May I seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, and live a long and prosperous life.

The Third Prince frowned upon hearing this and replied:

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, Your Excellency. Although Ye Tianzi is a citizen of my Chu Kingdom, he is not a warrior under my command and is not bound by me. He is merely a pure patriotic warrior. If you wish for Ye Tianzi to compete with you, this matter requires Ye Tianzi's own consent. We have no right to decide for him."

These words startled the white-haired old cult leader. He had thought that Ye Tianzi was just a subordinate of the other party and under his jurisdiction. He did not expect that this person had such a high status in the other party's camp that even the Third Prince could not decide his affairs.

Suddenly, a voice, seemingly from nowhere, resounded throughout the entire Snow Mountain Sect's gate.

"I, the Night Emperor, accept your challenge. See you at midnight tonight!"

The scene erupted in uproar.

"This is the legendary 'Thousand-Mile Transmission of Sound,' which can only be mastered by those with exceptional internal strength!"

"I've heard that the Night Emperor only appears at night, and now it seems that's indeed true!"

The white-haired old cult leader frowned. "A challenge is fine, but why choose midnight? Wouldn't daytime be better? It's dark and chilly at night; it's really a bit like the underworld."

He was clearly unaware of the Night Emperor's strange habit; those familiar with the Night Emperor would find this habit perfectly normal.

However, since the Night Emperor had personally accepted the challenge, he didn't care whether it was day or night. He replied, "Night Emperor, let's meet at midnight then. We'll settle this with a single battle!"

In the crowd, Li Heng had just accepted the challenge using telepathy, but it wasn't an impulsive decision; it was the result of careful consideration.

First, after lying low for so long, his true strength needs to be tested.

Secondly, if this white-haired old cult leader is not dealt with, it is highly likely that Chen Tianwang and other high-ranking figures will not be able to leave with him. Chen Tianwang and other pseudo-Liang high-ranking figures are people that Li Heng must kill, and they must not be allowed to go unpunished.

That white-haired old cult leader is most likely a late-stage Grandmaster. If it weren't for Ye Tianzi's presence, even the Third Prince might be in mortal danger.

The reason why a Grandmaster is a Grandmaster is because he has earned his reputation through real strength. Once he becomes a Grandmaster, he can go anywhere in the world. If a Grandmaster wants to escape, apart from the freak Li Heng, there are few who can stop him.

Third, even if he couldn't defeat the white-haired old master, Li Heng could easily escape with his unparalleled lightness skill. At worst, he could escape to the Poison Dragon Pool and begin seclusion, never to emerge until he reached the Grandmaster level!

However, this is the worst-case scenario. If that happens, the Third Prince's side will also be in danger, and Chen Tianwang might actually make a comeback. Li Heng will never approve of Chen Tianwang. He has killed too many people. If the world is handed over to him, the people will have no way to survive.

In his long-term observation, the Third Prince was a capable prince who understood how to care for the people's livelihood. If he became emperor in the future, the world should be at peace! The people would be able to live and work in peace and contentment, which was the biggest reason why he had been secretly assisting the Third Prince all along!

……

Time flies, and it's already midnight.

At this moment, the cold wind was biting, snowflakes filled the sky, and the earth was pitch black, with only a few specks of moonlight scattered in all directions.

The area around the snow mountain martial arts training ground was now packed with people.

The white-haired old cult leader appeared precisely at the center of the training ground, quietly awaiting the arrival of the Night Emperor.

After waiting for about half a cup of tea's time, a gust of cold wind howled past, and from where the wind came, a dark shadow suddenly flashed out.

The dark figure, seemingly slow but actually fast, swiftly moved from the edge of the training ground to its center.

After he arrived at the training ground and stood still, he still left a trail of afterimages behind him, the furthest of which was at the very edge of the training ground, a distance of two hundred meters.

The furthest afterimage lasted for a full breath (5 seconds) before slowly dissipating.

This performance shocked many of the grandmasters and martial artists present.

This means that this person's lightness skill has reached the pinnacle, and can be called the fastest in the world. This kind of speed has not been seen for several hundred years. Only the martial arts history records that more than 500 years ago, the number one chivalrous thief in the world, Liu Xiang Gongzi, had a similar speed that could leave afterimages.

However, this young master Liuxiang could only create three afterimages at most, and each afterimage could only stay for a second. This was far inferior to the performance of the black shadow that created dozens of afterimages today, and the afterimages could stay for more than a breath.

The figure in black was none other than Li Heng. At this moment, he was still dressed in black and masked, mysterious and unpredictable.

"Such swift lightness skill! Who exactly is this Night Emperor? He has yet to reveal his true face, so we still don't know whether he is male or female, or how old he is!" A first-rank martial artist who looked like a scholar exclaimed in surprise.

"The Night Emperor is here! The Night Emperor will surely win!"

"The Night Emperor is a legendary martial artist of our Chu Kingdom, who turned the tide and saved the collapsing empire! In the battle of Yun City, he single-handedly defeated numerous heroes, his fame shaking the world. Wherever he went, bandits trembled in fear, and he could even stop the children of bandits from crying at night. The Third Prince, being benevolent and righteous, built a shrine for the Night Emperor, erected a monument to his merits, and bestowed upon him the title of Protector of the Nation! May he receive incense offerings for ten thousand generations! With his arrival, the martial artists of our Chu Kingdom have found their backbone!"

In the training ground, Li Heng stood still, looking at the white-haired old master with a calm expression, neither happy nor angry.

"A challenge, life or death is no objection. If neither side has any objections, then let's officially begin!" After the referee shouted "Start," he quickly moved away from the arena, afraid of being caught in the crossfire of the fight.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony!"

The white-haired old cult leader stared at Ye Tianzi with murderous intent. The current cult leader and three true disciples had all died at his hands, so he naturally hated Li Heng even more.

After saying that, the white-haired old cult leader took the initiative to launch an attack.

He immediately used his signature move, the Ten Thousand Miles of Frozen Palm.

This "Ten Thousand Miles of Ice-Sealing Palm" is, as the name suggests, capable of freezing the area around the enemy. Although "ten thousand miles" is an exaggeration, it can still freeze an area of ​​about ten feet.

The white-haired old cult leader's palms emitted white frost as he pushed them towards Li Heng. A meter-long ice dragon flew towards Li Heng, who instantly felt the biting cold, as if the surrounding space and his body were about to be frozen solid.

Li Heng instantly activated a move from the Nine Tribulations Nirvana Technique called the Phoenix Flame Burning Heaven Palm.

Gradually, Li Heng's entire body became intensely hot, turning crimson red, and the chilling ice dragon could no longer penetrate his body even a fraction of an inch.

Moreover, the crimson heat emanated from him and spread outwards, gradually melting the ice dragon and slowly spreading to the training ground, causing the snow that had remained unmelted for years to begin to melt into clear water.

The white-haired old master's signature move was thus silently neutralized by Li Heng.

"An eye for an eye, so take this!"

At this moment, Li Heng's right palm had accumulated an astonishing amount of heat. Under the influence of his powerful internal force, a crimson phoenix gradually condensed in his palm. Li Heng gently pushed it forward, and the crimson phoenix immediately circled in the air for a while before rushing towards the white-haired old sect leader!

Wherever the crimson phoenix passed, the snow melted rapidly.

The white-haired old cult leader's eyes were solemn. He once again used the Ten Thousand Mile Ice-Sealing Palm, transforming into an ice dragon that rushed towards the crimson phoenix.

The two collided in mid-air, and instantly, an invisible energy wave swept across the entire training ground.