The Heavens: Man Covers the Heavens, Refines Treasures to Become an Emperor

As dusk fell, Su Mei's beautiful eyes darted around, watching the figure surrounded by a storm on the arena. A charming smile involuntarily curved her lips as she chuckled inwardly.

"That little rascal still loves to do things unexpectedly, making people's hearts race."

Wen Mingxiu stared blankly at the arena, her heart filled with mixed emotions, which finally turned into a complicated sigh.

"So... this is his true strength? The gap between us has become so vast..."

On the arena, the storm gradually subsided.

Jiang Xuan was still surrounded by a faint, ethereal blue glow, which was the outward manifestation of highly condensed spiritual energy.

He stood quietly, exuding an extraordinary air, a stark contrast to his previous unassuming demeanor. It was as if a dusty pearl had suddenly been wiped clean, radiating a dazzling light with a mysterious and powerful aura.

In contrast, Huang Jianchen, who had been the extremely powerful Azure Fire Ghost King, was knocked down to the mortal world and was lying on the light screen in a sorry state, with a trace of blood still remaining at the corner of his mouth. Compared with Huang Jianchen, Jiang Xuan seemed even more immovable and unfathomable.

"No...impossible! How could you possibly break my 'Night Parade of One Hundred Demons'?!"

Unable to accept this cruel reality, Huang Jianchen suddenly got up from the ground, his expression extremely cold, and his dark blue eyes filled with murderous intent.

"I admit I underestimated you! But from now on, I won't give you any more chances!"

Jiang Xuan looked at him with a sincere expression and spoke in a calm tone.

"Brother Huang, you seem to have said something similar before. If you keep saying this, wouldn't it be very embarrassing if you lost again?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly throughout the entire room.

The audience was stunned at first, then realized that this was clearly mocking Huang Jianchen for making a boastful statement that had backfired! Immediately, a burst of suppressed laughter erupted in the arena.

Liu Qingyan couldn't help but burst out laughing in the private room, and scolded him playfully.

"This guy's strength has increased, and his words have become even more eloquent."

Granny Feng looked at her young mistress's genuine smile and felt a slight pang in her heart. It seemed that her young mistress truly felt differently about Jiang Xuan...

Huang Jianchen was so choked by Jiang Xuan's words that he almost couldn't breathe. He felt his face burning, his heart itching with hatred, and his expression was extremely ugly.

He stared intently at Jiang Xuan, squeezing out a few words through gritted teeth.

"Do you really think... I can't do anything to you?!"

Before he could finish speaking, Huang Jianchen suddenly let out a furious roar! The roar was not like a human voice, but rather like the howl of a ferocious ghost crawling out of the deepest hell, shrill and ear-piercing, making the entire arena seem to tremble!
With that long howl, the already terrifying emerald flames around him suddenly surged, as if they had been doused with boiling oil, and burned fiercely! The Yin Spirit Whip in his hand trembled violently, spreading out circles of eerie, pale green light!

"Uuuuuuu——!"

"Jiejiejie——!"

A chilling wailing sound suddenly arose, even more intense and shrill than during the previous "Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts"! On the arena, the void seemed to be torn open with countless rifts, and hundreds and thousands of incredibly solid ghost phantoms, carrying soaring ghostly energy, swarmed out, baring their fangs and claws!

These grotesque ghostly figures, some spewing emerald flames, others tearing through the air with their claws, instantly transformed the entire arena into a true ghostly realm, filled with howling winds and eerie atmosphere. Their power and strangeness were more than twice as strong as the previous "Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts"!
"A Thousand Ghosts Transform into Hell!"

Huang Jianchen's face flushed an unnatural red, and he suddenly spat out a small mouthful of blood, clearly indicating that forcibly activating this move had put a great strain on him.

His deep blue eyes were fixed on Jiang Xuan, and he spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice like the chilling depths of hell.

"Use the spirits as a guide, and a thousand ghosts will be cast into a prison! Suppress and kill them!"

In an instant, the entire arena seemed to transform into an entrance to a hellish hell. The terrifying power made even cultivators at the Earthly Realm feel their hearts pound and their faces turn solemn!
Chu Feng, Liu Qingyan, Mu Wansu and the others, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, were instantly on edge again, and their expressions changed drastically once more!
Qi Yunxiao, Yuan Shu, and the scions of powerful clans seemed to have been given a shot of adrenaline, and became excited again!
"He still has a backup plan! Huang Jianchen hasn't lost yet!"

"Is this his real trump card? This is terrifying!"

"Jiang Xuan is doomed! There's absolutely no way he can stop him!"

