The two armies were confronting each other outside of the black swamp. All of their eyes were filled with killing intent. The strong fighting spirit that was eluding from both troops could fluctuate the spiritual energy of the entire land.
The various forces around the peak were watching the confrontation between the two parties. Apparently, they were interested in it, because Mu Chen's name had stirred up much commotion within the North Territory. As such, most of the forces knew about the up and coming young man from the Daluo Territory.
Back in the Dragon-Phoenix Rift, Mu Chen had made a name for himself among the younger generation from the North Territory. He did this by showing off his remarkable combat achievements.
However, Lu Kui was not just any man from the younger generation. Although he ranked third among the three clan leaders in the Dragon Snake Sect, he was well-known as a commander in the Dragon Snake Sect. In fact, the Snake Troop from the Dragon Snake Sect had wiped out many opposing forces under his leadership. The numbers of young talents, who had perished at his hands, were numerous.
Therefore, the onlookers were all very curious about what would be the results of this meeting between the dark horse, Mu Chen, who had recently emerged from the North Territory, and a veteran commander.
Nine Nether and Lu Wu faced each other in mid-air. Nine Nether looked calm, while Lu Wu was watching the confrontation smilingly from above.
He gave a joking smile to Nine Nether. "Lord of Nine Nether Palace, do you really intend to fight against the Snake Troop, led by Lu Kui, with the Nine Nether Troop, led by him? Hehe, I think we should just take a step back and share the relic together. We can avoid wielding weapons against each other and thus, hurting our relationship. What do you think?"
Nine Nether spoke indifferently, "Clan Leader Lu Wu, thank you for the concern. But in Nine Nether Palace, there is no such thing as giving up, but only giving our best."
Nine Nether stared at Lu Wu. She was not someone who was ignorant of worldly affairs. She knew that each of the three clan leaders of the Dragon Snake Sect were full of greed. Thus, she would not believe any nonsense about sharing the relic with them. He was merely testing the waters with his words.
Nine Nether was sure that, if she showed any signs of retreat, Lu Wu would only be revealing his side at that time. However, Nine Nether kept these thoughts to herself, and only continued to look at him coldly. Apparently, the latter did not think highly of Mu Chen or the Nine Nether Troop. This could be due to the confidence that he had placed in Lu Kui and his Snake Troop. But... Nine Nether knew that his confidence would be tarnished eventually.
Everyone must pay for a price belittling Mu Chen here...
With such a thought, mockery set in deeper in Nine Nether's eyes. Unphased by her glare, Lu Wu swung his palm and said indifferently, "Lu Kui, since Nine Nether Palace has such an apparently strong backbone, you don't have to bother being polite with them, then."
"I had no intention of doing so, right from the start!"
Lu Kui laughed hideously, as he stomped his foot. While the earth shook, he gave a low moan, "Snake Troop!"
Roar!
The Snake Troop answered with a low moan from the back. Something seemed to be torn apart with their moanings, as a dark gray fighting spirit swept out from their bodies.
That fighting spirit lingered over the Snake Troop, spreading out violent spiritual energy fluctuations. Everyone on the peak looked stern, as hurricanes formed on the land.
The Snake Troop was indeed well-prepared to snatch food from the jaws of the tiger. Despite having a strength of Grade Five Sovereign, it would still be hard to beat Lu Kui, even for a Grade Six Sovereign, at least once he circulated the fighting spirit of the Snake Troop.
"Haha!"
Lu Kui moved his body to appear within the fighting spirit, lingering in mid-air. He waved his hand, causing the fighting spirit to soar. At that moment. dark gray clouds formed, spreading out with an offensive presence.
"Young lad, let me teach you how to play with the fighting spirit!"
Lu Kui laughed wildly. He stomped his foot immediately, and the dark gray fighting spirit surged even more violently, like rising tides. Eventually, the fighting spirit surge turned into hundreds of huge spiraling fighting spirits, charging out.
As the fighting spirits spiraled throughout the area at a shockingly high speed, massive destruction forces exploded and spaces were twisted and torn. A sharp screeching and breaking sound of the wind could also be heard.
The looks on the spectators were stern. Lu Kui had just displayed his remarkable ability in controlling his fighting spirit with a casual hand signal. It was no wonder that he had been able to lead the Snake Troop to wars so successfully all these years.
As the screeching wind-breaking sound approached, hundreds of spirals of dark gray fighting spirits seemed to become like giant serpents, which would bite and hiss fiercely at anything. A flash of surprise shone in Mu Chen's eyes, as he lifted his head to watch the influx of the fighting spirit. Lu Kui's ability to control the fighting spirit was indeed unexpected from Mu Chen.
