Chapter 368: I Will Definitely Beat You to Death

Only a force capable of producing a Martial Emperor is qualified to establish a kingdom. Life realms are named after kingdoms. The Demon Kingdom's power is so terrifying that even the most elite prodigies of the Lingxiao Life Realm change color at its mention. Any force would tremble before it.

The Demon Child's eyes, deep and profound like a dark pool, fixed on Taishi Yu. "If a person possesses invincible strength and an unbreakable will, why shouldn't they be arrogant? I am arrogant, my thoughts unhindered, my mind at ease, yet you are helpless, reduced to barking like dogs. Whose state of mind is truly inferior?"

Those previously seated at the main table were all top-tier powerhouses from the Lingxiao Life Realm, within their sixty-year age cycle, whose every word and action influenced the world's order. At this moment, these more than a dozen individuals were all enraged.

"I will fight you." Taishi Yu had been preparing for this battle for several days. A thumb-thick blue crystal staff flew out from his spiritual realm between his eyebrows and landed in his hand. Spiritual light shimmered around him as he appeared dozens of feet above the plaza. He floated in the void, his body dazzling like a scorching sun, his long hair shimmering, his spiritual power vast and surging. He was completely unlike his usual carefree self, displaying the peerless demeanor of a transcendent clan's leader.

Taishi Bai was slightly lost in thought, surprised that the first to step forward against the formidable Demon Kingdom enemy was his cousin, whom he had always looked down upon.

The Demon Child looked up. "Are you Taishi Yu, the one reputed to have the strongest spiritual power among those within the sixty-year cycle in Lingxiao City? To be honest, I truly dislike fighting spiritual masters at the same cultivation level; it always feels like bullying. Array formations, talismans, insect control... all these are just flashy, impractical tricks. As for artifact crafting and alchemy, aren't they just skills for servant-artisans maintained by martial powerhouses?"

"Is that so? It's not too late to say that after we've fought." Taishi Yu shouted, "Mirror World, True Spirit of the Morning Sun!"

Whoosh! Above his head, an array disk materialized, spreading out in rings to cover several miles. Dense blue array patterns flowed within the disk. The next instant, the array disk vanished, transforming into a mirror. The mirrored sky reflected the scene of the princely mansion below.

The sight before them was astonishing. A master from the 'Sixty-Year Scroll' exclaimed in surprise, "He has merged the Mirror World Array and the True Spirit of the Morning Sun Array into one! With both arrays combined, who can stand against him?" "These two grand arrays don't look like they could be set up in a short time. Taishi Yu must have been drawing them in his spiritual realm for at least several days." "I never imagined... he has already reached the level of a Nine-Star Spiritual Master!" Taishi Bai was greatly shocked. Cultivating spiritual power was far more difficult than cultivating martial arts. He had always believed his talent was slightly superior to Taishi Yu's, and that he worked harder. But could he cultivate to the Ninth Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm before sixty? It was almost impossible. The further one progressed in the Dao Seed Realm, the more the time required multiplied.

Taishi Yu, standing at the center of the mirror, waved his staff through the air. Within the mirrored world, a crimson morning sun rose, illuminating all directions and, with magnificent power, blasted towards the Demon Child.

"Haha!" The Demon Child shot up like a beam of light. He punched the morning sun that had emerged from the array, shattering it into thousands of fireballs that scattered like meteors. "Is this your confidence in facing me? I told you, these flashy tricks are meaningless. Before a true martial powerhouse, they are like reflections in a mirror or the moon in water—they crumble upon contact."

The Demon Child, like a demon god descending from the sky, his blood roaring within him, raised his arm as a blade and effortlessly cleaved open the Mirror World Array, which spanned several miles in diameter. The blade energy, undiminished in power, spread towards Taishi Yu.

Taishi Yu's expression changed abruptly. At this moment, he finally understood why none of the other five of Lingxiao City's Ten Prodigies could withstand three of his moves. Such combat power completely subverted common understanding.

"Ice-Fire Thunder Tribulation." Taishi Yu held up his staff, and an array disk materialized, resembling a round shield that launched three different forces—ice, fire, and lightning—in an attempt to defend by attacking. But all the attacks launched from the array seemed powerless, unable to block the blade energy in the slightest. "Boom!" The Demon Child's blade energy shattered the array disk and struck Taishi Yu. His protective talisman robe made cracking sounds, his entire skin burst open, and he turned into a cloud of blood mist.

