Chen Tian and Xie Ru confronted each other. Chen Tian stood before Xie Ru, whose entire body was inscribed with various magic formations. Chen Tian couldn't help but sigh, impressed by Xie Ru's ingenuity. Xie Ru was, in essence, a genius of the Xie Ling tribe, but unfortunately, Chen Tian had to personally eliminate such a genius because he had betrayed Chen Tian and the entire Xie Ling tribe. Chen Tian had made a firm decision from the bottom of his heart: no Xie Ling tribesman who betrayed him would be spared. This was Chen Tian's principle. Xie Ru and Chen Tian's eyes met, and sparks of light flashed between them. Both Chen Tian and Xie Ru moved simultaneously.
Two beams of light shot directly at each other. Xie Ru's speed was faster than Chen Tian's. This was due to the speed magic formations on Xie Ru's legs, combined with Xie Ru's inherent strength being comparable to Chen Tian's. With these enhancements, Xie Ru's power increased by at least seventy percent. It would be difficult for Chen Tian to win, or at least not easy to achieve victory. Chen Tian, however, was not afraid. Xie Ru's figure collided with Chen Tian's, and the entire void was impacted by shockwaves. The void held steady against the force of their collision. Chen Tian's fists met Xie Ru's, and Xie Ru's "Xie Ling Claws" clenched into fists. Veins of light appeared on his fists, illuminating them. The power formation erupted, and Chen Tian's figure retreated slightly.
However, Chen Tian stabilized his footing and did not retreat further. Chen Tian increased his strength, and the power emanating from his fists was comparable to Xie Ru's. At this moment, Chen Tian unleashed his true strength. Originally, Chen Tian had intended to test Xie Ru's strength. Judging by their recent clash, since Xie Ru had gone all out, Chen Tian saw no reason to hold back. In his full-power state, Chen Tian's fists were on par with Xie Ru's. Waves of energy dispersed, and both Chen Tian and Xie Ru were pushed back several steps by the impact. Chen Tian was the first to regain his balance and stepped forward, throwing punches imbued with extreme power. This punch seemed capable of collapsing heaven and earth.
Facing Chen Tian's punch, a shield formation on Xie Ru's chest glowed, forming a barrier that protected him. Chen Tian's punch struck the barrier, and with a crack, the barrier, which had only held for a few dozen seconds, began to show cracks. Chen Tian let out a roar, and the cracks spread across the barrier. In the next moment, the barrier was shattered by Chen Tian's fist. Xie Ru couldn't believe that Chen Tian had broken through his defenses with a single punch. Chen Tian's fist loomed closer, and without daring to delay, Xie Ru swung his fists. The two fists collided, and this time, both were sent flying backward simultaneously.
Chen Tian and Xie Ru landed almost at the same time in the void. Chen Tian said faintly, "External power is still external power, not your own strength. I underestimated you a little."
"Heh heh, you just gained a slight advantage a moment ago, what's there to be arrogant about? Besides, what does external power matter? As long as it can kill, any means is a good means, isn't it?"
"Indeed."
Chen Tian offered no rebuttal to Xie Ru's words. As long as a method could kill, it was a good method, no matter how dirty. In the battlefield, there was no such thing as kindness. Chen Tian gazed quietly at Xie Ru. Xie Ru faced Chen Tian's calm expression, and both grew serious. After the previous exchange, they were at least evenly matched, a result neither had anticipated. Chen Tian had thought that going all out would give him a seventy percent chance of winning, while Xie Ru had believed he could crush Chen Tian by using all his abilities. In the end, it was a fifty-fifty situation.
This battle was destined to be a prolonged one, not just a test of skill. Chen Tian's figure split into seven or eight. These were all afterimages and clones of Chen Tian, attacking simultaneously. The patterns on Xie Ru's arm glowed, and with a wave of his arm, his hands and claws transformed into scythes. The black scythes descended like the Grim Reaper from hell. As the scythes slowly lifted and fell, two shadowy scythe projections shot out. Chen Tian's afterimage clones exploded under the force of this energy. Chen Tian's figure retreated. From these scythe projections, Chen Tian sensed the Law of Death.
Chen Tian did not want to touch the Law of Death, as it had an effect on him. Chen Tian was not yet invincible; he had not reached that level. There were still things he feared. Touching the Law of Death meant instant death. While Chen Tian's main body wouldn't be immediately consumed of its life force, his origin would be gradually depleted. This depletion would not recover, causing permanent damage to his main body. Considering his main body, Chen Tian chose not to withstand it head-on.
