Chapter 42: Duel with Ye Chen? I've Won by Half a Move!

On the Dharma Platform, Lin Xuan and Ye Chen stood facing each other.

One was dressed in clean green robes, his aura as deep as the sea, a faint, inscrutable smile playing on his lips.

The other was in fluttering blue robes, lightning light hidden about his body, his eyes sharp as an unsheathed sword, his fighting spirit boiling.

Below the platform, there was dead silence; all eyes were focused on these two. One was the Son of Destiny who had risen to fame in the Imperial Capital and created miracle after miracle; the other was a mysterious, wealthy dark horse who now dared to face Ye Chen’s challenge head-on. This duel would undoubtedly be the most eye-catching battle of this exchange meeting!

"Fellow Daoist Mu Xuan, please." Ye Chen spoke first, his tone calm yet carrying an unquestionable confidence. Lightning flickered faintly around him, and a powerful spiritual pressure permeated the air—it was clearly the might of the late Golden Core stage! Evidently, his seclusion after the auction had brought him some improvement.

"Brother Ye Chen, please." Lin Xuan smiled slightly, quietly circulating the *Nine Revolutions Chaos Scripture* within his body. His Chaos Golden Core rotated slowly, dissolving the oncoming spiritual pressure into nothingness, while his own aura remained obscure and difficult to discern.

Without any superfluous words, the two moved almost simultaneously!

Ye Chen pointed his fingers like a sword, and a highly condensed purple lightning arc tore through the air, emitting a harsh crackling sound as it shot straight at Lin Xuan’s face! Its speed was comparable to teleportation!

However, Lin Xuan’s *Shrinking the Earth into an Inch* had already reached the minor completion stage!

His figure swayed slightly, leaving a faint afterimage in place, while his true self had already appeared like a ghost three zhang to Ye Chen’s left! The lightning arc pierced through the afterimage and struck the restriction light screen behind, stirring up a ripple.

"Such fast movement technique!" someone below the platform whispered.

A flash of surprise crossed Ye Chen’s eyes, but his reaction was not slow in the slightest. He changed his sword technique, and the lightning light around him surged, transforming into dozens of lightning snakes that coiled toward Lin Xuan from all directions, sealing off all his space for evasion!

"Lightning Prison Cage!"

Facing this area-of-effect attack, Lin Xuan no longer dodged. The second revolution of his *Nine Revolutions Lightning Body* erupted, and pale golden lightning essence permeated through his body, forming a protective light shield!

Chi chi chi—!

The lightning snakes collided with the pale golden lightning essence, emitting a violent corrosive sound, yet they could not advance an inch!

"What?! He is also proficient in lightning arts? And this lightning essence... the quality seems extremely high!" The crowd below was shocked once again. Ye Chen’s Purple Heaven Divine Lightning was already a top-tier lightning art; how could this Mu Xuan’s pale golden lightning essence contend with it?

Ye Chen’s gaze tightened. He felt a more ancient, purer aura of destruction contained within the opponent’s lightning essence, which was faintly suppressing his own Purple Heaven Divine Lightning.

"There is indeed something strange!" Ye Chen felt a chill in his heart and stopped testing. He let out a long whistle, and a long sword flowing with lightning light appeared in his hand—it was his natal magic treasure, the Startling Thunder Sword!

"Startling Thunder Sword Strike!"

The person followed the sword, and the person and sword became one! Ye Chen transformed into a streak of eternal lightning light that tore through the heavens, carrying an unstoppable momentum as he thrust straight at Lin Xuan! This strike condensed his comprehension of the Dao of Thunder; its speed was at its limit, and its power was at its limit!

Below the platform, top geniuses like the Third Imperial Prince and Xiao Zhan had their expressions turn grave, asking themselves that if they faced this strike, they would also need to respond with all their might.

Facing this earth-shattering strike, Lin Xuan’s eyes finally turned serious. Not daring to be arrogant, he moved his mind, and a streak of black light flashed from his Dust Ring. The third-tier peak-grade magic treasure he had obtained from the system shop, which he had never used before—the "Profound Heavy Ruler"—appeared in his hand.

The ruler was bladeless, yet as heavy as a mountain!

"Open!"

Lin Xuan gripped the ruler with both hands, his internal Chaos spiritual power surging, and the power of the *Nine Revolutions Lightning Body* added to it. Without dodging or evading, he swung the ruler horizontally! There were no flashy moves, only pure power and speed!

BOOM!!!

The lightning sword and the heavy ruler collided violently!

It was like a thunderclap from the nine heavens! The violent energy shockwave expanded from the center of the two, slamming fiercely into the Dharma Platform’s restriction light screen, causing the entire screen to twist violently and emit an unbearable humming sound! Those with weaker cultivation below were forced to retreat repeatedly by this wave of air, their faces turning pale.

As the light dissipated, everyone hurriedly looked over.

They saw the two touch and immediately separate, each retreating several steps.

Ye Chen stood holding his sword, his arm slightly numb, and the look of shock in his eyes grew deeper. The power of the opponent’s unassuming black ruler was actually so terrifying! Moreover, at the moment of collision, he felt a strange power seemingly trying to erode and decompose his lightning sword qi!

