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"Who will win?"

No one could guess Chen Qing’s identity at the moment, but the outcome of the battle within the hurricane was a critical factor!

"If Chen Qing dies, how confident are you in sealing that place?"

Inside the Imperial Palace, the Emperor looked at the hurricane where Chen Qing and Siao Mingyue were, his gaze stern. The view was provided by a distortion in space, the Royal Family’s closest informant to Liu Yu.

It was Gu Ying, the one who possessed ZhuLong Sorcery.

Unlike the completely out-of-control Siao Mingyue, Gu Ying had also transformed completely, but he was surrounded by black ice while stationed at a spatial rift.

He wasn’t able to charge in like Siao Mingyue.

Instead, he stared with his huge eyes, intently watching Chen Qing and the others from outside the space.

And within the depths of his pupils was none other than the location of the Imperial Study, where Emperor Siao resided.

"About seventy percent..." the Empress exhibited a rare serious expression. "I didn’t expect Liu Yu would dare use the blood of the divine icon, and it’s fortunate that we had an ace up our sleeve planted inside ZhuLong beforehand. Otherwise, we really might have faced a major problem."

"Only seventy percent even after activating the technique on Gu Ying?" The Emperor was taken aback. "But that’s the technique King of Qin used to seal the divine icon!"

"Abyssal Extreme Cold is indeed a formidable technique.

.." the Empress said in a quiet voice. "It is a technique from the Abyss. I don’t know where King of Qin got it from, or even the path where this technique originates, but the thing itself comes from beyond the heavens. It’s extremely dangerous and must be used cautiously.

Otherwise, its destructive power would not be much less than that of the divine blood. "

"So what?" the Emperor frowned. "Even if divine blood might leak?"

He had witnessed firsthand the terrible powers those divine icons possessed.

Unlike common ancient artifacts, these things existed for the sole purpose of destroying the world—like the one Liu Yu used, which the Emperor had seen.

It was Qianxiu, capable of corroding all life and driving it to destruction.

Even a floating dandelion, tainted by the breath of divine blood, would become an extremely terrifying beast and swiftly infect the surroundings.

Compared to it, the so-called living corpses infected by the Ancient Worm were mere child’s play.

He had seen with his own eyes how, in the span of a few breaths where divine blood fell, the land for ten thousand miles could transform into an alien landscape, horribly twisted.

He had no doubt that if left alone, within a few days at most, that thing could turn the whole world into a twisted hell.

"Yes, even if divine blood leaks, there is still a way to remedy it.

But if the technique from King of Qin gets out of control, then the world is really doomed!

" The Empress looked at the Emperor, her expression stern. "You must understand your position. The Ghost Domain wants a living world; even if it’s damaged, it’s better than being completely frozen to death. "

"Is that so..." The Emperor didn’t argue, seemingly calming down instantly as he looked towards the hurricane within Gu Ying’s sight.

"Does that mean, at this time, I have to hope that it’s Chen Qing who wins?"

"For the time being..." Seeing the Emperor not pressing the issue, the Empress’s tone softened. "If Chen Qing wins, we’ll only need to attempt the technique and won’t have to use it too forcefully. Otherwise..." The Empress looked towards where Chen Qing was.

The Western Sea Territory might forever become history!

-----------------------------

It seems that in the future, I really need to take the time to polish my combat skills.

Chen Qing barely managed to defend against the tempestuous onslaught of Siao Mingyue, almost completely at a disadvantage, far from the nobility of royal combat that one might expect.

Chen Qing had anticipated this to some extent but hadn’t expected it to be so troublesome, for once he had been a cantankerous and high-strung schemer, and the so-called skills in his cognition had no way of reversing the gap in absolute power.

This is something those who have played games know.

A character nerfed to oblivion—no matter how skilled you are, others will hang you out to dry.

Skills... can only be useful when there’s a small difference in power.

Whether it’s in games or in novels of later generations, this is true; so-called skills are nothing in front of levels.

Chen Qing didn’t disrespect skills, but if skills truly had absolute effect, then Xuu Hu and other men of martial prowess who were well-versed in combat wouldn’t be trampled on by the bloodline scions of third-rate families.

However, at this moment, he felt acutely the terror of the skill gap.

It was like someone using an embroidery needle to duel with a swordsman.

No matter how fragile you thought your opponent was, they could ingeniously foil your offensive, leaving you unable to apply your strength effectively.

Although each close encounter could only stab you once, they kept on stabbing you relentlessly.

Chen Qing was in such a situation right now, even deliberately avoiding direct hits to his dragon scales, but they were riddled with breaches, several of which had exposed flesh and blood.

This made Chen Qing even more cautious about engaging in an open and shut fight, but the more hesitant he was, the more control the opponent had over the situation.

At this moment, Chen Qing’s mood was extremely peculiar.

As a monster designer, he spent his life opposing players, using all means to trouble them, while right now, his opponent gave him the feeling of a top-tier player using the most rudimentary equipment to take on a hell-level boss.

