Chapter 45: Battle at the Other Shore

The sparring arena was vast, measuring more than three miles from north to south. Its ground was paved with cyan bricks, upon which were inscribed numerous archaic patterns. These were Dao patterns carved by powerful figures; once activated, a grand array would rise to shroud the entire combat zone.

Two groups of people arrived at the arena one after the other. As they met face-to-face, the atmosphere instantly froze.

At this moment, Li Yao caught sight of his upcoming opponent: a man in his early twenties, robustly built yet with a sharp mouth and monkey-cheeks, possessing a pair of palms nearly twice the size of a normal person's, resembling palm-leaf fans.

"You must be Li Yao. Your innate talent is quite impressive; at such a young age, you already possess such formidable cultivation." Unexpectedly, upon seeing Li Yao, Yang Tianfeng offered direct praise.

"You flatter me far too much, Elder Yang," Li Yao replied, his tone neither humble nor arrogant.

Since it was already certain they were not on the same side, Li Yao did not feel the need to show him any undue courtesy, omitting even the customary formalities of bowing.

After today, enmity between the two sides was inevitable, so he had no fear of incurring Yang Tianfeng's lingering resentment.

Faced with Li Yao's perfunctory attitude, Yang Tianfeng let out an internal sigh. To be honest, he really hadn't wanted to make this trip.

Li Yao's talent was extraordinary, and his future achievements would undoubtedly surpass his own. To offend such a genius meant that when the other party grew strong enough in the future, there would be countless ways and means to settle today's karmic score.

Yet he was helpless; sometimes one's actions are not one's own to decide. If he failed to carry out the task assigned by the Supreme lineage, he might not even have a future to speak of.

The shaking Light Sacred Land forbade internal bloodshed, but what good was that? If someone simply lay in wait for you and killed you the moment you stepped outside the Sacred Land, what could you do?

"You can obviously guess why I've come this time. You are still far too weak, and the Immortal Metal is of no use remaining in your hands. Why not hand it over? We are willing to compensate you with cultivation resources."

Since he had already offended one side, Yang Tianfeng simply abandoned any hope of a future reconciliation and cut straight to the chase.

Li Yao laughed out of sheer anger. He stepped forward, confronting Yang Tianfeng, and said, "This belongs to me. I make the decisions regarding its fate. Why should I hand it over?"

"The Immortal Metal belongs to the strong; lacking sufficient strength, you are unworthy to possess it." Before Yang Tianfeng could speak, a disciple behind him stepped out first, looking at Li Yao with utter contempt.

"Hah, by that logic, your strength must be extraordinary then." Li Yao withdrew his gaze from Yang Tianfeng, looked at the disciple, and said, "Yet I don't even recognize you. Where did this human-faced ape crawl out from?"

"A mere Divine Bridge cultivator, yet you dare to be so insolent! Believe it or not, I will slap you to death right here!" the disciple roared in anger.

It was no wonder this disciple was so furious, for Li Yao's words had struck straight at his greatest sore spot.

The human-faced ape was a very common type of demonic beast in the Eastern Wasteland—humanoid in shape, with a sharp mouth, monkey-cheeks, and huge palms. The disciple's appearance was the spitting image of a hairless human-faced ape.

What he hated hearing most in his daily life was anyone describing him as a human-faced ape.

"A clown performing to the gallery. Aside from throwing impotent tantrums, you have no other recourse whatsoever." Li Yao did not hold back in the slightest.

When dealing with enemies, he was never stingy with verbal attacks; the more triggered the other person became, the more energized he felt.

"Better than you, at least! So what if you obtained the Immortal Metal? You still can't protect it, and you can only watch helplessly as it is snatched away, becoming nothing more than wedding garments for someone else."

The human-faced ape disciple seemed to have unblocked his vital meridian, and his verbal combat power suddenly skyrocketed.

Yet Li Yao remained entirely unfazed. Ever since Zhang Chong reminded him to quickly forge the Divine Mark Purple Gold into a weapon, he had already anticipated this outcome.

The events of today were merely a matter of sooner or later.

"What's wrong? Can't take it anymore?" Seeing Li Yao fall silent, the human-faced ape disciple became immensely smug.

"You overestimate yourself too much. Weaklings whimper and plunge into panic-stricken anxiety, but to me, this is merely a fleeting autumn frost... I didn't answer you simply because I couldn't be bothered to waste my time on you." Li Yao curled his lips in disdain.

"You certainly have a sharp tongue! Once I defeat you and snatch the Immortal Metal away, you won't be swaggering around anymore!" The human-faced ape stretched out his right palm, flawless as white jade, and shouted, "Go recuperate in bed for a few years!"

With his exceptionally long arms, he lashed out instantly, his palm turning completely translucent. The blood vessels and bones within were clearly visible, alongside surging divine power intertwining into a curtain of light.

Gale-force winds whipped around the jade palm as if a divine wall were pressing inward, attempting to grind Li Yao to dust.

Li Yao was unafraid. His palm instantly turned golden, as though cast from fine gold, and he collided directly with the jade palm.

"Boom!"

A muffled explosion echoed out, causing the void itself to lightly shudder. A visible shockwave rippled outward like waves upon water.

Yang Tianfeng, watching the battle, experienced a sudden shift in expression. Although it was merely the initial clash, he had already noticed that Li Tianqi had fallen into a disadvantageous position.

Sure enough, victory and defeat were decided the very next moment.

"Thud!" "Thud!"...

The light curtain shattered, and Li Tianqi's body shook violently as he staggered backward, stabilizing his footing only after retreating a dozen meters.

"How is this possible!" Storms raged in Li Tianqi's heart. The physical strength he took such pride in had actually fallen behind in that direct clash.

"Since they sent you here, I suppose your strength must be fairly decent among cultivators in the Other Shore realm. Once I've dealt with you, no one else should dare come looking for trouble with me for a short while," Li Yao said calmly.

Li Tianqi's expression turned gloomy. "Don't get cocky too soon! I admit your physical body is powerful, but the might of the Other Shore realm exceeds your imagination."

Surging with divine power, Li Tianqi abandoned close-quarters physical combat with Li Yao, intending instead to obliterate him with divine arts.

"I'd love to see just how powerful the Other Shore realm really is," Li Yao scoffed. Then, moving with the agility of the wind, he streaked forward like lightning in an instant.

Li Tianqi retreated swiftly, leaving behind a trail of afterimages. Having already witnessed the terrifying might of Li Yao's physique, he refused to let the opponent get close, hoping to suppress Li Yao using powerful divine arts.

However, Li Tianqi underestimated Li Yao's speed. Fast though he was—streaking across like a shooting star—Li Yao clung to him like a shadow, closing the distance relentlessly!

"Hiss!" Yang Tianfeng drew in a sharp breath. He wasn't particularly shocked by Li Yao's speed, but rather marvelled at his divine power.

At that exact moment, Li Yao's boundless divine power had erupted, causing his speed to suddenly soar to an entirely new tier.

Yang Tianfeng, Zhang Chong, and Yun Shang all sensed it—that vast and torrential divine power was simply not something a Divine Bridge realm cultivator should possess.

"Just what level of cultivation has this kid reached in the Bitter Sea and Life Spring realms to possess such terrifying divine power!" A vague sense of foreboding rose in Yang Tianfeng's heart.

The outcome of their physical strength comparison had already been decided, and Li Tianqi was utterly outmatched. If even their divine power proved inferior, then this battle was doomed.

"You really think I'm afraid of you?" Li Tianqi's expression was unsightly; he hadn't expected Li Yao to be able to close in on him and make it impossible to shake him off.