Immortal of the Nine Realms

The sword intent emanating from both Fang Chen and Xiang Quhe was rising continuously.

Since both had decided to use their full strength, they would naturally not hold back. Both sides were waiting for the other to adjust their condition to the absolute peak before engaging in combat.

If either party were to strike suddenly at this moment, they would undoubtedly seize the complete initiative and cause the other to suffer a disadvantage. Yet, it was obvious that neither of them chose to do so. At the same time, they didn't guard against the possibility that the other might launch a sneak attack. Instead, both openly focused everything on raising their sword intent to its peak.

Saint Fatian nodded. "This is the pride of sword divine ability users. This human junior is promising."

On the other side, Fang Lie wore a faint smile. He was, however, secretly grumbling. If he could relay a voice transmission to Fang Chen, he would have told Fang Chen to seize the opportunity to strike long ago. It was blindingly obvious that this Asura Race member was a bit straightforward. Right now was the perfect opportunity to strike.

Simultaneously, the portal to Half Saint Zangling's Inner Domain suddenly opened, and a figure walked inside at a slow pace. The crowd took one look at him and couldn't help but let out a collective sigh. The newcomer was none other than Fang Han. His appearance here indicated that he had already been eliminated from the Saint Tower Battle.

Fang Qianxue smiled at him. "Fang Han, although you have been eliminated, you entered the top 100,000. In the history of our human race, this is an exceedingly rare precedent."

Fang Han wore a bitter smile. "Ancestor Qianxue, those foreign races are simply too powerful. I was completely no match for them..."

The moment he recalled the scenes of their clash, despair surfaced on his face.

Because everyone had been focused on watching Fang Chen's duel, they had missed the scene of Fang Han's elimination, prompting someone to ask out of curiosity, "Old Han, how did you get eliminated? Who did you run into?"

Fang Han swept his gaze over Wang Chongsong. Seeing that everyone else was equally curious, he felt somewhat complicated inside.

Did no one actually watch my battle?

Suppressing the complex emotions in his mind, he replied helplessly, though there was a slight sense of pride to his voice.

"I ran into the God Race."

"The God Race?!"

The expressions of the crowd shifted slightly. Even Half Saint Zangling's attention was drawn over, her expression turning solemn as she looked at Fang Han. "You truly encountered the God Race?"

"Reporting, I did indeed cross paths with the God Race. Despite both of us being at sixth transformation, the opponent's methods far surpassed mine. I barely managed to escape their pursuit, and it was only due to sheer luck that I wasn't trapped by a deathmatch token. Otherwise, I wouldn't even have had the chance to retreat unscathed," said Fang Han with a bitter laugh.

Whether it was the divine ability experts of the Fang Clan or those of the Wandao Alliance, they all felt that Fang Han's luck was rather abysmal. Still, they couldn't help but envy him a little. They too wished to clash with a God Race member, even if it meant suffering a defeat.

That was, after all, the undisputed number one race in the Divine Realm!

"It is obvious that Fang Chen's luck is a bit better than yours. We will discuss the matter of the God Race after we return. For now, let us see if Fang Chen can triumph over this Asura Race divine ability expert," stated Fang Qianxue.

Everyone's attention focused back on Fang Chen and Xiang Quhe.

Fang Han was quite surprised; he hadn't expected Ancestor Chen to have held out until now. He suspected that among the human race, the number of divine ability experts who had lasted this long was already few and far between. Perhaps only Ancestor Chen was left.

***

Fang Chen and Xiang Quhe opened their eyes almost at the same moment, both delivering their own sword strike.

It was a clash between sword divine abilities. Who would emerge victorious and who would suffer defeat depended entirely on whose sword divine ability reigned supreme in the clash of blades. There were no superfluous twists or turns, but simply an unyielding aura of facing the challenge head-on.

Xiang Quhe was bursting with confidence in his own strike, yet in the next split second, he discovered that his sword intent was inexplicably neutralized into nothingness. Before he could even react, a sword slash had already appeared across his neck.

A bitter smile surfaced on Xiang Quhe's face, his eyes blank with confusion and unwillingness. Starting from the sword wound, his body gradually turned into ash.

