Chapter 186: Divine Xuanwu
Lu Tian’s supporters cried out frantically as if they were pigs being butchered.
The volume of their voices was so high that the whole world seemed to be trembling as they shouted!
However, their zeal didn’t affect Ye Guan. He remained calm as he hopped onto his sword and descended to the Life or Death Stage.
An old man appeared on the stage.
The old man was none other than Old Zhang from the Guanxuan Committee!
He appeared between them. He glanced at two of them before taking out a piece of paper. “This is the death liability waiver. Please sign it if you have no objections to the terms.”
Lu Tian stuck a finger out, and a drop of blood landed on the piece of paper.
A drop of blood to seal the deal!
Lu Tian turned to look at Ye Guan.
Ye Guan remained silent as he stuck a finger out and sent a drop of his blood on the piece of paper.
Old Zhang put away the death liability waiver document before turning around to leave.
The deal was sealed; the battle had begun!
The entire Trial Peak went silent, and all eyes were on both Ye Guan and Lu Tian.
Lu Tian stared at Ye Guan with both hands behind his back.
He chuckled lightly and said, “Actually, I must thank you. Really, you’ve—”
“Shut up!” Ye Guan cut him off. “We’re not close, and I don’t want to waste my breath on you.”
That was it…
Rumble!
The space in front of Lu Tian was torn open, and a sword flew out of the rift.
Instant Death Strike!
Ye Guan didn’t bother feeling his enemy out. He unleashed a killing move at the start of the battle!
Lu Tian narrowed his eyes and pointed a finger at the sword.
Crackle!
A thunderclap burst from the tip of Lu Tian’s finger and sent Ye Guan’s sword—Dragon’s Roar—flying away.
However, another sword flew toward Lu Tian in a resplendent ray of light!
Electricity crackled beneath Lu Tian’s feet.
Whoosh!
Lu Tian disappeared and reappeared thirty meters away.
Ye Guan’s sword struck nothing but air.
Lu Tian’s face changed instantly the moment he reappeared, as a sword was already waiting for him. To make matters worse, the sword was even faster than the previous swords combined.
There was nowhere to hide!
Lu Tian’s eyes narrowed, and he balled his right hand into a fist.
Boom!
The surroundings shook violently as a terrifying aura gushed out of Lu Tian.
At the same time, a ray of light burst out from his forehead.
Rip!
The surrounding space was torn open.
Ye Guan’s sword could no longer move even an inch upon colliding with the ray of light, but another resplendent sword light made a beeline for Lu Tian.
Boom!
The ray of light that had come from Lu Tian’s forehead shattered, but Lu Tian was already thirty meters away from Ye Guan. Nonetheless, Ye Guan’s sword was already waiting for him the moment he reappeared at his chosen location.
Ye Guan’s swords were like maggots in a tarsal bone. They kept on chasing after Lu Tian, and wherever Lu Tian went, they would be waiting for Lu Tian at his destination. Moreover, each sword was faster than the previous one!
However, Lu Tian remained extremely calm.
He simply stared at the oncoming sword without even bothering to defend himself.
Shwik!
The sword pierced Lu Tian’s forehead, stunning everyone.
Moments later, the onlookers’ faces changed.
The Lu Tian who had just perished in front of their eyes was just an afterimage!
The onlookers turned to Ye Guan and found that a terrifying bolt of lightning was making a beeline for Ye Guan. The lightning bolt was about to reach Ye Guan as it directly split the space in a three-hundred-meter radius around Ye Guan.
The onlookers were stupefied.
They were aware of Ye Guan’s speed, but they had no idea that Lu Tian was capable of moving at such speeds as well. In addition to dodging Ye Guan’s terrifying sword attack, he even managed to counterattack!
Crackle!
Ye Guan was engulfed by the lightning bolt. This time, spacetime itself was shattered when the lightning bolt exploded like a firecracker.
The dust soon settled, and the onlookers were astonished.
Ye Guan was missing!
However, the faces of the stronger cultivators in the crowd abruptly changed.
They saw a sword light appear right behind Lu Tian.
