AGM 390 - The Last Battle
“Your turn.”
Qin Wentian’s calm voice permeated the air, sounding so serene it was as though Si Qiong had been nothing at all. He had never once treated Si Qiong as his opponent.
Qin Wentian was the strongest dark horse character in this ranking battle. He had walked all the way till the end, and gained the qualifications to issue a challenge to Chen Wang.
This fight would decide the top two ranks on the Heavenly Fate Rankings. This was the only ‘true’ battle.
To see who stood at the pinnacle, this battle meant everything. The final, decisive match.
The dazzling Astral Souls, the immense Purgatory Vermilion Bird hovering behind his back, as well as the devilishly handsome-looking countenance—it all radiated a sense of majesty, giving the impression that Qin Wentian was the Monarch of this entire world.
He stood there casually, regarding the spectators with a hint of arrogance shining in his eyes.
The powerful Si Qiong couldn’t even withstand a single strike and had to resort to his life-saving treasure to protect his life.
At this moment, Si Qiong’s countenance was beyond unsightly, it was incredibly hideous as it alternated between shades of purple and red.
He had come to participate in the Heavenly Fate Rankings battle because of Grand Xia’s secret art, and since he was already here, he might as well aim for the position of the number one ranker. But who would have thought that his eventual ranking would actually be third place?
And what was even more lamentable was that his last battle on the Vermilion Bird arena platform had been the one to bring him the most humiliation he’d ever experienced in his entire life.
One strike, just one.
He broke the rules, yet Qin Wentian disdained to even glance at him.
How pathetic indeed, unable to withstand a single strike. Si Qiong had never been so humiliated before.
After that, not one of the spectators were even interested in him. Although he should be punished for breaking the rules, it was… no longer important, because nobody cared.
This battle platform had always made it so that the the victor was king while the losers would all be vilified.
No matter how dazzling you were before, the spectators would only remember the one standing at the end. Only one person, the person ranked at the very top.
Glancing left and right, Si Qiong could make out expressions of pity as the spectator’s discussion revolved around him. He had suffered too miserable a defeat to fully recover from.
He wanted to rage at the Heavens, asking for an opportunity to battle with Qin Wentian again, but he couldn’t do so. He could only silently watch as the man who defeated him issued the final challenge of this ranking battle to Chen Wang.
Chen Wang inclined his head, staring at Qin Wentian. That attack which Qin Wentian had used to blast Si Qiong off the platform, even he, the great Chen Wang, felt threatened by it.
That silhouette standing on the stage did indeed have the capabilities to fight against him.
His three Astral Souls, were almost beyond belief. But even Chen Wang couldn’t deny that in the entire Grand Xia, he had yet to meet someone like Qin Wentian, who had three Astral Souls all from the 5th Heavenly Layer.
Those representatives from the various transcendent powers all appeared silent, yet their hearts were violently rocked by this revelation.
From the start of the ranking battle, nobody had given a damn about that little unknown figure. But now, he had become the most dazzling existence on this platform, with his talent even surpassing that of Chen Wang’s.
Even if he were to be defeated by Chen Wang today, the gap in their innate talents would never be breached.
“What kind of monster is he?”
Bailu Jing drew in a deep breath, he didn’t know how to describe Qin Wentian. Only the word ‘monster’ seemed appropriate.
Bailu Yi could only smile bitterly, how could she have known that Qin Wentian would have such an outstanding performance? He was only twenty, yet he stood at the pinnacle of the Heavenly Fate Rankings alongside with Chen Wang.
Who would ever have imagined this, even the White Deer Institute wouldn’t have predicted this at all. And it was even more astounding to know that Qin Wentian’s attainment in Divine Inscriptions, also made him a fourth-ranked Grandmaster. And he was only nineteen back then.
Those from the Ouyang Aristocrat Clan were similarly stunned—only Ouyang Kuangsheng had an excited expression on his face. Ouyang Ting on the other hand, was completely dumbfounded, she couldn’t believe the reality of what she had witnessed.
Bai Fei of the Pill Emperor Hall shared similar sentiments to Ouyang Ting. She had always secretly been in love with Zhan Chen, in awe of his martial prowess as well as his suave and gentlemanly countenance. Yet today, he’d actually fallen at the hands of Qin Wentian. That young man whom she’d once despised was shining so brightly, akin to the radiance of a blazing sun that even Zhan Chen hadn’t been able to match.
Upon seeing his three Astral Souls, as well as his challenge to Chen Wang, Bai Fei couldn’t help but sigh and shake her head. Maybe, she herself was the crow instead—they weren’t people belonging to the same world.
The things in this world had changed too quickly. Not even five years had passed, and yet the Heavens and Earth had been reversed. The young man from the small country appeared in the Heavenly Fate Rankings, producing cloud and rain with a single hand, a grand character of their times. He wasn’t someone she could be remotely compared to. How small and useless did she feel now?
Shu Ruanyu was also gazing at Qin Wentian, her countenance at a loss for words. She suddenly had an absurd notion in her mind. Back then when Qin Wentian had abducted her, what if the two of them had intimate relations?
The instant this notion flashed past her mind, Shu Ruanyu silently scolded herself. Yet never would she have expected that her abduction all those years ago, that which had left her with such bad memories, would actually brand itself in her mind with such impactful feelings.
