Seeing the black flames rushing toward him, a sharp gleam flashed in Song Changsheng's eyes. The muscles in his legs exploded with strength, and his entire body lunged to the side like a cannonball, narrowly dodging the deadly black fire.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Zhiyuan surged with spiritual power and struck a palm directly at Song Changsheng's chest.
Without even looking, Song Changsheng countered with a backward punch.
Fist and palm collided with a thunderous boom, just like last time they clashed but this time, Song Changsheng was forced to retreat over a dozen steps, while Zhang Zhiyuan only slightly staggered before regaining his balance.
It looked like Zhang Zhiyuan had the upper hand, but deep inside, he was shaken to the core. He could feel it Song Changsheng had used only his physical strength this time.
Zhang had gone all out with that palm, yet the opponent was only slightly pushed back.
"This guy is terrifying. No wonder Chang Tianhua racked his brains trying to kill him. If he hadn't fallen for the trap, we wouldn't stand a chance today," Zhang Zhiyuan thought grimly.
Song Changsheng's face was slightly flushed, but he quickly calmed his breath. With a powerful kick, he launched himself toward Chang Tianhua like a released arrow.
Even without spiritual power, his physical strength was no joke.
"You're courting death!" Chang Tianhua snapped open his folding fan with a snap, then gave it a sharp wave, releasing a spray of silver needles as fine as ox hair.
Song Changsheng had seen this movie before. Gathering his blood energy, he took a deep breath and unleashed a punch.
A roaring gust followed his strike, scattering the venom-coated silver needles in all directions. Chang Tianhua's face paled in shock, quickly cast another spell.
But Song Changsheng remained unfazed, charging through the spell's impact and closing in with clawed hands, ready to seize him.
Just as he was about to succeed, the black-robed man and Zhang Zhiyuan launched their attacks one with a great saber, the other with a massive axe attacking from both sides with tremendous power.
A flash of regret passed through Song Changsheng's eyes as he swiftly pulled back. His body might rival a magic artifact, but it wasn't yet indestructible.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
A barrage of dazzling spells blasted toward where Song Changsheng had stood, but with agile movements, he dodged them all with ease.
Suddenly, a pitch-black chain shot toward him from behind. He tried to dodge, but the chain clung to him like a maggot to flesh.
Alarmed and angry, Song Changsheng punched at it furiously.
But the chain was snake-like, slithering aside to avoid his blow and wrapping itself tightly around his arm.
Song Changsheng was startled if this chain bound him, it'd be over. He quickly channeled his blood energy to try to break it.
But the more he struggled, the tighter it bound him. Pain surged through him as if his arm might snap at any moment.
"He's caught by my Demon-Binding Chain! End him now!" the black-robed man said hoarsely, suddenly collapsing into a cross-legged position, his aura plummeting.
"Mountain-Splitting Earth-Cracker!"
Zhang Zhiyuan raised his massive axe high, now radiating with dazzling brilliance, making him look like a towering giant who could tear the sky apart.
Song Changsheng, restricted by the chain, had no way to dodge. He prepared to rely on the Life-Saving Paper Doll hidden in him to take the hit.
Just then, a warm current flowed through his meridians, and suddenly his spiritual power surged back to life.
Song Changsheng's eyes lit up. With a single thought, his bones flashed with radiant light as the Yin-Yang Duality Array activated once more. The black and white energies twisted together into a giant pair of shears that flew forward to intercept.
"Crack!"
With a crisp sound, under Zhang Zhiyuan's horrified gaze, his giant axe was cleanly snipped in half and crashed to the ground.
As his life-bound artifact was destroyed, Zhang Zhiyuan coughed up a mouthful of blood, his aura plummeting like a rock. The entire battlefield was stunned even Chang Tianhua froze.
"W-What kind of secret technique is that?" Zhang Zhiyuan asked weakly, staring at Song Changsheng. Even now, he still thought it was some unknown technique.
"The kind that takes your life!" Song Changsheng said coldly. With a burst of spiritual power, the black chain wrapped around his arm shattered into pieces.
"Heh… I admit defeat." A look of acceptance crossed Zhang Zhiyuan's face. He closed his eyes, quietly awaiting death.
Song Changsheng flicked his finger, and a stream of water pierced through Zhang Zhiyuan's skull.
The current senior disciple of the Earthfire Sect, Zhang Zhiyuan, had fallen.
Without sparing a glance at the corpse, Song Changsheng strode toward the black-robed man not far away. The man was in no condition to resist.
As Song Changsheng drew closer step by step, the black-robed man reached up and pulled down his hood, revealing a face covered in scars. He spoke calmly, "I didn't expect you to turn the tide under such circumstances. Our defeat is well-deserved."
"You're the one who gave that fool all his clever little ideas, weren't you? I have to admit, you taught me a good lesson. Tell me your name. I'll remember it for the rest of my life."