Lin Xuan’s blood and Qi were also churning. He thought to himself that the Son of Destiny was indeed worthy of the name; the power of this strike far exceeded that of an ordinary late Golden Core stage cultivator. He had only managed to receive it by relying on the uniqueness of his Chaos spiritual power and the weight of the Profound Heavy Ruler.

"Exhilarating!" Ye Chen’s fighting spirit grew even stronger. He raised the Startling Thunder Sword again, and lightning light gathered; he was clearly about to use a stronger killing move.

Lin Xuan, however, did not want to continue fighting head-on. His goal was to establish his prestige, not to fight to the death; exposing too many trump cards was not a good thing. Furthermore, he had been multitasking, quietly circulating his *Eye of Truth-Breaking* to observe the trajectory and rhythm of Ye Chen’s spiritual power circulation.

Just at that subtle moment when Ye Chen’s sword momentum was about to rise but hadn't yet, when his old strength had just faded and his new strength had not yet been born—

Lin Xuan moved!

He did not attack, but instead pushed his *Shrinking the Earth into an Inch* to the limit. His figure moved like a teleportation, sliding past the edge of Ye Chen’s about-to-erupt lightning sword momentum by a hair’s breadth! At the same time, the Profound Heavy Ruler, at an extremely tricky angle, did not smash toward Ye Chen, but lightly tapped a specific acupuncture point on his sword-holding wrist!

This tap seemed light and casual, yet it contained his powerful spiritual sense and precise control over power; the timing was perfect to the millisecond!

Ye Chen only felt his wrist go numb, and his gathered sword momentum actually experienced a tiny, infinitesimal stagnation! Although it recovered instantly, in a duel between experts, this was already a fatal flaw!

He was terrified in his heart, forcibly twisting his sword momentum, causing the lightning light to scatter. He used the momentum to retreat violently, putting distance between himself and Lin Xuan, his expression becoming incomparably grave.

After Lin Xuan tapped out with the ruler, he did not pursue, instead drifting backward as well. The Profound Heavy Ruler vanished, and he stood with his hands behind his back, his aura stable, as if that extremely thrilling scene had never happened.

The vast majority of people below did not see what had happened at all, only seeing the two separate again, seemingly evenly matched.

But a few, such as the Third Imperial Prince, Xiao Zhan, and the Nascent Soul elder presiding over the event, had their pupils shrink, expressions of disbelief appearing on their faces!

They saw it clearly! In that flash of lightning-fast confrontation, it was Mu Xuan who, in an unimaginable way, precisely captured and interfered with Ye Chen’s rhythm of exerting force, forcing Ye Chen to interrupt his killing move and retreat voluntarily!

Although it appeared that neither had hurt the other, in terms of momentum and rhythm, Ye Chen had already fallen behind! This Mu Xuan’s grasp of timing and control over power was simply terrifying!

Ye Chen stood in place, his expression shifting uncertainly. He also understood what had just happened. The opponent’s strike was not a suppression of power, but an absolute victory of technique and insight! He felt as if he had been completely seen through by the opponent.

Continue fighting? He still had stronger trump cards unused, but the opponent clearly hadn't used their full strength either. Moreover, in such a sparring occasion, having his rhythm interrupted by the opponent in such a way made it even more embarrassing to continue.

After a moment of silence, Ye Chen slowly put away the Startling Thunder Sword, and the lightning light around him faded. He looked deeply at Lin Xuan, his gaze complex—containing shock, unwillingness, and a hint of indescribable inquiry.

"Fellow Daoist Mu’s divine abilities are profound; Ye... has learned much." He cupped his hands, his tone returning to calm, but anyone could hear the gravity within it.

Lin Xuan smiled slightly and returned the salute: "Brother Ye Chen’s lightning arts are divine; Mu is also impressed. You have conceded."

There was no clear winner or loser, but everyone knew that in this round, Mu Xuan had won by half a move!

Whoosh—!

An irrepressible wave of discussion erupted below the platform!

"Ye Chen was actually... forced to retreat?"

"What is this Mu Xuan’s background? His movement, body tempering, and eye for detail are all so terrifying!"

"It seems that his ability to produce a million spirit stones at the auction was no fluke!"

Qian Duoduo was so excited his face turned red, feeling a sense of reflected glory.

The Third Imperial Prince’s gaze flickered, wondering what he was thinking.

The expressions of Third Master Zhao and Wang Teng were extremely ugly.

Lin Xuan calmly accepted the various gazes, his heart as still as an ancient well. He knew that after this battle, the name "Mu Xuan" would truly gain a firm foothold in the top circles of the Imperial Capital, and no one would dare to treat him as a soft persimmon that could be squeezed at will.

This was exactly the result he wanted.

In the subsequent segments of the exchange meeting, no one dared to challenge Lin Xuan again. He stayed quietly until the end, and then, under the gaze of countless complex eyes, he drifted away with Qian Duoduo.

The news of the battle at the Heaven-Reaching Tower spread like it had grown wings, reaching all major forces in the Imperial Capital overnight.

Mu Xuan, this mysterious mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, had officially entered the key observation list of all forces by virtue of his "draw" with Ye Chen.

The waters of the Imperial Capital had been stirred into even greater waves because of this stone he had cast.

(Chapter 42 End)