Regarding Jiang Wang’s defiant stance, bravely drawing his sword, Zhao Xuanyang nodded his head, a gesture of respect. He then finally turned, facing Jiang Wang squarely.

“What good is killing and combat? I have always advocated for peace. Civil strife over military conflict.” He maintained his smile, adding, “See, you’ve frightened these people.”

Though the two stood near the tavern’s grand entrance, with others keeping a considerable distance, the entire establishment – its wine guests, diners, waiters, and accountants – had retreated as far as possible, nearly pressed against the walls.

At this moment, a thought struck Jiang Wang. If “that Jiang Wang” – the one spoken of by these trembling souls – were in his place now, what would he do? The entire tavern, he surmised, would likely be taken hostage! Zhao Xuanyang was a Heaven’s Chosen Son of Jing Country, the overlord of the Central Domain. An overlord nation carried the weight of its dominion; a Heaven’s Chosen Son bore the responsibility of his status. To use everyone within the tavern as leverage, indiscriminately threatening their lives regardless of age, gender, or cultivation level, would surely not be without consequence for Zhao Xuanyang. From a purely cold-blooded combat perspective, this was perhaps the only viable tactic in such a scenario.

Yet, Jiang Wang, sword firmly in hand, simply declared, “You all have forty breaths to leave. After forty breaths, I will exert my full power and fight to the death here.”

He spoke with perfect calm. The terrified patrons within the tavern, however, directed their fearful gazes towards Zhao Xuanyang, the Heaven’s Chosen Son of Jing Country. Zhao Xuanyang smiled and nodded.

Then, a swarm of people surged out, circling wide around Jiang Wang, filing past Zhao Xuanyang’s side, and pouring out of the tavern’s main door. Not a soul dared to linger near the establishment; they all fled to the outer reaches of the city. For a battle of this magnitude, they indeed lacked the qualifications to observe.

The once-bustling tavern was abruptly emptied. Only the remnants of meals and wine on the many tables still hinted at the recent commotion. Zhao Xuanyang’s eyes finally held a hint of surprise. He had expected Jiang Wang to exploit the exodus of the crowd, and had made preparations accordingly. He hadn’t anticipated Jiang Wang doing nothing, instead seemingly clearing the field for a fair duel. An Inner Mansion cultivator, clearing the battlefield for a fair fight with him, Zhao Xuanyang? It felt… absurd. But this absurdity was novel! Facing those calm, clear eyes, he mused, this truly is an intriguing individual.

And then, in the very next instant, sword light blazed in his pupils! In Zhao Xuanyang’s eyes, the black-robed, loose-haired young man, though appearing somewhat disheveled, suddenly erupted with divine vigor. Red fire flowed over his body, frost wind draped his back, and a single sword thrust forth with the momentum of a collapsing heavenly pillar!

“Too interesting!” Zhao Xuanyang couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

And then, he made a move. He truly just “made a move.” His branch-like wooden sword remained in his left hand, while his empty right hand stretched forward, two fingers held together! In an instant, jade radiance flowed, reflecting brightly off his two fingers. He had actually clamped the edge of Longxiangsi’s blade! Jiang Wang’s sword strike, delivered with peak sword intent, halted against these two fingers, unable to advance an inch. What a chasm-like gap was this?!

Zhao Xuanyang’s two fingers, still clamping the blade, turned, making a gesture as if to snap the tip of Longxiangsi. A sharp sword cry resounded, the wail of Longxiangsi! And the ease with which he had intercepted Jiang Wang’s strongest strike brought not a hint of surprise to his face. He and Zhao Xuanyang, after all, were separated by a gulf. He was indeed a Heaven’s Chosen Son, but Zhao Xuanyang was *also* a Heaven’s Chosen Son. He possessed only Inner Mansion cultivation, while Zhao Xuanyang had already reached the Divine Arrival realm! The disparity in strength was inherent, not something sheer will could overcome. He had to face reality.

After facing reality… then fight!

Jiang Wang’s entire being seemed to transform into a floating leaf, lifting lightly. This Longxiangsi sword was the leaf’s stem. He followed the terrifying force of Zhao Xuanyang’s twisting fingers, his entire body swinging high. His hand remained on the sword, his person borrowing its momentum to close the distance with Zhao Xuanyang, his mouth opening—

Samadhi True Fire erupted towards his face. Simultaneously, his left hand also pressed out suddenly. A wisp of frost wind coalesced in his palm, forming a cold, long nail that soundlessly aimed towards Zhao Xuanyang’s heart. In this instant, Jiang Wang had unleashed a barrage of consecutive killing moves. One could not call it anything but aggressive, nor could one fault his grasp of the battle opportunity.

Zhao Xuanyang, however, still wore a smile. His handsome face was suddenly covered by a layer of golden light. The Samadhi True Fire surged forth, only to cause faint ripples on the golden light. At the same time, his left hand, gripping the wooden sword, moved only a few inches. The Killing Birth Nail, upon descending, landed precisely on the sword’s body! Only the slightest sound was heard, just this single ring. Zhao Xuanyang’s two fingers, still clamping the sword tip, suddenly reversed, returning Longxiangsi to its original shape. Then, with a gentle push, he sent Jiang Wang, person and sword, back to his original position.

