Volume 3 - Chapter 413: Defeat (Part 5)
However, as the black mist receded, what greeted the eyes was not Lin Zhexuan standing victorious, nor the demon slain at his feet.
Instead, Lin Zhexuan stood battered and bloodied, his figure marred with wounds. The immortal armor newly donned over his body was riddled with cracks, and even the long spear in his hand had split. His hair was disheveled, his presence devoid of the domineering might he had shown before.
Opposite him, the black-veiled woman knelt slightly in midair, her breathing faintly uneven, but her aura outshone Lin Zhexuan’s without question.
Su Zhenyuan and the others turned pale, fists clenched tight, their hearts lodged in their throats.
“Die.”
The black-veiled woman raised her hand, summoning the forces of heaven and earth once more. From the void behind her, a formidable will began to descend. With her power driving it, it bore down toward Lin Zhexuan like a crushing tide.
Lin Zhexuan tightened his grip on his divine spear. But when he sensed the extraordinary presence behind her, his expression shifted several times. He abandoned offense and focused entirely on defense, retreating steadily as he parried blow after blow.
Outside the arena, Li Hao felt that majestic will as well and froze.
It was a power akin to the pinnacle of Immortal Ascension—a supreme will he had once glimpsed in fleeting moments of clarity.
He had named it… the Celestial Venerable.
That black-veiled girl—she had actually touched upon the pinnacle of Immortal Ascension and could draw upon the will of a Celestial Venerable?
Did that not mean… she already had one foot through the gateway to the final realm?!
Li Hao was stunned. He couldn’t believe it.
Even now, he had only grasped two final realms.
“He actually…”
Su Zhenyuan and the others felt the same transcendent will, their faces filled with disbelief. That girl hadn’t even reached Domain Manifestation, yet she could commune with the Celestial Venerable’s consciousness and reflect its projection?
Though she hadn’t achieved true integration with that will—had not truly reached the final realm—she had already set foot on its threshold!
Only now did they fully understand why the demons had dared challenge humanity—why they had come here under the guise of a friendly duel, with conditions the human clans couldn’t refuse.
They were certain of victory.
Boom!
Lin Zhexuan’s body slammed into the sealing barrier, the crash jarring countless onlookers out of their dazed reverie.
The earlier cheers and fervor now felt like a fevered dream. This… this was the sobering return to reality.
Lin Zhexuan—the most brilliant human genius of the Northern Region in a thousand years—was about to lose?
All across the field, blood seemed to freeze in countless veins. It was too unbelievable. No one wanted to accept it.
And yet, as the black-veiled woman’s offensive surged forward, Lin Zhexuan’s aura was clearly being suppressed. Even the manifestation of the Candle Dragon Immortal Power was being overwhelmed.
With the Origin Dao Mark, and a cultivation level one layer higher, Lin Zhexuan had lost all advantage in terms of Immortal power.
Even his mastery of six orders of Origin, an extraordinary feat, could not bridge the widening gap.
Victory now would demand burning his soul, or forcefully elevating his realm through drugs to unleash hidden potential.
But doing so would severely damage his foundation.
Gritting his teeth, Lin Zhexuan continued to fend off her assault. The veiled woman gathered her strength into a massive black palm, which slammed into his side and sent him flying once more.
Facing her relentless suppression, Lin Zhexuan could feel that divine will pressing down harder and harder from behind her, his expression growing increasingly grim.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, the black-veiled woman’s aura surged once more.
In a single instant, she shattered Lin Zhexuan’s immortal armor and pierced through his shoulder, crushing the bone.
At such close range, Lin Zhexuan saw the killing intent in her eyes—and in that instant, he realized it had all been a setup.
She had long planned to end it with a surprise attack, denying him even the chance to admit defeat.
Now, with his Immortal power completely suppressed, he couldn’t move.
Was this the end?
Staring into the face of looming death, Lin Zhexuan’s imperial blood flared once more. He had already exhausted every technique and secret art during their clash. His bloodline, his forbidden techniques, even his ultimate Emperor Spear—all had been used.
And yet she had countered them all.
For the first time in his life, Lin Zhexuan was forced to the brink by someone with a soul lifespan comparable to his own.
Sensing his bloodline power swelling, the black-veiled woman reacted as though expecting it. From the pitch-black phantom behind her, a single blood-red eye opened. The power of the Law of Eternal Darkness spread forth, steadily eroding Lin Zhexuan’s Immortal energy.
Her base Immortal power already exceeded his, and with this suppression and erosion, the gap only widened.
All of this unfolded in a flash—both sides battling at their peak.
Boom!
Lin Zhexuan’s physical body was torn apart, his flesh sundered in an instant.
His primordial spirit emerged—seven hundred golden bones blazing brilliantly. But their glow was already fading, his spirit nearly depleted from the clash.
To survive now, he’d have to burn his spirit—but that would destroy his foundation.
The veiled woman’s primordial spirit struck, bearing more than seven hundred golden bones—just slightly more than Lin Zhexuan.
He instantly unleashed the Lin clan’s top-tier soul Technique, forming a nine-layer golden tower around himself. He had trained it to the peak of the Immortal Lord Realm.
Boom!
The tower cracked under her assault, its golden glow dimming.
The black-veiled woman’s expression shifted—she hadn’t expected the blow to fall short of destroying his spirit.
Lin Zhexuan’s primordial spirit was sent hurtling backward. Seeing her spirit bones ignite, he growled,
“I concede.”
He refused to gamble further.
If he burned his spirit, so could she. If he used drugs, so could she.
Fighting to the death would only destroy his foundation—and he carried too much on his shoulders.
He bore the future of the human race in the Northern Region.
As his words rang out, countless spectators holding their breath as they watched felt as though their chests had been struck with a hammer.
The breath they’d been holding, the hearts that had climbed into their throats… all of it shattered with those three words.
The crowd turned pale.
He conceded.
Lin Zhexuan… had conceded!
All around, the patriarchs of the great clans opened their mouths, yet no sound came out. Their throats were dry, their minds blank.
The Lin clan stood frozen in shock, all color drained from their faces. They stared at that figure—once the brightest star of the human race, radiant since youth.
The myth of invincibility… had broken today.
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