Not by announcing himself as King Gan or King Zhennan.
But rather, Chen Jiuyang from Feng Province and Zhou Fangzun from the Northwest declared that they were here to settle a personal vendetta.
These simple, plain self-introductions, uttered with few words, drifted slowly throughout Mount Tai, their voices becoming somewhat fragmented as they were carried by the mountain wind.
Within Mount Tai, countless martial artists gazed at the Feng Province native named Chen Jiuyang on the mountaintop, their eyes filled with various emotions.
When they first heard his name, it was after the Feng Province Martial Rankings competition had concluded. With his cultivation of Xuanjing Four Apertures at the age of twenty-three, he had secured the championship of the Feng Province Martial Rankings, making some people familiar with his name.
Then came his challenge to Xi Butui, the Chief Constable of the Six Doors in Feng Province. The Feng Province Sword Wielder, Nan Tang, had actually permitted such an absurd matter. The masses had dismissed Chen Jiuyang's actions as the impetuousness of a young man from a humble background, unaware of the risks. Most of them had mocked his behavior.
On the other hand, there was King Zhennan, the third king of the Dragon Kingdom, who had ascended to Tianjing twenty to thirty years ago. How many people in the Dragon Kingdom dared to provoke him?
Yet, today, the formerly humble young man of Xuanjing Four Apertures from last year was now Chen Jiuyang, the sixth king of the Dragon Kingdom, the favored son of heaven, who had severed the Heavenly Tribulation with his blade and won the Asian Martial Rankings championship!
Currently, Chen Jiuyang stood opposed to Zhou Fangzun, causing many older martial artists to fall into a daze.
At twenty-three years old, he had severed the Heavenly Tribulation with his blade, achieved True King Tianjing, created his own martial path, and was a figure who shook the ancient and astonished the present. He was a legendary prodigy they had witnessed grow before their very eyes!
On the mountaintop.
Chen Jiuyang held his saber, his eyes, bright as stars, flickering with unconcealed emotion. His indifferent voice echoed, "Let me ask you one thing, do you regret it?"
The figure holding the Fangtian Huaji remained silent for a moment, then slowly replied, "I have thought about it for a long time, and even now, I do not feel I was wrong."
"Good."
Chen Jiuyang slowly drew his saber, an almost overwhelming rage building within him. Golden qi and blood enveloped his body, slowly burning, and his voice, filled with myriad emotions, rang out again:
"All the way here, I only wished for a peaceful life. All that has passed, today, let us settle it with a single battle. Zhou Fangzun, the pain and humiliation you brought me, today... please return them to me!"
As his words fell.
"Boom!"
An incomparably terrifying might, enough to make one's heart palpitate, erupted from Chen Jiuyang. His golden qi and blood burned completely, and waves of energy surged outwards in all directions.
"Crack! Crack!"
The Mount Tai bedrock, weathered by countless years, developed several fine cracks at this moment.
"Come, Zhou Fangzun."
Zhou Fangzun, holding his Fangtian Huaji, looked at the powerful aura emanating from that figure, a flicker of astonishment flashing in his eyes. Even he could not remain calm, never expecting his breakthrough to be so fierce in such a short period.
A thought flashed through his mind: Was he truly mistaken?
But he quickly reconsidered; he had made no mistake!
"Then, let us battle!"
He swung his Fangtian Huaji downwards, leaving a not-too-shallow, not-too-deep scratch on the hard Mount Tai, and then pointed its tip at Chen Jiuyang.
The next instant.
"Boom—"
The two figures shot out like cannonballs, and then the sound of ferociously explosive energy waves resounded from Mount Tai, sweeping in all directions.
Under the gaze of countless eyes, Chen Jiuyang, like an enraged beast, attacked Zhou Fangzun's vital points with every saber strike, fiercely and relentlessly.
"Clang clang clang!!!"
As they exchanged blows, Zhou Fangzun's spear moved with incredible speed, blocking every saber strike from Chen Jiuyang.
"Boom boom boom!"
