Chapter 187: One Step to the Pinnacle

Divine Xuanwu!

There were four great clans in the Guanxuan Universe, just like how there were four divine demonic beast clans in the Demon Race. They were the Ancient Heavenly Dragon Clan, the Divine Xuanwu Clan, the Vermilion Bird Clan, and the Sky-Splitting Tiger Clan.

The Divine Xuanwu had the sturdiest defenses among the four divine demonic beasts.

Lu Tian and a Divine Xuanwu had established a contract, allowing Lu Tian to use the defensive prowess of a Divine Xuanwu.

Could Ye Guan still break through Lu Tian’s defenses?

Lu Tian was basically invincible with a Divine Xuanwu’s defensive prowess on top of the fact that he was a Physique Cultivator himself!

Lu Tian’s supporters grinned at the sight. The battle is practically over!

On the Life or Death Stage, Ye Guan looked at Lu Tian. To be honest, he was a little surprised. He was truly surprised to know that Lu Tian had established a contract with a demonic beast and with an Immortal-rank demonic beast at that.

The onlookers believed that there was no way Ye Guan could shatter Lu Tian’s defenses!

“Use the Path Sword!” said Little Pagoda.

Ye Guan shook his head. “No!”

Little Pagoda was confused. “Why?”

Ye Guan stared alternatingly between Lu Tian and the Divine Xuanwu on the latter’s forehead.

“They’re not worthy,” he replied.

Little Pagoda was at a complete loss for words.

Hum!

A resonant hum echoed from Ye Guan as he pulled out the Path Sword and attacked.

Rumble!

The heavens shook, and the earth cracked. The swords in the distant Sword Tomb quivered violently in fear.

Little Pagoda hurriedly said, “Brother, please stop bootlicking the Path Sword! the entire Guanxuan Universe is going to get annihilated if it gets too excited!”

Ye Guan’s expression stiffened, and he hurriedly tried to calm the Path Sword down. He was also afraid that the Path Sword might cause trouble. The sword was unique from other swords, as it could move on its own and slaughter people.

To make matters worse, it was even stronger while moving on its own compared to when Ye Guan was wielding it. Ye Guan truly felt that he was hindering the Path Sword whenever he was wielding it, which was an absurd thought; he was a powerful swordsman, after all.

However, it also meant that the Path Sword was a monstrous sword!

The Path Sword quickly went silent.

Ye Guan heaved a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, Lu Tian frowned. The resonant hum just now had come from the special sword inside Ye Guan. The noise that the sword had generated was powerful enough to shatter spacetime, so it had to be at least a Simplicity-grade sword.

It might even be a grade above Simplicity, which meant that it might be a True-grade sword. So what if that were true? Lu Tian scoffed. His Dao Imprint was unranked[1]!

The Divine Xuanwu above Lu Tian glared murderously at Ye Guan. The resonant hum that had come from Ye Guan just now actually managed to injure it. Ye Guan deserved to die for hurting it.

Lu Tian stepped forward and clenched his right fist.

The Divine Xuanwu raised its hand and clenched it as well.

Lu Tian stared at Ye Guan with a sinister smile. Moments later, he punched and roared, “Xuanwu, destroy him!”

The Divine Xuanwu punched as well—both human and demonic beast worked in tandem and combined their powers to create a cataclysmic might capable of tearing just about anything!

An extremely terrifying fist imprint was born from the teamwork of both human and demonic beast, and the fist imprint alone contained the power of a thousand fully concentrated punches.

The spacetime in a thousand-meter radius shook violently before shattering completely.

Ye Guan calmly stared at the oncoming fist imprint. He had to admit that the first imprint was powerful; it was strong enough to destroy an entire city.

The Divine Xuanwu in front of him was indeed an Immortal-rank demonic beast!

The fist imprint was just a few inches away from Ye Guan when a terrifying aura burst out of him. In the blink of an eye, a massive dragon emerged out of him.

Boom!

The fist imprint shattered upon colliding with the massive dragon, but the dragon’s momentum was still going strong. It made a beeline for Lu Tian and the Divine Xuanwu.

