Chapter 458: The Respect Shown by One's Opponents

The voice of Qi Xu from the Flame Race boomed like a thunderclap.

Surging waves of flame radiated from her, striking fear into the restless warriors of the Radiant Race. Her overwhelming presence cowed even the most reckless among them into silence.

The Divine Son of the Radiant Race was dead.

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The battle had almost razed the mountain gates of the Radiant Sun Sect to the ground.

Pang Jian and Lie Yi's clash had left a permanent mark upon the Cosmic Skies Continent.

The ground, covered in shattered rock and ice, was riddled with cracks, with golden light and an otherworldly brilliance seeping out of them.

Sharp-eyed foreign race powerhouses focused their attention on the cracks and caught glimpses of underground veins radiating with a golden glow.

They also spotted clusters of Gold Obsidian, crimson firestones, and sunstones.

The battle between Pang Jian and Lie Yi had torn the ground apart, exposing the rare mineral veins and the spirit vein beneath the Radiant Sun Sect.

They knew this region was bound to experience strange phenomena in the future, due to the collapsing mountains and ruptured ground.

The spirit vein could relocate, and the mineral veins could wither away entirely.

The clash between a Nirvana Realm cultivator and a Rank Eight foreign race warrior had unexpectedly scarred the land, leaving a profound and far-reaching impact on the Cosmic Skies Continent.

Many foreign race warriors softly murmured Pang Jian's name.

The two characters that made up his name felt unbearably heavy as if taboo to speak aloud.

Eyes filled with shock and fury converged on the sharp-featured figure standing tall on the battlefield, his blue robes immaculate and untouched by blood.

Pang Jian seemed to resemble a legendary sword from the Sword Pavilion, its sharp blade glinting dangerously.

After today, Pang Jian's name would undoubtedly be as widely known among the foreign races of the Fifth World as that of his master, Li Zhaotian.

He had killed the Divine Son of the Radiant Race!

As the surrounding foreign race warriors recalled the endless sword lights from before, each imbued with a unique Dao of Sword, they could not help but feel a crushing sense of despair.

The Sword Pavilion was truly an insurmountable mountain, overshadowing even geniuses like Lie Yi from the Fifth World.

Looking back at the golden age of the Sword Pavilion, when Five Sword Gods roamed the Abyss, one could only imagine the unparalleled magnificence and dominance of the Sword Pavilion!

The expressions and emotions of the foreign race warriors grew increasingly complex as they inevitably recalled tales tied to the Sword Pavilion.

In every tale involving the foreign races and the Sword Pavilion, the latter almost always emerged victorious.

Defeats were exceedingly rare.

Even in those rare defeats, the Sword Pavilion's sword cultivators always died in an honorable manner, often taking multiple foreign race warriors of equal level down with them.

While most foreign race warriors wrestled with frustration and despair, Xuan Ying of the Demon Scale Race felt an uncontrollable excitement bubbling up within her.

Pang Jian!

A piercing brilliance shone in her sharp eyes.

Her fighting spirit soared and her blood boiled as a thirst for battle consumed every fiber of her being.

Pang Jian of the human race in the Abyss was her rival!

Her life suddenly seemed to have gained a greater sense of value and purpose.

A person like this, and a sect like the Sword Pavilion, deserve my utmost respect!

Xuan Ying thought inwardly.

She lowered her serrated blade and stood silently atop it.

Her small hands, covered in scaled armor, rested in a solemn gesture—one placed over her heart, the other clenched in a fist against her brow.

This ancient gesture of the Demon Scale Race signified respect for the fallen.

It was a gesture reserved for opponents whom the Demon Scale Race warriors truly acknowledged—those they had battled with all their might and witnessed die before their eyes.

Xuan Ying's gesture meant she regarded Pang Jian as her ultimate rival.

It also conveyed her unwavering belief that she would one day kill Pang Jian.

Her actions of performing the gesture reignited the fighting spirit of the disheartened Demon Scale Race warriors.

That's right, we still have Xuan Ying. She's younger than Lie Yi and is destined to surpass him!

Such were the thoughts of the Demon Scale Race warriors.

"Pang Jian..." muttered the stunning Flame Race woman in the blazing fireball above, her fiery red hair flowing softly in the wind.

Hundreds of fingernail-sized fire crystals floated within the blazing fireball, each inscribed with unique patterns related to the Dao of Fire.

Even while spectating the battle, she had divided her focus to comprehend the Dao of Fire that the Fire God Yan Lie had inscribed on the fire crystals.

She knew Rank Nine foreign race warriors like her would have a chance to advance to Rank Ten as the flow of murky energy surged upward.

The number of True Gods of the human race was closely tied to the total amount of spiritual qi within the Abyss.

In contrast, the number of Rank Ten foreign race warriors was connected to the presence of murky energy.

Although the number of Rank Ten foreign race warriors had long been limited to seven, the continued surge of the murky energy meant this limit would soon be surpassed.

Qi Xu's bloodline, combat prowess, and tempered physique had already met all the requirements for ascending to Rank Ten, on the brink of becoming the eighth Rank Ten foreign race warrior.

The only thing she lacked was an opportunity.

Qi Xu's ultimate goal had always been to advance to Rank Ten, break through the barrier of the Abyss, and soar freely across the vast and boundless starry skies.

