Chapter 558: Master of the Martial Dao

It was at this very moment.

Screech!

A bird's cry rang out across the border of Ji Province.

A white egret flew across, blotting out the sky and sun; wherever its wingtips passed, the drifting clouds automatically parted into waves of cloud.

Atop the white egret, several dozen people stood calmly.

At the very front, Chen Qi stood in white robes, hands behind his back.

The instant the white egret appeared.

The people of Chi Province and Lu Province also looked toward that side in unison.

Behind Chen Qi, a red-haired youth led the heroes, his entire body overflowing with a blazing fist soul, like an ancient god-king.

All the prodigies of Chen Province stood quietly behind him, not one daring to cross the line.

"Brother Chen Mi."

From the direction of Chi Province, the golden-haired youth Lu Wuyi cupped his hands from afar toward the red-haired youth named Chen Mi.

Chi Xue, from the direction of Chi Province, however, had battle intent erupt in his eyes:

"Chen Mi, this time I won't necessarily lose to you!"

The red-haired Chen Mi gave a faint smile:

"Why not wait until we enter the Five Clans Conflict to have a match; I will let you use both hands."

Chi Xue laughed:

"Can't you let me use a foot as well?"

No one felt Chen Mi was being overly arrogant.

This person was the current number one on the world's Creation Realm Ranking!

The second was Lu Wuyi of Lu Province.

The third was still from Lu Province, Lu Jianxia.

Chen Province and Lu Province—one occupied the world's strongest prodigies, while the other was not far behind; often within the top ten, there were always two or three people from Lu Province.

Of course, within all the martial artist rankings of the world, there had never been a voice for the Yu Clan.

Rumble!

The firmament was torn open by some immense force!

The bottom of a massive warship, like an inverted starry sky, slowly emerged, and the figure of a colossal warship gradually unfolded.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Air currents surged, the side wings of the warship spread out, and small, hovering flying boats dispersed to guard the main vessel.

Everyone's expression tightened slightly.

Yu Province had also arrived.

Just such a massive warship alone likely cost as much as two Heaven-Reaching Mechs of Chen Province.

The huge hatch opened, and countless tiny electric arcs sprayed out from the warship, forming a massive magnetic field with a radius of a hundred miles.

Figures flowing with a metallic luster, their entire bodies encased in battle armor, flew out.

One of them flew to the very front:

"The Yu Clan, Yu Lai, greets everyone."

Everyone looked at the person from the Yu Clan; even Chen Qi frowned.

"Playing mystery."

Someone muttered.

The technological development of the Yu Clan was clearly higher than that of the other clans.

Now, in the Five Clans Conflict, the Yu Clan had revealed the tip of its iceberg.

But no one underestimated the Yu Clan; after all, the Ice Intent originated from the Yu Clan.

Even the other four clans held a trace of wariness toward the Yu Clan.

From the direction of Ji Province.

Several figures appeared, the leader being Ji Yanqing.

"The final contract for the Five Clans Conflict is about to be signed; Great Xia, why have you not sent anyone yet?"

Yet, as her voice fell.

Xia Hanzhou flew out from within Mo Mountain Pass, sweeping a glance at the people all around:

"Let us begin."

Ji Yanqing narrowed her eyes and looked toward Mo Mountain Pass again.

Everyone else did the same.

Only Xia Hanzhou came alone?

"Since that is the case, please." Cold light erupted in Ji Yanqing's eyes.

The Soul of the Fate Chapter was truly the world's number one open conspiracy.

Its inherent value was perhaps even higher than the Five Clans Conflict itself.

Yesterday, the Lord of Ji and the other four lords of the various provinces had argued for a long time.

But in the end, three of the provincial lords chose to agree to continue allowing Great Xia to participate.

From within each province, Eighth-Rankers stepped out and sat cross-legged in the void.

Ji Yanqing took out five formation disks and distributed them to everyone.

Xia Hanzhou scanned the contents on them:

"Agreed."

"Agreed." Chen Zhou and Chen Qi nodded.

