Chapter 1057: Close at Hand
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Silence loomed over the vast altar. Everyone stared blankly at the young figure who was standing in the square.
Although the spiritual energy surrounding him grew weaker, he still looked calm. Both his eyes were pitch dark, appearing inscrutable.
At this time, the top powers regarded this Grade Seven Sovereign human being with reverence, due to his formidable strength. In the beginning, no one thought that Mu Chen had any chance of winning against Bai Ming. As such, they only cast pitiful looks towards Mu Chen.
But, the truth was, Mu Chen was neither stupid nor arrogant. In fact, he actually did have the necessary ability. Their eyes were simply not sharp enough to recognize this fact.
“This lad is deep.” After the prolonged silence, someone finally spoke up.
Having only the strength of a Grade Seven Sovereign, he could still beat Bai Ming, who was a Grade Eight Sovereign, with a Quasi-Divine Artifact. The most important factor was that Mu Chen possessed the Super Power Art.
With such trump cards at his disposal, everyone finally understood why Mu Chen was so fearless when facing Bai Ming. The Phoenix Clan’s top powers, especially Bai Bin, were also dumbfounded by this. Bai Bin could not believe the scene in front of him.
Blood-soaking, lifeless, huge phoenix…
Chi Hongwu stood by the side, her lips wide-open. An expression of utter disbelief covered her pretty face. After a while, she rubbed her eyes and finally murmured, “Bai Ming was defeated.”
She knew that Bai Ming was the clear loser this time around. With so many people witnessing the battle, Bai Ming’s reputation would be tarnished when the news got back to the Ice Phoenix Clan.
After all, every elder in the Ice Phoenix Clan was prideful and arrogant. If they found out that Bai Ming had lost to a human being of a Grade Seven Sovereign level, they would be very disappointed. Then, all of the cultivation resources might be curbed. Thus, Bai Ming’s very future was at stake.
While the rest of the top powers were shocked by the outcome, Nine Nether was the first to regain her senses. She looked at Mu Chen, then immediately threw Ink Blade an eye signal and flit out into the square. They landed around Mu Chen, protecting him in from both sides.
Mu Chen had apparently depleted a great amount of energy, which is why Nine Nether had gone to his aid in the first place. But, her worry turned out to be unnecessary.
In fact, everyone was looking up at Mu Chen with awe and respect, as even though Mu Chen had depleted most of his energy to less than 30%, he had set himself as a god and hero in their minds. As such, they would not dare to have any ill-intentions towards him.
Mu Chen felt relieved when he saw his friends coming to his aid. He immediately sat down and adjusted his disordered spiritual energy. Mu Chen surprised even himself when he had executed the Self-sacrificing Demonic Fist!
He had been trying to figure out the daunting killing methods of the Self-sacrificing Demonic Fist every day. But until then, he had been unable to display its real strength.
Previously, he had sensed the extreme danger that the ultimate offense of Bai Ming emitted. The threat sparked him off, causing him to give up on evading it. This decision to face the danger without any reservations fit the principles of the Self-sacrificing Demonic Fist perfectly. Thus, he had chosen it and displayed it successfully.
Mu Chen smiled with delight. He knew that, after this battle, he now had a deeper understanding of the Self-sacrificing Demonic Fist. With more coordination in the future, he would be able to use it in an even more skillful and efficient manner. As for the Super Power Art, it was incomparable to ordinary art. The imposing manner it displayed was good enough to stun everyone as well.
When Mu Chen was quietly meditating, Bai Bin and the rest finally snapped back from their states of initial shock. They took a look at Mu Chen from afar with fear, then quickly made their ways outside of the altar.
Lying in the pool of blood, Bai Ming had transformed back to his human form. Looking pathetic, he had his eyes closed, so no one had any idea if he was dead or alive. But, it was clear that he had sustained severe injuries.
Bai Bin and the rest quickly picked him up and carried him back to the altar. This time around, they dared not go near Mu Chen. Although they were the prestigious clan members from the Ice Phoenix Clan, any amount of prestige would still lose to the cold, hard fist!
That was the harsh reality. If they do not want to lose any more face, they better not provoke Mu Chen further. It seemed that they were not fated to own the Inherited Blood Essence of the Undying Bird…
They could have gone after Mu Chen and tried to outnumber him, but after Bai Bin saw the paled faces of his teammates, he knew that everyone was already too intimidated by Mu Chen. Thus, it would be useless to make any moves now. This time, they had been completely trashed by Mu Chen!