The divine ability experts watching from the Inner Domains found the outcome rather baffling. Compared to Xiang Quhe's magnificent strike, Fang Chen's sword strike appeared completely ordinary, leaving them entirely unable to fathom its inner workings. Yet, it was precisely such a completely ordinary strike that carried a sensation of deflecting a thousand pounds with a force of four ounces, wiping out the opponent's sword momentum while claiming his life in the process.

Saint Fatian's expression turned solemn, his brow furrowing slightly.

After a few breaths, he seemed to have realized something and let out a chuckle. "Quhe did not lose because his cultivation was inferior, nor because his sword divine ability was lacking. He lost to his opponent's sword intent."

The surrounding Asura Race divine ability experts exchanged bewildered glances.

Sword intent?

Only the select few who had similarly awakened the sword divine abilities seemed to grasp the meaning behind those words.

"This kid's sword intent is a bit unusual," murmured Fang Lie to himself.

He prided himself on having studied the Eight Desolation Supreme Sword Scripture to its absolute limit. But even he at the sixth transformation could not have achieved an effortless victory against Xiang Quhe.

***

Half Saint Jinwu's Inner Domain.

"This strike is completely different from his previous ones," Half Saint Jinwu said, turning to the Half Saint Zangxue with a frown.

Half Saint Zangxue said expressionlessly, "When it comes to sword divine abilities, there is the concept called 'sword intent.' The reason Fang Lie's sword divine ability is invincible among his peers is precisely due to the amplification of sword intent, making his divine ability exceptionally powerful. If not for this, he wouldn't have been able to single-handedly rescue Fang Qianxue back then."

"Sword intent..." Half Saint Jinwu muttered to himself. "We cannot allow a second Fang Lie to appear in the Fang Clan. For the future balance of the human race and to ensure no chaos erupts, this child must be dealt with."

Half Saint Zangxue shook her head. "Given his current battle achievements, I am afraid it will already be immensely difficult for you to deal with him. Do not fall into Fang Lie's trap. Perhaps he is itching for you to make a move."

Half Saint Jinwu stiffened. A chill crawled up from the soles of his feet straight to his skull.

Half Saint Jinwu murmured, "That fellow... could he actually be using his own clansman as bait?"

"The relationship between the Jinyang and Luoxue Alliances and the Fang Clan has already dropped to an absolute freezing point. Using this as bait to lure and kill the two of us is by no means impossible. Therefore... let us plan this matter for the long term. He still has a very long way to go before becoming a Saint. There is no need to rush into things right now." Half Saint Zangxue said calmly, "You and I are bound to become Saints earlier than him. That is beyond a shadow of doubt."

Half Saint Jinwu nodded. "True. Let him live a while longer, then."

As for the Jinyang Alliance divine ability experts who had died at Fang Chen's hands earlier, they amounted to nothing. In the Saint Tower Battle, deaths and injuries were only to be expected.

***

Another halo was added behind Fang Chen's back.

The ten halos stacked atop one another layer by layer, resembling a brilliant Buddhist light.

As the nearby Inner Domains began to dissipate one after another, Fang Chen cast a backward glance. The sky doom had shrunk significantly once again, pressing closer toward his position. This meant that a massive number of divine ability experts had been eliminated in the short span of time.

Without much hesitation, Fang Chen flew toward the central core region.

He had a premonition that the absolute strongest group of divine ability experts was likely already waiting in the core area. They possessed that kind of confidence, and they wielded that kind of strength.

Over the next few months, Fang Chen crossed paths with two more divine ability experts. Their strength was a notch higher than even Xiang Quhe's, but running into an anomaly like Fang Chen—whose immortal essence was completely inexhaustible and whose trump cards were seemingly endless—they were destined for nothing but defeat and death.

Inadvertently, the Inner Domains of the ten Saints of the human race and countless Half Saints had all turned their full focus on Fang Chen. Even the Flame Race's side was closely monitoring his every single move.

That was because between the human and Flame Race, Fang Chen was now the sole individual remaining inside the Saint Tower who had not been eliminated. It could be said that Fang Chen's current performance had long since eclipsed the track records of most Saints from both races back when they were still at that exact realm.