Eternal Heavenly Emperor

Chu Hao fiercely battled You Zhiyuan.

Previously, the two had clashed once and ended in a draw. Now their strengths had significantly improved, yet they once again fought to a standstill.

However, such a stalemate was built upon Chu Hao's formidable derivation ability. In terms of direct confrontation, You Zhiyuan with the power of Four Meridians was evidently far stronger than Chu Hao, given the seven or eight times power difference. This was inevitably the case.

In the eyes of others, You Zhiyuan was like a monstrous wave, whereas Chu Hao was a lone boat swaying in the storm, liable to be overturned by the giant waves at any moment. But what baffled everyone was that Chu Hao was always able to turn dangers into safety under You Zhiyuan's frantic and terrifying attacks, as if he had the ability to predict the future, utilizing every bit of his strength to the fullest.

"Die! Go to hell!" You Zhiyuan roared, with blood mist constantly gushing out of his body, forming the heads of ferocious serpents that lunged at Chu Hao.

Chu Hao stepped on the Sky Stepping Technique, moving like a ghost, sometimes rapidly advancing, sometimes halting in mid-air, and sometimes reversing his steps, always evading all the blood serpents at the right moments.

Was this guy even human?

Bai Qi and Bian Yu were both exclaiming inwardly, imagining if they switched places with Chu Hao, at most they could withstand fifty or sixty moves under such an attack—unless they also used similar self-harm techniques to boost their cultivation.

Yet how many moves had Chu Hao withstood already? A hundred moves or two hundred moves? The key was, he wasn't merely defending; he was counterattacking as well.

Hence, it was said to be a draw; otherwise, it would have been a one-sided beating.

However, to others, Chu Hao seemed quite relaxed, each step taken just right, evading a majority of You Zhiyuan's southward attacks. But Chu Hao himself knew that his derivation ability had finally been pushed to its limit.

This had never happened before.

Given the seven or eight times power disparity, coupled with You Zhiyuan being a genius slightly stronger than Jin Yunlin and Cao Jingwen, it was no wonder Chu Hao needed to push his derivation ability to its maximum to hold a draw with the strong using the weak.

In such an extreme state, his mental exhaustion was enormous, and a strong sense of fatigue soon emerged.

This fatigue didn't come from the body, nor from Star Force, but from the spirit, making him drowsy.

Obviously, in this extreme state, he couldn't last long.

Chu Hao gritted his teeth. He couldn't hold on for much longer, but how long could You Zhiyuan last? This self-harming technique to boost cultivation must have a time limit, and it certainly wouldn't be long.

Now it was a contest of perseverance; whoever couldn't hold on first would be dead.

Chu Hao roared, moving swiftly, his long sword stabbing continuously, unleashing Crescent Slashes to reduce the pressure he was under, giving his brain a moment to breathe.

"You will die here today. Abandon all your illusions!" You Zhiyuan laughed, pushing his right hand rapidly, sending out numerous blood-colored serpent heads that bit towards Chu Hao overwhelmingly.

Human effort sometimes exhausted itself. As long as he pushed his attacks to the extreme, he could surely force Chu Hao to make mistakes. With his powerful attacks, even a single sweep would finish Chu Hao off.

In terms of determination, would he lose to Chu Hao?

The two fought crazily, shrouded in blood mist, leaving no chance for others to intervene. Even Chu Hao could only ignite his physique, burning clean the blood mist within a meter around him.

The pressure was immense.

Sweat rolled down Chu Hao's forehead like a waterfall. Now, it felt as if he were walking a tightrope at an altitude of ten thousand meters; any slight mistake, and he would be doomed. But he was the kind of person whose resilience grew stronger under pressure, his eyes becoming increasingly bright, and his steps remaining exceptionally stable.

Under tremendous pressure, he felt like a caterpillar trapped in a cocoon, struggling to break free and possibly emerge as a beautiful butterfly, reborn in nirvana.

"Die! Die! Die!" You Zhiyuan kept shouting, feeling his Heavenly Demon Dismantling Technique had reached its peak and was starting to decline like a parabolic curve.

He had to kill this kid quickly, then slaughter everyone here.

Chu Hao merely snorted without responding, feeling something brewing inside him, causing a bit of discomfort and anticipation.

"Thousand Snakes as One, Blood Python Swallowing Heaven!" You Zhiyuan roared, the hundreds of snake heads he had sent out merging into an enormous blood-colored serpent, seemingly coming to life, coiling towards Chu Hao.

This attack was too bizarre and completely different from You Zhiyuan's previous tactics, leaving Chu Hao unable to deduce a suitable strategy at once, and he could only retreat endlessly.

"Hahaha, where can you hide?" You Zhiyuan and the blood-colored serpent advanced together.

The blood-colored serpent was incredibly fast, catching up with Chu Hao in a few slithers, opening its massive mouth to bite him.

No more room to dodge!

Chu Hao paused, abruptly counterattacking with his sword, whooshing, his body aflame, burning the incoming blood mist to ashes, for otherwise, he wouldn't even need to fight; just being ensnared by the blood mist would corrode him to bits.