After they brought the seriously wounded Bai Ming back from the outside land, no one noticed that the leftover phoenix blood pool had seeped into the dark soil quietly, spreading out into the land. After absorbing the fresh blood, the dark land seemed to become even more eerie and evil.
Mu Chen’s meditation lasted for less than an hour. Then, he finally opened his eyes. The weak spiritual energy fluctuation surrounding him had been regenerated, while radiance gathered once again in his dark eyes.
Mu Chen stood up. Immediately, numerous gazes were cast in his direction from the exterior of the altar. There was a mixture of respect and fear in all eyes.
Mu Chen looked around him, as he knew that the top powers would not dare to provoke him after this battle. He would now be able to pass through the Undying Bird Statue and obtain the Inherited Blood Essence of the Undying Bird.
His gaze suddenly stopped at the place where most of the top powers of the Phoenix Clan were gathered. The latter sensed his glance and immediately put up their guards. Yet, they were careful to not allow any fear to show on their faces.
After all, they were the Phoenix Clan and had to uphold their pride. They knew how strong Mu Chen was, but being wiped out by Mu Chen was the least of their worries at the moment.
In fact, Bai Ming’s defeat didn’t really affect the Phoenix Clan. However, if Mu Chen decided to wipe them out, that would really anger the Phoenix Clan. In that case, Mu Chen, or even the entire Nine Netherbird Clan, would not be able to bear the dire consequences that would result!
Apparently, Mu Chen knew this, so he took care not to overdo it. Instead, all he did was stare at Bai Bin and the rest coldly, giving them clear signs of warning. They could only swallow the humiliation silently, not daring to argue with Mu Chen anymore.
Mu Chen did not want to waste his time on them, especially since they seemed to have gotten his message. He instead placed his attention on the other two battlefields, where intense battles were also wrapping up.
Kong Ling from the Nine Hues Peacock Clan, Zong Qingfeng from the Giant Bird Clan, Lu Hou from Heaven Piercing Ape Clan and the top powers from the Divine Crane Clan were in the two battlefields. All of them were genuine Grade Eight Sovereigns, so their battles were exciting enough to arouse many people’s attention.
Of course, their battles were not as bloody as Mu Chen’s and Bai Ming’s battle. Unlike Mu Chen, who fought with his everything he had, they tended to hold back and curb themselves.
In the end of these battles, the final two winners were Zong Qingfeng and Lu Hou. But, from what Mu Chen had observed, Kong Ling was no weaker than Zong Qingfeng. Since the latter had managed to win, there must be some underhand dealings. Otherwise, Zong Qingfeng would not have triumphed, should Kong Ling have put up a real fight.
However, Mu Chen was not interested in all these underhand dealings at the moment. His target was only the Inherited Blood Essence of the Undying Bird. Hence, he did not care who took the other two Inherited Blood Essences.
After the victories of the two battles had been finalized, the participants could not help but look in Mu Chen’s direction. The four Grade Eight Sovereigns had dazzling radiances in their eyes. They had watched Mu Chen defeat Bai Ming, which had overwhelmed them..
As all of them were on par with Bai Ming, if they were the ones battling Bai Ming, it would not be possible for them to win unless they were fighting with everything they had. Since Mu Chen could defeat Bai Ming and had wounded him severely, that meant that he could also achieve the same results fighting anyone of them!
The four of them could not help but turned solemn when they thought of that fact. When they looked at Mu Chen again, the wariness showed clearly in their eyes.
“Mu Chen is indeed extraordinary. The message that Zong Teng sent previously only mentioned that he could counter a top power with at the peak of Grade Seven Sovereign. But now, he could even win against a Grade Eight Sovereign. The rate of his improvement is amazing.” Zong Qingfeng took a deep look at Mu Chen, then thought to himself…
It is not wiser to make a foe with such an opponent!
But, Mu Chen did not care about what was going on in their heads. After the victories were finalized, he turned and looked at the square. Thousands of stone stairs were there waiting for him.
At the end of the stone steps lay the Primordial Undying Bird, its lifeless wings splayed out. The Undying Bird Statue was also giving off a faint, luminous light, as if it was calling out to the final winner.
Mu Chen took a deep breath and nodded to Nine Nether. Then, he stepped out and charged towards the statue like lightning. The Inherited Blood Essence of the Undying Bird was so close!