It carried with it a terrifying amount of energy as the dragon annihilated every inch of space that stood in its way toward Lu Tian.

Lu Tian’s eyes narrowed.

The Divine Xuanwu put its hands in front of it and yelled, “Immovable Mountain!”

An illusory Xuanwu shell enveloped Lu Tian and the Divine Xuanwu.

Rumble!

The massive dragon struck the Xuanwu shell, and the Xuanwu shell trembled violently as if it were a tiny boat in stormy waters. The Divine Xuanwu and Lu Tian flew more than thirty meters away.

The impact caused the collapse of the space around them, but they were unharmed.

The huge dragon stopped attacking.

It turned into a woman, and she stood next to Ye Guan.

Ao Qianqian! The Ancient Heavenly Dragon Clan!

The faces of Lu Tian’s supporters darkened at the sight.

They knew that the Ancient Heavenly Dragon Clan was supporting Ye Guan, but they didn’t expect that their Young Clan Leader, Ao Qianqian, would decide to establish a contract with Ye Guan.

A member of an aristocratic family said sarcastically, “I’ve heard people say that Ao Qianqian has a good eye for people in addition to being a rare talent of the Ancient Heavenly Dragon Clan. It seems those rumors were just rumors.”

Someone else chimed in, “A rare talent? I think she’s a fool. She actually decided to support the no-name Ye Guan rather than supporting the Chosen One. Indeed, those rumors were nothing but just rumors.”

Another man suddenly said, “Since Ao Qianqian could become the Young Clan Leader of the Heavenly Dragon Clan, there is no way that she is foolish. Since she picked Ye Guan, she must have her reasons for it. Actually, I feel that Ye Guan is rather strong…”

Everyone turned to look at the man, and someone scolded him, “What do you mean? Are you looking down on Senior Lu Tian? Huh? Are you trying to jump ships?”

Everyone glared at the man, and the man was anxious. A different opinion was clearly not allowed in this clique.

Meanwhile, Lu Tian stared deeply at Ao Qianqian.

“I truly didn’t expect that the Ancient Heavenly Dragon Clan would make such a decision.”

Ao Qianqian chuckled and asked, “What makes you think that our Ancient Heavenly Dragon Clan should have picked you?”

It was a response akin to a slap in the face!

“Good, very good!” Lu Tian glared malevolently.

He gestured with his hand, and the Divine Xuanwu above his head clasped its hands together as it chanted an inscrutable, ancient mantra.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Ye Guan calmly asked, “What is it doing?”

Ao Qianqian replied, “It’s channeling a divine spell!”

Ye Guan was astonished. “Demonic beasts can cast divine spells?”

Ao Qianqian nodded and said, “Yes. Actually, their divine spells are more powerful than that of humans!”

Ye Guan nodded slightly and stared alternatingly between Lu Tian and the Divine Xuanwu. The Divine Xuanwu leaped to the sky, and when it was all the way up there, it returned to its original form!

Rumble!

A thousand-meter-tall Divine Xuanwu appeared above Trial Peak.

A terrifying demonic beast pressure enveloped everyone underneath.

Lu Tian appeared on the Divine Xuanwu’s head.

He spread his right arm, and an imprint appeared on his palm. He stared at Ye Guan and Ao Qianqian beneath him, and a glint of anger flashed past his eyes. He flipped his right hand fiercely and brought it down with a roar, “Shatter the World!”

Shatter the World!

Rumble!

The Divine Xuanwu slapped downward.

A thousand-meter-wide beast imprint plummeted toward the Life or Death Stage.

Crack!

The entire Life or Death Stage cracked as the spacetime in the stage was annihilated. This beast imprint contained the combined power of Lu Tian and the Divine Xuanwu, so it was strong enough to shatter the world!

Everyone’s faces turned grim at the horrifying sight.

The pressure was so strong that even the spacetime in the audience stands was being folded as if it were a mere sheet of paper. Everyone was taken aback. A few ancient creatures hiding in the dark were astounded as well.

Ao Qianqian turned to look at Ye Guan and said, “Let’s see your performance.”

She approached Ye Guan and pressed her forehead against Ye Guan’s forehead.

