"A fierce and brutal battle is about to unfold!"
Scanning the room, Xu Chen saw that everyone was staring greedily at the seven Spirit Artifacts suspended in mid-air.
"A general's success is built upon ten thousand bones."
"Out of the ten thousand troops who entered the Shui Mansion, fewer than one in ten will likely walk out alive."
"Even though they know the chances of seizing a Spirit Artifact are slim, no one is willing to withdraw."
Xu Chen asked himself honestly: if he encountered such a monumental stroke of fortune, he wouldn't be willing to leave empty-handed either. For the sake of a Spirit Artifact, risking his life was well worth it.
His gaze swept over the seven Spirit Artifacts one by one, finally locking onto the Spirit Sword.
The sword was the king of all weapons! Sword Qi could sweep thirty thousand miles, and a single flash of the sword could chill nineteen provinces!
His favorite weapon was the sword. He yearned for the unfettered life of wandering the world with a sword by his side!
Aside from his natural fondness for long swords, the main reason he was determined to seize the Spirit Sword was that, according to his perception, the Spirit Sword was of the highest quality among the seven Spirit Artifacts.
Just as Xu Chen was intently sizing up the Spirit Sword, he suddenly felt several malicious gazes directed at him.
Following the hostile looks, Xu Chen saw Tang Mo, Du Chong, and the cyan-robed youth from the Liuyun Sect.
Tang Mo whispered something in Tang Xiaotian’s ear, and the next moment, Tang Xiaotian’s blade-like, piercing gaze shot straight at Xu Chen.
At the same time, Du Shaoqiu from the Du family and Zhao Yi from the Liuyun Sect both cast unfriendly stares at Xu Chen.
Tang Xiaotian, Du Shaoqiu, and Zhao Yi—he was no match for any single one of them, and now all three had locked onto him.
Xu Chen thought to himself that this was bad, and quietly began to retreat without a sound.
"Kid, hand over what you have, and you can live!" Du Chong shouted loudly, afraid that Xu Chen might choose death over surrender and end up destroying the spirit liquid.
"This brat killed someone from the Tang family. Du Shaoqiu, do me a favor and leave this fellow to me to deal with," Tang Xiaotian said to Du Shaoqiu.
Du Shaoqiu already knew that Xu Chen possessed spirit liquid, and since the spirit liquid was extremely important to him, how could he hand it over to someone else? "I can let you deal with him, but the things on him must belong to me!"
"No way!" Tang Xiaotian refused directly without hesitation. "He killed people to seize treasures; now the items should naturally be returned to their rightful owner."
Zhao Yi also spoke up at this moment: "You two don't need to argue anymore. This fellow colluded with the Blood-Hand Butcher and killed disciples of the Liuyun Sect—his life is mine!"
Xu Chen, who had retreated to the exit of the main hall, heard this and his eyes widened. He had no intention of taking the blame for that.
"To say I colluded with the Blood-Hand Butcher and killed Liuyun Sect disciples is truly laughable! That day, it was clearly your Liuyun Sect disciples who surrounded the Blood-Hand Butcher, only to be killed instead, and in the end..."
He pointed at the cyan-robed youth who had narrowly survived that day and said, "To save his own life, this guy actually used innocent people as human shields against the Blood-Hand Butcher to buy himself time to escape. As it happens, his luck was bad and he chose me—did he expect me to just stand there and let him manipulate me?"
"Back then, seeing that you were a Liuyun Sect disciple, I showed you mercy. Afterward, I even killed the Blood-Hand Butcher. Logically speaking, I saved your life. How can you now bite the hand that fed you and repay kindness with enmity?"
Xu Chen glared coldly at the cyan-robed youth.
Zhao Yi's expression shifted slightly. What Xu Chen was saying was completely different from the version of events the cyan-robed youth had told him.
"Hmph!" Zhao Yi let out a cold snort. "Spouting nonsense!"
