Chapter 745: The Might of the Myriad Aspects Demon Body
"Conquer, conquer, and still conquer…"
As Lin Langtian's faintly cold voice echoed across the city, the noise over the plaza fell abruptly silent.
Countless heads lifted, eyes trembling as they stared at the tall, handsome man in green robes hanging in the sky.
The atmosphere between heaven and earth seemed to tighten all at once.
There were more than fifty city lords gathered on that plaza.
While the crowd reeled from Lin Langtian's words, the city lords below, including Li Chi, wore expressions of equal astonishment.
For a brief instant, even Li Chi was thrown off balance.
He realized that the intimidating formation he had carefully arranged had been completely ignored by this new Commander of Silver Mist Palace.
A heartbeat later, rage washed over his confusion, and his face darkened in an instant.
He fixed his gaze on Lin Langtian and laughed coldly. "Such a mighty tone for a new Commander. A few words and you expect us to kneel and listen to your song of conquest? Who exactly do you think you are?"
Some of the other city lords' faces darkened as well, though most eyes still flickered with uncertainty.
Lin Langtian's presence was simply too overwhelming. He did not sound like someone trying to woo them, but like a man with absolute confidence—perhaps even something to back it.
In the sky, Lin Langtian's expression remained calm as his icy gaze swept over the city lords. His words were sparse and flat.
"According to sect rules, the cities in this region already belong to Silver Mist Palace.
"If anyone refuses to accept that…then Silver Mist Palace will simply cripple him.
"The post of city lord is a fine position. Many would be more than happy to take it."
More than a few eyelids twitched at that.
Had this new Commander gone mad?
Crippling so many city lords at once—was Silver Mist Palace not worried that chaos would swallow these cities whole?
Yet if they truly did it and stripped them all of their posts, the city lords themselves would pay a terrible price.
Just as he said, countless eyes were waiting for an opportunity to seize those thrones.
The Universe Sect's domain was vast, teeming with experts. Finding replacements would not be difficult.
Some city lords couldn't help but feel a tremor in their hearts. Had they pushed Silver Mist Palace too far, forcing it into a mutual-destruction stance?
Faces shifted as hesitation crept in, their earlier anger cooling into unease.
Seeing this, Li Chi's eyes chilled. He had not expected the new Commander to be so ruthless.
"Hmph, nonsense. These cities now fall under Calamity Palace's control. Their lords answer to Calamity Palace, not you. Who are you to lecture us?" he barked.
If he didn't speak now, he feared the other city lords might start to waver.
"Do not let yourselves be cowed. Lord Calamity King is watching."
At the mention of the Calamity King, fear flickered across many faces.
Compared to the young Jiang Yinlan, his reputation and intimidating presence weighed far more heavily on their hearts.
Some of the wavering lords exchanged bitter looks.
In truth, they didn't particularly care whom they served.
But choosing one side meant offending the other, and neither Silver Mist Palace nor Calamity Palace was something they could oppose alone.
High above, Mu Honglian watched the city lords who had nearly been shaken by Lin Langtian's words snap back to attention under Li Chi's reminder. She bit down on her silver teeth in frustration.
Li Chi himself smiled in quiet satisfaction. With the Calamity King at his back, what did he have to fear from Silver Mist Palace?
All eyes turned to Lin Langtian.
Things had reached this point; even retreating would be humiliating.
If he truly bowed to Calamity Palace now, Silver Mist Palace would become the butt of every joke in the Universe Sect.
Under that sea of gazes, Lin Langtian merely smiled slightly, the cold killing intent in his eyes flaring to life.
He stepped forward, and a dragon's roar mixed with a kun's cry shook the sky.
Whoosh.
As the sound rang out, space around him twisted and his body vanished.
Li Chi's eyes narrowed.
He shot backward at once, but even as he moved, the space behind him split open.
A dragon-kun phantom tore forth as a palm wreathed in demonic flame slammed down toward his back.
Bang!
Li Chi's face turned grim.
He didn't dodge, but swung a hand behind him in a heavy strike.
A flood of spiritual power burst from his body like a breaking dam.
Thud!
The two palms collided, and a storm of power tore outward in every direction.
The ground beneath their feet collapsed, cracks racing outward like spiderwebs.
The other city lords sprang back in alarm, desperate to avoid getting drawn in.
Ssssss!
Lightning flared along Lin Langtian's body, fire and thunder interweaving as his aura surged higher. His eyes went ice-cold as he smashed another fist forward.
"I'm already at the peak of Third Grade Sovereign. Defeating me won't be so easy!" Li Chi snarled, stomping hard on the ground.
His crimson hair stood on end.
Scarlet spiritual power roared free, forming a layer of red scales across his body like a suit of armor.
Red light flashed as he clenched his hand into a fist and met Lin Langtian's lightning-and-flame-wreathed punch head-on.
Thud!
The ground buckled in layers.
Only the patch beneath the two men remained intact, the rest collapsing under the sheer force of their clash.
Even veterans of Li Chi's reputation could not help but be unsettled.