Chen Tian's figure retreated, but the death scythe projections pursued him relentlessly. Chen Tian dared not retreat further. He condensed energy in his hand, forming a long sword. The sword descended, clashing with the death scythe projections. The entire void trembled for a few moments, and white rifts appeared before vanishing, along with their attacks. Chen Tian felt his internal power and realized his origin energy had not been depleted by one percent. The Law of Death was indeed a supreme law, and Chen Tian was not yet capable of fully resisting it.
Xie Ru saw Chen Tian effortlessly resist this move and his arm transformed again. The patterns on his arm turned red, and a fiery glow enveloped the scythes. This time, the scythes shot out fiery projections. The power of these flame scythe projections was even greater. Chen Tian raised his left hand, fusing divine ice, and all the divine ice converged to form a divine ice shield. In the Divine Realm, Chen Tian's individual abilities were game-like, including divine ice and divine fire.
Divine ice and divine fire existed in the universe. Despite being game settings, with the system's help, they could be fully materialized. Chen Tian's divine ice and divine fire were identical to the divine ice and divine fire in the universe. One difference was that they were not recorded in the universe; they were undiscovered divine ice and divine fire, as they were created by the system. Their power was several times greater than normal divine ice and divine fire.
Chen Tian produced his divine ice shield, and the fiery scythes struck it. The shield remained unharmed, which made Xie Ru's expression turn grim. Chen Tian's ice element was more advanced than his fire element. How could this be possible? His patterns created flames that were at the Spiritual Fire level, the highest grade of Spiritual Fire. Unless Chen Tian's divine ice surpassed Spiritual Fire, any ice element would instantly melt before this move.
Everything before him indicated one thing: Chen Tian had mastered divine ice. How?
Xie Ru's heart roared. Even when Chen Tian was the lord of the Xie Ling tribe, he had never mastered divine ice and divine fire. Chen Tian, in his cycle of reincarnation, wielding such power would be formidable in the future. The legends of the power of divine ice and divine fire in the universe were many.
Chen Tian's shield blocked all of Xie Ru's attacks. The divine ice in Chen Tian's hand transformed into a long spear. The spear was thrown directly by Chen Tian, piercing towards Xie Ru. Xie Ru abandoned further thought; dealing with Chen Tian was the priority.
Facing this move from Chen Tian, the patterns on Xie Ru's arm shifted, and his arms transformed into ethereal shields, shimmering and flickering. Chen Tian frowned. This ability and aura... it was an ethereal ability. Had Xie Ru even inscribed this kind of ability into his magic formations?
"How many worlds has this guy been to? How many abilities has he learned?"
Chen Tian became perplexed. The Law of Death, Spiritual Fire, and now ethereal abilities. Xie Ru possessed too many abilities, and they were integrated into the magic formations inscribed on his body, becoming a part of Xie Ru. When Xie Ru used them, there were no adverse effects. Normally, individuals from different worlds would experience interference when using abilities from other worlds. Xie Ru, however, completely bypassed this drawback, achieving one hundred percent fusion and utilization.
Chen Tian became cautious as he faced Xie Ru. Xie Ru's caution was not as severe; Chen Tian, however, needed to be more careful until he understood the extent of Xie Ru's abilities. After all, who knew if he might be ambushed and killed?
A long sword materialized in Chen Tian's hand, and a shield appeared in his right hand. The shield composed of divine ice and the sword formed from divine fire gave him both offense and defense. Chen Tian swung his left hand, and divine fire erupted, transforming into a giant flaming sword. The colossal sword descended directly onto Xie Ru's head. Xie Ru's arms transformed into long swords, and his claws became black longswords. The swords darted out. Facing the colossal sword, the tips of the two swords directly clashed against the edge of the giant sword. Xie Ru's figure retreated a step, and Chen Tian's divine fire giant sword dissipated.
Xie Ru scoffed, "You don't even know the weaknesses of divine ice and divine fire. It's truly a waste to have them on you."
"That's just my good luck. You can't envy it."
Chen Tian spoke the truth. Xie Ru felt a pang of jealousy. If the divine ice and divine fire were his, Xie Ru's power would have increased by many levels. Looking at Chen Tian's divine ice and divine fire, a mad idea formed in his mind, but it was too audacious for Xie Ru to act upon.
Xie Ru would not resort to such measures unless absolutely necessary, as the price was too great, and he did not wish to die. Xie Ru and Chen Tian stared at each other, both waiting for the other's next move before deciding on their own.
Chen Tian possessed many techniques as the Lord of the Divine Lord Association, but these techniques needed to be used according to the situation. The techniques themselves were fixed; how they were utilized depended on the user. Xie Ru and Chen Tian remained still for a while, but Xie Ru eventually lost his patience. Black wings unfurled from his back, similar to an eagle's, but with black feathers. The wings converged, and as they did, all the Xie Ling energy gathered within them. Xie Ru spread his wings, which detached from his back and spun into black rings. Under Xie Ru's control, they attacked Chen Tian from left and right.