Lu Tian frowned upon sensing the oncoming attack. He was surprised by the fact that Ye Guan had somehow dodged his attack. The oncoming sword move caught him by surprise, leaving him with no choice but to use one of his trump cards.
Lu Tian clenched his fists.
Crackle!
A lightning bolt struck Lu Tian, and a powerful shockwave infused with lightning spread in all directions from where he stood. The lightning bolt was so strong that Ye Guan was sent flying away.
“The Ultimate Realm!” someone exclaimed in shock.
The Ultimate Realm? The onlookers froze. Lu Tian is already an Ultimate Realm cultivator?
“No!” yelled someone else, “The lightning dancing about him is emitting a faint red glow… H-h-he’s in the legendary Ultimate Secret Tribulation Realm! My goodness!”
Ultimate Secret Tribulation Realm!
There were many disciples from aristocratic families and great clans among the crowd. They had never seen a cultivator at the Ultimate Secret Tribulation Realm, but they had heard of the realm before.
The onlookers went wild at the reveal. Lu Tian was already unparalleled among his peers based on the fact that he was already an Ultimate Realm cultivator despite his young age.
One could say that he was one of the most talented individuals whom the Guanxuan Academy had ever seen. However, Lu Tian wasn’t just an Ultimate Realm cultivator—he was in the Ultimate Secret Tribulation Realm.
He was a certified cream of the crop talent!
Lu Tian’s supporters laughed boisterously. They had made the right bet!
Chen Guanzi remained calm as he watched Ye Guan and Lu Tian fight on top of a pillar. However, worry could be discerned in the eyes of the Sword Sect disciples behind him.
The Ultimate Secret Tribulation Realm[1]! Lu Tian’s cultivation base was a curveball that they had never expected to see.
Ye Guan calmly stared at the distant Lu Tian.
Lu Tian didn’t even bother to say anything. He opened his palm, and a lightning bolt landed on his palm. The powerful lightning might his hand was exuding made the spacetime around him quiver violently. It was a terrifying sight to behold.
He was indeed an Ultimate Realm cultivator!
Ye Guan suddenly said, “You’re actually an Ultimate Realm cultivator?! That’s so impressive!”
Lu Tian was overjoyed to hear such a remark from Ye Guan. He was about to say something, but Ye Guan vanished from his sight!
Thunderclap!
Ye Guan’s speed reached the absolute limits of what was possible for his current cultivation realm.
Shwik!
Under everyone’s astonished gazes, Ye Guan’s sword directly pierced Lu Tian’s throat.
The onlookers fell silent.
Lu Tian’s supporters stared with wide eyes, and their hearts rose up to their throats!
However, they were stupefied to see the outcome of the attack, and even Ye Guan was astounded. Lu Tian was fine. Ye Guan’s sword had pierced Lu Tian’s throat, but the latter was still alive.
Lu Tian stared at Ye Guan. He smiled crookedly before saying, “What? Surprised that I’m a Physique Cultivator as well, right?”
Lu Tian clenched his fists again, and innumerable lightning bolts burst out of him.
Ye Guan’s figure flashed, and he retreated about three hundred meters away in the blink of an eye. The moment he stopped, the spacetime in front of him caved in, and a huge three-hundred-meter-long ravine in the spacetime appeared between him and Lu Tian.
The expressions of the Sword Sect disciples darkened.
They were truly surprised to find that Lu Tian was a Physique Cultivator as well.
Lu Tian possessed the rare Dual Dao Physique!
Ye Guan silently stared at Lu Tian. This was his first time meeting a Physique Cultivator. He was aware that Physique Cultivators were bigger thorns on one’s side than Divine Mages.
The defenses of Physique Cultivators had to be shattered if one wanted to defeat them. Otherwise, the former would be basically invincible. Ye Guan was truly taken aback at the revelation that Lu Tian was a Physique Cultivator as well.
However, it made things more interesting!
Ye Guan revealed a smile that seemed a bit sinister.
Lu Tian was about to say something, but Ye Guan took one step forward and pointed at Lu Tian.
Buzz!
