Chapter 757: Celestial Drum City

Jiang Chen flew up from the Magma Ocean.

He snatched Qin Lie’s corpse and looked at Sima Qingtian. “Lord Sima, I’m afraid Gai Shi and the others are no match for the Fiery Eighteen Dragon Riders. You must hurry and support them!”

Sima Qingtian was taken aback.

He shot a strange glance at the corpse of Qin Lie in Jiang Chen’s hand, but he didn’t say anything.

He nodded and flew toward the Fiery Eighteen Dragon Riders.

Jiang Chen breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at Qin Lie’s body in his hands, he licked his lips. ‘A Saint Tier Eighth Grade Martial Soul? The Essence Blood of a Domain Fourth Refining Powerhouse…’

He simultaneously activated his Chaos Bloodline and the God-slaying Sword.

Qin Lie’s body quickly shriveled, turning into a desiccated corpse.

Jiang Chen let out a long, turbid breath, a hint of disappointment and resignation in his eyes. ‘Once a Martial Soul enters the Saint Tier, it requires devouring even more powerful Martial Souls to advance. It seems it will be a long time before I can raise the God-slaying Sword to the Divine Tier!’

‘Oh well, some things can’t be forced.’

Jiang Chen took the Storage Ring from Qin Lie’s hand and tossed the dried corpse into the Magma Ocean below.

HISS!

Qin Lie’s body was instantly reduced to ash.

Jiang Chen’s Divine Thought stirred, erasing the spiritual brand Qin Lie had left behind. A quick scan brought a look of ecstasy to his face. ‘Five hundred billion Top-Grade Spirit Crystals? Holy cow, that’s equivalent to fifty quadrillion Upper-Grade Spirit Crystals! After I devour all these Spirit Crystals, it should be enough for my Divine Demon Tyrant Body to break through to the Peak of the Sixth Stage!’

His Divine Thought swept through it again.

The Storage Ring was filled with treasures, but few were suitable for Jiang Chen himself.

He figured he could divide these treasures among Gai Shi and Yao Yueye after they returned.

After taking out all the treasures, leaving only some of Qin Lie’s clothes and other personal items, Jiang Chen was about to destroy the Storage Ring when he noticed a Token inside twitch slightly.

Jiang Chen paused. He took out the Token, and a majestic voice emanated from it. “A peerless prodigy? Qin Lie, I command you to kill him at all costs!”

This message was from half an incense stick’s time ago.

But the message that had just come through made Jiang Chen’s expression change slightly. The majestic voice had turned much colder. “Qin Lie’s soul jade has shattered. It seems you have already killed him. Good. Very good. I don’t care if you’re a peerless prodigy or someone else entirely. You dared to kill my, Qin Yulong’s, Grand General. For you, there is only death. I will be waiting for you in Celestial Drum City!”

BOOM!

The Communication Token exploded violently.

A cold glint flashed in Jiang Chen’s eyes. ‘Qin Yulong? He’ll be a big problem. But if you want to take my life, Jiang Chen’s life, you’d better have what it takes!’

He glanced at the thousand-li Magma Ocean, which was still radiating scorching heat waves.

Jiang Chen couldn’t help but shake his head.

This thousand-li Magma Ocean probably wouldn’t cool down completely for several hundred years. For the next few centuries, this place was likely to become a Lifeless Wasteland.

“ROAR! Those damn Fiery Eighteen Dragon Riders! We still killed them all, didn’t we?”

“Hahaha, die!”

The cheers of Gai Shi and the others came from a distance.

Jiang Chen froze, his expression changing drastically. “Fuck, that’s eighteen Emperor Yuan Pills! Can’t you guys be more careful?! Don’t destroy their bodies!”

SWOOSH!

The five pairs of wings on his back unfurled, and he transformed into a streak of Flowing Light, flying toward the Fiery Eighteen Dragon Riders’ location.

A short while later, Jiang Chen arrived at the scene. The Fiery Eighteen Dragon Riders had all been slain. Staring at the shattered corpses, Jiang Chen wanted to cry but had no tears. “My Emperor Yuan Pills…”

The others, however, were oblivious to the despair and regret in Jiang Chen’s heart.

Gai Shi, Yao Yueye, and Yiluo flew to his side. Gai Shi, looking like he was presenting a treasure, grinned and said, “Boss, we took care of them!”

“Master, this subordinate has broken through to Emperor Realm Peak!” said Yao Yueye.

The Emperor Yuan Pill he had consumed was refined from Demon Plow, an Emperor Realm Peak expert. The life-and-death battle had accelerated his refinement of the pill’s energy.

Thus, he had logically broken through to Emperor Realm Peak.

