
Zhang Ruochen landed back on the water surface, picked up Xu Qianling's black gold battle staff, and used the Abyssal Ancient Sword to refine it. In moments, another basic inscription pattern was added to the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
Xu Hai stared at the Abyssal Ancient Sword, clearly sensing that after absorbing the black gold battle staff, the sword seemed even sharper, its power fluctuation stronger.
That sword should be a sacred artifact.
No wonder Xu Qianling, even with his protective treasures, couldn't withstand Zhang Ruochen's sword strike.
How could ordinary protective treasures block a sacred artifact?
Xu Hai's eyes narrowed, and he snorted coldly: "Being able to refine a True Martial Treasure—it seems that sword of yours is at least a hundred-pattern sacred artifact, possibly even a thousand-pattern sacred artifact."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the Abyssal Ancient Sword and said: "Do you want this sword?"
Xu Hai's lips curled into a smirk: "I want not only that sword but all the treasures on your body. Xu Konglin, Xu Chen—whoever can cut off Zhang Ruochen's head, I will reward them with a sacred artifact."
Xu Hai only had one sacred artifact on him, one of the Xu Holy Clan's supreme treasures, specifically brought to deal with Zhang Ruochen. Naturally, he couldn't reward that sacred artifact to Xu Konglin or Xu Chen.
But Zhang Ruochen's body contained quite a few sacred artifacts.
As long as Zhang Ruochen was killed, those sacred artifacts would belong to the Xu Holy Clan.
At that point, even if Xu Hai rewarded one sacred artifact, it wouldn't be a big deal.
The two Fish-Dragon Realm cultivators standing behind Xu Hai, Xu Konglin and Xu Chen, heard the words "sacred artifact," and their eyes immediately burned with fervor.