The boss could kill him with a single blow, but the player’s challenge was to not let you touch them at all, effortlessly defeating you without taking any damage.

"Is that all you’ve got?" the person on the other side still carried Siao Mingyue’s voice, filled with mockery. "What a newbie you are, turning such potential into this sorry state."

Chen Qing frowned, watching the other. The term "performance," rarely used in ancient times—and even less likely associated with the human body—implied an operator as if they were piloting a mecha.

"From the way you talk, it seems this isn’t your first time using a lower-performing body to defeat a higher-performing one. A high-level player, aren’t you?"

"High-level player..." The other paused slightly upon hearing this, then revealed a twisted smile. "It’s really been a long time since I’ve heard that term."

"But indeed, this world is becoming more boring. Every reincarnation lacks novelty, just symbolic distribution, just endings without resistance. The beginning stages are interesting, at least allowing for slightly more interesting struggles."

"But you’re not that great. I remember from a hundred years ago, those so-called martial sons from the bloodline families were somewhat intriguing; at least they had remarkable combat skills.

Several even destroyed the believer I was controlling.

Now that’s interesting. What’s the point of victories and rule that come too easily—so uninspired, right? "

Chen Qing’s frown deepened upon hearing this. As a designer, why did he feel like he couldn’t quite understand what the other was saying?

However, he could probably grasp one thing: the other party had an extreme confidence in their control over him!

"I’m very curious about something..."

"Oh? Let’s hear it..."

"You just said that the warriors of this world destroyed your believers, finding it amusing; that means, many years ago, your believers must have been destroyed, right? Otherwise, why would you end up in a situation where even your blood is extracted for others’ use?"

"What are you trying to say?" The other’s tone obviously became icier.

"What I’m saying is, in the end, you can only rely on your performance to defeat the people of this world because the skills you pride yourself on won’t help you achieve much..."

"Bullshit!" The other party sneered, "Sharp-tongued, what do you want to do, just spit it out."

"Let’s experiment..." Chen Qing took a deep breath and retracted the dragon scales from his body. The trident formed from wind elements in his hand transformed into a whirlwind and then changed into a short sword.

"I’m new to this world, but I have still learned a few things," Chen Qing pointed at the other party and continued, "The owner of the body you occupy, she once spent a year in Jiangnan. When I formed an alliance with her, she taught me a few times, then said I was too dumb and only passed on three sword techniques to me. But up to now, I’ve only mastered one. "

With that said, Chen Qing assumed the starting position.

The other party’s eyes narrowed slightly, immediately recognizing the origin of Chen Qing’s movements from memory—they were the Three Forms Burning Wind created by Siao Mingyue!

"Let’s decide the outcome with one move, big shot, let me see if you truly can’t cheat and beat the people of this world."

"Pretty big talk..." The other party chuckled coldly and also assumed the same stance, "Then let me see, the move you’ve practiced for a year, how well can you perform it..."

But as soon as the words fell, their body was severed in two, and the brilliant firelight along with Chen Qing’s actions at that moment were devoid of any superfluity; his incomparable sword technique was executed perfectly in that instant.

"You..."

The head flew, and those alien eyes were filled with disbelief, unable to comprehend how they hadn’t managed to react in the slightest before meeting such an end.

"You really are much worse than Siao Mingyue," Chen Qing dispelled the wind sword in his hand and said coldly, "If she was still controlling this body, she would definitely have dodged that sword."

"Nonsense!" The other grew agitated, "It’s because your performance is too good, your speed too fast. That move, in your hands, displayed more than a hundred times its power. How could she dodge it?"

"Not talking about how skills can defeat performance now?" Chen Qing asked with a mocking smile.

"Kid..." The other paused for a moment, then let out a freakish laugh: "You’re not bad, very good indeed, you’ve successfully angered me. I will find you, and I will make your life worse than death, just like those latecomers before! I can feel it, you’re fresh.

.. Odd, the channel should have been closed by now. .."

"Channel?" Chen Qing’s pupils constricted, feeling that this world... might not be as simple as he thought: "What on earth are you talking about?"

The other was sneering, ready to reply, but was interrupted by a cold voice, "Enough, you’ve lost, now hurry up and scram."

The indifferent voice carried a strange power that drove out the consciousness within Siao Mingyue.

"This is truly... disgraceful..."

The familiar voice sounded again. It was Siao Mingyue’s original voice.

Chen Qing looked at the other party, whose head was still hideously twisted, but the eyes had regained the color they once possessed.

"Your Highness..."

"That move... you practiced it well," Siao Mingyue said with a smile.

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness..." Chen Qing said with a complex expression.

Siao Mingyue didn’t look at Chen Qing again but turned her gaze towards another figure—the one whose single sentence had stripped away the divine power that had occupied her.

It was the figure she had longed to see... for so very long...

"I knew you would come back."

Chen Qing also looked over. It was a man in white... who looked exactly like himself!

In the face of Siao Mingyue’s deep affection, his cold eyes seemed unmoved. As he passed by, he simply trod upon Siao Mingyue’s adoring gaze... crushing it to fragments!!!