But... that was all.
When Mu Chen took over the thousand-men Nine Nether Troop in the past, he had won the war with the Blood Hawk Troop, which had five times more manpower than his troop. Although the commander of the Blood Hawk Troop, Wu Tian, was less competent than Lu Kui, Mu Chen had already become much more formidable than he had been back then!
Hence, Lu Kui may have excellent control over the fighting spirit, but what he did not know was that the young man in front of him was much formidable than him in regards to understanding and control the fighting spirit.
Mu Chen raised his palm calmly under the gazes of the spectators, then waved it down slowly. The Nine Nether Troop, whose eyes were filled with anger, released their bloodthirsty aura, before stomping all of their heavy halberts on the ground. Their thunderous roars resounded throughout the entire land.
Boom!
The pitch-black fighting spirit stormed out like a torrent, gathering above them. Immediately, the violent fighting spirit caused a rapid change in the entire sky's color.
Mu Chen appeared above the Nine Nether Troop. The violent pitch-black fighting spirit that was whistling out like ocean waves transformed into a black light shield, which then stopped to hover in front of the troop as he flicked his finger.
Dong!
Hundreds of spiral dark grey fighting spirits charged against the Nine Nether light shield repeatedly. Despite such a violent offensive attack, only a few sparkles could be seen on the light shield. Unlike what everyone had imagined, the shield did not break! It seemed to be much more sturdy than it looked.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The strong fighting spirits continued their attacks, cracking the ground on the earth of this vast swamp.
Kacha.
On the light shield that was formed by the fighting spirit of the Nine Nether Troop, cracks started to appear. Like a mirror, the shield was slowly cracking and shattering.
"Little kid, playing fighting spirit with me is equivalent to courting your own death!" Seeing that Mu Chen's defense was giving way, Lu Kui could not help but laugh hideously.
However, Mu Chen only smiled in response to Lu Kui's sneer. As the cracks on the shield increased, a cold radiance surged within his pitch-black eyes, but no panic could be seen.
Bang!
The shield finally reached its limit, shattering into pieces under everyone's watch. As the shield burst, Mu Chen gripped all of his fingers gently.
Swish!
As his fingers were gripped, the scattered pieces of the shield suddenly regrouped themselves, forming into an overwhelming number of black feathers, which were now shooting forward furiously. The black feathers were made of fighting spirit, and each of them possessed a fantastic killing power.
Even a Grade Five Sovereign would be extremely overwhelmed if they faced such an offense. Such an imposing attack could only be formed so easily by the hands of Mu Chen, using the fighting spirit of the Nine Nether Troop.
As the black feathers swept out, they flew through the gaps between the dark gray tornado, shattering into spots of lights. With a gentle wave of Mu Chen's hand, after he had broken apart the fighting spirit of the Snake Troop, the countless black feathers turned into spots of lights, then merged with the intense fighting spirit of the Nine Nether Troop.
This series of moves was made so smoothly by Mu Chen, and there was no hesitation on his part at all. The spectators, who were all experts, could clearly tell that Mu Chen had achieved a shocking level in his ability to control the fighting spirit of the Nine Nether Troop. If Lu Kui manipulated his fighting spirit wildly and crazily, Mu Chen's control could be described as much more dazzling and beautiful, like a piece of fine art.
The spectators looked at one another and sighed softly, shock flashing in their eyes. No one had thought that this recent star among the younger generation of the North Territory would have such an amazing combat capability. Even his talent in handling the fighting spirit was too shocking for them to fathom.
Lu Kui stared at Mu Chen with a cold face. The spiteful look in his eyes had disappeared completely. Judging from the previous control of fighting spirit that Mu Chen had displayed, he knew clearly that Mu Chen was no weaker than him.
Although he felt disbelief at this thought, he was a veteran that had gone through countless fierce battles, which had enabled him to circulate his fighting spirit to such an extent.
So, how could Mu Chen, at his age, be comparable?
Lu Kui had a cold look in his eyes. This young man, Mu Chen, was clearly a threat. If he was to be an enemy, it would be best to kill him now. Otherwise, he would be an endless source of trouble.
"Looks like you really want to kill me now."
Sensing Lu Kui's killing intent, Mu Chen smiled at him. But, like a block of ice, the smile had no warmth. He raised his palm again, causing the pitch-black fighting spirit to linger around his fingertips, like flowing water.
"But now, it's my turn to teach you how to play with the fighting spirit!"