Even if he were in the wrong today, he had to carry it through to the end. Fearing that Xu Chen would speak up again, Zhao Yi actually pressed forward toward him, intending to strike.
Seeing this, Tang Xiaotian and Du Shaoqiu could no longer sit still. Whether Xu Chen lived or died, or whose hands he died in, wasn't what they cared about; what mattered to them was who got the spirit liquid.
In an instant, all three of them charged at Xu Chen to kill him.
Seeing this scene, everyone in the hall cast sympathetic glances toward Xu Chen.
The person who had been keeping an eye on the white light barrier in the middle of the hall suddenly cried out in alarm: "The seal is disappearing!"
The cry drew everyone's attention. Tang Xiaotian and the other two, who were about to attack Xu Chen, also felt a jolt in their hearts and looked up one after another.
Sure enough, the white light barrier was rapidly fading away.
Once the light barrier completely vanished, the time to fight for the Spirit Artifacts would arrive. Compared to the Spirit Artifacts, the value of the spirit liquid was greatly diminished.
Tang Xiaotian and the other three immediately delayed their plan to kill Xu Chen. Seizing the Spirit Artifacts came first.
Under the gaze of countless fervent and greedy eyes, the white light barrier rapidly dimmed, tottering as if it would shatter the very next second.
Witnessing this, the atmosphere inside the hall suddenly turned eerie. Silence reigned, and everyone grew mutually wary.
Suddenly, a figure soared into the sky.
"Boom!"
With a punch slammed against the tottering white light barrier, a crisp crack rang out, and the barrier burst apart, scattering into a sky full of shimmering rain and vanishing.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Struck by the impact, the seven Spirit Artifacts shot out in all directions across the main hall.
The hall fell silent for a single instant.
"Boom!"
Terrifying waves of Spiritual Power instantly tore through the dead silence of the hall. With madness in their eyes, everyone leaped into the air, lunging for the scattered Spirit Artifacts.
Some people blocked the path of the Spirit Artifacts, only for their bodies to be directly torn apart amidst several muffled thuds. Blood rained down.
Witnessing this, the crowd gained a stark realization of the terrifying might of the Spirit Artifacts, making their eyes burn with even greater greed.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
Those who had leaped into the air began fighting fiercely in mid-air. The people in the hall immediately broke into a brutal free-for-all to seize the Spirit Artifacts.
Figures fell one after another like stalks of harvested wheat.
The item Tang Xiaotian had set his sights on was the Spirit Spear. Although the few people competing with him for it were far inferior to him in strength, they still possessed the cultivation of the Fifth or Sixth Layer of Qi Condensation Realm. Their combined efforts actually prevented Tang Xiaotian from taking the Spirit Spear immediately.
Zhao Yi's battle to seize the Spirit Shield was not going smoothly either, as he was surrounded and besieged by multiple people.
Du Shaoqiu was fighting for the Spirit Saber. No one competing with him for it was his match—many couldn't even take a single blow from him—but he was overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
Xiao Teng was vying for the Spirit Sword. With the cooperation of the disciples from the Heavenly Sword Villa, just as he was about to succeed, a powerful cultivator abruptly broke into the fray. That person was at the Eighth Layer of Qi Condensation Realm; although a rogue cultivator, his combat prowess was astonishing, and even Xiao Teng could not defeat him overnight.
The four top experts maintained a tacit understanding, each fighting for the Spirit Artifact of their choice, yet none of their endeavors were going smoothly mid-way.
The remaining three Spirit Artifacts were also being contested with extreme ferocity.
Xu Chen had originally prepared to retreat and temporarily avoid the sharp edge of the conflict, but who would have expected that the moment the white light barrier shattered, Du Shaoqiu and the other two would be too busy fighting over the Spirit Artifacts to spare him a glance?
To his pleasant surprise, when the white light barrier burst, the Spirit Armor happened to shoot directly toward him.
How could Xu Chen miss such a prime opportunity?
