Chapter 1259: Magnificent

Zhao Xuanyang nodded in appreciation of Jiang Wang's willingness to cross swords.

Then, he finally turned halfway, facing Jiang Wang directly.

"Why all the fighting and killing? I always advocate for peace. Let's settle this with words, not fists." He still smiled and said, "Look, you've frightened everyone here."

Even though the two of them were confronting each other near the entrance of the tavern, and everyone else kept their distance, the entire tavern—customers, waiters, and accountants—had all moved as far away as possible, practically huddled against the walls.

At this moment, Jiang Wang suddenly thought:

If it were the "Jiang Wang" these people spoke of, what would he do now?

Everyone in this tavern would likely be hostages!

Zhao Xuanyang was a Heavenly Chosen from Jing, and Jing was the overlord of the Central Domain.

An overlord nation must bear the responsibilities of an overlord nation. A Heavenly Chosen should bear the responsibilities of a Heavenly Chosen.

If he were to take everyone in the tavern hostage, regardless of gender, age, or whether they were cultivators or not, and threaten to kill them all, Zhao Xuanyang would surely have reservations.

From the coldest combat perspective, this might be the only exploitable factor in such a situation.

But Jiang Wang, sword in hand, only said, "You have forty breaths to leave this place. After forty breaths, I will fight to the death here with all my might."

He spoke these words calmly.

The terrified people in the tavern, however, looked towards the Jing Kingdom's Heavenly Chosen, Zhao Xuanyang.

Zhao Xuanyang nodded with a smile.

And so, a crowd swarmed out, giving Jiang Wang a wide berth, filing past Zhao Xuanyang and pouring out the tavern door. Not even daring to linger near the tavern, they all fled further outward.

At this level of combat, they truly had no right to be spectators.

The vast tavern was suddenly empty.

Only the leftover food and wine on the many tables still spoke of the recent commotion.

Zhao Xuanyang's gaze finally showed a hint of surprise.

He had expected Jiang Wang to do something while the crowd was filing out, and he had already made preparations. He didn't expect Jiang Wang to do nothing, as if he truly just wanted to clear out a battlefield for a fair duel.

A cultivator in the Inner Mansion Realm clearing a battlefield to fight him, Zhao Xuanyang, fairly?

This was somewhat absurd.

But this feeling, it was novel to him!

Meeting those calm and clear eyes, he thought, this truly is an interesting person.

And then, in the next instant, the sword light shone in his eyes!

In Zhao Xuanyang's eyes, the young man in front of him, clad in a black robe with disheveled long hair, dressed in a rather decadent manner, suddenly became radiant.

Scarlet fire flowed over his body, frost wind billowed behind him, and a sudden sword thrust came straight at him, carrying the momentum of a collapsing Heavenly Pillar!

"How interesting!" Zhao Xuanyang couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

Then he made his move.

He truly just "made his move."

His wooden sword was still in his hand, but his empty right hand reached straight out, two fingers together!

Instantly, jade-like light flowed, illuminating his two fingers.

They actually clamped down on the blade of Chang Xiangsi!

Jiang Wang's peak-level sword strike was stopped by this pair of fingers, unable to advance an inch further.

What a massive disparity is this?!

Zhao Xuanyang twisted the fingers clamping the sword blade, about to snap the tip of Chang Xiangsi.

The sudden sharp ring of the sword was Chang Xiangsi's lament!

But Jiang Wang, whose strongest sword strike was effortlessly intercepted, showed no surprise on his face.

There was an inherent chasm of disparity between him and Zhao Xuanyang.

He was certainly a Heavenly Chosen, but Zhao Xuanyang was also a Heavenly Chosen.

He only had Inner Mansion cultivation, while Zhao Xuanyang was already in the Divine Ascension Realm!

The difference in strength was already there, not something that could be crossed by sheer will alone. He had to face reality.

After facing reality...

Fight on!

