A wave of sound arrived before the person, disrupting Chen Tian's attack. Yun Shui Kuang Mie's pleading look made him instinctively feel that he didn't need to die. Some great being had arrived. Chen Tian's brows furrowed; the newcomer was someone he knew very well, a voice he would never forget. Chen Tian berated him, and before him, a figure descended from the sky, walking on air. Chen Tian ignored Yun Shui Kuang Mie, spreading five-colored wings behind him and soaring towards the heavens.
"Xie Ling Lan!"
Chen Tian roared and charged at Xie Ling Lan. Seeing Chen Tian attack without a word, Xie Ling Lan smiled at the corner of her lips. "It seems you truly hate me."
"Traitor, I should have dealt with you back then."
Chen Tian looked at the woman before him. Xie Ling Lan was a woman with a graceful figure. The aura she exuded, even when influenced by evil spirit energy, was undiminished. She looked human, not like the typical Xie Ling race. Xie Ling Lan was originally one of Chen Tian's disciples. Chen Tian, as a supreme overlord of the Divine Realm, had over a dozen disciples. Among them was Chi Lan, who was Xie Ling Lan. Chen Tian had taught her the "Miao Miao Method." Who knew that during the invasion of the Xie Ling race, Chi Lan had slaughtered all her fellow disciples and defected to them.
The reason was that the Miao Miao Method she taught was inferior to the techniques of other disciples, fueling her jealousy. For more powerful strength, she colluded with the Xie Ling race and became one of them. Chen Tian never expected to encounter Chi Lan here. Chi Lan now called herself Xie Ling Lan. The technique Chen Tian taught Chi Lan was not the most inferior, but rather the most potent one he possessed. Chi Lan's talent was worthy of the Miao Miao Method, but her character was lacking, preventing her from fully unleashing the power of the technique.
Chen Tian had no opportunity to kill Chi Lan back then. Now that she stood before him, Chen Tian would not let her go. He wanted to avenge his disciples. Chen Tian and Xie Ling Lan locked eyes. Chen Tian roared, "Die! I didn't kill you then, but now I want to see how powerful you've become."
"Master, you are already so old, it's time for you to be buried. If I kill you, I can gain even greater power, and the entire world will be mine. It's much more interesting than learning behind you."
Xie Ling Lan's ambition had always been the entire world. She had entered Chen Tian's tutelage to learn all his techniques. Now, with the help of the Xie Ling race, Xie Ling Lan's ambition had fully ignited. If she could kill Chen Tian, she would complete her mission and receive her reward.
"Die, you ungrateful disciple!"
Chen Tian clenched his fists, condensing the power of the Five Elements within them. His five-element wings flared, erupting in speed. He charged towards Xie Ling Lan with the speed of light. Xie Ling Lan's eyes widened, and her expression turned serious. She extended a palm, and her fist collided with her palm. Waves of energy rolled out, and the entire sky cracked. A spatial vortex appeared, and Chen Tian and Xie Ling Lan entered the void.
The mere residual impact of their collision had caused this in the void. One could hardly imagine the scene if both went all out.
In the void, Chen Tian and Xie Ling Lan clashed continuously. Chen Tian held the advantage, while Xie Ling Lan was on the defensive. Chen Tian's fists attacked Xie Ling Lan relentlessly, his strikes unpredictable and some even impossible for Xie Ling Lan to defend against. Xie Ling Lan knew she wouldn't be able to defeat Chen Tian if this continued. Her body flickered, and Xie Ling energy enveloped her. She struck out with a palm. Chen Tian countered with a punch. Fist and palm met, and both staggered back three steps.
Chen Tian sneered, "Everything you have is taught by me. Do you think you have a chance to win against me?"
"How do you know if you don't try? Moreover, while you taught me things, there are some things you didn't teach me. Take this Xie Ling energy, for example. See how easily I've mastered it."
Xie Ling Lan's face contorted. She did not deny that all her martial arts and techniques were taught by Chen Tian.
This did not mean she couldn't defeat Chen Tian. Chen Tian's arm condensed even more formidable power. The three different energies of the Five Elements, starlight, and Yin-Yang fused together, forming an armor that covered his entire body. Xie Ling Lan was also enveloped by an armor made of Xie Ling energy. For Chen Tian to break Xie Ling Lan's defense, he needed energy that wouldn't be affected to inflict damage. Chen Tian and Xie Ling Lan clashed again. Chen Tian's fist targeted Xie Ling Lan's head. How could Xie Ling Lan let Chen Tian's hand reach her? She raised her arm to block Chen Tian's punch. Chen Tian unleashed a spinning kick with his left leg. Xie Ling Lan saw Chen Tian's left leg coming towards her neck and, with a flicker, appeared behind Chen Tian.
