Chapter 204: Hope of life, promise of death.
Qing Lan Yong's expression finally altered slightly when he heard Liang Chen's roaring, a tinge of guilt and pity appearing in his eyes. But those emotions vanished as quickly as they appeared, replaced by his earlier lethargic sorrow and loneliness. Liang Chen's own expression changed when Qing Lan Yong's expression turned lethargic, the fire blazing in his eyes died down and practically froze.
His hands let go of Qing Lan Yong's collar and allowed him to fall to the ground, landing somewhat unsteadily on his feet. But just as he was about to sit down on the ground again, Liang Chen's fist crashed into his face and sent him soaring backward again. He crashed into the ground and slid for a bit, but to his surprise, he also found that the seal on his Qi and bloodline had been fully removed. He didn't even have the time to think about why the seal was suddenly removed, the sound of Liang Chen cracking his knuckles coming from a few steps away.
"Get up and fight."
Qing Lan Yong couldn't help but raise his head in surprise, his gaze landing on Liang Chen's chilly expression. Yumao flapped his wings once, taking off from Liang Chen's head and flying in the air above them while keeping an eye on them. Qing Lan Yong couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion at Liang Chen's sudden shift in volume, but a blur flashed in front of his eyes before he could even open his mouth. Liang Chen's foot arrived right in front of his face, Qing Lan Yong's body acting on instinct and raising his arm to cover his face.
A dull thud echoed through the area as Liang Chen's foot collided with Qing Lan Yong's arm, which had taken on the texture of aged wood and fully negated all the lightning gathered up in his kick. But the force behind the attack was still there and caused Qing Lan Yong's arm to crash into his face and shatter his nose as his body was once again launched backward.
But his bloodline was now fully unsealed, the broken nose repairing before he had even touched the ground again. Liang Chen glanced down at his right foot, which was aching slightly due to the collision. Qing Lan Yong was known to cultivate in at least three laws, earth, fire, and wood. The earth didn't conduct lightning and was too sturdy to be properly affected by wind, making it a good counter for those two laws.
The same was true for wood, it didn't conduct lightning and contained so much pure lifeforce that it negated most poisons, was hard to rot, and heavily reduced the effectiveness of the law of death. When faced with Qing Lan Yong, Liang Chen actually only had two laws that could show their full effectiveness, the law of the void and the law of time.
Qing Lan Yong rolled along the ground for a bit before giving it a soft push and launching himself half a meter into the air, performing a flip and landing in a crouched position. He raised his head to look at Liang Chen, calling out to him at the same time.
"Please wait, I want to be..."
Qing Lan Yong's were cut off before he could finish them, Liang Chen arriving in front of him and bringing down his leg in a heavy stomp aimed at Qing Lan Yong's head. Most of Liang Chen's laws didn't work properly against Liang Chen, but there was one advantage that Qing Lan Yong could not take from him, his terrifying speed. Qing Lan Yong had yet to fully wrap his head around the situation so he failed to evade the attack, his head forcefully stomped down into the ground. Liang Chen stood on top of Qing Lan Yong's head, looking down at him with a cold and sharp gaze.
"No. I'm done listening to your pathetic groveling, I'm done talking. Get up and fight, I'm going to beat you down and vent."
Liang Chen removed his foot from Qing Lan Yong's head and kicked him away, another dull pain momentarily running through his foot. Qing Lan Yong was much quicker to react this time, pushing himself up from the ground the moment Liang Chen kicked him away, this time landing in a standing position with his knees slightly bent so that he could react to Liang Chen's next move.
Liang Chen had already arrived in front of him by the time he had prepared, his right fist already heading straight for Qing Lan Yong's face. Qing Lan Yong immediately responded, allowing the fist to hit his face and using the momentum of the attack to bend his torso back, giving it a slight spin to the right while also raising his left leg.
He kicked out with his leg the moment it reached the height of Liang Chen's chest. Due to the bending and spinning of his body, his body was nearly fully horizontal as he balanced on his right leg, all the force in his body gathering in his left leg as it crashed into Liang Chen's chest and sent him flying backward while spurting blood. Qing Lan Yong couldn't allow himself to die here, not before he got Liang Chen's forgiveness, so his body acted on instinct to defend himself.
Late stage of the Primordial Immortal realm, that was the cultivation that Qing Lan Yong revealed when the seal on his body was fully removed. He was the opponent with the highest cultivation that Liang Chen had ever fought, the strongest one too. And after receiving that one kick head-on, Liang Chen also knew that the current him couldn't bead Qing Lan Yong if they were to engage in a life and death battle.