"Die!" You Zhiyuan sneered. This blood-colored serpent wasn't just corrosive; it also contained his own terrifying power. A head-on collision would surely leave Chu Hao dead or gravely injured.

Boom!

The blood-colored serpent opened its massive mouth and swallowed Chu Hao.

"Mang Wrap!" You Zhiyuan shouted again, the blood-colored serpent coiling up instantly, as if an invisible pillar stood in the air.

Under the Mang Wrap, every bone in Chu Hao's body would be crushed to pieces; could he still survive?

"Stop!" Bian Yu and Qin Yulian's four-person group hurriedly launched an attack. If Chu Hao, their main attacker, died, they'd be next. Although Bian Yu and Bai Qi were confident they wouldn't die, the self-harming cost wasn't something they wished to bear.

"Damn it!" You Zhiyuan grunted, his blood-red eyes sweeping over the four of them, "Are you so eager to die?"

"It's you who should die!" Amid a long howl, a shadow of a sword cut through the blood-colored serpent. Whoosh, Chu Hao's figure shot out.

"How is this possible?" You Zhiyuan was bewildered. How did Chu Hao escape his Mang Wrap skill?

Chu Hao took a deep breath and said, "You guys help restrain him first; I need to practice a sword move."

Good heavens.

Upon hearing this, everyone, including Bian Yu, Bai Qi, Qin Yulian, Jiang Qixuan, and those still alive in the distance, broke into a cold sweat. What time was it now, and you wanted to practice a sword move?

No way you could cram at the last minute like this.

Yet Chu Hao paid no mind to their thoughts, shaking the Grey Rock Sword and drawing mysterious trajectories.

Mad Thunder Sword Technique Second Move, Heavenly Thunder Strike!

Previously trapped under Mang Wrap's immense pressure, he hadn't collapsed but made a breakthrough, suddenly comprehending it.

In the Spirit Chamber's second level, he had repeatedly derived Mad Thunder Sword Technique's second move without success, only integrating three moves of the Sky Wind Eight Styles. But the seed had been planted, buried deep in his heart.

Breaking through Martial Sect was an opportunity, but not enough to let the seed sprout until now, under immense pressure, forcing Chu Hao to make a breakthrough, finally breaking the seed through the earth.

With Heavenly Thunder Strike, he broke out from the "serpent," yet he had only grasped the rudiments of this sword move and couldn't fully unleash its true power.

If he truly mastered this sword move, he would definitely kill You Zhiyuan.

So, let others restrain You Zhiyuan for now; he had to practice his sword move.

At this moment, a million imaginary grass mud horses ran through You Zhiyuan's mind.

What was the situation?

This was a life-and-death battle, and you ran off to practice sword moves. How much contempt did you have for him?

"I'll kill you!" he roared furiously. Even though he was a genius ranked on the Fledgling Dragon List and one of the top three of the Middle Nine Counties' younger generation, he couldn't bear such disregard.

Such humiliation was unbearable.

Chu Hao disregarded him entirely, rapidly wielding his long sword, unleashing bolts of lightning that flickered erratically.

Qin Yulian and the other three immediately went all out to restrain You Zhiyuan. At this point, they had no choice but to believe in Chu Hao.

"If you all want to die, I'll kill you first!" You Zhiyuan's eyes blazed with rage. Although his current strength far surpassed everyone, it wasn't enough to disregard their attacks completely.

Especially Bian Yu and Bai Qi, who were only slightly weaker than him by a Single-Meridian's strength, couldn't be underestimated.

As he attacked with all his might, Qin Yulian's group of four was under immense pressure, barely having time to speak, focusing solely on defense. The four joined forces, but they were still no match for You Zhiyuan, floundering under his attacks and failing to be proper opponents.

Fortunately, if You Zhiyuan tried to ignore them and attack Chu Hao, they would restrain him immediately, especially Qin Yulian, who could unleash Crescent Slash from seven meters away, brimming with Starlight's might. Even You Zhiyuan with his formidable recovery wouldn't dare take it head-on.

Zz, zz, zz, the Grey Rock Sword was now enveloped in growing lightning bolts, forming a white electric ball.

Crack, crack, crack! However, cracks spread across the sword's surface, dense like a spider web.

After all, it was made only from eighth-rank materials. Now that Chu Hao had stepped into Martial Sect, his power had exceeded what the Grey Rock Sword could withstand. Especially the Mad Thunder Sword Technique, an Earth Level High-Grade Technique, possibly advancing to Heaven Level, its power naturally terrifying.

Further charging might cause the sword to explode first.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

On the other side, You Zhiyuan went on a rampage, a single punch sending Qin Yulian's group of four flying. He laughed wickedly, his eyes locking onto Qin Yulian. "I originally wanted to take you as a concubine, but now it seems you lack this fortune!"

Whoosh, leaping forward, he extended his right hand towards Qin Yulian's chest.

With the blood mist power enveloping his hand, if it touched Qin Yulian's body, it would undoubtedly corrode her defenses, blasting her heart apart.

"You Zhiyuan, here I come!" Chu Hao swiftly flew over.