Chapter 749: Stalemate of Battle Wills
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Shortly after the Silver Mist Guard arrived at the Martial Arena, streams of light raced in from the distant skies as observers hurried to watch.
The coming wager between the two guards had already shaken the entire Universe Sect.
Even the other Kings had appeared in person to witness the clash.
Jiang Yinlan and Mu Honglian also arrived quickly.
The two women hovered in midair, with many Silver Mist Palace elites gathered behind them. It was clear the palace had emptied its ranks.
Just then, another part of the sky darkened.
Swish!
Black-armored figures poured down like a tide, shaking the earth with their landing as an elite army took shape.
Many eyelids twitched.
The Calamity Guard had finally arrived.
Above, the Calamity King appeared in the air.
He glanced down at the Silver Mist Guard, a cold smile touching his shadowed face before he turned toward Jiang Yinlan.
"Silver Mist King, when you lose today, my Calamity Palace will gain another subordinate King-level faction," he said lightly.
She answered his smile with a frosty look. "Isn't it a bit early for that? You'd best have those hundred cities and Supreme Heaven Pills ready."
"Hehe, we'll see."
The Calamity King's eyes narrowed in amusement as he flicked a hand.
"No more nonsense. Begin."
"War!"
At his word, the black-armored soldiers roared. Their killing intent thundered into the sky.
Around each Calamity Guard, the stench of blood hung thick in the air.
They stood like slaughter machines, murderous aura rolling off them in waves.
At their head, Dong Kui loomed in heavy black armor, battle axe in hand, his gaze locked on Lin Langtian with a cruel light.
Today would be his day of vengeance.
Some keen-eyed spectators soon noticed something amiss and frowned.
Behind Dong Kui, rank upon rank of the Calamity Guard filled the arena—five thousand in all.
They had deployed in full.
But could Dong Kui's current strength truly control such a force?
Ordinarily, he commanded barely half that number.
Was he not afraid of being consumed by their own battle will?
As murmurs spread, Dong Kui let out a cold laugh.
Light flashed between his fingers as a glowing pill appeared, which he calmly tossed into his mouth.
His smile twisted into something even more sinister.
"That's… an Empty Spirit Pill! Shameless!"
Mu Honglian's face drained of color as she bit down hard, clearly recognizing the drug's effects.
Jiang Yinlan's expression only grew colder.
Calamity Palace truly had no bottom line.
Even an Empty Spirit Pill was fair game to ensure victory.
"Hehe, Silver Mist King, there's no rule against it," the Calamity King said mildly, clearly delighted by her expression.
She answered him only with a glacial stare, jade hand clenched tight.
Others around the arena frowned as well.
Even those who took no side found Calamity Palace's tactics distasteful.
Their strength already far exceeded Silver Mist Palace's—and now they stooped to this.
Still, distaste was all they could offer.
Rules were rules, and nothing forbade this.
Jiang Yinlan ignored the Calamity King's triumphant air and bit down gently on her lip, turning her gaze toward Lin Langtian.
As though sensing her eyes, he looked back and gave a slight, reassuring nod.
Somehow, the sight eased the tightness in her chest.
This mysterious man carried a quiet, undeniable authority.
"Defeated dog, go ahead. Try to last longer this time," Lin Langtian said with a faint smile as he faced Dong Kui.
"At a time like this, you're still running your mouth…"
Dong Kui's eyes burned as he bared his teeth in a twisted grin.
"Don't worry. You'll be eating those words soon enough."
He leveled his axe and swung down.
Boom!
Behind him, all five thousand Calamity Guards swung their black axes in unison.
The earth shook as a tide of jet-black battle will surged forth, spreading like a dark ocean across the arena.
The bright sky dimmed until it felt heavy and suffocating.
Every gaze locked onto the Calamity Guard.
In that moment, they seemed like a beast that had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, ready to tear every enemy before them to pieces.
Their name for slaughter was well-earned.
Countless sects and factions had shattered before those black axes in past wars.
Attention then shifted to the Silver Mist Guard.
Their silver-armored figures stood straight as spears.
There was no trace of fear in their eyes—only surging battle will.
As the entire sect watched, Lin Langtian and Dong Kui's stares met and clashed, sparks of killing intent flaring between them.
Spiritual power poured slowly from both men as they rose into the air and sat down facing each other from afar.
"Calamity Battle Will!"
Dong Kui wasted no time.
He laughed coldly and swept his hand down.
Boom!
The black tide erupted, thickening into a churning sea of will hanging over the Calamity Guard.
It heaved and rolled like a living thing, radiating pure malice.
"Your cultivation may surpass mine now," Dong Kui said with a cruel smile, "but let's see how well you handle battle will—with barely two or three months as Commander."
His fingers flicked through the air.
"Calamity Battle Will—Axe Fiend Killing Array!"
Buzz, buzz!
At his shout, the sea of will boiled upward and condensed into countless colossal black axes.
Each was forged from battle will, heavy and lethal.
Even a Fourth Grade Sovereign would not dare ignore such a barrage.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Dong Kui's sleeve snapped.
Axes fell like a storm.
