Tao Ran stared at Chen Nan in astonishment. He hadn't expected Chen Nan to be able to stand after taking that blow. This was beyond his imagination. He couldn't believe that a junior could be so strong.
"Brother..." Chenxi cried softly, gently stroking Chennan's cheek.
Chen Nan said softly, "Chenxi, even though you are a girl, you must learn to be strong."
"I'll only cry for my brother!"
Chen Xi's words almost brought tears to Chen Nan's eyes. He said softly, "Alright, don't cry. Brother needs to use his internal energy to heal his injuries now."
Chenxi suppressed her urge to cry, sobbing softly, and slowly calmed down, obediently remaining silent. At this moment, more than a hundred experts from the Immortal Martial Academy had entered the arena, most of them students, and they surrounded Chen Nan and Yang Lin.
The Immortal Martial Academy is located twenty miles south of the capital of the Jin Kingdom. The academy holds a sacred position in the Eastern Continent, and many military generals from various kingdoms have graduated from it. Although its status is exceptional, it is still situated within the Jin Kingdom and naturally has some connections with the upper echelons of Jin. Today, the academy received a message via carrier pigeon from within the city, urgently dispatching people to capture a super-powerful "fierce man."
Chen Nan closed his eyes, silently examining his injuries. His internal organs were indeed riddled with cracks, his life hanging in the balance! He gave a bitter laugh: "Fine, I'll take the gamble. I never imagined that in a single day I would not only be forced to reverse my profound techniques, but also be forced to unleash the Heaven-Defying Seven Demon Blades!"
This is a brutal and unparalleled martial art, known as the "Heaven-Defying Technique," a forbidden secret within his family's inherited profound arts. A technique that defies the heavens, altering destiny. Legend has it that once, a peerless demon, on the verge of death, unleashed seven consecutive strikes, piercing the void and ascending to immortality.
Chen Nan certainly wasn't naive enough to believe that wielding the Seven Demon Blades of Heaven-Defying Power would grant him ascension to immortality, but he was currently desperate and certain to die if he couldn't break through the encirclement. He needed the power to turn the tide, and it seemed that only the Seven Demon Blades of Heaven-Defying Power offered him a glimmer of hope.
The Seven Demon Blades Against Heaven is a bizarre sword technique that consumes life force. Once all seven blades are used, almost all of a person's life energy is extracted from their body. This is its "demonic" aspect, and no one is willing to unleash such seven blades.
However, the Seven Demon Blades of Heaven-Defying Technique has a clear hint at the end: if one can unleash seven strikes without dying, the life energy extracted from the body will flow back, allowing the person on the verge of death to regain life and enabling the caster's cultivation to advance to the next level. This is its "heaven-defying" aspect.
The Seven Demon Blades of Rebellion possess immense power, defying conventional wisdom. However, no one would attempt such a feat unless facing certain death. Today, Chen Nan has no way out. His severely injured body is in imminent danger, and an invincible enemy looms before him. Now, he has no choice but to fight a desperate, all-or-nothing battle to turn the tide!
Today is destined to be an unforgettable day in his life. To save Chenxi, he was forced to reverse his profound skills! To survive, he unleashed the heaven-defying Seven Demon Blades! It seemed as if an invisible hand was guiding him onto a path of no return!
With his eyes closed, Chen Nan murmured, "The Seven Demon Blades Against Heaven, the Law Against Heaven, the Fate of Heaven!" At this moment, Chen Nan seemed to become ethereal and indistinct, his figure slowly fading away, and seven tall demonic shadows appeared around him.
Chen Nan had already activated the technique described in the Seven Demon Blade Technique, and seven real demonic figures surrounded him. The soldiers inside the arena and the cultivators watching from the sidelines stared at him in astonishment, unable to believe what they were seeing.
Of course, the most shocked were the senior masters among the Eastern martial arts practitioners. Legend has it that Eastern martial arts practitioners, upon reaching the pinnacle of cultivation, can create avatars and kill without leaving a trace. They could not believe that this young man, around twenty years old, could already create avatars, and even create seven avatars—this was beyond their comprehension.
Yang Lin stared at Chen Nan in astonishment. The old guard of Shenfeng Academy was already shaken when they learned that Chen Nan could unseal the Houyi Bow; now he had actually used the technique of creating an avatar! Yang Lin felt that this young man was shrouded in mystery, possessing an immense amount of enigma!