Just as Taishi Yu was about to be cut down by a single strike from afar, Song Yulou let out a low grunt, and a streak of green spiritual energy flew from his sleeve, like a divine ribbon of light, shattering the blade light and energy unleashed by the Demon Child. Taishi Bai used his movement technique to catch the heavily wounded Taishi Yu as he fell. Li Weiyi, Song Lin, and others immediately rushed over.

Taishi Yu was severely injured, his skin completely cracked, a deep blade mark cleaved across his chest, blood gushing out. He mumbled, "I thought... I could at least fight for a dozen more moves..." The martial cultivators of Lingxiao Life Realm felt a chill in their hearts. Taishi Yu had come with two grand arrays, yet he was gravely wounded and nearly killed on the second move, and the opponent hadn't even used an artifact. Was that truly a Ninth Heaven Dao Seed Realm martial cultivator? How could the disparity be so immense?

Taishi Bai fed Taishi Yu a pill and continuously channeled spiritual energy to help him heal. "He is the top figure at Mount Du'e. Facing such a powerful enemy, you showed great courage by stepping forward to challenge him; you've brought honor to the Taishi family." "It's just... my physical body is a bit too frail, otherwise, I definitely could have withstood that second move..." Taishi Yu said. Taishi Bai replied, "Stop being stubborn and focus on healing first."

Li Weiyi had clearly seen that the blade light unleashed by the Demon Child's arm swing was still some distance from Taishi Yu, yet it had struck him prematurely. What power would such blade techniques possess if wielded with a formidable artifact? Could anyone below the Longevity Realm withstand a single strike from him?

Tang Wanzhou's thought came from within the Buddha's sarira: "It seems there are still some powerful individuals on the Yingzhou land." Li Weiyi mentally transmitted to her, annoyed, "He's here because of your brother, and he's challenging you in the Lingxiao Life Realm." "That's wonderful," Tang Wanzhou said. "Please tell him for me to quickly break through to the Longevity Realm. I've never encountered an opponent at the same level who could make me take them seriously." "Why is everyone so arrogant?" Li Weiyi mused to herself.

The Demon Child hovered dozens of feet in the air, standing on a column of demonic energy, his eyes fixed intently on Song Yulou. "You've broken through to the Longevity Realm?" Song Yulou, in a white cloud-patterned robe with ink-black hair and sword-like eyebrows extending to his temples, had the appearance of a handsome and dashing man under thirty. His gaze was sharp as he said, "If I had known you were coming, I would certainly have fought you on behalf of the Lingxiao Life Realm. Unfortunately, I lack the ability to foresee the future, nor could I remain in the Dao Seed Realm indefinitely, waiting for an opponent."

The Demon Child said, "I think you're just afraid to lose, which is why you deliberately went into seclusion to avoid the fight a few days ago." Song Yulou replied, "Do you truly believe that just because you come from Mount Du'e and the Demon Kingdom, you can look down upon us Lingxiao martial cultivators? A thousand years ago, when Emperor Wu was still alive, could your power compare to that of the Lingxiao Life Realm? Lingxiao possesses countless top-tier martial inheritances, and the martial cultivators born on our land are absolutely no weaker than yours."

The Demon Child's tone was disdainful. "A thousand years have passed, and you're still clinging to past glories? Yesterday's magnificent kingdom is today's shallow puddle. The Demon Kingdom doesn't even need the Demon Lord to personally descend; any Demon Minister or Demon Noble could come and slaughter all your transcendent beings."

Zuoqiu Ling stepped forward, his voice like thunder: "Demon Child, if you break through to the Longevity Realm, I'll fight you. I'll definitely beat you to death. My name is Zuoqiu Ling." Previously, many had believed the Demon Child was representing Mount Du'e, acting arrogantly in Lingxiao City to help the Zuoqiu clan and undermine the prestige of the Lingxiao Palace. However, Zuoqiu Ling's attitude forced everyone to reconsider the Demon Child's true objective.

