Chapter 451 - 427: One Against Three

Chapter 451: Chapter 427: One Against Three

"All of you, stand down! Since he wishes to challenge this Prince, then this Prince shall indulge him!" The Third Prince finally came to his senses. He gave a contemptuous sneer, ordering his subordinates back as he prepared to fight.

"Yes, Your Highness."

The Third Prince’s subordinates dared not say more, but they were not worried.

After all, they were well aware of the Third Prince’s immense Combat Power.

Even the strongest among them was slightly inferior to the Third Prince.

Not to mention the Third Prince’s noble status and the many Spiritual Treasures he possessed.

Seeing this, Xiahou Jiao and the other Divinity Transformation cultivators grew even more worried for Zhang Chi.

"You alone are not enough. All of you should come at me at once!" Zhang Chi, however, simply waved his hand. He was not only fearless but felt that the Third Prince by himself was nowhere near a sufficient challenge.

"What did you say?"

"How arrogant!"

"You reckless fool! You’re courting death!"

The cultivators on the scene were stunned. Then, the cultivators on the Third Prince’s side, including the Prince himself, became utterly furious.

"Junior Brother Zhang..."

Xiahou Jiao and the other Divinity Transformation Cultivators were also dumbfounded, having no idea what was fueling Zhang Chi’s confidence.

"Boy, since you’re so eager to die, we’ll oblige you. But if you want to challenge His Highness the Third Prince and all of us, you’ll have to get past me first!" At that, the Tiger Demon, seething with anger, shot higher into the sky.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

The Third Prince and the other Divinity Transformation cultivators immediately followed him higher into the sky.

The Tiger Demon’s actions appeared impulsive, but he was clearly acting on the Third Prince’s orders, sent to probe Zhang Chi’s true capabilities.

"Fine. I’ll kill you for a warm-up!"

With a cold smile, Zhang Chi took a single step and vanished. He reappeared high in the air, facing the Tiger Demon from a thousand feet away.

"We should follow them!"

The expressions on Xiahou Jiao and the others changed drastically, but they had no choice but to quickly follow.

"If Zhang Chi fails, we attack them directly. We’re high enough that the fighting won’t affect the Sect or the Low Tier Cultivators attending the ceremony!"

Xiahou Jiao immediately relayed this message via voice transmission to all the cultivators on her side.

"Understood."

The three Palace Masters and the other Divinity Transformation cultivators privately signaled their agreement.

Some even wanted to seize the opportunity to attack immediately, but they ultimately held back.

The reasoning was simple. Even with superior numbers, a direct confrontation would not leave their side unscathed. Furthermore, with so many enemy Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarchs, some would certainly break through and escape.

The Third Prince might even possess a powerful trump card capable of reversing the course of the battle.

Otherwise, their opponents would never have been so bold as to fly up to this altitude together.

Besides, since Zhang Chi had chosen to fight, they had to respect his decision.

There was no need to act hastily, especially before a victor was decided.

ROAR!

Seeing that Zhang Chi had not only followed but seemed intent on a one-on-one duel, the Tiger Demon was overjoyed. With a great shudder, he unleashed a powerful pressure and transformed into a giant tiger, lunging at Zhang Chi with bared fangs and claws.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The spectating Divinity Transformation cultivators’ expressions grew solemn. Zhang Chi, however, was fearless. He immediately activated his Celestial Net Evil Body Technique and met the giant tiger head-on, engaging in a fierce, close-quarters brawl using nothing but his physical strength.

Zhang Chi was tall, but still human-sized. Compared to the thousand-foot-long tiger, he was as insignificant as an ant. Yet, his strength and defense were in no way inferior to the great beast’s. For a moment, they were locked in a stalemate.

ROAR!

The giant tiger even let out a series of pained roars, clearly hurt by Zhang Chi’s attacks.

"This... How is this possible? Zhang Chi’s physical strength is on this level? He can fight the Tiger Demon to a Tie without using Spiritual Treasures or Divine Techniques? That’s unbelievable!"

"Right? Physical strength is supposed to be the Tiger Demon’s strong suit!"

"And the Tiger Demon is a veteran Divinity Transformation cultivator, while Zhang Chi only broke through a mere ten years ago."

The watching Divinity Transformation cultivators were utterly astonished.

The only difference was the expressions of the onlookers: the Third Prince’s faction looked grim, while Xiahou Jiao and her allies were overjoyed, finally letting out a collective sigh of relief.

They had been worried that Zhang Chi would be no match for the Tiger Demon and might even be in danger.

But now, it was clear they had underestimated him.

"No wonder Zhang Chi dared to challenge the Third Prince of Great Qian!"

"Indeed. Even if he ultimately can’t beat the Tiger Demon, the Tiger Demon won’t be able to kill him. And while the Third Prince is stronger than the Tiger Demon, as long as Zhang Chi is cautious, he should be fine."

Xiahou Jiao and the others discussed amongst themselves.

"Could his Combat Power already surpass what ours was when we first ascended?"

"It’s hard to say. The Tiger Demon isn’t going all-out yet. But based on how things look, Zhang Chi probably hasn’t revealed his full strength either. He might actually be stronger than us!"

At that moment, the three Palace Masters of the Desert Divine Palace wore identical expressions of disbelief.

While they had previously seen Zhang Chi as important, it was only to curry favor with him and the Six Great Powers of the Ancient Wilderness Snowfield that backed him. They clearly hadn’t placed much importance on his personal strength.

