Chapter 1010: Instant of Glory
If Xiao Chen had not comprehended such a move, he would not have survived against ten Deity Race great grandmaster-level Martial Sages who had established their Deity Statues.
Originally, he had planned on using this move to deal with Di Wuque at the King conferral ceremony. However, Di Wuque had been overly ruthless, materializing the Deities' Nation into a solid state. His attack had heavily injured Xiao Chen and prevented him from executing it.
Otherwise, without needing Ao Jiao to make a move, Xiao Chen would have been able to defeat Di Wuque as well.
What is this move called? Ao Jiao asked excitedly.
Instant of Glory.
An instant of saber light materializing all sorts of scenes, its name was glory; fame followed its merit.
When the black-clad old man lying half-dead on the ground saw this scene, he was so frightened that his soul nearly scattered. He put in his full effort to take out a peak grade Divine Flame Talisman and quickly left this place.
When the disciples on the walls around the palace saw the black-clad old man burning into flames and disappearing, they recovered their wits from being awed by Xiao Chen's move.
Xiao Chen entered deep thought, and his brows knit tightly. It was clear that the other party had provoked him on purpose.
Then, these people used the black-clad old man as bait. Even after the black-clad old man lost, they took the opportunity to kill him.
This plan came in layers. Their purpose was probably not as simple as just retrieving the Sea Monarch Crown.
"First Senior Sister, I'll go and chase after this person. There is no need to worry for me."
The Freedom Wings unfurled on Xiao Chen's back. Then, he instantly executed the Freedom Wings' Magic Skill—So Close Yet Worlds Apart. With one step, he appeared fifty kilometers away.
Shui Lingling could not help but sigh. She said helplessly, "That is a peak grade Divine Flame Talisman, which is extremely rare and precious. How can Xiao Chen catch up?"
Up in the air, Xiao Chen looked around. He extended his Spiritual Sense but did not sense anything.
Without any change of expression, he adjusted his orientation and activated So Close Yet Worlds Apart again, chasing in another direction.
Even with a peak grade Divine Flame Talisman, the black-clad old man would only travel five hundred kilometers. As long as the other party stopped moving for a while, Xiao Chen could find him after spending some time using the Freedom Wings.
---
At a mountain five hundred kilometers away in the northwest direction, seven youths in dragon robes of various colors had gathered at the summit and were casually chatting.
Seven warships of different colors hovered high in the sky. They gave off a vast might and looked extraordinary.
Based on the warships' appearance and the Ancient Demonic Energy Cannons on them, they were definitely peak King Grade warships.
The seven youths looked handsome and extraordinary, emanating noble auras, their faces displaying a natural arrogance. Although they were young, they were all grandmaster-level Martial Sages.
They were more or less equal to the talented youths of the Kunlun Continent.
The leader of the group, a youth wearing black dragon robes, appeared even more extraordinary. He was about equal to the Iron Hand Sovereign's descendant Wang Can, or the Underworld Fire Sovereign's descendant Wei Hua, or similar outstanding talents.
These seven people were the Young Marquises of the seven colored Marquises. They were famous in the Heavenly Starry Ocean as the Seven Distinguished Dragon Marquises.
The youth in the black dragon robes was Huan Qiuyu. As the leader of these seven, he was the strongest.
"Qiuyu, why are the elders not back yet? Whether they succeeded or not, they have peak grade Divine Flame Talismans on them. They should have returned already."
Huan Quiyu smiled and replied, "There is no need to worry. I gathered information about Xiao Chen from many places. Based on his performance at the King conferral ceremony, facing six peak great grandmaster-level Martial Sages at the same time should be his limit. He will definitely die this time. Not only the Sea Monarch Crown but also all the treasures on him will belong to us."
The youth in white dragon robes smiled and said, "I wonder why the descendant of the Eastern Sea King's faction was willing to give us six peak grade Divine Flame Talismans."
"That is indeed strange. If not for those six peak Divine Flame Talismans, we would not dare to take such risk."
"He wants to pick out one thing from the spoils, and it will not be the Sea Monarch Crown or any of the gifts that Xiao Chen received. That is certainly strange."
"That person has always been mysterious. Even the current Marquises of our various clans all hold him in high regard. I heard that the other three Sea Kings also have some sort of friendship with him."
"He is just a junior, and yet he manages to mingle with so many older-generation experts. He is really extraordinary."
As the seven youths discussed, the topic shifted to the descendant from the Eastern Sea King's faction. When Huan Qiuyu spoke about this person, he even showed a pondering expression.
"Boom!"
A clump of flame appeared at the summit and became the old man that Xiao Chen severely injured. He was very weak and continuously coughed out blood from his mouth.
The seven stopped speaking, their expressions changing drastically. Huan Qiuyu supported the old man and quickly asked, "First Uncle, why are you back alone? Where are the other six uncles?"
The old man panted as he replied breathlessly, "Leave, quickly. When the other six worked together, Xiao Chen chopped them all in half with one saber strike."
"First Uncle, you're joking, right? Those are six peak great grandmaster-level Martial Sages. How could Xiao Chen chop them all down with one saber strike?" Huan Qiuyu did not believe it at all. This was simply too ridiculous.
The other youths also showed expressions of disbelief. Could it be that at the age of twenty-eight, Xiao Chen had already reached a level unparalleled among great grandmaster-level Martial Sages?