He floated back, landing. At this moment, Jiang Wang was still resplendent with red fire on his body, frost wind at his back, and a long sword in his hand. Beside him was the very wine table where he had placed the swift blade. He had returned to the starting point, as if he had never moved a step. But he had clearly used every means at his disposal! And Zhao Xuanyang had merely extended a finger and shifted the wooden sword slightly. This was truly a despairing gap!

“Such a good sword, it would be a pity to destroy it,” Zhao Xuanyang said with a light smile. The disparity in strength, he believed, was now sufficiently obvious. It was time to abandon resistance.

But in the very next moment, he heard the chirping of birds, saw meteors streaking across the sky, saw bursts of fireworks blooming between heaven and earth… Fire Realm technique!

Jiang Wang knew not the meaning of surrender. The Fire Realm expanded simultaneously, his left eye turning crimson. The Single Rider Entering Array diagram had already spread, and the setting sun once more descended towards the west. He launched attacks at both the physical body and the divine soul level! A magnificent, fierce sun fell from the sky, almost possessing the momentum to destroy heaven and extinguish earth. And that handsome figure clad in a yin-yang daoist robe, with a smile, flipped his palm upwards, supporting the sky with one hand! He pressed the “sun” back into the firmament with a single palm, as if pressing against an impassable wall. This “sun” was entirely flattened, and then shattered! The divine soul level illusion dissolved.

Jiang Wang’s Qian Yang pupil suddenly closed, a tear of blood tracing its way down. In the outer world, Zhao Xuanyang neither dodged nor avoided, looking left and right at the Fire Realm he was within, exclaiming, “Truly a genius’s creation, it has already begun to sprout life. Such a beautiful scene can indeed be called magnificent!”

This was an all-encompassing gap, a thorough crushing. But true courage was not fighting strength with weakness. It was challenging the impossible, challenging despair! Jiang Wang’s left eye bled, his divine soul power crushed, yet his person advanced within the Fire Realm, a sword chopping out, proudly, stubbornly, bravely! A man standing between heaven and earth should support heaven and earth! His extremely high-spirited momentum, in this instant, seemed to form a subtle connection with this Fire Realm. Between heaven and earth, there was “man”! In the world of fire, there was a true “god” propping up the sky and standing firm!

Purely in terms of sword technique, Jiang Wang’s strongest style thus far was undoubtedly the Human Character Sword. The absolute peak sword under the Sword Immortal Human realm, it further integrated the power of divine abilities, merging everything into one, similar to Chong Xuanzun’s Sun, Moon, and Star Three Wheels Delusion Severing Blade. This time, Jiang Wang unleashed the Human Character Sword within the Fire Realm, displaying human courage and unyielding spirit in front of the Divine Arrival Heaven’s Chosen Son, Zhao Xuanyang. And the Fire Realm technique was the strongest technique Jiang Wang could currently employ. It blended divine abilities, totems, and dao techniques, merging into a single realm. His strongest dao technique to date, and his strongest sword technique to date, achieved a marvelous unity in this moment. In the face of such a despairing opponent, Jiang Wang became more courageous the more frustrated he was, achieving another breakthrough. Technique had given birth to a realm, and sword had become dao!

“Good!” Zhao Xuanyang’s eyes brightened. This brightness extinguished all darkness. An ethereal human shadow seemed to leap from within his pupils, landing on his wooden sword. The wooden sword emanated a brilliant light. Zhao Xuanyang held this sword in his left hand, erect before his body. The wooden sword’s body was directly against the tip of Jiang Wang’s sword! The wooden sword’s body divided Zhao Xuanyang’s face into two halves. One side reflected the splendor of the Fire Realm, while the other seemed hidden in shadow, unclear.

Jiang Wang, impaling the sword vertically, met his gaze just like this. In Zhao Xuanyang’s eyes, Jiang Wang saw no emotion. In Jiang Wang’s eyes, Zhao Xuanyang never found despair. They met each other’s gaze, their wills clashing. Time and space seemed to have solidified.

At that moment, meteors streaked across the sky, fiery sparrows flew through the air, and fireworks swayed all around. The black-robed youth’s sword struck the southern wall. And this absolute world Divine Arrival realm Heaven’s Chosen Son, towering like a high mountain, firm and unbreakable, his momentum unmovable. Jiang Wang could advance no further, both person and sword frozen in mid-air. Zhao Xuanyang sighed, “You’ve already hit the southern wall, why not return?”

After the sigh, he lightly turned the wooden sword held erect in his hand. The tip of Longxiangsi’s sword, following the direction of the wooden sword’s turn, slid along the wooden sword’s body and thrust out. It passed just beside Zhao Xuanyang’s face, piercing the air, yet without injuring him by a single hair. Longxiangsi’s full moon-like sword guard, following its trajectory, struck the edge of the wooden sword. The person and the sword moved in the same direction.

