Chapter 983: It Turns Out He Was Telling the Truth (Requesting Moon Tickets)

To be honest, Emperor Miao Zhang’s current cultivation base and status are due entirely to his exceptional intellect.

At this moment, hearing Emperor Du Yue say this, she already felt she’d been tricked.

She could sense Emperor Du Yue’s absolute confidence in Xu Jin.

She could sense that Emperor Du Yue said this solely to corner her into accepting, then seize the priceless primordial golden yun she held.

But the problem was, at this point, she could no longer retreat.

Among Emperors, face matters most.

If she backed down because of Emperor Du Yue’s stake, tomorrow the entire Thousand Star Alliance would spread the rumor that all of Emperor Miao Zhang’s True Person disciples had been frightened into submission by a mere Star-Commander pupil of Emperor Fenghua.

Her face would be ruined, and her disciples would be humiliated.

So at this moment, she had no choice but to accept the challenge.

First, she thought it might be Emperor Du Yue bluffing.

Second, even if this Xu Jin was strong, he couldn’t possibly be this absurdly powerful.

Her own disciples included not just an Eighth-Catastrophe True Person, but also a Limit-Breaking True Person.

Of course, the worst-case scenario was losing.

If she lost, she’d accept it.

One primordial golden yun was merely sixty years of effort.

“Primordial golden yun? Fine—it’s barely sixty years’ work. Du Yue, if you lose, your Chaos Solitary Island will lose a hundred years!” Emperor Miao Zhang accepted outright.

“Sister is indeed straightforward.” Emperor Du Yue praised first, then added, “Now let the younger generation duel.”

But Sister, you’d best cast a life-substitution protective ward.

After all, these disciples are our treasures—if their fundamentals are accidentally damaged, it would break our hearts.” Emperor Du Yue said.

“That’s acceptable.”

This suggestion, Emperor Miao Zhang accepted, then added casually, “Shall we each bestow upon our disciples a life-substitution ward matching their cultivation level?”

Xu Jin wanted to refuse, but Emperor Du Yue stopped him with a glance.

Fine—he’d let Emperor Miao Zhang save face.

Immediately, Xu Jin and Li Ziyun were each enveloped in a protective ward of Emperor-grade starlight.

The next instant, Emperor Miao Zhang waved her hand, and starlight streamed from her Imperial Palace; at its center, a grand martial arena instantly rose.

As Xu Jin and Li Ziyun stepped onto the arena and their respective Life-Root Treasures and Life-Root Weapons surged upward, Emperor Miao Zhang turned again to confirm, “Du Yue, no restrictions?”

“No restrictions!”

“Prepare!”

Emperor Miao Zhang uttered a sharp command, and instantly a glowing screen with a countdown appeared before Xu Jin and Li Ziyun.

“Brother Xu, though our cultivation levels differ vastly, this battle concerns my master’s most precious treasure and our sect’s honor—I will hold nothing back!” Li Ziyun bowed.

“You’d better not hold back, or you’ll regret it!” Xu Jin said.

“After you!”

“After you!”

As they bowed to each other, they waited for the countdown to end.

In truth, this confined arena favored opponents like Xu Jin, who excelled in speed and space—but it also severely limited him.

Yet Xu Jin, now supremely confident in his skills, paid it no mind.

As Emperor Miao Zhang had said, Li Ziyun’s affection for Ning Yuchan was his own affair; thus, delivering him a profound lesson in battle was Xu Jin’s own right.

With a thought, his two Life-Root Treasures—the Chaos Cloud Tower and the Chaos Thunder Spear—materialized simultaneously.

Yet the moment these two Life-Root Treasures appeared, Emperor Miao Zhang’s heart lurched, a sense of dread rising within her.

Especially the aura of Xu Jin’s small tower—profound and unfathomable, even she could not penetrate it.

The next instant, the countdown between Xu Jin and Li Ziyun ended.

Almost the instant the countdown ended, Xu Jin’s Chaos Cloud Tower flickered and vanished, reappearing directly above Li Ziyun’s head.

In that same instant, the Chaos Cloud Tower swelled violently, spewing chaotic star-force as hundreds of internal Dao Laws activated simultaneously, crushing down upon Li Ziyun.

Li Ziyun’s fully activated Rule Art had barely risen when it struck the Chaos Cloud Tower—and shattered like an egg against a stone.

As the tower descended like lightning, Li Ziyun, horrified, unleashed his Metal Life-Root Weapon—a long spear—blazing with blinding golden light, shrieking through the air as he drove it toward Xu Jin’s Chaos Cloud Tower, aiming to pierce the heavens.

BOOM!

The lightning-fast descending Chaos Cloud Tower collided violently with Li Ziyun’s pale-white spear.

Logically, the spear should have pierced the surface with a single point.

But his Life-Root Weapon struck as if hitting the hardest shield imaginable—WHUMPH!—the spear vibrated violently, its starlight scattered, and instantly retreated as a streak of light back into Li Ziyun’s body.

The moment blood gushed from Li Ziyun’s lips, the Chaos Cloud Tower descended upon him.

Instantly, it shattered his protective starlight, and at the same moment, the life-substitution ward bestowed by Emperor Du Yue on his body shattered too.

All of this happened too suddenly—Li Ziyun hadn’t even reacted before he lost.

Or rather, instinctively, he swung his second Life-Root Weapon.

“Enough!”

Emperor Miao Zhang’s roar pierced directly into Li Ziyun’s Nascent Soul.

That single shout jolted Li Ziyun out of combat state.

“Ziyun, you’ve lost!” Emperor Miao Zhang said grimly.

“Master, I—”

As Li Ziyun tried to speak, he suddenly noticed another of Xu Jin’s Life-Root Treasures hovering beside him.

It was a thunder-wrapped spear, radiating an utterly terrifying aura.

At this moment, several terrifyingly potent lightning bolts flickered and surged upon the spear, hanging directly above his head—yet held back, not yet unleashed!

Instantly, Li Ziyun’s clothes soaked through with sweat, his face drained of all color!

Only now did he realize—he hadn’t just lost, he’d walked right up to the gates of death.

In other words, had this been real combat, he’d already be dead.

The kind of death where your soul is obliterated before you even know how you died.

“Brother Xu, I… lost!”

Li Ziyun, crushed beneath the Chaos Cloud Tower, admitted defeat in utter disgrace.

Hearing Li Ziyun’s confession, Xu Jin’s Chaos Cloud Tower hummed and retracted—but the thunder on the Chaos Thunder Spear continued crackling violently, making Li Ziyun’s hair stand on end, until the spear flashed back instantly.

Only now did Ning Yuchan and the rest of Emperor Miao Zhang’s disciples snap out of their shock.