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"Young people really have an abundance of energy..." Beneath the sky full of ice crystals, the surrounding women in black huddled together against the cold, while Lumings narrowed his eyes.

He had spent a year under Chen Qing’s influence, and it wasn’t for nothing; he had inquired about many things. Chen Qing’s forces certainly had more capable fighters than just Xuu Hu!

Not to mention others, but Tian Heng, who was promoted to the so-called Sea God, possessed Super First Rank battle prowess, and as far as he knew, anyone who was bestowed with a title connected to the gods had their strength considerably amplified.

Tian Heng was already beyond the First Rank, and with further enhancement, even if not quite on par with himself, he would at least be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Duke of Wei.

Then there was the Shen Family, which had completely sided with Chen Qing.

He had covertly observed them; the ruler of the underworld in Yunzhou used to be Young Master Shen Ten, a child whose hair had yet to fully grow.

Although he was already at the rank of a First Rank Magician, with gifted talents, he would not be hard to kill when facing an experienced First Rank Warrior.

He had also secretly considered studying the god of the underworld.

However, after several observations, he didn’t dare to make a move lightly. His instincts told him that those underworld rulers were more troublesome than the typical Super First Rank Warrior, and acting rashly with his injuries at the time would have surely led to significant suffering.

If Yunzhou had them, he didn’t believe Nanming Prefecture lacked them either, and if the Shen Family summoned all its Magicians along with Tian Heng and Xuu Hu, let alone himself, even the Emperor of the Siao Family, who obtained the forbidden power, might not be able to escape intact.

He had long known that Chen Qing’s influence was now sufficient to effectively rule Jiangnan. He had never underestimated the other party.

Yet, to his surprise, he was the one being underestimated.

A one-on-one duel?

Lumings watched Chen Qing landing on the ground, his narrowed eyes colder than the falling ice crystals.

Since the death of the King of Qin, for thirty years no one had dared to challenge him alone. Back then, when he confronted the Siao Family in a standoff between the north and south, even the Golden Crow, rumored to be the strongest in the world, had not taken the risk to duel with him alone.

Siao Mingyue plotted against him, succeeded with a surprise attack, but even with him seriously wounded, she still didn’t dare to engage in a life-or-death battle with him. Unexpectedly, the young man before him dared to do so.

Interesting...

"The kid has guts," said Lumings with a smile. "If I lose, I’ll certainly admit it, but what if you lose? How will we count that?"

"I lose?" Chen Qing chuckled. "Is the Duke jesting? If I lose, would those people standing up there simply watch? Obviously, it would be a scramble for my flesh by wolves and tigers!"

"You know the dangers, yet you dare to take such a risk?" Lumings responded, amused.

"Because I... will not lose!"

"Such arrogant youth!" As Lumings’s voice fell, his vitality exploded instantly. The dramatic eruption of vitality resonated in the air, giving the impression that a faint dragon’s roar was rising, causing spectators to get goosebumps all over!!

The Duke of Wei’s second son couldn’t even stay seated.

Lumings’s bloodline was that of a dragon, but it was uncertain what kind of species or demon it was, even with no records existing. This wasn’t a boast by the Lu Family themselves, but something vocalized by many demons after witnessing the Lu Family’s bloodline.

The Lu Family exuded a dragon’s might!

That’s why Lumings had such high prestige back then; he pushed the Lu Family’s bloodline to the limit, frequently showcasing his dragon’s might on the battlefield to the submission of all demons.

Even millennia-old noble families as strong as the Lu Family felt fear stemming from their bloodlines under that dragon’s presence.

So back then, the call for Lumings was high; during the standoff between the north and south, most small and medium noble families were inclined towards Lumings, because in human memory, dragons symbolized the Emperor!

"It’s been so many years since the last sighting..."

The Duke of Wei watched the exaggerated aura and slightly sighed; during the standoff back then, even internally, not many were optimistic about the Siao Family’s prospects. Lumings’s individual strength was just too great...

This kid actually daring to challenge Lumings one-on-one truly knows no bounds in arrogance.

"The pinnacle of humanity?" Elder Shen also narrowed his eyes. "I didn’t expect such fragile humans, with the help of demon bloodlines, to attain such a realm... The young man doesn’t seem reckless, so maybe he has some tricks up his sleeve."

The Princess Royale squinted, staring intensely at the situation. Chen Qing’s plans were meticulous, and she didn’t quite believe that Chen Qing was the type to act rashly. This much was evident from when he schemed against her initially.

But what was the real situation?

Lumings was being assaulted by the cold, clearly stalling for time to force out the chill. Could Chen Qing not see that?

Lumings was waiting for the cold to subside, but what was he waiting for?

"Here it comes!" Elder Shen suddenly spoke.

The next instant, in a split second, the ice crystals within a thirty-foot radius vaporized astonishingly fast, shocking everybody once again with the terrifying surge of vitality!

A strong bloodline didn’t always equal battle prowess; for example, the Hong Family’s Thunder Elephant Bloodline was publicly acknowledged as the strongest, but when it came to actual combat power, they struggled to rank in the top ten amongst noble families of the Capital City.

But this level of strength was excessive, it was practically the external release of vitality!

However, everyone had no time left to consider this unreasonable explosion of vitality, for Lumings had made a move as soon as he vaporized the ice in his immediate vicinity!

His speed was very fast, and the force of the impact was also quite exaggerated. Only the Princess Royale and Elder Shen could catch a glimpse of the trajectory; even the Duke of Wei’s eyes struggled to keep up.

The moment Lumings made his move, he closed the distance rapidly. Where he passed, the fabric of space was warped, clearly twisted by an unreasonable amount of force!

