"I now declare..."
Li Fengcheng walked to the center of the arena.
Like a master presiding over the ancient Roman Colosseum, he raised his right hand.
He glanced left and right.
"This battle of Jiulong Mountain..."
Li Fengcheng chopped down heavily with his palm.
He was about to shout the phrase "officially begin."
But to Li Fengcheng's surprise, before the word even left his throat, a figure suddenly appeared before him.
*Slap!*
Five fingers covered Li Fengcheng's face, knuckles curled, lifting him off the ground!
Everyone present was startled.
Li Fengcheng's face turned ashen with terror.
For the person who lifted him was none other than Yinlong Daoren!
Yinlong Daoren's gray-white hair cascaded behind him, his wrinkled, ancient face contorted into a ferocious grin.
He stared at Li Fengcheng and said, "You seem to have forgotten, who is the master here?"
"You also seem to have forgotten that you begged me on your knees to come, that you are merely my servant."
"As a servant, how dare you overstep your bounds and announce the start of the battle in my stead. Do you wish to die?"
Hearing Yinlong Daoren's words, Li Fengcheng turned deathly pale with fear, shaking his head repeatedly. "No, no. Immortal Master, I absolutely had no such intention!"
"I was just... just on impulse... I overlooked the master-servant hierarchy. I beg Immortal Master's forgiveness, I will not dare to do so again!"
Li Fengcheng, who was seen as a figure of immense prestige by the people of Hong Kong, had now been reduced to a complete lackey!
His former glory and imposing presence were gone, all he could do was plead with Yinlong Daoren for mercy!
Witnessing this scene, the crowd felt a surge of emotion, and a chill ran down their spines.
They considered themselves wealthy and in control of everything.
Yet, in the face of Yinlong Daoren, they could barely even gain basic respect!
At best, they could only be granted the status of "servant"!
Of course, they could refuse this status.
And the consequence of refusal was only one: death!
The assembled guests exchanged glances, clearly sharing the same thought: inviting Yinlong Daoren out of seclusion, was it a blessing or a curse?
Perhaps Yinlong Daoren could deal with the menace of Ying Chen, but in solving this problem, who knew if Yinlong Daoren himself would become an even greater menace?
However, at this point, contemplating these matters was meaningless.
They couldn't possibly call off this scheduled duel now, could they?
Firstly, they had no right to command Yinlong Daoren. Secondly, if they stopped it now, they would have both Ying Chen and Yinlong Daoren as threats!
That would truly be the end of them!
Therefore, the assembled guests tacitly chose to remain silent.
"You won't dare to do it again? Heh heh, I look forward to you making the same mistake again..." Yinlong Daoren looked at Li Fengcheng and licked his lips.
"Because then, I can legitimately crush your skull and claim your family's offerings!"
*Swish!*
Both Li Fengcheng and the others' faces changed drastically.
Yinlong Daoren was no longer hiding his intentions at all!
He openly declared his desire to seize Li Fengcheng's family fortune!
In an instant, the unwavering support that the crowd had for Yinlong Daoren began to subtly shift.
Yinlong Daoren could have them as dogs, he could even threaten their lives.
But for him to desire their family fortune, that was absolutely unacceptable!
In short, it was a single principle: "You can have our lives, but not our money!"
*Thump!*
Yinlong Daoren casually threw Li Fengcheng to the ground, like discarding a piece of trash.
Li Fengcheng scrambled up in disarray, no longer possessing the composed and dignified demeanor of Hong Kong's richest man.
Only in the depths of his eyes was a discernible flicker of hatred.
After discarding Li Fengcheng, Yinlong Daoren turned his gaze to Ying Chen.
"Do you know? Kid. You shouldn't have come."
"It's not that I look down on you, nor that I look down on martial arts experts. It's just that what I said is the truth!"
"Martial arts experts and Xuanmen experts of the same cultivation level are simply not on the same tier in terms of combat power!"
"Not to mention, my cultivation level far surpasses yours!"
"Where did you get the courage to come and accept this challenge!"
Ying Chen smiled slightly and countered, "And where did you get the confidence to believe your cultivation level surpasses mine?"
Hearing Ying Chen's words, Yinlong Daoren's pupils contracted slightly. "Indeed, pitiful people have their hateful aspects. The reason Heaven has sent you here to die is precisely because you have a reason to die."
"Since that's the case, I will fulfill your wish – I will send you directly to your death!"
With that, Yinlong Daoren flicked his finger towards Ying Chen, making a grasping motion!
Instantly, five strands of malevolent energy materialized at Yinlong Daoren's fingertips.
They transformed into five ferocious, serpent-like wisps of malevolent energy that lunged towards Ying Chen.
The malevolent energy serpents were not only lifelike but seemed to possess a degree of consciousness. Midway through their assault, they cleverly shifted direction, attacking Ying Chen from five different angles!
The air through which the small serpents passed was instantly ripped open, leaving behind dark, ink-black furrows.
This demonstrated the terrifying and potent malevolent energy contained within these five serpents!
He Chongxu, standing nearby, proudly introduced, "This is my martial uncle's signature technique from his youth – Five Ghosts Sealing the Soul!"
"Aren't you curious how those rich families in Hong Kong who suffered ruin and death met their end?"
"It was at the hands of my martial uncle's Five Ghosts Sealing the Soul!"