She had once believed that only Li Zhaotian was capable of shouldering the Sword Pavilion's legacy.

As Li Zhaotian had yet to ascend to the rank of a True God, she, like many others present, believed the Sword Pavilion of this era was nothing to fear.

Now, she realized she was wrong—terribly, utterly wrong.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The fire crystals surrounding her drifted away from the blazing fireball.

Within each fire crystal were the scenes of Pang Jian relentlessly swinging his sword, engulfing Lie Yi in an endless storm of sword lights, and reducing him to a bloody pulp.

"We all need to learn from this.

"I will distribute these fire crystals to the leaders of the different factions in the Fifth World so they can understand how Lie Yi met his end.

"Our war against the human race has only just begun and we've only achieved a tiny victory.

"For over thirty thousand years, we've been suppressed, and every one of our attempts to ascend to the upper worlds has ended in failure.

"And it's all because of the Sword Pavilion—because of individuals like Pang Jian!"

With a flick of her arm, the fire crystals filled with the scenes of Pang Jian killing Lie Yi shot out from the Cosmic Skies Continent and scattered across different regions in the Fourth and Fifth Worlds.

At the same time, the foreign race warriors gathered around the battlefield used their artifacts to relay the results of the battle between Pang Jian and Lie Yi to their leaders.

Pang Jian, the main character in those reports, stood atop the Heart of Winter with the Abyssal Demon Sword in hand, head lowered as if oblivious to everything around him.

He remained immersed in his intricate and ever-changing Chaos Sword Technique.

Lie Yi was dead, and the battle had long since ended.

Even so, he had not yet fully grasped the true essence of the Chaos Sword Technique, nor had he unleashed the entirety of its devastating power.

He remained motionless, indifferent to how the foreign race warriors perceived him as he focused on the vibrant activity of his sea of consciousness.

Tens of thousands of dazzling sword lights streaked across his sea of consciousness and intertwined with the fragmented land in his dantian while his golden divine soul refined and deduced the next stages of his sword technique.

These sword lights also resonated with the sword token clenched tightly in his hand.

The sword, sword techniques, and the Chaos Sword Technique...

Pang Jian's inner voice, thoughts, and resolute will echoed throughout his body.

The fragmented land in his dantian, his sea of consciousness, the Providence Mystic Reservoir Acupoint, and even his five viscera and six bowels all radiated with latent, unmanifested sword intent.

The silent Pang Jian radiated sword intent from every pore, his entire being exuding a sharp and boundless energy.

After Lie Yi's death, he unexpectedly entered an unfathomable state of sword enlightenment.

The unfinished Chaos Sword Technique and his yet-to-be-fully-manifested Dao of Sword had drawn him into the legendary Sword Seeking State—a mystical state that only generations of Sword Gods could occasionally enter.

It did not take long for the foreign race powerhouses to realize that Pang Jian had stepped into a profound state of sword enlightenment after killing Lie Yi.

"He clearly doesn't see us as worthy of his attention!"

"This mere human youth isn't even hurrying to leave or retreating fearfully into the depths of the earth after killing the Divine Son of the Radiant Race from our Fifth World!"

"He's entering a state of sword enlightenment right under our noses!"

"Audacious beyond belief!"

"Lady Qi Xu, this brat is too arrogant!"

"He's using your promise as a shield to brazenly enter a state of sword enlightenment! This is a blatant slap in all our faces!"

"Lady Qi Xu, either drive him away or kill him outright!"

"He's the very embodiment of the Sword Pavilion's arrogance! Today, I've finally witnessed it firsthand."

"Lady Qi Xu, allowing him to continue like this is an embarrassment to all of us!"

The gathered warriors from various foreign races grew increasingly agitated, voices brimming with anger and frustration.

Xuan Ying, still standing atop her serrated blade, let a subtle glimmer of fascination flicker in her cold, piercing eyes.

Beneath her scale mask, her small mouth pressed into a slight smile as she mumbled, "What an interesting man. I like his arrogance and his disregard for everything around him."

The Demon Scale Race warrior next to her had been by her side for many years and had silently admired her for years.

Overhearing her mutterings, he could not help but stare at her in dazed bewilderment.

He had never seen such a light in her eyes before.

None of the Demon Scale Race warriors in the Fifth World nor peerless geniuses of the foreign races such as Yu Qing and Lie Yi had ever truly earned her attention.

However, her eyes now sparkled with admiration for a mere human youth!

"Enough! Shut up and wait for him to wake up!" Qi Xu reprimanded angrily. "What's the matter? Can't accept defeat?

"Lie Yi is dead. Pang Jian did not use any dishonorable methods and won fair and square.

"It's only natural for the victor to mock the defeated!

"He's merely comprehending his sword techniques, using the previous battle to consolidate his Dao of Sword.

"A rival like this deserves your utmost respect and should leave a deep impression on you all!

"Now, just wait. Wait until he wakes up and watch as he returns to the Second World!"

Qi Xu silenced the dissenting voices, suppressing all objections, and personally remained on-site to oversee the situation.

The wait lasted several days.

One morning, under the watchful gazes of nearly ten thousand foreign race warriors, Pang Jian finally opened his eyes.

He bowed slightly toward the blazing fireball in the sky, then soared up as the first rays of sunlight broke over the horizon.