How could it be? Such a level normally required one to have had many fortuitous encounters and at least three hundred years of age. Only a great grandmaster-level Martial Sage that refined half their Heavenly Sage Laws into Heavenly Laws could achieve it.
The old man still wanted to continue speaking. However, his expression turned horror-struck.
He took a deep breath, then quickly soared into the air as if he saw something extremely terrifying and was fleeing in a hurry.
However, as the old man was halfway to the sky, a saber light flew by, looking like a bright moon. A bloody hole appeared in his forehead, and blood spurted out like a fountain; he died on the spot.
The Seven Distinguished Dragon Marquises turned around and saw Xiao Chen hovering in the air, standing upright with his hands clasped behind his back. He was dressed in azure and wore the Sea Monarch Headscarf.
"The few of you are really easy for this Xiao to find. You sent out seven great grandmaster-level Martial Sages into the Supreme Sky Sect to try to forcefully kill me. If not for my strength soaring recently, I would have fallen for it," Xiao Chen said expressionlessly as he glared at the seven before him.
As Xiao Chen looked at the seven, they felt an uncanny horror, and their bodies trembled.
This was truly strange. His gaze clearly did not contain any killing Qi.
Huan Qiuyu's face sank. He secretly projected his voice, First Uncle might have been telling the truth. We should split up. Every one of us that can escape is one more of us.
"Whoosh!"
Black, white, yellow, green, azure, blue, and purple, seven different lights flashed. The seven all moved in different directions, scattering everywhere.
Xiao Chen snorted coldly. After putting in so much effort, he managed to chase the old man to this place. How could he let these seven off so easily?
The Magic Energy in Xiao Chen's sea of consciousness burned, and the Beautiful Mountain and River Painting in his left hand appeared. Mountains, rivers, and clouds manifested in the air.
In that instant, a strong suction came from the small world, sucking in the seven beams of light that were the seven youths.
It looked like the lights flowed in reverse as the painting took them in.
Suddenly, a vast, boundless ocean appeared at the horizon with waves surging up. At the end of the distant ocean, a red sun started to rise.
Together with the red sun was a boundless sword light. It was like the blazing rising sun, vast and unblockable.
The moment the sword light appeared, the mountains, rivers, clouds, and sky were all forced back. The Beautiful Mountain and River Painting seemed empty. It returned to being a painting and landed in Xiao Chen's palm.
The seven beams of light took the opportunity to escape pell-mell as if they had been granted amnesty.
After the master of that sword light sent out that attack, he quickly left, disappearing with the ocean and leaving behind no traces.
Xiao Chen paused in the air, not giving chase. He had already used most of his Vital Qi, drained most of his Magic Energy, and not much of his Heavenly Sage Laws remained.
Even if he pursued them, he would not gain much benefit.
Looking in the direction that person had taken, Xiao Chen muttered, "What a pity! If this Immortal Equipment were complete, he would not have been able to save those seven even with ten sword lights."
At the same time, he felt very dubious. Who was this person who attacked?
When the wind scattered and Xiao Chen looked up, he saw seven dragon-shaped warships of various colors turning about in the sky, preparing to leave quickly.
The Seven Distinguished Dragon Marquises had been in such a rush to flee that they had not taken their warships. Now, the masters of these seven warships were absent. Furthermore, there were no experts aboard. How could they possibly escape under Xiao Chen's nose?
He opened his left hand, and the Beautiful Mountain and River Painting reappeared. Mountains, rivers, and lakes materialized in the air. The small world suddenly took form. Soon, he had collected the seven King Grade warships into his palm.
With a flip of his hand, Xiao Chen saw the seven peak King Grade warships moving around like headless flies in the world within the painting inside his palm.
With a thought, the small world suddenly flipped over with the ground above and the sky below. The change caught all the cultivators in the warships off guard, and they fell out, flapping in the air in a panic.
These cultivators were mostly Martial Monarchs or Inferior Grade Martial Sages. They were somewhat strong, but in Xiao Chen's eyes, they were not worth mentioning.
Xiao Chen's nature was not bloodthirsty. He raised his hand, and a repulsive force came from the painting, casting these people out.
The cultivators of the seven colored Marquises that he released fled quickly, not daring to remain for long.
Although Xiao Chen did not discover the mastermind behind this or the other party's plans, he did not leave empty-handed. Seven peak King Grade warships. He believed that even with the all seven colored Marquises added together, they did not have many of these.
"It looks like even more variables in my trip to Heavenly Star Island have appeared."
As Xiao Chen watched the scattering cultivators, he revealed a contemplative expression.
After erasing the original Spiritual Marks in the King Grade warships, he unfurled the Freedom Wings and left this place.
---
In a not too distant place, the Seven Distinguished Dragon Marquises stood on the ground as they watched Xiao Chen take their King Grade warships, then erase their Spiritual Marks.
They were so anxious that their eyes turned red. A few could not endure and wanted to charge back there.
Aside from an Emperor Grade warship, which served as their flagship, each of the Marquises only possessed two or three peak King Grade warships. As heirs, they would face severe punishment for losing such a King Grade warship when they returned.
However, Huan Qiuyu remained rather calm. He stopped the others and looked at the black-clad person at a corner. "Leng Shaofan, you anticipated this long ago, didn't you? Otherwise, why would you suddenly appear when we were about to be captured?"
"Right! You did not have any good intentions from the start. You gave us peak grade Divine Flame Talismans and encouraged us to kill Xiao Chen, yet you hid in a corner and just watched."