"Clearly, my martial uncle has no intention of dallying with this person surnamed Ying, and intends to resolve it in one move, ending the battle!"
While He Chongxu was still proudly explaining, as if he had already witnessed Ying Chen's blood and vital energy being drained by the five malevolent energy serpents.
On the other side, a bizarre scene unfolded.
As the five malevolent energy serpents reached Ying Chen, they melted away silently, like ice crystals under the sun!
Upon witnessing this, everyone's pupils contracted violently.
He Chongxu, who had been boasting, froze, his expression turning stiff.
He looked utterly embarrassed!
"Hmm?" Yinlong Daoren's expression shifted slightly.
"Your fist intent has actually reached the level of external projection?"
"Interesting!"
"Not only has your fist intent been projected externally, but it is so pure, like a blazing sun suspended in the air, invisibly dissolving all Yin malevolent energy."
"Excellent, excellent. You have successfully piqued my interest!"
"Today, I will use your life to tell the world: no matter how high martial arts reach, it's all the same! In the face of sorcery, it remains mere amateurish trickery!"
With that, Yinlong Daoren suddenly raised both arms.
As if summoning the wind and rain, the heavens and earth seemed to be under his command.
*Rumble!*
The entire peak of Jiulong Mountain trembled.
Starting from the peak of Jiulong Mountain, heavy tremors emanated from all directions simultaneously.
Accompanied by intermittent dragon roars.
It was the nine dragon-shaped mountain ridges responding to Yinlong Daoren's command!
"Hmph, you would never have imagined. This Jiulong Mountain has long been refined by me into my dojo!"
"Originally, a martial arts expert is at a disadvantage when facing a Xuanmen expert."
"Even more so when within the dojo of such a Xuanmen expert!"
"What is a dojo? It is my home ground, the wind and clouds of the mountains and forests are all at my disposal!"
Yinlong Daoren declared proudly.
As he spoke, the nine surrounding dragon-shaped mountain ridges seemed to come alive.
They suddenly emitted loud noises, and illusory figures surged from the ridges!
It was as if nine true dragons had awakened, lunging towards the direction of Ying Chen and Yinlong Daoren!
In an instant, winds, clouds, and thunder arose.
The previously clear sky turned dark and sunless.
Fierce winds whipped across Jiulong Mountain, sand and stones flew, obscuring the sky.
The nine dragon-shaped shadows gradually approached and descended, casting upon the ground of the mountain peak.
Everyone watched the shadows on the ground with terror, as they grew from small specks to covering half the mountain peak, until they enveloped the entire mountain!
The people on the mountain peak were like tiny ants, waiting helplessly and in despair for the nine colossal beings to descend from the sky!
"Such... dense pressure!"
"Is this the power of an eighth-tier sorcerer? Terrifying, truly terrifying!"
Some Feng Shui masters and Xuanmen experts were present to observe the battle.
However, they remained very low-key, and had not participated in the conflict between Li Fengcheng and Ying Chen from the beginning.
Only now did they speak.
Expressing their fear and apprehension towards Yinlong Daoren's power!
There was no choice; the power displayed by Yinlong Daoren was simply too terrifying!
It surpassed their understanding.
They, who usually considered themselves experts, now realized they were insignificant before Yinlong Daoren.
Insignificant before an eighth-tier sorcerer!
Eighth-tier, truly worthy of the high-tier practitioners who garnered the attention of the five great sects, truly terrifying!
And they, as mere observers, already felt such strong pressure.
Ying Chen, as the protagonist, would feel pressure ten or even a hundred times stronger!
The place where the nine dragon-shaped shadows converged was precisely where Ying Chen stood.
Nine ferocious dragon heads obscured Ying Chen's form, as if turning the area into a black hole, a dark abyss from which even light could not penetrate.
Ying Chen's figure could no longer be seen.
Only the high-pitched and horrifying roars of dragons could be heard.
"Nine Dragons Sun Blazing, Ten Thousand Valleys Soul Sealing!"
"Borrowing the power of this Jiulong Mountain range to suppress your fist intent and spirit! Die!"
"Where in the green hills does one not bury bones? Today, you shall be buried beneath Jiulong Mountain, becoming a withered, wandering soul for all eternity!"
Yinlong Daoren shouted sternly.
Then, as if pushing a massive grindstone, he slowly brought his outstretched arms together towards his center.
As his arms closed, the nine dragon-shaped shadows all converged towards Ying Chen's position.
*Boom!*
Suddenly, a world-shattering sound echoed.
Everyone present was deeply shaken, their faces filled with panic.
Looking at Yinlong Daoren, his arms had finally come together.
The nine dragon-shaped shadows had all converged into a single point, as if nine mountain ranges had been forcefully compressed together!
Such a grand display was not to suppress some prehistoric beast, nor some great demon or evil spirit, but merely to crush a single human beneath it!
The entire crowd held their breath, watching the spot where Ying Chen had stood.
Now, nothing could be seen there, only darkness.
Faintly, nine dragon-shaped illusions writhed and compressed, like the last straw that would crush the camel.
"No, Mr. Ying!"
Hu Sansheng and Liao Yifan both collapsed to the ground almost simultaneously, letting out cries of utter despair.
Xiao Bao's eyes gradually dimmed, looking at Ying Chen's location in disbelief, muttering only one sentence: "Impossible, impossible... martial arts should not be so inferior... martial arts should not be subservient!"