Without a second thought, he reached out to grab the oncoming Spirit Armor. Having witnessed people dying horrific deaths from the impact of the Spirit Artifacts, Xu Chen dared not be careless; his outstretched right hand was shrouded in a layer of Spiritual Power.
"Kid, stop right there!"
"You dare covet a Spirit Artifact? You're courting death!"
The people flying in pursuit behind the Spirit Artifact let out sharp shouts of rage when they saw Xu Chen attempting to collect the Spirit Armor.
Xu Chen's actions were immune to outside interference. Not only did he fail to pull back his outstretched hand, but he closed his grip tightly around the Spirit Armor.
***
### Chapter 12: The Contention
*Buzz.*
The moment his hand closed around the Spirit Armor, a terrifying repulsive force erupted from it, nearly knocking Xu Chen's hand away. Fortunately, Xu Chen had been prepared for this. He had put his full strength into that grab.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz!!!"
Although the Spirit Armor stopped trying to shake off Xu Chen's palm, its continuous struggling made his right hand go numb.
"Kid, let go of the Spirit Armor immediately, or don't blame me for being ruthless!"
At the same time Xu Chen grabbed the Spirit Armor, a middle-aged man at the Fourth Layer of Qi Condensation Realm had already rushed close, glaring at him with fierce eyes.
The web of Xu Chen's right hand holding the Spirit Armor had already split open, oozing fresh blood.
"Blindly stubborn! Die!"
Seeing that Xu Chen showed no signs of giving up the Spirit Armor, the middle-aged man hesitated no longer. Wielding a saber carrying fierce saber Qi, he slashed viciously toward Xu Chen's face.
"Whoosh!"
Xu Chen tipped his toes against the ground, his figure flashing backward like lightning, perfectly dodging the middle-aged man's slash.
However, the people behind him had already caught up. Before he could even catch his breath, a dozen attacks converged on him from all directions.
While suppressing the fierce struggles of the Spirit Armor, Xu Chen awkwardly dodged everyone's attacks.
More and more people swarmed over. Xu Chen's expression gradually grew solemn. The violent thrashing of the Spirit Armor made it impossible for him to focus on fighting back.
"A mere Spirit Artifact, and you still won't submit to me?"
Xu Chen circulated the Devouring Emperor Scripture to suppress the Spirit Armor.
The moment the Devouring Emperor Scripture was activated, the Spirit Armor, which had been thrashing violently a moment before, unexpectedly grew still. The fresh blood flowing from the web of his hand slowly seeped into the Spirit Armor.
"Huh?!"
Xu Chen stared at the Spirit Armor in astonishment. At that moment, he actually formed a "resonance" with the Spirit Armor; a spiritual connection was established between man and armor.
"The Spirit Armor has recognized its master?" Xu Chen was overjoyed.
Free from the distraction of subduing the Spirit Armor, he could unleash his full strength, making it much easier to deal with the attacks coming from all directions.
After dodging another wave of attacks, Xu Chen directly donned the armor.
"Xuanlei Spirit Armor!"
Xu Chen looked at the armor on his body. Right over the heart guard were four ancient and majestic characters: *Xuanlei Spirit Armor*, a Low-Grade Spirit Artifact!
"The Xuanlei Spirit Armor has already recognized me as its master."
"Are you lot still going to fight for it?"
With the Spirit Armor on, Xu Chen felt even more confident.
The surrounding people had red eyes. Far from stopping, the intensity of their attacks grew even more terrifying, as if they wanted to blast Xu Chen into dust.
"Bang, bang, bang!!!"
Xu Chen didn't dodge or evade, letting the attacks land directly on his body. The immense impact forced him back a few steps.
After stabilizing his footing, he burst out laughing because, having taken several attacks head-on, he wasn't injured in the slightest.
Although the destructive power of those blows wasn't massive, it was enough to prove the terrifying defensive capability of the Spirit Armor.
