Chen Tian stood amidst the attacks of Xie Lei. The powerful strikes were absorbed entirely by the system within Chen Tian. Despite their imposing appearance and aura, the attacks felt like a mere bath to Chen Tian, their might utterly nullified. Watching the system's progress bar, Chen Tian decided not to emerge yet, wanting the system to fully absorb the remaining energy from the current technique. A notification from the system echoed in Chen Tian's mind, indicating it was almost complete. He slowly stepped out of the swirling vortex of lightning. Xie Lei was internally devastated. His most potent attack had left Chen Tian completely unharmed. How could anyone be immune to divine lightning? Such a constitution seemed impossible.
Chen Tian casually rolled his shoulders and declared, "Do you have any other skills? Bring them out, or you won't get another chance."
Chen Tian's confidence was unshakable. Xie Ming was already severely wounded. His attempt to aid Xie Lei in breaking through Chen Tian's defense had worsened his injuries. Xie Lei's previous strike had depleted all his divine lightning energy. Chen Tian's system was only ten percent away from completing its upgrade. Unfortunately, for the final ten percent, the system stated it could not use divine lightning energy for the upgrade. Chen Tian needed to complete a specific task, but he couldn't trigger it yet, as his strength was still too low. With a slight movement of his foot, Chen Tian sent Xie Ming staggering back several steps, spitting blood.
A deep fist imprint was seared into Xie Ming's abdomen. Chen Tian felt no shame in taking advantage of the situation. He stepped forward. Xie Lei tried to help Xie Ming escape Chen Tian's grasp, but he was physically incapable of movement, his internal energy completely depleted. Going forward would only mean death. Xie Ming knew that Xie Lei's current state meant he could only rely on himself. As Chen Tian was about to deliver a killing blow to Xie Ming, a black light wheel flew from afar, aimed at Xie Ming's head. Chen Tian's long sword intercepted it, sparks flying as the sword met the wheel. With a forceful push, Chen Tian sent the light wheel spiraling away.
Xie Yu emerged calmly from behind. Xie Ming, now rescued, grabbed Xie Lei and they flew towards Xie Yu. Xie Yu stepped in front of Chen Tian. Chen Tian said indifferently, "Now that there's only one of you, why throw your life away?"
"Heh, I don't fight battles I'm not sure of. You know that."
Xie Yu's fan, held in his hand, began to enlarge under his control. As it expanded, the black feathers on the fan detached and transformed into light, entering Xie Yu's body. Xie Yu was encased in a layer of armor. In his hands were feather-bladed dual swords. With the armor's enhancement and the dual swords in hand, his entire being radiated an aura far more potent than before. Chen Tian was slightly surprised to see Xie Yu's fighting style change to dual swords. "I didn't know you could use dual swords."
"There's still much you don't know. But since I'm using my trump card, today will be your death day."
Xie Yu lunged towards Chen Tian. Seeing two beams of light descend, Chen Tian calmly dodged to the left and right. Both sword strikes missed. Chen Tian's left leg swung out in a spinning sidekick. Xie Yu's dual swords, held defensively, managed to parry Chen Tian's kick. Chen Tian wasn't surprised; Xie Yu was the strongest among the three. Chen Tian acknowledged that Xie Yu was a formidable opponent. Chen Tian's dual swords began to glow, but Xie Yu made a mistake; using dual swords against Chen Tian was like "showing off a carpenter's axe in front of Lu Ban."
In this life, Chen Tian had a particular fondness for dual swords, his understanding of them surpassing even that of long swords. His proficiency with long swords was also exceptional. In essence, Chen Tian's most formidable weapons were his dual swords. With them in hand, Chen Tian unleashed his aura, and two waves of energy collided. Chen Tian and Xie Yu locked eyes, their figures dissolving into streaks of light. Amidst the clashing blades and shadows, their movements were invisible, only the sounds of sparks, friction, and impact could be heard. When Chen Tian and Xie Yu reappeared in the sight of Xie Lei and Xie Ming, neither could discern who had the upper hand.
Chen Tian found Xie Yu's combat experience peculiar. Xie Yu had always attacked with a fan, and his close-combat experience shouldn't be this extensive. During their clashes, Chen Tian discovered that Xie Yu's combat awareness was on par with his own. Xie Yu had seen through Chen Tian's offensive maneuvers and defensive patterns, though Chen Tian had also seen through Xie Yu's. For now, it was a draw, but both were clearly warming up. Neither Chen Tian nor Xie Yu was fighting seriously; their true power was yet to be unleashed.
