Chapter 266: A Clash of Wills? No, This Is a Heaven-Sent Opportunity

Chen Yan's eyes were brilliant, his will clear and bright.

In the continuous act of throwing punches, there was both the erosion of his own consciousness and its reorganization.

Unlike everyone else in this place.

They knew this was an illusion, so they began to accept everything within the illusion.

But Chen Yan, knowing this was an illusion, was therefore challenging the illusion.

Challenging the master of the illusion, which is to say, the will of the Blood Sword Saint.

What seemed like simple punches were, in reality, a collision of wills.

A hint of a smile appeared at the corners of Chen Yan's mouth.

He was very satisfied.

He was not the only person in this world to realize the power of the will.

He was not the only one to determine that the will was also a form of martial Dao.

As a master of the will, Chen Yan was lonely.

An inexplicable loneliness.

He was only seventeen years old, yet he had set for himself a grand ambition; this ambition supported him, but it also weighed upon him.

That was why, when Zhuang Ang appeared, he had been so happy.

That was why, even though Chen Min had once been his enemy, upon seeing that Chen Min was about to ascend to the Word Realm, Chen Yan still went to help.

Because of worry—worry that this immense, grand ambition would eventually crush him.

So he dared not lose heart, dared not let a single bit of effort slide.

Now, as Chen Yan threw his punches, though waves of intense pain assailed his body, he was happy.

Someone had attempted the path of the will before him.

Although that person's path of the will was vague and had not succeeded, the other party had tried.

Thinking this, Chen Yan's punches became even more fearless.

All around, except for San Jin, there was no one else in sight.

Those examinees who could not keep up with the Blood Sword also continued to chase after it following a brief rest.

Everyone was following the Blood Sword, while Chen Yan was tearing it apart.

A vast, boundless land, a thousand miles of bones, ten thousand miles of bloody wind.

Upon the scarlet earth, a figure walked slowly; he stepped across the blood-soaked soil, his tattered robes fluttering, the overflowing red light stinging the eyes.

With dust churning beneath his feet, the figure in tattered robes looked at Chen Yan:

"In all these years, you are the fifth person to question my will."

The figure walked over slowly; he had an ordinary appearance, but his eyes were extremely sharp.

San Jin looked at the newcomer, a trace of surprise appearing on her face, but she quickly turned her head away and paid no more attention.

"Greetings, Senior."

Chen Yan looked at the person who had come; he could guess that this person was the Blood Sword Saint.

To be precise, it was a wisp of consciousness left behind by the Blood Sword Saint within the Time Domain Phoenix.

The Blood Sword Saint nodded slowly.

The next moment, however, his gaze became cold and stern.

Boom.

A powerful pressure slammed down onto Chen Yan, nearly crushing him.

"You have successfully drawn me out, and I shall successfully make you regret it."

An indifferent voice rang out.

The Blood Sword Saint's eyes became exceptionally cold and piercing.

Hum!

Within the void, black patterns emerged one after another.

The entire space was vibrating, becoming blurred.

Yet, under the Blood Sword Saint's surprised gaze, Chen Yan's hunched back straightened once more.

The two of them stared at each other just like that.

Time itself grew quiet.

You believe your will has been insulted.

But how could you know that my will has never allowed me to lower my head from the very beginning?

Hum!

The fluctuations in the void grew increasingly violent, and the space became more and more illusory.

The scene of the space where Chen Yan stood began to flicker constantly, and all matter began to change.

It was stirred up like a puddle of wet ink wash painting.

Inside the great hall.

The young sovereign Xia Qi watched the massive screen.

This was that Chen Yan, the Fifth-Rank General Star he had chosen himself.

"Grandfather Hanzhou, this Chen Yan is indeed somewhat special," Xia Qi said.

He had once begged for Chen Yan's life, but this was the first time he had seen Chen Yan's face.

He knew that Chen Yan was the Ice Intent who had shaken Qin Province, and he also knew that Chen Yan was the genius who had broken the limits of the Extreme Forging Realm.

But he did not know Chen Yan's personality, nor did he know what else Chen Yan had done that made even Xia Hanzhou keep his lips sealed.

"It's just... why on earth is he clashing with the Blood Sword Saint like this?" Xia Qi frowned.

He did not understand why he wouldn't follow the Blood Sword and then gain insight into the Time Seeds.

Xia Hanzhou was speechless.

How the hell would I know?

From the beginning until now, there hasn't been a single thing Chen Yan has done that he could accurately guess.

Xia Qi shook his head slightly and beckoned; a woman in a green dress walked over and handed a pill to Xia Qi.

Xia Qi took the pill and asked:

"The group of people from Lin Yu of Luo City should have arrived at the Forbidden Land of Ancient Gods by now, right?"

"They have already entered," the woman in the green dress said.

Xia Qi's expression flickered, he nodded, and asked again:

"In past Time Domain Phoenix assessments, has anyone ever questioned the will of the Blood Sword Saint like Chen Yan?"

The woman in the green dress pondered for a moment and nodded:

"Yes."

Xia Qi's eyes flashed:

"What was the result?"

The woman in the green dress said:

"Some were suppressed, and some fought a few moves against the Blood Sword Saint, failed, and were rewarded with twenty Time Seeds."

To the side, Xia Hanzhou became a little interested:

"Twenty seeds is quite a lot; can this stage really be challenged like that?"