Chen Wang’s silhouette stepped upon the platform once more, walking towards Qin Wentian.
There was only silence, as the two of them stood face to face.
This would be the ultimate deciding battle, to finally see who would obtain the position of the number one ranker.
Who would stand at the pinnacle of Yuanfu?
The spectators had once thought that Chen Wang would be number one without question. But right now, they were all doubting their earlier assumptions—the surprising revelations that Qin Wentian brought to them was too overwhelming. Would Chen Wang be able to stop him? Seeing how Qin Wentian had the title of being unrivalled among those in the same level.
The spectators all couldn’t wait for the battle to begin.
Chen Wang didn’t have anything to say, flames immediately erupted forth from his body. Under the dazzling starlight that flooded the arena, the spectators were all shocked to see that he had two fire-type Astral Souls. The first one was a Flame King Astral Soul, the second, was a Magma Giant Astral Soul. Both these Astral Souls contained the explosive power of volcanic eruptions. His third Astral Soul, was actually an incarnation-type Astral Soul, granting the ability to summon clones as powerful as himself to do battle.
The combination of these Astral Souls allowed Chen Wang’s combat prowess to reach the very limits of Yuanfu. He was so powerful that he could even battle against newly ascended Heavenly Dipper Sovereigns.
Earlier, Chen Wang had already been known as a contender that had tremendous attacking power. But now, the contender facing him similarly had a strength that awed the Heavens.
“BOOM BOOM!”
Two other flame incarnations appeared onstage, and their combined auras, together with the real Chen Wang, made the hearts of the crowd tremble in terror.
However at the same instant, a vast column of astral light cascaded down onto Qin Wentian, as an immense figure appeared out of nowhere.
Peng…
A massive wind kicked up, the tyrannical Golden Primal Ape madly rampaged about on the stage.
Peng Peng Peng....
Countless demonic beasts appeared, summoned by Qin Wentian. In the place of legacy found inside the formation world, Qin Wentian had obtained the true souls of several demonic beasts. He could use these to sense the innate connection between them, as well as form a resonance with the constellations that represented them. Hence, Qin Wentian was currently able to summon those beasts.
Not only that, now that Qin Wentian’s cultivation base was at the ninth level of Yuanfu, the strength of the astral warbeasts he summoned were all at the pinnacle of Yuanfu, almost at the level of half-step Heavenly Dipper Sovereigns. He had always been able to jump levels when it came to summoning, but right now, since he was still limited by the Yuanfu Realm, he couldn’t yet summon Heavenly Dipper-level astral warbeasts.
Chen Wang’s incarnations immediately flew towards the summoned beasts, clashing fiercely with them. Instantly, the entire platform shuddered from the impact of his attacks. As for his main body, along with Qin Wentian, both merely surveyed each other impassively, coldly locking their gazes.
In their eyes, there was only one opponent.
“I truly want to see exactly how strong you really are.” Chen Wang strode out, clad in terrifying sun flames, akin to a Flame Divinity Wargod.
“As you wish,” Qin Wentian calmly replied, similarly advancing towards Chen Wang. Strength, boundless strength, infused his arms.
Both of them punched out at the exact same instant, one fist of magma, against one demonic fist, instantly colliding against the other.
The sun flames on Chen Wang’s body spread onto Qin Wentian’s arms, wanting to incinerate his body into ashes.
“You are not strong enough to accomplish that,” Qin Wentian commented unperturbedly, staring at Chen Wang. He retracted his fist before sending yet another punch out.
“BOOM BOOM BOOOM!”
A maelstrom of destruction ensued, with Qin Wentian and Chen Wang standing in the centre. The terrifying shockwaves blasted all around, while the summoned astral warbeasts and Chen Wang’s incarnations clashed madly against each other in an incomparably tyrannical manner.
Qin Wentian’s body had flames eating at it, yet Chen Wang’s internal organs felt as though they were about to be crushed into powder. The will of both their Mandates devastated each other’s bodies.
“Peng…”
They collided intensely once more. Chen Wang was forced back several steps, his two incarnations also stepping back with him, before fusing once more inside his body. His body turned into that of a magma giant as he stared hatefully at Qin Wentian, wanting nothing more than to pulverize Qin Wentian into pieces.
“Rumble!” Utilizing the third stage of the Fiend Transformation Art. Qin Wentian’s physique started changing, as the blood in his body seethed and surged. His physique grew perceptibly taller and many times stronger, giving him the appearance of a demon overlord.
“Peng peng….”
The Heavens shook and the Earth trembled. Those astral warbeasts frantically threw themselves onto Chen Wang, attacking him in a frenzy. They gave no regards to their own injuries, they only wanted to deal the maximum amount of damage they could to Chen Wang.
Chen Wang had second level Mandates at the Advanced Boundary, cultivated the Great Solar Universe Art, and further augmented them with his flame-type Astral Souls. His power was unimaginable at the Realm of Yuanfu. But wasn’t Qin Wentian’s strength on the same level as well? Since no one knew who the victor would be, why not directly engage in a showdown of absolute strength?
“BOOOOOM!”
Finally, an explosive sound thundered out, one of Chen Wang’s gigantic magma arms directly shattered from the impact.
Was this a sign or an omen?
The crowd held their breath, their hearts pounding madly with excitement. The strongest of all the dark horses, hadn’t been equal to Chen Wang after all. He had actually exceeded him!