Jiang Wang's entire body seemed to transform into a floating leaf, lightly drifting upwards. The sword Chang Xiangsi was the stem of this floating leaf.

Following the terrifying force of Zhao Xuanyang's twisted fingers, his entire body was swung high. His hand did not leave the sword, and he used the sword to drift closer, pressing against Zhao Xuanyang. He opened his mouth—

Samadhi True Fire erupted towards Zhao Xuanyang's face.

Simultaneously, his left hand also suddenly pressed out.

A wisp of frost wind swirled in his palm, transforming into a cold, long nail, silently aimed at Zhao Xuanyang's heart.

In this instant, Jiang Wang unleashed a barrage of killing moves.

It could be said to be aggressive, and his grasp of the opportunity was precise.

Zhao Xuanyang still smiled, his handsome and distinguished face suddenly covered by a layer of golden light.

The Samadhi True Fire rushed forward, only to cause the golden light to ripple slightly.

At the same time, his left hand, holding the wooden sword, moved only a few inches.

When the Life-Taking Nail fell, it landed squarely on the sword body!

There was only this extremely faint sound, just this one ring.

Zhao Xuanyang's fingers, which had been clamping the sword tip, suddenly reversed, returning Chang Xiangsi to its original state. Then, with a gentle push, he sent Jiang Wang, along with his sword, back to his original position.

He drifted back and landed.

At this moment, Jiang Wang was clad in scarlet fire, with frost wind behind him, and his long sword in hand, still looking magnificent. Beside him was the table where he had placed the swift blade.

He had returned to his starting position, as if he had never taken a single step.

Yet, he had clearly used every means available!

And Zhao Xuanyang had only extended a finger and shifted the sword body.

This was truly a despairing disparity!

"Such a fine sword, it would be a pity to destroy it," Zhao Xuanyang said softly with a laugh.

He believed the difference in strength had been demonstrated clearly enough.

It was time to surrender.

However, in the next moment, he heard the chirping of birds, saw meteors streaking across the sky, and witnessed blooming flame flowers throughout the world...

Realm of Fire technique!

Jiang Wang knew not the meaning of surrender. As the Realm of Fire unfolded, his left eye turned crimson.

The Lone Rider Charging Formation Diagram had unfolded, and the setting sun once again descended to the west.

He launched an attack on both the physical body and the divine soul simultaneously!

The blazing sun fell from the heavens, carrying the power to destroy the world. And the handsome figure in the Yin-Yang robe only smiled, raising his palm and supporting the sky with one hand!

He pressed the "sun" back into the sky with a palm, seemingly pressing it against the celestial wall, flattening and shattering this "sun" entirely!

The illusion at the divine soul level disintegrated.

Jiang Wang's Dry Yang Eye snapped shut, leaving a trail of bloody tears.

In the world outside his body, Zhao Xuanyang did not dodge or evade, looking left and right at the Realm of Fire he was in, clicking his tongue in wonder: "Truly a genius creation, it already has the sprouts of life. Such a beautiful scene, it can be called magnificent!"

This was an all-encompassing disparity, a complete crushing.

But true courage is not a strong person fighting a weak person.

It is challenging the impossible, challenging despair!

Jiang Wang's left eye was bleeding, his divine soul power was defeated, but he still moved forward within the Realm of Fire, slashing out with a sword, soaring, stubborn, and courageous!

A person standing between heaven and earth should support heaven and earth!

His extremely soaring momentum, at this instant, seemed to create a subtle connection with this Realm of Fire.

There was "man" within heaven and earth!

In the world of fire, there was a truly towering "god"!

Purely in terms of swordsmanship, Jiang Wang's strongest sword style to date was undoubtedly the Ren Character Sword (人字劍 - Human Character Sword).

The ultimate sword strike in the Sword Immortal state was more about integrating the power of divine abilities, merging various aspects into one, similar to Heavy Xuanzun's Sun, Moon, and Star Tri-Wheel Demon-Slaying Blade.