"Yes," the woman in the green dress nodded:

"Although this is just a sliver of the Blood Sword Saint's consciousness, consciousness also has a personality; if the Blood Sword Saint takes a liking to you, he rewards you with Time Seeds."

Xia Qi glanced at Chen Yan within the screen, his expression calm.

Since that was the case, he also wanted to see just how far Chen Yan could go.

After all, a genius capable of breaking the limits of a realm cannot have a weak will.

Yet, at this very moment.

Inside the illusion.

The pressure from all around suddenly vanished.

Chen Yan stared at the Blood Sword Saint, knowing that a great battle was imminent.

"This is an illusion; your physical body and mine are the same. You do not submit to my will."

The man wearing tattered clothes looked at Chen Yan indifferently:

"Come and..."

Boom!

A sound of wind breaking rang out; Chen Yan kicked out like a dragon, his right leg a pitch-black afterimage already slamming down toward the Blood Sword Saint's neck.

This was what he had been waiting for.

What best reflects a person's will is definitely not looking at what they say, but looking at what they do.

Bang!

A violent collision sound rang out; the Blood Sword Saint grabbed Chen Yan's leg just as it was about to strike his neck, his eyes indifferent.

Crack!

Chen Yan's body spun in mid-air like a remnant wind; his foot was still held in the Blood Sword Saint's hand, but his lower leg had already twisted dozens of times and torn open.

The moment before his body landed, his left fist had already slammed toward the Blood Sword Saint's head.

The Blood Sword Saint's eyes finally changed.

He did not expect that Chen Yan could be so decisive for the sake of a fight.

Although this physical body was only formed by the illusion, who would treat their own body with such contempt during a fight, ignoring the pain of their body shattering?

This scene came abruptly.

Even Xia Hanzhou, who was watching the battle from afar in Jin Province, had his face twitch.

The woman in the green dress's expression changed.

Too ruthless.

Whether it was Chen Yan ignoring the excruciating pain to throw that punch, or the way he fought, it was all too ruthless.

Such a person, once they start a fight, will disregard everything.

Boom, boom, boom!

The Blood Sword Saint struck like a sword, piercing Chen Yan's lungs; Chen Yan immediately felt his body obstructed, and his own strength dropped by more than half.

This was only a physical body formed by the illusion; Chen Yan had no Qi and blood, and breathing techniques were difficult to circulate.

True Intent and array disks were also restricted.

He could only fight using physical moves.

Which is to say.

Martial arts like the 【Extreme Refining Eight Styles】 and 【Patrolling Heaven Extreme Dao】, which focus on external tempering, could be used.

But even with this kind of fighting, Chen Yan lost his combat effectiveness within a mere ten moves.

It was not that the illusion favored the Blood Sword Saint; the Blood Sword Saint, like Chen Yan, could only use physical moves.

It appeared to be a contest of will, but it was still unfair.

The Blood Sword Saint's comprehension of the martial path was far superior to Chen Yan's, to an unknown degree.

The next instant.

Boom!

Blood Sword Saint threw a punch, and Chen Yan's head exploded.

"Old... old man, you are too... excessive."

To the side, San Jin spoke up.

Yet Blood Sword Saint acted as if he hadn't noticed San Jin, waving one hand to make Chen Yan's physical body reappear.

"Continue."

Blood Sword Saint spoke, once again forming his hand into a sword to thrust at Chen Yan.

He also knew that since this was a battle of wills, defeating Chen Yan through technique alone was useless.

What he wanted was simply to completely shatter Chen Yan.

But the moment Blood Sword Saint struck, his brows furrowed slightly.

For some reason, he felt that this youth who had just been killed by him...

Seemed extremely excited.

Yes.

Excited.

Chen Yan's eyes were brilliant; he raised his fist, and the moment he threw the punch, Blood Sword Saint's head had already shifted, dodging the strike.

The next moment, the hand-sword pierced into Chen Yan's neck.

Chen Yan died once again.

Immediately following, he was resurrected.

So strong!

Chen Yan was excited in his heart; he hadn't expected there to be such large gaps in his own physical techniques.

Clearly, it was a physical confrontation with the same constitution and speed, yet Blood Sword Saint could instantly annihilate him.

This was the crushing superiority of technique.

Within the Saint-Breaking Realm, majestic golden light emerged and surged.

A 【Technique】 Saint-Breaking Fruit matured within an extremely short amount of time.

This was a lesson in pure physical technique.

Every time Chen Yan suffered a loss or died, it was a realization.

The techniques contained within each of these 【Technique】 Saint-Breaking Fruits could be applied to any aspect of Chen Yan's blood energy and physical tempering.

This was a comprehensive improvement!

Extremely precious.

Furthermore, because he was inside an illusion, there was no need to worry about death at all, and Chen Yan pushed the efficiency of every learning session to the absolute limit.

Time passed slowly.

Blood Sword Saint's expression changed slightly.

In a short amount of time, he had already killed Chen Yan over a hundred times.

But what surprised him was that this Chen Yan had not given up even once.

Blood Sword Saint fell silent.

If he were Chen Yan, what would the situation be now?

This clash of wills was not fair to begin with.

He wasn't necessarily trying to compete with Chen Yan, but rather wanted to let this youth who couldn't recognize his own standing know just how arrogant he was.