When those fighting for the Spirit Armor saw its astonishing defense, the greed on their faces became uncontrollable. Driven by greed, they lunged at Xu Chen like madmen.
"Still coming?"
"Then don't blame me for being impolite."
A fierce glint flashed in Xu Chen's eyes. Dodging most of the attacks, he flashed forward right in front of one person, cupped his right hand into a blade, and slashed diagonally across the man's neck.
"Splat!"
Half of the man's neck was sliced open, blood spurting like a fountain.
"Bang!"
Seizing another incoming saber with one hand, he clenched his five fingers tightly. With a crisp snap, the saber broke right down the middle, and half of the blade happened to plunge straight into the saber-wielder's eye socket.
"Whoosh, whoosh!!!"
Two sabers slashed down right at him. Xu Chen dodged his vital points, letting the blades hack into his body. Two loud clangs rang out as sparks flew.
Xu Chen took a fierce step forward, slamming his shoulder and elbow hard into someone's chest.
"Bang!"
"Crack!"
The sound of breaking ribs echoed immediately. The man who had been struck was a Third Layer Qi Condensation martial artist; his chest caved in, and his body flew out like a cannonball, crashing into several more people in succession as the sound of snapping bones and miserable screams merged into one.
Relying on the astonishing defense of the Spirit Armor, Xu Chen plunged straight into the crowd, snatched a saber, and swung it fiercely. With two wet thuds, two heads flew high into the air.
He whipped out a leg in a side kick.
*Splat!* A Qi Condensation martial artist was actually split in half at the waist by the kick.
Having killed several people in a row, Xu Chen struck fear into the surrounding crowd, and for a moment, no one dared to step forward.
"Don't be afraid! Everyone attack together, and we can definitely kill this brat!" Seeing the crowd growing timid and holding back, the middle-aged man shouted to agitate them.
Xu Chen cast a cold gaze at the speaker—this was precisely that Fourth Layer Qi Condensation martial artist who had attacked him first.
"Courting death!"
Xu Chen tipped his toes and soared into the air, bringing his saber down in a mighty splitting chop with the force of Mount Hua. It was so fast that people had no time to react at all; the middle-aged man only had time to raise his saber and block horizontally in front of his chest.
"Clang!!!"
Sparks flew everywhere!
"Crack!"
Following the screech of meeting metal came the sound of snapping steel. The saber in the middle-aged man's hand was actually cleaved right in two.
"Splat!"
The dull sound of a sharp blade tearing through flesh rang out. After cutting the middle-aged man's saber in half, the momentum of Xu Chen's blade remained unchecked, descending from the top of the man's head to split him straight down the middle, spilling his internal organs all over the ground.
"Who else dares to stop me?" Xu Chen asked coldly, boiling with murderous intent.
Wherever his gaze swept, people shrank back in fear.
"Even a Second Layer Qi Condensation dares to be arrogant? Kid, today I'll let you know that there are people beyond people and heavens beyond the sky."
A scarred martial artist at the Sixth Layer of Qi Condensation stepped out from the crowd.
Seeing this, Xu Chen's gaze sank, feeling inwardly that this would be tricky.
*Hoo~*
He took a deep breath. With a thought, he pulled out a Mystic Grade Low-Grade medicinal herb and swallowed it whole.
The Heaven-Devouring Emperor Scripture operated accordingly, frantically refining the medicinal potency of the herb.
The aura that had slightly dipped from the earlier battle instantly soared back to its peak.
And it didn't stop there. As the medicinal potency continued to be refined, his cultivation finally climbed all the way to the peak of the Second Layer of Qi Condensation Realm!
Sensing the continuous surge in Xu Chen's aura, the scarred martial artist's expression shifted slightly. The next instant, he lunged forward fiercely, raising his hands to deliver several palms. The palm wind was mighty, stirring up air currents to form a massive handprint that crashed down upon Xu Chen to suppress him.
The handprint was heavy and powerful; its might was so great that it could imprint handprints even into solid steel.