A look of apprehension once again emerged in the Princess Royale’s eyes; not taking the opportunity to fight Lumings to the death while he was wounded had been a wise decision!

Truly impressive...

Chen Qing looked at his opponent with a trace of admiration in his eyes.

Although he did not have a high regard for the other’s way of handling things, the opponent’s strength was truly worthy of the title of the first duke.

Under the strict framework Chen Qing had designed, Lumings had almost reached the limit of what the framework allowed!

Boom!

Suddenly, a thunderous roar came from the sky without warning!

The sound was so exaggerated that everyone in Nanming Prefecture could hear it, but the speed of lightning was faster than sound. It crashed down upon Chen Qing, beating Lumings to the punch.

Clearly, even though Lumings’s power could twist space, his speed was no longer able to keep up with light!

The situation changed in an instant. The two sons of the Duke of Wei couldn’t even react, while Princess Royale and her companion stared intently at the scene, speculating Lumings’s next move!

Chen Qing’s ability to summon the power of heavenly thunder once again surprised everyone immensely.

For thousands of years, in the entire history of the Sorcerers’ Realm, only two people recorded were capable of using the power of heavenly thunder.

The first was the legendary figure of the Zhang Family’s Celestial Master, known as the "Heavenly Lord," recorded in the texts of the Sorcerer Dynasty as the most powerful sorcerer, whose abilities ranked above the Four Saints!

The second person was the current head of the Zhang family, who was the State Preceptor of Yundu.

This firm supporter of the former dynasty commanded an influence that even the Great Jin Dynasty dared not offend lightly.

The Zhang family’s top figure, who had control over heavenly thunder, accounted for a significant part of this weight!

He is also widely recognized as the contemporary number one sorcerer!

Chen Qing... to have mastered the Zhang family’s secret technique of heavenly thunder -- was he related to the Zhang family?

All sorts of speculation arose in the Princess Royale’s mind, but there was no time to confirm them now. What mattered more to her at the moment was, what would Lumings do?

The best way for a warrior to deal with a magician is to close the distance.

The current Zhang family’s thunder sorcerer had not lost a single battle against top-tier warriors, the fundamental reason being that the opponent possessed the same power to summon heavenly thunder upon themselves as Chen Qing.

With this move, no warrior dared to come close. Yet paradoxically, the thunder sorcerer also had the most terrifying long-range lethality because the art of heavenly thunder is not only powerful but also faster than the limits of a warrior, making it basically unavoidable!

If Lumings were to distance himself, in the environment of this cold array, it would be a slow suicide!

It seems that Chen Qing was not being arrogant. He truly had the capital to fight Lumings one-on-one... But why hadn’t he used it before?

"Too confident!" Elder Shen suddenly muttered to himself.

Princess Royale was startled by his words, but in the next instant she grasped Elder Shen’s meaning.

She saw a look of surprise flash in Lumings’s eyes, followed by a hint of ferocity.

Instead of retreating, he advanced, bracing himself against the force of the heavenly thunder and tearing through the terrifying lightning with his bare hands!

The power of thunder could paralyze one’s nerves and instantly evaporate a martial artist’s vitality. Many warriors had tried to break through forcibly, but all had perished at the hands of the Zhang family.

Lumings’s choice was not wrong. To retreat... would be an even more pitiful death, but to advance... could he survive?

The answer was affirmative!

All the warriors who challenged the Zhang family in the past had perished, but these warriors did not include Lumings!

A dragon’s roar surged into the sky. The terrifying power of the lightning was forcibly torn apart by Lumings with his flesh and blood body. Under the heavenly thunder, the man remained fearless. At this moment, even the Princess Royale finally flashed a hint of admiration in her eyes.

No matter how much she despised him as a person, in combat, this man was truly worthy of being among the strongest in the world!

So... facing such a Lumings, what would Chen Qing do?

Elder Shen and Princess Royale widened their eyes, not wanting to miss any detail. At this moment, if Chen Qing were to keep using the power of thunder openly in a direct clash, he was very likely to be torn apart by Lumings, and if he were to retreat immediately...

The tiger had reached the range of his hunt. At this distance, even the Heavenly Master skilled in thunder spells could not possibly escape from Lumings’s hands.

To retreat... would be death!

Boom!

As the torn lightning distorted, the surrounding power instantly twisted the space completely, and the Princess Royale and the others did not hear the sound but could already feel the booming noise in their hearts.

After the distortion of space came the raging storm, and the ground of a hundred-yards radius collapsed in an instant, as if a natural disaster had struck.

Who could have thought that this was a confrontation between two humans?

Xuu Hu, who was on guard above against Princess Royale’s group, couldn’t take his eyes off the scene, overwhelmed with shock.

Many soldiers were discussing who the strongest person in Jiangnan was today.

Was it Sea God Tian Heng, or was it Xuu Hu himself, the God of Battle, or.

.. perhaps one of those deities of the underworld who controlled life and death?

But no one considered Chen Qing, who seemed more like a leader and whom no one thought could be a powerful fighter capable of such combat strength!

After the storm spread, everyone finally got a glimpse of the two men fighting inside, but neither Elder Shen nor Princess Royale could have imagined...

At the eye of the storm, both men’s clothes had been pulverised by their own immense power, but what no one expected was that the two men... neither took a single step back!

"I am... still far from the Emperor’s realm..." Xuu Hu exclaimed with wide eyes and joy.

At that moment, the Duke of Wei and the others finally saw the situation clearly, but they were also shocked by the scene before them.

The two men... were actually grappling head-on!

After the thunder was torn apart, Chen Qing... could actually grapple directly with Lumings!!