This black-robed man had managed to push Song Changsheng into desperate situations time and again. Even as an enemy, Song held a deep respect for him.
"Qiu Wengui," the man replied.
Song Changsheng raised an eyebrow so he was from the Qiu clan. No wonder his cultivation techniques felt completely at odds with those of the Earthfire Sect.
"Rest in peace."
As Song passed him, the black and white energies twined around the man's neck and in the next instant, his head fell from his shoulders.
Chang Tianhua watched this scene unfold with wide, terrified eyes. His entire body trembled as he pointed a shaking finger at Song Changsheng and shouted, more bark than bite:
"Y-You... do you even know what you're doing?"
"Oh?"
"Those two one was our sect's senior disciple, the other one of the twin prodigies of the Qiu clan. You dared kill them!"
"Heh, so what? I don't harm others unless they come for me first. Since they tried to kill me, they should've been prepared to be killed instead," Song replied coolly.
"You Song Changsheng stop now, while you still can. Let me go, and I swear I won't breathe a word about what happened today."
Song Changsheng halted.
Seeing this, Chang Tianhua felt a surge of hope. Seizing the opportunity, he pressed on quickly, "Let me go, and all our grudges will be written off. I'll even ask my father to plead on your behalf. The Qiu clan and Zhang Zhiyuan none of it will matter anymore."
His tone was sincere, but his thoughts were venomous: The moment I get back, I'll make sure you suffer a fate worse than death!
Looking at Chang Tianhua's shameless switch from arrogance to begging, a fleeting smile passed over Song Changsheng's otherwise emotionless face a smile so brief yet chilling it made Chang's hair stand on end.
"Zhang Zhiyuan and Qiu Wengui had no personal grudges with me. They didn't have to die. And yet, they did. Even in the end, neither of them begged to live.
"But you the one who orchestrated all of this now want to walk away unscathed? Heh… do you think the world works like that?"
Song's words, laced with killing intent, sent an icy chill through Chang Tianhua's body.
Desperation turned to outrage. He bellowed, "Do you dare kill me?! I'm the young master of the Earthfire Sect! My father is Chang Wudao! If you kill me, he'll!"
Before he could finish, a hole bloomed in his forehead. His vision spun, and he collapsed lifelessly onto the cold ground.
"If I don't kill you, should I wait around for you to come back and kill me instead?" Song Changsheng said coldly, looking down at Chang Tianhua's wide, rage-filled eyes.
After collecting the spatial pouches from the corpses, Song was about to incinerate them when something caught his eye a dark blue necklace around Chang Tianhua's neck.
He reached out and took it. It was cold and heavy in his hand, radiating a faint water-elemental energy.
Song raised an eyebrow in realization. "So it was a necklace made from Jellyfish Steel Essence. No wonder the fire energy I left in him didn't take effect."
Jellyfish Steel Essence was an extremely rare Tier-2 water-element spiritual material far more precious than the Gui Water Gold Essence he had obtained before. It contained a trace of chilling yin energy, enough to suppress the residual fire qi he had planted.
Chang Wudao had gone to great lengths to protect his beloved son, refining this rare material into a mere Tier-1 artifact so that it could be carried into the secret realm.
But now, it was Song Changsheng's gain. He was searching for materials to reforge his treasure gourd, and this Jellyfish Steel Essence was a perfect fit.
He cast several Fireball spells to reduce the corpses to ash, then sat down cross-legged to begin healing.
He had already been delayed here for a long time. The struggle for the Stalactite Spirit Liquid had likely ended. There was no point rushing over now it was better to deal with his injuries first.
Meanwhile, within the cavern where the Stalactite Spirit Liquid was produced, things had played out just as Song Changsheng had guessed. The six major sects had already resolved the competition through a series of arena-style battles.
With top contenders like Song Changsheng, Qiu Wengui, and Zhang Zhiyuan absent, the fights had been fierce and unpredictable.
Among the participants, Song Lutong and Song Chang'an from the Song clan, Yu Xueqian from the Yu clan, Wang Qianqian from the Wang clan, and Li Hengzong from the Li clan had all performed brilliantly. It was only a matter of time before their names became known throughout Lingzhou.
The biggest surprise, however, was Song Lutong. Through sheer tenacity and an iron physique, he had defeated every rival and claimed the Stalactite Spirit Liquid.
Now flush with success, Song Lutong couldn't help showing off, deliberately strutting in front of the Earthfire Sect and Yu clan members with an annoyingly smug expression.
"Hmph, just a fluke. What's he so proud of? If our young master and senior disciple were here, he wouldn't have stood a chance," one Earthfire Sect disciple said coldly.
"Where do you think the senior disciple went anyway? Could he have gone to…" another whispered.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" the oldest Earthfire disciple snapped, glaring at them.
The two instantly shut their mouths, shrinking back. But anyone with eyes could tell that something wasn't right about those disappearances.
And as for what they had gone off to do well, everyone had a pretty clear guess...
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