Chapter 581: Chapter 581: Cracking the Code
But everyone’s eyes were completely different!
"This is—!"
At this moment of astonishment, Li Yi, Jianling District Elder Duan Nong, Xiao Daoyin, Zong Qinghou, along with the two elders by their side, and Princess Yang Yun descended slowly onto the platform.
They all coldly gazed at Yang Tian. Li Yi chuckled directly, saying, "No wonder you had the ability to kill Xiang Tianxing. Turns out, you’re a resilient Crossing Monk, though one still bound by the laws of heaven and earth, within the realm of our cultivation!"
"Take care of this Devil!"
As soon as those words were spoken, the audience erupted into chaos. Everyone looked at Yang Tian with eyes filled with disbelief.
From the very day they began cultivating the truth, everyone knew that Devils were the sworn enemies of the path to truth!
But ever since the Devil’s world was annihilated, Devils had become no more than distant memories of long-gone times.
Yet a battle between masters always shifts like the wind and clouds!
Even though there was just one move separating Yang Tian and Li Yi, following that first move came an onslaught of countermeasures, unseen to the naked eye.
Behold the sky at this moment—two figures had entirely transformed into afterimages, colliding fiercely again and again above. The scene was breathtaking!
Each time they clashed, the resulting pulses of energy sent tremors through the air. Even those weaker individuals onlookers directly fainted from the overwhelming vibration rippling through them!
"So strong! Now this is what a real man looks like!"
Seeing the ferocity of their fight, Tuoba Wenqing, master of the Lingtian Sect, became so excited that he crushed the treasured folding fan in his hands into pieces, completely unaware of what he was doing as his eyes remained glued to the sky.
He understood well that the power Yang Tian and Li Yi commanded above had already far surpassed his own!
Their level of combat was something he likely wouldn’t ever approach in his entire lifetime.
Moreover, even with his great strength, there were times he struggled to follow their exchanges. If he let his focus lapse for even a moment, he could miss countless critical moments.
As the leader of the Lingtian Sect, one of the Four Sects, even he found it difficult to track such battles with just his naked eyes.
Yet despite this, everyone followed with uncontainable excitement. Awe deepened on their faces, their expressions growing ever more fervent!
Because what unfolded before their very eyes revealed one undeniable truth!
Yang Tian—a so-called Devil seeking Guiyuan!
His strength was on par with Xiu Zhen’s first expert, Li Yi wielding the Galaxy Sword!
In the past, no one could have even dreamed of this. They feared the possibility that someone might one day rise to contend with a figure like Li Yi.
But now, such a person had appeared—and stood right before them.
How could they not feel shocked?
Even amidst their astonishment, their beliefs hadn’t wavered!
Li Yi—he would not lose!
This wasn’t just because they favored Li Yi, but also because Yang Tian was a sworn enemy to all cultivators.
And furthermore, Li Yi had dominated the Cultivation World of Xiu Zhen for so long!
His indomitable strength had become a deeply ingrained belief in everyone’s hearts, a symbol of unparalleled power!
In their eyes, within this treacherous realm where deceit often reigned, anyone else might suffer defeat, but not Li Yi—he was invincible!
This was why even though they knew Yang Tian was being hunted by higher-plane entities as a Devil, neither Gongyang Yun nor the Shadow Sect elders showed any intention of interfering, content merely to observe.
Likewise, Duan Nong, the Jianling Sect elder, and the old hermit, who had grown up from boyhood to his current venerable age, simply closed their eyes. They envisioned a scene where Li Yi overpowered and captured Yang Tian, delivering him directly into the hands of the Upper Realm.
"Yes! Li Yi’s been the unparalleled hero of this realm for so many years. There’s no one who can defeat him—there’s no way anyone could!"
At the Mad Saber Sect’s side, Lu Haisheng also coldly made this declaration.
Even though his sect was simply one among the Four Sects, his pride never fell short compared to anyone else.
Thus, the sudden appearance earlier that caught him off-guard had instantly turned to disdain. He would never allow himself to acknowledge such a disruption!