In just a few breaths, Chen Jiuyang had unleashed hundreds of saber strikes, leaving behind hundreds of saber shadows. Zhou Fangzun's strength was immense; he fought Chen Jiuyang without being at a disadvantage, even appearing to be at ease, subtly showing that his combat power surpassed Chen Jiuyang's.
"Fatal Strike!"
"Boom!"
After hundreds of saber strikes, the phantom image of the long saber in Chen Jiuyang's hand grew, pressing down horizontally towards Zhou Fangzun.
"Clang!"
Under the immense force, Zhou Fangzun caught the saber, and his body was forcefully suppressed, forcing him to retreat. Seizing the opportunity, Chen Jiuyang unleashed his Yuan Dao divine ability, Fatal Strike!
The entire Mount Tai was instantly filled with golden light and the sound of saber hums.
Hundreds of sharp saber strikes lunged towards Zhou Fangzun.
Zhou Fangzun's divine soul immediately stirred, and he said in a deep voice, "Myriad Soldiers!"
"Hiss!"
Immediately, phantom images of warriors in armor, riding warhorses, appeared, as if they had come to life, lifelike, confronting Chen Jiuyang's divine ability techniques.
The battle had entered a white-hot state right from the start, and many older martial artists began to comment.
"Divine ability against divine might, this battle is indeed worth watching."
"King Zhennan has been in Tianjing for thirty years and has walked very far on this path. His strength is unfathomable. Although King Gan is astonishingly talented, he has only entered Tianjing for a short time. Who knows how many divine abilities King Gan has comprehended."
"Judging by this, King Gan's foundation is insufficient. He wants to finish the battle quickly with King Zhennan, hmm?"
At the peak of Mount Tai, Chen Jiuyang's Fatal Strike divine ability clashed head-on with Zhou Fangzun's Myriad Soldiers divine might. However, Zhou Fangzun was, after all, a seasoned king. Chen Jiuyang's Fatal Strike divine ability could not tear through Zhou Fangzun's divine might, nor could it harm Chen Jiuyang.
Following this, Chen Jiuyang plunged his saber, the Yan Sheng Saber, into the ground, and then a giant saber-shaped phantom image suddenly appeared, enveloping Chen Jiuyang within it.
"Yuan Dao breakthrough?"
This was a nascent form of the divine ability Chen Jiuyang had comprehended when he was in Dijng. Its defensive capabilities were terrifying to the extreme, almost impossible to break, and it had made him famous throughout the Dragon Kingdom's martial arts world following the Thousand Mile Interception incident.
What perplexed them was why King Gan, Chen Jiuyang, would use a defensive divine ability at this moment. It made no sense.
Many people showed expressions of disbelief, and even Zhou Fangzun couldn't help but slightly furrow his brow.
Just as everyone was puzzled.
At the peak of Mount Tai, Chen Jiuyang's indifferent and peerless voice rang out:
"Hundred Flowers Kill!"
"Bang—"
The giant saber-shaped phantom image suddenly shattered, breaking apart as if transforming into thousands of petals scattering, each one shimmering with golden light.
Then, Chen Jiuyang raised his hand and pointed at Zhou Fangzun's position.
"Boom!"
These seemingly beautiful fragments, however, carried extremely terrifying destructive power as they surged towards the Myriad Soldiers divine might unleashed by Zhou Fangzun.
"Chiff! Chiff! Chiff!"
Wherever the petals swept past, Zhou Fangzun's divine might was completely defeated. This divine ability technique of Chen Jiuyang's had effortlessly shattered Zhou Fangzun's divine might techniques!
"Chiff—"
The petals' movement had not stopped; they continued to attack Zhou Fangzun. Zhou Fangzun's Fangtian Huaji swung fiercely, sweeping away countless petals, yet one sharp petal still managed to pierce him, leaving a wound on his face, blood slowly trickling down his cheek.
"Hiss!"
A widespread uproar erupted throughout Mount Tai.
Countless people were shocked.
King Gan had derived and modified his original divine ability. Such talent was too terrifying.
What surprised them even more was that in just a few rounds, King Zhennan had already drawn blood!