The Divine Nine-Dragon Cauldron

Boom—

Shen Ying descended, causing the ground to rumble.

Su Yu calmly observed him. In the past, he did not even have the power to retaliate against this Human King! He was the one who had injured Ling Xiaotian at the Phoenix Cabinet, nearly causing him to lose his life. He was also the one who had given Ling Xiaotian no choice but to sacrifice his own life force to ensure that Su Yu still had a future! Currently, Ling Xiaotian was still on the brink of death, unable to wake up from his coma.

That day, Su Yu had sworn, while escaping, that he would make Shen Ying pay with his blood. The life Ling Xiaotian had given him had brought him to this day. He had finally made it before Shen Ying. He had waited a long time for this battle!

"Why would I have any animosity toward you?" Shen Ying said, sensing the killing intent Su Yu was releasing.

Su Yu’s gaze was peaceful—as calm as a tranquil pool without a ripple. He calmly said, "Strike."

Shen Ying wore a cold gaze, grunting as he said, "Who cares who you are? You are unlucky to have met me!"

Shen Ying released the aura of a Human King. His aura was clearly more powerful than Long Feiting’s, and it assaulted Su Yu in an onslaught.

Su Yu felt a bout of pressure. Even the circulation of spirit energy in his body slowed down. Shen Ying was strong indeed—incredibly close to the level of Half God. If given enough time, it would be rather easy for him to break through to Half God.

"Merciless Blood Palm!" Shen Ying was using a Stage Two Peak immortal-level technique!

Many present watched this scene with eyelids twitching. Everyone knew it was incredibly difficult to cultivate an immortal-level technique to the second stage. It required a top-notch level of perception to be able to take it a step further and cultivate it to the Upper Class or Peak. Shen Ying truly lived up to his title as second-ranked among the Seven Lords of Darkness.

The Merciless Blood Palm pressed forward. Su Yu felt a metallic wind press against his face. A blinding, bloody glow dyed the surroundings red. But Su Yu’s gaze was calm. Chilly energy welled out from his body, turning into an ordinary palm, colliding with the opponent’s Merciless Bloody Palm.

With a dull thud, the Merciless Bloody Palm on Shen Ying’s palm started to freeze.

At the same time, physical power spread from the chilly palm, causing Shen Ying to retreat as he grunted in surprise.

Everyone on the stone pillars was silent. Shen Ying had proven weaker in that direct confrontation!

Those with a keen eye were even more surprised. "Those ice powers are very close to the origin," marveled one onlooker. "This person has a high affinity with ice-based techniques."

Even Qing Zhu felt admiration in his heart.

Yi Yu smiled. "Imagine that..." she said.

Qin Jiuyang raised his brows. "The foundation of his ice-based techniques is extraordinary. According to my knowledge, the origin of any element would give its techniques a new lease on life."

Gang Dalei looked at Su Yu with a complex expression. "Origins are not very effective on the Zhenlong Continent. I heard that Jiuzhou holds origins in higher regard."

Bai Luo silently observed Su Yu, his expression unreadable.

Su Yu looked at the retreating Shen Ying with a cold gaze. He took a step forward as he shook his head. "Merely so-so. You have become weaker."

The look of disdain on Shen Ying’s face turned rigid. What replaced it was an expression of frustration and shame. He had approached this battle with great confidence, but now found himself at an unexpected disadvantage!

"Humph! I was merely careless," he said. "You will not be so lucky next time!"

Buzz, buzz—

A blood-red light glowed on his severed right palm, forming a ball of light the size of a fist. Its lines were clear, similar to a human’s fist. But there was a sinister power within that fist; something writhed within the ball of light.

"Even though I lost my palm due to a certain someone, I have managed to gain a new power!" Shen Ying licked his lips with excitement. His eyes glowed an unnatural, dark red—a sign of an evil demon entering his body. "Go!"

Multiple red tentacles suddenly appeared within the blood-colored ball of light, surrounding Su Yu. Snaps could be heard in the air. The red tentacles were devouring the spirit energy in the air.

"It’s... the bloodline of Evil Ghosts from the Gui clan!"

The Four Great Ancient Clans were surprised.

"No, it is a little different. This seems even more evil."

A metallic stench assaulted Su Yu’s face even before the tentacles neared him. His gaze was calm as he once again shot out a fist. This fist was a ball of crimson flames. The flames turned into a palm-sized bird that opened its beak as it attacked.

At that moment, the putrid tentacles evaporated. The fierce flames followed the path of the tentacles and burned the arm of its owner.

Shen Ying’s expression changed drastically as he exclaimed, "What kind of flames are those?"

He could not recall a flame that could burn a power that was created by his own blood essence. But he had fast reflexes. Clenching his teeth, he severed the ball of light from his arm! But as a result, the giant bird crashed onto his chest, causing him to retreat several steps back. Shen Ying had retreated once again during their second confrontation!

The crowd gasped. The first move that sent Shen Ying retreating could be attributed to Shen Ying being unprepared to face his opponent, but there was no excuse for the second time. Clearly, there was a problem.

Shen Ying observed Su Yu once again. For a long time, his expression was serious. "Might I ask," he said, "who you are? I do not remember offending you."

The animosity of the other party made Shen Ying feel uneasy.

