Eternal Heavenly Emperor

Ma Tiandong appeared to be just over 20 years old, tall and slender, dressed in a white robe with a genial smile on his face, looking like a sunny and handsome young man.

But those who knew him were well aware that he was a veritable killing demon!

Not only did he enjoy killing, but he also delighted in torture, especially of beautiful women. There must have been eight hundred if not a thousand who met grisly deaths at his hands. His most infamous deed was the torture and killing of a Gu Clan noble lady.

That incident caused a huge uproar at the time. The Gu Clan went to the Ma Family demanding that they hand over the murderer, but the Ma Family bit the bullet and protected him, paying a great price to quell the issue.

It was a scandal, but it also indirectly proved Ma Tiandong's strength and talent—if he did not have astonishing potential, why would the Ma Family protect him so?

This clan member was pinned with high hopes by the Ma Family, who believed he might one day break the Gu Clan's fate and become the first War God from their lineage!

Ma Tiandong's strength was beyond question.

Now, this amiable youth was staring at the Barbaric Girl, his eyes unnaturally tinged with a blood-red color, looking bizarre and eerie.

He had "taken a fancy" to Yun Cai and was boiling with eagerness, desperate to torture the beautiful young girl.

"You scoundrel, fight!" Yun Cai shouted loudly. Although naive and pure, she had an instinctive keenness to the malicious hearts of others. She immediately sensed his evil, stirring up a strong revulsion within her.

Ma Tiandong extended his tongue and licked it around his lips. With a flick of his right hand, he suddenly held a short stick.

Its material was unidentifiable, but the tip was covered with spikes, emitting a dreadful cold light.

"Sinking Sand Gold!" Su Wanyue and Gu Qingcheng said simultaneously. As noble ladies of the Gu Clan, both had exceptional vision.

Chu Hao frowned. Though he had never seen this metal, he had heard of it.

Strictly speaking, it was not a naturally occurring metal but one made through artificial processing. The method was simple: submerge a piece of metal in extremely cold water for a century, then take it out and expose it to the burning sand of the desert to absorb a hundred years of fiery energy, creating Sinking Sand Gold.

However, this metal was exceedingly difficult to produce because few metals could withstand a century of cold water immersion without deteriorating, not to mention withstanding the heat of the desert afterwards. The conflict between water and fire, cold and heat, could cause even Fourth Grade materials to completely fail.

Those that could "survive" were at least Third-Rank Treasure Material!

Such materials were already incredibly precious, but after being processed in this manner, their power naturally became stronger. A single hit would subject the victim to both cold and heat, two completely opposite forces, causing immense damage.

The girl was an Innate Body Cultivator, but she was still only at the War King level, and the stick was clearly at the War Venerate level, while Ma Tiandong himself was a Peak War King.

This battle was not going to be easy!

Chu Hao did not try to persuade the girl to forfeit the battle, because for Yun Cai, there was absolutely no reason not to fight.

"Watch the punch!" The girl didn't dare be careless. Her hands instantly underwent Dragon Transformation, using her strongest capability. With Dragon Transformation, her hands not only gained destructive power but also significantly enhanced her defense.

Ma Tiandong's lips curled into a cruel smile. He swung the stick at the girl with lightning speed.

Too fast!

The girl was too slow to defend and had to dodge with a swift movement. Yet her back was still struck by the stick, and blood flowed out—fortunately, she had avoided a vital part, else the damage would have been far worse.

That was the power of a Third-Rank Treasure Artifact, enough to break through the girl's defenses.

"Hiss!" Yun Cai gritted her teeth in pain, but her fighting spirit soared, anger spreading across her face. She truly was furious. Like a lioness, she fixed her eyes intently on Ma Tiandong, her knees slightly bent, ready to launch forward.

But the wound on her back continued to bleed profusely, shocking those who saw it.

She was, after all, a Body Cultivator, with astonishing healing abilities. How could she still be bleeding?

Naturally, it was the terrifying nature of Sinking Sand Gold, its property of clashing heat and cold preventing the wound from healing.

In the fierce battle, the Barbaric Girl was clearly at a disadvantage, constantly being struck by the stick and cut by its spikes, bleeding profusely and suffering immense pain.

After all, the girl had just stepped into the War King Realm, and there was no way she could match the strength of a Peak War King like Ma Tiandong. Her strongest Physique was also countered by the weapon in his hand, leaving her completely at a disadvantage.

What was more frightening was that Ma Tiandong was too fast, like lightning, denying the girl any chance of a frontal counterattack, and instead she was repeatedly forced to stagger and falter, her delicate body soaked in blood.

But the girl was seeing red, her terrifying vital energy surging to the sky like a golden pillar, paying no attention to the Divine Sense messaging from Chu Hao, Su Wanyue, and the rest. She kept pursuing Ma Tiandong, determined to give him a blow and avenge this grudge.

She fought with a frenzy, but speed was her Achilles' heel—she couldn't catch up with Ma Tiandong and was just wasting her energy.

It wasn't that her speed wasn't fast, but that Ma Tiandong was too fast!

Chu Hao planned to ask the High Priest to stop the fight but was stopped by Fat Cat.

"This girl has always had it easy and hasn't called upon the strongest combat power of the Dragon Race. This is a good opportunity," Fat Cat said.