At this moment, Jiang Wang unleashed the Ren Character Sword within the Realm of Fire, displaying human courage and indomitable spirit before the Divine Ascension Heavenly Chosen Zhao Xuanyang.

And the Realm of Fire technique was the strongest technique Jiang Wang could currently employ.

It blended divine abilities, totems, and Dao techniques, uniting them into one realm.

The strongest Dao technique to date and the strongest swordsmanship to date achieved a miraculous unity at this moment.

Before such a despairing opponent, Jiang Wang grew stronger with each setback, achieving a new breakthrough.

The technique had given birth to a realm, and the sword had become a Dao!

"Good!" Zhao Xuanyang's eyes lit up.

Once they lit up, they never dimmed again.

A ethereal figure seemed to leap out of his eyes, landing on his wooden sword.

The wooden sword emitted a brilliant light.

And Zhao Xuanyang held this sword in his left hand, holding it vertically in front of him.

The body of the wooden sword just happened to meet the tip of Jiang Wang's sword!

The sword body of the wooden sword divided Zhao Xuanyang's face into two parts. One side reflected the radiance of the Realm of Fire, while the other seemed to be hidden in shadow, unclear.

Jiang Wang, who had charged forward with his sword, thus met his gaze.

In Zhao Xuanyang's eyes, Jiang Wang saw no emotion.

In Jiang Wang's eyes, Zhao Xuanyang found no despair.

They looked at each other, their wills to fight colliding.

Time and space seemed to have frozen.

At that moment, a meteor streaked across the sky, fiery sparrows danced in the air, and flame flowers swayed all around.

The black-robed youth, his sword striking a brick wall.

And this peerless Divine Ascension Realm Heavenly Chosen stood巍巍然如高山 (巍巍然如高山 - towering like a tall mountain), indestructible and immovable.

Jiang Wang could not advance further, his person and sword frozen in mid-air. Zhao Xuanyang sighed, "Having hit the southern wall, why not return?"

After a sigh, he gently turned the wooden sword held vertically in his hand. The tip of Chang Xiangsi, following the direction the wooden sword turned, pierced outwards along the wooden sword's body.

It passed just by the side of Zhao Xuanyang's face, piercing the air but not harming a single hair on his head.

The full-moon-like hilt of Chang Xiangsi followed, striking the edge of the wooden sword.

Person and sword converged.

At this point, Jiang Wang's entire body was also pressed close. And Zhao Xuanyang clenched his right hand into a fist, simply and directly delivering a punch to his abdomen.

In mid-air, Jiang Wang curled up like a shrimp, his five Inner Mansions and the Heaven-Penetrating Palace all vibrating intensely. For a moment, he lost the power to resist.

And Zhao Xuanyang released his fist, shaking his hand, producing a golden rope. He wrapped it around twice, binding Jiang Wang securely.

The material of this rope was unknown. The moment it was bound to his body, a faint golden glow imprinted on the Heaven-Penetrating Palace... Jiang Wang's Dao Yuan inside his body seemed to have solidified, unable to move at all.

The outcome was decided.

This was an encounter with little suspense, perhaps only Jiang Wang himself was still attempting to struggle for a possibility.

Now, that struggle was declared a failure.

The magnificent world of fire disintegrated.

The tavern they were in had been completely burnt down, nothing left behind. It was a desolate, charred land, becoming an ugly scar on this city.

Although the aftereffects were confined within this tavern, there were no people visible within a mile radius.

Only the extraordinary power belonging to the Zhongshan Kingdom was stationed beyond the one-mile range... waiting to clean up the aftermath.

Zhao Xuanyang then looked at Jiang Wang: "In your sword strike just now, I almost saw the embryonic form of the Great Dao. Unfortunately, you were born ten years too late."

He thought for a moment and added, "No, perhaps five years."