Huang Jianchen hovered among thousands of evil spirits, his body engulfed in blazing green flames, his aura overwhelming, as if he were the ruler of the ghost realm. He enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention and controlling life and death. He wanted to use Jiang Xuan's crushing defeat as a stepping stone to his own fame!

Jiang Xuan's figure had been completely enveloped and swallowed by the countless phantoms of evil spirits and the raging azure flames, almost invisible. The entire arena was deathly silent; everyone held their breath, staring intently at the ghostly arena, awaiting the final outcome.

However, within this extreme silence and oppression—

"Zheng——!"

A clear and resonant sword cry, filled with boundless joy and ferocity, burst forth from the core of that hellish inferno, like the first ray of dawn tearing through the darkness!

Immediately afterwards, a fierce light, condensed to its extreme and as black as the eternal night, suddenly shone brightly like a falling meteor! It swept forward with an overwhelming and unstoppable force!

Wherever it passed, the hideous, roaring phantoms of evil spirits seemed to have encountered their nemesis, letting out mournful howls as they melted and crumbled like snow under the sun! The seemingly terrifying and boundless eerie green flames were like paper lanterns before this fierce light, easily torn apart and pierced!
"That's... the light of a blade?!"

"It's Jiang Xuan! He hasn't lost yet!"

"My God! What kind of swordsmanship is that?!"

A deafening roar erupted from the audience, completely shattering the previous deathly silence!
Huang Jianchen's expression of enjoyment and confidence suddenly froze. He snapped back to reality and realized that the situation had already taken another turn for the worse!
That dark, menacing light was emitted by Jiang Xuan wielding the "Flowing Light" battle blade! The blade hummed, as if celebrating this ultimate slaughter! Wherever the menacing light passed, all things scattered!
The next moment, Jiang Xuan's figure burst out from the shattered ghost fire and afterimages of evil spirits like a ghost! He held the Flowing Light Blade in his hand, his body moving with the blade, transforming into an indestructible sharp edge, charging and killing across the arena!

Chop, hack, flick, slice, slash, stab!

In his hands, the basic "Six-Character Sword Technique" was transformed from the mundane to the extraordinary, each strike simple, precise, and swift to the extreme! The pitch-black blade light was like the scythe of death, and with each flash, it inevitably took away large swaths of emerald flames and phantom images of evil spirits!
He was no longer on the defensive; instead, he launched an incredibly powerful counterattack! Unstoppable, all who stood in his way were shattered!
"Wow! So cool!"

"Jiang Xuan! Jiang Xuan!"

"My God! Is this his true strength?!"

The entire audience erupted in cheers because of this sudden comeback! Many young women, in particular, screamed with excitement! Jiang Xuan's unstoppable and all-conquering power at this moment was deeply imprinted in the hearts of countless people.

The important figures in each private room were also completely moved. They stared intently at Jiang Xuan's seemingly simple sword technique, which contained an indescribable Daoist charm, trying to see through its origins, but they found it like looking at flowers through fog, becoming more and more astonished and suspicious the more they looked!

In just a few breaths, the terrifying scene of "Thousand Ghosts Transforming into Hell" was completely swept away by Jiang Xuan with just himself and his sword, like a whirlwind sweeping away fallen leaves!
On the arena, the green flames went out, the ghostly figures vanished, and the eerie wind ceased.

Only Jiang Xuan remained, standing with his knife in hand, his aura still steady, his eyes as calm as ever.

And opposite him, Huang Jianchen, his face deathly pale and his eyes vacant, seemed to have lost his soul.

Qi Yunxiao, Yuan Shu, and the other aristocratic scions were completely stunned, as if struck on the head by an invisible club. They stood there with their mouths agape, unable to utter a sound for a long time.

Huang Jianchen stared blankly at the empty arena, then at Jiang Xuan, whose aura was deep and imposing, unable to accept this cruel defeat.

Jiang Xuan looked at him and spoke calmly, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

"Brother Huang, it seems you've exhausted your tricks. Now, isn't it my turn to strike?"

He carried the dark, menacing, gleaming battle blade and walked step by step toward Huang Jianchen.

Each step he took wasn't heavy, yet it felt as if he were stepping on the heartbeats of everyone present, sending chills down their spines! Only now did many realize with horror that Jiang Xuan's actions weren't passive defense at all. He was clearly waiting, waiting for Huang Jianchen to unleash his full power, and then... to completely crush him with absolute strength!

Huang Jianchen finally realized this as well. His expression changed drastically, and his gaze toward Jiang Xuan was filled with shock, humiliation, resentment, and a trace of fear that even he himself was unwilling to admit!
As Jiang Xuan drew closer, he raised the Flowing Light Battle Blade in his hand, its dark blade locking onto him, and a chilling aura of death instantly enveloped his entire body!

