Xuan Rui was supremely proud. What he could tolerate least was being made a laughingstock.
Once that thought took root, it became unstoppable.
Xuan Rui's killing intent surged wildly. He had made up his mind — he would seize the initiative, rely on his formidable archery cultivation, take control of the battle, and slay his opponent in a single decisive volley.
With that resolve, Xuan Rui let out a piercing cry. His aura erupted like a rainbow, energy surging through his entire body. In an instant, the wind rose and clouds churned.
As if blessed by the heavens, the third eye on his forehead opened once more.
Jiang Chen observed the scene and knew that Xuan Rui had lost his composure. He was about to take a desperate gamble — and that was exactly what Jiang Chen had been waiting for.
The reason Jiang Chen hadn't acted yet was precisely to test whose Dao heart was more resolute. Now, seeing Xuan Rui openly unleash his aura, he recognized it for what it was: a challenge to a decisive clash.
A flicker of joy passed through Jiang Chen's mind.
He knew his chance to kill his opponent in a single strike had arrived.
In that instant, the Sacred Dragon Bow within Jiang Chen's grasp began silently gathering momentum. The true dragon bloodline coursing through his body was being drawn upon ceaselessly by Jiang Chen.
He had refined the true dragon bloodline long ago, and could now unleash its fearsome dragon qi. Through countless rounds of experimentation, Jiang Chen had found that this dragon qi resonated more and more perfectly with the Sacred Dragon Bow. Using dragon qi to drive the Sacred Dragon Bow doubled its effectiveness, unlocking far greater power.
At that very moment, Xuan Rui moved.
Nearly the same instant Xuan Rui moved, Jiang Chen moved too.
The moment Jiang Chen stirred, countless vines of the Ice Fire Demon Lotus erupted around him. In a single flicker, every last vine transformed into a duplicate of Jiang Chen's dharma idol.
Jiang Chen's true dharma idol vanished into the void in that same heartbeat.
The Ice Fire Demon Lotus carried a tremendous demonic nature and excelled at illusion. Back when Jiang Chen was still in the Saint realm, he had already unlocked this particular trait of the lotus.
Now, at the Emperor realm, he had explored every aspect of the Ice Fire Demon Lotus to its fullest potential. At this moment, all thousand-plus vines had morphed into Jiang Chen's form, creating the illusion of a thousand-strong army — Jiang Chen's likeness everywhere one looked.
Xuan Rui's jaw dropped at the sight.
He finally understood the despair that Xue Feng had felt. This opponent was far too terrifying. How could Winter End Island harbor such a monstrous challenger?
Was this still a mere prey to hunt?
Xuan Rui's third eye blazed at full power, radiating waves of formidable psychic force outward in concentric rings, attempting to lock onto Jiang Chen's true body through sheer mental pressure.
It was then that one of Jiang Chen's dharma idols stepped forward through the void, appearing right at Xuan Rui's side.
"Accept your fate."
Jiang Chen's voice rang out, carrying the resonant cry of a dragon. Dragon qi surged, the Sacred Dragon Bow drew to a full moon, and the arrow flew like a true dragon — fangs bared, claws extended — crossing the distance to Xuan Rui in the blink of an eye.
Jiang Chen's Sacred Dragon Bow had once slain even Heavenly realm powerhouses.
Xuan Rui might have been a genius, might have possessed unfathomable potential and combat strength rivaling many Heavenly realm cultivators, but against Jiang Chen — who had now entered his absolute peak state and loosed this consummate arrow — even he felt as though his entire body had plunged into an ice cellar.
Instinct screamed at him to dodge, but caught completely off guard, he had already lost the initiative. Trying to evade this lethal arrow with movement technique alone was plainly out of the question.
Xuan Rui twisted sideways on reflex and raised his hand from a distance, loosing an arrow of his own on pure instinct.
For archery masters of their caliber, tracing the trajectory of an incoming arrow was second nature. Intercepting the opposing arrow mid-flight was no great difficulty either.
But that was only true when the trajectory followed a conventional path — something predictable and familiar.
If the path was anything but ordinary, all bets were off.
And the trajectory of an arrow fired from the Sacred Dragon Bow was anything but conventional. Xuan Rui's answering shot streaked forward with tremendous momentum, and the instant it was about to intercept Jiang Chen's arrow —
Jiang Chen's arrow had already flashed past like a bolt of lightning.
"No good!"
One miss was all it took for Xuan Rui to know disaster was upon him.
But in that very same instant, the arrow struck home.
Thwick!
The arrow pierced through Xuan Rui's left ear, dragging a spray of red and white brain matter as it burst out through his right. His body froze as though suddenly nailed in place, giving one violent shudder. The next moment, his eyes bulged out like those of a dead fish, filled with despair, filled with disbelief.
That, however, would be the last expression his face ever wore.
"I've lost…" That fleeting thought was all that flickered through Xuan Rui's mind before his body toppled like a jade pillar knocked from its mount, crashing thunderously to the ground.
Whoo!
Jiang Chen exhaled deeply, feeling a momentary wave of overexertion wash through his mind and body. His battle against Xue Feng had already drained considerable energy without resorting to any trump cards that exceeded his realm.
Against this Xuan Rui, Jiang Chen had again refrained from employing any such cards, winning once more through pure strength alone. But two consecutive battles had taken a severe toll.
Of course, the greater the expenditure, the greater the training value — and the greater the improvement he would gain.
If every fight were won by relying on trump cards that transcended his realm, then the practical combat experience would do nothing to benefit his martial path.
Jiang Chen was keenly aware of this.
For both battles, therefore, he had deliberately avoided calling upon those hidden aces — things like the Bewildering Soul Puppet or the Nine Palace Bewildering Soul Diagram.
After dispatching Xuan Rui, Jiang Chen darted forward, collecting the Storage Ring from the dead man's body. He verified the identity and tucked away the jade token as well.