Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

”Ghost Demon?”

Fan Wenxuan’s voice trembled as he called out the newcomer’s name.

The figure was wrapped in a black cloak, his facial features obscured. Only two large, skeletal white hands extended from his wide sleeves.

He gave off an incomparably sinister and terrifying aura.

This person...

His cultivation had reached the Union Palace Realm Fourth Stage.

His qi and blood were as vigorous as a tiger’s, surging like a stampede of leopards—continuous and powerful, like an invincible Overlord!

He was the undisputed number one on the previous generation’s Junior Venerable List, the Direct Disciple of Ghost Mother Lishan from the Nine Sins Hall—Ghost Demon!

Ghost Demon’s blood-red eyes, hidden within his cloak, swept over Fan Wenxuan. He sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. ”Fan Wenxuan, you were once a genius on par with me. To think you’ve become so useless over the years. What a disappointment.”

”Gh-Ghost Demon... It’s not that I’m not strong enough, it’s that Jiang Chen is just too terrifying!” Fan Wenxuan explained hastily, his face a mask of embarrassment.

Only after truly fighting Jiang Chen could one understand just how terrifying the young man, a mere Heavenly Destiny Realm Ninth Stage cultivator, really was!

However...

Ghost Demon didn’t believe him.

Ghost Demon said flatly, ”Him? Terrifying? Hmph. No wonder your strength has progressed so slowly. When you fail, you don’t look for your own shortcomings; you just blame others.”

”I... I...”

Fan Wenxuan’s face alternated between pale and ashen.

He was a Junior Venerable, after all, yet here he was, being lectured like a child in public. It was a complete loss of face!

If anyone else had been speaking to him like that, Fan Wenxuan would have snapped long ago.

But the one standing before him was Ghost Demon, the genius Venerable who had overshadowed him for his entire generation!

He didn’t dare make a peep.

Ghost Demon snorted coldly and turned to Jiang Chen. He licked his lips with a scarlet tongue, his blood-red eyes glowing as he spoke in a sinister tone. ”Before you came along, everyone praised this generation’s Junior Venerable List, saying its collection of prodigies surpassed all previous ones. They especially lauded the man at the top, Lan Haichen, calling him the strongest prodigy the Ten Great Dynasties had seen in five hundred years!”

”I’ve wanted to fight Lan Haichen for years, but I never thought he’d be killed by you. What a piece of trash! However...”

Ghost Demon let out a piercing, cold laugh, the red in his eyes growing even brighter. ”Since you could kill Lan Haichen, your strength must be greater than his. As long as I kill you, the world will naturally know who the strongest genius in the Ten Great Dynasties truly is!”

”Number one on the last Junior Venerable List?”

Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes, sizing up Ghost Demon.

The man exuded a continuous aura, like a ceaselessly flowing river—vast, powerful, its rushing waters surging like the tide.

’This is a powerful opponent! He’s countless times stronger than Lan Haichen!’

Jiang Chen took a deep breath and said slowly and deliberately, ”Ghost Demon, you want a fight? I’ll be happy to oblige. But before that, I’m going to kill Fan Wenxuan first!”

”Hahahaha...”

Ghost Demon was stunned for a moment, then burst into a fit of laughter. ”Jiang Chen, did you get kicked in the head by a donkey? I’m standing right here, and you still think you can kill Fan Wenxuan? It’s not that I look down on you, but if you can so much as scratch Fan Wenxuan under my protection within ten moves, I’ll admit defeat!”

”...”

Jiang Chen gave Ghost Demon a speechless look.

’If I so much as scratch Fan Wenxuan within ten moves, he loses? What incredible confidence and arrogance! Worthy of the former number one Junior Venerable!’

Jiang Chen took a deep breath and said nonchalantly, ”Ten moves, is it?”

”If you think that’s too few, I can give you a ten-move handicap. If you can harm Fan Wenxuan in any way within twenty moves, I’ll still count it as my loss!” Ghost Demon said, brimming with confidence.

Jiang Chen grinned. ”No, no, you misunderstand. I mean ten moves is too many. Let’s make it one. If I can’t kill Fan Wenxuan in a single move, I lose.”

”It’s a deal!”