Under the incredulous gazes of everyone, Huang Jianchen suddenly jolted, as if using all his strength, and screamed.

"I surrender!!"

These two words were like a thunderclap, exploding in the air above the arena!
Jiang Xuan paused in his steps, a look of utter astonishment appearing on his face for the first time.

The entire audience fell silent for a moment, then erupted into an even louder uproar!

admit defeat?
Huang Jianchen, a genius scion of the Huang clan of the Forbidden City, possessing a second-grade mutated spiritual energy pool called the "Chain of the Black Prison" and cultivating the lost secret technique "Mother and Child Yin Ghost Scripture," actually... admitted defeat in front of everyone?!
For the proud and arrogant scions of powerful families, this was an utter disgrace! It was even more damaging to their dignity than defeat in battle!
Granny Feng murmured in the private room.

"This child... is extraordinary."

The power contained in his swordsmanship was domineering and unparalleled, yet it also possessed an indescribable spirituality; even I, an old woman, could not discern its origins…

Liu Qingyan let out a long sigh of relief, a relieved smile appearing on her beautiful face, followed by a slight blush of embarrassment at her earlier nervousness.

Chu Feng was so excited that he jumped up in the private room, waving his fists.

"We won! Hahaha! Brother Jiang Xuan won!"

Wen Mingxiu looked at the young man standing alone on the stage with a knife, then at Qi Yunxiao and the others who were frozen in shock. She sighed inwardly, "Has the gap between us... really become this big?"
The atmosphere in Xie Yutang's private room had dropped to freezing point.

His face was gloomy, and anger surged in his eyes.

He was not only angry that Huang Jianchen had lost, but also that he had lost in such a spineless manner, admitting defeat in public! This had utterly disgraced the clans! At the same time, he was also somewhat surprised that Jiang Xuan had achieved such success, but this did not change his opinion of Jiang Xuan.

Those scions of powerful families were all as if they had lost their parents, their faces deathly pale.

The arena was in complete chaos! Countless people were chanting Jiang Xuan's name, celebrating his unexpected victory! Huang Jianchen, on the other hand, became a mere backdrop to defeat, receiving only a few words of regret and disdain for his act of surrender.

Jiang Xuan stood in the center of the arena, not blinded by victory.

He watched as Huang Jianchen across from him quickly concealed all his aura, reverted to his usual dull appearance, and silently turned to leave. Instead of feeling relieved, a strange killing intent surged within him.

"When the situation turns unfavorable, one should decisively admit defeat to save oneself... This kind of judgment requires extraordinary courage and extreme control over one's own emotions."

Jiang Xuan's eyes turned slightly cold.

"Such people are the most terrifying if they become enemies."

He slowly suppressed the fleeting, chilling killing intent that crossed his mind. Today's battle was ultimately just a duel, not a life-or-death struggle. Under the watchful eyes of so many, he could not, and would not, take Huang Jianchen's life.

Moreover, the occasion didn't allow it.

Without glancing at the dejected and silent Huang Jianchen, Jiang Xuan turned and calmly left the arena under the watchful eyes of countless fervent, admiring, and complex gazes.

Walking along the bustling street on his way back to his residence, the afterglow of the setting sun cast a long, slender shadow of him.

Thoughts raced through his mind. He recalled Xie Yutang's meticulously planned scheme of "praising to death," and realized that even he hadn't anticipated Huang Jianchen's eventual public surrender. This undoubtedly thwarted most of Xie Yutang's plans.

"However, the feud with Huang Jianxiong has finally come to an end."

Jiang Xuan felt relieved.

He knew very well that the scions of those powerful families in the Forbidden City would not truly give up because of this defeat; their inherent pride and vengeful nature would not change.

But at least during this time in Yanxia City, with Granny Feng's warning from that day, Xie Yutang's side should not dare to openly provoke trouble again. For him, this temporary peace is enough.

Back in that secluded little courtyard, pushing open the gate, I saw Xue Jin still lying in the rocking chair, holding his signature large wine jar, drinking alone in the sunset. Hearing footsteps, he didn't turn his head, but lazily spoke.

"You're back? Looks like you didn't embarrass me."

He didn't even ask about the result, as if Jiang Xuan's victory was a matter of course.

"Ah."

Jiang Xuan responded, walked to the stone table, sat down, and picked up an empty bowl. Xue Jin glanced at him, casually broke the clay seal of a new jar of wine, and filled it for him.

A gentle night breeze, carrying the coolness of early summer, rustled the leaves of the trees in the courtyard. Above, the stars gradually lit up, sparkling like diamonds, casting a cool glow that bathed the courtyard in tranquility. (End of Chapter)