He had seized control of Chiyang City with his fists, and his Volcanic Sun Body was famed for its ferocity and iron-hard defense.
Among Third Grade Sovereigns, his physical might ranked among the very best.
Yet today, a Second Grade Sovereign had met him blow for blow.
The two men's fists remained locked as space quivered around them.
Li Chi's expression twisted into a grim smile, though shock burned beneath it.
He had sensed that, in this contest of flesh alone, he had failed to gain even the slightest advantage.
His gaze darkened.
"Truly worthy of Silver Mist Palace's Commander. To possess such a body as a mere Second Grade Sovereign…"
Lin Langtian only looked at him without comment.
"But…" Li Chi's eyes turned as cold as ice. "If you think that's enough to make me bow to Silver Mist Palace, you're dreaming."
His words made the air tremble.
The rift between them was now beyond mending.
Li Chi slammed his foot down. The ground beneath him exploded as a crimson giant slowly rose from his body.
The massive figure flowed with molten rock, its body glowing red as lava dripped from it like liquid fire.
Its blazing eyes locked on Lin Langtian.
"Let's see what right you have to strip me of my title," Li Chi roared.
"That's the Volcanic Law Body.
"It's said that Li Chi once fused an entire volcano into his Law Body to create it.
"It might not be ranked among the ninety-nine, but its power is easily on that level," voices whispered from all around the plaza.
Many gasped inwardly.
Cultivating such a body was insanely dangerous.
Fusing with a living volcano risked detonating one's own flesh and soul.
Li Chi had clearly survived and succeeded.
"Not bad," Lin Langtian murmured as he looked up at the lava-soaked giant, a trace of surprise in his eyes.
Li Chi did indeed have some skill, to have forged such a strange Law Body.
"So you want to use your Law Body to salvage your pride?"
Lin Langtian's lips curved into a smile devoid of warmth.
His hands came together in a slow, intricate seal.
"In that case, there's only one thing to say about your Law Body…"
"You're still not enough."
The instant his last words fell, a tide of demonic radiance exploded outward.
A colossal black figure materialized in the sky, its presence crashing over the city like a falling mountain.
The giant's body was wreathed in inky light, and eight enormous drums floated behind it, rippling with terrifying magic as if it were a demon god overlooking all things.
Rumble, rumble!
As the Law Body appeared, a tide of evil-tinged spiritual power rolled out like a dark sea.
The black colossus reflected in countless eyes, drawing only fear.
"Tricks," Li Chi roared.
Even as the crushing pressure bore down on him, he refused to back down.
If he retreated now, he would lose everything—perhaps even his life.
"Flaming Volcano Seal!"
His shout shook the air as crimson light surged skyward.
Lava poured from his Law Body, gathering and condensing into a blazing mountain-shaped seal that came crashing down toward the demonic titan above.
Lin Langtian stared at the descending seal, his eyes icy and unmoving.
One of the eight drums behind the Myriad Aspects Demon Body shot forth.
The black drum exploded into demonic flame, flaring like a black sun.
Boom!
The blazing drum tore through the flood of spiritual power and smashed straight into the volcanic seal.
The black flames swallowed the crimson light in an instant.
Then the drum hit home like a burning mountain, slamming into the magma giant.
The earth shattered. The volcanic phantom buckled and then exploded into fragments.
Hiss…
Countless people sucked in sharp breaths.
Li Chi's overwhelming strike had been shattered—by a single drum.
What kind of Law Body possessed such power?
As the volcano broke, Li Chi's Law Body shuddered, his heart filling with disbelief.
He had at least managed a draw in their earlier contest of flesh. How was it that, once their Law Bodies appeared, he had been so utterly crushed?
"Damn it, what kind of Law Body is this?" he snarled inwardly, staring at the seven remaining drums behind the Myriad Aspects Demon Body.
If one could do this, what would eight accomplish?
He forced down his regret and bared his teeth.
Whipping his head toward the White Deer and Cold Frost city lords, he shouted, "You two—help me!"
They exchanged a brief, bitter look before gritting their teeth and launching themselves into the air.
Hum!
Before they could close in, thunder and freezing cold erupted above them.
Two more drums descended like falling stars, smashing into the two city lords and driving them back down in an instant.
Lightning and ice surged across the plaza, pinning them where they stood.
Boom!
The flaming drum dropped again, this time bearing down on Li Chi alone.
The pressure that followed turned his face ashen.
He could feel, all too clearly, the killing power contained within this attack.
"You won't break me so easily!"
He roared in defiance, raising both hands as he unleashed every last scrap of spiritual power.
Scarlet energy poured out like molten rock, turning the sky above the city into a sea of fire.
The air itself grew hot enough to burn.
His Law Body might not match Lin Langtian's, but he was still at the very peak of Third Grade Sovereign.
In the worst case, he would trade blow for blow.
If he could just hold out, the day's attempt by Silver Mist Palace to force their submission might yet fall apart.
Boom!
The black flaming drum slammed into the tide of scarlet power.
Under countless stunned gazes, the shockwave exploded outward, shaking the city to its core.
This strike would decide the victor.
(END CHAPTER)
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