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

After Chi Xun of Chi Zhou and an Eighth-Order from Yu Zhou had looked, they both spoke.

Very quickly.

Contract after contract was signed by all parties, hidden within the void.

Even the Sixth-Order, at this moment, vaguely felt that the rules of the world were changing quietly.

The heaven-proud ones of each prefecture were also sensing it from afar at this moment.

"Chen Changyuan, you really are a three-surname slave."

From the direction of Ji Zhou, Ji Chuxi looked into the distance with a cold expression.

On the white egret that had come from Chen Zhou, Chen Changyuan was sitting behind everyone, holding a sword.

Chen Changyuan slowly opened his eyes, glanced at Ji Chuxi, and did not speak again.

In front of all the heaven-proud ones of Chen Zhou, red-haired Chen Mi glanced at Chen Changyuan; something flickered in his eyes, but he did not speak up for him.

"Branded Chen Invincible Son, do you want to join my Chi Zhou? Then I'll see who dares to call you a three-surname slave."

From the direction of Chi Zhou, a man named Chi Xue laughed.

Instantly, many people laughed and echoed him.

Chen Changyuan's expression was calm:

"I naturally have the ability to join any party."

"Hahahaha!!!"

A loud laugh rang out from above the earth, and Chen Min, dressed in white, looked toward Chen Changyuan:

"Chen Changyuan, it is fortunate that you have already joined Chen Zhou, otherwise the one losing face would still be Great Xia."

Chen Changyuan narrowed his eyes, looked at Chen Min below, and then closed his eyes.

"You are truly... disappointing to me."

He shook his head slightly; he had once thought Chen Min was a like-minded person, but now that he looked, things were different and people had changed.

"The final link, regarding the contract for the gate-guarding puppets."

In the distance.

Ji Yanqing took out the final contract array disk.

"My Yu Zhou requires an assessment."

The Eighth-Order from Yu Zhou, wearing battle armor, spoke.

"Agreed."

Ji Yanqing nodded.

Following the signal from the Yu Zhou Eighth-Order, a Creation Realm expert flew out from the direction of Yu Zhou.

"His combat power should hover around the top five hundred on the Creation Realm Ranking; if he cannot pass, the difficulty of these gate-guarding puppets is a bit too high."

The Yu Clan Eighth-Order spoke, and Ji Yanqing nodded.

Immediately.

Above the vast sky, brilliance flickered, and the void tore open.

Hundreds of bronze puppets appeared, like a military formation, their auras powerful.

The Yu Clan Creation Realm expert flew toward that row of puppets, his palms erupting, and a pitch-black hole appeared in the mechanical iron shell of his palms.

With a boom!

Two beams of light instantly blasted out from his palms.

The next moment.

The hundreds of puppets, the instant they sensed his reaction, flew out in a dense swarm.

In an instant, chains sprayed out from the puppets, trapping and killing him.

The Yu Clan Creation Realm expert swiped with one hand, and a purple electromagnetic pulse instantly shattered the chains one by one.

But immediately after, dozens of puppets had already closed in.

Boom, boom, boom!

Dozens of puppets attacked simultaneously, and pitch-black triangular spikes assaulted the Yu Clan Creation Realm expert.

"Elder, this difficulty is not quite right."

The Yu Clan Creation Realm expert shouted in a low voice, and two funnel-like beams of light sprayed from his palms; a force of distortion forcibly swept away the stabbing triangular spikes.

But on his body, gaps still appeared.

At this moment, all the heaven-proud ones of the five clans who had come showed strange expressions.

They could all see it.

This time, the gate-guarding puppets were clearly stronger than the last time.

"Enough." The Yu Clan elder grabbed out with one hand, and that Yu Clan Creation Realm expert instantly disappeared from the distance.

If he had been a step slower, the other party might have been severely injured.

"This difficulty is not right." The Yu Clan Eighth-Order looked at Ji Yanqing with a deep voice.

Ji Yanqing furrowed his brows:

"These are the gate-guarding puppets arranged by Chen Zhou."