Tao Ran's initial surprise turned to shock. He was utterly horrified. The fact that Chen Nan could withstand his overwhelming fifth-tier power without dying was already astonishing. Now, he had actually used a divine ability that could only be acquired at the pinnacle of martial arts cultivation—an external avatar. This left him completely stunned!
The seven demonic shadows materialized completely, revolving around Chen Nan like seven demon gods. A tremendous force, like a raging sea, surged outwards from Chen Nan's center. The shattered corpses and broken blades on the ground began to float up and down strangely, rising and falling outside the seven demonic shadows.
Everyone stared in disbelief. Some timid soldiers were so frightened that they dropped their weapons. Even the most skilled cultivators felt a chill run down their spines and a cold shiver ran through them.
The seven demon gods spun around Chen Nan faster and faster, eventually merging into a dark light, their black shadows completely enveloping him. But in an instant, the seven demon gods suddenly stopped, then pounced on Chen Nan together, overlapping with his body, and finally completely merging into his body.
Chen Nan's previously faint and indistinct figure became substantial once more, an aura of power emanating from him, and a vast power rippled and reverberated within the plaza. At this moment, Chen Nan seemed to suddenly grow taller, like a giant surveying the heavens and earth, giving people a heavy sense of oppression and making everyone feel suffocated. At this moment, an aura of death permeated the arena.
At that moment, Chen Nan opened his eyes. His eyes were pitch black, with no whites, like two black holes. There was no life in them, like a hellish abyss, devoid of any signs of life, inspiring in those who looked at him an urge to sink and perish.
Chen Nan carried Xiao Chenxi to Yang Lin and said, "Take care of her for me." His cold words were devoid of any emotion, as if they came from the deepest hell.
Yang Lin nodded blankly. He himself didn't know why, but at this moment, he seemed unable to control himself and obey Chen Nan's orders. He carefully held Xiao Chenxi in his arms.
Chenxi had already fallen into a deep sleep. Too much had happened today, and the young girl was exhausted. She had cried herself unconscious in Chen Nan's arms. If it weren't for the fact that her mind and physique were far beyond those of ordinary children, she probably would have collapsed long ago.
Chen Nan turned and walked towards Tao Ran. With each step he took forward, the earth trembled, and an invisible pressure surged forward, an immense pressure as heavy as Mount Tai.
When he reached Tao Ran, the more than one hundred experts from the Immortal Martial Academy had already been forced back by this invisible force, leaving only him and Tao Ran in the arena.
An invisible battle erupted between the two, their external energies surging wildly, forming an energy storm between them, accompanied by thunderous sounds echoing in the void.
With a deafening roar, the ground between the two men was blasted into a crater nearly two zhang deep by the invisible force.
"You old bastard, go to hell!" Chen Nan roared, drawing his sword and slashing down.
A black blade of light, nearly five zhang long, shone like a rainbow, its force like divine punishment, tearing through the void and falling straight down. Within the plaza, thunder rumbled, a fierce wind blew, and sand and dust obscured the sky.
The power of a single strike can eclipse the very fabric of heaven and earth!
Terrifying energy fluctuations swept across the heavens and earth, and invisible pressure surged outwards like raging waves, knocking countless spectators to the ground.
Tao Ran's expression changed. From the moment seven demonic shadows appeared around Chen Nan, he knew that the young man's strength could not be judged by ordinary standards and that he must have extraordinary skills.
At that moment, he unleashed a powerful palm strike, the immense force transforming into a cyan sword aura that surged towards the five-zhang-long blade of light. However, the two powerful forces collided silently, and the black blade of light, as if alive, began to devour the cyan sword aura. The cyan sword aura grew dimmer and dimmer until it finally vanished without a trace.
The demonic nature of the Seven Demon Blades was fully revealed, and the blade light it unleashed was incredibly bizarre! After the black blade light devoured the cyan sword energy, it transformed into a demonic shadow in a daze before dissipating into the air.
Tao Ran swayed and involuntarily took a step back. He felt his chest heaving and aching. He was extremely shocked, never expecting that Chen Nan could force him to take a step back.
