Chapter 553: The Fearless Valley Master Chen

Chapter 553 -517: The Fearless Valley Master Chen

“What?”

The smugness in Qu Ming’s eyes turned to shock. Without hesitation, he raised the Bone Staff in his hand and pointed it forward. The white Ghost Fire surging from his body gathered at the same time, forming a massive phantom behind him that also pointed forward in unison.

This was the very same Ghost Fire that had sealed Huang Shiwo.

Its name: Void Nether Fire.

It was one of the Divine Abilities he had found in the ancient tomb of an Evil Cultivator True Monarch. Only Ghost Cultivators could practice it. It was activated using their own Soul Fire and fueled by passions and desires, capable of freezing a person in an instant.

BOOM—

Thunder cracked through the void.

A torrent of Strong Qi erupted outwards, sweeping across the area like a tidal wave on a calm sea.

WHOOSH—

The spectating Foundation Establishment Cultivators were thrown off balance, stumbling backward step by step. A deafening roar of wind filled their ears. Only the Golden Core experts could stand firm at the forefront, watching the clash between the two.

Amidst the tremendous bang, the Sword River, wreathed in the flames of half the city, abruptly halted in mid-air. The flames enveloping the Sword River were shattered by the Bone Staff, dissipating into the world like meteors in a final, brilliant flash.

A smile touched Qu Ming’s lips.

But in the next instant, his expression froze completely.

Chen Che pressed his hand down!

BOOM—

The Sword Aura of the charging Sword River flared intensely.

CRACK!

Before everyone’s horrified eyes, the Bone Staff in Qu Ming’s hand—the one refined from the spines of thirteen Golden Core True Masters—snapped clean in two. Countless bone fragments burst outward.

‘Not good!’

Before the shock in Qu Ming’s eyes could even turn to terror, he was completely engulfed by the Sword Qi. The Sword River continued onward with undiminished force, carving a path dozens of miles down the central avenue and leaving behind a mark as if scoured by a real river.

WHOOSH—

The Sword River dissipated, turning into specks of light like fireflies before vanishing into the void. And where Qu Ming had been standing, nothing at all was left…

A dead silence fell over Primordial City, both inside and out. The turn of events was so unexpected that the Cultivators from the Celestial Spirit Palace hadn’t even had time to react.

Chen Che slowly and deliberately recalled his Sword Pill. He swept his gaze across the surroundings and, mimicking Qu Ming’s earlier posture, gave a slight lift of his chin.

“Next!”

FWOOSH—

The flames of war churned and spread. After a long silence, an uproar finally erupted inside and outside the city:

“What the hell was that?”

“Isn’t Valley Master Chen only at the Golden Core Sixth Layer? He’s even stronger than Huang Shiwo?”

“A Sword Pill… is this the power of a Sword Cultivator?”

The Golden Core experts who witnessed this all had looks of utter shock.

They had seen Huang Shiwo get slaughtered on the spot with no power to resist, so they had assumed this young man would meet a similar fate. They never expected the situation to be completely reversed. In that last battle, those with lower Realms couldn’t discern the details at all. They only saw an incomparably domineering strike!

‘How can this young man’s power be so terrifying?’

And he was only at the Sixth Layer…

It was only then that many of the lower-level Cultivators understood why, from the very beginning, the three factions had laid out a grand plan to encircle and annihilate every last Golden Core expert without letting a single one escape. They also understood why this Valley Master Chen was placed on the kill list, ranked even higher than several of the Primordial Sect’s Chiefs…

Faced with such a powerful existence, who would dare to step forward?

Normally, if a leader was killed, his subordinates would be howling for revenge and charging forward. But having witnessed Chen Che’s power, the few Golden Core experts from the Celestial Spirit Palace didn’t dare to move a muscle.

They didn’t even dare to look up, afraid that Chen Che would notice them and call them out by name to the battlefield.

WHOOSH—

The flames of war continued to churn. The awkward silence did not last long.

Because Chen Che broke it with his own words:

“Right Protector, didn’t you say you came for me? Why are you silent now? Or could it be… that you don’t dare?”

With Qu Ming dead, it seemed only natural to everyone that Jiang Shaotian, whose strength was comparable, wouldn’t dare to respond.

Jiang Shaotian frowned and was about to speak, but Chen Che gave him no chance. “You’re right, though. Victory is already in your grasp, so there’s no need to get into a pointless squabble. Since you’re scared, I won’t waste any more words. Just come at me together.”

Jiang Shaotian had indeed been planning to give the signal for everyone to swarm forward, but he hadn’t expected Chen Che to expose his intentions with a single sentence.

Moreover, those words had struck a nerve.

When he had descended the mountain, he had accepted the order to avenge Dou Shanhe and Zuo Qinlong. Furthermore, when he was competing with Qu Ming for the honor of fighting Chen Che, he had publicly declared that he was there for him. Now, Chen Che had called him out by name, yet he was avoiding the fight…

Seeing Jiang Shaotian’s hesitation, Yu Yunko, who was standing to the side, sneered deliberately, “Right Protector, allow me to fight in your place.”

Such squabbles over face might seem childish, but the higher one’s status, the more unavoidable they became.

Jiang Shaotian was a veteran, and a high-ranking member of the Star-Picking Sect at that. Under the gazes of more than half the Star-Picking Sect, the Mist Rain Tower, and the entire Celestial Spirit Palace… if he refused the challenge today, he would surely become a laughingstock in the future.

Furthermore, Chen Che’s battle with Qu Ming had boosted the morale of the Primordial Sect.

Many of the Cultivators who were previously filled with terror now had the fierce courage to fight to the death. In this situation, if he ordered a forced siege, the casualties would inevitably be even greater.

“There’s no need!”

Stopping Yu Yunko, who was deliberately stirring up trouble, Jiang Shaotian decided to personally take the field to send this Valley Master on his way and extinguish the people’s unrealistic fantasies. “Since it has come to this, I will ‘play’ with you for a bit, Valley Master Chen…”

“I have already experienced the Sword Pill of your Interim Sect Leader. Now, it’s the perfect time to weigh the measure of you, the Valley Master.”

Having decided to enter the fray, Jiang Shaotian wasted no more words.

Previously, he had been half-crouched, with his elbows resting on his knees. Now, he slowly straightened up like a Fierce Tiger rising to its feet. An immense aura poured down from him. In an instant, the raging flames within the city faltered as if starved of oxygen, threatening to go out.

This was the terrifying power of a Major Sect. Just a single Protector’s strength far surpassed that of the master of the Celestial Spirit Palace.

At that moment, everyone’s breathing seemed to cease along with the faltering flames. Then, they saw Chen Che, standing on the central avenue, slowly raise his right hand and give a slight, beckoning crook of his finger toward Jiang Shaotian on the pavilion…