Su Yu calmly said, "Strike. Continue."

Seeing the other party’s attitude, Shen Ying’s gaze flickered, but his expression remained sincere. "How about we count this as a draw? If we continue, we would only expose our trump cards. It would be unfavorable for us going into the Mysterious Heavenly Divine Pavilion."

This was a thought on everybody’s mind. There would certainly be conflict after they entered the Mysterious Heavenly Divine Pavilion. Once their trump cards were on the table, they would naturally be at a disadvantage going into the fights later.

Su Yu paused as if a bit moved by his words.

But at that moment, killing intent flashed in Shen Ying’s eyes. "Die!" he cried.

He suddenly took out a blood-red feather from his sleeves. The ripples of spirit energy on the feather radiated an alarming pressure. This was a top-notch middle-grade divine artifact, similar in quality to the Mountain River Dragon Bow. Furthermore, it had been fully refined. The feather harbored a burning temperature. It was a flame very close to the origin.

"Humph! Challenging me, you chose the wrong person!" Shen Ying said, and he let out a low grunt, manically infusing his spirit energy into the feather.

Blood-red flames charged into the sky, turning into a sea of fire, swallowing the unsuspecting Su Yu. The crowd broke into a state of commotion. No one could have suspected that Shen Ying was still in possession of a top-notch middle-grade divine artifact. This was an artifact not even a Half God level fighter was likely to have.

Furthermore, a Lord of Darkness had stooped to blindsiding his opponent with a sneak attack! It had not been explicitly stated that sneak attacks were disallowed, but it was even harder to accept that a Lord of Darkness resort to such a tactic.

Looking at the sea of fire, Shen Ying rubbed his haggard face. He was a little pale, but his expression had hints of mockery. "All is fair in love and war," he said. "With so little intelligence, you would have died sooner or later anyway. I merely saved us all some time."

The gazes of Qin Jiuyang and Gang Dalei turned cold.

"What’s all this?" demanded Gang Dalei. "Since when can we kill during sparring?" These words were naturally directed to the Seven Lords of Darkness.

The rest of the lords were silent. Even they could not accept Shen Ying’s actions. To kill using a sneak attack was too underhanded.

Bai Luo raised his brows, coldly saying, "A sword does not have a will of its own. Sometimes, it kills due to a slip-up—an unintentional action. Why do you wish to exact revenge for an accident?"

But Bai Luo was lying through his teeth. Shen Ying’s attack had been a blow certain to kill; how could anyone claim it was a slip-up? Furthermore, Bai Luo had craftily labeled Gang Dalei as someone who would seek revenge. Gang Dalei would have to think twice before injuring or killing someone from the Seven Lords of Darkness, lest he confirm Bai Luo’s words. In just a few sentences, he had put Gang Dalei in check.

Gang Dalei had a cold gaze. "These tricks do not work on me! Since the Seven Lords of Darkness dare to kill, I see that I need not hold back. You can say that I am exacting revenge, but if any of you face off against me, do not blame me for delivering a killing blow!"

Bai Luo’s expression turned grave. "You are being unreasonable—"

"Begone!" Gang Dalei snapped. "Just who are you to think that you can reason with me? If you dare to act first, expect me to retaliate without mercy! That cripple down there—I’ll claim his head first. I’ll personally kill you later!"

Gang Dalei had not met Su Yu many times, but he was a person with a sense of justice. He had to exact revenge for Su Yu’s death!

Lord Shen Ying’s expression turned rigid. The mocking glow on his face became grave, his eyelids twitching wildly. This person was going to kill him for Su Yu! A feeling of regret welled up within him.

Bai Luo’s expression was ugly. He instructed in a deep voice, "Shen Ying, admit defeat immediately when you face him."

The Mysterious Heavenly Divine Pavilion had existed for a long time, and its battle systems were highly optimized. If a party admitted defeat yet still faced the pursuit of the other party, it would be safe to assume that the Mysterious Heavenly Divine Pavilion would punish the attacker for violating the rules.

Hearing this, Lord Shen Ying relaxed, a cold smile resurfacing on his lips. In other words, he had already killed Su Yu. The deed was done. What more could they do?

But at this moment, a soft voice came from within the flames that still burned in midair.

"I appreciate the gesture, Brother Dalei," said the voice, "but I should be the one that exacts my own revenge!"

The crowd was shocked. For Su Yu to be alive despite being engulfed in the harsh flames—how was that possible?

Puuu—

The harsh flames suddenly split open. A crimson figure flew out from within, turning into an afterimage as he charged toward Lord Shen Ying. Lord Shen Ying was caught off guard and was hit square in the face!

Boom—

With that dull thud, all the crowd could see was Su Yu enveloped in a horrifying flame, stepping on Lord Shen Ying’s face.

The flames on his body were several times harsher than those released by the blood-colored feather. Those flames could not injure Su Yu!

At this moment, Su Yu’s eyes were filled with icy killing intent. He looked down on Lord Shen Ying as he stepped on him, saying, "Unfortunately, I am no longer who I was in the past, but you have not changed one bit. You have retained your despicable character!"

Su Yu exerted a little force, sending the flame origin charging onto Shen Ying, enveloping his body. All that could be heard was Lord Shen Ying’s wail of pain before his body turned to ash.