Only now did they realize they had underestimated him.

’My word, this Zhang Chi is incredible! Thank goodness I stopped Lin Dong earlier. Otherwise, if Zhang Chi had decided to go after him, I’m afraid even I couldn’t have stopped it,’ the Lin Family Ancestor thought, secretly relieved.

’This Senior Zhang Chi is terrifyingly strong... When he’s done fighting, he isn’t going to come looking for me, is he?’

Lin Dong, who was also attending the ceremony and watching from below, couldn’t help but tremble at the sight. Not even the presence of the Lin Family Ancestor was enough to make him feel safe.

"Boy, you’re not bad. In that case, I’ll get serious! Now, die!"

The Tiger Demon was equally astonished but quickly composed himself. His tiger form shuddered, and he erupted with even greater Combat Power. A light enveloped his body, and his speed, strength, and defense all rose dramatically.

But to his shock, even after this power-up, Zhang Chi remained unchanged. Not only was he still calm and composed, but his own physical Combat Power had strengthened to match.

ROAR!

The Tiger Demon’s gaze finally turned grave. He let out a tremendous roar.

This was no ordinary roar, but a special Divine Technique. Powerful Sound Waves instantly engulfed the battlefield. Many of the spectating Divinity Transformation cultivators couldn’t help but cover their ears as they rang, their vision momentarily blacking out.

The cultivators below were protected by the light barrier of the Mountain Protection Array, which the Celestial Fragrance Sect had activated just in time. If they had been hit directly by the Sound Waves, at least half of them would have died.

Even with the protection of the Grand Array, many cultivators still coughed up blood.

"Oh no!"

At the same time, the cultivators from the Ancient Wilderness Snowfield faction all stared nervously at Zhang Chi, terrified that he, being at the epicenter of the attack, would be knocked unconscious by the Sound Waves.

"Excellent!"

"So this is the Tiger Demon’s Divine Technique? It’s as powerful as they say! Zhang Chi is a dead man!"

The Third Prince’s faction, in stark contrast, was ecstatic and filled with anticipation.

"Huh? He’s fine? That’s impossible!"

But a moment later, their smiles froze. They saw that Zhang Chi was not only not dazed, but seemed completely unaffected by the Divine Technique.

"Fantastic!"

"Celestial Monarch Zhang is magnificent!"

Xiahou Jiao and her allies were overjoyed, cheering wildly.

"How can this be?"

Even the Tiger Demon himself was dumbfounded.

He rarely used this Divine Technique, but it was incredibly effective—practically infallible.

He had even prepared a series of killing blows, ready to unleash them the moment Zhang Chi was stunned and finish him off in one go.

But now, it was clear he had been getting ahead of himself.

"You dare show off such a petty trick before me? You’ve had your turn. Now it’s mine!"

Zhang Chi just sneered, completely unsurprised.

’Thanks to the Jade Pendant, I’m not afraid of these kinds of negative-status attacks at all.’

As he spoke, Zhang Chi’s body shuddered. He instantly unleashed the full power of his Celestial Net Gang Force, layers of it swirling around him. Flames and lightning erupted from his skin as he finally activated the Asura Blood Burning Technique, and his Combat Power skyrocketed.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The Tiger Demon was immediately beaten into a continuous retreat, howling in pain.

Zhang Chi’s assault was so ferocious, like an unending tempest, that the Tiger Demon had no chance to use any other techniques he might have had.

Of course, the Tiger Demon’s greatest strengths were his physique and that Divine Technique. With both rendered useless, it was unlikely any of his other abilities could change the course of the fight.

"Gods, Zhang Chi was still holding back?"

"Yeah, it seems the Tiger Demon is no match for him at all!"

The crowd of cultivators cried out in shock once more.

"Damn it!"

The expressions of the Third Prince and his followers turned exceptionally grim.

"Save me!"

The Tiger Demon himself was terrified and screamed for help.

It was humiliating, but far better than being grievously wounded or killed.

’That’s right,’ he thought. ’If this continues, I’ll either be crippled or killed.’

"Fellow Daoist Tiger Demon, I’ll lend you a hand!"

"Me too! Zhang Chi, you’re the one who said you’d take us all on, so don’t blame us for attacking you together!"

"Good. Go help him!"

Just then, the Divinity Transformation cultivator surnamed Zhou and one of the Flood Dragons that pulled the carriage joined the fight.

This Flood Dragon was, of course, the Alliance Leader of the Beast Alliance, the cultivator with the surname Long.

The Third Prince saw this and, far from stopping them, nodded in approval.

"Shameless!"

"That’s right! We should join the fight and help Junior Brother Zhang!"

Xiahou Jiao and her group were shocked and cursed loudly. Some even prepared to enter the fray.

"Wait, maybe Fellow Daoist Zhang can still win."

"Yes, let’s just watch for now."

However, the other Divinity Transformation cultivators on their side stopped them. They had all noticed that even with two more Divinity Transformation opponents joining the fight, Zhang Chi wasn’t losing any ground.

"This..."

Xiahou Jiao and the others were dumbfounded, but they also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"Go! All of you, get in there! This Prince wants to see just how long this brat can hold out!"

The Third Prince and his followers had assumed a three-on-one fight would seal Zhang Chi’s defeat, but they were left stunned. The Third Prince roared in fury, and more of his subordinates charged toward Zhang Chi.