Chu Hao trusted Fat Cat quite a lot, so he stopped moving, only frowning and watching. His eyes were filled with a murderous intent toward Ma Tiandong—they were only sparring, so if you were strong, why not just win cleanly? What kind of man resorts to tormenting a young girl?

The girl raged, her roars turning from human screams to a deeper, more oppressive sound that carried a terrifying weight.

"Dragon's Might!" Fat Cat exclaimed with some excitement, "This girl is finally about to awaken the Dragon's Might."

Dragon's Might?

"Roar!" With a fierce roar, the clear sky was suddenly filled with thunder.

Everyone felt a momentary daze, as if the girl's head had transformed into that of a Golden Dragon, bellowing fiercely.

Ma Tiandong bore the brunt of it, his expression immediately became somewhat stiff. His lightning-fast figure came to a halt as he saw the girl charging towards him, swinging her Dragon Fist explosively.

Bang!

He was instantly sent flying, but as the strongest War King he was, he managed to sweep his stick out at the same time, cutting a wound on the girl's rib.

"Dragon's Might, a suppressive force on the level of the soul, can be considered an alternative Intent Realm. This girl truly lives up to the bloodline of the Golden Giant Dragon!" Fat Cat praised.

Even the mighty Ma Tiandong felt his Divine Soul suppressed; the Dragon's Might was indeed terrifying.

The girl let out a fierce cry, lunging forward again to fight. Ma Tiandong was not to be outdone, engaging in a fierce battle with her.

With the aid of Dragon's Might, Yun Cai regained the disadvantage, but she did not gain the upper hand. The situation could only be described as evenly matched, both sides exchanging wounds for wounds. However, Ma Tiandong had also practiced Body Technique and had reached the War King level. Moreover, the girl was at a disadvantage after sustaining initial injuries which surely made her condition much more severe.

Therefore, after over three hundred exchanges, the girl finally showed signs of weakness, and the match was halted by the referee.

The Copper Valley Tribe tasted defeat for the first time.

Chu Hao, Su Wanyue, and others quickly ran over to catch Yun Cai, taking her to one side for healing. The girl, formidable just moments before, now screamed miserably, making Chu Hao and the others shake their heads.

—She had refused to admit defeat and come down earlier, and now she knew the pain.

However, after Chu Hao handed her a roasted pig leg, the girl immediately stopped screaming and ate contentedly.

By the time they returned to watch the battle, the Copper Valley Tribe had already sent their second fighter into the fray.

This was a native War King, but he was quickly defeated. Then another native War King took the stage, only to quickly suffer the third defeat.

Now it was the Poplar Tribe's turn to win consecutively. Lu Youxing, Duanmu Changtian, Qin Chou—each took the stage in turn, but even with successive fights, none were able to diminish Ma Tiandong's combat power, and he easily blasted them away.

Soon, only three members of the Copper Valley Tribe had yet to compete—Chu Hao, Su Wanyue, and Guan Feng.

"I'll go first." Guan Feng said, leaping forward.

All the outsiders showed a surge of excitement. This was the clash of the strongest kings, seen as a prelude to the struggle for the title of number one in the upcoming Heaven Talented Assembly of the Nine States.

Ma Tiandong cracked a smile. He seemed incapable of speech, having not made a single sound from the beginning till the end.

Guan Feng didn't reply. After summoning his long blade, he immediately launched a strong attack.

True to his reputation as the strongest War King, his combat power was fearsome, and his battle intuition was terrifying. Despite Ma Tiandong's incredibly fast speed, he was preemptively blocked by Guan Feng's defense.

It was a battle between evenly matched foes. Yet, because Ma Tiandong had previously fought seven battles, especially the exhausting one against the Barbaric Girl, he was deeply fatigued and had sustained no minor injuries. Battling a War King like Lu Youxing posed no problem, but against Guan Feng, this disadvantage was magnified.

As the battle dragged on, Ma Tiandong began to falter, and the match was stopped by the referee to prevent any serious injury.

The Copper Valley Tribe secured a critical victory.

At that moment, the Poplar Tribe fielded their ninth competitor.

Gao Heji.

This was also one of the strongest War Kings, his strength not a whit inferior to that of Guan Feng.

Just as with the previous fight, Guan Feng's combat power was indeed not weaker than Gao Heji's, but after battling Ma Tiandong, the immense exhaustion set in. As the long fight wore on, he too began to fall behind and could only admit defeat.

Su Wanyue was about to take the stage, but was stopped by Chu Hao, who said, "I'll go!"

If Su Wanyue entered the match, she would surely win, but then she'd have to face the Poplar Tribe's final contestant—Shi Heng. And Su Wanyue would face the same problem, weakened by the first fight, her chances of defeat would be high.

He did not want to see Su Wanyue lose to Shi Heng.

Thus, he had to snatch this victory.

Chu Hao leapt out, facing Gao Heji head-on.

"Just admit defeat, you couldn't possibly be my match," Gao Heji said indifferently. The only ones he regarded as worthy opponents were the nine strongest War Kings from before; everyone else was too mediocre to merit even a second glance from him.

Chu Hao smiled faintly and replied, "I'd suggest you surrender. Because what I really want is not to fight you." His gaze passed over Gao Heji, looking towards Shi Heng behind him. (To be continued. If you like this work, you're welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)