And his refusal to acknowledge it manifested as an intense desire to see Yang Tian lose—to see Yang Tian die! To see the entire Sword Sect crumble into dust!
Only in this way could he prove that Lu Haisheng’s initial choices were correct!
He could prove that his fleeting doubts were utterly groundless!
To prove that he was still the clever and cunning wielder of the wild blade!
But just as everyone believed Li Yi couldn’t lose, the tide of the skyward battle changed!
The golden radiance that represented Li Yi suddenly began to tremble violently and was gradually engulfed and suppressed by the raven-black glow emanating from Yang Tian.
Li Yi was starting to falter!
At this moment, a resounding voice rang through the air: "Strike!"
Collapse!
Under this single command, the black radiance transformed instantly into a colossal blade, slicing the golden light entirely in two!
A flash of gold streaked across the sky as a figure hurtled downward, landing with a thunderous crash that stirred up a massive cloud of dust!
Witnessing this scene, everyone’s hearts trembled—they knew this was the deciding moment of victory and defeat!
But more importantly... who was the victor, and who had fallen?
"It must be that child! It must be that child! It must be that child!"
Lu Haisheng stared dumbfounded at the dust-swept platform. Amidst the rolling particles, someone’s silhouette was kneeling half-submerged within the dirt, mumbling to themselves incessantly before slowly and shakily standing up.
Yet just as they did so, their entire posture suddenly froze. Then, completely lifeless, they slumped back into the chair behind them in utter despair.
The surrounding crowd surged with unrest!
Even Gongyang Yun, Duan Nong, Xiao Daoyin, and others at the platform’s edge turned as pale as ashes, sweat falling like streams from their foreheads!
No...
Had the time arrived?
When Li Yi uttered this sentiment, everyone was caught slightly off guard, but they quickly understood.
As Li Yi had earlier explained, Yang Tian was a cultivator, and at present, they stood in the realm of cultivation—a world where Heaven and Earth Laws reigned supreme, shackling cultivators under its gaze!
Even someone as formidable as Yang Tian could only manifest the strength of his earlier fragmented power under such suppression!
Though no one knew exactly how Yang Tian had temporarily undone the suppression, it was clear this newfound freedom from restraint was short-lived—a miracle on borrowed time.
Otherwise, why would Yang Tian have withheld unleashing his fragmented might until directly engaging Li Yi, shattering his bonds at the pivotal moment!
Yet even Yang Tian himself seemed bewildered by the oppressive pressure of the Heaven and Earth Laws as a frown flickered across his face. His protective bracelet—a tool supposedly able to withstand the suppression for five minutes—had been damaged.
From the start of the duel until now, while his and Li Yi’s attacks seemed relentless, only two to three minutes had passed. It should have been far too soon for the time limit to expire!
As long as he could defeat Li Yi, he could go on to crush the remaining three individuals and convince everyone here to enter the battlefield of immortality!
But why had the protective bracelet’s effect ended prematurely?
What was happening?
"You still don’t understand, do you?"
Seeing Yang Tian’s face clouded with confusion, Li Yi, sword in hand, once again shot into the air. Step by step, he approached Yang Tian, his words carrying a faint hollowness. "What does it mean to be strong? Is it merely overwhelming power that dominates others? An unmatched surge of momentum?"
"No!"
Li Yi glanced at Yang Tian and let out a cold sneer. "Strength is a gift."
"A gift?"
Yang Tian’s brow furrowed slightly.
"Exactly! A gift!"
Li Yi didn’t seem eager to make his move. From his perspective, Yang Tian, subdued by the laws of heaven and earth, posed no real threat anymore.
So, with a feigned nonchalance, he continued, "People are born equal, but talents differ. Some can forge weapons with their innate skills, far surpassing others. Some gather alliances and exert influence through charisma and cleverness. Some blaze their path to transcendence above all living beings through sheer talent."
"And Benben’s true genius lies in fighting tooth and nail!"