There might be a chance if he used the final attack of the Dragon King's Six Steps, the attack that killed Chen Dairong, but he didn't have any guarantee that Qing Lan Yong didn't have any other cards up his sleeve. But as Liang Chen crashed into the ground and slid backward, all his ribs broken and blood pouring out from his mouth and nose, the corners of his mouth actually rose up slightly, revealing his bloody canine teeth. He raised his legs and rolled back into a crouching position, quickly springing up into a standing position while keeping his gaze locked onto Qing Lan Yong, the fire in his eyes starting to burn again.
"This is how you should have been from the start. The more pathetic you are, the more pathetic my hatred for you will be. Strong and fearsome, only if you are like this will you be a goal I have to give it my all to chase after to tear apart and kill."
Liang Chen stomped the ground before he even finished his words, shooting forward like a furious bolt of lightning, the grand array had already fully healed his shattered ribs. Qing Lan Yong launched a retaliatory attack the instant Liang Chen reached his front, a thick pillar of green lava bursting out from the ground right beneath Liang Chen. As someone who had reached the Primordial Immortal realm, Qing Lan Yong had already fused all his laws and created a law unique to him, the law of the living volcano.
He restrained the power of the lava so that it couldn't kill Liang Chen, the two were after all currently in the same situation, unable to actually kill the other due to their own circumstances. But thanks to the fact that he didn't know the full extent of Liang Chen's current strength, he lowered the power of the lava by too much.
Liang Chen slowed the time of the lava to a crawl and then gave it a kick, splattering several thick globs of it toward Qing Lan Yong while also spreading out a dense web of lightning. He then drastically sped up the time of these globs of lava, causing them to turn into bright stars that blocked Qing Lan Yong's vision and splashed his body.
As the one who created it, the lava couldn't really hurt him, it was the blocking of his vision that became a problem. He couldn't detect Liang Chen through the earth so he was unlikely to be standing on the ground, and he couldn't sense him through the heat he naturally radiated thanks to the lightning that Liang Chen spread around the area. Thanks to this, he was somewhat slow to react and was unable to respond as Liang Chen grabbed onto his right arm from behind and spoke up.
"Never forget, Qing Lan Yong, the only person who can plunge you into despair and leave you like this much of a pathetic mess is me. No one else, only me. If anyone else tries to, you have to fight on and move forward until the day that I kill you."
The sheer vindictiveness and viciousness contained within that voice caused a terrible chill to run down Qing Lan Yong's spine. He could feel Liang Chen starting to exert force on his right arm, the bones in his shoulder snapping as his flesh and muscles tore. His body immediately reacted, jagged spears of earth extending from his back and piercing into Liang Chen's body, each spear infused with the power of fire and wood to increase both their toughness and their power.
He could feel his attack pierce into Liang Chen's body, but Liang Chen simply responded by kicking off of Qing Lan Yong's back with all his might. Qing Lan Yong's body was launched forward but his right arm remained behind in Liang Chen's grasp. Qing Lan Yong's right shoulder spurt blood and Liang Chen was leaking blood from the several holes stabbed into his body.
But Qing Lan Yong had his strange bloodline and Liang Chen had the powerful support of the grand array, both their wounds healing almost immediately. Qing Lan Yong quickly corrected his position and took up his stance, warily awaiting Liang Chen's next move.
But Liang Chen simply looked at the torn-off arm that he was holding, his chilly expression receding and changing into his normal calm emotions, his emotions impossible to read as it seemed like he had released all the pent up frustration and anger. He raised his head and waved his hand at Yumao, who let out a loud hiss before charging down and curling up on Liang Chen's head, rubbing against his hair in joy. Liang Chen threw aside the arm, his inscrutable gaze landing on Qing Lan Yong.
"Find a Bloodwind Code, increase your strength and get your ranking, make your wish and bring back your family, don't ever let me see you in such a pathetic state again. On the day that the dead have returned, then you will have my forgiveness, and then I will take your life."
Liang Chen turned to the side after leaving behind his words, heading for the empty basin that used to be the Storm Wolf sect. Qing Lan Yong remained frozen for a few seconds before he understood the implications of Liang Chen's words, his eyes lighting up with hope and power again. He turned his head and followed Liang Chen's back with his eyes, speaking up after a few seconds, leaving behind a few quick words before leaving.
"Golden Dawn city, the capital of the Dawn's Blade Alliance, that's where I'll gather everyone who I know worked with the Sealing God Empyrean."
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