Ghost Demon chuckled sinisterly. ”Whoever loses will take their own life as a public apology. Do you dare?”

’Take my own life if I lose? Holy hell! Where’s your shame?’

Jiang Chen was speechless.

This Ghost Demon seemed arrogant and flamboyant, but he was actually quite cunning and calculating. His strength was far greater than Lan Haichen’s.

With his level of power, if he went all out to protect someone, even the Sect Master magnates of the Ten Great Sects might not be able to break through in a short time.

In other words, the odds of Jiang Chen winning this bet were extremely low!

This was a completely one-sided bet!

”What? Scared now?” Ghost Demon laughed sinisterly.

Inside the Celestial Martial Hall.

Bai Ling broke free from the grasp of a Tenth Hall disciple and shouted, ”Alliance Leader, don’t agree to it! It’s a trap!”

”That’s right, don’t agree!”

Lin Feifei also cried out, ”Ghost Demon was the number one Junior Venerable of his time! He was an undisputed king, and no one could challenge him.”

The smile on Ghost Demon’s face slowly faded.

His cold gaze swept over Lin Feifei and Bai Ling before landing back on Jiang Chen. He said tauntingly, ”They’re right. My power is not something you can hope to shake. Don’t tell me you’re scared by my reputation and don’t dare to take the bet? Heh heh, weren’t you acting all arrogant just a moment ago?”

Jiang Chen rolled his eyes and glanced at Ghost Demon. ”Your goading is clumsy. But don’t worry, I, Jiang Chen, am a man of my word. I said one move, and one move it is. The loser will take their own life as a public apology!”

”Good. Then I’ll wait and see how the number one Junior Venerable of this generation takes his own life as a public apology!”

Ghost Demon laughed heartily.

A torrent of black energy surged from his body, coalescing into a dark, hazy curtain that blotted out the sun and plunged that patch of the Celestial Vault into darkness.

The black curtain formed what looked like a natural barrier.

It lay between Jiang Chen and Fan Wenxuan.

Ghost Demon said smugly, ”Jiang Chen, you fell for it after all. This move of mine, the Dark Sky Curtain, is a Celestial Tier Defensive Martial Skill that I spent ten years of bitter cultivation to bring to the Great Success stage. Under the protection of the Dark Sky Curtain, forget you... even a Union Palace Realm Sect Master magnate couldn’t hope to break its defense in a short time. For you to kill Fan Wenxuan in ten moves is pure wishful thinking!”

”Hahaha...”

Fan Wenxuan laughed triumphantly, feeling completely secure. ”Jiang Chen, come on, I dare you! With Senior Brother Ghost Demon here, you can’t even touch a hair on my head. You’re guaranteed to lose. Hahaha, I can’t wait to see you take your own life as a public apology!”

Faced with Ghost Demon and Fan Wenxuan’s smug confidence, Jiang Chen simply shook his head.

His calm gaze met Ghost Demon’s confident one as he said evenly, ”Ghost Demon, you may have been the number one Junior Venerable, but I’ll tell you this... when I, Jiang Chen, want someone dead, you can’t stop me!”

”I can’t stop you? That’s ridiculous. I’d like to see just how you’ll kill him in one move!” Ghost Demon sneered confidently.

However...

The words had barely left his lips when his expression suddenly changed.

Jiang Chen stood perfectly still, his lips parting slightly to release a clear, piercing voice: ”A sinful existence like you deserves the calamity of the Five Thunders Bombing—to have your Divine Soul extinguished and die!”

As soon as the words fell.

A vortex of violet-gold light suddenly appeared above Fan Wenxuan’s head, inside the Dark Sky Curtain. From within the vortex, bolts of lightning as thick as water buckets descended!

The Five Thunders Bombing of the Five Thunder Secret Technique!

RUMBLE!

The bolts of lightning fell abruptly. Five thunderbolts struck without warning, catching him completely off guard.

Fan Wenxuan shrieked in agony, his body charred black.

When the five thunders had passed.

Fan Wenxuan’s body convulsed. His soul was torn to shreds by a terrifying Divine Thought Shock. Just as Jiang Chen had said, he suffered the Five Thunders Bombing, and his Divine Soul was extinguished in death!