"Old man Zheng Renyi! I've been waiting for this day for a long time!"
The robust man with an unkempt beard, or "Eastern King Ma Fufeng," spoke while laughing heartily. His thunderous voice made some of the spectators' ears ring and their vision blur for a moment.
"Truthfully, an old man like me doesn't really want to fight with a young person like you." Zheng Renyi, whose demeanor resembled a kind old man, sighed softly while reaching back to touch the hilt of his sword.
"Stop talking so much! Didn't I say to let the duel decide it!"
Eastern King Ma Fufeng had no intention of negotiating whatsoever. Both his fists struck together at his chest, creating a heavy impact sound.
"...Very well then."
Sword Saint Zheng Renyi lived up to his title of "Sword Saint," because the moment he held the sword in his hand, his demeanor changed in an instant. His once gentle gaze became perfectly still. The spiritual energy circulating within him manifested externally, like an aura enveloping his body.
"Ah..."
The spectators in the very front felt as if something had cut their faces. When they touched it with their hands, they found thin wounds on their cheeks.
Not just him—a number of spectators with weaker power were experiencing this same phenomenon!
"True sword qi, incredibly sharp..."
Tang Tianjie murmured softly. His close friend, old man Song, nodded in utmost agreement.
On Ma Fufeng's side, wind qi also exploded forth, visible to the naked eye!
The spiritual energy enveloping Ma Fufeng's body was vastly different from Sword Saint Zheng Renyi's, because it looked like raging torrents. When it manifested, the surrounding area seemed to be hit by a storm. Small trees and much dust all flew up into the air.
Boom!
Before anyone realized it, both men standing in the center of the arena had lunged toward each other, clashing in the middle with a resounding crash. The razor-sharp sword in Zheng Renyi's hand struck against Ma Fufeng's fist, but instead of cutting through that fist, it was stopped!
Upon closer inspection, they discovered that Ma Fufeng's fist wasn't merely a bare fist as they'd thought. He was wearing something like reddish-brown gloves with sharp claws at each fingertip, making his hands look like those of a ferocious beast.
And these gloves could easily withstand Zheng Renyi's sword!
"Truly worthy of the Demon Lord's Claws—as hard as the rumors say."
Zheng Renyi spoke in a calm tone, but his arm still swung the sword in long sweeps, leaving faint traces in mid-air as he relentlessly attacked Ma Fufeng.
"No need for compliments, old man!"
Ma Fufeng laughed heartily while raining down punches. But the attacks of both men couldn't make either side falter in the slightest.
"Haha!"
The two entangled in the center of the arena, neither yielding to the other. After dozens of exchanges, both released their qi before shooting up into the air above the arena, nearly ten meters high!
They were truly floating in the air!
The people below all had eyes gleaming with brilliance. Being able to fly and walk on air was a sign of truly entering the Grandmaster stage. It was the goal of all the cultivators standing here.
"General Ma is truly formidable."
A young man in military uniform murmured softly while his gaze fixed on the sky above.
"Of course. General Ma is one of the 4 generals of our military. How could he be weak?" His fellow soldier beside him spoke with an admiring tone.
"But do you know why these two are fighting?"
The first soldier whispered quietly. After all, he was currently on duty.
"I think they're betting on something. But soldiers like us have no way of knowing much." His friend dismissed it, telling him to stop being curious about matters that didn't concern them.
"...I suppose so."
They whispered softly, but their eyes still fixed on the magnificent battle in the sky.
"Hahaha!"
Ma Fufeng, who was like a ferocious beast, manifested dense red wind qi that enveloped his body. It covered him completely while emitting a fearsome aura.
"...Demon Body?"
The spectators watching felt their hair stand on end, but couldn't help being excited. Because what they were seeing was one of Ma Fufeng's ultimate techniques—the technique that had made him the Eastern King he was today.
The red aura covering his body would become both armor and weapon simultaneously. Moreover, it could move as if alive, like a raging, bloodthirsty beast.
Furthermore, it enhanced Ma Fufeng's speed and reaction time by another level. His current speed was definitely beyond what ordinary cultivators could follow with their eyes.
Whoosh!
Ma Fufeng's figure disappeared from everyone's sight. But in the blink of an eye, a mass of red energy appeared behind Zheng Renyi and struck him, sending Zheng Renyi's body hurtling down from the sky.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The Sword Saint's body was like a bullet. It plunged from the sky, crashing into trees and breaking them in a long path. White dust and smoke clouded everything until it was impossible to see whether he was alive or dead. The spectators unconsciously swallowed loudly.
Was the duel already decided!?
"...Young people like you are far too vigorous."
Zheng Renyi's voice rang out from within the dust simply. But that made the surrounding crowd breathe a sigh of relief. Suddenly, a great gust of wind blew away the dust from the brief clash, revealing the Sword Saint Zheng Renyi's figure—completely uninjured!
Around him appeared over 20 golden sword qi that looked more like real swords than anything, spinning around his body. Not only could they absorb damage, they could also be used for attacks!
Whoosh!
The Sword Saint's hand that wasn't holding the sword waved lightly. Those 20-plus sword qi shot up into the sky at incredible speed.
Ma Fufeng himself exploded with another burst of spiritual energy before diving down from the heavens. Both hands wearing the Demon Lord's Claws swung to deflect the attacks from those sword qi away from his body while getting closer and closer to the ground below.
Boom!
The clash between sword and claws occurred again and again.
No one knew how much time had passed, but the sun that had been blocked by the surrounding valleys, allowing them to feel cool and comfortable, now appeared in the sky directly above everyone's heads.
"...They've been clashing for almost an hour."
Tang Luotong could feel the heat rising.
Patter.
Patter.
Patter.
A number of water droplets gradually fell from the sky. The crowd watching the battle was extremely surprised, because no one had expected rain to fall.
But they were all cultivators. These small raindrops couldn't do anything to them. Some had even prepared umbrellas thoroughly, especially those from the great clans whose attendants were always prepared.
Rumble!
Besides the rain, there was also the roar of thunder sounding occasionally. Even so, the two Grandmasters entangled with each other paid no attention whatsoever.
"...This is getting heavier, isn't it?"
Tang Luotong murmured softly, because the rain that had been just light drizzle earlier had become like a thunderstorm. And it seemed this strange phenomenon was occurring only in this mountain area.
Crack!
The sound of lightning striking the ground thundered so loudly that even this quiet, peaceful mountain trembled. The creatures living here all fled in chaos. No one realized at all that at the center of this mountain, something was slumbering!