Chapter 1787: Three Against Seven

The old man’s eyes lit up. He clearly realized this was the most spectacular fireworks display he had ever seen in his life, though it came at the cost of his own life.

Boom! With a loud bang, Xu Yang merely flicked his finger. The massive energy halo above the old man’s head instantly exploded, obliterating his entire body into nothingness amidst the magnificent blast.

This domineering display undoubtedly showcased Xu Yang’s unparalleled power and ignited even greater fury in the hearts of all the warriors from both empires. The opposing warriors, in particular, were filled with countless thoughts of tearing Xu Yang to shreds.

In fact, these warriors had already reached an unspoken consensus. In the upcoming final survival battle for the top ten, given the current lineup, no cultivators from their empire other than Xu Yang and his two companions had qualified.

This meant that in the final stage, it would be a three-against-seven situation for their entire faction.

On the opposing side, every one of their members was a supreme being whose strength had surpassed the peak of the Soul Transformation Realm—all martial arts prodigies of the younger generation.

The strongest seeded player leading the opposing team had also entered a special state, the Spirit Void Realm, just like Qing Ya. However, the biggest difference between them was that Qing Ya had only reached her current state overnight because she had received a Primordial Pill from a Soul Transformation Realm elder, gifted by Xu Yang. She had not yet fully digested all of the pill’s essential power.

In terms of actual combat, she was even less capable of comparing with true Spirit Void Realm experts. Therefore, the raw strength gap between the two sides was still very apparent.

However, with Xu Yang and Long Kun, the two masters controlling the overall situation, present, this year’s martial artist confrontation would otherwise have ended with their empire being completely suppressed.

As the old man before Xu Yang was reduced to dust, the twenty-to-ten martial artist eliminations concluded.

The fossil-level elder presiding over the entire event once again came to the center of the arena, solemnly announcing that the final survival battle for the top ten was about to commence. This was also the most thrilling highlight of every year’s Martial Artists’ Alliance gathering.

To put it plainly, it was a team battle between the two major factions.

Although there were no explicit rules, and even the ultimate outcome of life or death could not be precisely defined, everyone understood that this was essentially a revenge showdown between the two major factions.

Everyone would unleash their trump cards and most powerful skills, which was precisely the most exciting part of the confrontation.

However, this year would likely disappoint all the eager warriors, because Xu Yang and Long Kun had no intention of allowing any of the opposing seven strongest warriors to survive the final round. Furthermore, they intended to conserve their true strength.

A quick victory was undoubtedly the best combat strategy.

Driven by this idea, the moment Xu Yang and Long Kun entered the final survival battle arena, they immediately unleashed an immensely powerful aura of slaughter.

As for Qing Ya, Xu Yang’s only task for her in this stage was to protect herself; she was not required to take any offensive action whatsoever.

To be safe, Xu Yang even kept his Frost Spring divine artifact by Qing Ya’s side as a physical guardian. This ensured Xu Yang had no worries.

After the match began, he instructed Long Kun to single-handedly draw the fire of four opponents. The remaining three powerhouses, also the strongest participants from the opposing empire, would be dealt with personally by Xu Yang.

With a sudden stomp of his foot, Xu Yang’s movement speed reached its limit, and he instantly appeared before the three strongest seeded participants.

“All three of you come at me together,” he said. “That way, I can save a lot of time.”

The moment Xu Yang spoke, the three warriors before him were startled. They exchanged glances, then all broke into sarcastic smiles.

“You must be tired of living, kid,” one said. “To this day, no one alive has dared to speak to me like that. Or perhaps you don’t understand what the Spirit Void Realm truly means.”

This most powerful Spirit Void Realm prodigy began to flex his fingers and roll his neck in front of Xu Yang, performing pre-match warm-up movements.

Little did he know, no matter what movements he made, Xu Yang would not be surprised. Only if he prostrated himself and kowtowed three times to Xu Yang, calling him "Grandpa" a few times, might Xu Yang find some amusement.

“Alright then, I’ll give you three an extra ten seconds to live,” Xu Yang said. “Warm up if you want, say what you want. You only have ten seconds left to feel the breath of this world.”

After speaking, Xu Yang directly sealed his aura. He stood before the three, eyes closed and face calm, emanating no aura fluctuations.

Little did they know, Xu Yang had not stipulated that they couldn’t attack during these ten seconds. Had they understood Xu Yang’s true intention, they would have undoubtedly seized this ten-second window to launch their strongest attacks and catch Xu Yang off guard.

However, the three of them still overestimated their own strength. They did not seize this precious ten-second window to attack, but instead continued to wait for Xu Yang to make his move after his seemingly enigmatic display.

Regrettably, when Xu Yang opened his eyes again, his crimson gaze, filled with a grim, bloodthirsty desire, completely terrified these three arrogant individuals before him.

It was only from this moment that they finally realized just how terrifying Xu Yang’s true strength was.

“You… you’ve been holding back your strength all this time. What exactly are you trying to do?”

The Spirit Void Realm expert asked with trembling fear, for the mere killing intent radiating from Xu Yang’s eyes was enough to make his soul tremble with deep dread.

But it was too late for regrets now, as he had no means to counter the furious attack Xu Yang was about to unleash upon him.

Behind Xu Yang, a massive sword light appeared—it was his mastery of the Eternal Sword Dao, unleashed for the first time within the domain of the Ancient Martial Divine Path. Unfortunately, this unfortunate soul was arguably the first to die under Xu Yang’s sword energy. With one swift slash, the terrifying Eternal Sword Qi instantly killed this arrogant Spirit Void Realm expert, obliterating him directly on the cliffside.

Blood flowed freely. This prodigy likely didn’t understand where he had truly failed until his dying breath, for the moment Xu Yang appeared, he didn’t even have time to react before meeting such an end.