Her palms extended, delivering strikes of terrifying power. Chen Tian's wings behind him glowed, and his figure instantly vanished from his original position. The attack missed. Chen Tian suddenly appeared above Xie Ling Lan, and a beam of light descended from the sky. Xie Ling Lan's expression changed drastically. Xie Ling energy formed a protective shield around her. The light beam struck the shield, and an explosion erupted.
Chen Tian stood before Xie Ling Lan. Xie Ling Lan was unharmed. Chen Tian hadn't used his full power in this attack; he wanted to gauge Xie Ling Lan's abilities and trump cards. Only when both sides understood each other's strength would the decisive battle commence. This was merely a warm-up.
Chen Tian praised, "You have indeed become stronger than before. But this power is not yours, and it will never be yours."
"Shut up. All that matters is power. With power, one can have everything. It's a world ruled by the strong, you taught me that at the beginning."
"I did say that, but the strength I spoke of was inner strength, your own strength, not strength derived from others."
"Shut up, shut up! Now I will let you die under my power. Let's see if your glib tongue can save you."
Xie Ling Lan detested being reminded of this matter, the dispute over power. Chen Tian had once given Chi Lan a lecture on this, and Chi Lan had always opposed Chen Tian's words, thinking them wrong. "As long as I have power, what does it matter how I obtain it?"
"Alas!"
Chen Tian sighed. Chi Lan was no more; she was now Xie Ling Lan. Chen Tian had accepted this reality. His entire aura surged. Xie Ling Lan and Chen Tian stood opposite each other, their auras clashing and remaining evenly matched. Chen Tian took a step forward, and suddenly the entire void seemed to grow empty, as if time and space had frozen. Chen Tian and Xie Ling Lan vanished from the void.
A second later, the void erupted with thousands of beams of light and sounds, and black holes continually appeared. In a single second, Chen Tian and Xie Ling Lan had exchanged over a thousand blows. They fought within the cracks of time.
When Chen Tian and Xie Ling Lan stood in the void, both were covered in injuries. Chen Tian's wounds slowly healed. There was a palm print on his chest, Xie Ling Lan's palm print. Xie Ling Lan was no better, covered in wounds, fist marks, fiery red imprints, and so on. Blood seeped from their skin.
This blood was black. Neither Xie Ling Lan nor Chen Tian made a move, choosing instead to recover from their injuries. The previous three seconds of fighting were equivalent to thirty days of battle. Their combat had been incredibly fierce, a style of trading blows.
Chen Tian acknowledged that Xie Ling Lan had become stronger than before, but this was not everlasting strength. True strength lay in one's heart and conviction.
Chen Tian's resolve to protect the world had sustained him until now. Even when he stood at the pinnacle of the world, Chen Tian had no craving for power.
After Chen Tian and Xie Ling Lan partially recovered from their injuries, Chen Tian gripped his dual blades, assuming a stance with one blade in front of the other. Chen Tian was about to enter the next phase of combat. Seeing Chen Tian wield dual blades, Xie Ling Lan mockingly said, "Are you looking down on me? Use your strongest sword technique."
"No, I am just me. In this life, I only love dual blades."
"Fine, if you're holding back, don't regret it later."
Xie Ling Lan did not know Chen Tian was reincarnated. After completing her mission, Xie Ling Lan had returned to the Xie Ling race and was not seen during the subsequent great battles. Initially, Chen Tian thought Chi Lan had died among the Xie Ling race, but now it seemed that was not the case. Xie Ling Lan had her own fortune.
Xie Ling Lan gathered black energy in her hand, forming a sword technique. Chen Tian's expression changed. "You want to use the sword technique I taught you to kill me? How ridiculous."
"Why not!"
Xie Ling Lan showed no expression towards Chen Tian, only killing intent. Her purpose for coming here was to kill Chen Tian. She had fought to obtain this opportunity, and Xie Ling Lan was determined to kill him herself to prove her ideology was correct.
Chen Tian and Xie Ling Lan engaged, with sword qi crisscrossing and blade qi raging. The blade qi and sword qi collided, causing the void to tremble, as if saying, "Esteemed sirs, could you please take your fight elsewhere? I cannot accommodate you here!"
Even the void seemed unable to withstand the clash of their auras. Chen Tian and Xie Ling Lan fixed their gazes on each other, and two beams of light collided with extreme intensity.