Everyone looked at Chen Qi, but Chen Qi shook his head:

"There is no more time to change it."

His voice fell.

The next moment, within each clan, prodigies erupted with sounds of dissatisfaction.

If the difficulty were this high, a portion of them would not be able to enter the Five Clans Struggle at all.

A Creation Realm expert of the Yu Clan also sighed:

"Agreed."

Immediately following.

Chi Prefecture, Lu Prefecture, and Ji Prefecture all sent out prodigies to test the strength of the gate-guarding puppets.

Many Five Clans prodigies were disheartened.

"At this level of difficulty, they didn't consider the average early-stage Creation Realm at all."

"Damn it, I worked hard for a hundred years only to end up with this outcome."

"If I cannot enter the Five Clans Struggle, I have no hope of advancing to the Eighth Rank in this life."

Some were dejected, crying and laughing uncontrollably.

They had arrived in high spirits, only to discover the tragic truth now, and some even harbored thoughts of death.

"If I hadn't cultivated bitterly these past few months, I wouldn't have been able to enter at all."

Ji Chuxi held her severed arm and returned to the Chi Prefecture flower boat with an ugly expression.

She gasped for breath with difficulty; the clan had given her their greatest opportunity, which only then helped her Sword Soul advance to the Fifth Grade.

If her Sword Soul hadn't improved, she might truly have had to say goodbye to the Five Clans Struggle.

One must know, she was the fifth on the Five Clans Ranking.

"It's just that I don't know if Chen Yan managed to enter; this person hasn't cultivated at all for the past two months, and yesterday he was even heavily injured by an Eighth Rank Malice Crystal."

Above the White Egret, a cold light erupted within Chen Changyuan's eyes.

"If Chen Yan cannot enter, how will I have the chance to kill him?"

His expression was somber.

He saw no possibility that Chen Yan could enter.

One must know, the current combat puppets hadn't even increased their combat power by forty times yet.

When tomorrow comes and the internal switch is turned on, how could Chen Yan possibly enter?

"I hope you can give me a chance," Chen Changyuan said, cold intent erupting in his eyes:

"But I can barely see your figure anymore."

At this moment.

Inside Moshan Pass, the million-strong Great Xia army was also watching nervously.

"Damn it, Chen Yan just got injured, and they pull this."

"Haha, this is the Five Clans, full of endless conspiracies."

"If we don't enter, we don't enter!"

Sounds of anger or worry rang out one after another.

"It is your turn, Great Xia."

Chen Qi looked toward Xia Hanzhou.

"I know," Xia Hanzhou said calmly.

At the same time.

Everyone's gaze was shifting.

On the Golden Lion of Lu Prefecture, Lu Jianxia's pair of silver eyes were locked in the direction of Moshan Pass.

Until she saw that figure appear, her breathing faltered, and her beautiful eyes flickered.

The world was silent.

A golden-red light emerged from above Moshan Pass.

A figure wearing a black robe stepped through the void, and ripples in the void exploded one after another.

Countless gazes locked onto Chen Yan, and then they fell silent.

Yet they saw.

Chen Yan's entire body was overflowing with dense, pitch-black malice; on his face, a bloodstain appeared from the corner of his eye and trailed down to his earlobe.

Dense, pitch-black cracks spread from his neck, hidden by his collar.

One of his sleeves was completely empty.

Chen Qi's expression tightened slightly.

In the void, there were even more experts watching him.

"Chen Yan was indeed heavily injured by the Eighth Rank Malice Crystal."

"It's already good enough that he's alive."

"That was an Eighth Rank Malice Crystal after all; Chen Yan is, in the end, only at the early stage of the Sixth Rank..."

Sounds of sighing or shock rang out one after another.

Chi Xue of Chi Prefecture, Lu Wuyi of Lu Prefecture, Chen Mi of Chen Prefecture, and Yu Laiwei of Yu Prefecture—these Eighth Rank seeds of each prefecture were also looking at Chen Yan at this moment.

The lords of each prefecture were even willing to abandon the Soul of the Life Seal just to kill this boy.