Chen Nan's body swayed, and he seemed to weaken. He now held only the hilt of a sword; the longsword was completely shattered. However, this had no effect; he gripped the hilt and unleashed the second strike of the Seven Demon Blades Against Heaven.
Although it lacks a blade, the dazzling blade light emanating from the hilt is as powerful as ever, still a strike that dominates the world! It emits bursts of wind and thunder, and unleashes a surge of power like a raging sea.
Tao Ran sensed the eerie and unusual nature of the blade's light, and he could only do his best to block it.
With six deafening roars, Chen Nan unleashed six consecutive slashes. With each strike, his body grew weaker, eventually becoming ethereal and unreal. During this process, Tao Ran staggered back six steps, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, indicating he had suffered serious internal injuries.
The plaza was almost completely destroyed, with huge cracks more than two feet wide appearing on the ground. The shattered corpses in the area had been completely obliterated by the raging energy, leaving only patches of blood.
The soldiers and cultivators watching retreated again and again, observing from a distance, not daring to cross the line even slightly. Everyone was filled with shock; a young master had actually severely injured a respected elder who was about to enter the ranks of fifth-tier peerless experts—this was something they couldn't even imagine!
This battle will surely make Chen Nan's name known throughout the entire continent. If he is lucky enough to survive, he will undoubtedly become a legendary figure among the new generation of masters!
Chen Nan felt his body growing increasingly empty; seven or eight tenths of his life energy had been depleted. He had already unleashed six strikes with the Seven Demon Blades of Heaven-Defying, leaving only one strike remaining! Success or failure hinged on that final strike!
The seventh strike! Perhaps it can revive his severely wounded body, or perhaps it will send him to the deepest hell!
At this moment, Chen Nan felt a little lost and hesitant... He looked back and saw that Xiao Chenxi had tears on her face and was staring at him intently in Yang Lin's arms.
"Brother..." Chenxi called softly, her long eyelashes fluttering as tears streamed down her face.
Chen Nan abruptly turned around, no longer looking at her. With his back to Yang Lin and Chen Xi, he said in a low voice, "Chen Xi is the most obedient and adorable child in the world. I have to leave for a while. While I'm not by your side, you mustn't cry or make a fuss… You must quietly wait for me to return… Senior, please take good care of Chen Xi for me, don't let her suffer any injustice, let her grow up happily…" Chen Nan paused several times, trying to keep his voice calm. Finally, he almost commanded, "Senior, please take Chen Xi and leave here immediately. Everything here has nothing to do with you!"
This seemingly final message brought a pang of sadness to many spectators.
Long Wu, watching from the sidelines, gazed at this man who was both familiar and unfamiliar, her eyes blurring with tears. Was he a frivolous, nonsensical scoundrel? Or a fierce, ruthless warrior who could annihilate all in his path? Or perhaps a kind and gentle older brother who doted on his younger sister?
"No, brother, you promised me you would never leave me, I want to stay with you forever..." Little Chenxi cried out, her tender voice bringing tears to everyone's eyes.
Yang Lin's face twitched a few times. With a near-fifth-tier expert like Tao Ran present, he couldn't rescue Chen Nan. How could someone of his cultivation not see that Chen Nan was already at his limit? He had already discovered the secret of the Seven Demon Blades of Heaven-Defying Technique when Chen Nan unleashed his fifth strike. He realized that with each strike, Chen Nan's life energy was draining away, and he was now on the verge of collapse!
The enigmatic young man, a martial arts prodigy with extraordinary talent, was about to perish, and Yang Lin felt a pang of sorrow. He gently patted Xiao Chenxi's back, comforting her, "Let's go first, your brother will follow soon." He prepared to break through the encirclement.
"No, old man, please let me go! I don't want to leave, I want to stay with my brother..." Little Chenxi's mind was far beyond that of ordinary children; she had already guessed what was about to happen. She cried and struggled...
Chen Nan had originally intended to wait until dawn had faded into the distance before unleashing his final strike, not wanting Chen Xi to witness that unbearable end. But now, he felt he could no longer hold on; if he delayed any longer, he would lose consciousness. He roared, "The Seven Demonic Blades Against Heaven—The Seventh Strike!"
A seven-zhang-long blade of light shot straight into the sky, like a demonic light from the depths of hell, both chilling and dazzling. This was a strike of life and death; whether it could change the course of fate depended on this one strike!