They tore through the air in a vast, spinning net and crashed down toward the Silver Mist Guard, covering every escape route.
"Silver Mist Battle Will!"
Lin Langtian's voice stayed perfectly calm.
He waved his sleeve, and the Silver Mist Guard drove their spears down as one.
A sea of silver will exploded upward, painting the sky like molten metal.
His hands blurred through a complex set of seals before he slammed both palms down.
Boom!
The silver will surged outward and formed a massive barrier, thousands of meters across.
It loomed above them like a single immense silver shield.
Ssssss!
The falling axes slammed into the barrier, each strike ringing out with a clear metallic clang.
Blow after blow rained down, yet the shield did not waver.
It absorbed the entire assault without yielding an inch.
"Heh. You think a mere thousand Silver Mist soldiers can match the weight of my Calamity Guard's will?"
Dong Kui sneered, then jabbed a finger toward the sky.
Whoosh, whoosh!
More black axes formed in the air, cutting downward in fresh waves.
He clearly intended to simply exhaust Silver Mist Guard's will—like a stronger cultivator grinding a weaker one down by sheer reserves.
Brows furrowed along the arena stands.
With their numbers, the Calamity Guard's battle will far outstripped that of the Silver Mist Guard.
If this dragged on, the silver shield would surely crumble.
"The Silver Mist Guard is at too great a numerical disadvantage."
Many shook their heads in private.
From the start, they had seen little suspense in this wager.
Lin Langtian had no time to spare for their sympathy.
Expression tranquil, he continued to weave seals, sending steady surges of battle will upward to reinforce the shield.
The two sides locked into a deadlock of attack and defense.
But as the minutes stretched on, the spectators' pity slowly changed to surprise.
The barrier still held.
Silver Mist Guard's defense remained solid and unshaken.
Not even a hint of collapse showed in their formation.
"How is that possible?"
Cries of disbelief rose behind many hands.
The Spear King and Tiger King traded a glance, their eyes sharpening as they looked up at Lin Langtian.
"Now this is interesting," one of them murmured.
Amid the growing astonishment, Lin Langtian finally lifted his head.
He let his gaze rest for a moment on Dong Kui's now-twisted face before speaking.
"If this is all you've got, you might as well surrender now.
"It'll at least spare you a beating."
Dong Kui's jaw twitched at the words, a vein pulsing at his temple.
"So that's your trick. No wonder you dared accept the wager. I did underestimate you," he hissed.
"But since you're so eager to see my true strength, I'll be glad to oblige."
A mad light crept into his eyes as he raised his hands slowly.
The Calamity Guard roared in response, battle will surging like a hurricane.
Roar!
With each shift of his fingers, their will howled louder, growing thicker and heavier.
Compared to before, it now felt like an entirely different beast.
He had finally accepted that the Silver Mist Guard would not fall easily.
This time, he would have to commit in full.
"Calamity Battle Seal—Nightmare Extinguishes the Heavens!"
His seals snapped into place and froze.
Dong Kui's eyes blazed with frenzied malice as he thrust both hands upward.
The black will behind him exploded into the sky and condensed into a colossal seal, large as a mountain.
Twisted, demonic shapes seemed to writhe across its surface.
Cold, nightmare eyes glared down upon the battlefield.
The very spiritual power of the world boiled in response.
The weight of it crashed over the arena like a falling sky.
Even Fourth Grade Sovereigns felt their faces tighten.
Lin Langtian's eyes narrowed.
As much as he despised Dong Kui, he had to admit that under his control, the Calamity Guard's power was nothing to scoff at.
"Let's see how long your mouth holds out now," Dong Kui snarled.
He slammed both palms down.
The mountain-sized seal tore through space, blinking into existence above the Silver Mist Guard before crashing downward.
Rumble!
The entire Martial Arena shook as if caught in an earthquake.
Cracks spread outward like spiderwebs, the ground sinking in violent shudders.
Rumble, rumble!
The world seemed to tilt as shockwaves ripped across the land.
Cloth whipped tight against Lin Langtian's body under the crushing pressure.
He glanced down at the Silver Mist Guard standing motionless beneath him, their formations unbroken.
His lips curved faintly.
His fingers began to move.
Boom!
A heartbeat later, gasps tore from a thousand throats.
Columns of silver battle will suddenly burst into the sky from the Guard's ranks.
The sheer density of the energy made even veteran experts' faces change.
"How can the battle will of a thousand soldiers be this strong?"
Stunned whispers rippled through the crowd.
Lin Langtian tilted his head back, spreading his arms as his will threaded itself into the torrent below.
One hand turned, forming a new seal.
Buzz.
Where the silver columns met, the air split apart.
A massive, thousand-meter-long silver spear tip slowly took shape in the crack, the winds around it screaming to a frenzy.
"Silver Mist Spear—Pierce the Eight Desolations!"
Cold light flashed in his eyes as he bent his fingers and drove them down.
Clang!
A piercing spear-song tore through the void.
The silver point plunged downward like a heaven-piercing blade, leaving a long arc of light as it slammed into the falling black seal.
In that instant of collision, every face in the arena locked in place—
As if time itself had stopped.
(END CHAPTER)