Yiluo just watched Jiang Chen quietly.

Jiang Chen gave a wry smile. “You all did very well…” His gaze was still sweeping over the fragmented corpses as he sighed, “My Emperor Yuan Pills, all gone just like that… *Sigh*… That was a pile of shiny Spirit Crystals…”

“Young friend Jiang Chen!”

Sima Qingtian flew over with Sima Lingkong and the others.

They knew that Jiang Chen, having slain Beitang Moi and Ximen Qingsong, was a peerless prodigy.

These young men, once the strongest geniuses of Coastal City’s younger generation, now looked at Jiang Chen with fervor and adoration.

There are Nine Extremes of genius!

Starting from the Seventh Extreme, one is called a matchless genius.

The Eighth Extreme is a peerless prodigy!

The Ninth Extreme is an Invincible Venerable!

Jiang Chen was a peerless prodigy. Such talent was renowned throughout all of Zhongzhou. How could they not be in awe and worship him?

Jiang Chen waved his hand dismissively. “Lord Sima, we should leave this place at once!”

“You’re right… But we can’t take our original route. We’ll need to detour through Beifeng City to get to Celestial Drum City!” Sima Qingtian said with a grave expression.

He was worried Qin Yulong would set up another ambush along the way.

Jiang Chen nodded.

Everyone reboarded the airship, which Sima Qingtian personally piloted toward Celestial Drum City at top speed.

They encountered no further danger along the way.

After a full month had passed, Sima Qingtian, his eyes bloodshot, finally slowed the airship. He woke everyone from their cultivation and said, “We will arrive at Celestial Drum City in half a day. Once we’re within ten thousand li of Celestial Drum City, we are no longer allowed to use the airship. We’ll have to fly the rest of the way ourselves!”

“No problem!”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

「Less than half a day later.」

They left the airship, and the group traveled through the sky. Ten thousand li seemed a great distance, but for experts who could traverse the void, it wasn’t far at all.

Soon, they saw a majestic city appear on the horizon.

This city was a hundred times the size of Coastal City.

The city walls alone soared into the clouds, like a primeval behemoth crouching on the earth. It radiated an unparalleled majesty. As they drew within a thousand li of Celestial Drum City, Gai Shi could no longer bear it; he began to tremble uncontrollably and was unable to fly, forcing him to land. Jiang Chen and the others naturally wouldn’t leave him behind, so they landed as well.

Gazing at it from afar, the massive city looked like an Ancient Fierce God, inspiring awe.

“Those below Emperor Realm Perfection cannot fly directly to the gates of Celestial Drum City,” Sima Qingtian explained.

Jiang Chen nodded. He looked at the enormous city with a puzzled expression. “Lord Sima, why do I get the feeling that Celestial Drum City seems like…”

Sima Qingtian smiled. “Does it feel like a giant beast to you?”

Jiang Chen nodded.

Sima Qingtian chuckled. “You’re not mistaken. It is indeed a giant beast. It’s a dead Demigod True Dragon. The senior who founded Celestial Drum City back then obtained the corpse of a Demigod True Dragon and refined it into the city. The entire Celestial Drum City is a million kilometers in length and width—immeasurably vast!”

HISS!

Jiang Chen and the others sucked in a breath of cold air.

‘A million kilometers in length and width? Just how massive is this city…’

More importantly, the city walls were actually forged from the corpse of a Demigod True Dragon. The group couldn’t help but gasp in shock.

Still reeling from the shock, the group arrived at the gates of Celestial Drum City.

The entire Celestial Drum City had only a single gate, so colossal that it could accommodate a million troops entering and exiting freely at the same time.

“Wait here a moment. I’ll go submit our entry application!”

Sima Qingtian instructed, then walked toward the guards at the city gate.

Sima Lingkong explained, “The four great mountain ranges of Zhongzhou are controlled by the Four Great Holy Lands. The closer you get to the Heaven-Reaching Divine Peak, the more powerful the factions become. For a third-class power like ours, located at the fringe of the mountain range, we need to apply to enter the territory of a higher-class power; we can’t just come and go as we please. It’s only because my father is close friends with a Vice City Lord of Celestial Drum City that he could get an entry application. Otherwise, we’d have to wait in line to enter. Some of the weaker third-class powers even have to wait in line for several years just to get in!”

Jiang Chen was secretly astounded. ‘Zhongzhou truly is worthy of being the Martial Arts Holy Land of the Qiankun Continent!’

As the group waited in boredom, a mocking voice suddenly sounded from behind them. “Well, well, look who it is. If it isn’t Sima Lingkong from Coastal City. Is this all you brought from Coastal City to participate in the Holy War? Just a handful of people?”