In his opinion, with ten or five years' time, Jiang Wang could reach the Divine Ascension Realm and truly contend with him today. This could be considered extremely high praise.

But receiving high praise from Zhao Xuanyang at this moment was not necessarily a good thing.

The higher his future potential, the more reluctant his enemies would be to let him go.

At this moment, Jiang Wang's arms were tightly bound to his torso by the golden rope, unable to move.

His left eye was tightly shut, a trail of blood flowing down.

His still-open right eye showed no resentment or pity, but was calm. He only said, "There's nothing to regret. Some are born early in life. You were born later than some, and I was born earlier than some. To be captured by you today is simply due to lack of skill, that's all."

"I'm increasingly impressed with you," Zhao Xuanyang said. "I rarely see someone as interesting as you... You don't seem annoyed at all?"

"Annoyed about what?" Jiang Wang said indifferently. "I have done everything I can and tried my best. Whatever the outcome, I will face it."

"Truly the mindset of a strong person! Unlike some so-called Heavenly Chosen who have talent and strength but lack a sound character. If the timing wasn't wrong, I would invite you for a drink!" Zhao Xuanyang praised, then added, "During the battle just now, I actually had some distracting thoughts twice. I imagine it was caused by your divine ability?"

He asked with interest, "It's truly fascinating. What is the divine ability you've been hiding?"

Facing Zhao Xuanyang in the Divine Ascension Realm, Jiang Wang had no room for reservation if he wanted to struggle for even a sliver of a chance to escape.

This meant that the Detour, which he had hidden for so long and had not even exposed at the Yellow River Assembly, failed when dealing with Zhao Xuanyang and was detected!

This was undoubtedly bad news. But in such circumstances, it was merely adding frost to snow.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jiang Wang said expressionlessly.

Zhao Xuanyang shrugged: "If you don't want to say, I won't force you. Anyway, I can probably guess a thing or two."

He casually hung the wooden sword slantwise behind him, then reached out and took the Chang Xiangsi tightly grasped in Jiang Wang's hand, helping him return it to the Divine Dragon Wood scabbard. He was even thoughtful enough to tie this famous sword to his waist for him.

"Alright," Zhao Xuanyang observed Jiang Wang, who was tightly bound, with satisfaction, appreciating his own masterpiece: "We should go to Jade Capital Mountain. I appreciate you, and I will prepare delicious food for you."

"Should I say thank you?" Jiang Wang asked.

He looked truly dishevelled, but his expression was so calm. It was as if he was ready to welcome anything, no matter what awaited him.

This was indeed the ease of having done one's best without regret and having tried one's hardest without remorse.

"Hahaha," Zhao Xuanyang laughed heartily: "That's not necessary!"

He reached out and took Jiang Wang's arm, preparing to fly away with his captive.

But at this moment, a voice suddenly pierced through, extremely sharp, piercing into people's ears.

"Zhao Xuanyang, I advise you to let go."

The voice said, "If you don't want to die."

The tone was calm, but the content was arrogant.

The volume was not high, yet everyone in this city of Zhongshan Kingdom could hear it!

Who was so bold as to speak to Zhao Xuanyang in this manner?!

Jiang Wang and Zhao Xuanyang looked towards the east almost simultaneously.

It was precisely noon, the great sun hanging high in the sky.

However, even the sun could not monopolize the radiance.

As if the moon in the sky had fallen and become a person on earth.

From the end of that long street, a figure in a white robe and silver armor walked slowly.

That frost-like long spear was slanted behind him, its tip touching the ground.

As this person walked forward, it actually gouged a crack in the ground bricks.

It was a straight line of a ground crack, straight as a spear, extending from behind this person to the end of the horizon.

When he came with his spear, people's eyes should fix upon him.

Wherever he went, the ground should part in two.

This spear was named Shaohua, and this armor was named Wushuang (Peerless).

This person...

His name was Ji Zhaonan!