Chapter 13: Sword Qi Soars to the Heavens

Watching the dazzling fighting aura in the sky and the roaring dragon charging down, Chen Nan shouted, “Overlord Divine Spear!”

The spear in his hand blossomed into more than a dozen spear flowers in the air, each one transforming into a sharp beam of light shooting straight upward. The hiss of parting air rang out nonstop.

The surrounding crowd revealed looks of utter shock, and cries of alarm instantly erupted from all sides.

“Good heavens—those are actual spear lights!”

“That’s the sword-qi of an Eastern warrior!”

“He’s really reached the realm of manifesting qi outside the body!”

“Only a third-rank Eastern martial artist can do that!”

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In that moment, Chen Nan truly resembled an invincible overlord—domineering and awe-inspiring. His spear struck the sky; the golden beams of light shattered the airborne fighting aura in an instant, and the central beam shot straight toward the diving dragon.

The Dragon Knight’s face turned deathly pale. He hastily reined in the dragon’s descent and swerved sharply to the side.

The golden beam grazed past the dragon’s flank, cutting through scales as hard as steel and leaving a thin trail of blood.

The dragon let out a mournful cry. Without waiting for its master’s order, it soared back into the high skies.

Outside the field, cheers thundered like a storm. The crowd was beside itself with excitement—from the moment the Mage had taken the stage until now, this was the first time Chu had gained the upper hand.

Looking down at the jubilant sea of people and that lone figure standing in the center with a spear in hand, the Dragon Knight burned with fury. To be repelled by a single spear strike while riding a dragon—he felt mortally insulted. He once again urged his dragon into a steep dive.

His hair whipped wildly in the wind, crimson fighting aura flickering over his entire body like dancing flames. Gripping his Dragon-Slaying Spear with both hands, he charged straight at Chen Nan.

This time, Chen Nan gripped the spear with both hands as well, pouring all his internal power into the weapon. It was a gamble—he wanted a swift victory, to defeat his foe with one strike.

The spear seemed to come alive, the entire shaft engulfed in golden light. The body trembled slightly, and from the tip a beam of light three meters long burst forth, sending a chill through anyone who saw it.

In the blink of an eye, dragon and rider arrived. Raising his long spear like a staff, Chen Nan shouted, “Sky-Tilting Staff!”

This overwhelmingly powerful strike brought with it the sound of wind and thunder. The spear stirred up a blinding radiance as it slammed toward the diving dragon and its rider.

The Dragon Knight had also concentrated all his power into the Dragon-Slaying Spear. His bright, dazzling fighting aura blazed as he used the dragon’s momentum to crash down upon Chen Nan.

“Junior Brother, dodge—!” The remaining Dragon Knight, who had been watching from the sidelines, could not help but shout in alarm.

The diving Dragon Knight also sensed the terrifying surge of energy contained in that blow—but it was already too late to evade. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to take it head-on.

“Sky-Tilting Staff” shattered the Dragon Knight’s fighting aura, snapped his Dragon-Slaying Spear, and came crashing down toward his chest.

Paralyzed with terror, the Dragon Knight tumbled from the dragon’s back just in time to avoid the fatal strike. However, the spear-light from the tip slashed across his abdomen like a blade, opening a gruesome, through-and-through wound. Blood sprayed wildly as he screamed and crashed to the ground.

Though it missed the knight, the strike landed squarely on the dragon. The massive beast was sent flying more than ten zhang, slamming into the earth with a thunderous crash.

The entire training ground fell silent. Nearly half a minute passed before earth-shaking cheers erupted.

In just two strikes—piercing the Dragon Knight with his spear and crushing the dragon with his “staff”—Chen Nan left the Chu crowd breathless with excitement, roaring and shouting without restraint.

The experts among the army murmured in awe: “A third-rank Eastern martial artist… terrifying, absolutely terrifying. There’s no choice but to admire him.”

The Qishi Mansion was abuzz with discussion. Some senior martial artists remarked, “Although using overwhelming internal power to force a confrontation is somewhat opportunistic, there’s no denying this young man’s shocking cultivation…”

At the center of the viewing platform, Chu Yue frowned in thought. “His skill is so profound… yet he was captured by Yu’er earlier. How strange…”

The little princess had been dancing with joy at first, but now she muttered to herself, “How did this guy get so strong all of a sudden? And why can he draw the Houyi Bow? What a weird bastard…”

Had Chen Nan and the Dragon Knight fought a normal duel, it might have taken dozens of moves to determine the victor. But both chose to clash with full-powered strikes, and those two mighty blows decided the outcome instantly.

Chen Nan turned to glance in Nalan Ruoshui’s direction, but to his regret, he saw only her retreating back. For some reason, she was walking away from the arena.

Around the training ground, the cheers of the crowd took a long time to subside.

The last remaining Dragon Knight slowly walked to the center of the field. A palpable aura of mastery radiated from him; the overwhelming presence weighed heavily on everyone present. The venue fell into abrupt silence—even the civil officials, who understood nothing of cultivation, could sense how fearsome this Dragon Knight was.

He stripped off his shirt, revealing bronzed, sculpted muscles. Tossing the garment aside casually, the fabric disintegrated mid-air, drifting down like scattered petals.

Chen Nan regarded the Dragon Knight quietly. “You are strong. But you are still not my match.”

“I know. And yet, I will win.”

Chen Nan was puzzled—he did not understand why the man said that.

The Dragon Knight threw back his head and roared, his voice shaking the skies.

A massive black shape approached from the distance. A giant dragon over thirty zhang long appeared above the training ground, blotting out the sun like a dark cloud, casting a vast shadow over the earth.

It was a black dragon—its scales pitch-black and gleaming, its tail terrifying, its wings enormous, and its draconic head ferocious and soul-chilling.

Everyone present turned ashen. No one had expected that the final Dragon Knight would possess a fourth-rank dragon. This was practically unbeatable!

Even the ever-confident Emperor Chu Han frowned deeply. He wondered—could Chen Nan, armed with the Houyi Bow, truly deal with such a terrifying black dragon?

Chu Yue had seen Chen Nan fight before and knew his fearsome strength with the Houyi Bow, yet she still felt a trace of unease.

The little princess, however, was not worried in the least. She murmured, “Oh no… this scoundrel’s going to become famous. If he shoots down that giant dragon, he’ll shake the entire continent… This is terrible…”

The members of the Qishi Mansion broke into heated discussion.

The old poison master said, “This makes no sense. That young man is merely a second-rank Dragon Knight—how could he possibly have a fourth-rank dragon?”