At this point, Jiang Wang’s entire being was already close to him. And Zhao Xuanyang, with his right hand clenched into a fist, delivered a simple, direct punch, *boom*, into his abdomen. In mid-air, Jiang Wang doubled over like a shrimp. His five Inner Mansions, along with the Tongtian Palace, all shook violently, losing their power to resist for a time. And Zhao Xuanyang loosened his fist, a shake of his hand bringing forth a golden rope that wound around Jiang Wang with two turns of wind, tying him tightly. The material of this rope was unknown, but the moment it bound his body, a faint golden light printed itself onto the Tongtian Palace… Jiang Wang’s Dao Yuan within his body seemed to solidify, rendering him unable to move.

Victory and defeat were decided. This was a fight without much suspense; perhaps only Jiang Wang himself was still struggling to carve out a possibility. Now, this struggle was declared a failure.

The gorgeous world of fire thus collapsed. The tavern within, already burnt clean, nothing remaining, a vague patch of scorched earth, became an ugly scar on this city. Though the aftermath was confined to the tavern, within a li radius, there was no human shadow. Only the extraordinary powers belonging to Zhongshan Country stood guard outside the one li range, waiting to clean up the aftermath.

Zhao Xuanyang now only looked at Jiang Wang: “In that sword of yours just now, I almost saw the prototype of the Great Dao. Pity, you were born ten years too late.” He thought for a moment, then added, “No, perhaps five years.” In his view, with ten or five years, Jiang Wang could reach Divine Arrival and truly contend with the current him. This could be considered an extremely high evaluation. But receiving such a high evaluation from Zhao Xuanyang now was not necessarily a good thing. The higher his future potential, the more reluctant his enemies would be to let him go.

At this moment, Jiang Wang’s arms were tightly bound to his torso by the golden rope, unable to move. His left eye was tightly closed, a bloodstain winding down. His still-open right eye held no resentment, no pity, but rather a calm. He only said, “Nothing to regret. Life has its early starters. You were also born later than some people, and I was born earlier than some. To be captured by you today is simply due to inferior skill. That’s all.”

“I increasingly appreciate you,” Zhao Xuanyang said. “I truly rarely see someone as interesting as you… You don’t seem annoyed at all?”

“Annoyed by what?” Jiang Wang said lightly. “I have already done everything I could, exerted my utmost effort. Whatever the outcome, I will simply face it.”

“Truly the mindset of a strong individual! Not like some so-called Heaven’s Chosen Sons who possess only talent and strength without a sound character. If the timing wasn’t right, I should invite you for a drink!” Zhao Xuanyang praised, and then said, “Just now during the fight, there were two times when I actually had some distracting thoughts. I presume this was the effect of your divine ability?” He asked with interest, “Truly fascinating. What is your constantly hidden divine ability?”

Facing the Divine Arrival realm Zhao Xuanyang, wanting to struggle for a possibility of escape, Jiang Wang absolutely had no room for reservation. This led to the exposure of his secret, which he had hidden for so long, not even revealing it at the Yellow River Assembly. In his response to Zhao Xuanyang, it failed and was detected! This was undoubtedly bad news. But in such a situation, it was nothing more than adding frost to snow.

“I don’t know what you’re saying,” Jiang Wang said expressionlessly.

Zhao Xuanyang shrugged: “If you don’t want to say, I won’t force you. In any case, I can probably guess one or two.” He casually slung the wooden sword across his back, then reached out again, took Longxiangsi from Jiang Wang’s tightly gripping hand, and helped him put it back into its Shenlong wooden sheath. He even considerately helped him tie this famous sword to his waist.

“Alright,” Zhao Xuanyang looked at the securely bound Jiang Wang with satisfaction, admiring his own handiwork. “We should go to Yujing Mountain. I greatly appreciate you, I will prepare food for you.”

“Should I say thank you?” Jiang Wang asked. He looked truly wretched, but his expression was so calm. He seemed prepared to welcome everything, whatever awaited him. This was indeed the composure of someone who had given their all without regret, fought to the limit without remorse.

“Hahaha,” Zhao Xuanyang laughed heartily. “That is not necessary!” He reached out and pulled Jiang Wang’s arm, preparing to take his captive and fly away.

But at this moment, a voice suddenly pierced the air, extremely sharp, stinging people’s ears. “Zhao Xuanyang, I advise you to release your hand.” The voice said thus, “If you do not wish to die.” The tone was calm, but the content was arrogant. The volume was not high, yet everyone in this city of Zhongshan Country heard it! Who was so bold as to dare speak to Zhao Xuanyang like this?!

Jiang Wang and Zhao Xuanyang looked eastward almost simultaneously. It was precisely noon, the great sun high in the sky. However, even the sun could not monopolize the glory. It was as if the moon from the sky had fallen into the mortal world. From the end of that long street, a figure in white robes and silver armor walked slowly forward. The long spear, like frost and snow, was slung across his back, its tip scraping the ground. As this person advanced, the very ground bricks were plowed into a gash. That was a seam in the ground, straight as a spear, extending from behind this person to the edge of vision.

When he carried his spear and came, people should fix their gaze. Where he arrived, the ground should split in two. This spear was named Shaohua, this armor was named Wushuang. This person… was named Ji Zhaonan!