Watching the descending handprint, Xu Chen neither dodged nor evaded.
"Courting death!" The scarred martial artist sneered.
The Spirit Armor could allow Xu Chen to ignore the attacks of Qi Condensation martial artists, but relying on that to block his own attack was nothing short of a pipe dream. He could practically picture the scene of Xu Chen being smashed into pulp by the handprint.
Ultimately, however, the result would leave him bitterly disappointed.
To his shock, Xu Chen suddenly opened his mouth. A terrifying devouring force poured forth from it, and at that moment, Xu Chen's mouth seemed like a black hole capable of devouring all things in creation.
Under the horrified gaze of the scarred martial artist, Xu Chen actually swallowed the handprint whole!
And he was completely unharmed!
Not only was he unscathed, but after devouring the handprint, his cultivation advanced another step, breaking through into the Third Layer of Qi Condensation Realm!
"Thanks for the treat! To express my gratitude, I'll borrow your head!"
While the scarred martial artist was still trapped in shock, Xu Chen slashed down with his saber in a single mighty blow.
This strike was as fast as thunder and as fierce as a lightning bolt.
The scarred martial artist hurriedly dodged, but with a *splat*, a three-inch-long gash was cut across his chest.
Xu Chen thought it a pity that he hadn't managed to kill the scarred man with a single blow. It didn't matter, though—the outcome was already sealed; it just meant chopping him a few more times.
Xu Chen held the saber in one hand and slashed diagonally.
One strike blocked, he struck again, then a second, a third, a fourth...
Each strike was faster than the last!
Each strike was stronger than the last!
Every single cut was fatal!
The scarred martial artist grew increasingly alarmed because, facing Xu Chen's onslaught, he actually found himself struggling immensely.
One had to remember: he was at the Sixth Layer of Qi Condensation, while Xu Chen had only just broken through to the Third Layer!
A freak!
"Seventh strike!" Xu Chen shouted loudly.
The blade in his hand rubbed against the air, producing a popping sound like firecrackers.
Finally—
"Bang!"
"Crack!"
After all, the saber was only made of mortal iron. Having clashed consecutively through multiple blows, it could finally bear the strain no longer and snapped right in two.
A flash of joy crossed the scarred martial artist's heart.
Yet before that joy could spread through his mind, the corner of his eye vaguely caught a blurred afterimage flashing past.
Immediately afterward—
*Splat.* A sharp pain hit his heart.
Along with the pain, the strength in his body seemed to drain away like the receding tide.
He lowered his head to look.
A massive hand had burst straight through his chest, and clutched within that hand was a still-beating heart.
***
### Chapter 13: Crushing to Death Barehanded
*Splat.*
The large hand squeezed tightly. The heart shattered into pieces.
Plunged into pitch-black darkness, the scarred martial artist's vision went completely black.
By single-handedly slaying a Sixth Layer Qi Condensation martial artist, Xu Chen had demonstrated sufficient strength. There were very few people left in the main hall who could reliably suppress him.
The surrounding people backed away in dread, not daring to step forward. No one dared to launch another attack against Xu Chen.
Seeing this, Xu Chen let out a sigh of relief, then cast his gaze toward the remaining six battlefields.
The shield, the hammer, and the bow had already found owners, but the people who had claimed those Spirit Artifacts were still trapped under the joint siege of the crowd.
The saber, the sword, and the spear were still fiercely contested by the masses.
Xu Chen's original target had been the Spirit Sword. Although he had accidentally acquired the Spirit Armor, he had by no means given up on seizing the Spirit Sword.
Xiao Teng, a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Villa, and his rival were locked in an exceptionally fierce battle for ownership of the Spirit Sword. Both possessed the cultivation of the Eighth Layer of Qi Condensation Realm; once their massive clash erupted, the rest could simply not butt in. Approaching rashly meant risking death as innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire.
The two of them had fought their way into a true frenzy, their battle growing increasingly brutal as both were stained with blood.