The Demon Child threw his head back and laughed, his voice layered and shifting between a child's and a man's. "You are in the Longevity Realm; naturally, Mount Du'e has Longevity Realm powerhouses superior to me to suppress you. But as for the Lingxiao Life Realm, never mind the peak figures of the Ninth Heaven Dao Seed Realm, which layer of the 'Nine-Layer Dao Image Map' have you broken through? So, decline is decline; making excuses is meaningless." "Your so-called top inheritances are vulnerable before Mount Du'e." "I heard that ever since Chan Hai Guanwu became the master of the Life Realm, Lingxiao has been dominated by yin over yang. After Yu Yaozi took charge of the Lingxiao Palace, she even issued the Small Field Decree. How is it that the Lingxiao Life Realm can't produce a single complete man anymore? Below the Longevity Realm, who can fight me?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's rage was fully ignited. "I, Chen Huang, will fight you! Since Song Yulou has broken through to the Longevity Realm, I am now the foremost Dao Seed Realm cultivator in Lingxiao City." Chen Huang, clad in golden Qilin armor, with a robust physique and long arms, holding a dragon-patterned golden saber, flew out from beside Song Yulou. He unleashed his Dao Heart Manifestation, enveloping the entire West Sea Princely Mansion in golden radiance. His combat will condensed into thousands of divine cavalry, their armor clashing, their battle flags fluttering. He advanced alone, as if accompanied by a vast army.

"Let me go first! I, Cao Shisan, am the current foremost Dao Seed Realm cultivator in Lingxiao City." From Cao Shisan's ancestral field, nine Nine Nether Rings flew out, thousands of scriptures encircling his body. With a single step, wind and thunder surged, spiritual energy dispersed demonic energy, and the entire city area trembled slightly.

Chen Huang hailed from the transcendent Chen clan of the imperial court. Cao Shisan was the adopted son of Cao Caishen, one of the seven transcendent figures of the imperial court. These two, along with Song Yulou, were widely recognized as the top three among the Ten Prodigies.

Three hundred feet above the West Sea Princely Mansion, an ancient array battle stage, ten li in circumference, opened up, suspended beneath the clouds, with spiritual light chains hanging down from its four corners. The Demon Child saw that both Chen Huang and Cao Shisan carried formidable artifacts of the Thousand-Character Scripture level, fully prepared. He let out a childlike laugh: "You two don't need to argue; come at me together. If you can force me to use an artifact, then you win."

Chen Huang and Cao Shisan exchanged glances. Both knew the enemy was formidable and that a one-on-one fight offered no chance of victory. Defeating him together would still be a triumph.

Swish! Swish! They flew straight towards the sky, intending to ascend the ancient array battle stage. The Demon Child, significantly faster, caught up to them above their heads, waved a hand towards Cao Shisan, and chuckled, "Dealing with you two will take only a few moves. Why bother going to the ancient array battle stage?" The child's five slender fingers transformed into a demonic energy palm print dozens of meters in size. The palm print descended like a cloud upon Cao Shisan's head, causing the air to significantly indent.

Cao Shisan's pupils contracted sharply. He raised the Nine Nether Rings to defend, and the energy of the Thousand-Character Scripture artifact erupted, the nine rings forming a line to shatter the descending palm print. Before Cao Shisan could show any joy, the Demon Child appeared beneath him like lightning, grabbed his left ankle, yanked him down, swung his body around in a full circle, and then casually hurled him away. This was not at all like a duel between powerhouses; it was more like one-sided play and mockery.

"Relying entirely on artifacts is to abandon the root for the branch. The more powerful an artifact, the more time it takes to activate, and the harder it is to wield freely. In duels between top masters, a single blink can decide life or death. One's own strength is always paramount." The Demon Child's voice was mocking. He wasn't merely a boastful tyrant but used words to strike at his opponents' confidence, making them fall into self-doubt and self-denial.

Boom! Cao Shisan spun head over heels as he fell, his body smashing through a tall wall in the princely mansion, creating a crater several yards in diameter. Fortunately, his physical body was strong, and he was protected by battle armor. He quickly stumbled to his feet, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and, filled with furious intent, shot back into the sky.

Seizing the moment while the Demon Child was dealing with Cao Shisan, Chen Huang activated the scriptures within the dragon-patterned golden saber in his hand. The power of the Thousand-Character artifact erupted, and he unleashed a strike that seemed to cleave heaven and earth. The blade energy was like a curtain of light, horizontally bisecting the sky. The Demon Child easily dodged it, then delivered a close-range palm strike that dented Chen Huang's armor and sent his body flying like a cannonball.