Chen Tian slowly raised his palm, opening it. Divine ice and divine fire flowed within his palm, converging into an ice ring and a fire ring. Chen Tian quickly threw his palm forward, and the ice and fire rings shot out, clashing with the black wing rings. Elemental resistance erupted, and the crackling sound of sparks filled the air.
Xie Ru stepped forward. The scene before him showed their attacks would last for a while. Xie Ru intended to use this opportunity to sneak attack Chen Tian. How could Chen Tian not see through Xie Ru's intentions? Xie Ru suddenly appeared behind Chen Tian, but everything was as Chen Tian had anticipated. Chen Tian's legs lashed out in a spinning kick. Xie Ru, seeing his intentions discovered, was not flustered in the least. His legs transformed into scissors and moved forward.
The scissor legs acted like real scissors, as if intending to slice Chen Tian in half. Chen Tian's spinning kick was no ordinary kick; it was imbued with elemental power. The spinning kick and the scissor legs collided, and both were forced back. Black gas emanated from Chen Tian's legs, while green gas flowed from Xie Ru's.
Chen Tian's previous spinning kick was entangled with the power of a whirlwind, while Xie Ru's legs were wrapped in Xie Ling energy. At the moment of collision, both sides fought to a draw. Xie Ru impatiently said, "You're so troublesome!"
"You are too. It would have been better if I had dealt with you sooner."
"Those are words I should be saying."
Their eyes locked onto each other, filled with killing intent. Both Chen Tian and Xie Ru wished to kill the other.
Chen Tian and Xie Ru collided. Amidst the explosion, Chen Tian's fists repeatedly met the palm of the Heavenly Dao. For a time, the Heavenly Dao was forced back several steps by Chen Tian's power. The Heavenly Dao was surprised; Chen Tian's strength surpassed its own. How could this be? Why did a human possess the power to resist the Heavenly Dao?
The Heavenly Dao's rage and jealousy caused it to unleash even greater power. From the bottom of its heart, the Heavenly Dao was determined to kill Chen Tian. It was no longer a matter of principle, but rather Chen Tian's existence as a transgressor, someone who did not deserve to live.
Chen Tian's figure retreated from the explosion along with the Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao, with a ferocious expression, spoke, "Transgressor, you do not deserve to live in this world."
"Hmph, so what if I transgress?"
"One may survive by defying heavenly will, but there is no survival in defying me."
"I dare to defy the very universe, why would I not dare to defy heaven?"
Chen Tian's bold declaration was from the bottom of his heart. Having entered Samsara eleven times, Chen Tian had already defied the consciousness of the universe.
Nine was the extreme, ten was perfection, and eleven was transcendence. Transcendence meant being no longer bound by the universe, breaking free from the concept of the universe.
Chen Tian had undertaken this act without consulting the universe's consciousness. If Chen Tian did not fear the universe's consciousness, why should he fear a mere Heavenly Dao?
The first step in defying the universe was to defy heaven, to become a transgressor, unbound by the Heavenly Dao or the world. Chen Tian was now very close to that goal. The Heavenly Dao was stunned by Chen Tian's words and said coldly, "Such grand words. There is no such person who can defy the consciousness of the universe."
"Today, I shall remove you on behalf of the universe!"
The Heavenly Dao's figure became more real. Upon closer inspection, it was indistinguishable from a human. Originally an ethereal energy consciousness, it had now become corporeal, appearing ready to go all out against Chen Tian.
"Then let's try. Let's see who wins."
As Chen Tian finished speaking, he charged forward. The Heavenly Dao transformed into light, and two extreme lights converged. The sky above the entire world became overcast, with lightning and thunder, and the earth shattered.
Gales howled, and waves surged.
Lava erupted, and living beings suffered.
Scenes of an apocalyptic nature continuously unfolded across the Starfall Continent. At this moment, the Starfall Continent was experiencing global upheaval, a matter Chen Tian and the Heavenly Dao were not yet aware of.
Chen Tian and Xie Ru emerged from the explosion, both bearing significant injuries. In terms of recovery, Xie Ru had the advantage. The recovery ability of the Xie Ling tribe was not to be trifled with; it ranked below the Undead and Phoenix tribes. Chen Tian's recovery speed was much slower compared to Xie Ru's.
This did not hinder Chen Tian's subsequent battle. Chen Tian's divine ice transformed into armor, encasing his entire body. Divine fire merged with the divine ice, greatly enhancing the defensive capabilities of the ice-fire fused armor.
Xie Ru knew that this was the moment for a decisive blow, a time when not a single moment of slack could be afforded.