War Sovereign Soaring The Heavens

"Senior, I'm not lying…" Qin Yu forced a smile as the old lady gazed at him coldly. He felt helpless as the old lady refused to believe him. "Duan Ling Tian had only transcended to the Spirit Overarching Heaven less than five years ago… I, Qin Yu, can attest to that!" Qin Yu said earnestly.

The old lady continued to stare deeply into Qin Yu's eyes, in search of even the slightest hint of guilt, as he met her gaze unflinchingly. Soon enough, she decided he was not lying. She wondered skeptically, 'Is what this young lad said true?'

At this moment, Duan Ling Tian asked in a low voice, "Do you know Murong Bing?"

Murong Bing! The old lady instantly shifted her attention to Duan Ling Tian. She glared at him and sneered. "It seems like you do know Miss Bing is from the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect after all! You should know the reason for your death then!" Her killing intent spiked as she reached the end of her sentence.

'So she's from the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect!' Duan Ling Tian smiled. He had been looking for information about Murong Bing ever since they had separated. Then, he asked, "Does she know you came here to kill me?"

"A man who's about to die doesn't need to know much!" The old lady snorted coldly, her Celestial Origin Energy surged out like a beast on a rampage and caught the four men off guard, sending flying back in the distance.

After Qin Yu stabilized his footing, he discovered something was amiss. His expression changed drastically as he cried out, "Duan Ling Tian!"

Although Duan Ling Tian was sent flying back as well, a grin remained on his face, and he did not lose his composure at all. He thought to himself, 'It seems like she's unaware of this.'

The expression on the old lady's face was unsightly when she saw Duan Ling Tian was still able to smile in this situation. She was, naturally, displeased. She exclaimed with an earth-shattering voice, "Die!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The old lady's Celestial Origin Energy began to surge out from her body again and loomed like dark clouds over Duan Ling Tian before they shrouded him. At this moment, he was like a pig waiting to be slaughtered. Suddenly, the dark clouds began to shrink as though it was being compressed by an invisible force. Its power was rising with every passing second. Without any warning, the force crashed onto Duan Ling Tian.

"You shouldn't dawdle here," Duan Ling Tian said indifferently, "Go back to the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect and tell your sect leader that one day, I'll personally bring betrothal gifts to the sect and marry Murong Bing!"

"Hm?!" The old lady frowned as she had sensed something was amiss. Her expression changed drastically as she exclaimed, "T-the Shadow Void Escaping Talisman?!"

At the same time, the rolling clouds from the old lady's Celestial Origin Energy that had been brewing had reached its peak.

Boom!

It exploded. A huge mushroom cloud appeared immediately.

"Oh, no!"

"Argh!"

Terrifying shockwaves rippled out from the mushroom cloud in all directions. The shockwaves swept through the arena, killing most of the young powerhouses that were less than 100 years old from the 16 counties. Only a handful of them managed to survive. Even the elders and Revered Elders from the 16 counties could barely save themselves as they were severely injured. Only those County Governors who were Great Overarching Golden Celestials were capable of protecting the young powerhouses. Nevertheless, they had their limitations as well. When push came to shove, they only protected those with high potential.

At the spectator seats, the elders and Revered Elders of the Soaring Wind County were gravely injured. Their County Governor, Chu Ting Xuan, could only protect his children, Chu Yan and Chu Yu. The rest of the young powerhouses that came along had all died!

The other counties all shared the same fate as well. Their elders and Revered Elders were severely injured, and the young powerhouses with the highest potential survived under the protection of their County Governors.

Apart from Duan Ling Tian, the remaining top nine powerhouses of the Martial Competition of the 16 Counties were the only young powerhouses who managed to survive.

All 16 counties sitting at the spectator seats had suffered a great loss, however, none suffered greater than Nine Specters County. After all, Tian Ji Yu, their County Governor and the only Great Overarching Golden Celestial in their county, had died. Only a few elders, Revered Elders, and inner-estate elders such as Pang Bing and Zheng Qiu survived. The rest of the young powerhouses had died from the backlash.

The people at the VIP seats were fortunate since there were no deaths among them. Only a few people suffered minor injuries. Seated among the VIPs were members from different sects and clans that were in the territories of King Qin's Mansion. They were stronger and more resourceful than the 16 Counties of King Qin's Mansion and had more Great Overarching Golden Celestials among them. The crowd at the VIP seats owed their lives to those Great Overarching Golden Celestials.

Meanwhile, those from King Qin's Mansion were safe as well. King Qin and the Third Prince had protected Qin Yu with ease. The master of ceremony for the Martial Competition of the 16 Counties was a Great Overarching Golden Celestial as well. It would have been easy for him to protect himself if not for the fact that he was standing closer to the point of explosion. For this reason, he sustained minor injuries. The members of King Qin's Mansion who were sitting behind the curtains in the VIP area were unharmed. Even nine snow-white horses with strength comparable to Violet Sun Golden Celestial were unharmed due to the protection from a few Great Overarching Golden Celestials from King Qin's Mansion.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

In the sky above the arena, the shock waves continued to ripple out to all directions from the mushroom cloud, leaving destruction in its wake. The spectators' seats were in ruins. Only rubble and debris were left. The spectators were forced to take flight into the sky due to this.

After a while, as the mushroom cloud slowly dispersed, a strong gust of wind blew past. Finally, everything became deathly still. The damage done was devastating. Everything was in ruins except for the arena and the area concealed behind the curtains.

At this moment, everyone's attention turned to the old lady in plain robes who was hovering in the sky. She looked just like an unassuming old lady, who knew she would cause everyone present to be filled with fear?

"The powerhouse from the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect is truly terrifying!"

"Such destructive power… It's really terrifying! Most importantly, it wasn't even a direct attack at us, it was just the backlash from the attack to Duan Ling Tian."

"Even a peak Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial isn't this strong, right?"

"This old lady should be a Celestial Duke from the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect?!"

The spectators whispered to one another. It was clear she was stronger than Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestials so she had to be a Celestial Duke at least!

"I-is he… dead?" Chu Yu from the Soaring Wind County looked at the sky anxiously, and yet, she could not see the figure she longed to see.

"He must have survived the attack… If he's dead, there would be traces left behind. Didn't you see there's no blood at all?" Chu Yan said as he shook his head.

Chu Yu surveyed her surroundings. Indeed, there was no blood.

If Duan Ling Tian was killed, even if he was blasted into ashes, there would still be a mist of blood left behind. Since there was none, it was likely that Duan Ling Tian did not die.

"Before the old lady's Celestial Origin Energy peaked, she seemed surprised. I think I heard her say, 'Shadow Void Escaping Talisman'. If I'm right, during the critical moment, Duan Ling Tian had used the Shadow Void Escaping Talisman and escaped," Chu Ting Xuan said in a hushed voice. The gentle and elegant scholar had a gloomy expression on his face since 28 of his young powerhouses had died from the shockwaves.

Up in the sky, Qin Yu who was protected by his uncles, King Qin and the Third Prince, finally regained his senses. He searched around frantically with his eyes for his friend, Duan Ling Tian, as he called out urgently, "Duan Ling Tian!"

"Don't worry, he's fine…" King Qin patted Qin Yu's shoulder as he said, "During the critical moment, he used a Shadow Void Escaping Talisman to escape from here."