Closely monitoring the shifts in the battlefield, Xu Chen did not rashly jump into the fray.
"Boom!"
Xiao Teng and his rival collided head-on once again. The astonishing shockwave swept outward, blowing several Qi Condensation martial artists left and right, leaving them dizzy and disoriented.
Caught in the aftermath of this direct collision, the Spirit Sword they were fighting over spun and shot out of the battle circle.
Seeing this, Xu Chen knew his chance had arrived. Hesitating no longer, he tipped his toes and his figure charged out like a storm, instantly closing in on the razor-sharp Spirit Sword radiating fierce sword Qi.
"Kid, you're courting death!"
Seeing Xu Chen attempt to snatch the Spirit Sword, the two combatants flew into a rage.
The next moment—
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Two ferocious streaks of Spiritual Power blasted straight toward Xu Chen.
"Hmph!"
Sensing the incoming blasts of Spiritual Power, Xu Chen let out a cold snort. Ignoring the attacks entirely, he reached out his hand and gripped the Spirit Sword firmly.
"Utterly foolish!" Xiao Teng said in a cold voice.
The words had barely left his mouth when Xiao Teng's pupils suddenly shrank.
What was he seeing?!
Xu Chen had actually lifted the Spirit Sword, and the Spirit Sword showed no signs of struggling whatsoever!
*Why? Why wasn't the Spirit Sword resisting?*
*Had the Spirit Sword been refined?*
*Impossible!* He subconsciously shook his head to dismiss the thought.
Xu Chen slashed downward with the sword. Sword Qi surged crosswise.
The two incoming streaks of Spiritual Power encountered the sword Qi and melted away like fresh snow meeting the blazing sun, rapidly dissolving and collapsing.
"Kid, hand over the Spirit Sword right now!" Fierce light surged in Xiao Teng's eyes.
"To monopolize two Spirit Artifacts all by yourself—isn't your appetite a bit too big, kid? Aren't you afraid of choking to death?" sneered Yang Gang, the rogue cultivator who had been fighting Xiao Teng up until now.
As they spoke, the two of them moved with tacit understanding, advancing on Xu Chen from left and right.
"You and I fought tooth and nail for a single Spirit Artifact, only to have some brat reap the benefits in the end," the rogue cultivator Yang Gang said with a bitter, self-deprecating laugh before turning to Xiao Teng: "The Spirit Sword goes to you, and the Spirit Armor goes to me. How about that?"
His tone treated Xu Chen entirely as a dead man.
"Agreed," Xiao Teng nodded in consent.
With a deadpan expression, Xu Chen reminded them: "You two, the Xuanlei Spirit Armor and the Qingchi Sword are still currently in my possession. Right in front of my face, you're casually dividing up my Spirit Artifacts—aren't you showing a bit of disrespect toward me?"
"Respect?" Yang Gang let out a mocking laugh. "The weak do not deserve respect!"
Xiao Teng declared, "Hand over the Spirit Armor and the Spirit Sword, and I promise to let you leave alive."
Xu Chen spread his hands. "Looks like there's nothing to discuss then."
If he lacked Spirit Artifacts, he certainly wouldn't be a match for the two of them; but now that he possessed two Spirit Artifacts, his combat power had soared—he wasn't without the strength to fight them.
"It seems you're refusing my good intentions." Xiao Teng shook his head.
The next instant, he flicked his right hand. Empowered by Spiritual Power, the sword in his grip burst forth with dazzling sword Qi, tearing through the air with a shockingly fast screech as it slashed diagonally toward Xu Chen.
The might of this single strike was so great that even Yang Gang, who was also at the Eighth Layer of Qi Condensation, would have had no choice but to temporarily avoid its edge.
"Coming at the right time!"
Facing Xiao Teng's full-strength sword strike, Xu Chen felt no fear, only excitement. With a loud shout, the Spiritual Power within him surged, and the Qingchi sword in his hand rang out with a crisp, echoing hum.