Chen Tian and Xie Yu clasped their dual swords tightly. Xie Yu spoke, "I thought you were still a sword cultivator. I didn't expect you to use dual swords in this life. However, abandoning your favored swordsmanship is a victory for me."
"Do you want to test it? Which is stronger, my dual swords or my sword?"
Chen Tian uttered indifferently, his eyes and expression as calm as if the sky were falling or the universe were collapsing, Chen Tian would not flinch. Xie Yu was unfazed by Chen Tian's words. He transmitted a message to Xie Lei and Xie Ming: "You two, quickly recover your energy and heal your wounds. If all else fails, we'll have to resort to 'that'."
Xie Lei and Xie Ming replied: "No, we three cannot fully master 'that' yet. It requires all five of us to fully control that ability."
"We can't afford to worry about that now. It's the only way. If I use my trump card, I can only hold on for so long. We only have two options now."
Xie Yu's words made Xie Lei and Xie Ming understand their current predicament. As Xie Yu said, they had only two choices: be killed by Chen Tian, or kill Chen Tian. With their current strength, even using their trump cards wouldn't make them a match for Chen Tian. A joint attack would at best result in a draw. Only "that" might offer a glimmer of hope.
Xie Lei and Xie Ming nodded, their resolve hardened. Chen Tian overheard none of their conversation, nor would he have cared even if he had. Chen Tian was eager to see what other abilities they possessed.
Xie Yu engaged Chen Tian in combat to buy time for Xie Lei and Xie Ming. His dual swords aimed for Chen Tian's neck, slashing left and right, their blades carrying a cold, murderous intent. Chen Tian raised his dual swords, blocking Xie Yu's. He then lifted both arms, trapping Xie Yu's dual swords and drawing his arms upward. Xie Yu released his dual swords and threw punches. Chen Tian lifted his left leg, and the punches landed on his leg. His dual swords descended. Xie Yu's figure vanished and reappeared above Chen Tian, his dual swords stabbing down viciously, aiming for the space above Chen Tian's head.
Chen Tian's dual swords flew out automatically, spinning and intertwining to form a shield. The circular shield rose above Chen Tian's head, blocking Xie Yu's attack. Xie Yu was incredulous. How could this weapon, formed from energy, possess consciousness and actively defend its wielder?
Energy weapons were merely energy. This one actively defended with consciousness.
This was merely Chen Tian splitting off a portion of his consciousness and imbuing it into the weapons, giving them an effect similar to spirit artifacts. This was a technique Chen Tian had learned in this life. Having experienced so many reincarnations, Chen Tian's combat style and experience had continuously grown. Xie Yu unleashed his full power, but Chen Tian was still playing with him, sensing they still held trump cards. Xie Yu was clearly buying time, while Xie Lei and Xie Ming were rapidly recovering from their injuries.
Chen Tian indulged Xie Yu's request to play along. Seeing his attacks were ineffective, Chen Tian shifted his focus, abandoning the direct assault and moving aside. This opponent was truly difficult, and Chen Tian was not even at his full strength. His reincarnation was not yet complete. If it were, no being in the entire universe, not even cosmic consciousness, could contend with him. Having reached the "Transcendent Realm" after eleven reincarnations, Chen Tian was beyond the control of cosmic consciousness; he was at a level immune to its attacks.
What does "transcendent" mean? It means transcending everything, existing beyond all control. This is transcendence.
Xie Yu turned to look, knowing Xie Lei and Xie Ming still needed time to recover. He did his best to buy more time. Black wings unfurled from Xie Yu's back, and his armor began to glow, energy flowing through it. Intricate black patterns became clearly visible on the armor.
Chen Tian glanced at the patterns on the armor and frowned. They looked so familiar. Where had he seen them before? He couldn't quite recall. Having experienced so much, Chen Tian's memory was somewhat fragmented. To find it, he would have to ponder slowly. In the past few months, Chen Tian had gone through too much, and his memories were like a jumbled mess.
Finally, he found the patterns in a forgotten memory. They were a type of pattern Chen Tian had seen in ancient texts, belonging to a forbidden power. By all rights, they shouldn't be here. Where had Xie Yu obtained them?
Chen Tian considered that it couldn't have been from "that guy." Chen Tian himself dared not touch such things, and even "that guy" would have to weigh his strength when confronting forbidden items.
Xie Yu saw Chen Tian pause, distracted. This momentary lapse was a perfect opportunity to attack. Chen Tian, however, was merely recalling memories and was capable of multitasking. Xie Yu attacked, dual swords crossed in front of him as he charged forward with a spin. Chen Tian raised and lowered his dual swords.