No one dared to underestimate the opponent.

Even if the opponent was currently filled with malice and looked extremely miserable.

"If Chen Yan cannot pass, then for this Five Clans Struggle, you five clans can play by yourselves."

Xia Hanzhou's expression was cold and grim:

"During the Five Clans Conflict, the Xia Clan will wipe out at least two of your provinces!"

His voice instantly resounded everywhere.

Boom, boom, boom!!!

Within the heaven and earth in all four directions, terrifying auras exploded and rang out.

Powerful existences stared at Xia Hanzhou with extreme ruthlessness.

A vast number of living beings of Ji Province had already begun to roar, denouncing the Great Xia, denouncing Xia Hanzhou.

Hum!

A sword shadow spanning the sun and moon appeared with a boom between heaven and earth.

Xia Hanzhou's white hair scattered wildly as he looked down upon the four directions:

"All of you, shut your mouths!"

He was filled with overbearing dominance:

"This is all your own choice!

Harming my Great Xia Divine General, this is what you get!"

Hum!

The sword shadow descended, casting a boundless and vast reflection over the ten thousand miles of clouds and sky.

It seemed as if this sword would fall the very next instant, causing the earth to crack and the oceans to collapse!

In an instant, Chen Qi's expression tightened slightly, and the Qi and blood within his body began to diffuse outward.

Ji Yanqing had already stood up, ready for battle at any moment.

A hair's breadth away from disaster!

Every change might be decided by that black-clad youth who was already heavily injured.

Chen Yan walked with calm steps, jet-black malice still leaking from the cracks upon his physical body.

Anyone could see that he was suppressing the malice left behind by that eighth-rank malice crystal.

To suppress such malice with a sixth-rank body was simply shocking.

"Prince Xia Yue, please calm your anger." Chen Yan suddenly spoke, his voice clear and audible, breaking the eerie silence just like that.

Chen Yan looked at Xia Hanzhou:

"What if I can win?"

Xia Hanzhou's brows lifted slightly; although he knew that at this moment, both he and Chen Yan were acting.

But why was Chen Yan's acting...

So natural?

At this moment, the center of the world seemed to be concentrated on Chen Yan.

He walked just like that, his robes billowing.

He arrived right before those hundreds of battle puppets.

The next instant.

The moment Chen Yan withdrew his left foot and sank his right shoulder, the surrounding air was sucked into a vacuum.

Crack, crack, crack...

The sound of the void shattering resounded!

Immediately following.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!!!

Those hundreds of battle puppets seemed to have sensed a strong threat, and at this moment, they actually erupted directly, attacking and killing toward Chen Yan.

Barrages of artillery fire shot out from the puppets' shoulders, condensing into a world of firelight above the void, incomparably vast!

Everyone's breath hitched.

Then!

Chen Yan's hips twisted violently, driving his entire arm!

Along with the shattering of the void.

A massive force condensed within his fist.

Condensing!

Rising!

Condensing again!

The next moment.

Throwing the punch!

Boom!

Driven by this punch, the space for a hundred miles appeared to have visible wrinkles, and the distant clouds were torn by the wind of the punch into a hundred-mile-long vacuum belt.

The void suddenly shattered like jade, bursting apart with a bang, countless jade shards flying in all directions!

Boom!

The violent explosion swept across all incoming enemies, and the intense gale instantly suppressed everything outward.

Hundreds of battle puppets were blasted by this fist wind, each one exploding backward, drifting like a tiny boat in the vast ocean within the shattered space.

At this moment, Chen Qi's expression changed instantly.

Chen Changyuan, atop the white egret, sat upright in an instant, staring fixedly at Chen Yan.

His physical body was shattered and eroded by malice, but at this moment, he erupted with auras as vast as an abyss, his robes fluttering, sweeping across heaven and earth.

Just like that, standing in the center of the world's gaze.

Faintly, vaguely.

The world seemed to see a Master of Martial Dao who swept across the universe.

Appearing thus, so dazzling.