A buzzing noise echoed, and a sword flew toward Lu Tian. However, Lu Tian didn’t do anything about the sword. He allowed the sword to hit his forehead.
Clang!
A crisp noise echoed the moment the sword made out of sword energy struck Lu Tian’s forehead, but Lu Tian was unscathed. He had withstood Ye Guan’s attack with his powerful physique alone.
Ye Guan stopped attacking. He simply stared at Lu Tian without saying anything.
Lu Tian chuckled and asked, “Was that all you got?”
Lu Tian put his hands together and levitated.
Rumble!
A thousand-meter-tall golden astral body appeared behind him, and at the same time, the spacetime within a thousand-meter radius quivered violently.
Waves of terrifying pressure flowed out from the golden astral body, and those near the Life or Death Stage felt like there were thousands of mountains pressing down on them, suffocating them.
However, Ye Guan was still calm as he stared at the massive astral body.
Lu Tian gestured with his hands, and the astral body moved.
He pointed at Ye Guan and yelled, “Endless Calamity!”
Rumble!
The spacetime in the Life or Death Stage was torn apart as innumerable ominous-looking light-red lightning bolts manifested and flittered across the stage, but Ye Guan wasn’t idle.
Ten swords emerged from him, and they all flew toward the thousand-meter-tall golden astral body behind Lu Tian.
The golden astral body raised its right hand pressed down, causing a terrifying might to descend upon the stage. Ye Guan’s ten swords were suppressed.
Crackle!
The innumerable lightning bolts formed a net-like structure before flying toward Guan, but Ye Guan abruptly vanished!
Boom!
Ye Guan sliced every lightning bolt that stood in his way as he moved at breakneck speed toward his target.
He quickly arrived in front of Lu Tian, but Lu Tian was smiling coldly at Ye Guan.
He had just discovered that Ye Guan wasn’t a Great Sword Sovereign, and he was too weak to shatter his defenses. He would be invincible throughout this battle as long as Ye Guan failed to shatter his defenses!
The only thing he had to be wary about was Ye Guan’s special sword. However, he had a trick under his sleeves that could deal with Ye Guan’s special sword. It was the Sword Master’s Dao Imprint, and he could use it anytime he wished.
If Ye Guan brought his special sword out, Lu Tian would use the Sword Master’s Dao Imprint.
Every sword would surrender in the face of the Sword Master’s Dao Imprint!
Ye Guan thrust his sword toward Lu Tian’s forehead.
Lu Tian’s expression changed rapidly. He wanted to retreat, but it was too late!
Boom!
Lu Tian flew at least three hundred meters away. The golden astral body behind him was nowhere to be found, and its destruction also caused the destruction of spacetime in a thousand-meter radius around them.
The entire Life or Death Stage turned pitch-black, obscuring the gazes of just about anyone! Fortunately, the spacetime recovered in no time, allowing the onlookers to see the battle once more.
Lu Tian’s ominous-looking light-red lightning bolts had vanished with the astral body.
The Critical Method!
Ye Guan’s sword move just now had truly astonished everyone.
However, Lu Tian was still alive!
Everyone’s eyes fell on Lu Tian, and they were horrified to see the illusory figure of a demonic beast on his forehead. The demonic beast had crossed its arms to protect Lu Tian’s forehead.
Cracks had appeared on its thick, scaly arms, but Lu Tian was unharmed.
“A Divine Xuanwu!”[2] someone yelled in astonishment, “The Divine Xuanwu is one of the four divine demonic[3] beasts, and the Divine Xuanwu Clan is famous for having the strongest defenses out of all demonic beasts.
”To think that a Divine Xuanwu would actually establish a contract with the Chosen One… it has even decided to share its defenses with him! Goodness! How is the Chosen One supposed to lose with a Divine Xuanwu by his side?”
1. Lu Tian is still in the Ultimate Realm; the Ultimate Secret Tribulation Realm is just a variation of the realm ☜
2. Xuanwu is a mythical creature that is a mix of a tortoise and a snake. ☜
3. it’s a bit weird to see divine and demonic to describe the same thing at the same time, but it’ll make sense if you think of the word demonic here as the word yao ☜