Ye Guan froze and went silent. They weren’t just close—they were literally stuck together. Ye Guan’s lips were even touching Ao Qianqian’s lips! The faint fragrance Ao Qianqian was emitting overwhelmed him slightly, confusing him.

At the same time, he thought. What is Lady Qianqian doing? Why did she press her face against mine?

Swoosh!

Ao Qianqian turned into a ray of light and entered his glabella, merging with him.

Rumble!

A terrifying aura abruptly seeped out of Ye Guan.

He reached the Pinnacle in just one step!

Ao Qianqian had shared with Ye Guan not just the prowess of an Ancient Heavenly Dragon but her own cultivation base as well. After reaching the Pinnacle, Ye Guan abruptly threw his head back and stomped powerfully with his right foot.

Buzz!

A buzzing noise echoed as a sword light rushed to the skies.

Ye Guan’s stomp alone managed to shatter spacetime, which was proof of how Ao Qianqian had also shared with him her power as an Ancient Heavenly Dragon.

Everyone stared intently at Ye Guan as he made a beeline for the beast imprint.

Slash!

The beast imprint was torn to pieces, but Ye Guan didn’t stop there. He turned into a ray of sword light and rushed toward both Lu Tian and the Divine Xuanwu beneath him.

Ye Guan’s sword had become powerful enough to sunder the world!

Lu Tian and the Divine Xuanwu were stupefied to witness the might of Ye Guan’s sword. The Divine Xuanwu leaned over and used its tortoise shell to protect Lu Tian.

Ye Guan finally got close enough to the two and swung his sword—Ultimate Sword!

BOOM!

Cracks instantly formed on the tortoise shell. Lu Tian’s supporters were nervous.

Ye Guan thrust his sword once again, shattering the spacetime around him.

The Divine Xuanwu shell shook violently before crumbling, and the Divine Xuanwu had no choice but to retreat at least a few hundred meters away.

The Divine Xuanwu eventually stopped retreating, and the onlookers finally got a good look at its injuries. It was missing quite a few scales, and its skin was split open; there was an incessant flow of blood from its wounds.

The onlookers were stupefied. Ye Guan actually shattered a Divine Xuanwu’s defenses?

Shrieeek!

A sword shrieked as it came hurtling toward the Divine Xuanwu, and it was so fast that it was already a few inches away from the Divine Xuanwu just as the latter noticed it.

Crack!

The Divine Xuanwu’s shell was reduced to fine dust, and blood haphazardly flowed out of its wound. Furious, the Divine Xuanwu roared, “Ancestors, protect me! Immovable Mountain!”

Rumble!

A terrifying energy burst out of the Divine Xuanwu, and a golden shell wrapped it securely.

However, Ye Guan remained undeterred as he sent a sword toward it!

Boom!

The golden tortoise shell quivered violently, but it withstood Ye Guan’s attack and even reflected the blow to Ye Guan, sending him flying away by at least a few hundred meters. The space behind him collapsed the moment he stopped, but it recovered almost instantly.

An array inscribed with the Heavenly Dao laws was put in place to fix the spacetime within the Life or Death Stage.

Rip!

The space in front of Ye Guan was split open, and a demonic beast pounced out of the rift.

“Watch out!” Ao Qianqian’s voice echoed in Ye Guan’s mind. A golden dragon protective armor abruptly covered him.

Crack!

The protective armor shattered, and Ye Guan was sent flying once again.

When the dust settled, the onlookers were stupefied upon discovering the identity of the ambusher.

“A Sky-Splitting Tiger!” someone exclaimed, “Sky-Splitting Tigers are the most ferocious demonic beast of the four divine demonic beasts! A Sky-Splitting Tiger actually established a contract with Lu Tian! My goodness!”

Boom!

The onlookers’ shock had yet to abate when a horrifying aura seeped out of Lu Tian.

A massive pillar of flame surged toward the skies, scorching the clouds up above.

The Vermilion Bird!

The onlookers’ jaws fell to the ground.

Lu Tian had actually established a contract with three divine demonic beasts!

1. Items are categorized into grades but with the same name. So Simplicity-rank and Simplicity-grade are roughly the same tierwise, you get the gist ☜